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Titus 2 young men are not boys

"Likewise, urge the younger men to be sober-minded." – Titus 2:6

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In Titus 2 Paul gives instructions to older women, younger women, older men and younger men, and gives instruction concerning the care of children. Every age group is covered... except for one. Why doesn't Paul say anything about adolescents?

Adolescent males typically have the strength of adult men, and in many ways the freedoms and opportunities of adults too. And at the same time these adolescents have nowhere near the responsibilities of an adult; we say of them, they're "boys who shave." We’ve accepted that the teenage years are when boys do dumb things, and we're quick to forgive them because, well, they’re just kids so what can we really expect? However Scripture speaks of just two main age brackets: children and adults. This third grouping, adolescents, is simply not Scriptural. And that, of course, is why Paul makes no mention of them in Titus 2.

In God’s eyes teenagers are responsible for their conduct (as is a tween!), and needs to repent of sin as much as any 50-year-old. The Bible simply does not know of a "boy who shaves." In the Bible, if you are no longer a child you are a man, albeit a "young man." So when, in Titus 2:6, Paul talks of the need for younger men to be self-controlled, he has in mind any male who is not a child and not yet an “older man.”

So let's take a closer look at what Paul has to say in Titus 2 to the younger men of the church in Crete, and take from it what we can for the instruction of our own younger men.

While our focus is on the younger men, we should note that the Lord has preserved this passage of Scripture for the benefit of more than just the “younger men.” In this same chapter older men (Titus 2:2) are to give leadership, and part of the leadership they provide is surely that they ensure that younger men are what God wants them to be. Older women (Titus 2:3) are to teach the younger women to love their husbands (Titus 2:4,5) – and those husbands are invariably included in the group described as “younger men.” Both the older women and the younger women, then, have a vested interest in what the Lord expects of the younger men. The whole congregation, then, can and must learn from God’s instruction to the younger men.

Source

It is important to remember that Paul’s instruction to Titus in this chapter, in relation to what Titus must teach the “younger men,” did not come out of the blue. As in all his teaching, Paul is building on God’s earlier revelation – what he says here must be understood in the context of the Old Testament, and of the example of the perfect young man Jesus Christ.

So let's consider first the instruction from Genesis, then the instruction from Jesus Christ.

Paradise

Adam was surely no child when God created him, and surely no old man either. In the eye of our minds we see Adam in Paradise as a “younger man” of some 20 to 30 years old, in the prime of strength and ability. Notice what responsibilities God expected him to satisfy. In Genesis 1:26-2:18 we learn he was to:

Image God – Just as the almighty Creator was loving and just and holy and kind and generous, so Adam was to be loving and just and holy and kind and generous. Creatures, angels, even God Himself should be able to see in the young man Adam something of what God was like.
Rule over all creation – This young man received a kingly function, with all creatures under his dominion. Please note that God did not let Adam hang around for many years until he was older and/or wizened through a lifetime of experience before all creation was placed under his feet. Right away God put him in the Garden with the mandate to “work” it and “keep” it (Genesis 2:15). The term “keep” describes the function of protecting the Garden from enemies – and God knew full well that Satan would attack the Garden through his insidious temptation. Yet God entrusted the Garden to the care of this young man!
Be fruitful – The command to be fruitful does not refer simply to making babies, but includes the responsibility of raising the children so that the next generation has learned how to image God and be effective rulers of God’s world too.
Be a leader – God said too that it was not good for the man to be alone, and so God created a woman to be “helper” to the man (Genesis 2:18). The man in turn was to accept the helper God gave him, and give her leadership and protection.

God’s instructions to Adam in Genesis 1, then, point up that Adam was expected to embrace responsibility. Young men of subsequent generations were, obviously, to do the same. The Biblical picture of manhood is not characterized by loafing or playing games, let alone letting things happen. Rather, a Biblically faithful man welcomes responsibility and takes initiative.

This is what older men are to impress on the younger, and what older women are to teach younger women to encourage in their husbands.

Fall

The fall into sin made carrying out this glorious responsibility immeasurably difficult. Work became a slog and a burden and weeds appeared not only in gardens and fields (Genesis 3:18-19), but also in one’s character and in inter-personal relations. Tensions characterized marriage (Genesis 3:16b), and children would reduce a man to tears (Genesis 4). We can understand why the Preacher describes all as vanity, a burden, a groan (Ecclesiastes 1:2). “What has a man from all his toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 2:22).

After the fall the creature that had been fashioned to image God, rule over God’s world, and raise more image-bearers, now bumps into so much frustration. How humbling for a creature endowed with such glorious responsibility!

Understood

Despite the destructive effects of the fall into sin, several figures of the Old Testament demonstrate that they fully understood God’s intent for young men. Consider the examples of Joseph, David and Daniel:

Joseph – He was 17 years old when his father sent him to check up on how his brothers were faring as they tended the family flocks (Genesis 37:2). He was also, then, 17 years old when he was sold as a slave to Egypt. As a young man he ended up in Potiphar’s house and readily embraced the responsibility his master entrusted to him when he “put him in charge of all that he had” (Genesis 39:4). Not too many years later, perhaps in his early 20s, Joseph was imprisoned “where the king’s prisoners were confined" (39:20), yet even there he took the initiative to embrace whatever responsibility rolled his way. So “the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners” (39:22). He took control of his feelings so that he did not waste his energy with feelings of anger at his brothers or pity for himself. When his family came to Egypt 20 years after he was sold, he was still a relatively “young man” – but now ruler over the entire country.
David – Already as a teenager he was entrusted with his father’s sheep. As a teenager he fought off a lion and a bear, and was called to play the lyre to King Saul. As a youth he volunteered to fight Goliath (1 Samuel 17:42). In his 20s he led Israel out to battle as Saul’s commander, then fled from Saul and, though persecuted, refused to kill him. Young though he was, he understood what manhood was about; he embraced responsibility and so made hard decisions. By the time he was 30, he was king over God’s people Israel.
Daniel – He was a young man, likely yet a teenager, when he was taken as prisoner to Babylon. Young though he was, he refused to eat the food the palace prescribed (Daniel 1:8ff). Again, though young he made use of the opportunities he received to learn what he could learn. So, when God elevated him as a very man to a position of power and leadership in a foreign land, he was ready for the challenge.

