Happy Friday,
gegraptai
Jesus, Luke 4:4
Jesus framed his response to temptation around the word: gegraptai – i.e., it is written. When tempted in the wilderness, he cited passages out of Deuteronomy, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone’”; “It is written: ‘Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God’”; and “It is written: ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.’” It is worth noting that Jesus was not citing these passages for Satan’s benefit, but for his own. He was reminding himself of the path he was to follow. The term gegraptai settled it for him. Jesus chose to live in obedience to the Scriptures.
Spin: Those who doubt the power of spin are invited to guess what classic movie this 1998 movie guide was referencing: “Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets, and then teams up with three strangers to kill again.”
Without Comment: 1) We currently use five trillion plastic bags per year – that is 700 per person; 2) New York schools spent $200K last year on drag queens; 3) In addition to holding us back, fear saves us from making stupid decisions; 4) Children are now being born to parents who were not alive when Shrek first aired; 5) In 1958, nearly 75% of Americans trusted the federal government “to do the right thing most of the time.” Today only 21% do; 6) In 2020 the number of abortions inched up for the first time in thirty years.
WOTW: My reading on higher education led me to consider self-censorship and reputational consequences as this week’s Word of the Week, but I am going with tarmac misery instead. It seems appropriate given the spike in ticket prices and flight delays.
Spin Answer: The movie being referenced was: The Wizard of Oz.
Perspective: After fearing that he sounded like his grandparents – who were always complaining about how bad the world was getting – a friend said to me, “Of course you do think things are getting worse, don’t you?” Well… it’s complicated. Some things are getting worse, but some are getting better. What strikes me is how often the news is focused on the wrong issues, and how challenging it currently is to remain biblically faithful and radically loving.
It seems to me that: 1) Twitter is filled with people willing to exchange self-respect for publicity; 2) Reasonable is the new radical; 3) A lot of people are paying $100 per month to store things they do not need, do not miss and will never look at again; 4) The 41-year-old actor – who has secular views but no children – should rethink his statement that, “People who do not share my worldview will go extinct;” 5) Recent attacks on pro-life centers and other faith-based organizations are being under-reported in the news; 6) Just about everything is being politicized today.
Take-Aways: Two weeks ago, I asked what you had learned from the “COVID-racial-strife-mask-mandate-election-results-etc.-cocktail” we’ve been living through. In addition to noting that it’s never a bad idea to store extra toilet paper – and although Jesus will return, “normal” will not – three themes emerged: 1) We are in worse shape than we thought; 2) We need each other more than we thought; and 3) We have less control than we thought.
Comments on Your Take-Aways: After rereading most of your emails, I was struck by a few things: 1) The three most common learnings are all Biblical themes; 2) Some of you are angrier than I realized (and more than I recommend); and 3) Government and science took some big hits.
Self Awareness: It’s been a few weeks since I’ve shared a movie scene. This one – which is from the 1999 film, The Big Kahuna – captures the efforts of a senior salesman (Danny DeVito) to help a younger man (Peter Facinelli) be a bit less self-righteous. I do not agree with everything DeVito shares – and it’s painful to watch – but it highlights an important point: We often do not see ourselves very accurately.
Quote Worth Requoting: I spent a long time trying to come to grips with my doubts. And suddenly I realized that I had better come to grips with what I believed. I have since moved away from the agony of the questions that I cannot answer, to the reality of the answers that I cannot escape… and it’s a great relief. Thomas Skinner
Two Personal Updates: Brynn Leigh Woodruff was born yesterday, and she is perfect! I am stepping back during July to enjoy becoming a grandfather, to finish writing a book and to attend to several other things. The Friday Update will be written by others.
Closing Prayer: Lord, we pray this day mindful of the sorry confusion of our world. Look with mercy upon this generation of your children so steeped in misery of their own contriving, so far strayed from your ways and so blinded by passions. We pray for the victims of tyranny, that they may resist oppression with courage. We pray for wicked and cruel men, whose arrogance reveals to us what the sin of our own hearts is like when it has conceived and brought forth its final fruit. We pray for ourselves who live in peace and quietness, that we may not regard our good fortune as proof of our virtue, or rest content to have our ease at the price of other’s sorrow and tribulation. Amen. (Reinhold Niebuhr – 1892 – 1971)