Last night at the grocery store, I had a rare opportunity to see the full range of feminine beauty represented side by side.
The first lady I saw walking with her man was stunning. She had beautiful hair. Her makeup and jewelry were perfect, and she was dressed in the most stylish clothes for her age, probably about thirty. But most importantly, she was thin, almost too thin, in that way men these days reward with an extra glance or three. Like I said, beautiful. As a man well-trained by this culture, I couldn’t help noticing her.
About ten feet behind her was a second lady, walking with her husband. Her hair was short, not flowing. She didn’t seem to have either makeup nor jewelry on, and she was wearing what would best be described as clothing, the sort that covers your body and that’s about all that can be said for it. And she was plump. Not so much fat, but certainly not thin, the sort of woman who might enter a singles bar and people would wonder why she was there, if they even noticed her at all.
Truth be told, under most circumstances, I probably wouldn’t even have noticed her. But in addition to my training as an American, I have also been trained by the Bible, and so I did notice the one key thing about her which made all the difference in the world to me: her three children. And seeing this stark contrast between a female body that promises entertainment and one that has actually delivered life, it was clearer than ever to me what real feminine beauty looks like.
Thought of the Day 11.18.09
I know in advance that I’m likely to be accused of reading too much into things with today’s observation, and that’s probably a fair criticism. Nevertheless, the other day we were watching a movie, and it suddenly struck me as quite odd that every last little contribution to the motion picture needs to be named in the credits.
A car doesn’t typically come with a brochure in the glove box telling me the names of all the engineers, accountants, and line workers who made it. The computer I’m writing this thought on was produced by the collaboration of innumerable people, most of whom will forever remain anonymous to me. And the same is true of most everything we own or enjoy, including most art other than movies. So why the distinction?
Perhaps one might say it’s merely easier to give credit here than in other endeavors, but I don’t think that’s the reason. To me, it’s arrogance. “Our work matters more than yours does. Look, we even have an awards show.” But this pride belies a tragedy.
See, the line worker who assembled my car long ago learned how to take joy in merely knowing his work makes other people’s lives better. The understudy to the assistant third foley, unfortunately, needs to see his name on that screen in order to feel significant.
A car doesn’t typically come with a brochure in the glove box telling me the names of all the engineers, accountants, and line workers who made it. The computer I’m writing this thought on was produced by the collaboration of innumerable people, most of whom will forever remain anonymous to me. And the same is true of most everything we own or enjoy, including most art other than movies. So why the distinction?
Perhaps one might say it’s merely easier to give credit here than in other endeavors, but I don’t think that’s the reason. To me, it’s arrogance. “Our work matters more than yours does. Look, we even have an awards show.” But this pride belies a tragedy.
See, the line worker who assembled my car long ago learned how to take joy in merely knowing his work makes other people’s lives better. The understudy to the assistant third foley, unfortunately, needs to see his name on that screen in order to feel significant.
Thought of the Day 11.17.09
The other day, Spencer and Ethan were doing what young children do: they were squabbling over a toy, which they both claimed to have had first. Since our general principle is that both boys need to share with each other and not fight, I took the next logical step. “Alright, if you can’t share properly, I’ll just take it away and no one can have it.”
This sent Ethan into apoplexy but Spencer simply issued a nonchalant, “That’s fine.” Feeling a bit like Solomon, I realized that there were several levels of evil going on here, so I made Ethan happy by giving him the toy.
At this point, Spencer complained of the injustice. So I told him that he clearly did not care very much about the toy, whereas Ethan clearly did want it quite badly. I told him that I was also very disappointed in him not yielding to his younger brother over something so obvious. But the worst violation of all was the fact that he would gladly have lost access to the toy himself so long as that deprivation made Ethan miserable.
A minister of justice must never let his rules be used as an instrument of injustice, especially by a five-year-old.
This sent Ethan into apoplexy but Spencer simply issued a nonchalant, “That’s fine.” Feeling a bit like Solomon, I realized that there were several levels of evil going on here, so I made Ethan happy by giving him the toy.
At this point, Spencer complained of the injustice. So I told him that he clearly did not care very much about the toy, whereas Ethan clearly did want it quite badly. I told him that I was also very disappointed in him not yielding to his younger brother over something so obvious. But the worst violation of all was the fact that he would gladly have lost access to the toy himself so long as that deprivation made Ethan miserable.
A minister of justice must never let his rules be used as an instrument of injustice, especially by a five-year-old.
Thought of the Day 11.16.09
If I tell you that a particular man likes to go off in the desert for four or five hours several times a week to read the Bible and pray, what do you think of him?
I suppose most of us would initially envy his devotion and wish we could emulate his practice. But I’m not so sure. There’s a whiff of something here I don’t like, and if my sniffer is right, we should literally be praying for this man rather than praying like him.
See, I immediately want to know how much time he spends with other Christians discussing the things he learns in the wilderness because one of the irreplaceable benefits of other mature believers is their tendency to keep us from our own misguided exuberances. Just as a spouse tends to moderate our eccentricities, the fellowship of other healthy people keeps our dangerous intellectual impulses pruned back.
So while I admire this man’s devotion, I know that his solitude needs a community to guide his development in a healthy direction. The Bereans indeed searched the Scriptures daily. But they also compared notes with each other afterward.
Thought of the Day 11.13.09
Every day, salespeople encounter prospects who raise objections to buying their products. Good salespeople get excited when this happens because they know that objections indicate a desire to buy rather than an aversion to doing so. The person just needs help becoming sure.
See, if he didn’t want the product at all, he wouldn’t bother raising an objection. He’d just say, “No.” Whereas “I’m not interested” is the end of a sales call, “That costs too much” is actually the beginning of one. It’s a vital distinction far too few Christians understand, especially concerning the “problem of evil.”
See, when someone says that a good God wouldn’t allow children to get cancer, we tend to think we’re entering a battle to vanquish an opponent who is our intellectual enemy. Quite the opposite.
Most of the time this person wants very badly to believe in God, but is stymied by the pain of some loss. Far from advocating atheism, he’s actually making a coded request. “Please, sir, I want to make a much deeper purchase of faith. I just need your reassurance that this truly is a wise investment.”
See, if he didn’t want the product at all, he wouldn’t bother raising an objection. He’d just say, “No.” Whereas “I’m not interested” is the end of a sales call, “That costs too much” is actually the beginning of one. It’s a vital distinction far too few Christians understand, especially concerning the “problem of evil.”
See, when someone says that a good God wouldn’t allow children to get cancer, we tend to think we’re entering a battle to vanquish an opponent who is our intellectual enemy. Quite the opposite.
Most of the time this person wants very badly to believe in God, but is stymied by the pain of some loss. Far from advocating atheism, he’s actually making a coded request. “Please, sir, I want to make a much deeper purchase of faith. I just need your reassurance that this truly is a wise investment.”
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