Don't Tell Me You're Bored

Don’t tell me you’re bored.

Seek amusement as a toddler seeks his sand castle:

Use time to invest in someone’s life.

Maybe even give instead of take.

Make your professor’s day.

Study philosophy on your own.

Exercise. Pray. Write.

Don’t be superficial. Talk to someone.

Challenge yourself.

Do something you have never done before.

Tell your comfort zone to buzz off.

Start a new relationship, or rekindle an old one.

Plan for your future or revisit your past,

but don’t dwell in it.

Study. Analyze. Live.

Seek entertainment.

Draw a picture. Then throw it away.

Draw the leaves once green,

now yellow, orange, and red.

Watch people, and learn something.

Tell someone you love them.

Stare at a desk. And write about it.

Build something. Find something.

Write a song. Try to sing it.

Make something of your boredom.

Questions Without Answers

     I thoroughly enjoyed a group discussion I had in my English 420 class (back when I was still a college student months ago) about struggles, doubting, and questions of both faith and the Bible. It made me realize that if you look to the Bible as a handbook for life, you will ultimately run into problems. It is said that you should not pick and choose parts of your faith life to abide by. After our class discussion I have come to the conclusion that you have to. I must say I do try to sin as little as possible and be a good Christian (for lack of a better term) as best I can. However, we humans are naive if we do not admit there are not contradictory issues in the Bible (as Dr. Baker pointed out in class). Therefore, how do we follow both sides of a Biblical notion if it is contradictory?

     Moreover, some concepts of the Bible are argued to be cultural. Since our culture has changed substantially, are we still supposed to follow those? Paul told the churches that women should wear veils over their faces and not wear earrings while worshiping. Women (in America) do not do this today. Do we simply disregard this request because it is of the past? If we followed other aspects of ideals of women that were covered in the Bible, then females would have an extremely oppressed role in today’s society. Most women, as a result, do not follow all of the requirements of the Bible.

     Quite frankly, I believe the most important issue is not the rules of the Holy book, but the idea that all things point to Christ. In my opinion, what is most significant in a person’s walk with God is his or her personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Everyone’s is different. Therefore, I know this always happens, but, we should not judge others’ relationships with God if we do not truly know the extent of them.

     People also claim that doubting one’s religion is a sign of weakness in faith. Such a notion is blasphemy. Without questions, answers cannot be received. In fact, it is healthy to struggle because in the end, it makes a person rely on his or her faith more. If a person who is searching for God wants empirical evidence and proof, he or she will never be satisfied. We cannot and will not ever be able to prove the supernatural. Our proof is in the times we experience God working in our lives. The proof is in our personal relationships with Christ. Empirical data will never be the backbone of Christianity. Faith will be.

Motivation Transcending Time

     Death is and will inevitably be a part of everybody’s lives sooner or later. Our culture fears the acknowledgment of this fundamental aspect of life. We intentionally fail to endorse the idea of death as a habitual part of our fallen world. In our present society, we put youth on a pedestal. We human beings underscore the idea of remaining young, which begets the thought that wrinkles mean death is knocking at the door. We use aging as a nexus for lamentation. We sympathize for ourselves as we get older because our culture places a heavy emphasis on both beauty and living freely. Aging makes its easy to lose that “free” mentality and lose that physical beauty (which dominates today’s society). Such a concept can cause human beings to feel like lesser people when their beauty dissolves over time and death creeps in their minds.
     I am critical of this attitude (which leads to morbidity). We should cherish aging. We should value those who transform generations. As adults age and despondent feelings arise, they must push those emotions away. People need not count their days (especially with a negative connotation) because that is when they begin to lose their eagerness to wake up each morning. That is when carpe diem turns meaningless. That is when optimism turns pessimistic. That is when we stop counting the greatest moments in life, and begin counting the moments we will soon lose and never again experience. Therefore, in all we do, whether we are 20 years young or 60 years young, we must remain fervent about our lives, and never proceed to sulk as time goes on.

The Common Man

There is a problem when politicians have to whip out “Joe the plumber” or say they are just like the common man. That would indicate that we thought they had more value than us to begin with. Is a politician a greater person than an employee at McDonalds? No matter vocation, all are equal and all have limits. I know it is part of the campaign plan, but to have to tell a body of persons that you are on their level is unnecessary.

