A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger                                                        Proverbs 15:1

Do you watch political ads? This time of year, they are all over media of every type. No matter your political persuasion, you are being assaulted by these ads. I use the word assaulted advisedly, because that is what most political ads are now- assaults on the character of the opponent.

Demonizing opponents is not new, but it is nonetheless toxic. Issues, and stances on current societal problems are not what is emphasized to try to win votes. Rather, it is the undercutting of the opponent in order to paint him/her as a threat to our very existence. Such strategy, unfortunately, has been found to garner votes. Such trash actually seems to work.

So, dear readers, I have decided to try to disregard what I hear in these ads that is negative information about the political opponents. In a 30-second clip, many harmful things are said that are, A. not true, and B. skewed, and out of context in such a way as to simply make the other candidate look like a fool or a criminal. Truth, such as can be found, may be somewhere in the middle.

Which brings me to my conclusion. Whatever happened to the “middle”? Politics is now so extreme, on both sides of the political spectrum, that the middle seems to be an impossible place to find. Yet the essence of political governance is compromise. Yes, compromise has somehow become a dirty word.

So, when you hear those ugly ads that are all over the place, just tune them out. Do some research into issues and candidates based on what they have written, their voting records, and hopefully, their character history.

Just don’t listen to the ads. You’re welcome! 😊  

Prayer: Lord, give us wisdom and grace as we navigate these times, Amen

“Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, you may be also.  You know where I am going, and you know the way.”                                            John 14:1-4

He was a man who did not want attention brought on to him. He loved God, his family, and he lived a life of service to others. He was an Army veteran, called up during the Berlin Wall crisis in 1961. He served his country while on duty, and also after he had left the service. He volunteered to be in the honor guard of veterans at their funerals so that they would have the final dignity of the recognition of a grateful country.

He served for many years in the U.S. Postal Service, retiring from there, and he often also did side jobs to provide for his wife and three girls. People on his route were blessed to have him around, because he would go out of his way to help some of the elderly folks on his route. He didn’t talk about that much, but others did.

He never met a joke that he didn’t like, and he had a library of them in his head. Whenever you spoke to him, he’d say “Hey, I’ve got a joke for you”. They were clean jokes, many corny jokes, but they made you laugh, and that was his point- he wanted people around him to feel better.

He told those jokes to whomever he encountered, because he wanted to lift up others. Even as he was going through the final stages of the cancer that finally claimed him- after a long and courageous fight- he told jokes to his doctors and caregivers.

He was married to my sister for 58 years, and they raised three very sweet, very special girls. They and many others will miss him terribly.

Most of those reading this blog did not know him, but I wish you could have. His life truly was a life well-lived. A man going about his business and his life in a very responsible way, loving his family and others in quiet warmth.

There is a saying that I have mentioned before in this space, and that is, “Our job is to make every place we have been better for our having been there”.

You did that Lou. We love you, and we miss you.  

“I was there when he established the heavens and formed the great springs in the depths of the oceans. I was there when he set the limits of the seas and gave them his instructions not to spread beyond their boundaries. I was there when he made the blueprint for the earth and oceans. I was the craftsman at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence.                                                                 Proverbs 8:27-30

“Lady Wisdom”, the personification of truth about how the world operates, is the speaker in this excerpt from Proverbs 8. The truth spoken here is that God created the universe, but before he did that, he created Wisdom. Why did he do that? Because without a knowledge of God, there is no need of a universe. Seeing the world through God’s eyes is the definition of wisdom. Having a universe without a knowledge of its creator leads to a sense of meaninglessness. If we don’t know why we are here, we flounder. Sadly, so many people struggle with the sense of lack of purpose.

So, God created wisdom, so that we could have an understanding of his creation, and of him. If we do not understand all the intricacies of how the universe works (spoiler alert- we never will), that does not preclude us from having wisdom. Knowledge is fascinating, but wisdom is the ultimate attainment, that is- knowing the God who created that universe.

Wisdom is seeing the world through God’s eyes. That is what Lady Wisdom tells us in Proverbs.

Prayer: Lord, we seek wisdom about you. Help us to see you more clearly, Amen

“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up”

Jim Valvano

And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady                                           Romans 5:4

Jim Valvano was a college basketball coach whose most notable success came at North Carolina State University. He had previously coached at Bucknell and Iona College. Once, when introducing himself to another person at a fundraiser, he said “Hi, I’m Jim Valvano, Iona College”. The man reportedly looked at him and said, “Frank Jones, I own a bank”.

Likely not a true story, but Valvano was a master storyteller, and he had a marvelous sense of humor. He led North Carolina State to a national title in 1983 over heavily favored University of Houston and secured lasting fame for that championship. Later, he left North Carolina State and became a broadcaster for ESPN.

He died at the age of 47 from a somewhat rare cancer. Before he died, however, he became an inspiration to many, and founded the V Foundation, which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for cancer research. He left a legacy of fighting against cancer.

