Trending Bicycles
It is interesting how patterns repeat themselves. I guess that's why they are called patterns. I came across one today that makes me wary . . . but should it?
David McCullough, in The Wright Brothers, states that when bicycles were introduced,
When I was a kid, some circles claimed that the 2 / 4 beat of rock & roll was morally hazardous and insisted on listening to music with a 1 / 3 beat. I thought that was ludicrous.
Somehow, my parents survived the 60's without getting into the drug scene. It's true, stories abound about sex, and drugs and Rock & Roll. Now there's even a sitcom based on sex, drugs and Rock & Roll, so maybe concerns were not that far off . . . so much so that the show seems anti-climatic for the here and now. And the sexual revolution begun in the 60's has firmly taken root.
So what is it about these trends?
Sure, traveling farther from home requires more exercising of judgment by kids. Now people fly all over the world on business, leaving their families at home for days to months. Morally hazardous? There's a tv show about business consultants and seductions, too. I suppose invention of the airplane was morally hazardous. :) Nope.
So what do we make of this? Does this mean people's fears of "morally hazardous" that you hear every time a new technology or trend takes over are valid? Maybe. Maybe not. (Or should we say yes and no?)
I love Rock & Roll. I like bicycles. I fly all over for work. Yet I find beauty in a well-placed rift and a tight band, love the felt freedom and speed of travel by bicycle and the wind flying past my face, and hope I have made a measurable, positive impact at the locations I have traveled to for work.
Sure, I could get involved in the wrong crowds and do things I'd regret. I could use the freedom and speed of travel by bicycle to go places I should go. (Bicycle? What about the advent of the automobile?) And the loneliness of travel for work could get me into real trouble. I saw a tv show set in the mid-to-late 1800s where a large sum of the money for the time was left in the hands of people very tempted by it. And each of them faced the temptation to do things they would otherwise not do as a result. One overcame, but walked real close to the fire. Another did not overcome but was shown mercy regardless.
I think all this points to a larger dynamic at play. What if human nature is human nature, is human nature? What if being human means we have opportunities to demonstrate our human nature wherever we go, in whatever we do?
Assuming there is a God, a moral law-giver as C.S. Lewis would say, and we are created in the image of God, human nature would mean both doing things that go against that moral law, and doing things and appreciating things that demonstrated that Image we represent. Just watch someone else's kid lie to and manipulate their parents - it couldn't be your kid - and you'll see that natural tendency. Then see an example of extraordinary altruism at the Olympics and see it rewarded by the governing body, and you see an example of that Image.
The Bible states that there is none righteous, not even one; none that truly seeks after good. It also says that the human heart is deceptively wicked. It further says that the Old Testament law was written so people would not be able to keep it (as in it is not humanly possible to be perfect), and the New Testament states that having sinned in one area, each of us is guilty of all. Extreme? Not when we consider how easily we fall.
Is there an out?
The Bible also says that Jesus died for sin that in accepting that punishment for the guilt of our sins, we have the life of Jesus and can be free from our human nature. More than that, the Bible states that those do accept what Jesus did on the cross in their place for forgiveness of their sins can have God's power to overcome and do things that are often not humanly possible otherwise. The Bible puts this in terms of being alive in Christ based on Christ rising from the dead.
Some might say, at this point, that sounds silly. I can see that. But I've observed it. I've also experienced it myself. Hard to deny when I've gone from struggling with a particular temptation and calling out to God for help, and the next moment, not feeling it anymore. Or when I ask God for power to love someone who is getting on my nerves and He gives me extra calm or perspective in the circumstance. It's available for the asking.
So the next question might be why so many Christians are hypocrites. Good question. Truth is, every single human being that walks the face of the earth is a hypocrite of one sort or another -- we all do things we at the next turn judge others for doing. What does that make us?
But it's a good question. Answer is human nature. There is none righteous, not even one. I will never be perfect in this life, but hopefully those who know me will see me changing over time and see me do things that cannot be explained by mere will power. Hopefully, my faith makes a difference in my life.