These three young men acted in line with God’s expectation as revealed in Paradise. They understood that youth was not a time for loafing, nor a time to live off others; being young men meant that they were to embrace responsibility to image God and rule over what was entrusted to them – especially themselves.

Jesus

The Biblical example of what a “young man” is to look like is none other than Jesus of Nazareth. He was “like his brothers in every respect,” and that includes the reluctance some have to embrace responsibility. But the Scripture says of this young man that though he was tempted in every respect as we are, He never gave Himself to sin (Hebrews 4:15). That’s to say that in his teenage years, and in his 20s too, He made it His business to image God in all He did, and made it His business too to rule over whatever God entrusted to His care – including first of all Himself, be that in guarding His mouth or restraining his sexual urges.

At 30 years of age – truly a young man still! – He took up His public ministry in Israel, preaching the good news of the kingdom of God, healing the sick and raising the dead. In the process He denied Himself for the benefit of those the Father entrusted to Him, even embracing the cursed cross and the heavy judgment of God for the benefit of the undeserving. Herein He demonstrated precisely what God intended for all men back in Paradise already; they are to embrace responsibility, and so take initiative to further the Lord’s kingdom.

Paul drew out for the Ephesians what this means for men.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that he might sanctify her…. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies… (5:25ff).

Jesus’ embrace of the responsibility that belongs to being a man means that, “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people” (Titus 2:11). Jesus is the (young) man, whose example all men are to follow.

Titus 2:6 - "sober-minded"

Let's return now, to Paul's instructions for young men in Titus 2.

Paul's objective is to build up church life in Crete. He turns to God’s Old Testament instruction and to Jesus’ example to consider what gifts the Lord has given to His church and what this example needs to look like in practice. It is this material he unpacks as he tells Titus to “urge the younger men to be sober-minded.”

The term Paul uses to describe what young men are to be is difficult to translate. The NIV and the ESV render it with the term "self-controlled," the NKJV has "sober-minded," the NASB has "sensible." The same term appears in Mark 5:15 in relation to the demoniac man – after the pigs, driven by the demons that used to possess the man, were drowned in the sea, the locals found the man “in his right mind.” In Romans 12:3 Paul instructs his readers “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment.”

The point is this. God created us to “rule over” all creatures, including ourselves. With the fall into sin we became slaves to sin so that Satan ruled over us.

However, Christ – perfect man that He was – conquered sin and Satan and so brought salvation for all people (Titus 2:11). Sin, then, is no longer our master, no more than the exorcised demons were now master of the demoniac of Mark 5. Instead, Christ has poured out His Spirit so that we can again be the men God wants us to be.

Men are meant to embrace responsibility. The victory of Christ has given renewed opportunity to embrace responsibility. Paul would have Titus urge younger men to take seriously the victory of Jesus Christ as they make decisions day by day about what to do. They are, in other words, to think of themselves with the "sober judgment" that comes with believing the gospel of Calvary: since you are no longer slaves to sin – that’s real! – but once again God’s possession through Jesus Christ – that’s reality, too! – you don’t have to give in to sin and temptation; you can resist the evil one. Factoring that victory into one’s decision-making process is being sober-minded, and yes, it leads to a life of self-control.

Titus 2:12

Titus 2:12, logically follows what we read in verse 6, and works out what this level-headedness looks like in the midst of life’s temptations. We read there than Christ’s victory,

train us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.

And yes, the word translated as "self-controlled" in verse 12 is the same critical word as the apostle used in verse 6 about the younger men needing to be “self-controlled,” “sober-minded,” level-headed, realistic. Christ has broken Satan’s back; let younger men factor that reality into their decisions. That’s taking responsibility properly.

I need to add: “the present age” is not a reference to the younger years but is instead referring to the time before Christ’s return in glory (see vs. 13). His victory on the cross guarantees the final great act of history, the day when He comes to judge the living and the dead. That reality again prompts the “young man” to a particular level-headedness as he factors this return into the decisions he makes – whether driving his car, spending his money, raising his family, deciding on his recreation, etc., etc.

Crete

This sort of lifestyle represented a huge challenge for the younger men Paul was writing to on the island of Crete. The culture of the island is caught in that proverb Paul earlier quoted: “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” (Titus 1:12). It’s a mindset that encourages the more energetic to do whatever they feel like doing. With the Christian faith new to the island, the “younger men” had very few role models to look up to.

That’s why Paul told Titus that he needed to be a good example for these young men. We read in verse 7: “show yourself in all respects to be a model of good work, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned.”

Titus was the apostle’s “true child in a common faith” (Titus 1:4), which is to say that Titus learned how to do the Christian life, and teach it too, from the apostle himself. As preacher on the island, and a young man at that, Titus needed to be aware that other young Christian men on Crete would be watching how Titus himself lived out the gospel of Christ’s victory in his daily responsibilities. His own way of factoring in Christ’s triumph in his daily decisions needed to demonstrate that he said "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and instead gave himself to good works. Moreover, his teaching couldn’t have the empty ring of liars’ big talk (1:10ff), but needed to exude integrity, dignity and soundness.

Here is a reality true for every preacher/teacher of all times, indeed true of all office bearers and leaders. Anyone entrusted with the task of preaching and teaching the gospel of Christ’s victory needs be aware of his role as a model of Christian living. Brothers, we are created and recreated to image God, and so to rule over whatever God has entrusted to our care in the same way as the Lord does it. Christ Jesus emptied Himself for the sake of His bride, the church. As teachers and preachers of this good news, we must – if we wish the gospel to be credible – obviously factor in the reality of Christ’s victory into all our conduct and our words.

Vital role

Paul, then, sees a vital role for younger men in building up church life, be it on Crete or be it in Canada. Younger men are to take seriously whatever responsibility God gives them (be it for a vehicle, a house, a wife, children, themselves, work, etc) and consistently factor in the victory of Jesus Christ on the cross as they make decisions pertaining to the responsibilities God has given. Then there’s no place for ungodliness, and plenty of place for godly lives. Such a lifestyle advertises the church wonderfully.