His quote, “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up” has been the rallying call for ESPN’s annual fundraiser for the V Foundation. It is a great motto. So simple, yet profound. How often have we wanted to give up on something? People fighting deadly diseases, people who are facing serious family or financial problems- you name it.

I love Jimmy V’s motto. We will discuss more in future blogs.

 In the meantime- Don’t give up, don’t ever give up!

Prayer: Thank you Father for the hope you give us, and the strength to persevere, Amen

 So, in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.                                                                  Galatians 3:26-28

Okay, I am no Bible scholar, so please just take this as my understanding of what Paul is trying to say. In the context of this passage, I see Paul reminding his followers that Jesus came to fulfill the Law. Faith in Jesus, as the operative who supersedes the Law, is the point of the gospel. Jesus came to fulfill the Law, not to destroy it. Jesus told us that. The Law is fulfilled in loving God and one another and trusting in Him alone. If one has love for God and others, he/she does not need to hear “Don’t kill”, “Don’t steal”, “Don’t blaspheme”, “Don’t lie”- you get my drift.

The same is true for esteeming some people higher than others- you know, our tendency toward judging people who are different, disenfranchising women, stuff like that. Paul was clear here that being one in Christ is the key, not the individual flavors we come in such as Jew, Gentile, slave, free, men, and women.

The Bible has, unfortunately, often been used over the centuries by some as a justification for discrimination. Paul reminded the Galatians of the basics of the faith. We are one in Christ, and that is the basis of unity, not division.

Prayer: Lord, keep us mindful of your unity, not division, Amen

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.  Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.  Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”                                                                                                                                       Jeremiah 29:4-7

This passage from the book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament has always stuck with me as a way we ought to live. The prophet Jeremiah was deeply distraught about his people being carried into exile in heathen Babylon. Imagine what it must have been like for this prophet and his proud people, God’s people, to be carried into the “devil’s den”. At least that is how they saw it.

But God saw it a different way. This was an opportunity for them to become a shining light of God’s love and provision for people who did not know the true God. Indeed, their neighbors worshipped many gods and idols.

I am careful to understand that the Bible was written for people at certain times and places, and not all passages can be cleanly interpreted into present time and culture. Yet this passage seems to be timeless and meant for all of us.

We can decide to curse the culture that we are living in, call it godless, and ask God’s judgment on the land. Or, we can love the people right where they are, not judge them, and work to make wherever we live a place that honors God.

You know, grow where we are planted…

Prayer: Lord, help us to make wherever we are better for us having been there, Amen

Whoever was still alive had reason for hope                             Viktor Frankl

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms- to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way

Viktor Frankl

But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.                                  Psalm 9:18

I trust that many of my readers are familiar with Viktor Frankl. He was an Austrian psychiatrist, and a prisoner of Nazi concentration camps during World War II. He was a prisoner because he was Jewish.

During his time in the concentration camps, he witnessed the hopelessness and despair among many of the prisoners that one might naturally expect in such dreadful conditions. Frankl noted that those prisoners who gave up hope, those who did not see any meaning in life anymore, tended to die quickly. They had given up.

Those like Frankl, and the ones he tried to help in the camps, were able to see that, even in the most debasing of circumstances, there was something that could not be taken from them. They had a choice to hope. 

Frankl survived the concentration camp experience, however his father and his wife did not. But Frankl’s story, tragic as it appears, was one of hope for many, because from it came his works about therapy and treatment of emotional problems. His ability to marry the concepts of human suffering with the remedy of hope and choice, gave rise to logotherapy. He infused psychiatry with a spiritual dimension framed in a positive light hitherto unseen in the field.

Hope is where we find it. Unfortunately, we might stop looking. Frankl endured terrible suffering, but he never completely lost hope because he found meaning in his suffering. He found that the Nazis could never imprison his mind, even if they had his body in prison.

We have been promised that God will never forget us in our time of need, even when we see no provision in front of us. The hope of his promises remains.

Prayer: Thank you Father for infusing us with a spirit of hope, a spirit beyond us, resting in you, Amen.

I am taking the next few days to share some essays on Christian Nationalism that I wrote some time ago. This is a bit of a departure from my usual format, but I hope here to share my heart and concern about a phenomenon that serves neither our country, nor our faith well.

I am a Christian, and I love God, especially as he is expressed in his son, Jesus. I am an American, and I love my country. I am not, however a Christian Nationalist, as I understand that term.

I am disturbed by the gradual melding of “Christian” with “American”. One can be a devoted Christian without being American, and one can be a devoted American without being Christian. Some Christians in America have blurred these devotions, giving the impression that to be a good American is to be a good Christian. That to be a good American Christian entails a certain set of allegiances that mimic conservative values.

Sometimes, however, those values are not consistent with Christian values. Our track record with immigration over the years, for example, has not reflected the values of Jesus. Our track record with people of color and Native Americans is a legacy to be repented.

