After the 49^th mass shooting in the United States yesterday in Kansas City (and today is just February 15^th), I am sorry to simply stipulate to the fact that “this is us” in the United States. We live in a violent country- that is- violence is celebrated in our culture.

Our movies, many songs, books, television shows and streaming favorites, as well as our violent sports like MMA, and even the violent political rhetoric which comes from glib but foolish politicians- all celebrate a culture of violence.

We further understand that legislation about gun control will not be forthcoming- not that it would really matter very much. The question I have is, “Why is violence so prevalent?” I suppose the simple answer is that it sells well in the above-mentioned media outlets. The politicians who spew the hate and violence are given wide coverage, and the message that those politicians spew seems to resonate with an alienated and angry voting population.

The French sociologist Emile Durkheim introduced the concept of anomie in explaining a phenomenon of social breakdown. This can be defined as:

 The concept of anomie, in sociology, can be defined as a state of normlessness, disorder, or confusion in a society when the standard norms and values are weak or unclear. This lack of social or ethical standards can lead to disconnection, deviance, and social instability among individuals.

So, this is us. We must first recognize the broken parts of our society before we work on fixing them. We also must understand that political change is not the answer, but it takes personal changes and convictions in the hearts of people. If we nurture hate, it will ultimately end in violence and destruction.

So, for each of us, change must start from within.

Prayer: Lord, help us to change our focus from violence reliance upon you, Amen

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.                                                            John 12:24

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. That is the day in the Christian liturgical calendar that marks the beginning of the Lenten season. Lent is the 40-day period leading up to the crucifixion, and ultimate resurrection of Jesus. We mark this period of preparation in humility- the reminder that we are dust, and that we will ultimately return to that dust.

The cycle of life is one that is marked by death. Dead plants and animals give nutrients back to the earth for new life to prosper. The cycle of life even happily lines up with the Christian calendar in the Northern Hemisphere of the world, because the period of Lent starts in the winter, but Easter marks the dawn of Spring- the symbol of new life.

Jesus said that unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. Only in dying can it give abundant life. So, as we start this season of Lent, let’s remember that we can be a seed of life to others. Jesus gave the example of laying down his life for us.

Lent is a time we consider living our life for others.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the example of sacrifice that Jesus gave, Amen

I said to myself, “Let’s go for it—experiment with pleasure, have a good time!” But there was nothing to it, nothing but smoke. What do I think of the fun-filled life? Insane! Inane! My verdict on the pursuit of happiness? Who needs it? With the help of a bottle of wine and all the wisdom I could muster, I tried my level best to penetrate the absurdity of life. I wanted to get a handle on anything useful we mortals might do during the years we spend on this earth               Ecclesiastes 2:1-3 (The Message)

I read an interesting article recently by Ross Douthat about the legalization of marijuana and the possible unintended consequences of that. He used a phrase that caught my attention. He called the legalization of gambling and marijuana in recent years a response to the “dopamine machine”. He also noted the exponential rise of the use of social media, especially with our youth, as another example of feeding the “dopamine machine”.

I began to think of how dopamine works. It is the brain chemical that seems to shout “I want this again!” once stimulated by a substance or emotional trigger of some sort. Once we start the dopamine cycle, it wants the stimulus again, and the sooner the better.

Gambling, food, sex, drugs, sugar, social recognition- anything that makes us feel good right away- stimulates dopamine. It becomes a self-fulfilling cycle unless we become aware of it and put in some controls. If we do not control it, it controls us.

Then I began to think of the social effect of the dopamine cycle. Society too responds to this cycle by becoming more permissive of the things that feel good. Extended legalization of gambling and marijuana are some examples of this rewarding of the “dopamine machine”.

I recognize that gambling can be addictive, and it can also be a benign entertainment, as long as one realizes that it has a high potential to become addictive. Legal medical marijuana can be a helpful therapy when used correctly and under guidance.

The idea that we as a society are drifting toward the rewards of the “dopamine machine” gives me pause. We need to consider the directions we are heading, and we need to be having discussions about that direction in light of how we have become an addicted society.

Prayer: Lord, you have given us good gifts. Help us to use them wisely, Amen

Listen to me, dear brothers: God has chosen poor people to be rich in faith, and the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs, for that is the gift God has promised to all those who love him.  And yet, of the two strangers, you have despised the poor man. Don’t you realize that it is usually the rich men who pick on you and drag you into court?  And all too often they are the ones who laugh at Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear                                                                                 James 2:5-7 (Living Bible)

Along with about 115 million other people, I watched the Super Bowl Sunday night. The game was exciting, the halftime show with Usher and friends was very entertaining, and the commercials were… well, maybe just a bit under expectations. Nonetheless, most were entertaining. The spectacle, all in all, was as usual, over the top. Everything about the Super Bowl is bigger than life. Indeed, it is more like a departure from life- a diversion.