Conclusion

What do we see of today’s younger men in the churches? From teens to 50s, are these men making responsible decisions, and so contributing positively to church life?

There is, I’m convinced, so very much for which to be thankful on this point. We see young men making profession of faith and presenting their children for baptism. We see younger men devoted to their wives and families, and stretching themselves for service in God’s kingdom. It’s reason for gratitude.

We also see younger men who do not stretch themselves all that far at all. We see some younger brothers content with a basic job, content to come home from work and chill in front of TV or on the Internet, and we see some, too, who pour themselves into sport.

There is nothing wrong with sport, nor with relaxing in front of the TV, or even doing simply a "hands on" job. But there is a problem if one spends no time or energy to prepare one's self for increased responsibility tomorrow. It’s for responsibility that God created men, so men must read, study, and prepare for leadership roles tomorrow.

Manhood is not to be measured by how much hair you can grow, or how big a truck you can drive, or how much beer you can drink, or how good you are on your skates, or how big a fish you can catch. Without knocking any of these things, none of them catch what God created men to do.

What God wants of men is that we embrace responsibility, to the point that we work with Christ’s victory in every decision we make, 24/7. What does that look like? It follows the example of Jesus Christ in His self-emptying for His bride. He is the younger man who took responsibility for those God entrusted to His care, and so he laid down His life for His own. That’s the sensible, sober-minded, levelheaded example the Lord gives us.

This article first appeared in the March 2013 issue.

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or why we gave two years to bringing the Heidelberg Catechism to video… and more ***** There is something disarming about the Heidelberg Catechism. It doesn’t begin with abstract definitions, but with comfort. Our only comfort. Many of us have encountered, or experienced ourselves, a quiet guilt about “not knowing enough theology,” as if faithfulness were measured primarily by intellectual mastery. The Heidelberg resists that posture. Designed to be digested slowly over the course of a year, it teaches with patience. It repeats itself intentionally. It understands that formation takes time. And it certainly took time to capture that on film. Today, we find ourselves standing at a moment we honestly didn’t know how to imagine back on July 13th, 2023 when our organization, Faith to Film (FaithToFilm.ca) first took on this project. Every Lord’s Day of the Heidelberg Catechism now has a completed video. Fifty-two videos. Twenty-six pastors. Multiple denominations. One catechism. A full, freely available teaching resource on ReformedConfessions.org that did not exist before, but now it does. Why we started Pastor Hans Overduin took on Lord’s Days 15 and 23. Too often, Christian content is forced to choose between depth and visual excellence. We didn’t think that tradeoff was necessary. The Reformed confessions, in particular, seemed like an area crying out for this kind of care. Written centuries ago, they articulate truths that remain deeply relevant today. Truths with direct application for people wrestling with today’s fears, today’s doubts, and today’s hope. The church has never failed to recognize their value. They remain central to catechesis, preaching, and discipleship. And yet, the digital representation of them has not sufficiently reflected the clarity, weight, and beauty of the truth they contain. We wanted to do something about that. Our broader vision continues to be a single digital home for the Reformed Confessions where learning is layered. A video for introduction. A quiz for reinforcement. Extended material for deeper study. Illustrations that help concepts land. A place where churches can confidently send their people, knowing they will be met with clarity, pastoral care, and theological integrity. Not to replace traditional catechesis, but to supplement it and to provide access for those who may not have the same proximity to teachers or resources, whether new converts, families, or believers in other parts of the world. The Heidelberg Catechism felt like the natural place to begin. We are deeply grateful to the twenty-six pastors who lent their voices to this work. Though they serve in a range of congregational settings, they spoke here in one voice, bearing witness to the unity the Heidelberg Catechism has long provided to the Reformed church. Their participation reflects a shared commitment to teaching what has been confessed, received, and faithfully passed down through generations. The long middle Rev. John van Eyk addressed Lord’s Days 11 and 13. What we didn’t fully anticipate was just how long this patient approach would take. Don’t be mistaken, we understood the importance of moving slowly. We simply wanted the fruit of patience immediately. After all, two and a half years is long enough for enthusiasm to fade. Long enough for schedules to clash, funding to stretch thin, and momentum to feel fragile. This is why we are so grateful for everyone who supported this work. There is also a unique weight to the nature of this work. We regularly found ourselves asking difficult questions: Are we honoring the gravity of these truths? Are we preserving the warmth that Ursinus and Olevianus intended? Are we being careful, not only with words, but with images? There is a real challenge in visually representing biblical and theological concepts while maintaining a healthy reverence for God’s name and character. Navigating that tension was no small task. 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Science - Creation/Evolution

6 days or 24 years: why does the difference even matter?

