for all you who need both help and a good laugh...hilarious i tell ya..
http://www.thytruth.com/dan/archives/000033.html
I have two things to write about, something pretty goofy and something that taps off of my other blog. Since it makes more sense to do the latter, I’ll save the goofy one for later.
From that rally this weekend, one notable observation dchi and I discussed was the large number of people who came to take a stance for seemingly theoretical issue of marriage – really truth. Though it’s important to take stance for truth, it’s also interesting to contrast how little of these people take stance for social justice. Again, this is not to discount the importance of preserving marriage, but isn’t social justice something that’s also emphasized in the Bible? If you read the OT, I believe it’s the book of Amos and Isaiah that spoke about God’s burning anger against the Israelites in forgetting Him; they being so consumed with themselves that they not only disregarded the poor, but also became indirect exploiters of them. During a period of prosperity, the Israelites lived for themselves, even adorning their houses with “ivory”. They forgot God; they forgot other people.
It may be bold for me to say this: I not an exception, but perhaps we/I are/am also person/s who have become apathetic to the plight of the poor, the destitute, and forgotten; that if we/I look introspectively, we/I am/are confronted with our indifference, perhaps our/my indirect involvement in forgetting, lacking compassion, and disregarding the needed.
My purpose is really not to condemn or impart guilt. It’s to honestly process my observation, converting it to something concrete, into some type of conviction. It’s to embrace reality in its fullness, both bad and good. The bad being our neglect, the good being God’s grace. So don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t mean we should feel bad that we might be wealthy, have nice possessions, or in general be immensely blessed. It does mean being mindful of God, genuinely remembering Him. I heard a common definition for love defined by the opposite of it – to forget. It’s only in remembering our own poverty and God’s grace that we remember others and have compassion. In other words, as we don’t forget – love – God, we don’t forget – love – others, the poor.
Alright, I hope this doesn’t sound like fire and brimstone. I’m by far from arriving, and I definitely won’t be the first to throw the stone. I apologize if I sounded accusational or over generalized. I still believe that more important than anything else is walking with God, not the things we do or fail to do. So I do hope this is reminder to love God, so we would fully live truth not just in marriage, but also broadly in God’s kingdom, in God’s glory, in God’s justice….
Anyhow, sorry for another long one. I think too much…work in progress indeed. :)
gear
Today was interesting day. I participated in a rally spurred by 150 churches in the Bay Area to peacefully and gracefully oppose Gavin Newson’s position on gay marriage. Pastor Jeff gave a good message that offered a moderate and balanced perspective on upholding truth and God’s ordination of marriage, yet doing so with grace and love. The rally involved wearing t-shirts and holding signs on 19th Ave. that emphasize marriage as defined and appropriated between a man and a woman. It took place between 3-5. It was a pretty hot day, but it was good to be united with other churches that offer a differing voice than that of our culture, especially San Francisco. It appeared that the majority of the churches represented were Asian ones; mixed in were with some African American and multi-ethic churches.
While walking along 19th holding a sign, dchi, dshinn, and I ran into some folks living on 19th who viewed the rally as a hateful one. We stopped and talked with them in effort to clarify that our rally was strictly to offer a differing and preserving view of marriage; that it was intended to uphold truth without the miscommunication of hatred. Except for a couple of folks, the discussions taken place were relatively peaceful and respectful. However, one or two of the guys were rather hostile. They were very presumptuous about our character, perspective, and intentions; that we had nothing better to do than stand up for traditional marriage, and neglect issues of greater importance like the war going on in Iraq. I responded by telling this particular person that it’s not good to assume that we don’t care about issues in Iraq; that in fact, we do care, but it doesn’t mean we dismiss local issues altogether. After talking with those folks for a while, I realized that instead of weakening my faith, it actually strengthened it because it showed me how much I needed God - His absoluteness from which I based and purpose my life – and how much they needed God. These people are a reflection of apathy and aimlessness of the X-generation. They believe in freedom in everything, yet in some ways, seemingly don’t do anything about it. They subscribe to an idealism and maintain it by drowning out reality, an opposition, through living along the relativeness of society, which for some young adults means drinking and hanging out. There is neither direction or passion in life to live – they just live. This goes to show that apathy, which is also found in the church, may be a product of our relativistic society. People care in theory, but don’t care with action. Anyhow, an African American believer came by and began dialoguing further with these people. He did a fantastic job in quoting scripture, being direct and real, and sharing about himself. I was amazed at his charisma, articulating his points very clearly, but doing so in a very connective way. Hmm…if only I were as gifted and talented as this man.
Alright, I would write more, but I should get to sleep. ….
gear
Alright, I have something to write about. Lately, I've been thinking about the red and blue pill from the movie Matrix. Apart from the poor acting performances, especially from stoic man Keanu Reeves, the movie illustrates the importance of truth, human freedom, and ultimate realities.
