I'm the Best!

Every since we were young, people of my generation have been taught to strive for the best . . . in everything. That has had a devastating effect.

We recently had dinner with a friend from Pakistan, who is a doctoral student. I asked him if he plans on staying in America after he finishes his studies. Without even blinking an eye, he said, "No way." His response is that people in America are too competitive. He said that everyone has to be the best at everything. This, he says, makes for a much lower quality of life.

That's too bad . . . but I definitely see what he is saying. A more simple life seems to be a better one. I think that is so, spiritually, financially, emotionally, and otherwise.

The image above is a sign I saw hanging in a restaurant on a recent trip to Chicago, in the Wicker Park area. I was walking down the sidewalk; and it caught my attention. We want to be the best . . . at any and everything, just so we can claim it. So much so that we will claim even the most random of categories, including grilled artichokes. This just seemed like such a random thing to claim, just to be able to say it. "I'm the best!" Is there that big of a market out there for grilled artichoke???

I am not saying that we should not strive for greatness . . . but striving for greatness without some perspective has its costs. Perhaps a more humble, simple way of living is better. One that affirms others' greatness, along with our own. One that sees that getting to the top is not all it's cracked up to be. And one that affirms that being the best at something (or anything) is not the most important thing. It's not just what we do . . . it's also who we are. We need to keep in mind the people that we are becoming in our journeys.

We're Not Equal

We're not. You and I, me and others, we're not equal. Before we can proclaim with Paul that there is "neither Jew nor Greek, neither male nor female, neither slave nor free," we must first proclaim that Jews are not equal with Greeks, males are not equal with females, etc. We simply are not all the same. There are significant differences, even simply biological differences.

That does not mean that I am better than you, that Jews are better than Greeks, that females are better than males. A radical thing that the Christian movement, and many other schools of thought since, proclaims is that our barriers and boundaries that we humans make with each other do not matter.

It would do us all good to step back and think about this for a minute. There's a lot in the news right now about there being a War on Women, especially in the realm of politics. Of course, many people are using whatever someone might have said (such as the DNC chairperson) for their own advantage. Many Republicans, just like many Democrats, say stupid things about men (and women).

What would be refreshing is for someone to proclaim that men and women are not equal. In fact, all men are not equal with all men. And all women are not equal with all women. The important thing is that we realize that our differences do not matter. Women should earn equal pay as men and should be treated equally. But that should not be based upon they themselves being equal with men, just as the pay I receive should not be treated on my being equal with another man. I am not. But any differences that I have with another man, or with another woman, should not matter.

If our differences, do not matter, then we will not discriminate others based upon the differences they have with us--be they gender differences, or racial differences, or sexual differences, and on and on the list can go. That will, of course, make a difference with things like income . . . but it will also make a difference with things like the jokes that we tell each other, or the way we act towards each other, or even the things we think about each other.

Why People Don't Like Tebow

Tim Tebow was in the news yesterday . . . again.

He was traded to the New York Jets. I truly do not think he would be in the news so much if he was not so divisive. I believe he is so divisive because he is so showy with his religion.

He has been this way since college. Some people in his ear must have told him to tone it down, from a P.R. standpoint, in the NFL. But the fact remains that he wears his religion on his sleeve. And in our culture today, be it right or wrong, that sells well. People in the Bible belt eat that up. Every time he goes down on a knee to pray on the field, even though Jesus told us to pray in secret in our closets, millions of people think he is being a true witness of their faith. And when he goes on a commercial during the Super Bowl to promote so-called the "pro-life" camp, some people just can't get enough of it.

This year will truly tell whether Tebow is just a fad or is here to stay. He had quite a story, from a sports perspective, last year, as he led the Broncos to the playoffs. Now comes his biggest test of all, as he will be put under the NYC sports microscope.

Best of luck, Tebow . . .

Liberal Media . . . War on Women . . . Enough is Enough.

The main problem with the political climate today is that everyone demonizes the other side. If we try to respect each other and understand people whose thoughts, opinions, and convictions differ from ours, we do not demonize. I call especially on those who call themselves followers of Christ, particularly in the public square, you need to say enough is enough: you may not agree with someone; but that does not give you the license to demonize them, to put them down. You can criticize someone's beliefs without criticizing them.

