Show and Tell

“Saying no is good, but having an alternative is better. Protest is not enough; it is necessary to show a better way.”

That is the lesson Jim Wallis learned as he fought so hard to prevent America from going to war with Iraq. So he did provide an alternative. Read it here if you’re interested.

But an alternative to war isn’t the point of this post. As I read those words of his I couldn’t help but think of them as immensely appropriate to the Christian church in America today. The Church says “no” to all sorts of lifestyles, beliefs, and behaviors but doesn’t present the world with a compelling alternative. Yes, yes, I know the Church points to Christ and living the “Christian life” as the alternative, but I would argue that the Church does not “show a better way,” as Wallis puts it. Why else do you think so many in our world call Christians hypocrites? If we want to make a difference and have an impact on our world we can’t just say no because the Bible says so; we have to show a better way of living. And to do so means we have to start living out what we say we believe.

“I hear the haunting words of Jesus, ‘Don’t be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the Gentiles seek after all these things’ (Matthew 6:31-32). In other words, if we look like our lives are devoted to getting and maintaining things, we will look like the world, and that will not make Christ look great. He will look like a religious side-interest that may be useful for escaping hell in the end, but doesn’t make much difference in what we live and love here” [John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2003), 107-108.]. This statement is so challenging, and yet it is so true. So how do I live in light of this? So much of the Christian life is counter-cultural. And I find that ironic in a culture many consider to be “Christian.” Most Christians don’t look much different from the rest of the world. At best, we look like a more moral version of our next door neighbor, and even that statement is debatable. Christians seek after wealth, comfort, a bigger house, a nicer car, vacations and status just as much as anybody. So how is the world supposed to see Christ in people who live no differently? If my neighbors don’t notice anything different in the way I live how can this be glorifying to God? The Christian life is intended to be lived in such a way that people all around us are confronted by the reality of the existence of Christ. The first Christians were called Christians because they lived differently than everyone else; they lived like Christ, and that is how they got their name. Christians in that day had a reputation. The only reputation we have today is as hypocrites and judges. The world needs to see real Christianity lived out in front of them.
“It is good to work and have. It is better to work and have in order to give. God’s glory shines more brightly when he satisfies us in times of loss than when he provides for us in times of plenty. The health, wealth, and prosperity ‘gospel’ swallows up the beauty of Christ in the beauty of his gifts and turns the gifts into idols. The world is not impressed when Christians get rich and say thanks to God. They are impressed when God is so satisfying that we give our riches away for Christ’s sake and count it gain” (2003, p. 72).

Why do leaves change color in the fall?

When it's not raining, this is one of my favorite times of year. I love the colors of the leaves changing to their bright yellows and reds, which reminds me of something I read a few weeks ago. Bill Bryson had this to say about the science behind the color changes: “In autumn, as you will recall from your school biology class, trees prepare for their long winter’s slumber by ceasing to manufacture chlorophyll, the chemical that makes their leaves green. The absence of chlorophyll allows other pigments, called carotenoids, which have been present in the leaves all along, to show off a bit. The carotenoids are what account for the yellow and gold of birches, hickories, beeches, and some oaks, among others. Now here is where it gets interesting. To allow these golden colors to thrive, the trees must continue to feed the leaves even though the leaves are not actually doing anything useful except to hanging there looking pretty. Just at a time when a tree ought to be storing up all its energy for use the following spring, it is instead expending a great deal of effort feeding a pigment that brings joy to the hearts of simple folk like me but doesn’t do anything for the tree."

It makes me wonder if the colors of fall are simply for my enjoyment. Did God create trees this way just because he wanted us to appreciate their beauty?

Government Says It's OK for Politicians to Lie

This is quite possibly the saddest thing I have ever heard on the current state of politics in America. This is taken from the Seattle P. I…

OLYMPIA -- You just can't keep a politician from lying.

In a 5-4 ruling Thursday, the state Supreme Court struck down a 1999 law that banned political candidates from intentionally lying about their opponents. The high court majority said the law was an affront to free speech.

"The notion that the government, rather than the people, may be the final arbiter of truth in political debate is fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment," Justice Jim Johnson wrote in the majority opinion.

The dissent called the decision "an invitation to lie with impunity." That temptation was already in place, said Travis Ridout, a political science professor at Washington State University. Candidates have long felt free to say their opponent had voted to raise taxes 50 times the previous year, hated children or was soft on crime -- regardless of the facts.

Read the rest of the article in the P. I. here.