I spoke with a friend recently and asked if that person lived what they considered priority for their life. Answer: "not as often as I would like." I think, generally, that Christ followers would say the same thing about their lives. But more than that, if we were honest, we would admit we don't seek that abundant life-giving relationship with God as much as we could; that we let other priorities and perspectives drown out the internal benefits to us from knowing God. And that's a crying shame. I'm just as guilty of it as the next person. It's very human of me.
But human nature isn't all negative. I have similar desires to everyone else. I want to be happy. I want healthy relationships. I want enough material success to be comfortable. I don't like prolonged pain, but I've learned to live through it and sometimes see through it. I appreciate beauty as do you. All that is also part of being human, and it's a wonderful thing. More can be said about how most fathers and mothers love their children and want nothing more than to see them succeed, about philanthropy and self-sacrifice, honor, bravery, justice, uprightness, do-gooding, loving thy neighbor, honesty, integrity, generosity, hard work, resilience, a positive attitude, a generous smile, seeking after someone else's well-being, selflessness and many other things that are often part of the human experience. And yes, wherever I see that, it's worth celebrating.
Yet I've seen much in myself I do not like - sometimes at greater volume and frequency than at other times: jealousy, envy, selfishness, anxiety, self-deception, fear, cowardice, desire for vengeance, laziness . . . you name it.
You?
Ever seen the movie "Seven"? We're all guilty in one form or another.
So from one sinner, but wonderfully amazing creature, to another, the difference between those of us who have accepted Christ and those of us who choose not to is that those who do have been redeemed by the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That's what makes people righteous before God, not what they do. Because as the Bible says, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; there is none naturally righteous, not even one. And once accepting Christ's sacrifice and God's forgiveness, we have God's power for the asking to do all the beautiful things available to humans, desired by the Moral Law-Giver. And that's freedom, indeed, if I will only take it. The more I focus on God's life in me, the more I want to live that life. Life without it just doesn't have the same appeal.
There's something to be said here for the Resurrection. If the wages of sin is death (physical/spiritual), and Christ's death was a self-sacrifice for the sins of others (payment for sin / redemption), then Christ's rising again was a defeat of the consequences of sin, hence the gift of God to those who believe is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. But that's not only eternal life. While living this life, if I can enjoy things without the negative aspects of human nature, perhaps I can glimpse a small picture of what it will be like in Heaven when the temptations associated with human nature are no longer in play! That will be something.
The Bible also talks about not being overcome by evil, but overcoming evil with good, and talks about being enslaved by that which does overpower us. I just noticed a YouTube video about the top 10 Marvel characters that were overpowered. Truth is, our heroes are those who overcome. Those who don't leave us sad, sometimes mad, and full of bittersweet, mixed emotions. It's a major let down. What if the lead characters in Gladiator and Braveheart had not overcome (and both of those characters died)? Would those movies have had the draw that they have, or would we have left the movie theater feeling empty, let down, bitter and with a lingering sense of hopelessness. Something would just not sit right.
As with all things, what we have can both be used for good or for evil. And as demonstrated by those in that tv show set in the 1800's, it helps to avoid those situations that make it easier for to fall. Sometimes that means not riding that metaphorical bicycle; other times it does not.
We all fall many times over the course of our lives . . . the last three weeks have been reminders of that for me. But Jesus didn't. His sacrifice in our place was both necessary and generous. He wants us to have the life that's possible in Him.
When it comes to the better side of human nature, I can celebrate that anywhere. As Tom Peters admonishes in The Project 50: Reinventing Work - 50 Ways to Transform Every "Task" Into a Project That Matters , there is great value to recognizing and celebrating the beautiful. What I would want for you is to also know that your sins are forgiven and walk in the knowledge of who God is and the impact that has on your life, both here and now, and for eternity.
And for me - well, hopefully this life of mine is salty as an example of what God can do in someone's life. If not, perhaps I, too, have shifted my perspective too far from the benefits of knowing Jesus while I seek those things that are important to all of us. If I were to venture, that is morally hazardous. If I remember the former in my pursuits, perhaps I will also have the latter but from that standpoint of freedom to do the right thing. My redemption in Christ was expensive. Overcome.
