Clever People

I ran across a memorable quote the other day in George MacDonald's book The Curate's Awakening, which says, "We do not half appreciate the benefits to the race that spring from honest dullness. The clever people are often the ruin of everything." First, I just love the way the English use the word clever (along with nappies, cheeky monkey, and a variety of other things). But even more I began to think about the spiritual application of such a statement. Paul said something not too different. "For since in the wisdom of God, the world, through its wisdom, did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe (1 Cor 1:21)." In other words, it was according to God's plan that no one would be able to know him by using worldly wisdom . Instead, he used the foolishness of the message about Christ to save those, not who know, but who believe (or trust). Worldly wisdom has many benefits and many good things have come about from unbelieving, clever people. However, worldly wisdom will never lead to salvation and a spiritually rich life. It's impossible, because the spiritual life God provides for us is anything but clever.

Lines

I had a meeting today, and while sometimes it feels like that's all I do, lunch was free and it was Mexican food! Wahoo! I was talking to the General Manager of the Marriott hotel across the street from our church and he told me the story of his girlfriend who travels to South America as a nurse. She and her colleagues set up medical clinics and feeding stations and provide 16 hours a day of help for people who stand in long lines and camp out over night to receive help they would otherwise never get. Before I could shut my trap I said, "kinda like the lines for the new iPhone." There were a couple other people sitting at the table with us and they all thought it was funny, but I realized again that everything is a matter of perspective. And if you think I'm going to get sanctimonious and rage against nice phones, you don't know me very well (especially since I'm a Mac guy). But it did give me pause to stop and think once again about the conditions of my fellow-humans around the globe. I pray that God would never allow me to become dull to the suffering of others and my responsibility to do what I can to help them.

Fragmentation

Sunday I preached a sermon on being an intergenerational church (here). The more I read about pop culture and it's addiction to smaller and smaller market segments, the more aware I become of what an incredible challenge (and opportunity) this is for the church. Today I came by this article from the Boston Globe talking about that very thing. As our culture focuses more and more on the things that make us different, the church will have to focus more and more on what makes us the same and find creative ways to share life together, even if we belong to different market segments.