One of the most iconic moments in the days after 9/11 was when President Bush strode out to the mound at Yankee Stadium during the World Series and threw a perfect strike. I remember that moment like it was yesterday, the exuberance of the crowd, the sense of national unity. I have a picture in my office of President Bush throwing this first pitch.
Here it is:
John Calvin famous said our hearts are great “idol-making factories.” A good, wholesome, beneficial pursuit can quickly become an idol. For me, I find that my pleasurable hobbies can often lead to idolatry. Sports is perhaps the biggest threat. I’m a big time fan of team sports. I love the NFL, the NBA, and Major League Baseball (when our Chicago teams are competitive.). Sports is a terrific way to enjoy leisure time, great way to occupy creative and emotional parts of our minds and to find common ground with others. But it can also become an obsessive pursuit. Let me explain.
There are seasons when I’m so completely locked in on sports. For instance, last NBA offseason and the season were terrific, perhaps one of the best in many years in the League. During that season I was checking Twitter constantly to see where LeBron might be signing. I watched many regular season games and most playoff games. And I was constantly listening to sports radio in the car. None of those are wrong, but they began to consume my time. In increasing amounts.
And do you know what was interesting about this newfound idol? It didn’t satisfy. When I began to look to my sports addiction as something that can fill me when I’m discouraged or distract when I’m convicted by the Spirit, it became a lousy friend. The reason for this is simple. Sports was never created to satisfy me. It can only bring temporary pleasure or enjoyment and provide a prism thru which I may appreciate and glorify God more.
I’ve found something else interesting. When I unplug from sports (or whatever my idol is that season) and dive deeper into the Word through prayer, preaching, and good reading, I find I still have an affinity for sports like the NBA, but I tend to enjoy my limited exposure to it. Do you understand what I’m saying? Too much of a pursuit/hobby I love not only becomes a bad thing, it becomes a terribly object of worship. But when sports is in its rightful place in my life, I find my limited moments indulging become true enjoyment. The expectations for satisfaction are way lower. Sports becomes what it was supposed to be for me: a time to rest, relax, reflect, unwind. But not my Master and my source of delight.
Only God gives this. And our hearts are wired only to find pleasure in Him. So the answer, I guess, is not to completely abandon all good things that can be turned into great, but it is to keep them in their place. When our pursuits begin to look like worship, we should scale back, dive back into the Word, and then realize we only find life in Jesus.
This past Monday my wife convinced me that it was important to take our kids to the Field Museum in Chicago. Monday is typically my day off and this week the museum was free. So we packed the kids in the van and drove downtown. We live in the suburbs and like it that way, but we thoroughly enjoy visiting the city. Chicago is rich with first-class museums, beautiful parks, and much to do.
I hadn’t been to the Field Museum in about 20 years. I had remembered it as a big place with a lot of dry artifacts and dinosaur bones. Never one for geology, I envisioned this trip being a boring tour of various rock exhibits. I was wrong. The Field Museum is a wonderful place for learning and exploration, with exhibits and hands-on stuff for kids of all ages to enjoy. We only toured a fraction of it, bowing to the reality of three kids under six who don’t do well in big museums without taking naps.
But we saw enough to wow us about the incredible, complex world in which we live. We saw the different species of plants and animals, we toured the Egyptian exhibit and were amazed at the ingenuity of people who lived thousands of years ago. And the replicas of big animals always stirs in us excitement and wonder at the creativity of our Creator.
Except there was no mention of the Creator at the Field Museum. And this is where our trip ended (for me) with profound sadness. Now I didn’t expect the secular Field Museum to be a cathedral. Of course not. But it’s quite odd to marvel at the incredible design of a creation and see no mention of the Creator.
The Bible tells us that the Heavens declare the glory of God. They are a testament to the world that there is something bigger out there than us. And the unique design of, for instance, the human cell screams of a transcendant Being whose wisdom and ingenuity created it in the first place. And yet we’re subjected to theories of how things just happened, collided, exploded, and evolved.
This is absurd. Imagine touring the Museum of Air and Space at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C and seeing no mention of the Wright Brothers. Imagine behold the incredible development of the airplane, but reading nothing about the designers who crafted these flying machines? It would not only be absurd, it would be scandalous and an offense to the people who diligently spent their life on these inventions. It would say something about us, that we were almost ashamed of them and tried hard to edit them out of the story.
This is what is happening with evolution. Christians can debate the facts all they want. They can point to the lack of clear scientific data proving the theory of evolution. They can get their brightest minds to push back against the culture.
But the Creation and Evolution is not a debate of facts. It’s the wrestling of the culture against the inborn knowledge of a transcendant God. We come up with novel theories of our existence only because we want to ignore the signs of nature that point to a glorious God. We do this because as sinners, we are ashamed. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden, we hide. We want to convince ourselves that there is no God so that we don’t have to face up to who we really are.