I recently set about the task of making an enclosure to keep animals, and I want to tell you how I did it. This may seem to be a strange topic for Reformed Perspective readers but please bear with me and I trust that all will become clear. Quite the creation My aim was to create a large, secure enclosure and so I began by marking out an area within my back yard. You may think it somewhat eccentric, but for some very good reasons (which I won’t trouble you with) I had to begin the construction at night. So right after I had marked out the area and unraveled some fencing, I erected an enormous halogen lamp over the whole site, which, when turned on, flooded the area with light, which was good. The following day I began to clear the enclosure, which was somewhat waterlogged. I bailed out most of the water, but took care to leave some behind, as I needed a little in order to provide ponds for the aquatic animals. By the end of the day, I have to say I was well pleased with the result. When I came back to the site the next day, I began to shift some of the water I had left in the enclosure into ponds by digging holes in some places, and then piling the dirt up into mounds elsewhere to create dry patches. Once this was done, I spent the remainder of the day putting in some plants and food for the animals to eat. By this time, the whole thing was starting to take shape really nicely. My main task on the following day was to take down the halogen lamp, which I had only intended as a temporary measure, and to put some smaller, permanent lights around the outside of the enclosure, which when fixed up, looked really quite wonderful. The next two days things began to get really exciting. First I put some fish and other aquatic creatures into the ponds and I also brought some birds into the enclosure. Then on the following day I introduced some land animals into the enclosure. At this point, the whole thing was almost finished, except for one thing. It had always been my intention to get my son to look after the enclosure, and so the last thing I did was to show him what I had made, telling him that it was a gift to him and giving him some quite specific instructions as to how I wanted him to perform the task of looking after it. You perhaps won’t be surprised to hear that at the end of all that I took the next day off and had a well-earned rest. Surveying all that I had done, I can honestly say that I was extremely pleased with the way things had turned out. The whole thing had taken me a total of 24 years from start to finish, but it was well worth it. ***** “Now hang on a second. Did you just say 24 years?” “Yes, that’s right, 24 years.” “But from what you said above, it sounded like the whole thing took you six days with one day of rest at the end.” “Yes, it did sound like that, didn’t it? But if I told you that one day is as four years to me, would that begin to make a little more sense?” ***** Well no it wouldn’t, but hopefully you’ve got the point by now. The time frame above clearly cannot be stretched out from six days of work into 24 years, yet this is essentially the position taken by those who advocate theistic evolution when they attempt to stretch the creation account in Genesis into billions of years. What I want to do in the remainder of this article is to ask whether there are any compelling reasons why we might want to engage in this particular “stretching exercise.” Why would it take so long? Sticking with the above introductory analogy, let me pose the following question: why might such a project end up taking 24 years, rather than six days? There are five possible reasons: I might actually need 24 years to complete a project because of the sheer amount of work involved (although anyone who has seen the plethora of unfinished projects in my shed might wonder whether even 24 years would be enough time). I might be impeded by one thing or another – resources, health or weather, for example. I might just be plain lazy and so somehow manage to turn a six day job into a 24 year job. I might need to take a long time in order to make sure the work is of sufficient quality. I might have some other purpose for having taken 24 years, when I could easily have done it much quicker. Now of all these possibilities apply to men, but only the last one might apply to God. Though the volume of work, unforeseen impediments, laziness and the issue of quality might be factors in the length of time it would take me to build my enclosure, all Christians would agree that none of these things would be factors for God in the creation of the Heavens and the Earth. The amount of work involved was no obstacle to God, nor could anything have impeded Him in the process. It goes without saying that laziness, whilst applying to men, does not and could not apply to God, and it also goes without saying that the quality issue is not a factor with God, and He could have produced a Universe of the same perfect quality no matter what time period He took to complete it. In other words, there was nothing whatsoever that could have prevented Him from finishing His creation in a nanosecond, six days or 13 billion years – whatever He willed to do. A reason for six days Which leaves us with only the final possibility – that of having some other purpose for taking time to finish a job. With men, it is difficult to think of a single reason why anyone, given the option of building an enclosure such as the one described above in 6 days or 24 years, would deliberately choose to do it in 24 years. That would make little sense. If a man were just as able to produce work of excellent quality, whether it took him 6 days or 24 years, why would he choose the 24-year option? Furthermore, if his purpose in creating the enclosure was because he wanted to give it to his son as a gift, wouldn’t it be odd if he deliberately chose to take 24 years to complete it rather than six days? Now someone might conceivably use this very point to question why God would have created in six days, rather than a nanosecond. After all, He could have finished it all in a nanosecond if He had wanted to. There is, however, a very good reason why this was so, since His purpose was to give the world as a gift to man to tend and keep. The six days of work and one day of rest sets a pattern for how men are to live, worship and take dominion over that gift. This is clearly seen in the reason given for keeping the 4th commandment: “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” But what good reasons exist why God might have chosen to create in 13 billion years rather than six days? If I am to take the claims of theistic evolution seriously, what I want to know is why He would have done it this way and not done it that way. Arguments for or against theistic evolution are usually discussions of whether the word "day" (Yom) must be taken literally, or what “the rocks” say, or whether evolution undermines the foundation of the gospel itself. These arguments have been covered very ably by others, but what I want to do is to come at the issue from a different angle. My question is simply this: If God could have made the Heavens and the Earth and all that in them is in six days, what arguments from Scripture and from the purposes of God are there to support the idea that He actually decided to take billions of years and evolutionary processes to do so? In other words, why would He do it like that? Bring glory to God In order to test the claims of those who affirm theistic evolution, we must begin by asking the following question: what is God’s overarching creational purpose? Revelation 4:11 supplies us with the answer to this: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created.” In other words, God’s purpose in creating all things was to bring glory and honor to himself. There are essentially two ways that God gets glory from his creation. One is from the very fact of his creation itself being wonderful and reflecting his glory. There is a sense in which even if there were not one single believer on planet Earth, the creation would still praise Him and He would still be glorified. The Psalms are particularly rich in descriptions of God’s natural order praising Him, for instance verses 3 and 4 of Psalm 148: “Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light! Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens!” But although the creation can and does praise Him, by virtue of their being glorious and reflecting His glory, is this the praise that God ultimately seeks? Imagine that Beethoven had premiered his 5th Symphony to an empty concert hall and so at the end there was complete silence. Would the lack of people to applaud the piece diminish it at all or call into question the genius of its composer? Of course not! The music is glorious regardless of whether anyone actually listens to it or applauds. In much the same way, God’s creation exalts Him and brings Him glory irrespective of whether there exists another being to acknowledge it. Days 1 to 5 of Genesis – prior to the creation of man – are all described as good. But just as Beethoven’s intention was never just to create a symphony and have it played to an empty concert hall, God’s intention was never to create the world and leave it without a creature to praise and thank Him for it. Beethoven’s 5th is great, regardless of who listens to it, but how much more glorious does the piece become when an audience is there to hear and gives a standing ovation at the end? By the same token, God’s creation is glorious, regardless of who is there to appreciate it, yet how much more is God glorified when He receives the praise of angels and men? His overarching purpose was therefore to create a being that was not only made in His own image, but also capable of and willing to give Him glory. The Westminster Shorter Catechism famously begins with the question “What is the chief end of man” and gives the answer, “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” This can be flipped on its head to become “What was God’s purpose in creating man? That He might be glorified and that man might share in His happiness.” That, in a nutshell, is why God made us and therefore why we are here. We are to reflect his glory in everything we do, we are to enjoy Him and the gifts He gives us, and we are to return praise and thanksgiving to Him in our worship. This fits perfectly into the six days of work and one day of rest worship paradigm, where the pattern for our lives is established and ordered. But how does this fit in with the paradigm given by theistic evolution? Earth made for us Theistic evolution assumes that it took billions of years for the earth to even exist, yet alone become inhabited. Yet this is at variance with Isaiah, who says that “the Lord did not create the Earth in vain,” but rather “formed it to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18). If God’s purpose for the Earth was for it to be inhabited by men, and that it would be vain not to be inhabited by them, what possible reason would He have had to leave it uninhabited for so long? Genesis 1:26-28 is clear that the whole purpose of the created order was that it was a gift for His image bearer who was to be given charge over it. If this was the purpose of God’s creation, what possible reasons would He have had to put this off for something like 13 billion years? The Scriptures plainly teach that God’s purpose for man was not only to bear and reflect his image, but also to praise him in his worship: “I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all your marvelous works” (Psalm 9:1). If this is God’s purpose for man, what possible reasons would he have had to defer receiving praise for billions of years? Deferred glory, dominion God’s purposes and His glory simply cannot be reconciled with the theistic evolution paradigm. To come back to the original analogy I used earlier, if my purpose was to create an enclosure and to give it to my son, so that he might tend it and return to give me thankfulness, in what way would I be achieving my purpose if I deliberately took 24 years to complete it when I could have finished it in six days? How then was God’s creational purpose and His glory fulfilled if he took 13 billion years and a multitude of dead animals along the way, when he could have done it all in six days and minus the carnage? Furthermore, where is man’s dignity in all of this? Psalm 8 states that man is crowned with glory and honor (Psalm 8:5). In the six day creational paradigm, it is easy to see why this is so. The Earth was made for man and given to him as a gift. He was then given responsibility for it and God “made him to have dominion over the works of his hands” (Psalm 8:6). The theistic evolution paradigm robs man of this highly exalted position for over 99% of the history of the creation, and for billions of years the Earth was apparently left to its own devices, without a dominion taker and without one bearing the Imago Dei. In conclusion, a straightforward reading of the Genesis account clearly suggests that God finished the Heavens and the Earth, including His image bearer, in a period of six days. This entirely accords with God’s purpose in creating all things – that He might receive glory and honor. The onus is therefore on those who advocate theistic evolution to show from the Scriptures and from the purposes of God why and how He would have used billions of years of slow graduated changes, without mankind to glorify Him, in order to bring this about. My contention is that theistic evolution is not only incompatible with the straightforward Genesis narrative, it also misses the entire purpose God had for His creation. As far as theories go, it falls well short of His glory. This was originally published in the July/August 2013 issue under the title “Why would He do it like that?”...

