A Petition for Motown

It has recently come to my attention that at work I am allowed to play music in my office. I immediately set about building playlists to run softly in the background. My first impulse was to assemble a classical playlist. After all, that is the traditional music you associate with the work place, but i quickly found that the music is too soft and then too boisterous, there are too many peaks and valleys (volume wise) with classical so I decided to venture into uncharted professional waters. Motown was my next thought. So I set about constructing the ultimate smooth motown mix for work. I began to rack my brain and within a few minutes I had pulled together my core group of songs and started playing it. Soon after I realized that Motown worked far better than classical in my office. And now I am convinced Motown is the best choice for offices, waiting rooms and possibly elevators. It is more than just pleasant melodies and it can more easily (in my estimation) elicit an emotional response from the hearers and, in turn, make them happier. I think this is the reason: for the most part people have a reference for Motown hits and they identify with the song almost immediately. And the memories that have Motown songs attached to them are pleasant ones. I am willing to venture a guess that at least 98% of memories that are recalled because of a Motown hit are pleasant ones. Regardless of the particular memory the point is that it has immediate impact that classical music fails to have. How many people have a specific reference for Chopin and Handel or some piano concerto in their everyday life? I won't say none, but I will argue an extremely small and easily dismissed percentage. So this is my petition to have all offices, waiting rooms and elevators replace their classical music with Motown.

Some quick obvious benefits:
1.) Enhancement of positive feelings and an optimistic outlook on one's day, future and life.

2.) Weightloss. People will lose wait and help loosen their tightened muscles through their unconscious dancing to the irresistable pull of the music.

3.) Joy. People's joy will be enhanced by watching people unconsciously dancing and/or singing along to the background music. (something you cannot do to classical)

These are just to name a few. There are other reasons as well. Just put "Just My Imagination" on in your place of work and tell me your day hasn't just gotten a bit sunnier.

A Quick Thought on Diaper Art

Currently my son has Big Bird grinning half mad on the front of his diaper with a few other choice Sesame Street characters looking like they are planning a jail break out of the fixed ink of the diaper and into real life. Since noticing their queer placement on my son's underthings I have wondered about the purpose of putting art on baby diapers. And then I realized that it's not art at all, it's advertising. The company is advertising to the parent subtly leading them to believe that when their child gets older they will want to watch Sesame Street. When I realized this I felt besmirched and soiled, that a line had been crossed and a good faith pledge was broken. I am not sure if sometime in history, corporations got together with a representative council of consumers and hashed out a few ground rules to help direct the undeveloped capitalist model, but they should have. And one of the requests by the consumer representatives should have been, "You must not use a necessary item to my family, especially to my innocent baby, to advertise to me. No advertisements on trash bags for food products, no shampoo plugs on toilet paper, and no Children's programs on my 3 month old's diapers. I bought one product be happy with that."

So now I am fighting the feeling that it is inevitable that my son will want to watch Sesame Street, maybe that's just the diapers talking. All this got me thinking about advertising in inconvenient or absurd places that anyone else has seen, I'm interested to know if anyone else has any examples.

Humanity is a poor lens to see God through

I was at work the other day and got into a discussion with a coworker about Christianity. During our conversation he kept recalling all the Christian leaders he could remember who had experienced a public scandal, but would not discuss the theological points of Christianity. For him Christianity was all about the hypocrisy of it's "leaders" and nothing more. I realized that these people gave him an excuse not to deal intellectually with the principles of Christianity, but instead gave him an easy out, a way to take the focus off of God and put it back on fallible man.

At first I was frustrated by my coworker's argument, he was using these disgraced figures as deflectors from dealing with the main issue. But as I reflected on our conversation I realized that his argument was one predicted by Jesus in Matt. 5:16 as well as by Paul in Titus 2:7 and also by Peter in 1 Peter 2:12. The basic theme of these verses are "Do good so that you don't become a spiritual obstacle for unbelievers." This appeared to me to be a heavy burden to bear. I am to live my life in a state of constant awareness of how it may look to unbelievers. The problem I have with this reality is that I do not see myself as a good reflection of God, nor do I see myself as a good example of God's nature to humanity, let alone to my coworkers. I started to feel weighed down by this responsibility, until I read Romans 8:10-11, which in essence says that my flesh will always be sinful, but Christ has given me the Holy Spirit who empowers me to not be an obstacle, but, perhaps a signpost pointing someone's gaze back to God.

It is an odd thing that my goal as a Christian is, in essence, not to be noticed. If I am noticed than there is a good chance it won't be for anything I'm proud of. People should look at me and see the power of something greater working in my life, and not see a burdened frustrated sinner struggling to fulfill an impossible command, to be a lens through which unbelievers can see God. Instead they should see God directly working in my life and the focus should not be on me at all, that is exactly what I wanted. To not have to carry the burden of letting my coworker down on my own, instead I am called to just rely on the Holy Spirit to work through me and for Him to be the lens. In this way God is acting as His own lens through which humanity can see Him better...a lens that magnifies itself. My righteousness is imputed to me by Christ. I am holy, because HE is holy. Only through His imputed holiness and righteousness am I able to fulfill the challenge to not be an obstacle for unbelievers. It is not out of my own doing, it is out of the Lord's work in me and through me that I am able to be a person through which people see God.

