In Case of Painful and Embarrassing Face-Plant

I was walking into the Palace theater with some friends awhile back and in an attempt to kick a small rubber bouncy ball that was on the ground I slipped and landed on my backside. It was quite embarrassing.  The girls in the group laughed as I lay on the ground in pain. They continued on into the theater to watch the movie while I remained on the ground. I stayed on the ground for several days until I just gave up and died.

Tragic story right? Well as you could have guessed, its not true. Well, its partially true. I did fall on my butt trying to kick a bouncy ball and my friends laughed at me and some of them would still remind me of it today. However, I pretty quickly got up and tried to shrug it off. It is a pretty absurd thought that one would simply never get up again. 

What am I getting at? If you haven't guessed this verse should help. 

Proverbs 24:16 

For the Righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.

Here we see the difference between the righteous and wicked man. The difference is simply the will to get back up on our feet again. 

What if the scenario were different? What if it wasn't your fault that you fell? What if my friends actually pushed me to the ground? The answer in both cases is the same, I would still get back up again. I think that falling includes calamity brought on by outside forces we cannot control as well as our own mistakes. 

How do we get up then? What does it mean to get up? I think the answer is forgiveness. When someone else hurts us we forgive them and don't allow that bitterness to grow inside us. When we fail, stumble, or fall, we must forgive ourselves. This is the hardest thing for us to do but it is so essential. How can we not forgive ourselves when the God of the universe came down and died for us on the cross to forgive us? Honestly, it is insulting to that sacrifice when we hold onto our failure! If God forgives others we should forgive them, and if he forgives us we should also forgive ourselves. 

This includes our conversations with God. I often times find myself saying sorry over and over again to him and I can just imagine him sitting their trying to tell me how ridiculous I sound. For I am not defined but my failure but by his victory. He doesn't want to talk about that junk, he wants me to enjoy his presence.

So next time you face plant into the pavement, take a moment to dwell on the great promises of the Lord, lift yourself up off the ground, and continue the race set before you. 

Happy New Year everybody!

Merry Christmas to a Broken World

What makes Christmas so wonderful? Obviously this question is answered differently for many people. For some it is the time spent with friends and family that they love dearly. Others find joy in the simple things such as a a warm fire and hot chocolate. Kids can't wait to unwrap those gifts that have been taunting them ever since they were placed under the tree. Parents live for the expression of joy on their kids faces as they unwrap them.

But for every wonderful experience comes a tragic one. Perhaps Christmas reminds us of our broken family, loneliness, or poor circumstances. I feel that this is the reality for most and no matter how hard I try or how much I write, I cannot wrap my mind around it. There are so many lost and hungry, so many souls that are weary and just need a place to rest, so many families broken beyond repair, so many people just looking for a friend, so many in pain, so many abused, so many guilty, so many imprisoned; so many that have lost all hope. 

Christmas was marked by the birth of a God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, through a frightened teenage girl. Only when we examine Jesus's life can we understand how all of this makes sense. 

Matthew 2:17- On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Yes Christmas is about God's gift of Christ to earth but we overlook one crucial detail, the receiver. You see, the gift is as much about the receiver as it is the giver and the gift itself. The receiver in this story is earth. My friends, Christ is a gift to the lost, the hungry, the weary, the broken, the lonely, those in pain, the abused, the sinners, the imprisoned; those without hope, A.K.A. us! 

Christmas is about these hurting people that Christ came for. Christmas is a turning point in the most profound love story in all history. This story involves all of us. We are the couriers of the gift of God which is love! I encourage everyone not to bare the burden of the world with depression and sadness but with Joy KNOWING that God is working to prepare the world for his kingdom.  Therefore let us minister to the needs of those around us. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas no matter what their circumstances because the Joy of the gift of God is available freely for all!

Perserverance

James 1:12- Blessed is the man who preservers under trial. Because he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him.

