Advice

 Seek to know rather than be known

    and to sow rather than be sown.

For wither thou goest or yet remain

    wisdom and action form greater refrain

    than all the fortune regardless your fame.

To Jairus

If I could still the storms for thee
I would do so, lovingly
Whisper peak and trough to soothe
Calm the crest and ripples smooth
No wave nor tide would e’er there be
If I could still the storms for thee
But oh what lessons you will have lost
If I esteem too high the cost
In the billows of wind and rain
You’ll learn of sorrow, joy, and pain
Should I remove tumult from sea
If I could still the storms for thee?

No, if I could still the storms for thee
I would not do so, lovingly.

Aún Lejos, Cerca Estás

Cuando ando lejos de ti

Tú te quedas cerca de mí

Rechazando tu amor

              Yo busco mis placeres

Vuelvo a las mismas mentiras

              Que me engañan una vez más

Vendo mi integridad

        Y se ríen de mí, los alrededores

Me apedrean, me escupen

Se burlan y se chisman de mí

¿Cómo me he alejado tanto de ti?

¿Por qué me desvié de tu vista?

Me arrepiento por fin

Y empiezo el largo regreso

Pero me sorprendes que de repente

Estás ahora a mi lado

Cuidándome y limpiándome

Y de nuevo me acuerdo que

              Tú te quedas cerca de mi

Cuando ando lejos de ti

Location, location, location

Location, location, location
The most critical three
Factors for your home and care.
Now location is and will always be
Here, there, and where.

Origins, origins, origins
The start of all life’s travels
And the root of all significance.
Our origins unfold and the story unravels
Hence, thence, and whence.

Purpose, purpose, purpose
Everyone always asks why
Life has become like never before.
With purpose investigators, willing to spy
Herefore, therefore, wherefore.

Destination, destination, destination
Seeking adventure or lights and sites,
So many people continue to dither.
But destination bound to ever higher heights
Hither, thither, and whither. 

Consequence, consequence, consequence
Because two and two are four,
And mundane life lacks pizzazz.
Find consequence in an open door
Hereas, thereas, and whereas.

Experience, experience, experience
History’s greatest teacher;
Her lessons can be harsh or full of love.
The experience is often a double feature
Hereof, thereof, and whereof.

Fulfillment, fulfillment, fulfillment
The longing heart desires a friend,
Success, and peace of mind too.
But fulfillment to what end?
Hereto, thereto, and whereto.

Not All Those Who Wonder…

JRR Tolkien’s poetic prophecy that Aragorn would return to be king in his famous Lord of the Rings trilogy included a line that has become a song and perhaps a motto for some, “Not all those who wander are lost.” Abraham and John the Baptist may have lived by this motto as they spent time wandering in the wildernesses of their lives under God’s direction. 

But our title concerns not wandering but wondering. The Psalmist spent time pondering and wondering over the marvelous universe God created (Psalm 19) and his natural body and the depths of God’s knowledge (Psalm 139). This type of wondering is akin to the word, marvel. The Psalmist was awe-struck by God’s majesty. There is another meaning of the word wonder, which is the subject of this post. To question or wonder how or why something is as it appears. 

Many times, this definition of wonder springs from the previous definition. Consider the magician’s illusion or card trick that caused you to marvel in amazement at first sight. Did you not question how the trick was preformed? In your wonder, you wondered how. In the case of the magician’s performance, the result of one’s wondering investigation many times leads to a lack of wonder in future performances because the observer knows the secret to the illusion or trick. However, many wonderers who investigate are all the more wondered because knowing the mechanics and seeing them in action is all the more marvelous. 

Scripture speaks of the “mystery” of the gospel, and Paul tells us to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12). Is it not then a command from God that we wonder and wonder about our lives, the universe, and the mysteries surrounding us? 

Not all who wonder are faithless.

I Think Therefore I Am

When René Descartes wrote these words (Cogito, ergo sum) as part of his meditations on philosophy, they were part of an elaborate, well-reasoned argument of empirical observation.  Because I (whatever “I” entails) have the ability to cognitively process and even ponder my own existence (think), I must in fact exist (as anything that has the ability to think must exist).  Descartes was a rational man who spent time questioning even his own conclusions.  His basis for reasoning and drawing conclusions, however, was factual observation or natural philosophy. 

In society today, we have lost this ability to reason and question.  We have lost the objective art of observation and sacrificed philosophy for psychology.  Our culture has twisted Descartes’ words from the philosophical, observable, objective truth of existence into a predication of psychological, unobservable, preferred state of being.  Rather than ‘I think, therefore I exist’, a rational and observable conclusion, our culture abuses the philosophical argument to state things such as, ‘I think I am a woman, therefore I am a woman’, an unverifiable, desired status.

In other words, rather than relying on the faculties of reason to evaluate the reality of our observable existence, our culture has determined to use our reasoning to define alternatives to our observable reality.

Who was that masked man?

Why have we not heard: “Who was that masked man?” in 2020? 

It seems like an appropriate time in my life to be hearing this question from my childhood. With the advent of public mask wearing brought on by the Coronavirus, most of the US population have been wearing various types of masks to prevent the spread of the virus. Even so, I have yet to hear this question asked. Perhaps its because our current society has lost the cultural reference to The Lone Ranger and even the resurgence of the phrase in the 1980s. It could be that our circles of acquaintances are more familiar because we have seen them more in our communities. Or maybe it’s just not in the script. I have a sneaking suspicion, though, that the reason we aren’t hearing this phrase is much deeper than ignorance of the iconic phrase. 

 Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials have all become encapsulated in the single denomination of iGen, where the only value is self-serving, self-interest, and self-importance. Our focus has shifted away from ‘what can I do for my country?’ back to ‘what can my country do for me?’. As such, here are a couple of reasons why we may not be hearing the phrase, “Who was that masked man?” 

1) Few people are willing to anonymously help others. 

• Our society is addicted to attention. Actors, Athletes, Politicians, Influencers, and the average Joe are all thirsty to make their own names known. Acting with anonymity is contrary to our cultural norm, and it is a contradiction to our community upbringing. This is sad because one of the greatest ways to help another person is through anonymous support as it demonstrates that the community cares rather than a single individual. When a gift is given in public, the giver is most celebrated; when a gift is given in private, the recipient is most valued. 

2) Few people are willing to recognize the benevolent acts of others. 

• This one is even more disappointing than the first. Our culture has become a judging court of public opinion rather than a community of coaching and cooperative correction. We are so afraid of public opinion that when we see someone perform a benevolent act, we are hesitant to praise that action out of fear that whatever else that good-deed-doer stands for may contradict the desires of the court of public opinion. We can’t express appreciation or admiration for someone who disagrees with us on any single issue. This causes division and isolation, and leads us back to the first cause because if no one else is going to give me credit, I must toot my own horn. 

Paul explains to us how to solve this problem in Galatians 6:1-5. We see spiritual standards, personal accountability, community, empathy, humility, personal responsibility, and submission to Christ. 

Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted. Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else. For each person will have to carry his own load. (Galatians 6:1-5, CSB)