Theology

The pursuit of wisdom: do it ‘til you die

Some might assume that, as they grow older, they will grow in wisdom. But the Bible tells us that’s hardly a given. One of the themes of the book of Proverbs is that wisdom is something that has to be pursued. We can see this in three of the characters we are introduced to in Proverbs. One of these characters is “the righteous” – humble and actively seeking out God’s wisdom. The wicked, on the other hand, are proud, and in their selfish ambition they are active too, but actively seeking out folly. They get into trouble because they are looking for it. But perhaps it is the third character who should most interest us. This third sort is also seeking folly…but not actively. In a sense he finds folly only because he isn’t seeking wisdom. He is the sluggard. So both the wicked and the righteous go out and make choices – they choose between wisdom and folly. The sluggard? He just stays home. And folly finds him. Between wicked and wise That’s why the sluggard is encouraged to stir. We find him in Proverbs 6 being told: “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Observe her ways and become wise.” The ant doesn’t have somebody telling her what to do. She acts on her own initiative. She goes out and finds a job, so that she may learn her trade. The sluggard needs to get up out of his bed and learn from the ant. The author of this proverb wants to encourage his readers in godly ambition. Then again, in Proverbs 26:13 and onward, we see a warning against sloth. Here the sluggard cries out, “There is a lion in the streets.” The sluggard makes excuses for himself, for why he just wants to stay home. He won’t risk any effort. Again, we see the need for godly ambition. We can’t be afraid of risks when we go out into the world. We have to be wise and prudent in our actions, but if we live in fear of what might happen, we will never find the prize. The reward will be gone. Christians have no excuse for sitting around and waiting; we have no excuse for endless leisure time. We either have to go out and seek wisdom, or we will lose it. Then we’ll become the fool, fearing even imaginary lions. And ultimately, we will lose the Wisdom of God; Jesus Christ. We are all called to that search for wisdom in so far as God has given us the ability to do so. Wisdom put to use Wisdom, in our passages, is the ability to discern between to choices. Practically speaking, wisdom is the means by which we make business decisions, choose a marriage partner, or make any number of other choices that come to us each day. But within Proverbs all wisdom ultimately points to the Wisdom of God, the Wisdom that God reveals in Jesus Christ and the Wisdom by which God made the world. He is the one who holds the universe together. We can distinguish between practical wisdom and the Wisdom of God in Proverbs, but they cannot truly be separated. If we do not seek wisdom, we ultimately lose the Wisdom of God; Jesus Christ. We are all called to that search for wisdom in so far as God has given us the ability to do so. So one of the messages of proverbs is, “get up, get out and find wisdom.” Search then. Seek out the wisdom of the universe. We need to have the attitude of the man Jesus speaks of in the parable of the pearl of great price. This man sells everything in order to find what is most precious; the kingdom of God. Search for the Wisdom; Christ. That is a life-long search, a life-long desire, for those who have found him. Do not cease from scouring the Scriptures. Do not cease from praying for understanding. Search until God gives you the fullness of eternal life and rest with Him. This article was originally published in the Sept/Oct 2017 issue of the magazine. ...