This problem, then, bleeds into society. Whether we like it or even realize it, we take our cues from those that we see in the news, in the media, particularly on political issues. Many times, we give in to their sweeping remarks about the other side, whether it's the "liberal media," or a "war on women," or "secular humanists," or "religious fundamentalists." Let's look at the issues and not lump everyone who disagrees with me into a phrase that I can pounce upon.

Take the above examples. Are all members of the media so-called "liberal?" Are people who believe contraception should not be included in the health care bill trying to make a war on women? Are people who believe in equal rights for all people somehow non-religious? Are people who believe that church and state should not be separate the same on all issues? Of course not to each of these examples! If we demonize, it makes it easier for us to dismiss someone who disagrees with us and their ideas.

Politics today suffer from the twenty-four hour news media and from being continually obsessed with re-election. In the midst of this, we should demand more from our politicians. We should demand that they stick to the issues, not the other side. We should demand that they actually listen to politicians on differing sides of issues and work together to compromise, rather than always throwing their hands up and walking away when they cannot get a majority to agree with them. By doing so, we would create a better political climate. And, I believe, we would be better off ourselves.

Anyone and Everyone is Welcome

I recently saw that phrase on a Facebook post, inviting people to a party.

How amazing it would be if Christian churches believed this . . . and lived this out.

Take a Chill Pill

I've got a few random thoughts rolling around today . . . so I'm going to put them down - and hopefully they will come together in some sort of cohesive fashion.

Quality over quantity. I've always heard that. And the more I journey through life, the more I believe it. I try to pack so many things into my day. And I measure my days by how much I get done in them. That's too bad.

I'm coming to realize this more and more. My wife and I have been journeying together for almost ten years now, many of those being in pursuit of a Ph.D. We finally attained that for her, recently. And now that we're there, I look back upon different stages of that particular journey; and I wish that I had stopped to smell the roses a bit more (how many cliches is that, already?).

I think this sort of relates to another thought I have been having recently. Religion that is coerced is not true religion. I'm not sure what that is; but it's not religion. I'm convinced of this more and more, with each passing day. But I recently read a blog post from a former pastor of mine, which did a good job of stating that religion that tries to make someone feel superior to someone else is not really religion. That got me to thinking about what religion, really, existentially, really is.

I have been a part of a number of religious experiences in which other people, particularly youth, are pressured into making some sort of decision. It's not necessarily a "do this or die" sort of situation. But the onus is clearly placed upon the individual. And if that individual does not do whatever the leader/speaker/preacher wants them to do, that person is considered to be a failure. The clear example, of course, is a speaker asking audience members if they died tonight, where would they go? (heaven or hell?) Scaring someone into heaven (or one's conception of heaven) has never been a good idea.

But it's not only just these obvious situations. The religious right is all about calling upon religious freedom recently to say that Obamacare (which is a gross misunderstanding of the health care bill) strips away Americans' religious freedom by making Catholic institutions give birth control to its employees. At best, that is a weak case for saying why Catholic institutions should not have to purchase birth control. But anyway, since they brought it up, if we are going to talk about religious freedom - we need to give religious freedom to all people: both for religion and from religion. The same people who are crying religious freedom were the same ones saying that mosques should not be built in certain places. These people want religious freedom for their particular brand of religion. That's not freedom; that's bigotry.

Religion, at its best, is inclusive of all people and is built upon and creates for others: freedom.

Travelling

I love to travel. I always have. I love going places. I love eating different foods. I love being around different people. I love seeing new things. I love going to games in different stadiums.

I also love planning travel. At one time, I thought of being a travel agent. I like to research cities, places to go, things to do, places to stay, places to eat.

Everyone needs to pursue their interests, their passions, the things they enjoy doing. I believe these are God-given. And we are fully human only as we pursue those things that get us going.

Grace For All People

After news broke last week of Josh Hamilton "relapsing" with alcohol, I did not have much grace for him. I have not been a big Josh Hamilton fan for the last year or so. I have grown tired of the way he wears his religion on his sleeve, particularly since it is a brand of the Christian faith that I do not exactly identify with. Then, last season, when he injured himself, he blamed it on the third base coach. That did not seem to be the stand-up, Christian characteristic that I would have hoped for in him.

