Understanding Spirituality and Culture through Christ
The Moore Bond existed to entertain, the Craig Bond lived to point us to the deeper way of love, the Christlike way of self-giving love which is the proper function of a man who lives a life worth living.
Read MoreThe comedian, author and TV host Ben Stein says, "I cannot tell you anything that, in a few minutes, will tell you how to be rich. But I can tell you how to feel rich, which is far better, let me tell you firsthand, than being rich. Be grateful. . . . It's the only totally reliable get-rich-quick scheme." We live in a culture where developing gratitude as an attitude is seen as being key to success.
Read MoreAugustine says in his confessions, "vast are you O Lord, we are restless until we find our rest in thee." Big Bend this vast meeting space in which I am no longer restless. I am home. I am rested because I am purged of the frenzy of the city. My perception is attuned to enjoying God's cosmos, permeating the glory of His presence. Only then do I truly live!
Read MoreDo you want to see change in your life? Are your external rules based strategy failing you? Then Identify the dysfunctional belief which is driving your behavior. Then change the dysfunctional belief with redemptive belief, and let that drive your motivation to change your behavior. Change your belief and your behavior will change!
Read MoreHow do we find our happiness? According to Seligman it is Positive Emotions, Flow and transcendent meaning. He says positive emotions aren't lasting, Flow lasts more, transcendent meaning is the highest point. From a Christian standpoint as in Matt 6:33, getting the order right is key - seek our highest meaning (satisfaction) in the love of God, then engage (purposefully) in the work of God's kingdom building, then positive emotions will follow. But if we attempt to reverse the order, if we try to chase after positive emotions, then we will end up someone frantically adjust the grill in the air conditioning vents in the car to get cold air when the engine is not working.
Read MoreA strong sense of why is deeply motivating, giving us the energy to face what we have to do each day with a deep sense of purpose and meaning. Simon Sinek is right in helping us to see why focusing on the why is more important than focusing on the 'what.' But the 'why' in and of itself is amoral, so it can easily be used in narcissistic self-seeking ways. When we make our 'why' to align with the glorifying God, by valuing intimacy with God and obeying God's command to love our neighbors we will be energized to truly create a world of love and peace.
Read MoreAnger does not have to be destructive. Ps 37 is not just about managing anger, it is about making something constructive our of our anger. Anger can be transformational if we can channel our anger into trust filled action, be still before God surrendering our agendas, delight in the Lord by enjoying the gifts of beauty.
Read MoreMichale Malice is not wrong to say people should have the motivation to make the world a better place. But the problem is without a comprehensive model for how to make the world a better place, misplaced motivation can easily destroy the world in the name of making the world a better place as we see with Stalin and Walter Duranty. Christian theology points to Jesus being the best model to making the world a better place through self-giving love, in as much as Christians follow the way of Jesus, we will truly be making the world a better place.
Read MoreThe first step in avoiding the trap of comparison games, to live into the freedom that Jesus offers is to make Jesus our reference point by keeping our eyes on Jesus. St. Teresa of Avila said prayer is us looking at God gazing lovingly at us. If we are able to behold the love of God in Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will not be tempted to look for validation from other centered reference points.
Read MoreThe idea of using micro electrodes in the brain to program away faulty thinking reminds me of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World which uses drugs instead of electromagnetism to manage brains creating a crime-less society with unmitigated happiness. The problem of course is that a society which does not have a sense of freewill ends up into becoming a rather boring society. One of the characters, John Savage, finds such a world so meaningless that he tries to find meaning in suffering, lashing himself with a whip, and eventually taking his own life away. Why would a society filled with easy ways for chemically induced happiness be rather boring and meaningless?
Yes, people can change history of they have a singular passion for an idea and are willing to die for it. But for this change to create any kind of last peace in a Christlike way, the means and the ends have to align. Using coercive power may give short term results. But one cannot use coercive powers of destruction to create lasting peace, case in point Nechayev’s Revolution. One can only use self-sacrificial love of the way of Jesus to create lasting peace.
Read MoreDo not let your fears distract you into escapist behavior or let your fears define you. We too are called to struggle with God in prayer, fueling our prayers with our fears. This deepens our identity in Christ, giving us peace which "guards our heart and mind," as Paul says in verse 7 of chapter 4 of Philippians. Let your fears become your prayers, then your prayers will make you strong.
Read MoreWhen we obey our own selfish desires, we end up creating a world of competition and violence, red in tooth and claw. On the other hand, Obedience to the way of self-less love of Christ is a great thing if we value our friendship with Jesus and we want to transcend our selfish desires and participation in creating a kingdom of love and peace through Christlike selfgiving way of love.
Read MoreWhat we see in Mandalorian is an alignment to a creed, and then a commitment to the community. As Christians we too are called to be people who are aligned to the creed the Jesus is Lord, and committed to the community of children of God who live around us.
Read MoreIf we are craving attention, seeking self-aggrandizement, becoming addicted to our spectacles the way Joe Exotic is, then we will self-destruct like Joe Exotic. We will be crushed under the weight of our own spectacle. The way to freedom is to away from the addiction to the self-aggrandizing spectacle is to, one, always perform for the audience of one no matter what. Two, remember that we are the beloved of God no matter what others may think about us or say about us. This is the good news, that we are the beloved of God, in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
Read MoreOur ability to endure suffering comes from the power of our identity. From a Christian standpoint our identity as children of God gives us an eternal perspective on suffering, by reminding us that our citizenship is in the eternal world. Our identity in Christ also gives us a new purpose, to love our neighbors. It means our suffering does not define us, our suffering is redeemed by investing in loving, building the kingdom of love and peace.
Read MoreAs we all have lots of down time with cancelled events, to deal with anxiety one of the ways to take time as a time of Sabbath rest trusting that God is in control of things. Use the disciple of remembrance of death to create clarity of intention about what you value. Speak and connect with people you love, people who you have not had a chance to talk to for a while, above all approach this crisis from a place of hope that our eternal citizenship is secure and care for the other.
Read MoreWhen we are stuck in obsessions, trying to find our happiness and rest through some attachment of ours, the way to let go of our obsessions is to to trust in God for our rest and happiness. Life is a journey with God. It is a journey filled with wonder towards freedom. It is our trust in God who fuels this journey of wonder towards freedom.
Read MoreWe live in a world filled with so many distractions, ranging from facebook feeds to giant billboards advertising junk food. We suffering from a sense of scatter-brainedness, and inability to focus on important priorities. For Christians, remembrance of death is a spiritual discipline that helps create an urgency of intention to prioritize our spiritual life with God and our neighbor all else.
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