Wordless

The church where I serve began a new series of sermons and Bible studies this morning in a series we are simply calling "Made." Taking a look at each of the creation days as they appear in the Genesis account, we're pursuing more the heart of God than a "scientific explanation" for how the world came into being.

This morning, during our time of worship together, we all watched a compilation video our Minister of Videography (yes, we really do have one of those -- and he has amazing gifts in the multi-media arena) created as a video feature following the morning's sermon. It was amazing!

Though set to a lyrical song, the visuals were simply stunning pictures of God's creation shot from all over the globe. What an amazing sight!!! The video images could have stood on their own, without any soundtrack (though the song was a great accompaniment). Vivid images from seemingly every point on the earth. It was refreshing to see the beauty of creation without having to dodge skyscrapers or airplanes or cellular phone towers. The scenes were absolutely breathtaking!!!

At the end of the video, I had an opportunity to speak to the church... and it really didn't feel appropriate to speak (though I did). I merely wanted to point to the screens and gesture something like "yeah... what that video just said is what I want to say, too."

I believe far too often, we use too many words to do things that can better be done without. Too many words to teach, too many words to preach, too many words to share, to counsel, to assist... whatever. So much of the time, words are like skyscrapers, airplanes and cellular phone towers. Words merely clog up the landscape and the airways and cause us all to miss the "forest for the trees" (so to speak).

Now, I'm not suggesting words are always inappropriate, but it does seem to me we live in a rather wordy generation. There are times it feels like I've overrun my allotment of words and it is barely half-way through the week!This past Saturday I spent the day much more quiet than usual. Several friends expressed concern and asked, "if I was okay?" You know, I was just tired of hearing myself talk. If I'm that tired of hearing me, I wonder how tired everyone else might be! (Just ask my kids, I'm confident they will have an opinion on this topic)!

The Bible affirms that "since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities -- his eternal power and divine nature -- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made..." (Romans 1:20). That seems clear enough, doesn't it? I wonder if we might take a cue from nature. Creation doesn't have to use words to communicate God's power. Its presence is enough!

I'm resolving to look more at the creation and try to listen more to the "evidence" of God. If a video can speak so powerfully without words, imagine what a real tree might have to say! I'm also making a concerted effort at lowering my weekly "word count." While friends might think I'm sick, I might actually be moving toward a healthier existence!

Will you join me in listening? Sometimes the "wordless" speak volumes!

It's sad when your team loses

It was a close game from beginning to end. The hot Celtics as guests in the house of the Mavericks, are on quite a winning streak. The Mavs needed the game more than the Beantown boys did. The Celtics are currently the hottest team in the NBA. Despite which team you wanted to win, everyone got their money's worth this past Thursday night. It was a good game seasoned with less than stellar officiating.

Though I'm not especially a Mav's fan (however, I'll root for them quicker than I once did), it was sad to watch my "team" lose. You see, my team lost somewhere in the middle of the third quarter.

She was dressed in less than a woman her age ought to be (in my opinion), but as a result had the attention of most males on our side of the arena as she made her way up the long steps from the high-dollar seats closest to the floor. She had a walk about her that definitely drew attention, but she is not what caught my eye this time. What caught my eye was her "guy" walking about 5 steps behind her. He had a look I will not forget for some time... It was the look on his face, watching all the other guys who chose to watch her, that captured my attention.

There wasn't a hint of discomfort or irritation on his part that many guys eyes left the game and watched her parade all the way up the steps. In fact, by the sly smile appearing on his face, he was clearly quite satisfied and pleased that so many other men were looking at her. Where an upright guy likely would have fought to defend the dignity of his lady by sending back stares of indignation, this guy swam in a sea of complete self-absorption. His own greed crested on top of waves and jeers from of his male counterparts all the way from section 105 to 109.

The moment crashed over me with force. I didn't need any cold water to shock me back into sane awareness. The moment was clear enough in itself. At times we human beings, but especially us guys, can be so self-centered and self-absorbed, we'll sell out the dignity of another person to feed the beast within us. The sale price goes even higher at the expense of our gentler female counterparts by way of sexual exploitation and general disregard for their intrinsic beauty and God-instilled goodness.

We men need to take a hard look at ourselves, especially when it comes to how we treat women.

