Today has been a strange kind of day. This afternoon, the Purolator truck dropped off a box with some promotional materials for Alien Love. The package included a set of event invitations and laminated promotional posters. The delivery presents a peculiar dilemma for me.
You see, yesterday I contacted my publisher and requested that they cease from printing any further copies of my book. Some of the feedback that I’m getting seems to indicate that people who don’t know me might get the wrong impression from one of my illustrations, and jump to the conclusion that I hate them. I guess some topics are just too hot to be able to have reasonable dialogue. The mere mention of certain issues tends to polarize the conversation and we respond with our gut rather than processing what is actually written on the page before us.
Interpretation is a peculiar art. We often draw conclusions from statements which were never made in the first place. It seems obvious, to myself and others, that the kind of love I’m advocating cannot be understood by people who do not know my heart. It is in that thought, that these words have been shared with me;
“So far, I don't think I have really disagreed with anything you said. I just had to understand and knowing you, I can ask about what I don't. But I'm also recognizing how it could be taken the wrong way. I think because I know you, I can hear your voice when reading it, and I care more about what you have to say. I listen more, even when it exposes sin in my life.”
Nobody who knows me can accuse me of having a hateful or malicious heart. However, not everybody knows me. Not everyone can hear my voice as they are reading my words. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to share a coffee or a 3 hour conversation with everyone who needs me to clarify what I’m trying to communicate.
I thank each of you who have been an encouragement and who have given your honest feedback for the book.
I have no idea of where I’ll head from here. I am being urged to consider reworking my illustration, however, I find myself to be quite empty. I have been at this project for over 3 years now and I just don’t know if I can walk another mile. Overall, I feel empty.
I have 6 months to either rework my illustrations or to cancel the work entirely. I humbly ask for your prayers in this process. Other than any copies which have already been released to bookstores or to Amazon, Alien Love will not be available publicly. I do have a few copies of my own which I might sell to any friends and family who are interested.
Perhaps it really is alien after all.
Love Kevin
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Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
If You Insist on Reading It...
Today I finally received the first copy of my second book, Alien Love. I’m not writing this post to try and sell it to you. Quite the opposite. You see, I’m not looking for fans or followers. After all, the way I understand it, fans are idolaters. I guess I’ll never make the New York Times’ best sellers list with an attitude like that.
I’m not looking for people to give me their money so I can quit my job, but I am looking for a few people to partner with me. Seeing as a good post here draws about 20 hits, the word, “few” is quite appropriate.
If You Are Going To Buy The Book...
If you plan on purchasing the book, there are some things I want you to know first. For a book about love, I talk quite a lot about sin. I say that up front, because I don’t want you to be surprised. The last thing I want is for someone to buy it and say, “Wow. For a book about love, he talks a lot about sin.” Actually, that's part of the reason why I called it Alien Love.
There is something else that I want you to know. I want you to know that I don’t hate anybody. I really don’t. People who warn others about sin are often accused of being hateful. I beg of you, if you are one of those people who think that it’s inherently judgmental to warn someone about sin, you probably won’t like it. As you read, you need to be able to hear the voice of someone who cares. If you aren’t able to hear the voice of someone who has a heart, you do me a great disservice by reading the text. If that’s the case, then please purchase something by Max Lucado instead.
If You Like The Book
If you are able to come up with some decent discussion questions, that would be greatly appreciated. I often think that maybe someday I would like to republish it with some discussion questions at the back of each chapter. The same goes for my first book, The Edge of His Cloak, if you ever happen to read it.
If You Think It Has the Potential to Change Lives
If you’re a believer, please pray for me and the book. For myself, pray that I’ll properly manage the duties of being an author, speaker, father, husband, believer and mechanic. Pray that I’ll have a humble heart. Pride takes on various forms. I’m not the guy who struts his stuff, expecting people to kneel before him. My pride takes on more subtle forms. My pride will have a harder time handling people who say, “Gee. It really isn’t as good as your first book.”
There were no expectations on me the first time around. I feel like I have something to live up to now. Pray that I am able to gracefully handle whatever may come.
Pray that God will disarm those who read it. Whenever we read or listen to something, we carry with us all of the baggage of our past. That baggage tends to produce a knee-jerk reaction which limits our ability to properly listen to and process what we are reading. Pray that those who read it will see it as it is, either good or bad.
When I was in the editing process, I had a homosexual read it and I asked him this question, “Do you see the love?” He responded by saying, “Yes. I do see the love, but you need to realize that a lot of people won’t. Many won’t see the love in it because they have been so damaged in their past.”
Pray that God would supernaturally reveal the baggage for what is, and the love for what it is.
Pray that Christ would be lifted up, not to be crucified again, but as high and holy. Pray that if the book is crap, that He would kill the thing. I would have preferred Him to kill it BEFORE making it into print, but perhaps He has a purpose in my public humiliation. Pray that it makes it where He wants it to go.
If you are willing to partner with me in some way, let me know. I might want some help with this project, although I don’t exactly know what that looks like.
Where to Buy...
If you live in the Aylmer area, please consider being a blessing to the people at Returning Home. They will be carrying a few copies until Christmas, and can order extras if they run out. The book can also be purchased on Amazon, although the picture isn’t up yet.
My first public appearances with the book will be at Faith on Thrusday night’s men’s Bible study on Dec. 1st and 8th. I won’t be promoting the book, but I will have copies available. I’ll be speaking from the book of Mark.
Providing that the book is acceptable to my church, I plan on having copies available Sunday mornings in December at our resource centre.
Final Thoughts
If you would really like to read the book, but really can’t afford it, let me know. Find me on Facebook and I’ll send you a link to an electronic version. I didn’t write the book to make money.
If you are someone I know, thank you for your friendship. If you are someone I do not know, I hope you can imagine yourself being my friend.
