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Assorted

On the Truth, and the cost of lies

"Remember: one lie does not cost you one truth but the Truth" - Hebbel

****

It seems that truth is bendable - it has become elastic during the last decades. People can twist and turn it any which way they want, especially if they have a good lawyer.

"Guilty or not guilty?"
"Not guilty."
"Have you ever been to prison?"
"No, this is this is the first time I’ve been caught stealing.’

Surely truth is a question which has plagued mankind for centuries. The question of what, exactly, truth is, has been particularly in the headlines during the last year.

There are those times in which we do not speak the truth in order to shield others from something. The Bible records incidents in which people did not speak the truth and two incidents immediately come to mind: the first deals with the protection of the small Jewish babies by the Hebrew midwives (Ex. 1:15-21). The second recounts the hiding of the Jewish spies sent to search out the land for the Israelites (Joshua 2).

Incidents such as these remain relevant to the present times. We have only to think of the Second World War during which time many Christians hid Jewish refugees.

****

My husband and I had such an incident in our lives as well. It had not nearly the magnitude of life and death to it, but it does illustrate the fact that things are not always black and white.

A few years after my husband’s graduation from the Ontario Veterinary College, we had our third child. An aunt of my husband’s, Tante Til, had come over from Holland to help me out for a week or two. She was cheerful, lively and a bastion of cleanliness. We enjoyed having her around. Tante Til had a wonderful sense of humor but she also had a passion for sterilizing whatever came within her reach. Perhaps this was because she mistrusted my husband’s close daily contact with stables and their inhabitants and distrustfully eyed the mud caked to his large rubber boots. Tante Til was “proper” and would never dream of letting a soup bowl function as a cat dish or using her handkerchief to wipe away a cobweb.

Tante Til was not extremely fond of animals and the kitten, dubbed “Little Grape” by our two girls, had to stay out of her way. The litter box was vies (dirty), and my husband was delegated the task of cleaning it while I was in the hospital. He gladly did so. We had, I am ashamed to say, acquired the habit of cleaning out the litter box with something I had never found much use for – a silver salad fork – somehow failing to inform Tante Til of this rather disreputable habit. The fork lay in a secluded corner on the kitchen counter. It was a dirty black because I hated cleaning silverware, finding it a useless chore when it would only get dirty again. Besides that, we had lots of stainless steel.

One of my first nights home from the hospital, Tante Til cooked us a special dinner - mashed potatoes, vegetables, pork chops, applesauce and salad. It looked and smelled delicious. As we sat down and bibs were tied around the girls’ necks, Tante Til shone with goodwill. "Nou, eet maar lekker, jongens! (Eat hearty, guys!)" We prayed and then began to put the food on our plates.

It never hit us until my husband began scooping some lettuce onto his plate. He suddenly realized that he was holding the silver salad litter fork. Only the fork was not holding cat litter but green salad. His second scoop, therefore, hung in mid-air. He caught my eye and I grinned at him. He didn’t grin back.

"Good salad, isn’t it, sweetheart?" I said wickedly.

"Dank je (Thank you)," Tante Til beamed. "Zal ik jou ook wat geven? (Shall I give you some too?)"

"No, thank you," I answered virtuously, "it might give the baby gas."

My husband ate around the salad on his plate as Tante Til explained in detail how she had cleaned the fork she had found on the counter and wasn’t it nice and shiny now? "Je moet je zilver wat vaker poetsen hoor, kind (You should polish your silver a little more often, dear.)" She gave me a sidelong glance but smiled tolerantly for wasn’t I a young mother with a great deal to learn?

I cannot recall whether or not my husband ate the salad on his plate, but I do know that we never told Tante Til what the salad fork had actually been used for. "I speak truth, not so much as I would, but as much as I dare," said Montaigne.

****

Most incidences in daily life, however, call for plain, unadulterated truth - truth you should never shy away from.

A number of years ago, during a snow-infested January day, I noticed a car slide to a stop behind a snowbank in front of our house. Our driveway was engorged with snow and I watched to see if the driver of the car would wade her way into it or head for our neighbor’s house. She turned into our driveway. It was a slow process, getting to our door, but it gave me time to put the kettle on, arrange some cookies on a plate and finally, wipe a few hands and noses while giving instructions on good behavior.

When I looked through the window again, the woman was only about three quarters way up the driveway. I walked to the door, opened it and smiled a welcome. The woman was small and carried a briefcase. I did not know her. She smiled back and her funny, black hat tilted in the wind. "Why don’t you step in for a minute?" I said, fully confident that this tiny lady was lost and in need of directions and a hot cup of tea to warm her up.

"Bad weather." The short, terse statement was carried by a strong voice, albeit a strong voice with a quaver. I nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. She pulled off her gray, leather gloves and began opening her briefcase in the kitchen. A watchtower tract fell on the ground. I bent simultaneously with her and we almost bumped heads. She reached the pamphlet first and picking it up, held it out towards me.

"No, thank you." My words came automatically. The pamphlet quivered. The hand that held it was blue-veined and old. "It’s free," she said, mistaking my refusal to take it with fear of having to pay for it. I shook my head. "I know."

She put the tract back into her briefcase. The kettle was boiling and I turned to unplug it. Her voice followed me to the counter. "The world has many problems." My oldest son toddled into the kitchen and smiled at her. I walked past him and said, "It’s a good thing that Jesus Christ came into the world." She nodded, her little hat nodding with her. "Jesus was a good man."

I both agreed and disagreed. "He was a good man," I said, "a perfect man, yes, but He was and is also God." She smiled and answered, "How could He be both at the same time?" Shaking her head, she laughed at what appeared to be a foolish and impossible notion. And when I persisted in speaking of the Triune God, she gave up and put her gloves back on while two of my children fingered her briefcase. With her gloved hands she pulled the small, black hat firmer onto her wet, gray hair and then opened the door. The wind blew swirls of snow into the foyer as she stepped back outside. I watched her go, the snow filling in her plodding steps almost as soon as she lifted her feet. And a few minutes later there was no trace to show that she had been by.

Pascal said, "Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth."

****

Providentially not only the liars are in the news. The January 30, 1999 issue of World magazine records that a man by the name of Daniel Crocker confessed to murder. Daniel Crocker, who at that time was thirty-eight years old, was sentenced to twenty to sixty years in prison. He will be eligible for parole in ten years.

The unusual aspect of Mr. Crocker’s case is that he was living free and easy, with a wife and two children in Chantilly, Virginia. He had committed the murder twenty years previously, smothering a nineteen-year-old girl with a pillow following an attempt to rape her. However, his Christian conscience, following his conversion later in life, would not let him alone. Compelled by the Holy Spirit, he confessed his murder and was consequently tried and convicted. Mr. Crocker and his wife, Nicolette, reportedly were able to pray together twice before the sentencing. Mrs. Crocker said that their two children, Isaac, 6 and Analiese, 9, who were not at the trial, "know what Daddy’s doing is right." Mr. Crocker apologized tearfully to his family "for embarrassing and shaming them" and to the relatives of Tracy Fresquez, his victim.

Mr. Crocker submitted, at this point in his life, to the Truth. And that Truth, even though he is a murderer, will set him free.

****

According to the NIV Exhaustive concordance, the word truth is used 224 times in the Bible. One of the phrases recurring throughout Jesus’ ministry reads, "I tell you the truth." When the truth of the Bible is compromised, there is no sweet, roundabout way to avoid conflict. Emerson aptly said, "God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose. Take which you please - you can never have both." Although in this phrase the word choice smacks a bit of arminianism, the fact remains that you cannot have both truth and repose. A lot of people today, however, are convinced that you can have both, never realizing that they have thereby lost their hold on Truth. Although they might agree with Mark Twain’s quote, "Truth is the most valuable thing we have", they subconsciously go one step further with him when he adds, "Let us economize on it."