In a Nutshell

Tidbits – April 2026

Some is better than none “There is nothing wrong with starting a hefty book like Calvin’s Institutes and only getting a hundred pages read. Think what the Church today would be like if we all read the first hundred pages of Calvin.” – Ben House What kind of impact will you have? Whether it is municipal, provincial, or federal, there always seems to be an election just around the corner and Tim Bloedow’s way to influence these elections is worth considering. Some years ago he passed on a strategy he’d gleaned from one Dr. Glenn Martin. The professor was convinced that every serious Christian should try to influence the vote of at least 100 people. He himself wasn’t satisfied unless he attempted to influence at least 1,000. This was back before social media was much of a thing, so he would write these 1,000 people and tell them how they should vote and why. We’ve got more means now than he did then, so this next election can we have that kind of impact? A brief rebuttal of post-modernism “Some of you may believe that you cannot discover Truth. If this is true, you have actually discovered a truth. You might as well continue searching for more.” - Thor Ramsey, A Comedian’s Guide to Theology How much do our children owe? Parents try to leave their children with an inheritance, not debt (Prov. 13:22), but Canada continues to debt-finance their federal and provincial government budgets. They spend money they don’t have to pay for promises made to this present generation. But while this generation gets more than they paid for, the next generations will be saddled with paying off the more than $2.3 trillion combined debt of our federal and provincial governments. Individually what we owe differs some, depending on what province we live in, but according to the Fraser Institute, even in Alberta it amounts to $41,000 per person, and it rises to nearly $69,000 per Newfoundlander. So what’s a billion… or a trillion? When our debt is in trillions that’s pretty hard to fathom. So let’s start with a smaller number and see if we can wrap our heads around it. Just how much then, is one billion? Well… • A North American’s average age expectancy is 2-3 billion seconds • A billion liters would fill 400 Olympic-size swimming pools • 170 African bull elephants weigh the equivalent of one billion grams • A bit over one billion minutes ago Jesus walked the Earth And what’s a trillion? Dr. D. James Kennedy did an interesting bit of calculating in his book The Mortgaging of America. He notes that, “if you had gone into business when Jesus Christ was born – a business that was so unprofitable that… you lost a million dollars a day, seven days a week, it would still take you 700 more years from today to lose a trillion dollars.” The log in our own eye When the London Times asked notable personalities across Britain to write on what they thought was wrong with the world, they purportedly got this response from author G.K. Chesterton: “Dear Sirs, I am. Yours truly, G.K. Chesterton.” Fcat or foitcin? An email mkanig its way ronud the Ietrnent calims: It deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are. The olny iprmotnant tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it woutiht a porbelm. Tish is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed eervy ltteer by istelf, but the wrod as a wohle. Azamnig, huh? But is it ture? Yes and no. Lsat lteerts are irtomanpt but wehn the wdros we raed are lses flaimiar or qtiue lhtgney or rbleemse oehetr wdors it bmoeecs duicflift to urnneadtsd eevn wtih frsit and lsat lterets paceld ctlrcroey. Parental dictionary If words were defined just for parents: bathroom: used by the entire family, believed by all except mom to be self-cleaning feedback: what you get when your baby doesn't appreciate dinner grandparents: people who think your children are wonderful even though they're not sure you're raising them right independent: how we want our children to be, as long as they do everything we say ow: the first word spoken by children with older siblings puddle: a small body of water that draws other small bodies, wearing dry shoes, into it show-off: a child more talented than your own sterilize: done to your first baby's pacifier by boiling it and your last baby's pacifier by blowing on it sweater: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly top bunk: bed where you should never put a child wearing Superman pajamas Some choices are wicked When American abortionist George Tiller was murdered in 2009, pro-life leaders knew that whatever they said in response would be misinterpreted by the media. That left most too cautious to speak out, but it pushed columnist Ann Coulter to do so. In an interview with Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly she talked about the murder using rhetoric that pro-abortionists use to justify killing the unborn. She started by telling O’Reilly that she didn’t like thinking of Tiller’s death as murder, preferring instead to call it “terminating Tiller in the 203rd trimester.” O’Reilly, misunderstanding what Coulter was doing, started to protest, which prompted Coulter to take it further, putting a twist on another well-known bit of abortion rhetoric. “I am personally opposed to shooting abortionists,” she told O’Reilly, “but I don't want to impose my moral values on others.” Putting her own spin on a best-selling pro-abortion bumper sticker she told viewers, “If you don't believe in shooting abortionists, then don't shoot an abortionist.” When abortionists bring up issues like “privacy,” “choice,” or “imposing morality” on others, they’re trying to evade the only relevant issue in the abortion debate: are the unborn human beings? If they aren’t, then no one should object to abortion; if they are, then everyone should! But instead of arguing this issue, abortionists avoid the debate entirely using slogans that assume what they are trying to prove – that the unborn aren’t human. Coulter exposed this evasion by showing how their slogans make no sense when applied to an acknowledged human being, abortionist George Tiller. Seamus Coughlin attacks the "personally opposed" evasion in the video below (which is cartoon, so some of the brutal is taken away, but it still should not be watched with kids around). ...

Assorted

When there is smoke…

You think you know someone. Five years – truly, has it already been five years that we have spent morning, noon and night working side by side? H...

Science - General

Wild about beetles

From a young age some people are fascinated by beetles. For example, English author A. A. Milne wrote a delightful poem concerning a boy and his pet. ...

Economics, People we should know

Friedrich Hayek (1899-1992) showed us that free enterprise is necessary for freedom

Politics

5 ways God’s providence should impact how we approach politics

Being the Church

Retirement: What are you retiring from? What are you retiring to?