Love Kevin
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Other Things
This past week at men’s group, we were looking at Mark 4:1-20. It might be familiar to some of us as Jesus’ parable of the sower. In the passage, Jesus talks about 4 different kinds of soils, yet it really isn’t about soil. He’s talking about people and how we respond to God’s word when it is spoken into our lives. The weedy, thorny soil remains with me. In fact, the issues that I’ll be sharing with you remain with me on many days.
When Jesus explains the parable, He says that some seed is, “sown among thorns. They are those that hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” Mark 4:18-19
Do you ever wonder who this might describe? Do you ever also wonder exactly what parameters would identify a life lived among these kinds of thorns? Do you ever wonder whether or not this person is saved?
What really sticks with me is when Jesus refers to the desire for “other things”.
It’s the kind of statement that really leaves a lot of room for condemnation. What are “other things” anyway? Asked another way, what aren’t “other things”? It would be entirely different if Jesus was referring to sinful things, but He doesn’t. It would be easier if he was merely referring to things that are of the sinful nature wouldn’t it?
After all, that’s clear isn’t it? For the believer, group sex is out. Got it. Partying like a rockstar is out. Got it. Sorcery doesn’t belong. Got that too. Gossip, slander and deceit don’t belong in the life of the redeemed. Easy stuff.
Other things…..
Where does it begin, and where does it end? Could it be chocolate? Lego? Corn? Nintendo? Shoes?
As we live out our calling, I find that there are two twisted reactions to passages such as these. We can take “other things” to be EVERYTHING, or to be NOTHING.
Everything
Jesus is everything. Anything that does have Jesus stamped on it has no place in the life of someone who knows Him. If you go on a holiday, it needs to be a missions trip. If you are shopping for groceries, you had better use it as an opportunity to witness. Unnecessary home renovations are always completely worldly. Any music you listen to needs to literally sing the praises of Jesus. If you’re going to watch fireworks, use it as an opportunity to hand out Gospel tracts. (or Gideon Bibles. My tract of choice.) Any “other things” in our lives are from the Devil and need to be eradicated from our lives if we’re going to properly live out a Biblical faith. Fun is bad. Work for Jesus is good.
Nothing
Gi-Joe is fine. There is nothing wrong with having action figures right? Jesus certainly isn’t referring to sports. Go Leafs go! They are going to win the cup this year. I think I’ll book my room for the playoffs this week. If He had meant something specifically, then He would have said it as it is. Snowmobiling is fine, so I can head out as often as the ground is covered in white. Fishing, golf and video games are good to go. Nothing is bad and off limits, so this passage really doesn’t hold any weight over our lives. It’s just there to allow legalists to try and abuse our conscience. Fun is good. Fundamentalist who are always trying to win souls to Christ are bad.
If you are a fleshly creature, I likely won’t be of much help to you. To be honest, I’m not so sure I have it laid out for myself. The Everything crowd is right. They are also wrong. The Nothing people are right. They also happen to be wrong.
If we’re going to make any sense of this, maybe it’s best to simply think on what Jesus says and what He doesn’t say. This is not a lesson on morality. This particular soil might not even be dealing with the individual’s salvation. The plants that sprung up didn’t die. We’re merely told that “it proves unfruitful”.
I know what some of you are thinking. So. Does it mean that kind of soil isn’t saved? We worry so much about that in Christian circles don’t we? Let’s face it. If the whole thing about hell and fire are true in the literal sense, we want to make sure we end up on the good side of eternity. Whether or not this particular type of soil is ‘saved’ is debatable in my opinion.
What I Know
As much as we wonder about salvation, there is more to a believing life than being saved. Having fun isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but Solomon told us that, “A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.” Ecclesiastes 7:4 I know it’s foolish to be predominantly concerned about our pleasure, no matter what form it takes on. My personal bent is towards the comic book reading, video game nerd crowd. Maybe you’re the sports fan or the book worm.
I also know that it’s possible, in light of eternity, to waste the days that we are given.
1 Corinthians 3:13-15
New Living Translation (NLT)
13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
There is a kind of faith to be lived, which escapes the fires of hell, but was a complete waste of time. That type of faith that we read about here in Corinthians isn’t one which is meant to be admired. It’s the kind of faith, that on judgment day will “suffer great loss”. Don’t tell me you want that. Making it through the fires of judgment is a good thing on its own. It’s much better than burning up. However, it isn’t the most desirable condition. Imagine that you make it through, but everything else in your life was burned up. I bet you can handle your workplace being incinerated, and maybe even your life savings. What about your friends? What about your family?
It isn’t that we have the power to control the eternity of those we know. For my part, I can handle my friends and family living apart from Christ for all eternity, so long as I have been faithful in living out my faith among them. If that is what they really want, who am I to stand in their way? I can NOT handle the thought of having my friends and family torched because I was too busy about other things, to be a willing witness for Christ.
What I Do
I’m not your God. So make up your own mind. Here is how I regulate what place “other things” have in my life. Follow this riddle. I don’t buy many other things, but I have other things. Specifically, I have a lot of video games, but I don’t buy video games. How can i have video games if i don't buy video games? The people in my life get those things for me because they know I like them.
Does that mean I’m in the clear? Not exactly. That’s just the way I’ve chosen to manage those “other things”. I’ve told you before. I’m not your God and I stopped trying to be the answer man a long time ago. What if your wife won’t buy you a Wii? What if you never get to have fun ever again? Maybe you will never have fun ever again. Considering a life that suffers great loss on That Day, would it be so bad to miss out on some of the pleasure in this life?
We have fun in our home, but our lives don’t revolve around where we’re going to eat this week, what we’re going to buy on the weekend or planning our getaway. We laugh. We listen to Bill Cosby. We sit down for 15 minutes every evening to look into God’s word and talk about its bearing on our lives. That’s what I do. Is it completely right? :-/
If There Was A Conclusion…
I believe we do a disservice when we gravitate either towards Everything or Nothing. I think specifically of my pastor who has taken up golf in these past few years. He tells me, “Sometimes in ministry, you can get so busy serving that your life and your family fall apart.” There has to be a place for at least some “other things”.