My legs jump at the sound of the gun; I have never been more ready in my entire life for this race. The thunder of feet seems unreal yet is spurs some fire in me that gives me haste and fear. Everything is now. I have prepared for this race for months, with hundreds, perhaps even thousands of miles behind me. There are hundreds of other runners around me with the same fears, pains, and goals creating an aura of adrenaline.

It is only a few hundred meters into the race as our mass funnels into the narrow turn. Elbows go up and someones spike lands into my heel. As I round the turn, my coach sees me and calls out, his voice seems so distinct among the roar of the crowd. "Good pace Stephen, lock in and go!" His words drive me on for the next half mile.

Pain. It seems to be screaming from every nerve ending. Exhaustion. I am breathing heavily, trying to maintain my composure. Despair. I cannot do this, I cannot win, I will surely die. Oh Lord I am only a mile into this race and I am sure I cannot make it to the end.

But I know somewhere deep inside that that is just not true. I remember where I came from, how hard I have worked. Giving up is not an option now; this is the race of my life and I cannot let my team down. Each step I take is more pain, every breath I take is harder to swallow, and I know that it is only going to become worse. Yet this is not new to me. I have overcome before haven't I? What about when coach had us run hills till someone puked? What about those long runs where I knew from the beginning I could not make it another ten miles but I did with the encouragement form my team not letting me fall back? The difference now, I am alone.

At the two mile mark I hear my time 10:40. To my great surprise I am on pace for my personal record. I hear my coach again,"Your doing great but now you gotta go! Game time is over, you have to pick up the pace and catch their fifth man!"And there he is, the fifth man for Belvedere North just 20 meters or so ahead of me. A new energy fills me, a second wind. I feel my body switching gears as I dig deep for more strength, I have found it! I lock eyes on my target and push forward into the last mile, the pain beginning to numb.

I caught him. The adrenaline is now back and I swing wide around a pack of about 5 runners to pass him as we turn into the final quarter mile straightaway. But just as I begin to pass him he sees me and he does what I have been dreading he would do; he sprints. I watch in despair as he pulls away leaving a increasing gap between us. My body screams, the adrenaline is gone, my legs are engulfed in a burning fire. I am alone. I can't win, I know it.

But something inside me won't give. No, I did not come all this way to wave a whit flag in surrender to my enemies. I did not go through every trial so that I could give up now.

In that moment I did something illogical. I sprinted too.

Pain. More pain than I have ever remembered feeling. I look up and my opponent is only a few meters ahead. The gap begins to close. I am crying, blood drips from my spiked ankle, breakfast sits heavy in my stomach, but I am gaining! I am passing him! The line is just ahead and time seems to slow down. Every step is forced until at last we cross the line and I am victorious.

As I stumble to the end of the shoot, my coach greets me with a gatorade and a warm hug. "Well done my good and faithful servant."

1 Corinthians 9:18- Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to other, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

I got the joy

Today I am inspired to expound upon the wonderful qualities of joy. It is far more powerful and fulfilling than any form of happiness we can achieve but when the two are coupled together things are brighter than ever. You see, the Lord provides his servants with joy. This is a promise. However, the promise is often misconstrued to fit what society tells us joy is. Joy becomes the number of friends we have, the relationship with our girlfriend or spouse, our financial security, our success, or even our spiritual growth. All of these things are wonderful but God tells us that the joy we experience as his followers is much more deep and complex than that. “For the joy of the Lord is my strength!” The apostles praised God with joy at their persecution. Paul praised the Lord for his “thorn” after being told that the Lord would not take it from him. Nothing about these stories implies that joy includes a smile and a pat on the back. No, joy is consistent in the good and the bad.

      Joy? During finals week? Sounds a bit absurd I know, especially since I am only an hour away from my first final of the day. My point to this is that I am still filled with the joy of the Lord. The joy I have in this moment is in no way dependent on me. If it were then I would be one sad kid. God is constant. No matter what I can count on him to be who he is. He is love, sacrifice, justice, mercy, grace, and power! He is so wonderful and he alone contains the key to my salvation. By keeping my eyes on what is eternal there is no way I can lose that joy. For my eternal future is only bright!