At the risk of sounding even the slightest bit self-righteous, I confess I've been as guilty as the guy at the game (though maybe not in exactly the same way). But in the past couple years, I've really been giving prayerful attention to how feeding my own ego costs other people in the process. I hope I'm making progress, but for now I'll simply accept an increasing awareness of the transaction in my own life. It is not an easy thing to turn around, but when it so obviously happens right in front of you as it did at the Mavericks game the other night, it isn't that hard to miss.

As it was, the Mavericks lost to the Celtics 94-90. But that wasn't the big loss of the night. The bigger loss was one suffered by the human race. It was the loss of dignity the "all male team" suffered as one of us walked up the stairs in that arena somewhere in the middle of the third quarter. It's always sad when your team loses.

Beautiful People

Early this morning, I reaffirmed something I have believed for a long time. People are beautiful.

Period. All of them… every single last one of them. Tall ones, short ones, fat, skinny, long haired, short haired, bald, young, old, intelligent, naïve, innocent, guilty, mean and nice… they are all beautiful. Even when people don’t act very beautiful, even when they are one’s very own enemy, they are still quite inherently beautiful. It is possible to so suppress inherent beauty that it may take divine eyes to see it clearly, but I do believe (perhaps without exception) there is some beauty in everyone.

Sitting alone in one of my favorite breakfast spots this morning, I find myself in a room full of people I’ve likely never seen before. They are definitely people I’ve never met before. And as I am wrapping up my morning time in the holy beauty of God’s word in print, I find myself overwhelmed by the beauty all around me. Today, I’m just concentrating on the beauty of humanity. To include flora, fauna and general atmospheric beauty would be almost too much to comprehend in one day.

Sure one guy is louder than all others in the restaurant and he has an annoying tendency to chew his half order of French toast with his mouth opened. I can nearly hear him smacking each bite from where I sit! One young woman clearly struggles with “problem skin” and seems self-conscious about it as she sits with another who, in spite of being quite physically attractive, may have dressed in the dark. (Now, I’m no fashion icon but even I can tell that outfit doesn’t work – but to her credit it is still dark outside so when we all leave, she might have second thoughts on why she chose that blouse). Another guy looks entirely miserable as he sits alone reading his paper. He is dressed almost identically to me and the way we are both positioned in the room, we make an interesting pair of “identical bookends” all the way down to our similarly shaped frameless reading glasses. (His hair is more gray than mine, but I'm catching up).

Tables of trios, duos and monos all sitting together… disconnected and yet, somehow strangely, completely and utterly linked together in beauty. It must be that whole “image of God” thing again (Gen. 1:27) showing me that there is much more that connects mankind than that which separates.

As people, we tend to concentrate more on what is distinctive about us rather than what is common and I wonder what the net effect of that is. We divide, subdivide and segregate on the subjective basis of our own choosing rather than uniting, reuniting and unifying on the basis of something beyond us -- something that is Perfectly Beautiful.

Even the worst of us must have something beautiful about us. God certainly must think so. Why else, while we were still His enemies, He would make us His friends (Rom. 5:10)? Unless, of course, we only become "beautiful" once we are made His friends.

Rather than sitting in a room full of strangers, perhaps I should rather look at it as sitting in a room full of potential acquaintances... or maybe even future friends? I love all my friends. I think they are all beautiful people, each in their own very special way. Maybe this is where I should begin with all people… find the beauty first (even if they are enemies, or their beauty is more difficult to immediately pinpoint) so that one day, perhaps, we will all be beautiful friends!

So, here's my prayer for the day: "God, show me the beautiful way you see all people and teach me to love them like you do -- beautifully."

How do you see the beauty people?

Computer Problems

Are we simply too reliant on these machines? My "life" is in current turmoil because everywhere I go, I seem to be running into computer issues. In my work office every one on site is dealing with "connectivity issues." At home, my computer just "told" me that the browser I've been using for nearly two years, "wasn't my default browser!" "How could this be," I wondered. When I "reassured" my computer that it was my default browser, it proceeded to ELIMINATE two years worth of bookmarks! (I'm sure someone much more "techno" that me is reading this saying, "If you'd only done etc. etc. etc. then you could get all your bookmarks back." Well... I'm not that techno savvy and frankly, I'm just too mad!

I love my computer and all the stuff it can do, but I think I become much too reliant. Somewhere between pencil and paper and "all electronic" there is balance. I'm looking for it.

Haven't posted in over a month, but having to reestablish as many bookmarks as possible has brought me back again. Sorry this was a rant, but I do feel a little more at peace! Now... some quiet meditation, prayer and a good night's sleep... there's (thankfully) something I don't need a computer to assist in. Thank goodness!