After a life-time of experience, it’s time to simply “exhale” ***** “Retirement is unbiblical,” she told me, her fist firmly pounding her desk. Alice had been the company bookkeeper for about 50 years. She lived and breathed the daily routine, and now that she was approaching 80, she was reluctant to give it up. She believed that if she ever retired, she’d probably just pass away within a few months. Her work defined her. Retirement conjures up a wide variety of emotions and ideas: anticipation, excitement, perpetual vacation, travel. But also anxiety, apprehension, and a loss of purpose. The closest that the Bible comes to mentioning retirement is in Numbers 8:25: "At the age of 50, they (the Levites) must retire from their regular service and work no longer. They may assist their brothers in performing their duties ...but they themselves must not do the work." Work even in Paradise But it’s worthwhile to go back even further, to the beginning of Genesis to determine that work isn’t the result of sin but it’s part of God’s creation order. In fact, our very first image of God “in the beginning” is a God of work; creating the universe, creating day and night, plants and animals, mankind. “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested (ceased) from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” (Gen. 2:2) After God created Adam, He put him to work: pick fruit, tend the garden, and give names to each living creature. Work is part of the creation order. “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” There is delight in work. Work is also worship. It is how we use our God-given talents each day in God’s Kingdom. It is only once we understand the value and the role of work that we can understand the value and the role of retirement. Is it true that, as that desk-pounding retiree declared, “retirement is unbiblical” …perhaps with the exception of the Levites who had to pack it in at age 50? Time to reflect The notion of retirement is a fairly recent phenomenon. The Canada Pension Plan was created in 1965, setting the retirement age at 65. Interestingly, the life expectancy back then was 66.8 years for men and 73 for women. That’s not much of a retirement. Today, someone at age 65 can expect to live to age 90; that’s another 25 years! We’re living longer and staying healthy longer. What do we do with all that time? There’s the rub. As you approach your retirement – probably somewhere between the age of 65 and 75 – consider taking a sabbatical; a few months off. Maybe even a year. Rest, relax, travel, visit the kids, do a few of the things that you've always wanted to do. But before boredom sets in, before you spend endless hours in your deck chair or riding around on a golf cart, you need to spend some valuable time reflecting on your life, focusing on your areas of expertise, knowledge and wisdom. It’s also important to spend considerable time in prayer, realizing how God has led you throughout your life, and to be open to His leading during this next chapter in your life. Pull out your latest resume or CV and reflect upon all that you have done: your various jobs – good and bad, your career challenges. Create a list of the areas of expertise that you have developed over the years. That could be a brief list or it could evolve into a novel. Your history will shape your future. What you have done, and accomplished, and even failed at, will help you determine how you can share your experiences with others. Time to share You have learned a lot and done a lot in your life. Now it’s time to share it with others; especially teaching and training and mentoring the next generation. When our oldest daughter began her new career as a teacher after graduating from college, she was clearly nervous. I told her that, after all of those years of education and training, she simply had to “learn to exhale.” Just breathe all of that knowledge over those children. That’s what retirement can become for you. After decades of learning, doing and experiencing life, it is now time to simply “exhale”; breathe all of your knowledge over younger men and women as they shape their careers. There is, however, something even more important to share with others. It’s your spiritual journey. It’s about how God has shaped you and molded you and walked with you throughout your life. Tell them your story. It’s invaluable. As you mentor and train others, teach them your Christian perspective on leadership, on stewardship, on the right way to treat employees. Teach young men and women the importance of work/family balance. Remind them that their treasure is in heaven, not in the accumulation of wealth or toys or real estate. Most of us can expect to live 20 to 30 years after we reach retirement age. That's an entire career! Prayerfully take a sabbatical to determine where God wants you to serve next and who you should be mentoring. Then approach this new chapter in your life with the same zeal that you had in your former career. Except that now you will have the benefit of wisdom and experience. More importantly, you will have the benefit of walking with God throughout your life, feeling His presence as you made those thousands of good and bad decisions. It’s time to exhale. A version of this article first appeared in “Faith Today” magazine....

