Just thinking about...

How will I retire?

While visiting my daughter and her family in New Jersey, I discovered that Atlantic City was only an hour away. I’ve never been there so I thought I would ride over and check it out. I think I wanted to see if my mental image matched the reality.

I parked the car in the Trump Taj Mahal parking garage and went into the hotel. The first discovery was a Starbucks so the trip was starting well. But then I encountered the lobby and the Casino.

As my buddy, Sonny Holmes, says “Wow!”

Pastorally estimating, there must have been 10 million machines designed for the purpose of gambling. Back in the early seventies, one of the civic clubs in Union had a couple of illegal slot machines with a handle, bells, and three spinning fruits.  It seems technology has taken the machines far beyond handles and three fruits. There were lights, bells, touch screens, animated figures, and one had to be quite gifted to even know where to focus on the screen. There were no stacks of coins, just a card to insert that one purchased at a cashier station.

I had my expectations about who would be seated at the gaming tables. I had pictured a 30-something Daniel Craig looking character dressed in a tuxedo, joined by a slender 30 something Angelina Jolie character dressed in an elegant gown. (Yes, I have seen all the James Bond movies!) But instead of youthful Daniel and Angelina dressed elegantly, there sat Sean Connery’s grandfather dressed in shorts, sandals, and black socks with a woman who looked like Betty White in a Muu Muu! Of course, I’m in my sixties now so these folks are my peers, my peeps, my generation! Sigh.

But that’s when it struck me that the world I encountered there in the casino was a world toward which many people of my generation are headed: the world of retirement sitting in front of a machine watching the spinning lights. It’s a world based on entertainment and amusement. (One could insert just about anythng here for the gaming machines: TV, travel, etc.) It’s a world marketed to seniors looking for something to do with their time and money.

And the casino hotel entertainment folks have strategically designed the entire operation so that one could easily transition from “senior on a weekend get-away”, to addicted regular patron with a special parking pass. These folks are very clever in marketing to all people groups. Unfortunately many of us seniors think we’re sharper than they are! Really?!?!

Anyway…what’s my point?

I don’t have a clue what goes on in the minds of regular patrons at Atlantic City. Discerning the thoughts and motives of others is not one of my gifts. I have no idea what brought them there or what kind of lives they lived when they aren’t there. Fortunately for us all, my Kingdom assignment is not judge!

But I do have responsibility for my own life and how I will spend my resources and days when I retire. I’m still young (at least in my mind!) so I don’t know when that retirement date will actually come. My best guess is when the Elders drag me off the platform mumbling “Bless his heart”.

However, when I do retire, I pray that the majority of my life will not be spent in meaningless inactivity,designed to entertain and amuse me; but in useful service to God and others. I’m sure there will be some meaningless activity in there somewhere, but not as the priority or majority of my time. I pray that I will give my financial resources to something that will make a difference in the lives of the needy as well as my family.  I pray that my relaxation activities will not be addictive. I pray that God will bring younger people into my life who are seeking the experience and wisdom of an old guy who still cares and dreams of a world where Blessedness is the general condition.

I’m just praying that I make other choices that are not rooted in entertainment and amusement. Just saying…

When I saw the world of bright lights and spinning objects, I knew then that I still can choose how I will spend the rest of my resources and days. I’m praying I will invest them rather than simply using them.

Just thinking…

Choosing an attitude

“Easter People live as if Jesus died yesterday, rose today, and is coming tomorrow.” I want that kind of attitude every day!

I remember being extremely discouraged one morning. It was shortly after the stroke I had some years ago, and the circumstances of life had me down.

Since my default attitude is “glass half full”, a visitor noticed the discouragement and asked what was wrong.  With somewhat of a “Bless-your-heart-can’t-you-see-I-had-a-stroke” tone to my response, I said “As you can see, under the circumstances, how could I be anything but discouraged?”

My sweet visitor (who was familiar with my sometimes sarcastic and condescending attitude) said “I will pray especially hard for you today. I will also ask that you be able to live above your circumstances rather than under them.”

My initial reaction was “how rude!”  But I knew her words were not rooted in correction or superiority, but love. She was speaking truth in love.

Just as Jesus went to the cross with the resurrection in mind; I pray today that I will choose to be an Easter person every day regardless of my circumstances.

Just thinking…

Crowd Think

In Matthew 27:23 Pilate asks the Religious Leaders what crime Jesus has committed that deserves the death penalty of crucifixion. Their response to his question was to ignore his question and to increase the volume of their demands. Jesus remained silent. Perhaps He saw the power of the crowd.

