Christians, the Next Generation

     In one sense, there is no such thing as a second generation Christian because God's kingdom is entered through a turnstile, one at a time. No one can buy a ticket on our behalf. Yet there are families in which Christianity seems to dominate like a genetic trait. Not mine, however. Although there are many believers salted through my extended family, I consider myself a first generation Christian because knowing Christ was not taught in my home. I learned about Jesus at a teen Bible study. At the age where many second generation Christians turn away from Christ, I was on my spiritual honeymoon.
     I think we do a disservice to second plus generation Christian young people when we expect them to understand and react to spiritual things the same as we first generations do. A plane crash survivor will react differently to flying than one who has simply been told stories about a plane crash. Second hand knowledge does not have the same impact as first hand experience. At some point in my parenting I realized that I expected a level of spiritual perception in my children that I had reached only because of my life experiences. My children would have different experiences and their own spiritual journeys.
     There are many advantages to having a Christian heritage, Christian homes have less divorce, abuse, addiction, poverty and sexual sin. I wandered before Christ found me and so will my descendants. But at the end of their wandering they will discover Jesus is as forgiving and faithful to them as He has been to the generations before. Second hand spiritual robes, no matter how beautiful, are still hand-me-downs. The next generation needs Designer clothes.

Let Me Count the Ways

     For someone who recently blogged about not being easily offended, it is hard to explain why the recent library name change from Flathead County Library to "Imagine If" is so offensive to me. It is hardly a personal slight. I did not expect to input on the name change, but then I didn't know there was going to be a name change. From the response in the paper, few did. The first reason the change bothers me is that it seems like buzz words. Remember a few years ago when every business wanted to be proactive? Buzz words are the parachute pants of business. In the years I have worked in home health care, I have taken care of patients, then clients, and now consumers. I refuse to refer to those I care for as consumers. What does that make me, food? I hope the next term for "caregivees" is less ridiculous. The second reason I hate it, is the feeling some "enlightened" person decided the term library was too negative or rigid to be politically correct. I am not a fan of politically correct.
    A third reason I hate the name change is because "Imagine If" does not identify what, or even where, the business is. If I sent you out to buy some "Imagine If", where would you go? A "medical marijuana" shop? The condom department of a pharmacy? Adult fantasy store? I picked the least obnoxious of the new library cards, at least the word libraries is added (in small print). However, "Imagine If libraries" still sounds like a porn shop. The added phrases--No judgments. No funny looks. No questions asked., just make matters worse.
    The fourth reason I hate the name change is the change in philosophy. Imagine If  has no fines, therefore no incentive to return books in a timely manner--or at all. There is no need to be quiet because that would inhibit the video games, crafts and dancing. Imagine If  wants to be a combo community center, Home Depot and Barnes & Noble. They could have created a  more relaxed ambiance without the Montessori mayhem by just adding a coffee bar. Instead of the taxpayers covering the expense for a four library name change, the coffee coffers could cough up a little money. If they wanted to show that the library is more than books, they could have put that slogan on posters.
      I've heard Californians talk about "reinventing yourself". That idea makes me nervous. Actually, California makes me nervous. Our library has reinvented itself--into a Flower Child. A free spirit we can count on to live by its own rules, imagination--and our tax money.

Going Postal

     I took a client to the post office last week so she could mail a package. For some reason she had neither taped nor addressed the box, but had the address written on a sheet of paper.  As we stood in line, we noticed two signs declaring that all packages had to be taped and addressed by the customer. We found out that not only were employees not allowed to help tape packages, they had no means to do so.  All tape guns had been confiscated by the district supervisor from North Dakota, who had recently inspected our post offices and reprimanded the employees for being "too nice" to customers. Though the postal employees have no tape, there are dozens of rolls available for purchase at twice what they cost in other stores. The woman who waited on us had actually been written up for using the S word, claiming being too nice was customer Service.  Neither rain, nor snow nor gloom of night. . .too bad it doesn't mention tape.
     It would never occur to me to take a partially wrapped, unaddressed package to the post office, but I work in home health care and there are many clients who need extra help wrapping their packages (in every sense). This help will no longer be coming from postal employees. We live in an age when "going postal" is synonymous with job frustration and shooting up your workplace, yet some supervisor is afraid of the postal employees getting the reputation of being too nice.
     In the last few decades e-mail has replaced snail mail, businesses encourage paperless billing, and the coupons that once came in junk mail can be accessed by smart phone. The snail is becoming extinct. More importantly, with the advent of UPS, FedEx, etc. the post office is no longer the only game in town for shipping packages. Additions like priority mail and flat rate boxes have helped the post office be more competitive, but this is offset by shipping stations that both custom wrap packages and find the least expensive shipping option. The post office is going bankrupt and, unlike the rest of the government, is required to be self sustaining. In the real world, a business going under might try to lower prices and improve customer service. But the post office is not part of the real world, it is part of the government, so its solution to financial peril is to increase prices and decrease customer service. Not coincidentally, I don't go to the post office much. Good thing. I might just go postal.