At the same time, I feel strongly that we also do ourselves a disservice in living out a life which thinks, “It’s all good. God is in all things so we don’t have to be concerned with anything that literally carries the name of Jesus.”
Finding the ‘middle road’ isn’t exactly the answer either. It comes down to this; What kind of Jesus have you believed in? Maybe you don’t believe in any kind of Jesus at all. In that case, you might as well eat drink and be merry, because tomorrow you die anyway. We’re here for a good time. Not a long time. Right? If you believe in a Jesus, maybe He’s a fairy tale Jesus, who really hasn’t prepared us for any kind of work in the world. He came, He taught some nice life lessons, but He’s dead and certainly doesn’t have any calling on our lives, let alone the means to communicate His vision to us.
Or perhaps you serve the living Christ. He has both a call over your life, the means to communicate the vision and the strength to empower you to that end. Are you walking in step with Him?
In the end, each of our work will be revealed for what it really is. If we have no care whatsoever for the role that “other things” play in our lives, how serious are we about doing our part in these evil days? I’ve been honest with you…..
What place do you give to those “other things”?
Kevin
PS. If you have it all figured out, you really didn’t like this post. Did you?
When Jesus explains the parable, He says that some seed is, “sown among thorns. They are those that hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” Mark 4:18-19
Do you ever wonder who this might describe? Do you ever also wonder exactly what parameters would identify a life lived among these kinds of thorns? Do you ever wonder whether or not this person is saved?
What really sticks with me is when Jesus refers to the desire for “other things”.
It’s the kind of statement that really leaves a lot of room for condemnation. What are “other things” anyway? Asked another way, what aren’t “other things”? It would be entirely different if Jesus was referring to sinful things, but He doesn’t. It would be easier if he was merely referring to things that are of the sinful nature wouldn’t it?
After all, that’s clear isn’t it? For the believer, group sex is out. Got it. Partying like a rockstar is out. Got it. Sorcery doesn’t belong. Got that too. Gossip, slander and deceit don’t belong in the life of the redeemed. Easy stuff.
Other things…..
Where does it begin, and where does it end? Could it be chocolate? Lego? Corn? Nintendo? Shoes?
As we live out our calling, I find that there are two twisted reactions to passages such as these. We can take “other things” to be EVERYTHING, or to be NOTHING.
Everything
Jesus is everything. Anything that does have Jesus stamped on it has no place in the life of someone who knows Him. If you go on a holiday, it needs to be a missions trip. If you are shopping for groceries, you had better use it as an opportunity to witness. Unnecessary home renovations are always completely worldly. Any music you listen to needs to literally sing the praises of Jesus. If you’re going to watch fireworks, use it as an opportunity to hand out Gospel tracts. (or Gideon Bibles. My tract of choice.) Any “other things” in our lives are from the Devil and need to be eradicated from our lives if we’re going to properly live out a Biblical faith. Fun is bad. Work for Jesus is good.
Nothing
Gi-Joe is fine. There is nothing wrong with having action figures right? Jesus certainly isn’t referring to sports. Go Leafs go! They are going to win the cup this year. I think I’ll book my room for the playoffs this week. If He had meant something specifically, then He would have said it as it is. Snowmobiling is fine, so I can head out as often as the ground is covered in white. Fishing, golf and video games are good to go. Nothing is bad and off limits, so this passage really doesn’t hold any weight over our lives. It’s just there to allow legalists to try and abuse our conscience. Fun is good. Fundamentalist who are always trying to win souls to Christ are bad.
If you are a fleshly creature, I likely won’t be of much help to you. To be honest, I’m not so sure I have it laid out for myself. The Everything crowd is right. They are also wrong. The Nothing people are right. They also happen to be wrong.
If we’re going to make any sense of this, maybe it’s best to simply think on what Jesus says and what He doesn’t say. This is not a lesson on morality. This particular soil might not even be dealing with the individual’s salvation. The plants that sprung up didn’t die. We’re merely told that “it proves unfruitful”.
I know what some of you are thinking. So. Does it mean that kind of soil isn’t saved? We worry so much about that in Christian circles don’t we? Let’s face it. If the whole thing about hell and fire are true in the literal sense, we want to make sure we end up on the good side of eternity. Whether or not this particular type of soil is ‘saved’ is debatable in my opinion.
What I Know
As much as we wonder about salvation, there is more to a believing life than being saved. Having fun isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but Solomon told us that, “A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.” Ecclesiastes 7:4 I know it’s foolish to be predominantly concerned about our pleasure, no matter what form it takes on. My personal bent is towards the comic book reading, video game nerd crowd. Maybe you’re the sports fan or the book worm.
I also know that it’s possible, in light of eternity, to waste the days that we are given.
1 Corinthians 3:13-15
New Living Translation (NLT)
13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
There is a kind of faith to be lived, which escapes the fires of hell, but was a complete waste of time. That type of faith that we read about here in Corinthians isn’t one which is meant to be admired. It’s the kind of faith, that on judgment day will “suffer great loss”. Don’t tell me you want that. Making it through the fires of judgment is a good thing on its own. It’s much better than burning up. However, it isn’t the most desirable condition. Imagine that you make it through, but everything else in your life was burned up. I bet you can handle your workplace being incinerated, and maybe even your life savings. What about your friends? What about your family?
It isn’t that we have the power to control the eternity of those we know. For my part, I can handle my friends and family living apart from Christ for all eternity, so long as I have been faithful in living out my faith among them. If that is what they really want, who am I to stand in their way? I can NOT handle the thought of having my friends and family torched because I was too busy about other things, to be a willing witness for Christ.
What I Do
I’m not your God. So make up your own mind. Here is how I regulate what place “other things” have in my life. Follow this riddle. I don’t buy many other things, but I have other things. Specifically, I have a lot of video games, but I don’t buy video games. How can i have video games if i don't buy video games? The people in my life get those things for me because they know I like them.