Then, I heard some details about his relapse with alcohol on local sports radio in the DFW area a few days ago. These details were, well, raunchy, to say the least. It showed me why I thought there was more to this relapse when he sort of apologized in his press conference. That's because there was more to it than alcohol. I let Hamilton have it pretty hard, even if it was only in my own head.

But that doesn't really matter. It took another radio program, on that same sports radio station, this morning to show me that I was the one, in fact, who was being hypocritical. The guy on the radio program, who is admittedly not enamored with the Christian faith (or at least the version of it he sees in popular culture), talked about how impressed he has been by the Christians who surround Hamilton that continue to stick by him throughout all of his ups and downs. The radio personality said that these people should be commended for continuing to encourage Hamilton, even when the details of his relapses are as scandalous as they are.

I was wrong. I might disagree with Hamilton, on a whole host of issues. But it is not my job to judge him. I root for the Texas Rangers; so I should root for Hamilton, both on and off the field. I preached a sermon a while back about judging others. In it, I used the illustration of Heathcliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby's character in The Cosby Show) trying to be a professional plumber in an episode of the show by attempting to fix a leak in the bathroom, when he should have let the professionals come in and do the job. It's the same with those who follow Christ. It's tempting, sure, but it's not our job to judge. We have no idea what it's like to be in the other person's shoes. The sad reality is that we often do much worse than Cliff, who jacked his bathroom up pretty good. We can easily demonize others and do both harm to them and to us . . . even if it's someone we don't even personally know, like Josh Hamilton.

Moving On . . .

http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/11/03/3498674/texas-rangers-need-cj-wilson-back.html

Check it out . . . I think Galloway is right about some stuff (not so sure about the C.J. discussion he has going on there). I won't "move on," either. I can't just forget it . . . as much as I have tried to.

In the midst of this past season, I realized that I was putting too much of myself into it. I knew that I was investing too much of my time and energies into a baseball team. I had decided that I would back way off of following the Rangers as much next year. And I was even telling myself that during Game 6, before, well, you know what happened.

But a funny thing has happened in the week or so since that fateful game. I am more of a fan now than ever. Now I have definitely come to realize that there needs to be boundaries with my fandom. I need to keep things in balance. But I can't just give up on the Rangers, or quit being as much of a fan, even at the most opportune time ever to give up on them. Being a fan and backing a team is a spirit, an attitude more than it is watching every single pitch of a season.

I think where it all started to turn for me was Game 4. Game 3 was horrific. Having been there in person for the 16-run slaughter by the Cardinals was miserable. And the hours leading up to Game 4 were not very pleasant. But something happened in the parking lot, while tailgating, and on our way walking up to the Ballpark. I suddenly had a feeling. I said that Holland would throw 7 scoreless innings that night. He threw 8 1/3.

Optimism, being positive. Those are not things that the Rangers have always instilled in me (and with good reason). But something happened there, right before Game 4. And something has happened in the time since Game 6 (Game 7 didn't really matter--we were done by that point, anyway--how's that for optimism?). I'm optimistic, I'm looking forward to next year.

Can't wait until pitchers and catchers report in February . . . there's a life lesson in there somewhere.

Cherish Life?

When I tell people the town I live in, many times they say, "Oh yeah, that's where they kill people." Unfortunately, it's true. Huntsville is where the death penalty is played out for inmates on death row. Being a strong opponent of the death penalty, I take no pleasure in this.

I was driving around town, in Huntsville today, and saw a billboard that read: "Cherish Life" at the top, with a picture of a baby below it. Without even having to look back, I knew what the billboard must be referring to. Sure enough. It was about abortion.

Here's what I don't get. People want to apply a certain "ethic" of life to the abortion issue. Their slant is that people should not be intentionally killed, as they apply their line of reasoning to an unborn fetus. But these same people will then say that people who do especially bad things should be killed (i.e. the death penalty).

Now I believe there should be consequences for bad things, particularly evil, sinister things, like murder. But I just do not think it's okay to kill people. How can the same person who says, "cherish life" about babies not apply the same ethic to babies who grow up to be adults? How is it ever okay to kill people?