Of course, no country is perfect, and America has shown itself to be a bastion of freedom and democracy in a world that needs such freedom for people. We have much to be proud of as Americans, but a sober look at our imperfections is part of healthy awareness and growth.

Our very political system has been raised as a standard for the world as a way to give voice and opportunity to people heretofore unknown. Yet that very system carries the seeds of its own destruction if not held by people of integrity.

Our elected officials have pandered to their political bases without regard to what is best for the country. On the issue of abortion, for example, it has been easy for some conservative politicians to jump hard onto draconian measures to limit abortion. Please understand that I am very much anti-abortion and pro-life. The principle that government should step in to protect the most vulnerable of its population, the unborn child, is close to my heart. Yet, politicians who espouse some anti-abortion measures often are simply pandering to a constituency that will sound the dog whistle with their single-issue voters. Their understanding of the nuances facing difficult decisions about abortion, in my opinion, has often given way to cheap vote fishing.   

Cloaking political power in the language of Christianity is, to me, both subtle and repulsive. Clearly, our founding fathers envisioned an America of limited government powers, and freedom of individuals to express their opinions, including religious beliefs, without harassment.

Has God given America a bountiful blessing? Yes, of course- abundantly so. We have been protected geographically, for much of our existence, by two great oceans which kept us from invasion and interference from potential international enemies. We have the gifts of expansive plains, great agricultural soil, mineral resources, and many more blessings too numerous to mention.

Yet we also have a hubris that the rest of the world struggles to understand. We take for granted those blessings, then assume that God endowed them to us and made us special- that our country has been earmarked as the special agent of preserving Christianity.

The truth is, the fastest growth of Christianity in the world is found in Africa. Our brand of Christianity, and that is what it has become in America, a brand, is not necessarily the faith that Jesus brought to earth centuries ago. His radical love transcended political and governmental power, and turned religion upside down. Our attempt at codifying faith into a religious system is simply our human attempt to understand the power of a Holy Spirit who infuses the God-breath into humankind.

So, we must beware of the insidious growth of Christian Nationalism which seeks to justify Americanism as a faith in and of itself. Beware of buzz words which sound like a defense of faith. It may just be a defense of a political persuasion.

Then he turned my sorrow into joy! He took away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy Psalm 30:11

It sorta sounds funny, doesn’t it? “Giving ourselves permission” to do something. But that is exactly what I told a client the other day who is grieving the loss of her mother. Grief is hard, and sometimes we unwittingly make it harder on ourselves with some unwritten rules. For example, sometimes we feel that we will somehow dishonor the deceased by getting back into a normal routine. We may need to give ourselves permission to get back to the expected duties of life in a reasonable timeframe – you know, “life going on”.

I’m not sure I like that saying, “moving on with life” that much, but there is truth in it. I would argue that we honor our deceased loved ones when we do proceed with our normal life, albeit with a heavy heart.

Those who have passed that we love, and presumably they loved us, would want the very best for those left behind here on earth. Perhaps we will even be more missional and thoughtful in our actions, keeping their legacy in mind. Many people have been motivated to heroic and society changing things spurred on by memories of loved ones.

So, we may need to give ourselves permission to return to regular routines and patterns after the loss of a loved one. We may even life a better life to honor those lost.

Prayer: Lord, we know you are solace to the grieving. Help us to honor those who went before us, Amen.

If you keep quiet at a time like this, God will deliver the Jews from some other source, but you and your relatives will die; what’s more, who can say but that God has brought you into the palace for just such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

I often start my intake sessions with clients with a simple question- “What brings you here?” I then quickly add, “What brings you in now, as opposed to, let’s say six months ago?”

This is a way to determine if a problem is recent or chronic. If a certain event recently prompted the felt need for counseling, or if this consideration has been going on for a while. This information is helpful, and it is pretty concrete and specific about why a person came to counseling.

Sometimes, a person is very open about the fact that someone else told them to come to counseling- a spouse, an employer, a probation officer, etc. I am just looking for honesty here. There is no blame or judgment just because someone is coming in under some felt duress. In fact, that felt pressure can be just the thing a person needed to look more deeply into their own life. I have seen plenty of clients who come in on an EAP (Employee Assistance Program) because their employer mandated it, and the client later says that they are so glad that they were ordered to come in.

You know, whatever works.

Sometimes too, later into the counseling process, I may ask a deeper question- “Why are you here?” This does not involve why they are in the counseling room, but rather, why are they here on planet earth. Here, I am asking about their mission on earth. What is the reason that they go about life the way they do? What is their life purpose?

These are questions we all must ponder at some point. What is our mission in life? Why did God give us this existence at this time and this place with the particular gifts that he gave us?

We are here for a reason(s). How might you answer that question?

Prayer: Lord, you have given us all a reason to be here in your creation plan. Thank you for this amazing and complex world which you have given to us to impact, with gifts you gave, Amen