As the ball begins to drop...

As you can tell from my profile, I am a teacher in an elementary school. Doing my part to expand their minds to take into account the world around them, I asked them the title question of this blog. Of course, I did not do this during a time that would have interrupted regular instruction, but when they had a little bit of "down time" to think and reflect. You won't be surprised by some of the answers, but a few opened my eyes to how aware of the world they actually are.

Hear are a few of their responses:


"I think that what is wrong with the world is the polution." Boy, age 11

"They are too many crimials and palusion." Boy, age 11

"There is a lot of things wrong with this world. There is criminals, thieves, bad people. There is drugs, alcohol. The people who have been in Iraq way to long. No peace, bombs, guns, and weapons. People getting killed every day. Kids dieing from stupid people. Smokers poluting our air making others die. Theres chewing tobacco, kids fighting, and overdocing medicine. To many people killing others." Girl, age 10

"I think every country in the world should be free." Boy, 11

"Crime, Drugs, Pollution." Boy, age 10

"Something that is wrong with the world is people don't like people just because they don't look the same. We have racists. We are all the same." Girl, age 10

"There is too many people doing the wrong thing." Girl, age 11

"There are many things wrong with the world, and I am going to tell you. People are doing their own thing and most of them are bad like people getting raped, drugs, drinking, guns, people killing people, and the people in Iraq have been their way to long. People think they are bad and think that their are no rules. A lot of people have gotten hurt, and even getting killed. Some people look up to others and they aren't setting a good example and the people who are looking up are eventually going to be like that. I wish I could stand up and say something but I am only ten. I mean what happened to the world being nice, kind, and calm." Girl, age 10

"The people in it!!" Girl, age 10

As we start the New Year, let's try to make our worlds better so that our World can be affected for the young ones looking on(Please check out the book, Radical Leap, for more thought on this topic). Instincts play a role in intelligence, but we can agree that the majority of what we know is learned. Hopefully, we can provide examples for these little eyes that are worth following. Happy New Year!

Food for Thought:

"To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right."

Confucius

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
a.k.a. Mahatma (Sanskrit words maha meaning Great and atma meaning soul) Gandhi

Psalms 63 for a Nintendo 64

Wouldn't it be nice to be that excited about anything? Better yet, wouldn't it be nice to be that excited about our God. David understood the feelings that he should have for God. He expressed his understanding in the following verses.

Psalms 63:1-8(ESV)

As we have seen in the previous video, this child did not have to think about how to demonstrate his joy he had for his new toy. He just reacted. The weeks, if not months, of anticipation and thought he had stored up was ignited by the experience of seeing/possessing all that he desired. If we apply these principles demonstrated by this young boy and his sister to our Christian walk, our desire and worship for God might take on the characteristics of these kids opening presents on Christmas morning.

As we spend time with our families over the next couple of days, let us take note of the reactions of individuals that have just received the gift that they truly desire. Consider the gift that we ultimately desire and begin, if we haven't already, anticipating the daily worship of our Savior as if each day was our own personal Christmas.

P.S.

I would like to thank my good friend, Dave Scott, author of Kingdom of the Madness, for bringing this video clip to my attention.

Food for thought:

Matthew 18:1-4 (ESV)

"1At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."


"The instinct to worship is hardly less strong than the instinct to eat."

Dorothy Thompson

A Discussion on Love and Patriotism

The focus of this post will be centered on a topic in a book that I have been reading recently. The book is The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis. Most would know Clive Staples Lewis as the author of The Chronicles of Narnia series of which its first installment, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, was recreated into a film in 2005 which grossed more than $745 million worldwide. In The Four Loves, Lewis tries his hand at breaking down the difficult subject of love. The book may have been more properly titled The Four Loves and a Like, but who am I to question Lewis. The progression of his chapters is as follows: Likings and Loves for the Sub-Human(this has nothing to do with animals), Affection, Friendship, Eros, and Charity. For the purpose of this post, I will focus on patriotism which is a topic in the second of his chapters, Likings and Loves for the Sub-Human.

