Happy Friday,
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23
I collect odd references to humans. I’m talking about things like: carbon-based bi-peds, trousered apes, bruised reeds, philosophical primates, homo religious, the temporary pinnacle of the evolutionary process, meat machines, brains on a stick, etc. Given that we are made in the image of God, I take issue with most of them. But lately, I’ve been particularly bothered by the “brains on a stick” slur. I get that our ability to outthink other animals is noteworthy. And I want to be quick to direct people to the biblical instructions to “hold every thought captive” (2 Cor. 10:5) and to direct our thoughts towards things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8). But I am increasingly aware that we are led by our heart more than our head. Men and women, guard your heart.
Ugh: Years ago, a friend told me he was stepping down from pastoring because he was “tired of hearing his own voice.” I get it, although I am worried about not being more tired of hearing my own voice.
Navigating the Moment: At the moment, many are making much of various storm clouds: our coming war with China, our border crisis, the impending AI insurrection, the collapse of our birth rate, the collapse of the US dollar, the collapse of (well, you know the list). How are we to respond to such catastrophizing? I can think of no better answer than to meditate on Paul’s counsel to the Romans: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation and constant in prayer.” (Romans 12:12)
WOTW: Honorable mention goes to spatial computing device, the term Apple is using for Vision Pro, “the company’s first major release since the Apple Watch debuted in 2015,” and zopa, the anacronym for Zone of Protection Area that seems to have quickly achieved word status. Full honors go to de-accessioning, as in, “libraries are de-accessioning their older books.” I don’t know if I am more scandalized by the clunkiness of the term or the idea that libraries are getting rid of old books. BTW, while I’m whining, I’m growing tired of unprecedented. We are suddenly facing unprecedented threats, experiencing unprecedented rancor, and being buffeted by unprecedented weather. Please do what you can to put an end to the unprecedented use of unprecedented. It’s maddening.
Valentine’s Day: Like many “holidays,” Valentine’s Day started as a “holy day.” Details are sketchy, but the commemoration seems to pivot around a 3rd-century martyr named Valentine, who secretly performed Christian marriage ceremonies for Roman guards forbidden to marry because Emperor Claudius wanted their entire devotion directed to Rome. Some think there is more to the story. Perhaps. You can read Mike Metzger’s take here. Suffice it to say, discussions about the real meaning of Feb. 14th are more enjoyable if you don’t forget the holiday. It’s next Wednesday — which is also Ash Wednesday. On a related note, the San Antonio Zoo will again sponsor its Cry Me a Cockroach fund-raising event. For a modest donation, you can temporarily name either a roach or the lizard-eating roach that will eat it after your ex. Last year, over 7,000 people participated.
Without Comment: 1) The average price of a 2024 Super Bowl ticket is $12,240, up 38% from last year; 2) Per this report, drug addicts now outnumber high school students in San Francisco; 3) Per this report, undergraduate enrollment fell eight percent between 2019 and 2022; and 4) Per this report, Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” remains the most popular song played at funerals.
Quote Worth Requoting: “If you want a recipe for unhappiness, spend your time accumulating a lot of money and let your health and relationships deteriorate.” James Clear
Resources / Trips / Options: Click here to get information on a News Rules talk — i.e., News Rules: How and Why the News Has Changed; How these Changes are Changing You; And What to do About It — I am giving at a men’s breakfast event in Bonita Springs, FL on February 22; here to attend a Lewis lecture I’m giving in Naples, FL that same evening; here to sign up for the News Rules talk in Highlands Ranch, CO on Feb. 26, or here to learn more about (or to sign up for) The World of CS Lewis: Oxford, Cambridge and London Tour that I am leading July 5 – 12.
This Week’s Sign that the Apocalypse is Upon Us: Between college athletes making money on their likeness, men competing in women’s sports, the NCAA’s complicity with legalized gambling on college events, the disruption caused by the football portal — and a half dozen other things — I didn’t think college sports could become less appealing. But then the Dartmouth men’s B-ball team got a green light to vote on unionizing.
More on the Ethical Non-Monogamy: According to this Pew study, 51% of adults under 30 believe that open marriage is a good thing. While there is something more ethical about being open about your non-monogamy, I wish people understood that life (and marriage) is hard enough when you follow the rules. Plans that endorse multiple sexual partners hurt women, hurt children, increase divorce, and cause emotional pain. Furthermore, they are a luxury belief that disproportionately disadvantages the poor. Sin — which is another way to talk about Non-Monogamy — is ultimately self-destructive behavior. We do not break God’s laws; we break ourselves against them.
FWIW: 1) I’ve not seen season four of The Chosen (which will be available via the app on March 1), but I’ve heard good things; 2) Now would be a good time to think about how you are going to walk through Lent. Christ Church will be hosting Ash Wednesday services at most of the campuses, and I will again be re-reading the first 100 pages of Les Miserables, trying to figure out how I can be more like the priest who gives John Valjean the candelabras.
Closing Prayer: O Lord, I do not know what to ask of you. You alone know what are my true needs. You love me more than I myself know how to love. Help me to see my real needs, which are concealed from me. I dare not ask for either a cross or a consolation; I can only wait on you. My heart is open to you. Come to me and help me, for your great mercy’s sake…I put all my trust in you. I have no other desire than to fulfill your will. Teach me how to pray; pray yourself in me. Amen. (Patriarch Theodore Philaret of Moscow – 1553 – 1633)