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by jeremiah on Tuesday, 06 October 2009
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Have you ever been to a party or large gathering where you felt like you knew everyone? You showed up and looked around and realized that you recognized every face? You then made your way around the room getting involved in nearly every conversation? Have you ever experienced all this or something like this and then realized that you didn't really know these people and they didn't really know you? If you were, for example, to tell one of them what you did as a hobby and what you liked about it, would they be totally surprised? Would they be surprised to learn your greatest fear or deepest desire? Would they be surprised to know that you were a Christian who regularly read your Bible and went to church?
I attended a relatively small private Christian high school for four years. By the time I was a senior, I "knew" almost everyone in the school from freshmen to senior and they "knew" me. I could get into a conversation with just about anyone about just about anything: music, sports, teachers, homework, dating, etc. I did all of this without really letting anyone know me. Even my "best friends" in high school didn't know me and I didn't really know them. That would probably explain why, although we haven't completely lost touch, we haven't talked in several years.
I am going to tell you all a little secret about me that almost no one knows. Once this is posted, of course, it won't be a secret anymore, but I think that making my point is worth sharing my secret.
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by jeremiah on Thursday, 03 September 2009
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We often have large fires during the summer here in southern California. They last for days -even weeks and months-, burn hundreds of thousands of acres of land, destroy hundreds of homes and other buildings, and even take a few lives. Every time such fires occur, large call centers are set up so that local residents can call and talk to people who know how to properly cope with the fire (both during and after the fire). Often times, the calls are along the lines of "I am at work but my home is on such and such street. Is the fire anywhere near there?" Other times, a caller might ask, "I can see the fire from my kitchen window. What should I do now?" During a recent wild fire, a friend of mine was working in one of these call centers as an operator when she received a phone call that went something like what I have detailed below.
Caller: Hello, I am at my house right now, and I was wondering if I should leave or not.
Operator: Are you somewhere near the fire?
Caller: Yes, I think so.
Operator: Can you see the fire from your home?
Caller: Yes.
Operator: How close do you think the fire is to your home?
Caller: It appears to be a couple of streets away. I can see some of the other houses burning.
Operator: That sounds very close. Fires can move very quickly. You should evacuate immediately. You probably don't have time to pack anything up. Just grab whatever is most valuable to you and is easy to carry and get out now.
Caller: Hmm... I have a lot of valuable things. Too many to carry. ...but you know what. I don't think I really need to worry about the fire. Are you sure I should leave?
Operator: Yes ma'am. You are in danger and you should leave now.
Caller: [Pause] I dunno. I would be leaving all this stuff behind. I don't think I am in any real danger. I think I should stay. Do you really think I should leave?
Operator: Yes ma'am. Please forget about your possessions and get out now. Your life is in danger.
Caller: [Pause] I dunno. I think I should stay here.
Operator: No one can make you leave. That is your decision, but you should leave. Now!
The call ended with the caller still in the house. I have no idea what happened after that. Perhaps she came to her senses and left in time, or perhaps she didn't! What would cause a person to disregard their safety, their well-being, and even their life in the way that this lady did? I have some answers, but before I get to them, here is another story of sorts.
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by jeremiah on Tuesday, 18 August 2009
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When this story left off, three corrupt animals were overseeing the rationing of wealth and responsibilities of the animals of Eidolon.
In time, the animals once again saw that things just weren't working out the way they had hoped and so they gathered together for yet another discussion. This time, an eagle came forward to present his plan. Instead of just proposing a leadership style, he also proposed a new kind of system. The system would be based on a series of "checks and balances". He proposed having several groups of leaders, instead of just one or three, who looked after each other and the forest. Unlike before, these leaders would be given very minimal power over the other animals. This meant that the animals would need some additional means by which to regulate themselves. For this, he proposed an emphasis on the acquisition of wealth. He claimed that the failure of the other ways was that there had not been enough motivation for the animals to work hard. By allowing all animals the freedom to work as much or as little as they wanted and by allowing them to keep whatever wealth they acquired for themselves, all animals would have equal opportunity. The leaders would only be needed to ensure that no animals were cheating, stealing, or in some other way harming the other animals. Most of the animals thought that the eagle's ideas were brilliant so they declared the new ideas as law and quickly put them into action.