      I love the Newsboys version of “Turn your eyes upon Jesus”. The chorus goes like this, “and the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace!” That is so powerful to me! It is indeed the epitome of God given joy. No matter what happens. Death nor life nor angels nor powers, present things nor things of the future, height nor depth, nor any created thing, can ever separate me from his strong love! That is a consistent joy in all scenarios. That is the same joy that Paul felt in the midst of a horrible “thorn in his side”. The same joy Peter and Paul proclaimed after being flogged for preaching the gospel. For the Joy of the Lord is eternal and cannot be shaken. When you finally see its light, the things of this earth will indeed go strangely dim!

Remember, no matter what attacks you, the joy of the Lord is the same. As a Christian one of our greatest privileges is the joy we have knowing God will win and indeed that he already has. Our joy is the solid rock whereas the pleasures of this world are the sinking sand. Stand on that rock which cannot be shaken!

Psalm 16:8 – I have set the Lord before me always, because he is at my right hand I will not be shaken!

      

Relationships

What you are about read sounds depressing. However, I like to think of it as a brutal reality check for infatuation and broken hearts. It holds significance in my own life in the past. It is the reason I am able to push through relational disappointment before the sun goes down. (envision a drill sergeant telling you this)

She can like whoever she wants,
She doesn't like you (me).
She could invite anyone she wants,
She didn't invite you (me).
She can say anything she wants,
She didn't say what you (I) wanted.

I have no rights. I deserve nothing. I have no privileges.

Its called telling it how it is straight up and saying "so what?" I will tell it how it is!

I am not ready for a relationship. When the time comes I will be glad I did not give my heart away to anyone else.

I dont have a reason to shed tears or feel sorry for myself. Life isn't fair and I am glad. If it was then I would have no eternal salvation or relationship with my God. So in these times where I feel injustice I need to think about the grace and mercy I receive and understand that I don't just pick and choose who I want to have a relationship with. Im not the best thing since sliced bread. There are probably plenty of people who don't like me and as my dad would say "you can pick up your toys and like it or you can pick up your toys and cry about it." So I can live pouting about my imperfection or I can live with joy.

And so this is my joyous lament; one that states the truth, holds no grudge, claims no rights, and sheds not tears. It is not depression or disappointment. It is enlightenment. It is a newfound humility that leads me on the paths towards wisdom described as more precious than rubies. It results in a stronger bond with my God in heaven.

So I will wait for that woman. I pray everyday that he will send the right one along and I trust he will. In the mean time, I must press on towards the prize, making God my irreplaceable center.

My response?
moving on!

Wake Up Call

      I fell out of my bed this morning at around 3:30 and smashed my face pretty good in the carpet. My nose may be broken and I may have a concussion. Needless to say, I didn’t have too much trouble waking up after that. So with these things still very fresh in my mind I thought it would be very appropriate to write about wake up calls.

      Is it weird that the first thing I thought of when I hit my face is how good of a story this would make? I actually wasn’t even angry or anything. All I could think about is, I hope it looks really gruesome or even “this is exciting”. I feel that this can somehow apply to real life. It takes wake up calls that make us feel alive again, without them we can find ourselves coasting along. I was coasting pretty steady, but now that I have just smashed my face I realize that I wasn’t truly living before. We can’t just coast through life! The funny thing is that I prayed to God yesterday along with my brother, Nathan Ghantous, to give me suffering so that I could prove I stand by him even when times are hard and so that I can share in Christ’s suffering. Im not sure what this literal rude awakening is going to lead to but I somehow feel like there is a reason it did. Strange I know, maybe I just hit my head too hard and can’t think straight.

