Image Doctors (Acceptable Hypocrisy)

The week began with these words from the radio DJ: "A group of Fanshawe students is trying to improve the college's image." For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, this past St. Patrick's day, approximately 1,000 young people took to the streets. The event has caught the eye of news reporters the world over. I'm not here to condemn Fanshawe students. I'm a Fanshawe grad myself, as are my two sisters. Seeing as nobody was seriously hurt, I'm not going to rail at anybody at all. What struck me most about the DJ's statement, was that whoever this college image improvement group was, they had little care about the character of the people who set the town on fire, but were more concerned about the image of the college.


Image is pretty well everything in our culture. Character is nothing. We care more about how we are perceived by others, than we do about the true fabric of our person. I read an article on Yahoo this week outlining some of the biggest interview mistakes we sometimes make. Apparently, it's a mistake to be forthcoming about who you are.


What if you have serious authority issues? What do you really need; an image makeover?


Doctoring our image is merely an acceptable form of deception. As an interviewer, I have been so thankful in the past when people have been honest about who they were. I remember one man in particular.


"So Mr. Ed, why are you looking for work?"


Mr. Ed proceeded to tell me all of the things his horrible boss has asked him to do. In my mind, I found myself thinking, "Gee. Some of those things are stuff that I'll want him to do. What are the odds that he'll be happy to do them for me?"


So I thanked Mr. Ed for his time, shook his hand and sent him to his next interview.


How do you suppose our working relationship could have worked out, had he been hired? Have you ever entered into a relationship of any kind under pretense? It doesn't work well. Have you ever purchased a product that didn't do the things that it was advertised to do? How did you feel about it? It was kind of like being lied to.


I have no idea of what London's rioters were so angry at. Whatever the issues were, I'm quite certain they haven't been dealt with. I seriously doubt that their greatest need is a public relations spin. The passage that immediately came to my mind with regard to the image makeover was this one:


Luke 11:39
39 Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness!


The Pharisees take a lot of abuse in Christian circles, and rightly so. However, they aren't the only ones who are guilty of Christ's accusation. He was basically telling them, 'You're very concerned with looking good on the outside, but inside, you're filthy and wicked.' If our hearts are dirty, we've got bigger problems than simply a bad reputation.


If we were to look closely at the heart of London's rioters, maybe we're not so far off in some of our thinking. I don't know their hearts for sure, but there seems to be a growing segment of our world that resents authority. If that describes any of us, what place do we really have in society? Do you suppose that you'll be asked to manage Apple right out of college? And even if you land in the top spot, if we don't respect authority, what are the odds that we'll handle responsibility all that well? Taking the matter further, we're all accountable to someone else whether we like the idea or not.


If our hearts are rotten, dressing up for church or polishing our resume shouldn't even be on the agenda. For some reason, some forms of hypocrisy are quite acceptable, if not expected from us. We notice the church hypocrites, but fail to call out the Fanshawe Image Police or the resume doctors.


As for my thoughts on the riot. This probably won't be the last. If you follow popular culture, there is a blatant and growing disregard for the lives, property and integrity of others. What was once reserved for the punkish fringe, is becoming mainstream. Ask Green Day.

The Lorax (Natural Might Be Bad)

This past weekend, my wife and I took our four children to watch Dr. Zeus', The Lorax in London. I'm not exactly sure why, but for some reason, I find myself thinking about it. It isn't that the story line is new, or that we haven't already beaten to death the themes of young love, the evil profit driven white businessman or the need to plant trees . So it isn't like many of the themes are anything new. Is anything really new?

That being said, there are some elements of the film that raise some questions. I encourage you to read Dr. Zeus' book for yourself. The Once-ler has made a living out of clear cutting Truffula Trees. It's too bad he hadn't taken a lesson from the selective cutting practices that we currently follow here in Southwestern Ontario. In the film adaptation, the Once-ler sings a song saying, "I'm just doing what comes naturally. Is that so bad?"

Think about that for a moment. He's just doing what comes naturally. Is it so bad? From the story's perspective, the rhetorical answer is an undeniable, "Yes!". From the viewer's perspective, yes it is wrong to cut down absolutely every tree in sight. How do you feel about that? Doesn't that challenge much of the thinking of our day? How well does the principle stand?

