Wednesday, February 28, 2018

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: How Much Pride Is Too Much Pride?



 When I was a young boy, my dad often told me always to do things well ---- in the classroom, on the sports field, and among my friends.

Time passed, and I realized that there were certain specific activities and classroom subjects where I did excel, at least somewhat.  Perhaps most of us have had that experience.

At some point someone asked me if I was not proud of what I could do well.  I hadn't thought about that.  But, YES, I was proud of myself for exceeding my previous level of achievement, and for doing a few things better than my peers.  Now, the notion of PRIDE had been  brought into my awareness without any explanation of what it involved.

Being PROUD of myself gave me the warm feeling of success.  It did not seem to have any limits ---- it seemed to depend only on what I was achieving.

Years later, I noticed that there were others around me who were PROUD ---- proud of what they had or were then accomplishing.  But, I also saw that many of them seemed arrogant and conceited.  I realized that this virtue called "PRIDE" had a down-side if carried too far.  Why hadn't Dad warned me about this?!

I puzzled over how to find the right balance for my PRIDE.  Some degree of PRIDE certainly gives us a motivation to excel.  How much PRIDE is too much PRIDE?  I finally decided that PRIDE-under-control might have some net value.

Apparently, people get into difficulty with their PRIDE if it becomes an inflated sense of their status or accomplishments.  In other words, as St. Augustine put it: "the love of one's own excellence."  Thus, the opposite of PRIDE would be either humility or guilt.  If we have a "healthy" sense of PRIDE, it seems to rest somewhere between humility and the love of our own excellence.

The Bible says God has made us capable of achievement, but that there is an attitude that arises naturally with achievement "that is not of the Father, but of the world."  To have victory over PRIDE, therefore, is to excel and achieve without giving a place to this sinful worldly attitude.  In this way, suggests the Bible, it is similar to our being a STEWARD over gifts from God.  It is not the acquisition of success, the Bible seems to suggest ---- it is our mental attitude that counts.  Rather than merely the attainment of success itself, it is the attitude of our heart toward the acquisition that matters.  Thus, we avoid the PRIDE of the secular life and live in humble reliance on, and thankfulness to, God.

If we were to abandon some of our PRIDE as being too much of a good thing, would we lose too much of the emotion that can facilitate our attaining greater success in the use of the gifts given by God?  After all, PRIDE is an emotion that can help trigger and sustain focused effort to make the best use of our gifts from God?  By suppressing PRIDE even a little, wouldn't we lose at least some of the pleasant, sometimes exhilarating emotion that energizes us positively in meeting personal goals?

The awful irony is that the very vigor with which we suppress PRIDE in ourselves will induce a hidden PRIDE in that very effort.  Will we not be proud of our attempts to get rid of PRIDE?  Is it ever possible to fully escape the "PRIDES of life"? 
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage some spiritual growth for you this Spring.
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Wednesday, February 21, 2018

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Are We Making the World A Better Place?



If we merely follow the daily media news reports, it seems like a hopeless question.  Not only are we cruel to each other, but mankind seems to be corrupting many of the natural features of this God-given earth.  It is not hard to become discouraged !

But, wait !   I want you to consider another side to this evaluation.  Recently, I read a New York Times column by Nicholas Kristof, discussing some developments that I usually overlook.  I want to share some of Kristof's story with you.

"In 2017, a smaller share of the world's people were hungry, impoverished or illiterate than at any time before.  A smaller proportion of children died than ever before.  The proportion disfigured by leprosy, blinded by diseases like trachoma or suffering from other ailments also fell."

Regardless of discouragingly negative headlines in the press, I wonder if a backdrop of global progress may be the most important  development in our lifetime.

Kristof reports that every day the number of people around the world living in extreme poverty (less than $2 a day) goes down by 217,000, according to calculations by an Oxford University economist who specializes in tracking such trends.  Every day, 325,000 more people gain access to electricity.  And 300,000 more people gain access to clean drinking water.

Nicholas Kristof continues ---- "As recently as the 1960's, a majority of humans had always been illiterate and lived in extreme poverty.  Now fewer than 15% are illiterate, and fewer than 10% live in extreme poverty.  In another 15 years, illiteracy and extreme poverty will be mostly gone.  After thousands of generations, they are pretty much disappearing on our watch."

Then Kristof turns to the plight of the world's children.  He states that, just since 1990, the lives of more than 100 million children have been saved by vaccinations, diarrhea treatment, breast-feeding promotion and other simple steps."

