Another anecdote from the fast-food establishment that continues to miss opportunities for free advertising in this space: I saw a worker walk to the edge of the food preparation area, turn 180 degrees, fix her ponytail, wash her hands, and return to work. First of all, I pay attention to things. I notice unusual behavior. …
Because I love torturing myself, I occasionally use social media to check on some of the Christians I have known in the past who have shown signs of faith slippage. Invariably I find what I expect. It’s a sickness. I need to stop.
Anyway, one lovely young girl from our past got a tattoo on her foot awhile back. It reads, “Everything happens for a reason.” She has a beautiful baby girl now. Never been married. I doubt she sees the irony.
In the latest installment of This Week on Facebook, I present a meme: “Just imagine how great life would be if biscuits and gravy made you skinny.”
Well, sure. But why stop there? Let’s wish that video games increased our intelligence, or alcohol improved our driving, or pornography strengthened our marriages. The only difference is, I’ve heard people actually argue the last three. Not even kidding.
Here’s the report from planet earth, though: Good choices are frequently painful choices, and indulgent choices are rarely good choices. I am no stoic, but I must decry the rampant hedonism in our culture that has been sold to us as a tonic for what ails us.
Medicine tastes bad. Exercise hurts. Work wears you out. And yes, tragically, healthy food is less appetizing than fattening, artery-clogging food. Frankly, we should be highly suspicious when someone tries to tell us different.
But we do have a tendency to believe “information” that supports our indulgences. Most of my brethren who have tried to get around the clear teaching of Matthew 19:6 and Matthew 19:9, for instance, have a divorce and remarriage situation very close to home. The truth does not always hurt, granted; however, it doesn’t become less truthful when it does hurt.
God’s word is truth (John 17:17). Our current understanding of it may or may not be truth. We owe it to ourselves to be honest — painfully honest. If it means giving up a tasty morsel or two, so be it.
Enough, already.
Enough judging a man in his 50s for an isolated incident, or even several of them, that may or may not have happened when he was a teenager.
Enough judging a woman for daring to have a smile on her face at some point in time when the most important thing in her life is her allegations of being assaulted.
Enough giving credence to everyone who supports our own preconceived values and principles. Enough dismissing and/or excoriating everyone who opposes them.
I am fascinated by the “Why” of things. The “What” is usually more important, but it is also usually self-evident. I don’t need people to explain the “What” in most instances. I ask my children, “What are you doing?” all the time, but usually I know already — either nothing at all, something that makes no sense, or something that is taking the place of what they are supposed to be doing. In other words, it’s a “Why” question in disguise.