Does that mean I’m in the clear? Not exactly. That’s just the way I’ve chosen to manage those “other things”. I’ve told you before. I’m not your God and I stopped trying to be the answer man a long time ago. What if your wife won’t buy you a Wii? What if you never get to have fun ever again? Maybe you will never have fun ever again. Considering a life that suffers great loss on That Day, would it be so bad to miss out on some of the pleasure in this life?
We have fun in our home, but our lives don’t revolve around where we’re going to eat this week, what we’re going to buy on the weekend or planning our getaway. We laugh. We listen to Bill Cosby. We sit down for 15 minutes every evening to look into God’s word and talk about its bearing on our lives. That’s what I do. Is it completely right? :-/
If There Was A Conclusion…
I believe we do a disservice when we gravitate either towards Everything or Nothing. I think specifically of my pastor who has taken up golf in these past few years. He tells me, “Sometimes in ministry, you can get so busy serving that your life and your family fall apart.” There has to be a place for at least some “other things”.
At the same time, I feel strongly that we also do ourselves a disservice in living out a life which thinks, “It’s all good. God is in all things so we don’t have to be concerned with anything that literally carries the name of Jesus.”
Finding the ‘middle road’ isn’t exactly the answer either. It comes down to this; What kind of Jesus have you believed in? Maybe you don’t believe in any kind of Jesus at all. In that case, you might as well eat drink and be merry, because tomorrow you die anyway. We’re here for a good time. Not a long time. Right? If you believe in a Jesus, maybe He’s a fairy tale Jesus, who really hasn’t prepared us for any kind of work in the world. He came, He taught some nice life lessons, but He’s dead and certainly doesn’t have any calling on our lives, let alone the means to communicate His vision to us.
Or perhaps you serve the living Christ. He has both a call over your life, the means to communicate the vision and the strength to empower you to that end. Are you walking in step with Him?
In the end, each of our work will be revealed for what it really is. If we have no care whatsoever for the role that “other things” play in our lives, how serious are we about doing our part in these evil days? I’ve been honest with you…..
What place do you give to those “other things”?
Kevin
PS. If you have it all figured out, you really didn’t like this post. Did you?
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Do We Ever Get our Fill of Blood?
A month or two ago, an old friend of mine posted a question, asking for some input from the ‘big shots’ in his life. From his vantage point, I often wonder who his big shots are. I don’t know if anyone answered him or not. If my memory serves me correctly, here was his question;
“Why do we like scary movies?”
We do we? We have little tolerance for a life well lived. We prefer to watch some beautiful young lady in a bikini as she is torn apart by a shark or being hacked up by a chainsaw. THAT is entertainment.
There is a principle at work that I share with you on a consistent basis and it goes like this...
The lives we live are a reflection of who we really are.
So if we enjoy watching the suffering of other human beings, what does it say about us?
Any serious thinking human must know what I’m about to share with you, although, depending on one’s worldview, each will give it a different name. There is something dreadfully wrong in the heart of humanity. Sigmund Freud called it the ID. I believe that Steven King said that to varying degrees, we’re all crazy. One might think that he might have at least some insight as to why we like scary films.
As a culture, it seems obvious that Christ’s words apply directly to us when He said;
“..people loved the darkness more than the light...”John 3:19
We love the darkness. Don’t we? At work last week, I spoke with a teacher who was transferred from a progressive school in town, to one of those backwards rural public schools. It’s the kind of school where they still have the nerve to allow Gideons to hand out testaments. I asked him if he noticed any difference between his old school and the new school. This was his response.
“Well, at the rural school, I don’t have to confront gang members or try and check them for weapons before class.”
This is the expression of our brand of civil freedom. I’m not complaining. I’m really not. I’m not saying that we should bring prayer back into public schools, place a Bible in every desk, or even that doing these would cure our ills. What I’m saying, is that we prefer Saw to Hammy Hamster. We prefer drugs over prayer and switchblades to testaments. We glorify celebrities whose lives end in train-wreck. I’m fine with all of this. In fact, you have no idea of how fine I am with it.
We are increasingly a people who love to see the shed blood of others, but it’s completely acceptable because it comes in the form of entertainment. We’re going the way of Rome. Here is a question to ponder; Is there any act so vile, that it is offensive to portray it on screen?
I’m not a big shot. I’m just a guy who loves his wife and children. I make my living fixing other people’s problems. I have been faithful to my family, and by God’s grace, I intend to remain so as long as I shall live. I don’t live the kind of life that many people would want to see in a film.
Just in case you are wondering, I don’t care if you watch horror films or not. If you enjoy watching the suffering of other human beings, turning off the TV won’t fix what’s in your heart. If you don’t want to think on things that are pure, true, noble, honourable and worthy of praise, then please don’t. If you enjoy watching someone being beaten into a bloody stump, then by all means, feed your fever. Maybe not everything I watch is completely on the up and up either. If so, the problem isn’t on screen.
There has to be another way to be human.
“Why do we like scary movies?”
We do we? We have little tolerance for a life well lived. We prefer to watch some beautiful young lady in a bikini as she is torn apart by a shark or being hacked up by a chainsaw. THAT is entertainment.
There is a principle at work that I share with you on a consistent basis and it goes like this...
The lives we live are a reflection of who we really are.
So if we enjoy watching the suffering of other human beings, what does it say about us?
Any serious thinking human must know what I’m about to share with you, although, depending on one’s worldview, each will give it a different name. There is something dreadfully wrong in the heart of humanity. Sigmund Freud called it the ID. I believe that Steven King said that to varying degrees, we’re all crazy. One might think that he might have at least some insight as to why we like scary films.
As a culture, it seems obvious that Christ’s words apply directly to us when He said;
“..people loved the darkness more than the light...”John 3:19
We love the darkness. Don’t we? At work last week, I spoke with a teacher who was transferred from a progressive school in town, to one of those backwards rural public schools. It’s the kind of school where they still have the nerve to allow Gideons to hand out testaments. I asked him if he noticed any difference between his old school and the new school. This was his response.