But there is no way to economize on the Truth of creation; there is no way to economize on the Truth of headship; there is no way to economize on the Truth of God’s judgment on homosexuality; and there is no way to economize on the Truth of being servants of one another in love and compassion. Because to economize on one principle does not cost merely one truth but the Truth. And only if you believe this Truth in your heart and confess this Truth with your mouth, shall you be saved.

This is an abridged version of an article - "Remember: one lie does not cost you one truth but the Truth" - that first appeared in the June 1999 edition of Reformed Perspective.

Assorted

Why write?

You might not make a lot of money writing, but you can have an impact ***** It’s been said that all that is needed to become a writer is the stron...

Economics - Home Finances

“Honey I blew the budget!”

A FEW THOUGHTS ON GETTING BACK IN THE BLACK AFTER TAKING A PLUNGE IN THE RED “Honey I blew the budget!” Do those words sound familiar to you? �...

News

Saturday Selections – Jan. 18, 2025

Click on the titles to go to the linked articles... Motorized machines in your cells? Yes there are! Kinesin are "motorized transport machines" that...

Conferences

Striving to be godly men

A men's conference that had to turn hundreds away can now be watched online ***** I don’t think I can quite grasp the measure of tension that must...

News

Saturday Selections – Jan. 11, 2025

Music as the fingerprints of God (6 min) George Steiner here is lecturing on the wonder of music and is not trying to argue that music points us to God. But he does believe it points us beyond materialism – our response to music shows that we are more than what we are made of. " speaks to us that there is something else which, paradoxically, belongs to us profoundly but somehow touches on a universal meaning and possibility that we are not only an electrochemical and neuro-physiological assemblage; that there is more in consciousness than electronic wiring." Evolution can't explain eggs This is a bit of a technical one, but even if you get only the gist, you'll understand just how amazing the seemingly simplest things around us really are. It's only because we take God's engineering for granted that we can overlook the wonder that is an egg shell. Evolution has to explain how they could come to be in some step-by-step evolutionary process? As if. Trudeau is gone, so who is going to replace him? The Liberals are about to run a leadership campaign, but have this worry: "One of the key concerns that is out there is that the party could be prone to something approaching a takeover, or could be prone to a lot of people who don't give a hoot about the Liberal party who might be termed single-interest activists signing up and having a very real impact on the selection of our next leader." Is anyone plotting a pro-life takeover? Should we be? Abortion was the leading cause of death worldwide in 2024. And it wasn't even close. 45 million unborn babies were aborted last year – so relayed Jonathon Van Maren. That number is more than the population of all of Canada. In the US abortion accounts for 60% of all African American deaths. To put this number in a different context, COVID killed approximately 7 million in total over 4 years and in response we shut down the world. Six times more die each year from abortion and no notice is paid. Who will stand up for the unborn? Will you? Will any politician? Will you vote for a politician who won't? The danger of being a sermon critic As Tim Challies explains, if you focus on what you think should have been there, you run the risk of missing the fruit that is there. Amazing information packed inside you (12 min) This video makes the point your DNA coding is more incredible than even the most complicated computer code, but it also kind of reduces us to just that information.... as if we could make a human if we only managed this same level of programming. So, as you watch, recall that we are more than our matter, being both body and an immaterial, eternal soul. ...

Assorted

How to be happier

Keep long lists, and short accounts ***** As I pad down the hallway to my home office, sometimes I’ll look down and remember that the laminate planking I’m walking on was laid down with the help of friends. I’m not the best with a hammer or saw, so while I did some of the sweating, my friends brought the skill. I was so very thankful at the time, and now whenever I remember it’s a warm feeling still. As of late I’ve been remembering these friends more often because of a curious book. It’s about a guy who set out to personally thank every person involved in getting him his morning brew. There’s the barista, of course, but a farmer had to grow the beans, and then there’s all the people in between – it turns out there are an astonishing number of people involved in a simple cup of coffee. Who picks the blend? How many are involved in the actual roasting? Someone had to design the lid (there’s quite some engineering to it), and then there’s the coffee cup sleeve – there wasn’t always a sleeve – and when we remember that coffee is about 1 percent beans and 99 percent water, then there’s a whole municipal water department to thank too. And who makes the pipes that carry the water? We haven’t even gotten into the boats and trucks involved and all the crews who man and make them. A long list to be thankful for This guy wanted to personally thank everyone involved but quickly realized that might amount to millions. So he narrowed it down to the one thousand most directly involved. G.K. Chesterton said that, “When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude,” and this book was an eye-opener for just how many blessings I’ve been taking for granted. If thousands – millions – are involved in making a cup of coffee, how many could I thank for everything I find even on my short journey from bed to shower each morning? How many designers, engineers, miners, and factory workers were involved in making the Kindle that wakes us up each morning? And what about our bedding, the bedroom carpet, bathroom tiles and that long-shower necessity, our tankless water heater? I normally clomp past it all, but I could choose to start each day just looking around in amazement. As Chesterton reminds us, “gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” The author of this book is a sometimes-blasphemous atheist (which is why I’m not sharing his name - I don’t want to promote him) but even as an atheist he recognizes that his disposition to grumpy ingratitude isn’t good… for him. “…gratitude is the single-best predictor of well-being and good relationships, beating out twenty-four other impressive traits such as hope, love, and creativity. As the Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast says, ‘Happiness does not lead to gratitude. Gratitude leads to happiness.’” But why is thankfulness next to joyfulness? He doesn’t seem to know, but we do. God created us to glorify Him and then gave us innumerable reasons to do just that. And because He loves us, He so fashioned mankind that when we do what we were made to do, it is good for us. And He’s so gracious that even when we do a half measure, thanking the people around us, but forgetting the God Who made us, it is good for us still. Sometimes we need a Jordan Peterson or Elon Musk – someone outside the Church – to remind us of what we have, and what unbelievers don’t. I was struck by that here, when this author shared, “…I’ll occasionally start a meal by thanking a handful of people who helped get our food to the plate. I’ll say, ‘Thank you to the farmer who grew the carrots, to the truck driver who hauled them, to the cashier at Gristedes grocery story who rang me up.’” This fellow is “praying” to people he knows will never hear him because he feels such a need to express gratitude. To quote Chesterton again, “The worst moment for an atheist is when he is really thankful and has no one to thank.” When I look around the dinner table at the food that’s there once again, and the family gathered around, and when I really stop to think of all I’ve been given here, my heart can’t help but swell, but now there’s another blessing I can bring to my giving, loving Father – I can thank God that I can thank God! Keeping short accounts But if Christians have so much to be thankful for, why aren’t we more joyful? Why am I too often grumpy, sullen, and short to the people God has gifted me? Part of it is that we take so much for granted. We easily forget what we have, so there’s something to keeping a thankful journal. Around Thanksgiving each year my wife gets some notecards and encourages us each day to draw something we’re grateful for, and then we put the cards up on the hallway wall. It’s quite the display by month’s end. But even more of it is taking for granted the biggest gift we’ve been given: forgiveness. In his booklet How to Maintain Joy in Your Life, Jim Wilson shares how, upon his conversion, he experienced joy liked he’d never had chasing after the world’s substitutes. But as this Navy midshipman set out on his Christian journey, he found that joy diminishing. And it continued diminishing for the next three years. Sitting in the stateroom of an American destroyer stationed in the Sea of Japan, he was struck that for the 3 years since his conversion he hadn’t really been confessing his sins. Oh, sure, he’d confessed some sins, but there were many he hadn’t taken to God for all sorts of reasons. When he confessed his sins, God forgave him, and once again he started feeling that same joy. Guilt is a weight. But, thanks to Jesus, it’s one we don’t have to carry. Guilt is also God’s way of getting our attention. As it says in Hebrews 12:11: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Jim Wilson was trained by that discipline, but like the rest of us, he was a slow learner. “I would again disobey, get disciplined, and lose my joy. This time, instead of not confessing, I would confess after a while… ten hours, a week, 2 weeks.” Eventually he realized that he didn’t have to wait to confess his sins – he could “keep short accounts.” Then, instead of a series of ups when he was forgiven, and downs when he wouldn’t go to God (or at least not yet), he started to experience ongoing joy. “Sometimes I went for a while before confessing, but generally I would confess right away or within a couple of hours. I’m not saying I have not sinned in those years…. But I have a low tolerance for discipline. I do not like it. As long as I am unrepentant, the discipline stays on me, the hand of the Lord is heavy. I can remove the discipline of the Lord by repenting now.” For those of us who’d prefer to stay miserable, he concludes his booklet with a list of what you can do instead of confessing your sin. You can justify, excuse, or hide it. You can blame someone else, procrastinate, or stand on pride. A favorite for many is “generalization,” where you readily admit “mistakes were made” without really getting into the dirt of what you did. But tricking yourself doesn’t trick God, and you can’t enjoy Him if you are hiding from Him. Conclusion If you want to be happier, it isn’t complicated. Open your eyes wide, and see the world as it really is. There are troubles, but then there is God, and He continues to bless us beyond any measuring. And the biggest of those blessings is that we can know for certain – we can count on Him – that when we come to our Father with our sins, He will always and forever forgive. That’s got me a little verklempt but I can assure you, they are happy tears....

