Happy Friday,
For God so loved the world that He gave His only son.
John 3:16
If these words strike you as shopworn — i.e., if they do not stagger you — slow down and let them do their work. In John 15, we are directed to the unbelievable display of love that happens when someone lays down their life for another. I would like to note that, like most parents, I’d choose to die 10,000 painful deaths rather than send one of my sons to his death. Now, read John 3:16 again. God the Father sent His only Son to die for you.
Remember Your Role: Many approach church as consumers — i.e., as an audience waiting to be entertained and inspired. But as Kierkegaard noted, worshippers are not an audience; “worshippers are performers; pastors are prompters; and God is the audience.”
IS2M: 1) It doesn’t matter which Western Civ decided to devalue first, the elderly or wisdom. The results are the same, and they are tragic; 2) One of the worst things partisan news sources do is amplify the other side’s lunatic fringe. Many people can spot — and dismiss — the lunatics on their own side but have a harder time doing so with those on the other side; and 3) In this culture, the ability to focus is a big competitive advantage.
Without Comment: 1) According to this Gallup report, trust in most professions is dropping, and the perception of clergy is now at a record low. 2) According to this NPR report, the US Army has missed its recruiting goals for most of the last decade.
RE: Sex: 1) According to this report, syphilis cases in the US have risen to their highest level since the 1950s, up nearly 80% from 2018; 2) In the 1950s, The Yale Review refused to publish sermons from 16th-century Puritan preachers because The Review deemed them “too sexually explicit” and “racy;” 3) According to this Wall Street Journal report, 22% of Americans have engaged in “consensual non-monogamy;” and 4) According to this study, couples who were “sexually inexperienced” prior to marriage and have only had sex with their spouse were the most likely to report a “very satisfied” level of overall marital satisfaction.
WOTW: Honorable mention goes to 1) “anger entertainment,” which describes much of today’s TV and some of its news, and 2) “BCI,” which stands for brain-computer interface. BCI is a term I learned after hearing that Neuralink has implanted its first device in the brain of a living human subject. (I try not to think about the fact that Neuralink is being brought our way by the guy who runs X.) In an effort to lighten your Friday, I’m giving full WOTW honors to “burrito season,” which I only learned about after reading that Chipotle was hiring an additional 19,000 employees to help meet the heightened demand of March through May’s burrito season.
Three Things To Remember: 1) The things we do, do things to us — i.e., we are formed (or malformed) by the choices we make and the habits we adopt; 2) The sins we can’t forget, God doesn’t remember; and 3) The Bible uses grace, not guilt, to motivate us.
Resources: Click here to listen to the first lecture on C.S. Lewis, which covers his early life and conversion. There is still time to sign up for the class in person or online. Click here to hear what is supposed to happen on Sunday morning and why Exodus 24 is one of the most important chapters in the Bible; here to attend a Lewis lecture in Naples, FL, on Feb. 22; and here to sign up for a News Rules talk in Highlands Ranch, CO, on Feb. 26.
Bonus: In prepping for my class on C.S. Lewis, I ran across this recording of a talk he gave on prayer. I do not believe I’d heard him speak before. FWIW, his voice on tape matches the one in my head.
The Nones: The largest religious story of ’23 was the rise of the Nones — i.e., the 28% of the population who describe themselves as atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular.” According to this Pew report: 1) most Nones believe in God but do not attend religious services; 2) most believe religion does some harm and some good; and 3) most vote and volunteer less than religiously affiliated people, atheists, or agnostics. (BTW, the second largest religious story is the rise of non-denominational churches. For more on that, click here.)
Closing Prayer: O Light eternal, surpassing all created brightness, flash forth the lightning from above and enlighten the inmost recesses of my heart. Cleanse, cheer, enlighten, and enliven my spirit with all its powers, that it may cling to you in ecstasies of joy. Oh, when will that happy and wished-for hour come, when you will fill me with your presence and become all in all to me? So long as this is not given me, my joy will not be complete. Amen. (Thomas à Kempis, 1380 – 1471)