“Well, at the rural school, I don’t have to confront gang members or try and check them for weapons before class.”
This is the expression of our brand of civil freedom. I’m not complaining. I’m really not. I’m not saying that we should bring prayer back into public schools, place a Bible in every desk, or even that doing these would cure our ills. What I’m saying, is that we prefer Saw to Hammy Hamster. We prefer drugs over prayer and switchblades to testaments. We glorify celebrities whose lives end in train-wreck. I’m fine with all of this. In fact, you have no idea of how fine I am with it.
We are increasingly a people who love to see the shed blood of others, but it’s completely acceptable because it comes in the form of entertainment. We’re going the way of Rome. Here is a question to ponder; Is there any act so vile, that it is offensive to portray it on screen?
I’m not a big shot. I’m just a guy who loves his wife and children. I make my living fixing other people’s problems. I have been faithful to my family, and by God’s grace, I intend to remain so as long as I shall live. I don’t live the kind of life that many people would want to see in a film.
Just in case you are wondering, I don’t care if you watch horror films or not. If you enjoy watching the suffering of other human beings, turning off the TV won’t fix what’s in your heart. If you don’t want to think on things that are pure, true, noble, honourable and worthy of praise, then please don’t. If you enjoy watching someone being beaten into a bloody stump, then by all means, feed your fever. Maybe not everything I watch is completely on the up and up either. If so, the problem isn’t on screen.
There has to be another way to be human.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Occupying Canada
I’ve been following the coverage for today’s Occupy Canada thing. As a believer, I have mixed emotions about the whole thing. The general consensus seems to be that ‘the system isn’t working’. I believe wholeheartedly that the whole world is broken; irreparably. For me however, this really isn’t my country, so I have a hard time understanding my place in it. I don’t know about you, but my citizenship is in heaven. This is just my temporary assignment.
From a worldly perspective however, I often question what these demonstrators really expect. What would the solution be for them? What would actually be the fix? We’ve tried all of the 'isms. Fascism was great. Communism was one step better. Socialism is a blast isn’t it? How about tribalism? In my own opinion, Capitalism has done about the best because it uses greed as it fuel, and it seems to be a completely renewable resource.
There is no ‘ism that will fix our dying world. There is no world system which consistently produces goodwill and prosperity for all of its citizens. If there were, there would be some country where the ‘ism has erased poverty and satisfied the public at large. As it stands, Canada must have one of the best ‘isms available, because we are consistently one of the best countries to live in throughout the entire civilized world. So if this country isn’t good enough, what is?
Yeah. We have problems. We really do. I somehow doubt that any people group or ideology really holds the answers. Call me cynical. We elect a new leader every 4-8 years or so, and it’s funny, our problems don’t go away. It doesn’t matter who carries the mantle or what colour their elections signs were. We still have problems. I'd bet my organs that our problems won't go away no matter who we call to office, no matter their qualification, their ideology, their race, gender or sex.
One of the main complaints has been greed itself, but is seems as if we are only upset at certain forms of greed; corporate greed to be precise. Other forms of greed are quite acceptable to us as a culture.
Greed is about this. It’s about, more. That’s it. Just more. More never stops. More does show up in corporate life. More also shows up in the workforce, whether unionized or not. I guess if it’s unionized, the labour force might get a little more of the more. Management always wants more. More shows up in the business arena. No matter how good you do or what sales quota you reach, it’s never really good enough. The goal is always more for next year. More is for everybody. The rich want more. The strangest thing of all, is that the poor want more too. We've all got the bug.
I agree in principle with so much that is being said behind the protests. I think we do depend way too much on drugs and pharmaceuticals. I think that we as a people need to be content, but not just in the corporate world.
Even though I agree much in principle with many of the sentiments behind the peaceful protest, I must be one of the 1 percent, because I really don’t feel that the protests represent me. I believe wholeheartedly, that they think in every way the same as the very people they claim to be against. There is a message that I am definitely not hearing from any of them. If anyone wants my support, here is the message I’m looking to hear.
“Less for us.”
To date, I have not heard of any group telling the government, “It’s okay. We’re willing to receive less and give more.” We will not recover unless people begin stepping forward to make personal sacrifice, and I hear absolutley nobody willing to do so.
There is one area of human life where we really aren’t greedy and a friend of mine brought it to my attention today. As a world, we really don’t want more of Christ do we? I’m not complaining about it. I don’t expect the citizens of this world to want more of the God of Heaven. Why would I? That would be treasonous.
I do like the thoughts however that it could be said of me. “Man. That guy just never gets enough of Jesus. He’s a Jesus freak.”
I promise you this. You will not find an ‘ISM which fixes the world. You will not find a leader apart from Christ who can permanently carry your hopes and trust. I’m told that the Anti-Christ might be able to do that for a time, but we’ll see.
Have fun with your world. You seem to have all the answers. Let me know how it works for you.
From a worldly perspective however, I often question what these demonstrators really expect. What would the solution be for them? What would actually be the fix? We’ve tried all of the 'isms. Fascism was great. Communism was one step better. Socialism is a blast isn’t it? How about tribalism? In my own opinion, Capitalism has done about the best because it uses greed as it fuel, and it seems to be a completely renewable resource.
There is no ‘ism that will fix our dying world. There is no world system which consistently produces goodwill and prosperity for all of its citizens. If there were, there would be some country where the ‘ism has erased poverty and satisfied the public at large. As it stands, Canada must have one of the best ‘isms available, because we are consistently one of the best countries to live in throughout the entire civilized world. So if this country isn’t good enough, what is?
Yeah. We have problems. We really do. I somehow doubt that any people group or ideology really holds the answers. Call me cynical. We elect a new leader every 4-8 years or so, and it’s funny, our problems don’t go away. It doesn’t matter who carries the mantle or what colour their elections signs were. We still have problems. I'd bet my organs that our problems won't go away no matter who we call to office, no matter their qualification, their ideology, their race, gender or sex.
