"Hi Glenn! Nice tie you're wearing - is that a Ferragamo?"
Audrey, one of the pediatricians in our department, took some fancy at the new tie that I wore to work that day. The necktie had a shimmery light blue background and a repetitive pattern of tiny grey dolphins wearing yellow caps. I thought that it would be something fun to wear when spending time with young children and their parents in the clinic, but I didn't know what she meant about it being a "Ferragamo". I often pride myself in living significantly below my expected standard of living, and have never purchased an expensive necktie before. The one I wore was discovered at a thrift shop in Tokyo during a family vacation, for the price of about a hamburger, French fries and a soda. I would eventually come across some very nice looking Salvatore Ferragamo ties at airport duty-free shops, and was shocked to find that a single necktie at the store cost more than my shirt, necktie, trousers, belt, shoes, socks and wristwatch combined. I was content to settle for my Ferragamo look-alikes that was purchased at less than one-twentieth the price. Besides, if I actually wear one of those very expensive neckties, does that mean that I also need to buy expensive shirts and suits to match? That would get very costly very quickly.
While I am very reluctant to sport any kind of "status symbol", I do enjoy looking at other people's expensive toys. "Ooh, that watch must cost at least $20,000 (mine was for $49.95)...wait, check out that guy's newest electronic gadget...whoa!"
As my eyes wandered around town, suddenly a distinct roar of a sports car's engine caught my ear as a silver Ferrari passed by. I would later find the same car parked only a few hundred feet from my home. Hmm, there much be a very wealthy person in the neighborhood, or someone who knows a very wealthy person, I thought. A couple of days later, the Ferrari was replaced by a Maserati, and the next day by a BMW, and a few days later by an Audi R8 sports car that costs more than some pieces of livable real estate. Not only was there a wealthy person in the neighborhood, it was a wealthy person who liked European sports cars. Was I jealous as I slowly drove past the vehicle du joir in my Toyota Prius? Nah.
It is usually considered wise not to live an extravagant lifestyle, and indeed, in The Millionaire Next Door, authors Thomas Stanley and William Danko noted that the typical American millionaire lived considerably below their expected standards of living and eschewed the lifestyles of the rich and famous in order to accumulate earthly wealth. The Bible also contains many verses that urge us to use our resources wisely. However, such rules do not apply when it comes to spiritual riches for the Christian. In the opening verses of Ephesians, the apostle Paul exclaimed,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. (Ephesians 1:3-4)
God has blessed those whom He chose with "every spiritual blessing". God, the infinite source of all things, has made us who are Christians spiritual billionaires and gazillionaires, and as long as we abide in Him, we have no fear of these blessings being depleted. Yet, we often live considerably beneath our spiritual means. Why do we despair and worry when God has given us joy and peace? Why are we stingy with our concern and prayers for others when God has sent his one and only son to die for our sins? Why are we impatient, intolerant and angry? Why do we try to live as if we would be annihilated and cease to exist after our earthly existence is over? May we remember the richness of our spiritual blessings, and move up to a higher standard of living for God's glory.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Squiggly Image
"Oh, this one's going to be hard..."
Years ago, my family was playing a game of Pictionary with some friends from church, and it was my son Christopher's turn to do the drawing. Pictionary is a guessing game that is similar to charades, where one person draws pictures to provide clues to a secret word or phrase that others must guess correctly as quickly as possible. As an example, if the word is "chicken", the person who knows the word will try to draw a chicken, while the others blurt out what they think is being drawn until someone says "chicken!". Sometimes the word or phrase is easy (most people know how to draw a chicken), but others can be practically impossible, and requires all the creativity and imagination that one can muster. It appeared that my son would have to pull out some trick out of his sleeves for this one.
Tension filled the air as the timer went off. Suddenly my son's eyes brightened as he approached the large piece of paper. He drew what looked like a canoe.
"A boat! No, a ship...a dinghy...an aircraft carrier!" I started to yell mindlessly as the little vessel started to take shape.
He shook his head, and kept drawing. Now he started to draw what appeared to be a person on the boat.
"Man on the boat...a sailor! No, pirate? Captain Hook?"
No luck so far, and the timer ticked on. What could it possibly be? Meanwhile, my son started to put some squiggly hair on the person's head, and drew a hat on top.
"George Washington!"
My son stopped drawing and fist-pumped into the air. "Yes! You got it!"