      Whatever the case, the application is real. Wake up calls get us up on our feet. I convince myself I need 8 hours of sleep to go through my day, this is clearly proven wrong seeing as I am more awake than I have been in awhile and I have only had three. The same goes for wake up calls in life. We tend to take control for ourselves and build up padded walls to keep us comfortable but honestly, life wasn’t meant to be comfortable. As Americans, we suck on pacifiers and ask for people to change our diapers for us thinking that the more things go our way, the better our life is. This just isn’t true though, we have to take risks both physically and relationally. We have to repeatedly step out of our comfort zone. Living life isn’t being content with a C but going for A because you can. Living life is serving someone else because you care, sacrificing for one you love, facing your biggest fears, setting big goals, laughing when the gun is in your face, crying when something is sad, shouting when something excites you, sitting silently when the world screams, jumping higher when someone says jump high, and loving harder when someone says they don’t love you back. And the best thing is that all of these are possible in Christ. Look at his life, he was king but he made himself nothing, we were unworthy but he took our sin and punishment on himself, he was pure but he ate with sinners, he was threatened but he continued to speak, he was God yet he took time to be quiet and reenergize, he washed the feet of his followers, he embraced children, walked on water, fed thousands, and was murdered only to rise again.

      With all this in mind I want to encourage the reader to live not just get by. Life is too short to get by and Christ has a plan that we would not believe if he told us. The fulfillment of that plan leads to a life so full with his blessings it is hard to imagine. Live today, don’t wait to fall out of bed and hit your head. 

Tis the season

      I have decided that one of the biggest joys of college is spontaneity; you know, like deciding to raid taco bell at midnight, jump in Lime Lake at 2:00 in the morning, or improve-act to the inception soundtrack. That spontaneous spirit was particularly strong during our first snowfall. My friends and I went out to enjoy it on Tuesday night. 

Not long after the snow began to fall, word had spread around campus like the French underground of a giant snowball fight on the plaza. Yes, not just any snowball fight but a GIANT snowball fight. Of course, this received priority over any homework. Fifty to one hundred peopled showed up to the snowball fight planned in only an hour or so. The chaos that ensued went from 11:00 to 1:00 in the morning! Needless to say, there was quite a bit of snow being stuffed in faces. In college, it is much different because everybody expects to get hurt. Like at the giant slippin slide earlier in the year, people broke bones diving off the hill while trying to do handstands or flips. With everyone expecting inevitable pain, the fun grows exponentially. The same went for the snowball fight. In fact, some people came out in just a shirt or even a t-shirt. 

Hudson in a T-Shirt

We also made an awesome snowman that sat on the bench by the basketball courts. Unfortunately someone had the nerve to body snatch him for their own snowman! Despite his short life, he lives on in memory! The best part about life right now is that I have people I love at home and at school making each day something to look forward to.

      

     Good times like this mark the wonderful Christmas season, one that I am convinced is an outpouring of God’s blessing. Its a time of unusual happiness and hope. I can just see Jesus grinning from ear to ear at the sight of it! I know it sounds cheesy but I feel this verse says it better.

1 Timothy 6:17

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

 So, do not live in arrogance but in Joy during this Christmas season!

Thanksgiving

November 25, 2011

With Thanksgiving over I think it is appropriate to reflect on what it means to be thankful. A professor of mine recently gave a lecture on thankfulness. He described it as the “spiritual barometer”. I found this very intriguing and surprisingly accurate especially in my own heart. Here is what the bible says about it…

Colossians 3:15-17

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

It is clear from this passage that thankfulness is important but why is it? To give a few reasons, it shows how well we understand our current position spiritually, physically, and socially. If we are close to God and are in a state of understanding with him then we will know the sacrifice he made and the mercy he has given us. This will inspire thankfulness in all circumstances.

We may also give thanks for the things we have. This can be easy for people like me who have a lot of things to be thankful for, but what about those starving or living on the streets? It is important to know that everything we have is a blessing.