"Even in the United States, says Kristof, "progress has been made, but it seems little noted.  For example, in the 1950's, the U.S. had segregation, polio, bans on interracial marriage, on gay sex and on birth control.  Elsewhere, most of the world lived under dictatorships, two-thirds of parents had a child die before age 5, and it was a time of nuclear standoffs, of "pea soup" smog, of frequent wars, and of stifling limits on women."

Nicholas Kristof concludes by telling us about a young Afghan woman from the Taliban heartland, he has met.  She had been forced to drop out of elementary school.  But her house had internet, so she taught herself English, then algebra and calculus with the help of an on-line academy, Coursera and EdX websites.  Without leaving her house, she moved on to physics and string theory, wrestled with Kant and read The New York Times on the side.

Importantly, Kristof reminds us that talent is universal, but opportunity is not.  The meaning of global progress, he says, is that such talent increasingly will flourish.  Do you share Kristof's conclusion that the most important thing happening right now is not the confusion in Washington, but children's lives saved and major gains in health, education and human welfare?

Are you thinking, as I am, that these success stories did not just happen ---- that they were the cumulative result of people around the world helping others, not just themselves.  While the global progress seen by Kristof is the cumulative result of many individual acts of caring for others, perhaps this story will inspire us to be a "giver". and not just a "taker" in our small, individual worlds.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this year.
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Monday, February 12, 2018

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Why Ash Wednesday?



The economy seems to be solid and slowly growing.  Advances in readily available technology have given us a growing variety of options for how each of us can focus our lives more and more on material things.  I remember a friend of mine telling me that for years he has not been able to park his car in their garage because of all the non-automotive clutter.

So, we are presented daily with more and more ways to satisfy our personal appetites, and even to develop new appetites.  Is there an upper limit?  For some, it is simply the limits of time and money.  For all of us, however, there remain choices to be made.  One of the choices always is to skip some particular material temptation, or not.  Whether that will be a hard-to-make choice depends on the extent of our self-control.  Putting it another way ---- when are we willing to try some self-denial?

What are "self-control" and "self-denial"?  Are they not the same thing when we are facing "temptation"?  A popular definition of both terms is:  to exercise the ability to override impulses in favor of longer-term goals.  The heart of the problem seems always the same ---- the conflict between short-term rewards (which we seem hard-wired to greatly value) and longer-term goals (which often seem to have no present value ---- only a future value).  A slice of just-baked apple pie placed right in front of us, in other words, is simply a lot more compelling than a long-term desire to be slim.

But, our abilities for self-control and self-denial must be kept strong.  There will always be times when we need them.  We understand that one cigarette, or one more glass of wine, or just one hour of procrastination, will have no material effect in the long run.  Except that, the first exception may lead to another, and we eventually find ourselves in some place we never intended to be.

Fortunately, conscientious practice of our Christian faith could reinforce of ability for self-control and self-denial.  It helps us find the necessary balance that each of us needs in our daily lives.

We were not the only ones who needed self-control and self-denial.  Jesus was able to demonstrate and strengthen his self-control and self-denial by fasting in the desert for 40 days.  The  Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke describe his 40 days of fasting before the beginning of his public ministry.  During this time of fasting, Jesus endured temptation by the Devil.  Indeed, sometimes don't we feel we are being tempted by the Devil as we attempt some kind of self-denial !

But, more importantly, the attitude of Jesus during his gruesome crucifixion, is perhaps the greatest story of self-denial in human history.

Importantly, one way to control our personal appetites is by giving ourselves to the needs of others.  Giving of ourselves to the needs of others is actually another form of self-denial ---- denying ourselves of the luxury of just coasting through life.

The strengthening of our own discipline for appropriate denial of appetites and the giving of ourselves to others are so important to Christians, that long ago we adopted an annual period of reflection on the nature of Jesus Christ's self-denial sacrifice.  We call this time Lent.  We observe Lent for the six weeks leading to Easter Sunday.  This year Lent extends from Ash Wednesday on February 14, to Easter eve on March 31.

During Lent, believers prepare themselves for Easter by paring down their lives through fasting, giving up luxuries, showing penance for their sins, and "giving alms" (donating money, time and talent to charities, or taking part in charity events).  All of these actions are forms of "denial of self."

Ash Wednesday derives it's name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of worshipers as a reminder and celebration of human mortality, and as a sign of mourning for Jesus's sacrifice and our repentance to God.  Ash Wednesday is not only a day of fasting, but also a day of contemplating one's own self-centered transgressions ---- a day of repentance.  The first day of Lent (Ash Wednesday) comes the day after Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday"), the last day of the "Carnival" season, famously celebrated each year in New Orleans.  The day before Ash Wednesday, therefore, in popular lore, is the last day to indulge in the vices and luxuries one has planned to give up for Lent.