Before the game I texted in our family text group that the “Bread and Circus” part of America was about to begin. I hearkened back, of course, to the cliché about acts in the Roman Colisseum, where emperors would put on shows for the Roman populace to entertain them as a diversion from the increasingly decadent Roman life they endured. The emperor also distributed bread to the plebians and slaves who were poor and could not afford the luxuries of the upper-class Romans.   

The Super Bowl is an institution and a spectacle. However, it is a fantasy trip that allows us to take a respite from other mundane, but stressful life experiences. I suppose we need that. Indeed, the size of the audience and the attention the spectacle receives says that it has a place in our world.

But now we get back to the realities of 2024 America. We have another circus that we call the United States Congress that we must deal with every day. That circus is not entertaining- it is nearly tragic.

Brothers and sisters, we must always remember that our hope and our salvation is in our relationship with Jesus. No political party can offer such hope, nor salvation, nor freedom. Align with principles, not political parties. Advocate principles that affirm people, the just treatment of others, caring for the stranger, feeding the hungry, accepting those whom we may not understand, or those not of our particular “tribe”, whatever that may be.

Let’s keep this in mind as we begin the Lenten season this week.   

Prayer: Lord, help us to see past the noise into bringing Kingdom principles to earth, Amen

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.                                                                                                          Philippians 4:8 (The Message)

I recently came across an old document that I had written some 30 years ago. I had just left an administrative position in public mental health and I was moving to another similar position. I had taken the time then to document a “list of achievements” in the old position.

I think it is good to do self-assessment, and the span of years has given even more context to this document as I read it in my retirement years. You see, I sometimes questioned whether I brought enough value to the position I had just left. Now, as I look at that list, I feel good about the mark that I left on that organization.

This also gave me an idea for a client that I recently saw. This client struggles to give herself validation, and she has a hard time accepting compliments because she tends to discount her own worth. I asked this client to make up a list of achievements in various areas of her life- personal, career, family, social, community, recreational, etc. I asked her to be thoughtful and honest as she went over the list. I know that she will come up with a good list- possibly one that is modest, but a good list nonetheless. I told her we would go over it on the next session. I trust that she will be pleasantly surprised with how successful she has been.

More importantly, I want her to get used to honest self-affirmation. It is not a boastful exercise. It is an exercise in honesty.

Prayer: Lord, lead us into the truth of our own value, Amen

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.                        II Corinthians 4:7

Ring the bells that still can ring, forget your perfect offering, there is a crack, a crack in everything that’s how the light gets in. That’s how the light gets in, that’s how the light gets in.                                                                 From the poem by Leonard Cohen “Anthem”

In the past, I have discussed the idea of being perfect- rather, the impossibility of being perfect. We can relate to imperfect, because we are. All of us. However, the idea of being imperfect, like the crack in the Liberty Bell, becomes a symbol for us. It is a reminder that brokenness is an opportunity to be real and transparent. No one will ever try to mend that Liberty Bell crack. It reminds us that the broken can still be celebrated, and it stands as a symbol of our strength in imperfection. It is the opportunity to look for the healing that we all need in this broken and imperfect world.

Our American experience is imperfect. Yet, we have survived those failures, and we are committed to a better America. Without the recent pain we have endured, there would not be the attention to addressing and mending those failures.

I really liked the way that Leonard Cohen put it in his poem- the crack is how the light gets in. If we are not broken, we do not feel a need for anything beyond ourselves. What a tragedy to think that we are self-sufficient, in need of nothing outside of ourselves.  

Paul said that we are like “fragile clay jars”, containing a great treasure. Unless that jar is broken, the treasure is not revealed. So, our imperfection is the opportunity to recognize the need for a power greater than ourselves. In the lexicon of the 12 Steps, that is the first step- the humility step, which allows us to get the help we need to solve the problems we cannot solve on our own.

For addicts, that is an addiction that has baffled and overcome them. For all of us, that is a problem of sin that we cannot solve on our own. Christians confess and believe that Jesus is the answer to that problem.

So, imperfection is our lot. But staying in the broken places is not. We learn from the pain, and we seek the remedies. Thankfully, we have a God who has provided all we need.

Prayer: Thank you for meeting us at the place of need. Jesus is the friend we need and count on, Amen.