When first exposed to the greater reality of things seen and felt, Neo was stunned to point of disbelief. He was undergoing an expansion of perspective. Everything through that point in his life; what was given, implanted, and conditioned in him were not just incomplete, but were lies - they were false. As the argument for this greater reality became more conceivable, Neo was given the privilege of choice. He received a general understanding of the absolute, and was now at a crossroad in life. Morphius needed Neo's consent before taking him further. If he circumvented choice, a partial reason for Morphius fight and cause, he would be no better than the machines, regardless of good intentions, even assured victories. In the purest sense, you cannot combat wrong with lesser wrongs or obtain freedom through lesser freedoms. The path to victory would be rooted in contradiction. A choice in the form of pills needed to be given to Neo.
The choice represented freedom, but the pills themselves represented perhaps something even greater - all lies (blue pill) and truth (red pill). More significant than freedom or human choice, there is this philosophical envelope where truth and "all lies" battle each other through the lives of humans. Even in the choice, the compelling reason for the red pill was not so much founded on freedom as in truth. Neo was more compelled by truth than anything else - it hard to choose a lie when you know that the choice you're making is a lie. It doesn't mean that freedom and morality aren't important, but even they must yield to truth in terms of significance. Unlike freedom and morality, truth is absolute, pure, and perfect. You can say true is objective, while freedom and morality is subjective. As in many choices in life, the one corresponding to truth is the tougher selection, requiring courage and strength. It involves sacrifice and suffering, even to the point of death. It would have been much easier for Neo to select the blue pill, to live in bliss and contentment. Yet he made the only choice he could, and in doing so, align all those subjective areas like freedom and morality with truth. Isn't it incredible to see human life brought into harmony with ultimate reality?
I think there are several Christian parallels. We are given the choice to believe, but we are also given the choice to continually believe. We have been shown this greater reality of heaven. Yet this greater reality is more than heaven, it is the man Christ. For us, reality is both objective and subjective - it is personal. What does this reality do to us? Does it grip our lives? What are we subconsciously choosing?the blue or red pill? If we honestly choose the red pill, the truth - Christ - do we align our freedoms with truth? That is, do we bring our subjective life into harmony with Him?
Alright, peace out..
gear
There is so much room for creativity in this relationship/courting area. I was aiming with a friend of mine last week, and he disclosed some pretty clever tricks/ideas. I have to give him props for it.
(09:31:55) nowgear: you get flowers?
(09:32:13) Good Steward: yeah
(09:32:18) Good Steward: really nice ones too
(09:32:25) Good Steward: here's a tip
(09:32:28) Good Steward: so i went to safeway
(09:32:31) Good Steward: good deal
(09:32:38) Good Steward: but i had the florist rewrap them
(09:32:45) Good Steward: so you know...it doesn't have the barcode, etc.
(09:32:51) Good Steward: so yeah, worked it really well
(09:33:00) Good Steward: flowers looked really nice with the cool wrapping
(09:33:02) nowgear: dude..i should blog what you just wrote...
(09:33:06) Good Steward: heck no
(09:33:11) nowgear: barcode..heck of funny...
Also, something else interesting came up in conversation. Here's a question: when would a coupon be acceptable to use on another person? Shouldn't we be good stewards, but perhaps not at the expense of devaluing the evening or the other person?
So my take is that coupons are only allowed for common, non-special get-togethers with established relationships. Coupons are disallowed for any special evenings, which includes first dates. I'm talking about relationships in general, regardless of if courting is involved. Hmm?so if I were to take a dude out for his B-day, a special event with an established relationship(friendship), would I use a coupon? Heck yeah! But if I were to take dudette out for her B-day, would I use a coupon? Heck no! Huh?I wouldn't even use a coupon with my sister, but would have no qualms using it on my Dad or male relatives. Weird?. It's funny how my natural reaction/reflex, devoid of cognitive processing, makes assertive, yet inconsistent decisions in these different scenarios. Oh wells, in some way, my gut or feel of the situations tells me the decisions make sense even though they don't follow the flow of logic. Honestly, when would you use a coupon? What tells you it's acceptable or not? Hmm..I would think you wouldn't think about and do as you feel, ah?
What the heck am I writing? I don't know. I'm just rambling b/c I'm trying to blog about something frivolous, but find it's harder to do than writing about something philosophical.
Alright?.the tricks of the trade. Man?why am I saying this? Trade? What am I trading? Secrets? I just like saying it because it sounds like something that would be a cool title for a blog! It's sounds like something deep and clever summarized in a simple phrase....It's just tricks of the trade?It's just tricks of the trade? It's just tricks of the trade? To all ya who understand. Have a great week! Haha?.
gear