Divine Dialogue

    My one regret about the house we now have is that there is no good place in either the house or yard from which to view, much less photograph, the sunset. However, we have an excellent rear view mirror reflection of it colors off the snowy Swan Peaks and I often take pictures of those. What is it about sunsets that move us? I think that at sunset the curtain between Earth and eternity lifts just a crack and we glimpse the unbearable beauty of God. I feel as if I am standing with my Creator looking up as He looks down, like Father and child sharing a moment together. In my heart I hear this divine dialogue.
     "I made this for you," He says.
     "I'm glad you like it."
     "I will love you forever."
     "Goodnight."

     And He hears the longing of my heart, not to die, but to go home and see beyond the curtain with eyes that can bear the brightness. But my thoughts are vaster than my words, all I can say is,
     "Goodnight Father. Thank you."

Because It Is

     A verse that stood out to me during this week's Bible study of the feeding of the 5000 was Mt. 14:20, "They all ate and were satisfied".  Hardly profound hermeneutics. The people had had enough to eat--but it made me think. The reason many people, including me, resist trusting Christ is the expectation that such a life could not possibly be satisfying. Our inborn appetites would not be sated with such meager fare.
     We often blame our lack of satisfaction on not having enough ______________(fill in the blank); some suggestions--fame, fortune, leisure or love. Few of us have the opportunity Solomon did to seek satisfaction while possessing world wide acclaim, a prestigious position, an abundance of wealth, women, and even wisdom, but Ecclesiastes records that even he failed miserably. The death-styles of the rich and famous are often accidental or intentional suicide.
     Christians are not satisfied because God's provision is all they get, they are satisfied because it is all they want. At least this is true for Christians not caught up in the continual, commercial coveting campaigns so prevalent in our culture. This contentment is not confined to affluent American Christians, it is also found in impoverished villages throughout the world. The simple, profound truth I realized--God's provision feels satisfying because it is.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

     I love money back guarantees, especially at Costco where there is no argument, no shipping, no hassle. It is human nature to want a guarantee because it frees us from living with the consequences of a bad product. Unfortunately, we also want guarantees in our personal lives, our health, our finances, even our relationships. Humans crave guarantees because we crave control. That is why theories like man caused global warming are so popular despite lack of scientific evidence, it puts man back in the SUV driver's seat. Christians also crave control. That is why it is so tempting to believe the programs, systems and formulas that promise them. But think this through:

   If God wants all his children to be healthy, why did He promise Paul so much pain and suffering? One good beating can undo years of good diet and exercise. Why has God been glorified through so many sick and suffering saints?

   On a current health taboo, if gluten is bad for us, why did Christ tell us to pray for daily bread? Why did He use bread to symbolize his body in communion? Why did God accept grain offerings?

    If making a relationship desirable guaranteed a loved one would never stray, what did God do wrong with Adam? How did Jesus blow it with Judas? We can build strong marriages but we cannot make them divorce proof. We can raise children with biblical principles, but we cannot eradicate their sin nature.

   If God wants us to protect our possessions, why does Jesus tell us not to stockpile them? Why, in all his warnings to flee the impending destruction of Jerusalem, does he tell them to leave everything behind instead of send it ahead to a safe place? Maybe it's because He has already promised to take care of our daily needs.

   If God wants his children to be financially secure, why did He exempt the prophets (see Heb.11), and His own Son? Why did Jesus seek out the poor?

   If God does not want his children to suffer, why does he commend the refining quality of suffering so highly in scripture? Why have so many of his servants lived as outcasts and died as martyrs? God does not want us to suffer the preventable consequences of our own bad decisions, that is why He has given us so many instructions on how to make wise choices, but suffering because of our identification with Christ is considered a blessing. Even if it happens in America.

   I admit it bothers me that Christians who would never be gullible enough to believe the promises of wealth or luck in a chain letter, commend or share posts that promise to Alzheimer's proof your brain, cancer proof your body or ensure your loved ones' commitment to Christ. Such guarantees are not for this world and the pursuit of them is a sinful pursuit. Heaven is where we get the lifetime warranty. No arguments. No shipping. No hassle.

  



 

Reverse Sundowner's

   There is a well known phenomenon among dementia patients known as Sundowner's Syndrome.  As night approaches, patients become confused, agitated and uncooperative.  I think I have reverse Sundowner's (Undowner's Snydrome? Undrome?) because the white skies of winter drain me and, as the sun goes down and the skies darken, I begin to feel more focused, energetic and calm.  When the white skies are hidden, I feel relieved. My SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder, usually begins after the holidays, January 2nd. This year it started after the holiday, Christmas. The New Year's baby hadn't even been delivered yet and I already felt like I was carrying a 50 lb. weight.
     So I spent my Christmas money on a "Happy" light. Since it is from Costco, I can either get happy or my money back. It has two lenses, one for comfort, one for energy.  I will have to wait and see if a box of small, but happy, light can overcome the effect of the big, but wintery, skies of Montana and reverse SAD into DAS, Drugged on Artificial Sunlight. But, to quote a classic, Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby, ain't nothing like the real thing.