Do the unthinkable

“Let's think the unthinkable, let's do the undoable, let's prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.”
- Douglas Adams

It is not often that I let one area of study overlap into another.  Actually, it happens all the time, but that’s not important right now.  One of the great discoveries in my recent reading has been Douglas Adam’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  His sardonic wit brings to light some things that are so painfully obvious that we should have seen them long ago and to point out the absurdity of not seeing it in the first place.

Here is a perfect example.  What does it mean to eff something anyway?  Adams took a word that those of us who would use it wind up using it incorrectly anyway (ineffable actually means “not expressible in words”) and uses it to highlight just how doable the undoable really is.  If it has been presented to us to do, then it can be done.  Rather than wasting our time talking about how impossible it is, we might as well just get to work.

Insignificance

There are a lot of people in the world who want to tell you how important you are.  Improving your self-image is a multi-billion dollar industry.  Improving your look (through diets, fitness fads, etc) dwarfs that.  When you boil it all down, it is the search for significance.  The world screams out: “I want to feel important!  Where do I fit in?”

What if I told you that you’re insignificant and you should be thankful for it?  What does it mean to be significant?  It means to be responsible – ultimately to be Atlas with the world bearing down on your shoulders.  It means that you cannot afford to fall asleep in the garden because you’re the reason the other eleven men are there.  It means you have to give up your home, your profession, your comfort and become a persecuted itinerant preacher.

I am kinda thankful that I am insignificant.  The weight of the world rests on much more capable shoulders and I am relieved.  I have let someone else carry the weight, and He takes care of it without my interference. [Psalm 55:22]  

Contentment is way more important than self-image. [1 Timothy 6:6-7]  Fitness is not a bad thing, but if it is all we live for, our lives are empty. [1 Timothy 4:8]  My self-image is that I am an insignificant, worthless sinner who has been redeemed by the only Savior of the world.  By myself, I am nothing; but with him, I am everything I am supposed to be.  

Reflecting on Murder

Murder - the very idea strike a cord with many of us. If it doesn't, I encourage you to seek counseling immediately. I was watching the local public access channel and a fellow was talking about the commandment: "You shall not kill." Aside from the fact that he stated the original Greek means "murder" (the commandments are in the OT, so they would have been in Hebrew), he made a very truthful statement about many Christians flippant attitude toward word politics.

We often say, "Oh, I would have just shot them" or "I know the solution to that problem and it weighs about ___ grains" without thinking about what we are saying. Understand me. I live in New Hampshire - "Live free or die." I wouldn't have second thoughts about defending my family with lethal force. But I feel we are often far too flippant in our attitudes toward the lives of others.

With comments being made about foreign leaders that involve taking them out, etc, it is important for Christians to rise above the pettiness of this world. We are not free with our tongues. In fact, James admonished us: "The tongue is a little member, and boasts great things!" [James 3:5] We are not our own to vent our opinions when they conflict with the commands of God.

I don't like murder. When I was 15, my father's best friend was murdered in cold blood by a unstable man who had a fight with his girlfriend. When it happened, I wanted to kill him. Today, I'm not so sure. It is human government's job to punish the guilty, not my personal responsibility. I have to trust those in authority [Romans 14] and let God take over.