I just got back from a business trip to Washington DC. While we were there, we all went to eat in a bar. Now, Texas is known for it's bar folk (friends in low places, right?). But DC is now in the running for classiest barfly.
I walk into the Men's room to pee, and there's a guy standing at one of the urinals wearing a sleeveless (torn-off) black t-shirt, holding a cigarette and peeing with the same hand. Careful there, buddy. That's the stuff that hilarious & embarassing trips to the hospital are made of. There was no divider between the urinals which made me a little (a lot) uncomfortable, but as a dude you can't walk out on account of that. So I had to pee next to him.
He immediately strikes up a conversation:
Barfly: "How bout this fantastic weather?"
Me: "Yeah, it's pretty nasty"
Barfly: "Is it still pouring outside?"
Me: "Nah, it's cleared up"
Barfly: "It was pouring rain when I got here at 3"
Me: (What time is it? 7:00? You've been here for 4 hours?) "Well, it's sleeting a little"
I mention I'm from Dallas and we make small talk about football. While washing my hands, I notice the words on his shirt: "I'm not a gynecologist ... but I'll take a look". Classy.
So I decided that I need to hang out at bars more. This is probably the kind of person that Jesus hung out with all the time.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
No Fix
I had a thought about Karma.
Karma assumes that there is no God who created & owns everything.
Otherwise, any sin is a violation of God's created order, and we are powerless to fix what we break. Imagine God's creation is a glass window, and you have a hammer. God made the window, but you dishonor God by breaking it. Now, you can clean it up and throw it away, but you can't put that window back together.
Therefore, doing good things to make up for the bad things you've done doesn't really make sense. It's like comparing apples and oranges; it's two different things. Doing something good would be washing the window. Doing something good to make up for something bad would be like washing the broken window pieces. That doesn't even make sense, and you'd probably cut yourself. OK, the analogy kinda broke down there, but I think the point is clear.
God makes this clear in the sacrifice system of the old testament. He doesn't demand good works to atone for sins; He demands sacrifice. Somehow, in a way I don't understand (but I might if I were in seminary), blood atones for sin. And it's the only thing that does. Thank God for the gift of His Son, whose blood covered our sins once and for all.
Paul said something similar in Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Karma assumes that there is no God who created & owns everything.
Otherwise, any sin is a violation of God's created order, and we are powerless to fix what we break. Imagine God's creation is a glass window, and you have a hammer. God made the window, but you dishonor God by breaking it. Now, you can clean it up and throw it away, but you can't put that window back together.
Therefore, doing good things to make up for the bad things you've done doesn't really make sense. It's like comparing apples and oranges; it's two different things. Doing something good would be washing the window. Doing something good to make up for something bad would be like washing the broken window pieces. That doesn't even make sense, and you'd probably cut yourself. OK, the analogy kinda broke down there, but I think the point is clear.
God makes this clear in the sacrifice system of the old testament. He doesn't demand good works to atone for sins; He demands sacrifice. Somehow, in a way I don't understand (but I might if I were in seminary), blood atones for sin. And it's the only thing that does. Thank God for the gift of His Son, whose blood covered our sins once and for all.
Paul said something similar in Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Chains of Freedom
I've been reading "The Mythical Man-Month", a book on software engineering by Fredrick P. Brooks. One of the things he says is, "Discipline is good for art. The external provision of an architecture enhances, not cramps, the creative style of an implementing group."
This reminded me of an analogy my Dad likes to use. A kite on a string feels constrained by its tether, but once the tether is cut, the kite crashes to the earth. He uses this analogy to describe the laws of God, and how they feel like they unfairly restrain our lives sometimes, but they are actually for our good, and without them our lives spiral into disaster.
I noticed something in these 3 situations. The "constraints" along the way save us from failing the ultimate judgment at the end. If we ignore the constraint, we can feel "free" for a while. But judgment will always come. A desire to be "free" from constraints demonstrates a misunderstanding of our purpose. Software is written to be useful. Kites are built to fly. People are created to glorify God. Desiring to be "free" from constraint is a declaration of our desire to pursue something other than what we were designed for. Ultimately, everything is judged as to how well it accomplishes it's purpose.
Jesus said the same thing.
Luke 20:17-18 - "But Jesus looked at them and said, 'What then is this that is written, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE"? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.'"
This reminded me of an analogy my Dad likes to use. A kite on a string feels constrained by its tether, but once the tether is cut, the kite crashes to the earth. He uses this analogy to describe the laws of God, and how they feel like they unfairly restrain our lives sometimes, but they are actually for our good, and without them our lives spiral into disaster.
I noticed something in these 3 situations. The "constraints" along the way save us from failing the ultimate judgment at the end. If we ignore the constraint, we can feel "free" for a while. But judgment will always come. A desire to be "free" from constraints demonstrates a misunderstanding of our purpose. Software is written to be useful. Kites are built to fly. People are created to glorify God. Desiring to be "free" from constraint is a declaration of our desire to pursue something other than what we were designed for. Ultimately, everything is judged as to how well it accomplishes it's purpose.
Jesus said the same thing.
Luke 20:17-18 - "But Jesus looked at them and said, 'What then is this that is written, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE"? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.'"
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