 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;  and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.                                               II Peter 1:5-8

I heard a story from a client the other day that needs to be shared. Of course, like any other stories which involve clients, circumstances and details are changed, and names are not used in order to maintain complete confidentiality.

A female client in her early seventies relayed a story to me about the birth of her child some 50+ years ago. My client was a teenager, and her parents forced her to give up the child she was carrying for adoption. All these years later, she thinks about that child, but she does know that her daughter was adopted into a loving family.

However, in those lonely days in the hospital after she delivered her baby, she was grieving a loss. She was grieving without the support of parents who had judged her to be shameful to her family. Then her hospital roommate, as she was preparing to leave the hospital with her own baby, reached over to my client, and handed her the baby she was about to take home. She allowed my client to hold her baby, even for a few moments, to ease her pain. To this day, my client remembers this loving act as a healing gesture.  

This story touched me as such a loving and thoughtful gesture. It was a simple act of kindness to a person who was experiencing rejection and loss, now remembered over 50 years later. We never know the impact of seemingly simple gestures. We have the capacity to change the trajectory of suffering for people with simple gestures of kindness.

It restores one’s faith in people, doesn’t it?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the loving acts of people- people we may not even know, Amen

How can I stand up before God
    and show proper respect to the high God?
Should I bring an armload of offerings
    topped off with yearling calves?
Would God be impressed with thousands of rams,
    with buckets and barrels of olive oil?
Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child,
    my precious baby, to cancel my sin?

 But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
    what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
    be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
    take God seriously

Micah 6:6-8 (The Message)

The prophet Micah delivered this message to the people of Israel after reminding them how God had delivered them time and again from their enemies. He had even made an analogy earlier in this passage about pleading a court case. Here was his simple plea – Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself too seriously — take God seriously.

He told people that God is not moved or impressed by multiple sacrifices of animals, and ample gifts of oil, etc. God’s simple desire is that we treat his creation with love and respect. He wants us to honor one another and care for each other. Oh, and by the way, we are not to take ourselves too seriously!

What a great simple message. Religion over the millennia has gone to great lengths to find formulas to please God. For the most part, I think intentions were good, but religion takes itself too seriously. If rules and formulas are too complicated, they can’t be followed.

I like the way Micah thinks.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for loving us, and asking only love for others in return, Amen

Whoever goes hunting for what is right and kind
    finds life itself—   glorious life!                                                                                                                        Proverbs 21:21

When I saw this verse pop up on my Bible app today, it struck me as a great mental health counseling principle. It is also a pretty good way to look at life in general! As I have stated before in this space, I like to look at the positives in clients, not the problems. The clients are typically well aware of their problems (yes, some are not, that is true), but they may not be able to frame issues with the positive outcomes in mind. One of the basic tenets of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Solution Focused Therapy, is that there is a solution for every problem.   

If one approaches situations with the idea that there are ways to overcome whatever problem we face, we find that there is hope. We also then are energized to get to that solution. It may take some time and work, but there is a way to get through whatever we face.

So, the truth in Proverbs is “hunt for the good in life”, and we will find life itself. Sounds pretty good…

Prayer: Lord, help us to see the possible positives in the problems we face, Amen

Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.”

Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.

James 2:14-18 (The Message)

I have always enjoyed this passage from the book of James, stated above from the translation, The Message. It points out the classic dialogue in Christian views of how one expresses their faith. In the seminary terms, it discusses the tension between orthodoxy (right beliefs) versus orthopraxy (right practices). In reality, both should be in place, inextricably linked. Our beliefs should result in good practices, loving practices. Sadly, what many outside the faith tend to see is an emphasis on right belief, not right practices.

Do most people see Christians exercising loving practices, or do they see smug judgement of people who may not believe in quite the right way? Well, we all need to look at our orthopraxy, because people will care very little for our orthodoxy if they do not experience our right practices.

Prayer: Lord, help us to practice what we believe, Amen

 Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

 I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.”

Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.

James 2:14-18 (The Message)

I have always enjoyed this passage from the book of James, stated above from the translation, The Message. It points out the classic dialogue in Christian views of how one expresses their faith. In the seminary terms, it discusses the tension between orthodoxy (right beliefs) versus orthopraxy (right practices). In reality, both should be in place, inextricably linked. Our beliefs should result in good practices, loving practices. Sadly, what many outside the faith tend to see is an emphasis on right belief, not right practices.

Do most people see Christians exercising loving practices, or do they see smug judgement of people who may not believe in quite the right way? Well, we all need to look at our orthopraxy, because people will care very little for our orthodoxy if they do not experience our right practices.

Prayer: Lord, help us to practice what we believe, Amen