The air stood still for a second before everyone else in the room let out a collective gasp of shock and awe. It seemed beyond understanding how I could correctly guess the words "George Washington" from the drawing of a person with squiggly hair and a hat standing on a boat.
"It wasn't that hard to figure out. Chris was drawing Washington crossing the Delaware!"
It just happened that my son and I recently saw a reproduction of that famous 1851 Emanuel Leutze painting. Chris' rendition of the man on the boat was not much closer to George Washington than Peter Pan or Alice in Wonderland, but a little intuition led me to the proper conclusion. It was, albeit an imprecise one, an image of the first President of the United States of America.
In a way, we are all somewhat imprecise images. On the sixth day of creation, when God created man, it was written,
So God created man in his own image
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27)
Sometimes it's hard to imagine that there is much in us that reflects God in any way. We are blemished, selfish, arrogant, shameful and without self control. Some of us are tall, short, fat, skinny, funny looking or without fashion sense. A well known pastor has often said that if you don't think that God has a sense of humor, just look at all the people around us.
Yet, despite all our shortcomings, each of us still bears God's communicable attributes. God is beautiful and creative, and we enjoy the beauty of His creation. God is righteous, and our conscience tells us what is right and wrong. God is the source of life, and we value life and admire those who save lives. God is community as a triune Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we are made not to be alone, but to live with those we love.
May we always remember to live our days as if we are created in God's image, though we may appear only as little squiggly lines when compared to our Creator. May we also value each and every person, regardless of what we see, as someone who also bears His image in an unique way.
Years ago, my family was playing a game of Pictionary with some friends from church, and it was my son Christopher's turn to do the drawing. Pictionary is a guessing game that is similar to charades, where one person draws pictures to provide clues to a secret word or phrase that others must guess correctly as quickly as possible. As an example, if the word is "chicken", the person who knows the word will try to draw a chicken, while the others blurt out what they think is being drawn until someone says "chicken!". Sometimes the word or phrase is easy (most people know how to draw a chicken), but others can be practically impossible, and requires all the creativity and imagination that one can muster. It appeared that my son would have to pull out some trick out of his sleeves for this one.
Tension filled the air as the timer went off. Suddenly my son's eyes brightened as he approached the large piece of paper. He drew what looked like a canoe.
"A boat! No, a ship...a dinghy...an aircraft carrier!" I started to yell mindlessly as the little vessel started to take shape.
He shook his head, and kept drawing. Now he started to draw what appeared to be a person on the boat.
"Man on the boat...a sailor! No, pirate? Captain Hook?"
No luck so far, and the timer ticked on. What could it possibly be? Meanwhile, my son started to put some squiggly hair on the person's head, and drew a hat on top.
"George Washington!"
My son stopped drawing and fist-pumped into the air. "Yes! You got it!"
The air stood still for a second before everyone else in the room let out a collective gasp of shock and awe. It seemed beyond understanding how I could correctly guess the words "George Washington" from the drawing of a person with squiggly hair and a hat standing on a boat.
"It wasn't that hard to figure out. Chris was drawing Washington crossing the Delaware!"
It just happened that my son and I recently saw a reproduction of that famous 1851 Emanuel Leutze painting. Chris' rendition of the man on the boat was not much closer to George Washington than Peter Pan or Alice in Wonderland, but a little intuition led me to the proper conclusion. It was, albeit an imprecise one, an image of the first President of the United States of America.
In a way, we are all somewhat imprecise images. On the sixth day of creation, when God created man, it was written,
So God created man in his own image
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27)
Sometimes it's hard to imagine that there is much in us that reflects God in any way. We are blemished, selfish, arrogant, shameful and without self control. Some of us are tall, short, fat, skinny, funny looking or without fashion sense. A well known pastor has often said that if you don't think that God has a sense of humor, just look at all the people around us.
Yet, despite all our shortcomings, each of us still bears God's communicable attributes. God is beautiful and creative, and we enjoy the beauty of His creation. God is righteous, and our conscience tells us what is right and wrong. God is the source of life, and we value life and admire those who save lives. God is community as a triune Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we are made not to be alone, but to live with those we love.
May we always remember to live our days as if we are created in God's image, though we may appear only as little squiggly lines when compared to our Creator. May we also value each and every person, regardless of what we see, as someone who also bears His image in an unique way.
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