As a result of never quite fully growing up, I’ve kept a lot of my childhood toys and games. Partially this is because I just like them, but it’s also because I wanted my own kids to have them to play with. As a kid-parent, then, I get great pleasure from each new opportunity to share a game or toy with my boys as they become old enough for them.
Now, naturally I realize that some of these things are going to get broken in this process. And, of course, I also know that replacing them may be impossible or at least fairly difficult. Thus, I realize that this sharing process will cost me some of my treasure, and so I don’t really mind when a Lego or a bendy-snake gets broken from normal wear and tear.
What I do mind is when things get broken because my boys were destructive in playing with something contrary to the way it’s supposed to be used, a kind of wanton destruction that shows they didn’t really appreciate their father’s things in the first place. And I tremble to consider that this is how our heavenly Father reacts when He sees how we’ve treated the precious things He’s shared with us.
Thought of the Day 02.26.10
In arguing for the hijab and the burqa, Muslims generally sound very much like American conservatives who criticize our sexually liberal image obsessed culture. They just take it farther than we do. Yet most of us are revolted by their extrapolation of our ideas. Why is this?
Well, we say that the problem is the oppression of women and the hypersexualizing of them which is implicit in treating them as if they are so toxic and needing of protection. (Or we notice that the burden of this solution falls entirely on women rather than men.) But I think the strength of our revulsion belies a different truth: such clothing just looks absurd to us.
Even though we oppose immodest attire in principle, we are so accustomed to it that actually seeing modest dress (let alone a hijab) seems completely abnormal. And that’s the funny thing about ethics. What we are regularly exposed to is far more formative on the viscerality of our sense of what’s normal than any principled arguments ever could be. Knowing what’s right and feeling right when you actually see it are two very different things.
Well, we say that the problem is the oppression of women and the hypersexualizing of them which is implicit in treating them as if they are so toxic and needing of protection. (Or we notice that the burden of this solution falls entirely on women rather than men.) But I think the strength of our revulsion belies a different truth: such clothing just looks absurd to us.
Even though we oppose immodest attire in principle, we are so accustomed to it that actually seeing modest dress (let alone a hijab) seems completely abnormal. And that’s the funny thing about ethics. What we are regularly exposed to is far more formative on the viscerality of our sense of what’s normal than any principled arguments ever could be. Knowing what’s right and feeling right when you actually see it are two very different things.
Thought of the Day 02.25.10
We’re all inclined to believe that people like Tiger Woods and the man who flew his plane into the IRS building in Texas are in a completely different moral category from us. But the Bible reveals that these men are in fact just like us. They’re merely farther along our common trajectory.
Some people just can’t see things this way. The suggestion is so absurd as to not even be offensive. (You have to believe something a little to find it offensive.) They probably think I’m exaggerating for effect rather than making a serious point. “Oh, Christians just say that, but they don’t really mean it.” The possibility of what the Bible teaches here is so literally too threatening to their psychological structure to even consider. But it is precisely the self-deception of believing that I am incapable of behaving atrociously (even under the wrong circumstances) which prepares me to behave atrociously when those (or other) wrong circumstances come about.
You see, all men suffer from delusions of their own moral grandeur, delusions only reinforced by believing that bright line category distinctions exist between us and them. “I never thought I would have done anything like that,” is the universal lament of the man who used to be completely sure that, “There but for the strength of my own character and willpower go I.”
Some people just can’t see things this way. The suggestion is so absurd as to not even be offensive. (You have to believe something a little to find it offensive.) They probably think I’m exaggerating for effect rather than making a serious point. “Oh, Christians just say that, but they don’t really mean it.” The possibility of what the Bible teaches here is so literally too threatening to their psychological structure to even consider. But it is precisely the self-deception of believing that I am incapable of behaving atrociously (even under the wrong circumstances) which prepares me to behave atrociously when those (or other) wrong circumstances come about.
You see, all men suffer from delusions of their own moral grandeur, delusions only reinforced by believing that bright line category distinctions exist between us and them. “I never thought I would have done anything like that,” is the universal lament of the man who used to be completely sure that, “There but for the strength of my own character and willpower go I.”
Thought of the Day 02.24.10
Our company has a wellness policy which allows us to earn points toward gift cards based on a variety of behaviors like eating, sleeping, and getting exercise. Since apparently $10 a month is plenty of incentive for me to change my lifestyle, I recently decided to start taking the stairs (when I can) instead of the elevator because that’s one of the point opportunities.
Well, the first time I did this, after my show about 8:00 at night, I was very uncomfortable. See, it’s all grey and ugly and a little bit creepy in the stairwell, especially below ground level where it isn’t even painted, and I found myself reliving every scary scene in a movie involving a stairwell and a psychopath. Nevertheless, I kept on, scurrying just a little bit faster out the door to my car.
Over the course of several weeks, I became progressively less bothered by the scary stairwell. And, in fact, just the other day I was pleasantly surprised to notice that I didn’t even notice it anymore. Because I had used it so many times, I had become so comfortable that my irrational fears just vanished without me even noticing. And I had to laugh at how I’d felt before.
Do you think any of this would also apply to encountering unfamiliar people?
Well, the first time I did this, after my show about 8:00 at night, I was very uncomfortable. See, it’s all grey and ugly and a little bit creepy in the stairwell, especially below ground level where it isn’t even painted, and I found myself reliving every scary scene in a movie involving a stairwell and a psychopath. Nevertheless, I kept on, scurrying just a little bit faster out the door to my car.
Over the course of several weeks, I became progressively less bothered by the scary stairwell. And, in fact, just the other day I was pleasantly surprised to notice that I didn’t even notice it anymore. Because I had used it so many times, I had become so comfortable that my irrational fears just vanished without me even noticing. And I had to laugh at how I’d felt before.
Do you think any of this would also apply to encountering unfamiliar people?
Thought of the Day 02.23.10
Consider the absurdity of someone putting any of the following bumper stickers on a car.
“My child is prettier than yours.”
“My child is more intelligent than yours.”
“My child has more athletic skill than yours.”
“My child has more friends than yours.”
“My child is more virtuous than yours.”
“My child has more faith than yours.”
Of course, thinking such things without having the honesty and courage to actually put them on a bumper sticker isn’t much of an accomplishment to brag about. But let’s be honest in noticing what they’re all really saying:
“I derive my identity from my children. Therefore, I’m worth more than you are because my children are better than yours.”
And it may sometimes be even worse than this:
“God loves me more than He loves you since I’m a better parent.”
Instead, what if someone simply put the following message on his car:
“God loves all of His children…even if they’re not honor students.”
“My child is prettier than yours.”
“My child is more intelligent than yours.”
“My child has more athletic skill than yours.”
“My child has more friends than yours.”
“My child is more virtuous than yours.”
“My child has more faith than yours.”
Of course, thinking such things without having the honesty and courage to actually put them on a bumper sticker isn’t much of an accomplishment to brag about. But let’s be honest in noticing what they’re all really saying:
“I derive my identity from my children. Therefore, I’m worth more than you are because my children are better than yours.”
And it may sometimes be even worse than this:
“God loves me more than He loves you since I’m a better parent.”
Instead, what if someone simply put the following message on his car:
“God loves all of His children…even if they’re not honor students.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