In a Nutshell

Tidbits – January 2025

Flying Duck Orchid God's inventiveness is sometimes so shockingly inventive, it might make you laugh out loud. This is a real flower called the "Flying Duck Orchid" that actually looks like the bird in flight (see above). Is Christianity good for the world? God's critics love to attack all the good He gives. But Gary Bates, the former CEO of Creation Ministries International, once told a short story that shows just how apparent God's goodness is, even to those who try to deny it. "Two of my colleagues were speaking on an Australian Christian radio station a few years ago....and a young geology student....told my colleague that Christianity was "not much good," and that she was drawn to religions like Buddhism or Islam. My colleague asked her what country in the world she would choose in which to raise her future children. “'Australia, of course,' she replied. "He shot back: 'If it couldn’t be Australia, what would be your next choice?' “'Umm … America, I guess … or maybe England.' “'And if that isn’t possible?' “'Well,' she replied, hesitating, 'probably Germany … or Switzerland …' "After she had been prodded to consider several more, my colleague pointed out that she did not cite any predominantly Buddhist or Islamic nations. Her ‘wish list’ was made up entirely of countries that most would define as having a Christian foundation (despite their rapid decline into secularism)." My colleague wrote: “Of course, our young lady’s choices were neither unusual nor surprising. Not even the most vehement Christian-bashers would prefer to bring their children up in Iran, Burma, Saudi Arabia or the like. But rarely would any of them make a connection between their choice of countries and the Bible.” SOURCES: Gary Bates' 2013 End of the year letter; He culled the story from Dr. Carl Wieland's "One Human Family" On reputation “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” – Coach John Wooden Hebrews 12:6-7 in fiction In Russell Hoban's Bedtime for Frances, Frances is having some troubles staying in bed. Thankfully, when Frances has once again gotten out of bed and padded to her her parents' room, her Father knows just what to say. "'How can the wind have a job?' asked Frances. "'Everybody has a job,' said Father. 'I have to go to my office every morning at nine o'clock. That is my job. You have to go to sleep so you can be wide awake for school tomorrow. That is your job.' "Frances said, 'I know, but...' "Father said, 'I have not finished. If the wind does not blow the curtains, he will be out of a job. If I do not go to the office, I will be out of a job. And if you do not go to sleep now, do you know what will happen to you?' "'I will be out of a job?' said Frances. "'No,' said Father. "'I will get a spanking?' said Frances. "'Right!' said Father. "'Good night!' said Frances, and she went back to her room.” On the pull of power "Power is a poison well known for thousands of years. If only no one were ever to acquire material power over others! But to the human being who has faith in some force that holds dominion over all of us, and who is therefore conscious of his own limitations, power is not necessarily fatal. For those, however, who are unaware of any higher sphere, it is a deadly poison. For them there is no antidote." – Alexander Solzhenitsyn Two great lines from a great book "Don't trust in your strength, because there is such a thing as pride. "Don't despair in your weakness, because there is such a thing as forgiveness." – Trevin Wax, from his "Clear Winter Nights" Democracy needs Christ as King “If you want to defend democracy, you must first understand why. It’s not because the people are always right, as some hyper-democrats have claimed. Remember that, given the choice, the people cried, 'Give us Barabbas!' The reason we defend democracy is that, in a fallen world, no man or woman can be trusted with absolute power; so those who govern must be made accountable to those they govern. “But the electorate, in turn, must have a standard to which the government is held accountable – a fixed standard of right and wrong. And unless that standard is transcendent – from a source higher than the shifting tides of public opinion – society will inevitably descend into the Law of the Jungle: 'Might makes right.' The transcendent, immutable standards of Biblical justice and compassion are the only reliable protection for the weak and helpless." – Ron Gray, former leader of the Christian Heritage Party of Canada A peculiar blessing “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had absolutely no other place to go.” – attributed to Abraham Lincoln 7 one-liners Give Satan an inch and he'll become a ruler. Morality, like art, consists of drawing a line somewhere. Don't put a question mark where God put a period. When it comes to giving, some people stop at nothing. A Bible that is falling apart probably belongs to someone who isn’t. If evolution is true, why do mothers have only two hands? Give God what’s right…not what’s left. SOURCE: from material circulating the Internet A man in a pit A man fell into a pit and couldn’t get himself out. A liberal came along and said, “I feel your pain.” A conservative walked by and said, “Only bad people fall into pits.” A politician promised, “We’ll pass a law banning pits.” An optimist said, “Things could be worse.” A pessimist claimed, “Things will get worse.” A news reporter wanted the exclusive on the pit. A socialist was angry there weren’t more rich people in pits. A capitalist left to look for investors to build a toll bridge over the pit. A self-pitying person said, “You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen my pit!” A fire and brimstone preacher thundered, “You deserve your pit!” A psychologist noted, “Your mother and father are to blame for you being in that pit.” A self-esteem therapist said, “Believe in yourself and you can get out of that pit.” A Christian, seeing the man, said, “Jesus would want me to help you out of this pit,” took him by the hand and lifted him out. Source: adapted from a bit in Cal and Rose Somra’s "More Holy Humor" The wit and wisdom of Will Rogers Years ago, comedian Will Rogers got a laugh when he noted: “We don't seem to be able to check crime, so why not legalize it and then tax it out of business?” Today governments in North America and Europe are using this method to deal with prostitution, illegal drugs and gambling. They’re turning Rogers’ small, gentle joke into a big bad one....