David McCullough, in The Wright Brothers, states that when bicycles were introduced,
Voices were raised in protest. Bicycles were proclaimed morally hazardous. Until now children and youth were unable to stray very far from home on foot. Now, one magazine warned, fifteen minutes could put them miles away. Because of bicycles, it was said, young people were not spending the time they should with books, and more seriously that suburban and country tours on bicycles were "not infrequently accompanied by seductions."
Such concerns had little effect . . .Bicycles? Really?
When I was a kid, some circles claimed that the 2 / 4 beat of rock & roll was morally hazardous and insisted on listening to music with a 1 / 3 beat. I thought that was ludicrous.
Somehow, my parents survived the 60's without getting into the drug scene. It's true, stories abound about sex, and drugs and Rock & Roll. Now there's even a sitcom based on sex, drugs and Rock & Roll, so maybe concerns were not that far off . . . so much so that the show seems anti-climatic for the here and now. And the sexual revolution begun in the 60's has firmly taken root.
So what is it about these trends?
Sure, traveling farther from home requires more exercising of judgment by kids. Now people fly all over the world on business, leaving their families at home for days to months. Morally hazardous? There's a tv show about business consultants and seductions, too. I suppose invention of the airplane was morally hazardous. :) Nope.
So what do we make of this? Does this mean people's fears of "morally hazardous" that you hear every time a new technology or trend takes over are valid? Maybe. Maybe not. (Or should we say yes and no?)
I love Rock & Roll. I like bicycles. I fly all over for work. Yet I find beauty in a well-placed rift and a tight band, love the felt freedom and speed of travel by bicycle and the wind flying past my face, and hope I have made a measurable, positive impact at the locations I have traveled to for work.
Sure, I could get involved in the wrong crowds and do things I'd regret. I could use the freedom and speed of travel by bicycle to go places I should go. (Bicycle? What about the advent of the automobile?) And the loneliness of travel for work could get me into real trouble. I saw a tv show set in the mid-to-late 1800s where a large sum of the money for the time was left in the hands of people very tempted by it. And each of them faced the temptation to do things they would otherwise not do as a result. One overcame, but walked real close to the fire. Another did not overcome but was shown mercy regardless.
I think all this points to a larger dynamic at play. What if human nature is human nature, is human nature? What if being human means we have opportunities to demonstrate our human nature wherever we go, in whatever we do?
Assuming there is a God, a moral law-giver as C.S. Lewis would say, and we are created in the image of God, human nature would mean both doing things that go against that moral law, and doing things and appreciating things that demonstrated that Image we represent. Just watch someone else's kid lie to and manipulate their parents - it couldn't be your kid - and you'll see that natural tendency. Then see an example of extraordinary altruism at the Olympics and see it rewarded by the governing body, and you see an example of that Image.
Is there an out?
The Bible also says that Jesus died for sin that in accepting that punishment for the guilt of our sins, we have the life of Jesus and can be free from our human nature. More than that, the Bible states that those do accept what Jesus did on the cross in their place for forgiveness of their sins can have God's power to overcome and do things that are often not humanly possible otherwise. The Bible puts this in terms of being alive in Christ based on Christ rising from the dead.
Some might say, at this point, that sounds silly. I can see that. But I've observed it. I've also experienced it myself. Hard to deny when I've gone from struggling with a particular temptation and calling out to God for help, and the next moment, not feeling it anymore. Or when I ask God for power to love someone who is getting on my nerves and He gives me extra calm or perspective in the circumstance. It's available for the asking.
So the next question might be why so many Christians are hypocrites. Good question. Truth is, every single human being that walks the face of the earth is a hypocrite of one sort or another -- we all do things we at the next turn judge others for doing. What does that make us?
But it's a good question. Answer is human nature. There is none righteous, not even one. I will never be perfect in this life, but hopefully those who know me will see me changing over time and see me do things that cannot be explained by mere will power. Hopefully, my faith makes a difference in my life.