Gustav Le Bon in his little book The Crowd writes that “the crowd can be as easily heroic as criminal”. He proposes that the unique and individual personalities (and thinking) of the members of a crowd, can be negated under the personality of the crowd itself. The crowd may do things that any member of the crowd would never do individually. In a crowd, even the character, values, or convictions of the individual can be set aside in a common pursuit of the goals of the crowd.

In Neighbors by Jan Gross, the story is told of a Polish town where one-half the population killed the other half during World War II. After co-existing for centuries, Nazis were able to develop an “us and them” division in the town  that resulted in the slaughter of half the town by the other half. The small Polish town, the Community of Jedwabne, Poland, degenerated from a functioning community to a dysfunctional crowd.

Just as it is amazing what one ordinary individual can do, so it is amazing what one crowd can do. For good or for evil.

In America we pride ourselves on the freedom to be an individual, to think for one’s self, to have a “mind of our own”. Yet, we are so easily swayed by popular voices who function as cultural cheerleaders for a particular position or view. We are often guilty of letting others think for us and then lazily appropriating their conclusions as our own. The very idea of thinking through an issue or debate or conviction is often the last activity before adopting one’s position on that issue or debate or position. This must not be.

We who have the freedom to think and choose and discuss and interact with others must never yield that freedom to the ones who shout the loudest or demand what seems to be right. We must always pray through issues, search The  Scriptures, talk with others, and reflect before assuming our positions on potentially divisive issues. Then we must be willing to dialogue in a civil way with those who have reached differing conclusions. This is what distinguishes a civil society from a crowd.

We must always try to change our world for the better even when we are a lone voice. We must also be vigilant to insure we never become simply part of a crowd shouting louder, demanding, and never willing to listen or to think. The desire to belong is such a basic need in every person that we often sacrifice our very souls in order to belong. To be part of a community engaged in changing the world is an awesome thing. It’s what the Church is all about. But to substitute a crowd for a community is a bad deal.

Just some early Tuesday thoughts this Passion Week…

There’s a lot going on these days!

The Final Four. The Cooper River Bridge Run. The Masters. College Spring Break. The FlowerTown Festival. The Stingrays last game. The Family Circle Cup. The Charleston Bluegrass festival. Passover. Income Tax day. Little League. Soccer. Dancing. Gymnastics. New movies. Yard work. Gardens. Sales.

Oh… and Easter!

No, that’s not really sarcasm as much as observation. The people of Charleston have so much going on these days that Easter might just become “one more thing” to squeeze into a busy schedule. And when evaluating the many wonderful opportunities available to us, I suspect that focusing on the Resurrection might be bumped down the list of priorities. As more and more activities “own” the Easter holiday (The Masters, Family Circle, Spring Break), we will need to intentionally prioritize our lives not to accommodate Easter, but to prioritize Easter.

May I suggest that we who are disciples of Jesus Christ build the activities of our next few weeks around the most essential Holy Day in the Christian Calendar-celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus. 

We are building or destroying a culture with every decision, we make so the way we approach the Christian Holy Days is not simply passing on a tradition, but a culture. If you are a follower of Jesus, then the culture of Jesus has been entrusted to you; and, as Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:2 the things you have learned pass on to faithful others who will be able to pass it on to others. It's our way.

The next generation will have the same option we do: to embrace or reject the faith we hold dear, the faith of our fathers. Without a credible example or model of a life well lived under the Lordship of Jesus, they will have to assume that we were simply religious people, rather than devoted Followers of Jesus who loved Him. The way we approach Easter communicates more than what we say about Easter.

 Just Curt’s opinion, but you might want to think about it…

Changing the Culture

After completing work on my sermon from Matthew 5:33-37, I got an email blast from a fellow pastor who is generous enough to share his thoughts with other pastors.

He referenced an op-ed piece in the New York Times from yesterday (March 14th) written by an executive of Goldman Sachs who resigned. The writer attributed his decision to the deteriorating culture of the firm. It was a great piece that simply illustrated the role leadership and individual decisions have in creating the culture of an organization. As expected, most responses to his article cynically accepted that we live in this kind of world now, so he should quit complaining and get with the program!

That's where it impacted me as a Follower of Jesus: we who follow Christ have an assignment to be salt and light wherever we do life.That means helping to create a culture that prioritizes honesty, integrity, and the welfare of others. This includes the business world.

Just thinking...