Happy Friday,
Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.
Luke, Acts 16:25
In Acts 16, Luke shows how hard it can be to get something done, even when God’s behind it. What makes this passage so powerful is that it describes their behavior following being beaten and thrown into jail. I used to think Paul and Silas were just that full of joy. I now think their singing was their effort to lift their spirits and shape their hearts.
Practice Makes Permanent: Practice doesn’t make perfect, but it does establish patterns-–i.e., make permanent. Almost anything we do once is easier to do twice. This is true of both virtues and vices. Where are your habits leading you?
True/False: 1) The most common way we are misled by the news is by reporters who lie; 2) The least happy people in America are the elderly; 3) States that legalize marijuana underestimate the revenue it will generate; 4) Potatoes are the third largest source of calories in the world; 5) Government hiring accounted for 25% of the new jobs in the US this year; 6) Japan’s decade-long, multi-billion dollar campaign to raise their birth rate is working; and 7) People no longer trust science.
Worth Noting: Most organizations must update their product line to stay relevant. Alcoholics Anonymous is among the few that are aging very well. Their approach—meetings, sponsors, accountability, transparency— remains unchanged.
Things British: It was convenient that Lakelight’s C.S. Lewis tour had us in Britain for their peaceful transition of power. I took notes! BTW, though I appreciated much of the new PM’s acceptance speech, I took exception with his promise to govern Britain “unburdened by doctrine.” Oh no! It’s not just that not having a doctrine is a doctrine; it’s that those who say they don’t have a doctrine have the most aggressive and oppressive doctrines of all.
Yes!: Several editorial boards channeled Lincoln in reporting on the assassination attempt. I appreciated the NYT and WSJ and especially (even?) the WaPo, “Can this, then, be a moment to pause and rediscover our better selves?… Americans, what do we want to be? It’s not up to politicians, or editorial pages. The responsibility is ours, as neighbors and citizens. In fact, this republic is ours, as Benjamin Franklin said, ‘if we can keep it.’ Let us begin today.”
With Malice Toward None; With Charity For All: Speaking of Lincoln, though Abe is not on the ballot (trust me, I keep checking), we can learn from him all the same. Ponder this from his first inaugural speech: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” Abe 2024!
WOTW: Honorable mention goes to 1) client journalism (which I saw on display when a reporter who, having previously assured us that President Biden was “sharp as a tack,” was complaining that the press had not reported about Biden’s mental acuity); 2) silver squatters (the 1 in 4 family members now 55+ who will require financial support from their family when they retire); 3) divorce divide (the marked difference in voting patterns not just between married and divorced people, but between divorced men and divorced women); and 4) the exhausted middle (from this still important 2018 Hidden Tribes article). I was going to give full honors to the exhausted middle until I started using the phrase Crack Boom to describe thunder and lightning. (Those who suspect the winning entry was unwittingly submitted by our 2-year-old granddaughter may be on to something. Full disclosure: when it comes to crack boom, she’s not a big fan).
Answers: 1) F: We are less likely to be misinformed by reporters who lie than we are under-informed by reporters whose story selection favors their viewpoint; 2) F: The saddest people in the US today are young girls; 3) Both T and F: Some states have been surprised by the revenue, but others find that black market sales suppress projections; 4) T: Rice and wheat are 1 and 2. Corn and Potatoes get listed as #3; 5) T: Per this report, government hiring accounted for one-quarter of new jobs last quarter; 6) F: This BBC report suggests that Japan has spent $200B to date. This report places the number somewhat lower, but both agree that the massive spending efforts are failing—in fact, that since the spending began, the country’s birth rate has dropped from 1.6 to .99; and 7) F: I think it would be more accurate—though equally tragic—to say that people have not lost trust in science as much as they have scientists.
1 Picture > 1,000 Words: This chart says much about the “success” of the sexual revolution. If only someone had warned us that sex was wonderful but fragile and best reserved for a covenant relationship between one man and one woman for a lifetime.
Closing Prayer: In keeping with the British theme, the closing prayer is from the Book of Common Prayer: Almighty God… Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom, in thy Name, we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home… all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, “For Our Nation,” #39.)