Hospital Ruminations

I have been in the hospital with my wife for the past three days. We are currently waiting on some tests to see how Indiana is doing, and to determine if we are going to have to induce labor. One of the most amazing things that I have noticed throughout this pregnancy and especially in the last three days is how little people know about how life is formed and sustained in the womb. I cannot tell you how many times a doctor looked at me and just shrugged their shoulders in response to a question about Indiana's development or questions about how the womb is structured and works, this just heightens the reality that God is truly in control of this situation. I find it interesting that I always hear these New Atheists talking about how unreasonable and unfounded a belief in God is, but in this situation if seems far more reasonable to put my faith in God's ability to know and control the situation than in Science's inability to provide me with even the most basic assurance of Indiana's safety. It seems like with every test there are more questions that arise and less answers.

My brother in law pointed out a verse to me the other night that I thought was really poignant. Ecclesiastes 11:5, "As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything."

Just pray that Indiana gets as much time in the womb as possible and that Elise stays healthy and strong throughout the remainder of her pregnancy. And pray for clarity and discernment on the part of the doctors and nurses. Thanks in advance for all the prayer.

A Look Inside Condiment Correspondence (Pt. 1)

Dear Mayo,

First, let me say you are too pale, you should get out more and get some color in you, perhaps that is why so many people look slightly put off when they see you sprawled out on a piece of their lunch or dinner. And please tell me you aren't still considering that foolish move to breakfast are you? I don't care how great the Omelets look there. It just sounds like a bad idea from the start. They have no room for you and they have made it clear that you aren't welcome in the past. I am sorry to hear that Wendy's is the only fast food restaurant that still consider you as a "regular" member on all their burgers. But remember that there will always be some new salad attempted that may need your abilities. I know the Macaroni's swear by you. But we must learn to take the times as they come, the good with the bad, the mayo with the mustard so to speak...that is a saying now-a-days is it not?

Anyway perhaps you would benefit from being out of the limelight for a while hang back in some deli's for a bit, become a request-only member in the fast food chain, perhaps they'll realize they really don't know what they got till it's even more congealed and translucent shoved in the far corner of their refrigerator? Or then again maybe it's best that you just fade off into the sunset, allow another sauce to have its turn, I hear there's this great Wing Sauce looking for a big break...hear he's doing wonders on Chick-fil-A sandwiches. Anyway, I got Hot Dogs, Brats, Burgers, and Grilled Cheeses calling me I gotta run, you used to be big time you know how it can get being "in demand". Look, you were a big surprise to everyone, I think especially to the people who were eating you. Mustard thought you were created on a dare...All I'm trying to say is you had a good run. Maybe it is time to hang it up.

Stay fresh,
Ketchup.

P.S. How'd you get my new address? Just curious.

Update: The Year of Reading Dangerously...Update.

I have been distracted recently by a successful cross country move, the ever increasing reality that I will soon be a father, and the need to secure a job, asap. I have been wanting to blog though and hopefully I will be able to develop a schedule where I can do this regularly again. So I wanted to do a quick post here and give an update on how my first attempt at living a year that is in large part determined by a title or goal. I have declared '08 to be my "Year of Reading Dangerously", and have resolved to read a dangerous amount of books this year in hopes of re-igniting my passion for reading as well as providing me with some bragging rites...although I have found that bragging about reading, no matter how pompous or proud, still barely qualifies as bragging at all.

To begin the update I must confess it is not going too well at all. Since my first declaration of my intentions I have finished only a few books in my original list, although I have purchased a few others that have just sat there.

I have officially finished 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne and was extremely impressed with Jules Verne's knowledge of the sea. Captain Ahab is one of the most brilliantly written characters I have ever encountered and the way Verne exposes his motivations while retaining his inherent mystery was amazing. I was expecting an extended story about a giant squid, but was surprised to see this book is an intimate character study of a man on the run, as well as on a mission of vengeance. ***

I have also finished No Country For Old Men, which is better than the movie (which is one of my top 10 movies of all time) and is definitely worth a read. I am saving comment on this for a full blog. *****

I also read a book called The Ruins. There is not much to this book, it is just light summer reading for fans of Stephen King. It does have some interesting characters, but it was a disappointing book...and I have no idea why I read it, other than it was free.

I am almost done with Blood Meridian and Confederacy of Dunces, but should have been done with those a long time ago. On the horizon of books to read is Don Quixote, The Road, and The Stranger.

Here it is over half way through my "Year of Reading Dangerously and my book count is at 9. Not very dangerous, but that will just make the second half that much more dangerous cause I gotta make up for lost time.