Assorted

How to look forward to the future

Hopefulness is a skill we can learn, because… God ***** Doomerism: despair and apathy caused by a disbelief that anything can get better; most often used with regard to global warming, lack of positive social change, and the risk of AI takeover. – as defined by Wiktionary I am shocked at how much optimism has died just in my own lifetime. I didn’t even realize the cultural atmosphere in my childhood was particularly optimistic – it was just “normal” to me. But compared to the current atmosphere, with the oppressive worries of natural disasters, new diseases, social tension, authoritarian governments, and renewed nuclear threats, the previous decades take on a rosy hue. Why do so many people, especially young people, feel an impending sense of doom? It’s less about our current circumstances, and more about the loss of hope for the future. We might be all right at the moment, the feeling seems to be, but we’re just hanging in there. Who knows how long we’ll be able to hang in there for? You might argue that this is worldly thinking. Climate change, authoritarianism, social issues are all things “the world” is concerned about. But I can relate to feeling like my actions and decisions are pointless, my life is going nowhere, and that the future looks bleak. I have had times in my life where I felt paralyzed, like anything I did would likely lead to doom. It turns out that being hopeful takes a lot of effort sometimes. And when the world around us persistently sends messages about how bleak everything is, about how young people are worse off than their parents’ generation, and how disaster looms on the horizon, it feels even harder to go against the flow. But as Christians, shouldn’t we know how to hope? Yet Christian discussions can also be full of how the world is getting worse. Christians are worried about what will happen to their families and their churches. And so, hopefulness becomes a hard skill for us to learn. How do you learn to have hope for the future? Here are a few perspectives that have helped me along the way. 1. Don’t miss the big story by obsessing on the details One helpful way I’ve found to think about the future is to remind myself that I already know the ending, and that ending is a happy one. The day-to-day right now might look like it inevitably leads to doom and gloom, but I know that’s not the big picture. I just need to zoom out enough to see the whole big story, and see that I’m just in a small part in the middle of it. I’m muddled down in the details, but a detail isn’t the whole story. And the best way to remind myself of the big story is to read the Word of God. That’s where we hear the end of the story and are reminded about who’s writing it. Ok, ok, you might be thinking, that's the big picture, but I still feel hopeless about my life. I might know in the end everything will turn out all right, but I still don’t feel capable of doing anything right now. I still feel like the current circumstances make whatever I do seem pointless. It’s true, it can be hard to connect what we believe to how we feel. Sometimes we know something, but we still feel anxious or paralyzed. But this means that it’s worthwhile examining what story our feelings are buying into, if we feel that way. We might not realize the degree that we’re accepting other people’s narratives about our lives. 2. No, the pessimists don’t know it all You might be sitting at home, doomscrolling on your phone, and some talking head on TikTok pops up bringing all these facts together: while wages in Canada have increased by 74.3% since 2003, housing prices have increased by 227%. Add to that the information that Canada’s population has also increased during this time, and that housing starts have struggled to keep up with the demand. Your heart sinks. You weren’t thinking about when you’d be able to afford a house before that moment, but now you’re convinced you never will. What’s the point of going to work tomorrow? And that’s just one example. It doesn’t take much time online to find theories about why Gen Z, or millennials, or whatever generation is doomed – why they will never get married, or afford a house, or be able to have children, or ever retire. These theories all seem so airtight, based on facts and statistics laid out in a logical fashion, with each piece of data leading to the next. But life is not so airtight. These theories are not prophecies about your life. Perhaps some of the stats and data might be useful for bureaucrats trying to understand social conditions, but when they become reasons for you to give up on life, they’ve left the realm of usefulness. We’re often skeptical of mainstream media narratives about politics and the environment, but somehow this kind of data can sneak into our brains. Sometimes it starts off being comforting, because it explains why we’re not quite where we want to be in life yet. It’s not us, it’s just our circumstances. But an inescapable path of doom unfolding beneath your feet doesn’t help you in the long run; it paralyzes you. What will help? Stop listening to these voices. No one theory can take into account all the information available – each tends to cherry-pick facts that fit. Online influencers and writers and videos tend to emphasize the negative narratives because that’s what gets clicks. And no theory can predict the unexpected event that changes everything and throws all accepted theories into chaos (sometimes known as a black swan event). The world is not predictable, and events that don’t fit the theories do happen (and disprove the theories). So why base your life on one of those theories? 3. Learn from history as it actually was When my grandma was a young woman in the Netherlands, World War II started and all the young men left town to join the army. She didn’t think it was likely she would get married. Then she met my grandpa, who was a resistance fighter. After the war, they wanted to get married, but so many houses had been bombed in the Netherlands that there was nowhere for them to live. We can look back on the past with nostalgia – “in the 1950s you could support a family on one income!” But we don’t remember all the times that a future didn’t look possible for them back then, all the times when, logistically, there was just no one around to get married to, or statistically there were zero homes for newly married couples to live in, or that the “better life” looked a lot harder than the old life. Maybe life doesn’t give us “optimal conditions.” Sometimes “doing something” really looks like doing the impossible. My grandma just kept taking the next step, even if circumstances didn’t look great. After all, nothing is impossible with God. So don’t base your life on disheartening statistics. Instead, why not base your life on the Word of God? 4. Trust God with the future God loves you, and He didn’t design your life as a kind of trap you can’t escape. But He also doesn’t reveal our life paths to us before they happen. He calls us to trust in Him as we walk in His ways: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105). In other words, God hasn’t shone a spotlight on your destination, but He does light your feet as you take each step. You are part of a big story, but your part might not include our society’s preferred narrative of buying a home to fund your retirement, or finding the one career where you can make a meaningful impact. Or, who knows, maybe that will be part of your story one day. But the fundamental thing to hold onto is that you are a part of the story God is telling, and this means your life has meaning. What does knowing this do for us? It means we don’t have to be paralyzed. It also means we don’t have to see what will happen to us before it happen, even though we think predicting our future will make us feel better. We don’t need to add up all the facts together to predict our future and come to a negative conclusion (“there’s more women than men in the average church I attend, therefore the likelihood of me finding a husband is less than...”). God doesn’t work according to statistics. God doesn’t stop working out His plan because forecasters say most millennials won’t be able to afford a house. He will do whatever His will is for your life. The question is, are you open to that? 5. Trust Him one step at a time Can you keep taking the next step God lays in front of your feet, and the next step, and the next step, without always knowing where it will go? Can you find the courage to try things that are a little scary for you, if He calls you to them? Sometimes moving forward in life feels like plunging into the unknown, into something that could go terribly wrong (because any momentous choice in life could go terribly wrong) but with the willingness to try and see what God will do with your life. It’s easy to say, just do something, but doing something come with risk. We can take actions that make us suffer, we can make wrong decisions, we can do the wrong thing. That’s what scares us, and makes us paralyzed. The reality of risk feeds our paralysis. But to begin to exercise our faith and trust in our God Who is bigger than us, we do have to step out and learn to leave what’s out of our control up to Him. The Bible is full of examples of people stepping out in faith and leaving the future up to God. There is Abraham, who "went out, not knowing where he was going... to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land” (Heb. 11:8-9). People did not live their lives by theories or statistics: “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised” (Heb. 11:11-12). And in the face of our fear of the future we can still act: “In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good” (Eccl. 11:6). We’re urged in the Parable of the Ten Talents, and in Proverbs, to do the work in front of us. But we’re also urged to leave the results up to God. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to his beloved sleep” (Ps. 127:1-2). So let go of what you can’t control. God isn’t calling you to navigate what’s out of your hands. And then do your part. Take steps in what areas you can do something. This is the only place to start. Conclusion Hopefulness isn’t a journey we can travel on our own. We can’t always formulate or speak the positive story to ourselves, and others can come alongside us to tell us their own stories of God’s work in their lives. If you’re feeling hopeless, reach out and talk to someone you trust. But at the same time, lean into God and His Word. He can contradict and counteract the negative narratives from culture that surround us every day. He can give us hope when the world claims it is dark. And we know His promises to us never fail....

History

Don’t overlook the blessings of today

Our children are actually wealthier than the very richest of 100 years ago ***** You stir in your bed as the strains of an orchestra tickle at the e...