1 Timothy 6:7

For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

This means that nothing we have is ours, it was all given to us. This means that nothing we have done is ours, the opportunities were given to us. When we carry this attitude (which is easier said than done) then we can focus on the blessings we do have even if that is just the blessing of one more day to worship God on this earth. We are also blessed with who God created us to be. He created us all and was pleased despite deformity, disease, or circumstance. When we understand that God is pleased with us, the God of the universe, then we are thankful.

Finally, the most important part for me, is being thankful for those around us. What we don’t know is that there are millions of people who don’t feel appreciated. Being thankful to God and to others go hand in hand. They cannot be separated. We must thank others. The power of a thankful word is huge and not to be underestimated.

The application? Be thankful in all things, not just our possessions, but people, and God. We truly have much to be thankful for and when we begin to realize that life is a joy to live each day.

What I am thankful for…

My family- You guys are truly wonderful. I know you will be there for me and I hope I can do the same for you. I love each of you so much. Thank you mom, dad, Josiah, Quincy, Grandma and Grandpa Lester, Mammaw, Granny, Eli, Kevin, Adam, Sarah, Amy, Karen, Catherine, John, Janet, Laurie, Karen H, Aunt Karen, Jay, David H, Matt, David G, Scott L, Terry L, Erin, Andrew, Daniel, Byron and Joseffa.

Jesus’s sacrifice- Because of what you have done I don’t have to face death and judgment, I can live in love with you and those around me, your Holy Spirit is given to me, you give me eternal life, and I am free from sin right now so that righteousness is the normal and sin is the uncommon!

My things- Thank you for giving me everything I need and more. Food, water, shelter.  Not just food but delicious food. Not just water but clean water. Not just shelter but a home! Thank for entertainment, nice clothes, transportation, a warm bed, a drum set, and countless other things.

My friends- Thank you so much for everyone of you! You are all a blessing to me. Thank you Nathan, James, Jason, Josh A, Josh W, Scott H, Ann H, Mike R, Bill W, Matt E, Ryan E, Hudson J, Alex J, Emilia M, Camille H, Kerry W, Michelle A, Jason W, Vivek, CJ, Alex C, Kyle C, Shelby D, Cat, Kristin, Doug H, Trevor M, Mick W, Caitlin R, Lily S, Mark G, Luke G, Jordan R, Megan Flu, Michaela, Deb, Adam, Mitchell, Ryan R, Nick W, Wil W, Wes W, Summer, Tiffany, Carly, Natalie, Marissa, Jordan K, Kelly, Jake, David G, Ashley, Tyler W, Jace, Dick, Kay, Josiah, Matt D, Rachel, Megan, Nathan B,  Chris C, Hampton, Holly, Norris, Shaffer, Kate, Emily B, Ariel, Dan, and Emily and I am sure there are many many more. Thank you for everybody else I will meet in the future too!

Giving Our Heart to God

      “My heart is yours.” I sang these songs to my beloved God this morning with great joy and authenticity. However, what does it mean to give our hearts to God?

      I certainly can’t gouge it out and put it on an alter. Sorry if you are disturbed at the thought of that. So what can I do? Part of the reason I am asking this question is that I don’t know the answer myself. Must I do something or is it God that does the work? Am I giving him my heart or am I proclaiming, my heart is like yours, it is yours, I love the things you love, I cherish the things you cherish? I think the answer may be a combination of the two. Some people might contend that it is a commitment. I understand this perspective but I believe when we make that commitment to God, that when we believe in him, he comes into us. This doesn’t mean I am giving my heart though.

      This morning I gave my heart to God while eating my fruit loops. No, there wasn’t a band playing, a preacher, or a bible in front of me, only a bowl of fruit loops. I thanked God for my fruit loops and asked him to make my heart like his so that when I next time I got Fruit Loops in life, I could turn that around and bless others around me. You see, I think giving our hearts to God means two things. 