Your Conscience As Your Guide (Part 1)

One of my earliest memories in life is sitting in the back seat of a car while my father was driving. I remember watching him reach over to the passenger side of the car and grab a can of soda. I then remember my horror as I saw him pop it open and take a big sip from it. I immediately burst into tears over my father's egregious behavior. He was DRINKING AND DRIVING! I had just seen a commercial, I think it was one of those "The More You Know" or McGruff ads about not drinking and driving. To me it was criminal behavior and my dad was engaging in it apparently without a second thought. The real problem was that I had understood the letter of the law, but completely misunderstood the spirit or application of the law.

One area in particular has been of real interest to me growing up and has carried over into my adult life, and it is the area of Christian living. I was always looking for specifics growing up, can I listen to this band? can I watch this specific movie?, etc. Instead of getting specific answers I got questions asked back to me. Is it glorifying God? Is it good and pure?, etc. I was in a constant state of confusion growing up because those answers to me needed further specific answers themselves. The one thing no one ever asked me about was what my conscience was saying concerning these activities, if anything at all.

I grew up in a state of frustration concerning my hobbies, and passions. I was passionate about music, movies and books, but I kept running into "the world" as I pursued these things. The problem was that what I wanted wasn't just a green light for engaging in whatever I wanted. Many things my friends were listening to and watching I felt was wrong and sinful, but when I went to "the other side" say my youth pastor for instance the answer he gave me seemed legalistic and sinful itself. I wanted a solid well researched and thought out biblical perspective so I finally pursued it myself.

I am currently still reading and studying about this, but what the issue seems to boil down to is that we as Christians should have a good, clear, blameless, pure conscience. I kept reading about the Christian's conscience and realized that I had no idea what a conscience really was. The first reality that I stumbled upon is that it seems to be an element of general revelation, because even unbelievers testify to having a conscience that guides and informs their moral choices. This can be understood by reading the Creation narrative when God says that He is going to make man in His own image. This can be known as the Imago Dei, or image of God that is implanted on the hearts of all men. I see the Imago Dei as the reason why two unsaved people can stay married for 50+ years and have a great loving family. Even though they don't acknowledge it, it is because they are made in the image of God that they can experience any good thing including their marriage.

Like a good Southern Baptist I have identified three basic biblical observations about conscience.

1.) Our consciences can be weakened or strengthened. 1 Corinthians 8:7, 1 Cor. 8:10. Our consciences are alive just like any other part of us, and can be deadened and weakened by our actions or lack thereof; or they can be strengthened by our submission to Christ through it. Our conscience should play a large role in our lives especially in all the morally "grey areas" we encounter in our daily lives. I think a great way to strengthen your conscience is to discuss what you feel your conscience is convicting you of with Christian friends. Talk about whatever activity you just engaged in. If you truly felt it was sinful don't allow the threat of "legalism" to be applied to you, and likewise if you feel a lack of sin in an area where someone else is convicted talk about it, test it with fellow Christians. And broaden the scope of your conscience. This issue may not be with the content of the music, movie or book, it may be an issue of time management that you feel convicted of. Too many times people limit the scope of their conscience to issues of morality or content of entertainment.

2.) Our conscience testifies about us to both God and man. Acts 24:16; Romans 2:15. Our consciences convict us not only of sin against God but also convict us concerning our treatment of people. Is it a sin to not donate money to a worthy cause or to those Salvation Army Santa's outside stores at Christmas. Not necessarily, but can our conscience convict us about it? What about the car broken down on the side of the road that you fail to help? This apect seems to have in view any of those activities that would cause a non-Christian to feel morally good. Without Christ (I believe it was) St. Augustine who refered to these good deeds as "excellent vices." We as Christians are to submit ourselves not only to what our conscience is telling us about our sin against God, but also to what it is saying about our social, relational and cultural behavior to others.

As a subpoint to this second observation I would like to reference 1 Samuel 24:5. Here we have David's conscience convicting him for cutting of the edge of Saul's robe. To me this stands as an example of when our conscience convicts us of personal sin that is not explicitly dealt with in Scripture. Whether David was convicted of arrogance, or of disrespect towards God's appointed leader by cutting the edge off of Saul's robe I do not know, but David's conscience was strong enough that when it convicted him he was sensitive enough to feel it and repent.

3.) Our conscience can be evil and defiled and must be cleansed by Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 3:16; Hebrews 10:22; Hebrews 9:14. Without God our conscience cannot ultimately accomplish anything. Like the Bible says our good works are like "filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6) Hebrews describe good works apart from Christ as "dead works". As a Christian we must ask God to cleanse our consciences so that they will be pure and strong and so that we can feel and submit to their conviction. I don't think many Christians have sought to do this, I don't think many people are encouraging Christians to seek a clean conscience, but I see this as the most necessary aspect of Christian living.

A real problem still exists with this perspective and that is of the individuality of us as humans and Christians and therefore the individual conviction of our conscience on our lives. What I feel a clear conviction of you may not and vice versa. Out of this dilemma has emerged (for me at least) one of the most infuriating and misused principles in Scripture and that is the argument of the weaker brother. You do not even want a hint of sin on you so you are called to abstain from all sorts of behavior that may or may not be wrong. Hopefully I will be able to deal with this in part 2. I look forward to any thoughts on this and help clarifying my points. I hope it is readable.