I spoke with a friend recently and asked if that person lived what they considered priority for their life. Answer: "not as often as I would like." I think, generally, that Christ followers would say the same thing about their lives. But more than that, if we were honest, we would admit we don't seek that abundant life-giving relationship with God as much as we could; that we let other priorities and perspectives drown out the internal benefits to us from knowing God. And that's a crying shame. I'm just as guilty of it as the next person. It's very human of me.
But human nature isn't all negative. I have similar desires to everyone else. I want to be happy. I want healthy relationships. I want enough material success to be comfortable. I don't like prolonged pain, but I've learned to live through it and sometimes see through it. I appreciate beauty as do you. All that is also part of being human, and it's a wonderful thing. More can be said about how most fathers and mothers love their children and want nothing more than to see them succeed, about philanthropy and self-sacrifice, honor, bravery, justice, uprightness, do-gooding, loving thy neighbor, honesty, integrity, generosity, hard work, resilience, a positive attitude, a generous smile, seeking after someone else's well-being, selflessness and many other things that are often part of the human experience. And yes, wherever I see that, it's worth celebrating.
Yet I've seen much in myself I do not like - sometimes at greater volume and frequency than at other times: jealousy, envy, selfishness, anxiety, self-deception, fear, cowardice, desire for vengeance, laziness . . . you name it.
You?
Ever seen the movie "Seven"? We're all guilty in one form or another.
So from one sinner, but wonderfully amazing creature, to another, the difference between those of us who have accepted Christ and those of us who choose not to is that those who do have been redeemed by the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That's what makes people righteous before God, not what they do. Because as the Bible says, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; there is none naturally righteous, not even one. And once accepting Christ's sacrifice and God's forgiveness, we have God's power for the asking to do all the beautiful things available to humans, desired by the Moral Law-Giver. And that's freedom, indeed, if I will only take it. The more I focus on God's life in me, the more I want to live that life. Life without it just doesn't have the same appeal.
There's something to be said here for the Resurrection. If the wages of sin is death (physical/spiritual), and Christ's death was a self-sacrifice for the sins of others (payment for sin / redemption), then Christ's rising again was a defeat of the consequences of sin, hence the gift of God to those who believe is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. But that's not only eternal life. While living this life, if I can enjoy things without the negative aspects of human nature, perhaps I can glimpse a small picture of what it will be like in Heaven when the temptations associated with human nature are no longer in play! That will be something.
The Bible also talks about not being overcome by evil, but overcoming evil with good, and talks about being enslaved by that which does overpower us. I just noticed a YouTube video about the top 10 Marvel characters that were overpowered. Truth is, our heroes are those who overcome. Those who don't leave us sad, sometimes mad, and full of bittersweet, mixed emotions. It's a major let down. What if the lead characters in Gladiator and Braveheart had not overcome (and both of those characters died)? Would those movies have had the draw that they have, or would we have left the movie theater feeling empty, let down, bitter and with a lingering sense of hopelessness. Something would just not sit right.
As with all things, what we have can both be used for good or for evil. And as demonstrated by those in that tv show set in the 1800's, it helps to avoid those situations that make it easier for to fall. Sometimes that means not riding that metaphorical bicycle; other times it does not.
We all fall many times over the course of our lives . . . the last three weeks have been reminders of that for me. But Jesus didn't. His sacrifice in our place was both necessary and generous. He wants us to have the life that's possible in Him.
When it comes to the better side of human nature, I can celebrate that anywhere. As Tom Peters admonishes in The Project 50: Reinventing Work - 50 Ways to Transform Every "Task" Into a Project That Matters , there is great value to recognizing and celebrating the beautiful. What I would want for you is to also know that your sins are forgiven and walk in the knowledge of who God is and the impact that has on your life, both here and now, and for eternity.
And for me - well, hopefully this life of mine is salty as an example of what God can do in someone's life. If not, perhaps I, too, have shifted my perspective too far from the benefits of knowing Jesus while I seek those things that are important to all of us. If I were to venture, that is morally hazardous. If I remember the former in my pursuits, perhaps I will also have the latter but from that standpoint of freedom to do the right thing. My redemption in Christ was expensive. Overcome.
posted by The Lamplighter at 7:07 PM
0 comments