Abstinence and fasting during Lent is a form of penance, but we also need to use this time to reflect on and take stock of our spiritual lives.  Perhaps Lent is not just about "giving up things".  It may be a good time to begin practicing some new, longer-term, positive attitudes, as well as denial of some of the material attitudes and appetites our modern secular culture makes seem so appealing.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this winter at CPC.
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Tuesday, February 6, 2018

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: How Are Addictions The Enemy of Our God-Given Free Will?



Many believe that God wanted people to be free to choose their behavior.  But, while being free to choose the "good", they are also free to choose evil behavior.  If God wanted true "children", rather than robots, there was always the risk that they might abuse their gift of free will, and choose evil behavior.

A great deal of the suffering in this world really should not be blamed on God.  It results from mean, cruel, inhuman choices people make.  For example, people-initiated acts of greed, social prejudice, racism or oppression, often lead to the evils for others of poverty and social marginalization, resulting in misery and premature death, that could have been avoided.  Even with natural disasters like landslides and floods, much of the suffering that results would be alleviated if people chose to help out more in the aftermath.

However, this does not explain why God does not block the harm to others caused by our bad choices.  We do not let a child run out in front of a speeding car, just to let him exercise his free will.  We would want to block major harm to that child!   Why doesn't God do that?  Is the need for free will a good enough reason for all the options of evil that seem to come with it?  We retain a wide range of choices on how to act as God's "agent" on earth.

As a Christian, I do not believe that I was born morally neutral.  It seems that from the beginning, I was biased toward sinning ----  that too often I would make an evil choice.  In the exercise of my free will, I was apt to choose what benefited me in some way, not what benefited others.  So, I am grateful that someone named Jesus made a very great sacrifice to redeem these mistakes.  While I do have some power of decision in my daily life, too often I seem to continue using my free-will powers to please just myself.  

There are so many ways we can freely reject God in our daily lives, and then try to serve as  our own God.  For example, we seek pleasure in boosting our ego.  Or, indulging in simple things like eating certain foods to excess.

Besides making occasional "evil" free will choices, sometimes we also choose behavior which actually limits the future exercise of our personal free will.  For some folks, there is the discovery of certain chemicals and drugs which give them relief from the pain and anxieties of everyday life.  In effect they are surrendering to an outside factor, but it is not God.  If they do this frequently, it becomes a habit, and then an addiction.  By definition, the person has now lost some of the "free" from his free will.  The addictive compulsion has nullified the person's ability to freely choose.

On February 2, 2014, New York City police found the dead body of Philip Seymour Hoffman, a highly-regarded film and stage actor.  Apparently, he had struggled with heroin addiction for some time and he seems to have died of a heroin overdose.  A syringe was found still inserted in his arm.  Often, an addiction begins with over-use at home of prescription drugs.  Heroin is well-known to be highly addictive, but we also have other addiction options.

Colorado and Washington State have legalized the public sale of marijuana, and other states may follow.  While marijuana may have legitimate medical uses as a pain killer, it is not hard to see how it's wider availability will draw-in new users, creating new addicts and compromising their free exercise of God-given free will.

The smoking of tobacco products is less lethal than heroin or "pot", but it kills 480,000 Americans a year, reports the New York Times.  Kathleen Sebelius, former Secretary of Health and Human Services, said that each day some 3,200 children under age 18 will try a cigarette and 700 will go on to become daily smokers.  That means, she said, that 5.6 million American children alive today will die premature deaths because of diseases linked to smoking.

But, some good news was also reported by the New York Times ---- about 18% of American adults smoke, but that is down from 42% in 1965.  In New York City, which has used a combination of steep taxes on cigarettes and bans on smoking in public places, to discourage smokers, the decline is even greater, dropping to 14%.

Alcohol consumption is another addiction for some people.  What all addictions have in common is that the victims have surrendered control of their God-given judgment and capacity to choose freely.  Sometimes third-parties can bring an addiction victim back into self-control, but usually it is not easy and it often takes the continued support of other family members ---- and even then, it is not a sure bet.

Perhaps the best course of action is alertness to all potential addictions, and then to avoid them as if our lives depended on it ---- as they surely do.  It may start as a desire or a longing.  Temptation starts when we think about giving in to a desire, or about fulfilling a legitimate desire in a wrong way or at the wrong time.  Temptation always starts in one's mind, not in the circumstances outside of us.  One finally acts on the thought we have been toying with in our mind.  What began as an idea gets born into behavior.  Now we give in, and the next time we are challenged to take this action it is more difficult to say "NO".  This is addiction and it is self-reinforcing.

Addiction over-rides our freedom of choice ---- we are no longer in control of some of the behavior and choices God has granted to our personal domain.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this winter at CPC.
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