Flowers

A while back, I stopped into Starbucks to ...well, to simply purchase happiness. Liquid happiness. while there, a lady in her fifties walked in with flowers and gave it to one of the baristas behind the counter. She said something like "your 21st birthday is a big deal...happy birthday". and that was it and she left.

I could tell by the response of the young lady behind the counter that this lady was not a family member or a close friend or anyone else that one would expect to get flowers from on their birthday. I think the gift bearer was simply a regular customer who thought that birthdays are big deals (especially 21st birthdays). The young lady was in tears at such a sweet and thoughtful gesture.. and to be honest..I also was in tears because it was such a profoundly beautiful moment.

I don't know if the lady who brought the flowers was a christian or not, but her kindness made me realize how pitifully rare it is that christians are known for such deeds. I'm afraid that it is more common for a Starbucks employee to watch a customer who has just chewed them out at the drive through drive off with a big fat fish symbol or a lame christian bumper sticker on the back of their car. I know that there are believers out there who are an exception to that perception but shouldn't kindness be one of the most common characteristics of those who claim the name christian. Kindness is, after all, one of the fruits of the Spirit (a.k.a. expected personality traits). I think we should be people who are known for buying flowers for strangers on their birthdays (and not so that we can attach a gospel track to the flowers) just because we want to just make a big deal of their birthday in case no one else has...

Robots

I remember getting my first robot when I was a child. It basically was this really crude remote control robot that tried to walk but really just sort of wobbled back and forth. It is amazing how far robotic technology has advanced since the days of that first robotic toy (though the toy was definitely not on the cutting edge of technology even then).

Today I watched an excerpt on TED.com about robots and the seven 'species' that have recently been developed. (http://www.ted.com/talks/dennis_hong_my_seven_species_of_robot.html) It is absolutely astonishing to see the technological advances that have been made recently. The new robots can navigate over almost any terrain, they can stand up and sit down, and one particular robot can actually play the game of soccer independent of anyone controlling it remotely. One of the species utilizes a spider or crab like structure using multiple legs. Another species uses mechanics wrapped in a rubber skin and through a series of pinching and expanding movement, is able to move itself. The robotic movements of these different varieties are triggered by everything from electronic impulse to air compression to chemical reaction.

What's ironic about the future of these robots is that the inspiration for their engineering comes from very ancient design. I think the term 'species' is very accurate because all of the robots borrow the physics, motion, and mechanics of creatures already found in the natural world. Think about it, of all of the possible "out of the box" thinking and engineering that man is capable of, he is being forced to realize that the most practical and efficient engineering comes from nature or creation (which implies a creator) that has been there from the beginning.

In watching the brilliance of how the engineers had gotten each robot to move, I think about my own body and all of the amazing things that happen in just taking a step or breathing. There are movements being triggered by electronic impulse, chemical reaction, and air compression all at once... and all of that is through biological and organic means.

All of this just reminds me of how incomprehensibly brilliant God is and when comparing today's robots to the subtleties and complexity of the human body, I begin to see today's technology in a light that is not unlike the way I see that first primitive toy robot that I had as a child...

Romans 1:20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

The Problem With "Bad Guys"

As I have watched my four year old son play with his action figures, I have realized that he is subconsciously aware of the universal "norm" that there are always good guys and bad guys. I'm not sure how my son decides who the bad guys and good guys are (he often completely disregards the suggestion of the packaging that the action figure came in that clearly tells you whether they are a good or bad guy) but within a few minutes of playing, there is a distinct separation of good verses evil and the battle begins.

"Bad Guys" is such an elusive concept these days. Everybody believes that there are good guys and bad guys in this world but I'm pretty sure that everybody believes that they are the good guys and nobody believes that they are the "bad guys". So who are the bad guys? In the old "western" movies, it seems like the bad guys at least knew that they were the bad guys. Many of them wore black as if to say "I am wearing the official uniform of the bad guys because deep down in my heart I know that I am a bad guy"...but maybe that's just the movies...maybe there's never been a time where the bad guys knew that they were bad guys.

In our modern era of "a diagnosis for everything", we all have a reason for everything that we do. If I cheat on my wife, I have a sexual addiction. If I murder someone, I had a difficult upbringing and "acted out" in rage or I had to kill him/her before he/she had the chance to kill me. If I charge exorbitant prices or cheat a customer, it's because I saw everyone around me making the same kinds of compromises and it's just what you have to do to be "competitive".

The funny thing is, I'm not dismissing any of these justifications as "psychobabble" or anything like that and in many ways, we make similar decisions on a daily basis just maybe to a lesser degree. I understand how addictions and past experiences can very much influence and shape what we do today. We just all have our own reasons (in our minds) for doing what we do. But this again leads us back to the problem of "bad guys". If none of us think that we are inherently bad and have just made a few bad decisions along the way, then who are the "bad guys"? Do the "bad guys" officially become bad guys once they make the news? Did the the Tiger Woods's and the Enron's of the world become bad guys once they got caught but we're still good guys because we didn't get caught for making the same type of decisions?

Maybe the starting point for us as humans is to realize that none of us are the "good guys". I think anyone who is completely honest with his or her self has to come to the conclusion that without outside help, we really are broken inside and we are all the "bad guys". ..and maybe if we just added the word "too" to the end of our "he or she is a bad is a bad guy" judgements, we might find ourselves on the first step of our journey in becoming one of the "good guys".

Romans 3:23 (New International Version)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

"Things I'd Go To Jail For.."

Being from the south, there is a saying that I've heard and I've actually said that goes something like this.."there's a few things I will go to jail for". Basically, that saying comes in the context of some good ole boy talking about something that someone has done to or said about his wife/girlfriend; or it might come in the context of how he is going to deal with young men mistreating his daughter when she is of "dating age". Basically, the saying implies that there are some situations that I feel so strongly about that I am willing to go to jail for my actions that may come in response to that situation.

There is a very short list of things that I would be willing to go to jail for. I'll mention a couple. Like most, if not all, men, If someone messes (and by 'messes' I mean tries to bring physical harm to) with my wife or my kids, I would be willing to go to jail for the consequences of my actions in defense of them (God forbid that situation ever happen). It's a no brainer because as a man, there is a very deep and primal anger that arises at the thought of someone bringing harm to your family.

Recently, I read a Facebook post that basically dealt with the poster's (my word for "he who posts") desire for people to stop bashing the Bride of Christ (the church). It reminded me of an area in which God has had to deal with me in the past. You see, I like to think of myself as having a "prophetic disposition" but most of the time that simply translates to me having a critical spirit. I have spoken critically about other churches and things that I observe in their methodology and I have also spoken critically and even mockingly about other believers and spiritual leaders. And just so you understand the nature of my criticism, it's very rarely "gossip" issues that I am being critical of; sometimes it's things that I feel strongly about and maybe even perceive as being unbiblical (based on my understanding and interpretation).

But, God clearly spoke to me on this issue in terms that any husband or father can understand. He basically pointed out to me those those churches and individuals that I had spoken critically of were both His Bride and His kids....and I immediately understood the seriousness of this offense.

Thankfully, this metaphor breaks down (as does every spiritual metaphor at some point) because I also am both the Bride of Christ (as a man I'll never fully understand that concept on this side of eternity) and a child of God. How all that works, I don't know but what I do know is that I definitely don't want to be the guy badmouthing the wife and kids of God Almighty and be the cause of Him making any form of "things I'd go to jail for" statement (and here is the part where the metaphor implodes completely because of the ridiculousness of the thought of God uttering any kind of southernism...especially that one).