In the introduction chapter, Lewis brings to us the statement, "We may give our human loves the unconditional allegiance which we own only to God. They become gods: then they become demons. Then they will destroy us, and also destroy themselves." We must consider this statement when thinking about the things we feel most strongly about. One of the things most humans feel strongly about is their country. Lewis describes the progression from healthy love to demonic destruction with the following:

Patriotism "contains many ingredients."

(1) There is love for home-Lewis described a thought from G.K. Chesterton by saying, "a man's reasons for not wanting his country to be ruled by foreigners are like his reasons for not wanting his house to be burned down; because he 'could not even begin' to enumerate all the things he would miss."


(2) We have a particular attitude to our country's past-We must remember the times that those who have gone before us did great things to make us who we are. If we were to forget those things, we would "fall below the standard our fathers set us, and because we are their sons there is good hope we shall not."


(3) The third ingredient to patriotism is a belief. We believe in a grand way that our country is superior to all others.-In a discussion with an old clergyman, Lewis asked him, "But, sir, aren't we told that every people thinks its own men the bravest and its own women the fairest in the world?" To which the clergyman replied, "Yes, but in England it's true."


(4) "If our nation is really so much better than others it may be held to have either the duties or the rights of a superior being towards them."-The thought that acquiring other nations is for their own good. We are going to help them out, and show them the ropes. These thoughts are not parallel to the thoughts of exterminating a given set of inferiors, but "both are fatal." To be given to the thought that we should grow "wider still and wider," will surely bring corruption.

This is the point where the love of one's country has become a god to that person or group of people. As we discussed earlier, that love is not at all being used properly(it is not being directed towards God), so it will become a demon. That demon will destroy.

This progression is not exclusive to feelings for one's country. You could replace country with your school, a club, your family, socioeconomic class, or even your church. In fact, Lewis sums up his thoughts on this topic with the following information, "If ever the book which I am not going to write is written it must be the full confession by Christendom of Christendom's specific contribution to the sum of human cruelty and treachery. Large areas of 'the World' will not hear us till we have publicly disowned much of our past. Why should they? We have shouted the name of Christ and enacted the service of Moloch."

As I inspect myself, I can see that in the past and present there have been thoughts of superiority for reasons that I would now consider both worthy and unworthy. Now I understand that if the thought/action is worthy and glorifying to God, there is in no situation that I should cease to think or act in the same way I have been. In fact, when Lewis spoke about wars in the context of being for the cause of Christ, he said those wars should be, "wars of annihilation." Our mental and spiritual "wars" should take on the same conviction as the physical wars of which Lewis was speaking. And, on the other hand, if our cause is not for Christ, but for something less divine, we must reconsider the length we are willing to go to affect others with our thoughts/actions. We must not let our loves become gods, because when they do, the god becomes a demon, and the demon will destroy what we thought we were holding most dear.

Food for thought:

In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.

-George Orwell


"1b O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. "

-Psalms 63:1b-8

The Journey begins...

There are 6,563,220,367 of us residing in this world according to census. gov at the present time. Because of this vast number, I am convinced there are more than a couple of opinions that would answer the question posed by the title of this blog. My interest is not to only highlight what is wrong with the world by posting news stories, facts of daily life, commentaries by influential authors, and other opinions, but to have dialogue with others on possible cures for these findings that most would consider ailments.

The idea for posting something like this came to me as I was reading an article posted to wikipedia.com about G.K. Chesterton. Chesterton was a writer of enormous talent. He crafted such works as Heretics, Orthodoxy, and The Everlasting Man, just to mention a few. The Times, a national publication in the United Kingdom since 1785, requested that Chesterton and a few other important authors write essays in response to the question, "What's Wrong with the World?" Chesterton wrote his response in the form of a letter. It said:

Dear Sirs,

I am.

Sincerely Yours,

G.K. Chesterton

His response although brief touched on deep issues of depravity experienced by mankind. Through his self-deprication, he alerted the readers of the paper and many others to the thought that the real problem with the world could and probably does begin within us all.

Food for thought:

Matthew 7:5 in the English Standard Version Bible states, "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. "

Confucius stated, “To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.”