News

Saturday Selections – Dec. 21, 2024

The perfection of beauty Even if rap isn't a favorite musical genre, you may well be impressed by this, from Blair Linne, wife of Reformed rapper Sha...

Assorted

The pot experiment has been a disaster

If marijuana definitively destroys lives, should we be free to smoke? ***** A few weeks ago, Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports publicly supported a ...

Politics

Top 10 political wins in recent years

Reformed Christians spend a lot of time discussing and resisting bad policy developments. We have much to lament when it comes to public policy in Can...

Interview with an artist

Jason Bouwman is finding hope in the desert

Antelope CanyonOil on birch panel | 12X16May 2024Antelope Canyon in Page, AZ. is possibly the most famous and most photographed slot canyon in the west, maybe the world. Surreal and enchanting. The abstract symphony of shapes beckons one deep into the canyon’s serpentine walls and across the narrow sandy stage where time-sculpted stone twirls gracefully in delicate light. Jason Bouwman is a familiar name to many of us from his devotionals Just Thinking (available as a free e-book here) and Still Thinking (which can be purchased here) that sit on our shelves. Then there’s his coin designs for the Royal Canadian Mint, to this very “Interview with an Artist” column where he’s profiled many other Reformed artists, Jason has had many projects we might have seen. But let’s get to know the man behind the work a bit better, as well as his latest venture, the Arabah project. Jason Bouwman is an artist whose personal philosophy is to “live artfully.” He’s done that by working in visual communications, through his company Compass Creative, as well as through illustration, graphic design, and landscape painting. And it is the latter being featured in his latest series of desert paintings. It can be challenging for a creator to decide what their next big focus will be, but Jason knew a project focused on desert landscapes was next after he realized he’d been returning to the southwestern landscape throughout his whole life. From a cross-country road trip with his sister and parents to his honeymoon in California and Arizona, the deserts worked their way into his consciousness and his soul. “I've been in a season of life for which the desert seems to be an especially fitting metaphor for what I've been experiencing,” he says, “and so I wanted to explore it for personal reasons too.” He explains, “There’s a feeling one gets when staring out that horizon under an endless sky that I still can’t explain. The desert is a place of jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, otherworldly beauty. The plants and animals that inhabit this otherwise inhospitable landscape are some of the most inventive and resilient organisms you’ll ever see – as are the people who live there... I have also come to see the desert as a metaphor for certain seasons in my life – those seasons which have been disorienting, confusing, obscure, dry of emotion and seemingly directionless. Those times in life when I’ve been tested, challenged, humbled, brought low, brought to the end of myself so that I might experience more of God and His power and provision.” Evening Drive with MikeOil on gessoed panel | 10X10June 2024I saw this scene on a road leading west out of Mount Pleasant, Utah early one evening. There was something nostalgic about it. It reminded me of photographs I used to see in National Geographic. It reminded me of a road trip our family took out west when I was a boy. It reminded me of Sunday evening drives down country roads with my parents. I shared some of that with workshop instructor Michael Workman and he said; “Paint that!” So I’m calling this “Evening Drive with Mike” “Arabah” is referenced in the Bible. It describes a region of the Negev Desert bordering on present-day Israel, and deserts are a frequent landscape in biblical stories. The Arabah project mirrors the Exodus journey the Israelites took through the desert. The desert can be challenging, but it can also be beautiful, and Jason wants viewers of this project to be able to see both the struggle and the possible blessings found there. After all, as Jason says, not all wandering is a waste of time, and God’s own people were led through the desert, but not without purpose. This project was also a little different because he has been collaborating with his daughter, Jamie, which Jason finds very rewarding. She brings a very different set of skills as a filmmaker, which gives this project a different dimension. “I'm often more excited about what she's doing than my own work.” The goal is to create an art exhibit, a coffee table book, and a short film. Jason and Jamie have already been invited to show a few sneak previews at various events. A big thing Jason’s been thinking about lately is the role of community, and the role the support of others can have in an artist’s life. “I've been blessed by a community of people and patrons who are willing to take risks along with me in creating something new…. They invest time listening to my ideas and concepts, providing feedback about what they think is valuable or not (to themselves and the rest of the community), and commit to purchasing work before they see it completed.” Both the patron and the artist benefit from this connection, the artist from the support and the patron from being able to participate in the art’s creation. This is something all Christians might be able to relate to, even if we’re not artists – the support and feedback from brothers and sisters around us are so important in doing the work God calls us to do. Learn more about the Arabah Project and Jason’s other works at: JasonBouwman.com and Instagram.com/jaybouwman. BoundariesOil on canvas | 24" X 36" | 2023Growing, maturing and healing necessarily involves establishing boundaries. But unlike physical fences, human boundaries need to be communicated and respected to be effective - not least of all by ourselves. “Shaken, pushed around and mishandled but still longing to trust. This is faith too” - Justin McRoberts...

Assorted

6 on Anxiety

“I have anxiety.” How often do we hear this phrase nowadays? And most of us can relate to it. There’s so much to be anxious about in our modern world, with so many things changing all around us. But one thing that doesn’t change, and the one thing Reformed Perspective aims to focus on above all else, is the God Who is our Rock in the midst of the storms. It can be so hard to let Paul’s words “do not be anxious about anything” sink into our souls. But article after article, published through RP’s many years, repeats this simple biblical message. And they pair that biblical foundation with our authors’ personal experiences of how challenging and how peaceful the act of putting these words into practice can be. Be encouraged through these reads below! You can click on each heading to go to the linked article. Learning to be anxious for nothing Mark Penninga shares his own journey through anxiety and burnout. He shares the highlights of his years of learning, counseling, and slow change in the hopes of helping other Christians along the way. He explores how care and concern for others is a good thing, but can cross a line into bearing cares and concerns we were not meant to carry. Anxiety and the triumph of hope: 3 biblical counselors explain anxiety In this interview, three biblical counselors bring their wisdom to explain anxiety and how we can approach it. They give insight into whether anxiety is more common in the Church, and how Christians can sometimes experience it differently. They also give some practical tips. Do not worry… Sharon Bratcher suggests that one root of worry can be our pride, and gives some suggestions for addressing that particular root of anxiety. Technology and our anxious hearts One of the biggest causes of anxiety is our use of technology. Even pastors see this come up in their congregations. Reuben Bredenhof explains why technology can cause such anxiety in us, and how we can recalibrate our relationship to technology in the light of God’s word. Just how bad is the teen anxiety epidemic? While adults are anxious, teen anxiety has been described as an “epidemic.” How bad is it? According to the stats, it is far more common, and there are many reasons for this. This list of factors may help teens and parents sort out what might be contributing to anxiety. Gezellig: cozy, restful What’s the opposite of anxiety? In Dutch, there is an untranslatable word, gezellig, which captures the idea of coziness and restfulness. This concept can be a helpful guide to slowing down in our fast-paced and restless world. Anxiety is a challenge, but we hope these articles give you encouragement and a place to start your journey to the peace God promises us in His Word!...

