I don’t post a lot of external articles, but this one really caught my attention. It’s a fascinating explanation of how art became entertainment, which became distractions, and how those are becoming an addiction. And it’s not by accident.
Very much worth the read (about 8 minutes)
“while the [Old Testament] prophets train their attention on the eternal, kairos drama of God’s words and actions, they remain intimately involved in the events of their historical time. Being caught between these two times can be quite painful and disorienting, particularly when it is difficult to see the hand of Providence in the daily news. Near the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, Tolkien articulates this predicament well. When Gandalf, acting in many ways as an heir to the biblical prophets, tells Frodo that Sauron has risen and is searching for the ring that Bilbo gave him, Frodo’s reaction to this news is quite natural: “I wish it need not have happened in my time.” Frodo would prefer to step out of his time, to escape the confusing and frightful events of chronos. In this regard, he is much like King Hezekiah, who is pleased when Isaiah tells him that his sons will be carried into captivity and made eunuchs- at least, Hezekiah thinks, “there will be peace and security in my days” (Is 39:8). Gandalf’s reply to Frodo balances empathy with a bracing call to courageously and faithfully inhabit the tension between the messy demands of chronos and the divine call of kairos: “‘So do I;’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” The biblical prophets likewise repeatedly urge their hearers to decide how to respond to the events of their time by the standard of God’s eternal word.”
From “Reading the Times”, by Jeffrey Bilbro, P. 95-96
Today’s Sunday Share is the fictional letter below, which is attributed at the end.
To: Jesus, Son of Joseph, Woodcrafter Carpenter Shop, Nazareth
From: Jordan Management Consultants, Jerusalem
Dear Sir:
Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.
It is the staff’s opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in the background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.
Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, sons of Zebedee, place personal interests above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale.
We feel it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic depressive scale.
One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.
We wish you every success in your new venture.
Sincerely yours,
Jordan Management Consultants
I found this made-up letter in the introduction to Warren Wiersbe’s book on 1 Corinthians, Be Wise: Discern The Difference Between Man’s Knowledge and God’s Wisdom. Ken Baugh, who wrote the introduction, says “Even though this is a humorous account, it drives home the radical difference between human and divine wisdom.” Baugh found it “on the internet,” where it is often attributed to Eating Problems for Breakfast by Tim Hansel, Word Publishing, 1988, pp. 194-195
Today’s Sunday Share comes from Sam Emadi, senior pastor at Hunsinger Lane Baptist Church in Louisville, KY. This post from the 9Marks website discusses whether Christians should “engage in the worldly practice of name-calling or employing theological slurs”, especially tempting in “our social-media-dominated outrage culture.”
Read the entire post by clicking this link to open it in a new tab. (Estimated reading time 5 minutes)
Today’s Sunday Share comes from Greg Koukl, founder of the website Stand to Reason. In an article linked below, he explains that real tolerance “is about how we treat people, not ideas.” Modern culture often gets this wrong way around, turning tolerance into intolerance.
Read more at the link below.
(Estimated reading time 3 minutes)
https://www.str.org/w/don-t-be-taken-in-by-the-tolerance-trick
Driving Toward the Morning Sun 