The eagle's plan did work and very well. Initially, the number of leaders was very small and their duties were minimal. As animals started having more and more problems, though, the leaders had to lead more and more. For instance, some animals tried to take land away from other animals. Since there was no way to determine which land was the property of which animal, the leaders couldn't help. So, they created a new group of animals dedicated to defining and enforcing property lines. There was a lot of land to keep track of so this group of animals wasn't left with any time to gather their own food and take care of their own needs. It was therefore decided that they would need a property tax. A property tax meant that any animal that owned property had to pay these animals a small amount of money based on how much land they owned. Also, as more and more animals traveled, more and more roads were needed. Since there was no one in charge of the roads, they were often confusing and difficult to travel on. It was decided that another group would be created to manage the roads. Like with the land management group, a new tax would be needed to pay these new leaders. Any animal with a wheelbarrow, cart, or other vehicle would need to pay a transportation tax.
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by jeremiah on Thursday, 13 August 2009
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In the beginning, the Maker created an enormous forest and He called it Eidolon. He created the trees and bushes, the streams and rivers, and the hills and the valleys. He populated Eidolon with many kinds of animals: birds, foxes, bears, rabbits, fish, and more. In the early days, the Maker walked among the animals of Eidolon teaching them how to live and how to benefit the most from the forest and from each other. The Maker commanded some of the animals to write down his words in the Book. All animals that lived according to the ways of the Book prospered. As the number of animals increased, the Maker walked among them less often. His plan was that the younger animals would learn from the Book and the older animals. As time progressed and the animals of Eidolon continued to multiply, many of the animals forgot about the Maker and his Book. They heard stories about Him and His Book but believed them to be just that, stories.
During the ancient days of Eidolon, the animals had needed to rely on the Maker for guidance in everything from farming to clothing. They even needed instructions about right and wrong. During the later times that the animals referred to as the "progressive era" or "modern times", the animals relied mostly on themselves. In those times, the animals chose to do things their own way and in their own time without guidance from the Maker. Some remembered the Maker and His Book and turned to Him for guidance, but these animals were small in number and were often made fun of for being "old fashioned" or "narrow minded". Some of the ancient traditions established by the Maker, like marriage and observing a weekly day of rest, carried on independently of the Maker, but most were abandoned in favor of more progressive ideas.
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by jeremiah on Friday, 07 August 2009
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What happens when an animal is confused and cornered? I found out many years ago when my family and I house-sat for a friend of ours. Besides watching the house, we also watched the friend's dog, a Cocker Spaniel. He was a friendly dog, but he wasn't really sure what to make of us. Instead of seeing his owner who he was familiar with, he saw only us strangers for several days. He never fully adjusted to us being in his space. He did eventually accept that we were responsible for feeding him and letting him in and out of the house, but I wouldn't say that he was ever comfortable with us.
Being as young as I was and having grown up with several dogs of my own, it seemed natural to me to attempt to pet the dog, which he hesitantly let me do. My own dogs were always comfortable with me and so I could get away with things like wrestling, pulling tails, barking at them, and getting in their face. Well, this dog naturally was not that comfortable with me, and so when I put my face right up to his and made silly baby noises like "goo goo" and made silly faces, he didn't know how to react. He tried to back away but since there was something behind him he couldn't. I didn't notice it in the moment, but the dog quickly began to panic. As much as a Cocker Spaniel can, this dog had an expression of fear on his face and in his physical demeanor. He started to freak out, and yet I persisted with my nonsense. So, the dog did what virtually any creature would do in a similar situation: He struck my face with his fangs and then ran away! He got me pretty good. There was blood but no long term damage.
Years of experience, starting with this incident, have taught me that neither dogs nor humans like to have unfamiliar people up in their face or in their business.
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by jeremiah on Thursday, 30 July 2009
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When it's time for the sheep to be slaughtered, a "Judas goat" is sent in to lead the herd. When the goat confidently struts up the ramp into the slaughter house, the sheep blindly follow. At the last minute, the goat exits through a side gate, but the sheep continue up the ramp and to their death.
The "Judas" title comes from Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus' twelve disciples, part of his inner circle, the one that betrayed Jesus to death. Unlike the sheep, Jesus knew what he was walking into. He did not blindly walk into his death. He boldly walked into His destiny.
How many of us, though, are like the sheep? We are not God and so we do not know the future, nor do we know the hearts of men. Every day, we are forced to trust people (to a certain extent), not blindly like the sheep but not with full knowledge of their hearts either. We trust people according to past experiences- with them, with people like them, etc. A 1999 survey by the New York Times revealed that those polled were almost three times more likely to trust that someone would give them "fair" treatment if they knew them (90%) versus if they didn't (35%). Generalizing these numbers reveals that once we "know" someone we are more likely to trust them. Have you ever heard this statement? "It's not that I don't trust him. It's just that I don't know him." When we feel that we know someone, we are automatically apt to accept their advice or follow their lead even when it contradicts our own judgment. Does this sound familiar? "I didn't think it was a good idea, but then I saw so and so doing it, so I went ahead and did it too."