Tidbits – December 2024

Red flags apply to politics too John Piper thinks that deciding who you are going to vote for is a lot like picking out a potential spouse. In both cases, you have to decide what will and will not disqualify a candidate. Or as he puts it: “not liking cats would not have disqualified a woman as my wife, but not liking people would. Drinking coffee would not, but drinking whiskey would. Kissing dogs wouldn’t, but kissing the mailman would. And so on.” The same holds true in politics. Before we vote we have to ask ourselves what issues matter enough to us to disqualify any candidate who holds a differing stand. To quote Piper again: "....there are numerous single issues that disqualify a person from public office. For example, any candidate who endorsed bribery as a form of government efficiency would be disqualified, no matter what his party or platform was. Or a person who endorsed corporate fraud (say under $50 million) would be disqualified no matter what else he endorsed. Or a person who said that no black people could hold office—on that single issue alone he would be unfit for office. Or a person who said that rape is only a misdemeanor – that single issue would end his political career. These examples could go on and on. Everybody knows a single issue that for them would disqualify a candidate for office." There are, of course, no perfect candidates. But there is imperfect and then there is wicked, and we all know there is a line we need to draw. So a candidate who wants to waste tax dollars on an Olympic bid might still get my support, but if he's racist, wants to indoctrinate children into the LGBT lifestyle, or wants mothers to continue to be able to kill their unborn children, then he isn’t getting my vote. Some Christians refuse to vote for pro-life candidates because they say that it is silly to vote based on just one issue. True enough: just because someone is pro-life doesn’t mean they will know what to do about foreign affairs, Indigenous treaties, or problems with unemployment and homelessness. A candidate’s stand on one issue, even if it is a stand against abortion, is never enough to qualify him for office. However, a candidate’s stand on just one issue can certainly be enough to disqualify him. Being able to make the trains run on time means nothing if the candidate also supports mass murder. Source: “Single-issue politics” World, Nov. 4, 2000 Annie Wilson's Red Flag Top 10 pro-life slogans As seen here, there, and everywhere across the Internet: Life – the choice of the next generation Pro-woman, Pro-child, Pro-life She’s a child…not a choice. Abortion is legal. So was slavery. Thanks Mom! I got born! It’s a wrong, not a right – stop abortion now Abortion doesn’t make you “un”pregnant; it makes you the mother of a dead baby. Life begins at conception…and ends at Planned Parenthood Abortion stops a beating heart Choice before the act, not after the fact. What Jordan Peterson gets right As the headline of Brad East's Christianity Today article put it, "Jordan Peterson loves God's Word. But what about God?" The Canadian psychologist is as famous for the stand he took against compelled speech – he refused to be forced into calling male students by "preferred pronouns" – as he is for his passion for God's Word. There's reason to hope he might someday become Christian, but he isn't there yet. But why, then, does much of what he says and write have an appeal to Christians? Brad East has thoughts on that too. "About a decade ago, a friend of mine mentioned a series of videos about the Bible he’d discovered online. It was by an obscure Canadian academic whom neither of us knew. My friend had been raised evangelical and remained a Christian, but after watching, he asked me a question he’s repeated many times since: 'Why didn’t anyone ever tell me the Bible is interesting?' "....An odd ally for Christians, in other words, at least at first glance. Yet my Christian friend found Peterson a breath of fresh air. The reason, I’ve come to see, is simple. Peterson was speaking about the Bible as if it were the most important thing in the world, as if the stakes were a matter of life and death, as if the stories and themes of Scripture demanded an immediate existential decision on the part of everyone who encountered them. My friend was familiar with old-time religion. He wasn’t familiar with this." There is a question apologist Del Tackett asks, along the lines of "Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?" Any time our actions don't match our profession, then the answer is plain, no, we don't really believe what we say we believe... or we'd act differently. I'm not suggesting everyone (or anyone) go out and buy Peterson's books, but in one big way there is something we can learn from this yet-to-be-Christian – his kind of enthusiasm is what it looks like to love God's Word! Quote of the month “Sports don’t teach character; sports reveal character.” – John Wooden Two cults and a Christian In the predominantly Mormon town of Cardston, Alberta, a certain Dave De Haan used to go door-to-door asking people if they would like to learn about Jesus Christ. This well-dressed man was hardly the only person going door-to-door in Cardston, but while most of the others were Jehovah’s Witnesses (yup, JW’s love to try and recruit Mormons!) Dave was different – he’s Christian. One of Dave’s favorite door-to-door stories is of the time one of the town’s higher-ranking Mormons pulled him into his house. After hustling Dave into the kitchen, the Mormon elder confessed that he had been seriously examining the Bible lately and was starting to doubt his Mormon faith. And now he wanted to ask Dave some questions about Christianity. “That’s great!” Dave exclaimed, “Go grab your Bible, and we’ll talk.” The elder disappeared and then reappeared a moment later with his New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. It turns out this Mormon took his first steps from Mormonism to Christianity using a Jehovah’s Witnesses translation of the Bible! God can even use two cults to make a Christian. Source: a speech by Dave De Haan on February 2, 2002 at Missions Fest 2002 If you don’t have grace… Sometimes, we may take Jesus’ saving grace for granted. An excerpt from the Talmud of Jerusalem describes what life is like for those who do not rely on Jesus as Mediator and Savior. "When Rabbi Jochanan was close to death his students came and visited him. When he saw them all he burst into tears. “'Rabbi!' they exclaimed, 'Light of Israel! Our chief pillar! Why are you weeping?' "The Rabbi answered, 'Were I to be brought before a king of flesh and blood, who is here today and tomorrow in the grave; who may be angry with me, but not forever; who may imprison me, but not forever; who may kill me, but only for this world; whom I may sometimes bribe; even then I would be afraid. But now, I am to appear before the King of kings, the Most Holy One, blessed be He who lives through all eternity. If He is angry, it is forever; if He imprisons me, it is forever; if He slays me, it is for the future world; and I can bribe Him with neither words nor money. So now, on my deathbed, two paths are before me, one leading to punishment, the other to reward, and I don’t know which path He will have me travel. Should I not weep?'” Good questions Folks on the Internet want to know: Why don’t they just use the fattest man in the world for a hockey goalie? How do you get off a non-stop flight? Why don’t you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"? How do you throw away a garbage can? Why do ballet dancers dance on their toes? Why doesn’t the company just hire taller dancers? How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to work in the mornings? Why isn't there a mouse-flavored cat food? How do you know when you've run out of invisible ink? Why is it called lipstick if you can still move your lips? The lazy man’s guide to getting fit If you’re considering a New Year's resolution to rid yourself of some excess baggage but think exercise is just too painful, then the latest, greatest fitness craze might be just the thing for you and me. We’ll still have to exercise – there’s no avoiding it – but with this program, it’s unlikely we’ll feel pain. The key is starting off slowly, very slowly – the first day you exercise only 1 minute. The next day you increase that by 30 seconds, and then continue adding 30 seconds each day. In a month, you’ll be up to 15 minutes! Missed a day? No worries. Just resume the next day using the same length of time you used in your last day. If you miss 3 or more days in a row, you may have to lower your time by 30 seconds or a minute when you resume, because your fitness level will have dropped a bit. Most people start exercising with the best of intentions, and with a very vigorous first workout. Then the next day they are so stiff they have to take a day off. The slow start in this “lazy man’s exercise program” will help you avoid all those aches and pains, and will allow you to get into the habit of exercising regularly. It’s a pretty simple program, but that’s the beauty of it. English is a weird language People on the Internet also want to know this: Why does the word monosyllabic have five syllables? If poli means many, and tics are blood-sucking creatures, then what does politics really mean? Why do the words loosen and unloosen mean the same thing? Whose cruel idea was it to put an “s” in the word lisp? Why is bra singular and panties plural? How come the word one has a “w” sound in it, but the word two doesn't? Why is abbreviation such a long word? Why is it that when you send something by ship, it's called a cargo, and if you send something by car, it's called a shipment? Turnabout is fair play Can someone be pro-life and still be in favor of the death penalty? Certainly. While abortion and the death penalty both involve killing a person, abortion involves the killing of someone who has committed no crime, while the death penalty involves the killing of a murderer. So, a pro-lifer who wants to stop the killing of the innocent unborn does not necessarily have to be against the killing of the guilty. In fact, this question can be turned around and addressed to opponents of the death penalty. How can they be against the death penalty and not be against abortion – how can they be against the killing of the guilty and not be against the killing of the innocent? Seeing hope in Hitler’s children The late Nancy L. Harvey suffered from Crohn’s disease, or as she put it, she was a “gut cripple.” Totally dependent on a wheelchair and a portable machine, she still traveled extensively, and in 2001 went to Germany to do research on the pianist Werner Haas. It was there she met Hitler’s children – born in 1929, her German hosts were part of the generation that had grown up under the Nazi leader’s tutelage. “But,” she writes, “my three hosts, Hitler’s children, taught to despise cripples like me, were not spiritually blind. They cared for me as if I were Christ himself – often touching my hand to see if I was cold, bringing me spring water for my dry mouth, continually replenishing the supply of toilet paper, carrying my IV bag and pump into churches and restaurants, setting up and taking down the wheelchair, parking the car on the sidewalk, kissing me every morning and evening, reaching out to caress my cheek. How could I be a life unworthy of Life when I could receive and return such love? Our hosts lifted up my spirits. If Hitler’s children could turn away from the evil teaching of the Third Reich and become such Christ-like people, surely there is hope, even in abortion-bloodied America, for the rest of us.” Source: “Hitler’s children” The Human Life Review, Fall 2001...