One of the main complaints has been greed itself, but is seems as if we are only upset at certain forms of greed; corporate greed to be precise. Other forms of greed are quite acceptable to us as a culture.
Greed is about this. It’s about, more. That’s it. Just more. More never stops. More does show up in corporate life. More also shows up in the workforce, whether unionized or not. I guess if it’s unionized, the labour force might get a little more of the more. Management always wants more. More shows up in the business arena. No matter how good you do or what sales quota you reach, it’s never really good enough. The goal is always more for next year. More is for everybody. The rich want more. The strangest thing of all, is that the poor want more too. We've all got the bug.
I agree in principle with so much that is being said behind the protests. I think we do depend way too much on drugs and pharmaceuticals. I think that we as a people need to be content, but not just in the corporate world.
Even though I agree much in principle with many of the sentiments behind the peaceful protest, I must be one of the 1 percent, because I really don’t feel that the protests represent me. I believe wholeheartedly, that they think in every way the same as the very people they claim to be against. There is a message that I am definitely not hearing from any of them. If anyone wants my support, here is the message I’m looking to hear.
“Less for us.”
To date, I have not heard of any group telling the government, “It’s okay. We’re willing to receive less and give more.” We will not recover unless people begin stepping forward to make personal sacrifice, and I hear absolutley nobody willing to do so.
There is one area of human life where we really aren’t greedy and a friend of mine brought it to my attention today. As a world, we really don’t want more of Christ do we? I’m not complaining about it. I don’t expect the citizens of this world to want more of the God of Heaven. Why would I? That would be treasonous.
I do like the thoughts however that it could be said of me. “Man. That guy just never gets enough of Jesus. He’s a Jesus freak.”
I promise you this. You will not find an ‘ISM which fixes the world. You will not find a leader apart from Christ who can permanently carry your hopes and trust. I’m told that the Anti-Christ might be able to do that for a time, but we’ll see.
Have fun with your world. You seem to have all the answers. Let me know how it works for you.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
From Toilet to Testaments
My knuckles are still sore from that knockout punch I delivered on my toilet bowl yesterday. If you are wondering about why I would beat up my toilet, you’ll have to friend me on Facebook to see the pictures. No. I was not angry or venting out of any pent up frustration. My wife and I are redoing our upstairs bathroom and beating it up just seemed like a fun way to break it down into a form where our garbage man would take it away for us. We aren’t the kind of people who enjoy spending money decorating our home, but some of the plumbing was leaking, which ruined the flooring and black mould was beginning to grow on the ceiling downstairs.
Today was a much different day than yesterday. I had the privilege of handing out New Testaments to some of the grade 5 classes in 4 of the schools in my area. Without fail, every time I am out witnessing and giving away Bibles, there is always one person who catches my attention; someone who says something to me that impacts my heart and remains very much in mind for weeks and years to come. This morning was no exception.
We were in one of the public schools in our area. That in itself is an extraordinary privilege. I told the class that we as Gideons are men and women who believe that there is but One God who loves every single person on the face of the earth. He sent His son Jesus in order to make us right with Himself and we want to make sure that everyboy at least has the opportunity to get to know Him. I know that many of you would have presented the gospel much more clearly. But that’s the problem isn’t it? You weren’t there. I’ll be more than happy if God sends someone more qualified to fill my shoes. If you can present the Gospel much more clearly, I’ll be happy to step aside. Seriously.
After describing to the best of my abilities the value of knowing Jesus, one girl quietly raised her hand. I don’t know her name or her parents, and in a way, maybe that’s a good thing. She was a lovely young lady with longish blonde hair. After I acknowledged her, she went on to reveal a little bit of her family life;
“My mom and dad said that the TV brought sin into our house. Once we got rid of it, it made it all better.”
I wish I had more time to prepare for situations like this. How do you respond to a statement like that in a public school setting? Reflecting on the moment, there are many more things I would like to have shared.
In my heart, I feel for both the girl and for the family. Maybe in some way, the situation in their home isn’t quite exactly the way she has received it. Maybe her parents aren’t that black and white about it. My wife and I don’t have cable, satellite or even a working antenna, but it isn’t because the sin comes through the TV.
Or maybe they really do believe that sin comes through the television, and if we just get rid of the TV demon, that will make us right with God. If that’s the case, I still feel for them. In their heart of hearts, they might really believe that, and no matter how misguided, their intentions might be completely honourable.
Personally, I don’t plan on getting cable anytime soon. Whenever we are away staying at a motel, we turn it on. When we do, we’re reminded that we really aren’t missing much. In fact, I do believe that our family does enjoy a certain kind of intimacy because we aren’t plugged into the world in that way. There are often blessings to be had for turning off the screen.
(We do watch some programming via the internet, which really isn’t much different. Our family’s favourite show is The Biggest Loser.)
I hope I responded in a way that glorifies God and gives Christ His proper place.
“Personally, I don’t think it quite works that way, but if your parents don’t want you watching TV, I hope you’ll respect that for now.”
There is but one way to the Father, and it’s through Christ and Him alone. Self denial often carries with itself an appearance of godliness, and even has a place in our faith. The sin however doesn’t live in the TV, the bottle or the pill. The sin dwells either in our hearts or in our flesh.
I’ve said what I could and done what I could. I have to trust God for the rest.
I’ll be thinking and praying for her and her family for some time to come; perhaps for the rest of my life.
Today was a much different day than yesterday. I had the privilege of handing out New Testaments to some of the grade 5 classes in 4 of the schools in my area. Without fail, every time I am out witnessing and giving away Bibles, there is always one person who catches my attention; someone who says something to me that impacts my heart and remains very much in mind for weeks and years to come. This morning was no exception.
We were in one of the public schools in our area. That in itself is an extraordinary privilege. I told the class that we as Gideons are men and women who believe that there is but One God who loves every single person on the face of the earth. He sent His son Jesus in order to make us right with Himself and we want to make sure that everyboy at least has the opportunity to get to know Him. I know that many of you would have presented the gospel much more clearly. But that’s the problem isn’t it? You weren’t there. I’ll be more than happy if God sends someone more qualified to fill my shoes. If you can present the Gospel much more clearly, I’ll be happy to step aside. Seriously.