A Hidden Wound

We talk about race relations as if everything will be healed over time. We are lying to ourselves if we say the wound of racism has been healed. I don’t think it will ever be healed. Our past is affecting our present. We are not the first cause of racism, but we are secondary causes as well as beneficiaries. It was inflicted before our time, but remains an issue today. We too, are a part of the problem. We must acknowledge the wound, but not in a defensive way. We must admit there is a hidden wound that is festering. Reverse discrimination is becoming as much an issue as racism is. We must acknowledge racism in our everyday society, and do our best to manage it and shut it down.

Reality T.V. Promotes Gossip

  Reality television shows are changing the entertainment industry as we know it. They are revolutionizing certain aspects of the media, and the way viewer’s now process television shows. Because reality shows are consumed with gossip, it has become the social norm for Americans to speak harshly about one another behind closed doors. In fact, those who do not take part in gossip are viewed as abnormal. The gossip seen on TV in reality shows is rubbing off on American culture. Along with the cunning language, reality TV shows have also turned the entertainment industry into a place where the flaws of people are put on a pedestal for all to observe. Such flaws can lead to entertaining conversation (especially among young adults), which is merely just another form of gossip in itself. Because of reality television, gossip is at the forefront of the entertainment industry, and thereupon, has unfortunately become a cornerstone of American culture.
     In shows such as The Real World and Jersey Shore, gossip keeps everything running smoothly. Without the deceiving slander there would be less fighting (which provides entertainment for the viewers). One person says something about another person and it’s on. That seems to be the current trend of today’s reality television. The gossip is often derived from the sexuality taking place on the shows. One person slept with another person, and someone was opposed. The cameras seize moments like this so they can have their chance to catch close ups of two girls talking smack about another girl, or the big tough guy calling out someone he plans on fighting. That is reality television these days, and it is rubbing off on both kids and adults in today’s culture. People love to point fingers and put other people’s flaws “on blast.” Seeing a person criticize him or herself, however, is like seeing a solar eclipse; it is what you would call a rarity. Through the gossip and the pointing of the fingers is how we come to understand and recognize the flaws of television’s reality celebrities. We learn the heart of the gossiper, as well as the negative aspects of the “gossipee.” People’s flaws are then know nationwide, and even become the basis for conversations across the country.
     The conversing over reality shows, the gossip put on display, and the flaws reality shows reveal are all a part of today’s television industry, as well as the broader entertainment industry. Americans have given into and even conformed to such behavior. Gossip has become its own custom in American society. It has affected the world of television, the viewers of television, and the compass of entertainment as a whole in the United States and other nations.

Don't Be So Sure

     For ages, certain Christians across the world have believed those who kill themselves go directly to Hell. After committing suicide, these people thought, a person would have no time to repent and ask for forgiveness following such a potent sin as murder. Having a friend and fellow brother in Christ commit such an act and take his own life a few years ago has enticed me into researching this theory as well as various opinions regarding suicide. Ergo, I sought out the most knowledgeable man I know in regards to the Christian faith. He told me one thing I knew, that there were no black and white answers here. What caught my interest, moreover, was his point on God’s grace.
     Despite the doubting of many of my friends and loved ones, he told me my deceased friend who happened to hang himself very well might be with the Lord. Sure, that too could be a no-brainer because nobody on Earth really knows for sure. But sin is sin, he told me. And people are committing sins countless times each day, yet don’t ask for forgiveness for each individual sin. Human beings are so imperfect that such an act would be too difficult to do. People also die without asking for forgiveness immediately before death. For example, if a Christian who loves the Lord happens to swear or tragically falls to adultery and then dies of a heart attack twenty minutes later without asking for forgiveness, how is that any different? He or she may have been a believer, but did not repent before death. The same could be said of a suicide victim. This is where God’s grace comes in.
     God understands our hearts. He knows we sin daily and stray off the narrow path. He knows we love him but continue to struggle with the devil’s temptation. Yet he does not stop loving us. Why can’t that grace he extends to us while we are alive and well also be extended to a person who died but could not repent. God is merciful. Our omnipotent Father can show mercy to someone who made a poor decision, but was unable to repent later. Therefore, God’s mercy can trump the simple fact that a suicide victim did not have time to repent. Some of the most “spiritual” people I know slip all of the time. Suicide is one of those slips. It too, can be an action under the grace of God. I have heard a number of people tell me my friend went to Hell. I just don’t want to hear that. I’m not saying I know where he is, but nobody has enough prestige and credibility to say he’s with the devil. I believe he might very well be with the big man above.