Being the Church

On encouraging courage

Part of God’s equipping us to courage also involves rightly understanding what real courage is ***** Fear. We all feel it at times. We might be...

News

Saturday Selections – Dec. 14, 2024

Why you shouldn't lie to your kids about Santa... ...or else this will happen! For more lies check out this follow up. And for a more serious take...

Economics - Home Finances

How do you buy a house when you are 19?

Our son pulled it off with hard work, and more than a little help from his parents ***** Our son Seth read this story and gave his permission to sha...

Assorted

A New Atheist loves that old time Religion

In 2007, four now fairly famous atheists – Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Richard Dawkins – met to discuss their views. The...

Education

Higher Ed advice: 34 women, 6 principles

After connecting with at least thirty-four women about their experiences considering higher education, I discovered several key themes running through their responses. Read their advice below! Keep in mind that any advice here is just that – advice, not a command. Learn from observing women who’ve had to decide whether to pursue higher education or not, but lean on God and His Word to determine your steps! Flexibility is key Most women prioritized flexibility when choosing a career path, but flexibility could mean many different things. It could mean shortening the length they studied for, or changing their studies to a career that could be easily “paused” and then started again after a few years. This actually means that some women found jobs with specific licensing requirements (such as nursing) can be a bit more challenging for some to stay up to date in, though these jobs were flexible in other ways. It could mean a job with flexible schedules. It could mean studying something that could be used in multiple ways, instead of one specific field only. It’s worthwhile to think about what kind of flexibility matters most to you, and consider how to achieve that in your life. Less debt is less stress While debt can sometimes be worthwhile, in general the less debt you carry the more freedom you have to make choices later in life, such as the choice to pause your career or stop working. Women financed their education in a variety of ways, including scholarships, grants, jobs, help from family, and yes, debt – so take the time to consider all the options. Your passion can be a starting point Many women “knew” from a young age that they wanted a specific career. For some, it was a practical career like nursing or teaching, which were easy to pursue since these are traditionally female-dominated careers anyway. You can be called to something obvious! For others, it was a passion for something less practical, like art. But it can still be worthwhile to discern whether to pursue this, because career paths are not always obvious when you’re a teen unfamiliar with an industry. For example, many who studied art have found careers as graphic designers or illustrators. Other academically gifted sisters have pursued higher degrees and stretched their intellect, and found employment that matched their education. Some even spoke of the freedom they felt to pursue what they loved, because they didn't expect to have to support a family on their income. If it is truly a gift God has given you to use, you can lean on God and see how He will use it. It might not be something you’re called to study, but it might be an option to explore if you’re not quite sure where to start. Practical concerns Many women reported choosing their course of study specifically because it led to a specific job path. For them, it didn’t make sense to invest in something that they wouldn’t be able to find a job in. If being able to support yourself is a goal, this is helpful to keep in mind! One thing to consider though is getting “stuck” on a career path you don’t like – it can take quite a bit of time to retrain from engineering to another career (for example) because the subject is quite specific. A love of learning can guide Don’t be afraid if your passion is a love of learning rather than a specific job. For some women, the priority was developing the mind that God gave them, and learning more about their dear Father as a result of their learning. Many women spoke of how learning is never a waste, and the academic world can use more Reformed minds! However, if you pursue this path, it’s good to combine this with responsible views on debt, as well as with wisdom on how well you can stand firm in a secular environment. The higher levels of education can raise many questions in believers’ minds, and everyone should have a strong system of support for questions if they choose to study in secular environments or at these higher levels. Consider the future, but not with fear Many women mentioned how education could come in handy during difficult times in their lives, such as if they had to support their family on their own. Some said their husband could rest more easily knowing their wife could help out if anything happened to him. And of course, a higher-paying job was helpful for the women who never married. But while these are very logical reasons to pursue education (and they’re worth keeping in mind), if it is a fear of bad consequences that is driving you to a life path, it’s worth pausing and leaning into God to discern if it’s really a path you should take. Some women decided higher education was not right for them, and it’s not right for everybody. And if it is the path God is calling you to, then joy, a love of learning, and a passion for developing the gifts God has given you are better motivations than fear....

Assorted

RP’s guide to “adulting” – our top articles to help you gain the skills to feel grown up

Young people nowadays feel more anxious and overwhelmed about the future than ever. There are several reasons for this– a relentless onslaught of bad news in the media, the rising cost of living and the overcomplexity of our modern world, and our safety culture that restricts children from practicing independence when young. It’s telling that “adulting” has become a verb, that we feel a need to describe the actions adults take as a skill young people struggle to learn. In the past, young people had a more defined roadmap, and the community surrounding them guided them as they began to take their first steps into the big world. Young people today still can use that guidance from our elders who have navigated this before! That’s why we created this list of articles we have published in the past that offers guidance on different areas of life that young people face. Just click on each title to go to the linked article. Use this guide as a bit of a “roadmap” of options. SHOULD YOU GO TO POSTSECONDARY? We did a whole issue on this topic that’s also worth checking out. I’m graduating – Now what? – Graduating from high school can be a big crossroads – from that point on, your path isn’t so clear. You need to make a choice about the next steps, and here's some advice on how to decide what to do next once you've graduated high school. Thriving at a non-Christian university? – There are many choices of universities, but if you're thinking of attending a secular university, here's some advice! What about a Christian university? – Christian universities aren’t always perfect, but there are some benefits! If you're considering a Christian university, this article has advice for that. Podcasts to get you educated, not schooled – Formal schooling is not the only option for getting educated. Here are some options to learn even if you decide not to go to college or university. Learning can be lifelong, and is not limited to university! CHOOSING A CAREER Having trouble choosing a career? No one can tell you what you should do for work, of course, but it can help to get some insight into what a particular career is like. Your own path in a career will be different, but it’s still helpful to hear from the inside about what others have found. Here are some of the careers we’ve covered in the past, and what it’s like to be a Reformed Christian in these fields. Teacher: Paul Bartels: from carpenter to high school shop teacher Journalist: 87 – The Need for Redeeming Canadian Journalism – Alexandra Ellison (Real Talk Podcast) Comedian: Comedy as a calling Artist: Reformed Perspective has a series of interviews with artists to check out Illustrator: Stephanie Vanderpol has a zoologist in the house Book Publisher/Seller: Albert van der Heide’s passion for print Lawyer: Albertos Polizogopoulos: lawyer for the Lord Entrepreneur: What does a Reformed entrepreneur look like? Homemaker: “Homemaking is the ultimate career” – C.S. Lewis (sort of) MARRIAGE Marriage rates are declining worldwide, and yet many young people desire that loving, secure, lifelong partner in life. It’s just not that easy to find a good match! Here are some articles we’ve published to guide you along the way. How to get married younger – The trend is to get married later in life. But getting married is a worthy aspiration. If you want to get married younger, here’s some advice on how to do it. How I married your grandmother: dating advice for a young man – Sometimes it’s helpful to hear how someone else “did it,” so here’s a personal reflection on exactly how one young man found his wife. Obstacles and roadblocks to having children – Many of us desire to have children, but it’s not always as simple as wanting to have them. First, of course, you have to find someone to get married to. But even then, challenges and obstacles can come up. Here’s some encouragement that children really can be a blessing. BUYING A HOME Home ownership is one of the major things that feels out of reach for young people. It's harder than it used to be, but here are some tips on different ways to reach this goal. Home ownership for Christians: how it happened in the past, and how it might now Tiny home contentment FINANCES A common question is, why didn’t I learn more about finances in school? This is a gigantic topic that is important to learn about! However, a lot of advice depends on your situation and your goals. That said, we’ve covered some general financial topics before, and we encourage you to keep learning about this area. Frugalship: 37 ways to save a buck – on being frugal On investing, with Wade Van Bostelen …but I have a couch – on hospitality FINDING MEANING IN LIFE As Christians, we know the meaning of life, but there can be a difference between knowing in our head and feeling it in our hearts. A big part of growing up is figuring out what’s the “point” of everything we do, and how we as individuals fit into the big picture. Here are some links on finding that meaning and putting it into practice. How to live your best life: knowing, and participating in, the greatest (true) story C.S. Lewis on real happiness and real Christianity CONCLUSION No one can give you a complete roadmap for exactly what you should do with your life, but hopefully the perspectives offered in these articles help you through making decisions. Growing up can look daunting at times, but shouldering the responsibility of living well, and learning to use the gifts God has given you, is a worthwhile and fulfilling journey to take....