     

1. We must give God control and permission to fix our heart.

     

2. And we must want God to change it for what he wants changed

      It is easy for me to give my heart to God while eating those Fruit Loops saying, "I enjoy life, I love what you are doing God. Keep it up!" Obviously we would say that, we are eating Fruit Loops! How could we not be excited about what God is doing in our lives? With bigger issues we might ask him to do things like this, “God make me into a better person, or, God help me to be nice, God help me to be pleasant, God change my heart towards humility.” Now these things aren’t bad by any means, but what are we telling God? Are we asking him to change the things we want changed? This may seem subtle but I believe it is part of giving our hearts to him completely. Am I saying "I want you to continue changing my life because I get Fruit loops?" Or am I asking him to change my life where it hurts so that I can become who God calls me to be? It is easy to ask God to make us more like Jesus because he was a cool guy, but it is much more difficult to ask him to make our hearts like his in the sense that we bear crosses daily, sacrifice time out of our day to be quiet with God, care for others we don’t like, or get rid of sin we think we can justify. Therefore I must thank God for the Fruit Loops and ask him to change my heart to be like his in every way so that I may continue to praise him and bless others, not myself!

Distractions

     

      What distracts me? This question has always been a difficult one for me to answer. Furthermore, when I finally route out the distraction I rarely have the courage to eliminate it. I’m not sure why I expect removing the distraction to be easy. Indeed, every distraction we have is something we choose to put there in the first place so it must have some value or emotion attached to it! This brings us to ask the question, “Why does it matter that I am distracted?” It may also lead us to pity ourselves and our miserable existence or “natural tendencies.” When we examine a little closer we find this self-pity to be a loathsome creature. It moans and groans about the way life could be or dare I say, “should be.” It whispers in our ear deceit and apathy. It tells us we are the victims and we deserve a lollipop for going to the dentist because we must be compensated for the pain we encounter.  Distractions are that lollipop. How many times do we find ourselves dragging through the door at the end of the day looking for a distraction from the stress of real life? Sometimes this is a necessary distraction, an intentional Sabbath, as Paul Patton would say. As you can tell, this discernment between a distraction and a healthy Sabbath event (essentially a time of rest for the mind, heart, and soul for anyone not just the Christian) is difficult to make. Not impossible, but difficult.

      So how then do we route out and slay the distractions leeching our life away from us? Yesterday in class my professor, Paul Patton, made a very interesting point. He likely quoted it from some inspirational figure or book but it has intrigued me enough to investigate and apply it to myself. He suggested a new way of handling life’s distractions, by answering a completely different question. “What am I being distracted from?” I wish I were in front of my reader, repeating this question over and over for emphasis. PLEASE think deeply about this. What are you being distracted from? This leads us to perhaps an even more important question than the first. “Where and who do we want to be in the future?” When we ask these questions we find ourselves seeing the potential we are missing instead of the distractions we want. We must focus on those dreams and the things that help us get there. Then we can see what is really distracting us and its effect on our dreams. Hopefully then we can make judgments as to what is healthy and what is not.

The Entertained Academic: Responsibility in a Generation of Convenience

            “Four score and seven years ago…” We all know this famous introduction to President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. It is regarded as perhaps one of the greatest presidential speeches of all time. Yet if we heard this speech today we might not realize its power. Take, for instance, this small excerpt: “But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.” The sentence complexity and content found in these two sentences would likely not capture us today in the same way that the average 19th century citizen was. Lincoln’s audience could comprehend speeches like this because they made the effort to read, listen to hours of debate, and train themselves in intellectual pursuits. In recent years, technological advancements have contributed to a society where amusement is held above intellectual pursuits. However, condemning technology is not the goal here. Technology presents many wonderful things but it also calls for a larger responsibility on the part of its users. When responsibility is not taken we may find ourselves as Neil Postman claims, “amused to death.” Postman describes the difference between today and the 19^th century in his essay, The Typographic Mind, as “thinking in an image centered culture” as opposed to a “word centered culture” (Postman 10). As society continues to modernize towards an image-centered culture the average students’ intellectual capabilities may be held back by the dependence on entertainment, instant access information, and advertisement.