After describing to the best of my abilities the value of knowing Jesus, one girl quietly raised her hand. I don’t know her name or her parents, and in a way, maybe that’s a good thing. She was a lovely young lady with longish blonde hair. After I acknowledged her, she went on to reveal a little bit of her family life;
“My mom and dad said that the TV brought sin into our house. Once we got rid of it, it made it all better.”
I wish I had more time to prepare for situations like this. How do you respond to a statement like that in a public school setting? Reflecting on the moment, there are many more things I would like to have shared.
In my heart, I feel for both the girl and for the family. Maybe in some way, the situation in their home isn’t quite exactly the way she has received it. Maybe her parents aren’t that black and white about it. My wife and I don’t have cable, satellite or even a working antenna, but it isn’t because the sin comes through the TV.
Or maybe they really do believe that sin comes through the television, and if we just get rid of the TV demon, that will make us right with God. If that’s the case, I still feel for them. In their heart of hearts, they might really believe that, and no matter how misguided, their intentions might be completely honourable.
Personally, I don’t plan on getting cable anytime soon. Whenever we are away staying at a motel, we turn it on. When we do, we’re reminded that we really aren’t missing much. In fact, I do believe that our family does enjoy a certain kind of intimacy because we aren’t plugged into the world in that way. There are often blessings to be had for turning off the screen.
(We do watch some programming via the internet, which really isn’t much different. Our family’s favourite show is The Biggest Loser.)
I hope I responded in a way that glorifies God and gives Christ His proper place.
“Personally, I don’t think it quite works that way, but if your parents don’t want you watching TV, I hope you’ll respect that for now.”
There is but one way to the Father, and it’s through Christ and Him alone. Self denial often carries with itself an appearance of godliness, and even has a place in our faith. The sin however doesn’t live in the TV, the bottle or the pill. The sin dwells either in our hearts or in our flesh.
I’ve said what I could and done what I could. I have to trust God for the rest.
I’ll be thinking and praying for her and her family for some time to come; perhaps for the rest of my life.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Do You Want Me To Love You?
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of catching up with a young man who used to be one of THEM. Sitting in a small coffee shop in the north end of Aylmer, we talked about many things. We recalled fondly the days when we first met. We talked about the goings on in our current lives, the challenges of married life and our role in the workplace. We talked about God, what he’s doing in our lives as well as some of our personal struggles.
During our time together, I took some time to share with him a story from my work life. The story recalls the events of a conversation I had with one of my coworkers.
The Story
As I recall, it was in the dead of winter, just before the time when we open the doors to the public. Timothy walked in the doors, carrying a bewildered expression on his face.
“What’s wrong with old people?” he asked.
Inquisitive, I responded, “What do you mean?”
“Well. I’m driving to work, and there is this old guy crossing Main St. in front of me. He takes like forever to cross, so I had to wait for him to get to the other side. It’s 7:30am in the morning! What was he doing up at that time of the day anyway? When I retire, I’m not going to get up that early. Isn’t it dumb? What do they have that is so important to do? What do you think?”
Timothy stood quietly, waiting for my response. As I think on the moment, what probably took a matter of seconds, draws on for an hour or so as I replay the
scene as it happened in my mind. The question I thoroughly pondered within those few seconds went something like this; “Do I tell him what I really think?”
I mean, I have had conversations like this with Tim before, and whenever I have told him what I actually thought, they had always tended to pull us into some kind of argument. Would it be worth the effort to tell him what I actually thought? Did we have time for the discussion anyway? We were supposed to be opening the store to the public in minutes.
As I considered his question and reflected on his story, my mind was remembering the conversations I have had with some of the elderly people in my life. The explanation I received from them time after time was very consistent from person to person. Their stories each echoed something to this effect;
When you spend your entire working life getting up to go to work at 6:00am, it’s impossible to stop just because you are retired. It’s difficult to reverse a habit that you have developed during your entire adult life.
Should I have shared that with Timothy? If the conversation devolved into another conflict, would it be worth it? I decided against honesty.
I just smiled and nodded my head. I really didn’t think he valued my opinion, even though he asked for it.
Back at the Coffee Shop…
My friend sat back in his chair, giving me a thoughtful glare. “Kevin. Can I be honest with you?”
“Of course you can.”
“I don’t think you really love that guy.”
Pausing for a moment, I had to acknowledge he was right. I really didn’t believe that pursuing an authentic relationship with Timothy was worth the aggravation. However, I often question whether or not Timothy even wanted me to love him in the first place. Would he have received it well, were I to set him straight on his perception of the elderly?
Whenever I speak, whether in person, on stage, in an e-mail, through a book or in a blog post, I often wonder who you are and if you really want me to love you or not. If you are a non-believer, do you want me to love you? It’s a fair question isn’t it? I often check out message boards and chat rooms, hearing similar complaints from non-believers,
“Christians shouldn’t try to force their religion on other people.”
Personally, I don’t think it’s even possible to force a personal faith in Jesus on another human being. However, there is a deep rooted resistance among many to be presented the good news that we have peace with God through faith alone in Christ alone.
Is that you? If you really don’t want me to give you a Bible, invite you to church or ask you to receive Christ as Lord and Saviour, you have no idea of how fine I am with that. If spending eternity apart from Christ is fine with you, I’m okay with it too. I hear it’s pretty horrible, but if you don’t care, then I’ll do my personal best not to care.
If you don’t like being told about Jesus, I have great news. Most Christians don’t want to tell you about him either. The ones you think might be trying to “force their faith” on you probably actually love you more than those who leave you alone. (Notice my use of the word, “probably”. It’s not always the case.)
As I have worked through my latest book, Alien Love, and as I recount my conversation at the coffee shop with my friend, I realize that I have loved very few people authentically. My coffee shop friend has been among the few.
