Happy Good Friday,
“In humility value others above yourselves.”
Paul, Philippians 2
Given that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” in the image of our Holy Creator, we are not directed towards self-loathing. We are, however, invited to follow Christ’s lead and be self-emptying. The goal is not to think less of ourselves but to think of ourselves less. It is seldom fun to head down this path, but as GKC stated, we become taller when we bow.
Good Friday: Those living in other countries call today Holy Friday, Passion Friday, and the Friday of the Lament. Why do Americans call it Good Friday? I do not know. I’ve read that “Good Friday” is an abbreviation of “God’s Friday,” but of course it isn’t. Calling Good Friday God’s Friday would be an abbreviation, but calling God’s Friday Good Friday is not. I’ve also been told it has something to do with the positive spin Americans try to put on everything. All I know is that because it was an unthinkably bad day for Christ, it is a very good day for me.
Suffering, Silicon Valley, and Job 36: In his recent remarks at Stanford, Jensen Huang — the billionaire co-founder of Nvidia — told students, “I hope suffering happens to you.” Huang went on to state that success and resilience require “ample doses of pain,” because “greatness is not intelligence. Greatness comes from character. And character isn’t formed out of smart people, it’s formed out of people who suffered.” Job said something similar several thousand years ago. At least, I think that is what Job 36:15 means. It reads: God “delivers the afflicted by their affliction.”
The Value of Scripture Memory: The Gospels contain 1,800 verses of Jesus speaking. Ten percent are quotes from the Old Testament. In other words, ten percent of the things said by the Word of God were already the Word of God. Are ten percent of your comments quotes from the Bible? One percent? Point zero one percent? Point zero, zero one percent? BTW, when Jesus was being tempted by Satan, His responses all came from Deuteronomy.
WOTW: Honorable mention goes to mendacity (being untruthful, telling lies) recently cited by a judge complaining about an “odor of mendacity” in his courtroom and philodoxical (which means “love of opinion” standing in contrast to philosophical, which means “love of wisdom”). Full honors go to the genus of terms surrounding DINK (Dual Income No Kids). I’m referring to DINKWAD (Dinks with a Dog), SINK (Single Income No Kids), and DINKY (Dual Income No Kids Yet). Sheri and I happily transitioned from DINKSAHs (Dual Income No Kids Still at Home) to grandparents.
Without Comment: 1) According to this Gallup poll, more than one in five Gen Zers (those 11 to 23 years old) identify as LGBTQ+; 2) According to Xdata, X (formerly Twitter) is averaging over 8 billion active user minutes per day, up ten percent over last year; 3) Following the pandemic: private school enrollment increased 4%, and homeschool enrollment increased 30% (3.7M students now attend a charter school); 4) There are only three and a half months before Bears Training camp opens; and 5) This article states that the average bonus on Wall Street last year was $176K, down 2% from 2022 (please do not tell the Christ Church or Lakelight staff).
Quotes Worth Requoting: 1) “Technology is neither good nor bad nor neutral.” Melvin Kranzberg 2) “We are overprotecting our children in the real world while under-protecting them online.” Tim Carney
Was Rand Right? My brief mention of Henry Rearden in last week’s Update rattled those with strong opinions about Ayn Rand. FWIW, I enjoyed Atlas Shrugged (especially Roark’s resilience) but moved on after discovering her book The Virtue of Selfishness and realized what she was selling. On bad days, I’m tempted by her “everyone look out for themselves / let them eat cake” approach. On good days, I read the Sermon on the Mount and aspire to “do unto others what you would have them do unto you.”
Do Not Open Until Sunday: Even though one-third of the Synoptic Gospels — and one-half of John — focus on the last week of Christ’s life, those Christians whose spiritual life is shaped by Sunday mornings and little else jump from Christ’s Triumphal Entry to Easter morning, skipping everything in between (such as Judas’s betrayal, Peter’s denial, the Last Supper, Pilate’s handwashing, and the crucifixion). Don’t be that person. Today is not Easter. Wait until Sunday AM to watch this video.
My Car: Much of my recent Update email has been related to my stolen car. For those who are curious: 1) My 2013 Hyundai Sonata was stolen from my driveway three weeks ago; 2) As predicted, the police found it in downtown Chicago four days later; 3) The police believe it was used in a crime; 4) The thief drove it so hard that the engine seized up, which led my insurance company to declare it a total loss; 5) I briefly considered replacing it with the turbo-charged Porsche 911s (you can get a nice one for just less than $400K) but ended up getting another Hyundai Sonata.
Resources: I will be speaking at a Lakelight event in Indianapolis on Tuesday, April 16th at 7 PM. The topic is On the News: How and Why the News Has Changed. How it is Changing You. And What to Do About. The location is TBD. If you are interested in more info or want to attend click here.
Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, our Savior, let us now come to you: Our hearts are cold; Lord, warm them with your selfless love. Our hearts are sinful; cleanse them with your precious blood. Our hearts are weak; strengthen them with your joyful Spirit. Our hearts are empty; fill them with your divine presence. Lord Jesus, our hearts are yours; possess them always and only for yourself. Amen. Augustine of Hippo, (354-430)