            Entertainment, according to the 2003 edition of Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, is defined as simply, “something diverting or engaging.” Today entertainment is television, video games, movies, and smartphones, all of which are instantly accessible. Entertainment before the 1970’s and 80’s would likely have consisted of social events, games, and plays. Entertainment was usually considered a luxury and not a necessity. Instead, literature permeated the lives of the people through books and speech. As Paul Anderson wrote, “Boys followed the plow with book in hand” (quoted in Postman pg. 11) Along with this came the concept of “people whose intellectual lives and public business were fully integrated into their social world” (Postman 2). Today, intellectual integration seems rare; instead we see a greater concern for entertainment value. Text books need pictures and “fun facts” on each page, cars need stereos and DVD players, signs need a clever slogan, commercials need a punch line, cereal boxes need a maze on the back, restaurants need a television screen, youth groups need a game system, movies need an action sequence, pastors need a joke, happy meals need a toy, the list goes on. It can be argued that if we don’t entertain then we don’t have an audience in the first place but, as seen in 19^th century America, this is not the case. It seems that today we have turned entertainment into an inalienable right of the people, which has never been true. We have simply trained ourselves, overtime, to function this way.

            Today it is difficult enough to find students who do their homework let alone learn outside of class for the sake of expanding their own knowledge. It is no revelation, then, that what replaces traditional reading and writing during discretionary time is entertainment outlets, the largest of these being video games and television. Students are essentially replacing their valuable time with things that are designed to waste time. These means of entertainment are meant to bring happiness and relaxation into people’s lives. But when used too much, entertainment takes us away from life all together causing an unhealthy apathy and discontent towards, as Dr. Paul Patton would sarcastically say, “our boring three dimensional existence.” Watching Lost every night in my dorm room does little more than provide escape from the stress of the day. This escape might be necessary, but when I continue to watch episode after episode I lose precious opportunities to grow. In essence, entertainment has become a dangerous procrastination device holding us back from our true potential. This potential is multiplied because we have knowledge at our fingertips more than any other decade in human history. All we must do is dive into that knowledge with a passion for wisdom, that we may reap the fruit it produces in our lives. 

            Having knowledge at our fingertips is a recent thing made possible through technology, specifically the Internet. It is argued that with our unlimited access to information through the Internet, learning/memorization is rendered obsolete. Well-known 20^th century writer, Dorothy Sayers, strongly disagrees with this statement in her essay The Lost Tools of Learning. She says, “they learn everything, except the art of learning” (3). Sayers then goes on to explain this through the example of a child being taught “mechanically and by rule of thumb” how to play a song on the piano without having “taught him the scale or how to read music.” Because of this he still did not have the faintest idea as to how to play any other song (3). This clearly portrays the issue with simply “Googling” the answers and picking out the facts we need without bothering to understand the information we are presented with. After all, what will happen to the student particularly adept at fact searching when they must make critical decisions in the real world? You cannot Google search the correct techniques in brain surgery while operating just as you cannot hope to learn your favorite ACDC song on the guitar from a tutorial video and immediately become a touring rock star. Having all this knowledge at our fingertips allows us to ace a test or homework assignment only to forget what we had learned in a matter of days. Once again, this is a fault in our response to the wonderful technology we have. Students have the information to learn everything they could ever desire before them, but they need the motivation to earnestly seek after knowledge. Without this motivation, we can easily misuse and abuse the little information we do take in.

            With this surplus of instant access information and lack of true, deep, understanding, students and scholars are misusing facts more and more. Words, when taken out of context, can be misconstrued into saying literally anything. This is a serious tragedy. Take, for instance, this well-known verse from the book of Matthew where Jesus says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”  One could conclude that Jesus advocates violence and self-mutilation. However, if read further to Matthew 6:14 it says “forgive men when they sin against you, and your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” When read in this context, it is clear that the Jewish people of the day were not meant to gouge out their eyes, but instead understand the seriousness of forgiveness in their eternal salvation. Postman states that misusing information “is serious because meaning demands to be understood” (4). In this case an entire faith could be misunderstood. Meaning must be protected. Allowing meaning to be misconstrued dangerously distorts our entire understanding of reality.