News

Saturday Selections – Dec. 7, 2024

Click on the titles for the linked articles... I want a hippopotamus for Christmas If a boy wants a puppy for Christmas and his parents are reluctant, this might be what he should put on the top of his list – then a dog will seem like no big thing! Babies saved by the budget-conscious? Elon Musk isn't pro-life, but in the name of government efficiency, he may help axe the hundreds of millions that Planned Parenthood gets from the government each year. If God can use a crooked stick to draw a straight line, then yes, He can even use the pro-choice to save babies. Pray that it happens! How the Pill obscures God's truth in creation By divorcing sex from pregnancy, the Pill has obscured one of the most undeniable differences between the genders... and obscuring that difference has led to transgenderism, sexual promiscuity, children out of wedlock, the diminishment of marriage and motherhood, and the elevation of career as a means of finding purpose, meaning, and identity. 101 evidences for a young earth Whether it's elastic tissue from dinosaurs that supposedly died millions of years ago, or folds (not cracks) in strata that is supposed to encompass millions of years, here's all sorts of evidence for the Earth being way younger than the world insists. Preparing our children to suffer well (10-min read) There are things we can do to better prepare our children for the challenges and pains they will inevitably experience. Red Green is an inspiration! For all of us who struggle with home repair projects, Red Green shows us what amazing things a can-do mentality can accomplish. ...

Entertainment

The case against MMA, boxing, gladiatorial combat, cockfighting, bullbaiting and other blood sports

Violence might sometimes be necessary, but it should never be amusing ***** Under what circumstances are Christians permitted, in good conscience, to view adults deliberately inflicting violence on one another for the purposes of entertainment? This may seem like a strange question, but it isn’t. On social media, Christians regularly post commentary on the latest UFC match – most recently, several prominent accounts posted minute-by-minute updates on the fight between veteran boxer Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. The sight of two adult men inflicting violence on one another for the entertainment of others was enormously popular, which is why Tyson was paid a staggering $20 million, and Paul was paid $40 million. I’ve been thinking quite a bit about this issue recently. Last year, I was invited to participate in a long-form discussion on a range of cultural issues with Catholic podcaster Matt Fradd on his podcast Pints with Aquinas. One of the topics that came up was the acceptability for Christians of viewing violence – and combat sports – as entertainment. We both agreed that we found combat sports fascinating, and that we were attracted to them as feats of strength and skill. Yet, we both concluded that watching violence as entertainment should be avoided. Now, I am aware – after years writing on cultural issues – that nothing attracts a backlash like criticizing someone’s preferred entertainment. Tim Challies has observed the same trend, and I think the fierceness with which people defend their entertainment is evidence of how central it has become in so many of our lives. But when considered objectively, it is not difficult to conclude that inherently violent combat sports such as Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) are inappropriate entertainment for Christians. Entertained by what we shouldn’t do? Biblically, we are forbidden to do violence to others and to harm our own bodies outside of specifically justified circumstances, which would include a just war or law enforcement. I want to make clear that I am not making the case against learning or practicing skills such as boxing, mixed martial arts, or other forms of fighting and self-defence. My argument is that violence should not be entertainment, which is defined as “the action of providing or being provided with amusement or enjoyment.” I would apply a similar standard to films that glorify violence, which is distinct from depicting violence. A film about war or genocide that portrays reality would not, I hope we can agree, be “entertaining” as such. There is a distinction between learning to inflict violence in the context of a legitimate vocation (like soldier or police officer) or learning how to do so in self-defence, and watching violence to amuse ourselves. The early Christians were universal in their condemnation of gladiatorial combat, and the difference between gladiatorial battles and UFC fights is one of degree, not kind. We know what the physical effects of combat sports such as UFC and boxing are, and we cannot pretend that the fighters are not doing permanent damage to themselves and others. Violence is inherent to these sports, as the intent is to win by inflicting physical violence on the opponent until he or she is knocked out or submits. The research into the physical damage that fighters inflict on one another is extensive and conclusive. From that perspective, I suspect that we may one day come to see violence in sport the way we now view bullbaiting or cockfighting. Young men should not be sacrificing their bodies and their cognitive abilities for the entertainment of the masses. While it is true that other sports can also result in physical harm – hockey, basketball – violence is an aberration rather than an intrinsic part of these sports. Those who make this point are making a category error. For those who think violence as entertainment is acceptable, I would be interested in hearing their answer to this question: How is sport and entertainment a justifiable exception to the general Christian prohibition on violence? Two defences In order to claim that combat sports such as UFC are justifiable entertainment for Christians, you must defend this thesis: Human beings are morally permitted to inflict violence on one another for money and the entertainment of others. I have yet to see this thesis convincingly defended. In most discussions I have had on this subject, people are remarkably unwilling to apply Christian standards to entertainment combat fighting. Instead, one of two responses is usually offered: “You’re being legalistic” or “I really enjoy watching fights.” The first response is the lazy Christian’s preferred defence of many indefensible things (and misunderstands the term “legalistic” to boot); the second is irrelevant. Many violent combat sports – especially UFC – bring out profoundly unhealthy and unchristian attitudes in the spectators. The bursts of particularly savage violence are not incidental – they are a key reason many enjoy these sports so much. The sight of two men attacking one another and physically damaging one another sends crowds into a frenzy that in many instances can accurately be described as bloodlust. Skilled yes, but brutal still Many fans rightly note that professional fighters display enormous skill, and that fights resemble a game of enormous chess. But surely we can agree that the atmosphere at the fights as well as the attitude towards physical violence being cultivated by the spectator are profoundly unedifying. In short, I believe UFC is to human relations what pornography is to sex. Some lusts should not be stoked. Some things should not be entertaining. ...

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Saturday Selections – Jan. 18, 2025