When he was going out with his girlfriend, I used to wonder if he was fornicating. On the outside, they were both professing to be following Christ so I was hoping that they were able to remain faithful to Him in their relationship with each other.
How do you ask that sort of thing? Do you just come out and ask? “Hey! Are you two doing the nasty? It’s a sin you know.”
I don’t remember how I asked them, but I do vividly remember their response. They each smiled and paused to look into each other’s eyes. Looking back at me they responded, “We’re waiting for each other.”
You can do whatever you want with your life and I’ll still love you. Yet, if you really want me to care about you, I’ll need to know, because if I don’t perceive that you welcome my input into your life, I’ll just smile and nod.
I promise that I’ll only care as much as you want me to. If you tell me to leave you alone, I am completely fine with that. How forthcoming do you want to be with those whose lives intersect with your own? To what extent do we actually want the honest input of others into our lives?
If you’re characterized by a dirty mind, or a dirty mouth, do you want me to be fine with it? Should I be? If you’re thinking of walking out on your family because it’s not fun anymore, what do you really expect me to say?
Likewise, seeing as this is sent out to anyone in the world with internet access, I’m not so sure how much I want you to be completely forthcoming to me.
Kevin
PS – Timothy. Did you want me to love you? Or are you glad that I just smiled and nodded?
During our time together, I took some time to share with him a story from my work life. The story recalls the events of a conversation I had with one of my coworkers.
The Story
As I recall, it was in the dead of winter, just before the time when we open the doors to the public. Timothy walked in the doors, carrying a bewildered expression on his face.
“What’s wrong with old people?” he asked.
Inquisitive, I responded, “What do you mean?”
“Well. I’m driving to work, and there is this old guy crossing Main St. in front of me. He takes like forever to cross, so I had to wait for him to get to the other side. It’s 7:30am in the morning! What was he doing up at that time of the day anyway? When I retire, I’m not going to get up that early. Isn’t it dumb? What do they have that is so important to do? What do you think?”
Timothy stood quietly, waiting for my response. As I think on the moment, what probably took a matter of seconds, draws on for an hour or so as I replay the
scene as it happened in my mind. The question I thoroughly pondered within those few seconds went something like this; “Do I tell him what I really think?”
I mean, I have had conversations like this with Tim before, and whenever I have told him what I actually thought, they had always tended to pull us into some kind of argument. Would it be worth the effort to tell him what I actually thought? Did we have time for the discussion anyway? We were supposed to be opening the store to the public in minutes.
As I considered his question and reflected on his story, my mind was remembering the conversations I have had with some of the elderly people in my life. The explanation I received from them time after time was very consistent from person to person. Their stories each echoed something to this effect;
When you spend your entire working life getting up to go to work at 6:00am, it’s impossible to stop just because you are retired. It’s difficult to reverse a habit that you have developed during your entire adult life.
Should I have shared that with Timothy? If the conversation devolved into another conflict, would it be worth it? I decided against honesty.
I just smiled and nodded my head. I really didn’t think he valued my opinion, even though he asked for it.
Back at the Coffee Shop…
My friend sat back in his chair, giving me a thoughtful glare. “Kevin. Can I be honest with you?”
“Of course you can.”
“I don’t think you really love that guy.”
Pausing for a moment, I had to acknowledge he was right. I really didn’t believe that pursuing an authentic relationship with Timothy was worth the aggravation. However, I often question whether or not Timothy even wanted me to love him in the first place. Would he have received it well, were I to set him straight on his perception of the elderly?
Whenever I speak, whether in person, on stage, in an e-mail, through a book or in a blog post, I often wonder who you are and if you really want me to love you or not. If you are a non-believer, do you want me to love you? It’s a fair question isn’t it? I often check out message boards and chat rooms, hearing similar complaints from non-believers,
“Christians shouldn’t try to force their religion on other people.”
Personally, I don’t think it’s even possible to force a personal faith in Jesus on another human being. However, there is a deep rooted resistance among many to be presented the good news that we have peace with God through faith alone in Christ alone.
Is that you? If you really don’t want me to give you a Bible, invite you to church or ask you to receive Christ as Lord and Saviour, you have no idea of how fine I am with that. If spending eternity apart from Christ is fine with you, I’m okay with it too. I hear it’s pretty horrible, but if you don’t care, then I’ll do my personal best not to care.
If you don’t like being told about Jesus, I have great news. Most Christians don’t want to tell you about him either. The ones you think might be trying to “force their faith” on you probably actually love you more than those who leave you alone. (Notice my use of the word, “probably”. It’s not always the case.)
As I have worked through my latest book, Alien Love, and as I recount my conversation at the coffee shop with my friend, I realize that I have loved very few people authentically. My coffee shop friend has been among the few.
When he was going out with his girlfriend, I used to wonder if he was fornicating. On the outside, they were both professing to be following Christ so I was hoping that they were able to remain faithful to Him in their relationship with each other.
How do you ask that sort of thing? Do you just come out and ask? “Hey! Are you two doing the nasty? It’s a sin you know.”
I don’t remember how I asked them, but I do vividly remember their response. They each smiled and paused to look into each other’s eyes. Looking back at me they responded, “We’re waiting for each other.”
You can do whatever you want with your life and I’ll still love you. Yet, if you really want me to care about you, I’ll need to know, because if I don’t perceive that you welcome my input into your life, I’ll just smile and nod.
I promise that I’ll only care as much as you want me to. If you tell me to leave you alone, I am completely fine with that. How forthcoming do you want to be with those whose lives intersect with your own? To what extent do we actually want the honest input of others into our lives?
If you’re characterized by a dirty mind, or a dirty mouth, do you want me to be fine with it? Should I be? If you’re thinking of walking out on your family because it’s not fun anymore, what do you really expect me to say?
Likewise, seeing as this is sent out to anyone in the world with internet access, I’m not so sure how much I want you to be completely forthcoming to me.
Kevin
PS – Timothy. Did you want me to love you? Or are you glad that I just smiled and nodded?
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