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by jeremiah on Tuesday, 28 July 2009
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The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside!" or, "I will be murdered in the streets!" (Proverbs 22:13 NIV)
This statement immediately raises an important question for some of us: "What is a 'sluggard'?" Fortunately, dictionary.com provides a quick answer:
sluggard (n.): a person who is habitually inactive or lazy
From this, we can infer at least two things: 1) Lazy people use extraordinary excuses to justify their laziness. 2) Justifiable fear can cause otherwise active people to become inactive.
I have seen this played out in a great number of ways. I have seen perfectly healthy men justify not looking for work. I have seen women justify not leaving their abusive husband or boyfriend. I have seen addicts justify their habits. In this article, I'd like to focus on this passage as it pertains to doing the work of God. The following is an Aesop's fable entitled "The Son and the Painted Lion".
There was a timid old man who was afraid of his only son's passion for hunting, for the son was full of courage. In a dream he saw that his son would be killed by a lion. Dreading that the dream would come true, the father built a dwelling for his son of great magnificence, set in a high place where he could keep his eye on him. In order to distract and please him, he had commissioned for his chamber paintings of every kind of animal, and among these was a lion. But looking at all these did not distract the young man from his boredom.
One day, he approached the painting and cursed the lion in it:
'You damned beast, it's because of you and my father's lying dream that I am cooped up here in this prison for women. What can I do to you?'
And, as he said this, he struck his fist against the wall to blind the lion. But a splinter got lodged under his fingernail and he could not get it out. This became greatly inflamed, brought on a fever and swelled up to an enormous size. The fever raged so fiercely that the young man died of it.
The lion, even though it was only a painted one, had indeed killed the young man, just as his father had foreseen.
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by jeremiah on Monday, 20 July 2009
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Architecturally speaking, sand has at least two potential problems as the foundation of a house. First, it can liquefy under certain conditions. Second, sand becomes unstable when it is shaken, such as during an earthquake, wind storm, or heavy flood. That's not to say that it's impossible to build a house on sand. With some clever planning and implementation you can certainly use sand as the foundation. Heck, people have built houses on marshes, swamps, stagnant water (see Venice, Italy), muddy mountain slopes (see Malibu, California), rocky cliffs, and more. Most houses, of course, are built on flat rocky soil. The reason for this is simple: Building a house on flat rock is safer, more reliable, and more cost effective than building on any of the aforementioned foundations.
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by jeremiah on Thursday, 25 June 2009
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A certain father had two sons, ages 9 and 10, and both were talented baseball players. The older son, Caleb, was a catcher and the younger son, Arnold, was a pitcher. Both could hit very well. The father coached a baseball team for kids and both sons were on the team. The father loved both sons equally and gave them both lots of praise whenever they did something well. When they made mistakes, he encouraged them and gave them advice about how to improve. Wanting to please his father, the younger son, Arnold, spent nearly all of his free time practicing. He went to the batting cages, threw the baseball at a board with a target on it, and played catch with himself by throwing the ball straight up into the air. Caleb on the other hand spent most of his time with his pals. They rode bikes, traded baseball cards, and talked a lot. Caleb loved to brag to his friends about how great of a baseball player he was, how he could hit home runs and pick off base runners who were trying to steal.
Naturally, over time, Arnold became the better player. As a pitcher he won lots of games and as a batter he got many hits including home runs. Caleb was good too but he could never be credited with a "win" since he was a catcher. Also, although Caleb had a strong swing, he tended to pop up and strike out too much. Their father, and coach, praised both children according to their abilities which meant that Arnold got more praise. Arnold's dad wasn't the only person dishing out the praise either. The other members of the team often gave Arnold high fives and head noogies. They would occasionally even chant his name from the dugout.
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by jeremiah on Wednesday, 24 June 2009
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A few years back, I was involved in a drawn out court case. I routinely had to visit the courthouse to get paperwork, submit paper work, appear before the judge, etc. The case involved lawyers, dockets, calendars, bailiffs and all the other stuff you might know about court cases. What you may or may not know is that, unlike what you see on television and movies, court trials and hearings and all that, more often than not, are boring at best and frustrating at worst. My case was extremely frustrating for both sides. There was lots of hurry up and wait and a plethora of disappointment.
One day I headed to the courthouse with a stack of about 30 or so papers that I needed to file with the clerk. Having been through the experience a few times before, I braced myself for a 30 to 90 minute wait in a slow moving line surrounded by other equally frustrated people. This is not my ideal way to spend the afternoon. So, even though I was just dropping off papers, I was already very tense and stressed.
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