If it's natural, it's okay.

The film goes to great lengths to say that it isn't okay. Just because we're wired to do something, doesn't mean it's right. Just because we're programmed to accumulate wealth at the expense of others, doesn't make it acceptable. Unfortunately, we're generally fine with that mentality, because we've been indoctrinated to adopt a survival of the fittest mentality.

There are many aspects of the film that I really can't get behind, but I don't want to rain on its parade. On this issue however, I think I agree. Just because something comes naturally, doesn't mean it's acceptable. I often hear, "I was born this way" as a kind of defense for whatever the person wants to do. I rarely take anyone to task when they say it to me, but if you want to know what really goes on in my mind, I'll fill you in. We're told quite clearly through Jesus, "unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God." John 3:3 So when someone tells me they were born a certain way, in my mind I'm thinking, "Gee. That's kind of too bad."

I know that the world makes every effort to convince us that we're just animals. I for one just don't see it that way. Hate me. I can take it. I believe firmly that we were made in God's image and He had so much more intended for us. If you ever read the book of Jude, he speaks on a people much like the Once-ler saying, "they' will do anything for money". Jude 11 He mentions other things that these types are characterized for including sexual perversion, defiant to authority and self absorbed. It must be quite natural for them, because he describes them like animals who do whatever their instincts tell them to do. vs. 10

I'm going against a lot of accepted Christianity here. When conservative Christian types hear the phrase, "Born that way", they tend to respond saying, "No. It's not natural. It's a choice". I think deceit, greed and immorality are quite natural. Why else would we have to be born again?

Maybe in some respects, the evolutionists are quite right. Maybe we really are no better than animals. It certainly would explain a lot of what we see in the world. It would explain the sex trade. It would explain Kony. A lot of disgusting things are in fact very human. Where are you in that? What would Jude say about you? How horrible it would be if he were to say that our behavior is natural for us. Perhaps he would say the same thing he said about the people in his letter. "They live by natural instinct because they do not have God's Spirit living in them." Jude 19

Are there things you do out of instinct? Are there things that we justify by saying, 'That's just the way I am'? Maybe it really isn't a valid defense after all. I know I ask a lot of questions when I write. I also know that you rarely answer them. So I'll leave you with perhaps one of the bigger questions of life.

If there is absolutely no disconnect between our instincts and our actions, what's really going on inside of us?

Alien Love, Gremlins and Kirk Cameron

If it’s okay with you, I’d like to share a conversation that I very much enjoyed today.

At work, a co worker of mine was asking about my writing. He isn’t a Christ follower, but he does care about me, so he shows interest in what I do. Whenever I talk to people about my book, the question usually comes up about sales. I’m not sure why. I suppose in our world, a lot of life revolves around those kinds of measurements for success.

When I told him that I really don’t sell very many, he seemed to want some specifics.

“How many have you sold exactly?”

To be honest, I really don’t know. I’ve never really tracked my sales all that well. I report everything on my taxes, but I give so many away. In his mind, he must have expected something more impressive, because when I told him, “160”, he posed another question.

“Why do you think it sells to poorly?”

It’s a big question really, and on the spot, I didn’t have a great answer for him. In honesty, I haven’t spent much on marketing at all, so my book is kind of a secret to most of the world. I don’t know how accurate my response was, but this is what I gave him.

“Well, basically, I talk a lot about God and sin. Who wants to hear that? Maybe if I wrote about sorcerers, or sex, I’d do better.”

Okay. I’m not the only guy with that kind of message, and some similar books do well. But seriously, calling people sinners really isn’t received favorably. Is it? How many people like to be told that they sin? Kirk Cameron is taking a lot of flak right now for this very issue. Pretty much the whole of humanity prefers to live with an air of self righteousness. We want to live thinking that there’s nothing wrong with the lives we live.

Giving a thoughtful look, he smiled saying, “Well Kev, as your future sales manager, maybe you can keep the whole God thing, just throw in some witches, a hobbit and a few gremlins. It’s okay to use the God stuff, just keep it metaphorical.”

I know it's not that simple, but the conversation was fun regardless.

