The Culture on Us

Culture, I've got culture on me!

A friend recently sent me an e-mail pondering our cultural influence on the issue of anger. As I was reading it mind flashed back to my theology professor in college. He said it very simply, “The core of sin is selfishness.” Madison Avenue and the marketing culture has perfected tapping into this “hidden” sinful selfish nature we have. “That’s nice” becomes “I want that” which turns into “I need that” which turns into “I deserve that”. We then break out our credit cards and buy the object of our desires because it will make us happy, fulfilled, smarter, thinner and (insert adjective here). Not only are we left with something that does not meet our true needs but we get to keep paying for it long after the item of our desires had been left by the wayside in a closet or the trash.

Madison Avenues messages are wrapped around “entertainment” on TV and in the movies that compound our problem. In years past TV and Movies tended to try to express the “ideal”. We saw perfect families, well groomed children, hard working moms and dads all in situations that were wholesome, moral and uplifting. Some people saw this and said I want that – if I only had that perfect situation I would be happy. Other people watched that and said this is not truth. I don’t see anything I relate to here. This doesn’t match my life. Many of the people in this second group are behind much or our current media. They have chosen to depict life “accurately”. We now see the broken, immoral, hurting existence that many of these people experienced. One of my wife’s favorite shows is ER. I hate watching it because each time one of the characters begins to find a healthy growing relationship the writers feel the need to tear it apart. I suppose it makes more dramatic television but it is also symptomatic of what I am taking about.

So what is the solution? What is the antidote to the messages we are bombarded with. We are told on one hand by our entertainment that life sucks and then you die and then Madison Avenue steps in and says but if you only have this, look like this, smell like this, drive this car and live in this neighborhood your life will be perfect. If “the core of sin is selfishness” the antidote is living outside oneself.

In Philippians 2:3 & 4 it says “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

There is something miraculous that happens when we get our eyes off our own situations and onto others. We begin to become the people we were intended to be. The selfish core of us begins to weaken and we begin to become the vessels of grace and love and hope that God intended. Sin keeps our eyes focus on us and separates us from those around us in the process. When we begin to focus on the needs of others along side our own we begin to find ourselves connected in relationships. We find that what really matters in not the stuff but the people.

God Bless
Dan

Rules for life

A friend sent me a link to this it was good enough I wanted to repost it here. I don't know if this can really be attributed to Bill Gates but it's good none the less.

Bill Gates' High School Address

Bill Gates gave a speech at Mt. Whitney High School in Visalia, CA in 2004 about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1 - Life is not fair -- get used to it!

Rule 2 - The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 - You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 - If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5 - Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping -- they called it opportunity.

Rule 6 - If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7 - Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8 - Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 9 - Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10 - Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11 - Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Fall is here!

Last night we went out to my parents and had dinner. My Dad is still a farm boy at heart and loves harvest time. For several years he has had a pumpkin patch. Last night Deb and the girls and I helped pick pumpkins and gourds and all those fall things. The girls had a great time as you can see by the smiles. It is so cool to see them building memories.

Go out and build some family memories of your own.

God Bless
Dan 

A Life Lived Well

Recently we had a family friend pass away. I've often told people that if given my choice between weddings and funerals - I'll take funerals every time. God can teach us so much when we look back at a life.

Bill was not famous. His name will not be remembered in a any book, there will not be monuments erected to him. He did not get elected to office or perform a public act of heroism. All Bill did was live his life, serve his God, love his family and reach out to those he came in contact with. When Bill died at the age of 60 as a result of a car accident - over 450 people came to his funeral. Family, friends, coworkers and aquaintances all came to honor a man who had impacted their life.

A year ago as a church we worked throught the Rick Warren book The Purpose Driven Life. This book is among a few that I think should be required reading to be a human. This idea of having a purpose was a part of Bill's life. This "purpose" was not a grand scheme or plan but rather a life quietly lived in harmony with how God had created him. It has been a challenge to me to make sure I am living my life to make a difference in the lives of those around me.

Live the life you were created to live and you will make a difference.

Dan

Connections 2

I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts today - Chuck Chat (I have a link to it on the site) - Chuck was doing an interview with a gentleman and they were talking about the sense of community that podcasting can create. As a posted earlier this week God has been teaching me again how important making connections with other people is. In that post I focused on what can keep us apart - namely sin - but what do we gain from connections.

We were created to be a part of other people's lives (remember the Adam and Eve thing). The author of Ecclesiastes says that two can keep each other warm and alone we're cold and overpowered (Dan's paraphrase See Ecc. 4:11-12).

Even Jesus surrounded himself with other people. He wept with them and laughed with them. His example of a fully connected life is awesome. He took intentional time to be alone with his Father. He took time to build into those around him teaching and mentoring his disciples. Living this way not only fulfilled him but it helped fulfill the lives of everyone he came into contact with.

Can we do less? We were created to be part of a body of believers. We cannot survive on our own. In John we're told that the branches that are separated from the vine are tossed into the fire. The question we have to ask is "Are we connected?" Are we connected to the Father and to those around us - or are we floundering around alone - cold, lonely, vulnerable and scared.

Thanks for reading - stay plugged in.

Dan

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!

Several weeks back I wrote about a scare we had with my wife's pregnancy. God has taken care of the baby and every thing is fine - she's had to take it easy but other than that OK. Well we had an ultra sound last Thursday and to quote Deb "It's a boy and we've got the pictures to prove it!" Whoo Hoo!!!!

I'm the father of three wonderful, beautiful fun little girls. I would not trade them for all the riches in Asia but I am so excited to be having a boy.

Well just a quick post today - Keep Smilin'.

Dan

Connections

I've been teaching a Sunday School class this month. One of the reasons I love teaching is that it forces me to grow myself. I discover and rediscover truth every time I prepare and teach.

This week God has been reminding me of the nature of sin. Sin always separates - it separates us from each other and it separates us from God. If we go back to the beginning God said "it is not good for man to be alone" and so he created Eve. God knew we are at our best in community - connected with spouses and families and churches and friends and co-workers. Part of the definition of sin is that these actions result in less than God's best for us. Part of the consequence of sin is that every time we sin - in big and little ways - it divides us from those people we love. It divides us from those people we need to be connected with.

The entire path of scripture - from Genesis to Revelation - is God's plan and path at restoring those relationships of reconnecting with Him and with each other. We were made for relationships and yet most of us spend our days very lonely. We feel alone, tired, scared and are hoping for someone to connect with. Someone who we can be real with and not feel judged or condemned for not being perfect. Even with our spouses - that person who we should be most real we can be guarded and hidden.

The hope is only found in Christ. His sacrifice grants us forgiveness in the eyes of God. It allows us to reconnect with our Holy Father and through the gift of his Spirit to live holy lives ourselves. When we are right with Him it frees us to live rightly with others.

Father,

Help me to connect with those around me. May I be a friend and a connection point for others. Help me be vulnerable and open to my wife and my friends and them to be. Give me the strength to make connecting with you a daily priority.

Amen

Thanks for reading

Dan