August 30th

I don’t want to capitalize on misery too much, but a recent mistake aired on national television causes me to talk about a rather unhappy issue because of the important lesson it offers all of us. Thus forewarned, let me share with you a sad event in one person’s life. A woman had a small facial scar that bothered her. She also had what she believed to be rather thin lips. Unable to afford a plastic surgeon to help her, she decided to take matters into her own untrained hands and inject silicone silicone into the offending areas of her face.
As you might suspect, the results were not nearly as attractive as she had wanted. Now, in my judgement, she didn’t scar herself too horribly, but there is no question that she didn’t help her looks either. Now, as I started out in this missive, I was at first reluctant to talk about her misfortune, but at the same time, she’s a perfect example of something I see a lot in my business.
As a minister, a person called to help others improving, strengthening or establishing a relationship with God I have noticed that a lot of people are trying to do the job for themselves. I don’t mean that they are taking over my office; I don’t mean that there is anything wrong with praying to God and working on your relationship on your own. I mean that a lot of people are going ahead and actually creating their own god.
That’s right folks, as hard as it might seem to believe, a lot of folks are investing in a do-it-yourself approach to faith that is based not on any long-standing and well documented heavenly being, but on fictional and imaginary beings that have more to do with human ego than spirituality.
This might seem harmless, but I’m afraid for the souls of those self-inspired folks. I’m afraid of what damage they’re doing to themselves; I’m afraid of the way they might mislead others; I’m afraid of what God will think. After all, from what I’ve observed, experienced, studied rather thoroughly, there is only one God. This one God created the universe, humanity, everything we know and are. Lots of folks know this for themselves. Somehow, despite years of trying, years of doing, years of teaching, years of history and years of life-improving reality by the church, there are still lots of folks trying to figure it out, too.
Now I know that there are lots of reasons for folks to try to make do for themselves. The church and people of faith aren’t perfect. What’s more, the temptations of a secular, scientific and money driven society are hard to resist, especially when God’s requests seem a lot less fun than what other things ask of us. Nevertheless, true spiritual fulfillment isn’t something we can just find or create for ourselves. Yes, we can find God alone, but there’s more to faith than that. Sure, there is a certain degree of “doing it yourself” but in my experience it’s just not enough. Not to seem self-serving, but a good church can do wonders for anyone. It offers a sense of community, a place to learn and a place to work together. At least that’s the way I see it.

August 23rd

I has been just over a month since the death of Michael Jackson. I remember watching him and the Jackson 5 when he and I were both pretty young. I also recall watching his career, not so much as a devoted observer, but as one of those things that’s part of my cultural background. Since I’ve always listened to pop radio, I couldn’t help but know when MJ had scored another hit. On the other hand, I wasn’t that interested in him to actually go out and buy his records. Not that I didn’t enjoy his music, it’s just that my taste for spending money on music ran in other directions.
I realize, however, that there were lots of buyers for his records. He was no doubt a very talented and captivating entertainer. He may even have been truly the king of pop, as many folks have referred to him, but I’m not entirely convinced. I can think of a lot couple of other musicians that were at least equally influential and popular as he was. Maybe they didn’t sell quite as many records, but I know that their music and influence on the industry was at least as great, if not greater, than MJ’s.
What got me thinking and writing, however, was not the title or his popularity, but the great show made over his death, and the way people spoke of him. One person went so far as to say that MJ’s influence on pop culture was as great as William Shakespeare’s on the English language. That’s a pretty big claim, and one that I don’t think would stand up to close scrutiny. Nevertheless, it was indeed said, and quite seriously, which gives me an indication on how important some people think MJ was.
What gets my goat is not just how overblown people have made MJ’s contribution to the world, but also the almost Messianic way folks seem to drool over him. Sure, he sang pretty well, was an amazing dancer and no doubt had a good influence on many people, but to put that kind of weight on an ordinary mortal seems highly unnecessary and very dubious, at least as far as I’m concerned. On the other hand, it also tells me how needy people are for something or someone to believe in. There seems to be an emptiness built into us that we are constantly seeking to fill. So desperate is this need that some folks fill it with almost anyone, even just a pop idol like Michael Jackson.
That, however, is a pretty limited and ultimately unsatisfying solution. The reason for that statement is pretty simple. The hole in our soul is there not just as an empty space, but as a direct result of our separation from God. In other words it’s a God shaped hole that only our heavenly father can fill properly, completely, and satisfyingly. No-one else will do because no-one else can match our need the way God does. And just to make sure we understand how He can fill the hole in our soul, God sent us Jesus. He might not have the musical and dancing talent of some people, he might not be as entertaining as some, he might not even be as interesting as a few people in the world are. Nevertheless I know that getting to know Jesus is far more fulfilling than any other relationship we can have. At least that’s the way I see it.