Happy Friday
I buffet my body and make it my slave.
I Corinthians 9
After being a Christ-follower for ten years, many have relived year one ten times rather than mature. Why? Because spiritual growth requires discipline and sacrifice, and many are not very interested in either. What they may not realize is, our options are limited. We either face the pain of the spiritual disciplines we choose, or we face the pain that flows out of spiritual immaturity and sin. The first is preferable.
Read Revelation 22 Lately? Watching the rerun of our team coming from behind to win an exciting game does not change the ending of the game, but it does change us.
It Seems to Me: 1) Our ever-alert egos might allow us to see our own blind spots more readily if we called them character defenses rather than character defects; 2) Labor unions have been enjoying a good year; 3) We are headed for more contested elections and political chaos; 4) A lot of people are expending a lot of energy to avoid reality, but reality will win in the end; 5) Politics is an increasingly common but always unsatisfying substitute for religion.
FWIW: I am thankful that Ayman al-Zawahiri’s influence has ended, but I am unsettled by our ability to use a limited drone strike to remove a leader in a country in which we are not operating. Technology almost always: 1) Spreads; 2) Becomes cheaper; and 3) Becomes more powerful. I am trying to imagine the world circa 2040.
Without Comment: 1) A comprehensive study of 21 billion social connections on Facebook suggests that a primary driver of economic mobility is childhood friendships between different economic classes; 2) In 2007 there was one gender clinic in the U.S. today there are 300; 3) When Nicky Gumbel took over Alpha, 500K people were participating in Alpha courses every year. Before retiring, the count had grown to 30 million; 4) The Dallas Cowboys – who are valued at 7.6B – are again the most valuable franchise in all of sports; 5) 22% of U.S. workers say they are very or somewhat likely to look for a new job in the next six months.
Saints: The word saint does not appear in the New Testament in the singular. We really are in this together.
WOTW: I thought about deflation (which I suspect is a bigger – and longer-term – concern than inflation) but I’m going with cultural velocity instead. In Hemingway’s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises, the author has his protagonist famously describe how he went bankrupt by stating, “Gradually and then suddenly.” I have toyed with naming suddenly the WOTW. But it never quite felt right. Cultural Velocity is a clearer way of saying there is a lot of suddenly happening out there.
Speaking of Velocity: The earth is picking up speed. On June 29th our day was a full 1.59 milliseconds shorter than an average day. I fell behind on that day and I have yet to catch up.
Cultivating an Eternal Perspective: A tourist meeting a well-known rabbi was surprised by the austerity of the famous scholar’s home. A table, a chair, and a bed comprised the entirety of his furnishings. “Is that all you have?” he asked. The rabbi smiled and pointed out the fact that the tourist had only a few belongings with him. “But I’m just passing through” the man explained. “So am I,” said the rabbi. (BTW, so are you.)
Worth Your Time: 1) This WSJ piece challenges the view that religion is in decline; 2) In honor of the 110th anniversary of Milton Friedman’s birthday, I am including this classic 3 minute video of the legendary economist’s interview with Donahue.
Closing Prayer: Lord, I can see plainly that you are the only and the true source of wisdom, since you alone can restore faith and hope to a doubting and despairing soul. In your Son, Jesus, you have shown me that even the most terrible suffering can be beautiful, if it is in obedience to your will. And so, the knowledge of your Son has enabled me to find joy in my own suffering. Lord, my dear Father, I kneel before you this day, and praise you fervently for my present sufferings, and give thanks for the measureless sufferings of the past. I now realize that all these sufferings are part of your paternal love, in which you chastise and purify me. And through that discipline I now look at you without shame and terror because I know that you are preparing me for your eternal kingdom. Amen. Henry Suso (1295–1366)