            Reality, as defined by the 2003 edition of Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is, “something that is neither derivative nor dependent but exists necessarily.” For example, the East African Maasai people live in a reality where cattle and number of children are a man’s wealth, whereas here in the USA, the dollar bill, price of car, or size of house is a man’s wealth. Something has affected the realities of both cultures. Much of our current reality is built from advertising. Indeed, the concept of advertising seems to “exist necessarily” in our society where for thousands of years it did not. After all, much of our economy is run off the funds from advertising offering “free” services to people in anticipation that they can convince these same people to buy their product. The system is quite remarkable but its message is more powerful than we think.

            Advertising has greatly contributed to the materialistic consumerism we live in. In the 19^th century advertising was “intended to appeal to understanding, not to passions” (Postman 9). Early 19^th century ads such as the examples found in Postman’s essay listed the facts including the product’s purpose, and where you could buy it. Today we see something much different. Take for instance the Axe commercial. Axe commercials usually portray a man who has just used axe with women literally chasing him like animals. While not only extremely degrading to women, like many other present day advertisements, this ad appeals to a man’s passion for sex. The ad contains no logical argument only an appeal to passion. In this way advertising has extended to not only making something known, but to convincing as many people as possible it is necessary to existence. As a result, advertising directly changes reality in two ways: it convinces us we are not satisfied now, and we need what they are selling to mend that dissatisfaction. By utilizing our emotion, advertising can convince us we need the new iPhone or Proactive acne cream to be accepted. This is, of course, ridiculous but we believe it nonetheless.

             Many students claim they are above the influence of such advertising, but the numbers say otherwise. In October 2006, the consulting firm Yankelovich noted that “the average 1970s city dweller was exposed to 500 to 2,000 ad messages a day” whereas today the average is “3,000 to 5,000” ads. If it were true that students were immune, then advertising would become useless instead of rapidly growing. In this way, advertisement has created a society that values the material it can buy much more than the long-term accumulation of knowledge found in literature. This demand for visual appeal has slowly eradicated the desire for intellectual growth. At the very least, the visual wins over our attention before the intellectual does. Consequently as the visual becomes more accessible, the sacrifice of the intellectual and literate becomes easier to justify.

            Today’s generation is not any less capable intellectually than those before. To the contrary, there are more possibilities, a near infinite amount of knowledge, and extremely efficient ways of accessing that knowledge. With the help of technology, students have the opportunity to reach even greater levels of intellect. However, technology has also given us thousands of ways to substitute that intellect with the visually appealing. Students must reclaim responsibility of their future, understanding the importance of literature in their quests for knowledge. Society’s dependence on entertainment, instant access information, and advertising have inflicted on our ability to comprehend and produce literary content. This unhealthy dependence must be stopped by students who are willing to prioritize literary and intellectual pursuits above what their culture says they need. If this prioritizing and responsibility is accomplished, then the future will lead to magnificent things.

Works Cited

“entertainment.” Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. 2003 ed. Print.

Lincoln, Abraham. “Gettysburg Address.” 19 Nov. 1863. ourdocuments.gov. Web. 3 Nov. 2011. <http://www.ourdocuments.gov/‌doc.php?flash=true&doc=36>.

Petrecca, Laura. “Product placement — you can’t escape it.” USA Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2011. <http://www.usatoday.com/‌money/‌advertising/‌2006-10-10-ad-nauseum-usat_x.htm>.

Postman, Neil. “Nature of Language.” Amusing Ourselves to Death. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 11. Rpt. in Amusing Ourselves to Death. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. PDF file.

“reality.” Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. 2003 ed. Print.

Sayers, Dorothy Leigh. The Lost Tools of Learning. 1948. N. pag. PDF file.