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.