What Makes a Man?

This past Thursday might have marked the end of a chapter in my calling as a believer, and I told the men just as much. “This might be the last time I speak to you guys. I have the sense that God might be leading me to help serve in youth work for a while. Of course, if I’ve got my wires crossed, I hope you’ll have me back.”

Not too long ago, the very notion of men’s ministry seemed rather bizarre to me. What purpose can there be in serving a specific gender? Jesus loves women too. Doesn’t He? A lot has changed in my thinking over the last few years of my walk with Christ and in particular, this past week has highlighted many of those changes.

My Boys

Last Monday, our church held its annual men’s chili cookoff. My ten year old sons have gone with me for the past two years and we were planning to go together this year, when my oldest son asked me, “Dad. Isn’t the men’s chili cookoff for men? I mean, grown men?”

I responded by asking a question in return. “Well son, what makes a man? How do you know when a boy has become a man? How about when he’s 10 years old?”

“No. Not when he’s 10.”

“Okay then. Is he a man when he’s 16? How about 18? If he is a man when he’s 18, how about the day before he turns 18?”

Thinking through the matter at hand, he eventually told me, “I don’t know dad. I guess it’s not that simple.”

I then turned the question over to his younger brother. “How about you son? When do you think a boy becomes a man?”

Processing it for a moment or two, he looked at me and said, “When he becomes responsible.”

There’s likely more to it, but I accepted his answer.

At Work

I’m not a very effective evangelist. I have yet to make disciples out of all my coworkers. I know that many of you believe in the great commission and you are much more productive than I. I’m very happy for you. Even though I haven’t gotten everyone to place their trust in Christ, I am blessed to have some productive conversations.

Billy-Bob is our resident Mac-loving fan boy. He also watches a fair bit of television programming and he was telling me about a show he often watches called Intervention. He was talking about it saying, “So many people, when you listen to them they all have the same sob story. My dad was a drunk, so it’s his fault that I turned out to be a drunk. Or he was on drugs, or he was never there for us. He walked out on us. Just once I’d like to hear someone say, mom was a drunk. This is all her fault.”

There are a lot of horrible moms out there I’m sure. In fact, I can think of one past friend of mine who has some serious grievances against his mom. Yet, overwhelmingly, the fathers in our lives seem to have the potential to inflict the greatest wounds and leave behind many of life’s greatest scars. I don’t think it’s because men sin more, but there is something quite damaging at work when we fail to become real men.

Manning Up

Granted, I'm sure there is more to manhood, but if responsibility is part of it, then failing to rise to the call leaves its mark on those who should have been able to count on us. There is a multitude of ways we shirk our responsibility, from living out a pleasure seeking life, or being absent altogether. Most of you must know some stories that begin with, Daddy came home drunk (or high). They aren’t happy stories are they?

As I’m writing this post, the words of one father in particular are coming to mind. “I often stayed away from home, because I knew that if I went home, there would be things that I would have to do.”

I’m incredibly tolerant. In fact, it’s almost sickening how fine I am with people who insist on ruining their lives, and the lives of those around them. You can’t accuse me of trying to run your life, but something in me yearns for all of us to be what my son sees as being the qualifier for true manhood.

Over and over I talk to men who feel like they having done anything with their lives or careers. How often do we consider that the impact of our lives has very little to do with our accomplishments in the workforce, but more to do with our place in the lives of those who intersect with ours?

I knew a man who left his job to pursue his dream career. While he was in school, his family nearly starved. In the end, he returned to his original truck driving job anyway. All through the process, he kept saying, “God wants me to be happy. Right?” You can hate him all you like, but hate me while you’re at it. I was right beside him all the way saying, “Sure. I guess He wants you to be happy.”

Conclusion?

If you aren’t a believer, I don’t expect you to lay down your life for your family. If you want a bike, the drug or the hobby, I expect you to go get it. If you are a believer, I still don’t expect you to lay down your life, but we claim to be following the One who did. Much of the time, something is amiss. Am I wrong?

There is a tremendous need for men to be involved in men’s ministry. (Yes. There is also a need for women’s ministry.) If I move on, part of me hopes that someone will rise up to take my place. Any takers?