As Christians, it is our job, not just to apologetically present the truth of Creation, but more importantly to fill the vacuum with the Gospel. To lovingly share that, yes there is a God, but no you don’t have to hide. Because the sin that has made you ashamed has been covered for you by Another, Jesus Christ, whose death and resurrection reconcile you to the One who created you.
So next time you visit the Field Museum or some other place that edits out God, don’t react with anger and facts, but let it stir in your heart a longing to share with people the good news of the gospel. So people will no longer hide from the God who loves them.
Around our house, we’re starting to call my youngest daughter, Emma, the “Me-Too” girl. This is because, at 1, she has practiced and perfected the fine art of envy. Everything her brother and sister have, Emma wants. And she demands it by pointing vigorously at it. And if Mom or Dad get some food or snack, even if Emma isn’t hungry, she’s pointing it and wanting it. She’ll even do this at dinner, pointing to Mommy or Daddy’s plate and we remind her that she has the same stuff on her own plate, if only she’d look down.
It’s kind of funny on a 1-year old. But it’s all too common among grown-ups, especially Christians.
Not long ago I wrote a post on the importance of reading books, even in the 21st Century. I want to follow up on that by sharing why I still prefer paper books to e-books, even in the midst of the e-book revolution. Recently Amazon revealed that e-books for their Kindle reading device now outsell paperback and hardback sales of books. I also have quite a few friends who speak of enjoying their reading experience on their Kindles and iPads. And yet, I’m one person that has resisted the revolution. That’s not to say I’ll never buy a Kindle or some other device. I may. But as of right now, I prefer paper books. Here are a few reasons why:
A few years ago, one of my childhood heroes, Michael Jordan stood on a stage in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was giving a speech after being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. I was expecting the usual words of acceptance, thanking parents and teachers and coaches. But instead, Michael shared a bitter rant against anyone who ever doubted his basketball ability. He was cruel and petty.
Jordan’s speech was so cringe-inducing I turned it off. But most commentators excused it because the greatest basketball player in the history of the world can, in their words, “say what he wants.” In other words, if you’re talented, it’s okay to be a jerk.
Contrast that with a press conference last week with the newest superstar on the Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose. At 22 years old, he’s the youngest ever to win the MVP award. He’s got the entire world praising him for how humble, gifted, and poised he is as a team leader.
And yet when I watched him speak, he was still remarkably humble, even choking up to thank his mother who shaped him while growing up in the crime-ridden West side of Chicago. I pray Derrick Rose always stays so humble, so appreciative of his gifts.
Most of us will never reach the level of fame of Michael Jordan or Derrick Rose. But we each have a talent and if we’re not careful, we’ll adopt the worldly philosophy that says we’re entitled to treat people bad simply because we’re gifted. I like what bestelling author and popular blogger, Jon Acuff recently said about this on his blog: “Wild talent and a bad attitude eventually always loses to mild talent and a good attitude.”
Just because you’re gifted or have experienced some success, doesn’t give you the right to be a jerk. Especially if you’re a Christian. God call us to live humbly, confidently, and sacrificially. This is the heart of the Gospel, that Christ’s transformation within frees us from living for our selves.
Most of Americans rejoiced at the swift justice we unexpectedly witnessed on Sunday with the capture of terrorist mastermind, Osama Bin Laden. Many gave important cautions against too much celebrating about the eternal damnation of a soul once created in God’s image.
In the days since, as with any news story, there are conflicting accounts of what happened in the raid by our brave Navy SEALS, including how involved the President was, why they buried Osama at sea, etc. And as such, there are a raft of conspiracy theories emerging. I won’t get into these here, but I think it’s a good jumping off point to discuss something I’ve been wanting to write about for some time.
It’s the subject of Christians and conspiracy theories. Alternate theories of history have abounded since the beginning of time, because we live in a fallen world, infected by sin, sinful leaders, and anterior motives. But it seems that the proliferation of new media, the vast reach of the Internet, and general distrust of authority has given rise to even more conspiracy theories.
Almost every day I receive an email forwarded from someone who forwards information about a political figure, religious figure, or institutions with which they disagree.
The question for us is this. How should we approach these ideas? Here are a few guidelines I’ve found helpful to me as I process stuff like this:
Twice the Psalms tells us, in identical language, “ a fool says in his heart, ‘there is no God’” (Psalm 53:1;Psalm 14:1). I have loved these passages most of my. They are a wonderful rebuke to atheists such as Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris.
But the last time I read them, I realized they may not simply be written to expose the foolishness of those who rule out the presence of God. Perhaps they’re written for those who do believe in God.
