It irritates me that TV stations refuse to deliver ad content which is as safe for my family as the program we’re watching. Right there in the middle of a baseball game or Wipeout are PG-13 ads for murder shows, horror movies, or adult content like Cougar Town. These contain violence, frightening images, sexuality, and even profanity. This is one reason I tape most everything I watch.
So, for years, I’ve been either shielding little eyes with my hands or else telling them to look away until I can change the channel. Naturally, they disliked this, but their resistance was futile. But during a baseball game last night, something quite wonderful happened. An for Pandorum came on, and Spencer immediately looked away from the set, asking me, “Daddy, do you see how I’m not even looking?”
Not only was he quickly able to identify a problem ad, but he turned away from it and was eager for my approval for this act. So I praised him, which was easy since I was flush with the excitement of finally seeing years of parenting pay off so vividly.
Thought of the Day 09.22.09
Last week, I returned a DVD, which I told the clerk I had enjoyed. She said she hadn’t seen it, which didn’t surprise me. It was a slightly obscure Spanish film with English subtitles. Hearing this, she said, “I don’t normally like foreign films. I have to really be in the mood to read subtitles.”
My instinctive response was to feel a little bit of contempt for her, yet another superficial American who can’t be bothered to digest the artistic wonder of foreign film. But since contempt didn’t seem very Christian, I decided to say, “Yeah, they are extra work, aren’t they?” Being nice felt good.
But then I realized something. I actually agree with her! Although I occasionally watch a foreign film, I too dislike having to read the dialogue. Moreover, hadn’t she actually said that she does sometimes watch them? So there I was, secretly judging her for things we actually had very much in common!
I wonder whether I would have seen this accurately if I hadn’t forced myself to say something nice to her against my sinful impulses.
Thought of the Day 09.21.09
On the expressway this morning, I saw one of my most-despised bumper stickers. It was on a dump truck, and it proclaimed in very official-looking bright yellow, “Not responsible for damage caused by road debris.”
Now, I don’t everything about the law, but I’m pretty certain that legal obligations can’t actually be avoided simply by saying, “Not it.” If they could, just imagine the profit potential in a line of products bearing the message, “By the power of this magical sign, I am no longer responsible for anything.” Unfortunately, I can’t see a judge saying, “Yes, he did drop a piano on your dog, but he WAS wearing that sign.”
Mockery aside, this tailgate sticker offends me because it tacitly admits that dump trucks, by their very presence on the road, raise the risks to me and my property while the owners want to avoid all responsibility for that elevated danger. This isn’t just childish, but truly contrary to the basic principles of civilization. As my friend once put it, “Hey, man, we’re trying to have a society here.”
Now, I don’t everything about the law, but I’m pretty certain that legal obligations can’t actually be avoided simply by saying, “Not it.” If they could, just imagine the profit potential in a line of products bearing the message, “By the power of this magical sign, I am no longer responsible for anything.” Unfortunately, I can’t see a judge saying, “Yes, he did drop a piano on your dog, but he WAS wearing that sign.”
Mockery aside, this tailgate sticker offends me because it tacitly admits that dump trucks, by their very presence on the road, raise the risks to me and my property while the owners want to avoid all responsibility for that elevated danger. This isn’t just childish, but truly contrary to the basic principles of civilization. As my friend once put it, “Hey, man, we’re trying to have a society here.”
Thought of the Day 09.18.09
“I would consider becoming a Christian if only it weren’t for the absurd idea of a man being raised from the dead.”
Ignoring for the moment that Christianity without this fact is not Christianity at all, there is some very good news for such a doubter: the original apostles were every bit as skeptical about the resurrection as he is.
First, the women told them about the empty tomb and weren’t believed. Then, two disciples who spent the day with Jesus on the road to Emmaus weren’t believed by them either. Finally, when Jesus appeared directly to the apostles Himself, they thought they were hallucinating. (Mark 16:9-14, Luke 24:1-39, John 20:19-29) If even the disciples needed convincing against such strenuous denials, then doubting the resurrection must clearly be quite normal.
But there’s also some bad news as well, because Jesus severely rebuked those same doubters for their reluctance to accept what they should have eagerly believed. From all of this we learn that skepticism about Christ’s resurrection is both absolutely normal and yet also absolutely unacceptable.
Ignoring for the moment that Christianity without this fact is not Christianity at all, there is some very good news for such a doubter: the original apostles were every bit as skeptical about the resurrection as he is.
First, the women told them about the empty tomb and weren’t believed. Then, two disciples who spent the day with Jesus on the road to Emmaus weren’t believed by them either. Finally, when Jesus appeared directly to the apostles Himself, they thought they were hallucinating. (Mark 16:9-14, Luke 24:1-39, John 20:19-29) If even the disciples needed convincing against such strenuous denials, then doubting the resurrection must clearly be quite normal.
But there’s also some bad news as well, because Jesus severely rebuked those same doubters for their reluctance to accept what they should have eagerly believed. From all of this we learn that skepticism about Christ’s resurrection is both absolutely normal and yet also absolutely unacceptable.
Thought of the Day 09.17.09
Today, while I was helping my grandmother eat lunch at her nursing home, I had a chance to look around at all the other residents. And, as always, watching them at their various stages of disability made me sad.
Partly, it forces me to think about my own future in old age, but more so it bothers me to see all these formerly strong, capable, and smart people now unable to do almost anything for themselves. Comparing them with fully functioning human life makes me pity them in their diminished condition. But today I suddenly realized something. God must feel just such sadness whenever He looks at us.
See, He knows what fully functioning human life really looks like because He designed us to live that way. He also has a dismally accurate view of what actual human life is. And whereas my definition of healthy life is merely the average of what I see around me all the time, His definition of healthy humanity is the example of His Son: an ideal compared to which even the most capable of us look embarrassingly incompetent.
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