History

The case against the draft

Why no State has the right to take what belongs to Christ ***** Across the Western world, military recruiting is sputtering. In 2022 and 2023, the United States Army missed its enlistment targets by tens of thousands, prompting emergency bonuses and lowered entry standards. In Berlin, after declaring a “turning-point” rearmament, the government now admits its Bundeswehr is so understaffed that legislation to reinstate compulsory service may be introduced as early as next year. And in The Hague, Dutch defence planners warn that Swedish-style selective conscription may be the only path to their target of 200,000 active and reserve personnel. When volunteerism fails, governments reach for the oldest lever in the toolbox: obligation. Whether it’s described as a shared burden, a civic duty, or a matter of national survival, the reality is the same: someone will be compelled to serve. And not just in times of war. In Canada, calls for mandatory national service are growing—not to defend the nation, but to shape it. A 2024 article in The Hub, a generally conservative publication, argued for conscription as a peacetime tool to bolster civic unity and “career preparedness.” The idea is that young adults should be required to serve the government for one or two years – perhaps in the military, or in civil programs – because it would make them more employable, more mature, and more engaged citizens. In effect, conscription becomes a finishing school for State-formed adulthood.1 One national survey showed that half of Canadians would support mandatory national service.2 Some might argue that national service could build character or instill discipline, offering young adults structure in a time of cultural drift. But the deeper question is this: under whose direction will that discipline unfold? In a nation that funds the killing of the unborn and the elderly, that redefines the family under the influence of radical sexual ideologies and then silences dissent in the name of inclusion, can we entrust our sons and daughters to mandatory programs of moral formation? What kind of conscience formation can we expect from a State that denies the image of God? The same applies to military service. In 2011, Canada joined in the NATO bombing of Libya – it was a campaign that helped destabilize an entire region. Should a Christian be compelled to fight in such a conflict, even if he cannot in good faith regard it as just? These are not hypotheticals. They are the practical consequence of giving the State dominion over the body and the conscience. For Christians, this renewed talk of conscription demands moral clarity. The draft is not merely a regrettable policy choice – it is, in most forms, a theological offense. Whatever name it takes – universal call-up, selective lottery, or “national service” – compulsory service often claims the body and conscience of the individual in a way that only Christ may rightfully claim. This is not to deny that civil government bears the sword (Rom. 13), or that, in times of extraordinary peril, it may call its citizens to take up arms in defense of the innocent. But even then, the State may not rule the conscience. It must still respect the individual’s accountability before God. When the draft is imposed without regard for faith, vocation, or moral conviction, it ceases to be an act of justice and becomes a form of spiritual seizure. It commands not just action, but allegiance. And that is no longer civil authority – it is idolatry. It wasn’t even needed in WWII Canadian soldiers playing with Dutch children, 1945: During World War II, approximately ten percent of the population served in the military. Of the more than 1 million personal, just 13,000 conscripts had been sent overseas by wars’ end, and of those less than 2,500 actually made it to the front lines before Germany surrendered(Photo by Private Floyd Watkins, Canadian Scottish Regiment, Nijmegen, Fall 1945, and is used under CC 1.0 Public Domain dedication) But what about the draft for World War II. Wasn’t that a good thing? It’s true that many draftees served bravely in World War II, and yes, we owe them respect. In Canada, however, conscription was politically explosive, and conscripted soldiers only started being sent overseas in 1944, after a plebiscite. Just 12,900 conscripts in all were sent overseas – barely one percent of Canada’s wartime force. The vast majority of Canadian soldiers in WWII volunteered. This undermines the claim that victory required forced service. When the cause was seen as just, free men responded. If free men will not fight, that is a referendum on the cause and the leadership. You are not your own – so the State cannot own you “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:19–20). Paul wrote these words to address sexual ethics, but the theological truth reaches further: the body of a believer belongs to Christ, not to any earthly power. That ownership has sweeping implications. When a government claims the authority to compel military service – disregarding conscience or conviction – it denies that Christ is Lord over the whole person. It effectively declares: “Your life is ours. You will serve, fight, kill, or die… because we command it.” Conscription reduces image-bearers to instruments. It treats men and women not as persons with moral agency and dignity, but as the raw material of State ambition. The citizen is no longer someone to serve, protect, or persuade, but someone to use. Yes, Scripture affirms that governments are instituted by God (Rom. 13). But never as gods. Earthly authority is real, but always bounded by God’s higher claim. When the State begins to treat citizens as its property, overriding conscience and laying claim to their bodies, it crosses a sacred line. In such cases, patriotism can become a form of idolatry. We see this clearly in regimes like North Korea, where the State claims total control. But what if the same violation of conscience and ownership is happening quietly, legally, and patriotically, and for just two years at a time, right here at home? Forced service violates both sacrifice and conscience History bears witness to believers who have fought with honor and integrity, even laying down their lives. But Scripture insists that every true offering – whether of time, money, or life – must be freely given. The problem with conscription is not that it calls men to defend what may be right, but that it demands such service by coercion. It does not persuade the conscience; it overrides it. It removes space for discernment, prayer, and conviction, and replaces it with mandate, penalty, and shame. This is more than a problem of method; it is a violation of moral authority. Conscription does not ask whether a prospective soldier, before God, can judge the war just. It simply commands. If he hesitates – still weighing Scripture, justice, or prudence – it threatens him with fines, prison, or public disgrace. Reformed theology has long upheld the sanctity of conscience under Christ. As the Belgic Confession teaches, we obey civil authorities “in all things which do not disagree with the Word of God” (Art. 36). But when the State demands what conscience forbids – compelling a believer to fight in a war he cannot, in good faith, regard as just – then obedience to God must take precedence. As Paul writes, “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). Righteousness cannot be manufactured by threat of punishment. Forced sacrifice is not virtue but violation. It flows from fear, not faith – from State power, not spiritual freedom. In such cases, resistance is not rebellion. It is fidelity to a higher law: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). The litmus test of statist idolatry How can one tell when the State has become an idol? One simple test suffices: Does it claim the right to your life? Not merely your taxes or your labor, but your very blood? When a government asserts the power to compel its citizens to fight, kill, or die – regardless of conscience – it declares that the preservation or ambition of the political order outweighs the vocation and spiritual integrity of the individual. It elevates the needs of the State above the authority of God. History shows where this logic leads. In its extreme forms, totalitarian regimes have demanded absolute allegiance – even human lives – for the sake of national survival or ideological purity. Think of China’s one-child policy, or the atrocities committed by the Soviet Union against non-compliant citizens. Conscription may appear more restrained, but it rests on the same premise: that the individual belongs to the State, and may be spent for its ends. True defense must be free The moral and theological case is clear. But even on practical grounds, coercion signals weakness, not strength. A nation that must force its citizens to defend it has already lost something deeper than territory – it has lost trust. Advocates of conscription argue that emergencies demand drastic measures. If the nation is under threat, they ask, how else shall we defend ourselves? But a society worth defending will inspire its citizens to defend it freely. If the cause is just – and the leadership trustworthy – free men will step forward. If they do not, that failure is not a crisis of manpower, but a verdict on the moral authority of the State. To preserve liberty by destroying the citizen’s most basic liberty – obedience of conscience to God – is a contradiction. A nation may survive military defeat. It cannot survive the spiritual surrender the draft requires. One Lord of life and death Ultimately, the question is stark: Who has authority over life and death? Scripture teaches that civil government, under God, bears the sword to punish evil and protect the innocent (Rom. 13). In this sense, the State holds real – but limited – authority in matters of justice and defense. But that authority is never absolute. It is the authority to restrain evil, not to claim ownership of a person’s body or to override his conscience before God. When the State demands unquestioning obedience – disregarding moral conviction, vocation, or faith – it crosses a sacred boundary. It begins to act not as God’s servant, but as His rival. The State may levy taxes, build roads, and punish evildoers. But it may not lay claim to what belongs to Christ alone. When it does, it trespasses on holy ground. Let the Church say so – without apology. In almost every case, the draft is evil: it denies Christ’s lordship, violates human dignity, and compels men to act against conscience. No rhetoric of crisis, no appeal to national survival, can sanctify what God has not commanded. Let the State honor the Lord of conscience. And let the Church stand firm in the freedom for which Christ has set us free, declaring with calm, unyielding faith: We belong to Christ, and not to you. End notes 1 https://thehub.ca/2024/07/24/scott-stirrett-the-time-has-come-for-mandatory-national-service-for-young-canadians/ 2 https://www.timescolonist.com/economy-law-politics/half-of-canadians-support-mandatory-national-service-survey-reveals-9434252...

Assorted

The conceited apple-branch: a Romans 12:3-8 fable?

Was Hans Christian Andersen thinking of Romans 12:3-8 when he wrote this? Perhaps not…. but he could have been. ***** It was the month of May. The wind still blew cold, but from bush and tree, field and flower, came the whisper “Spring has come.” Wildflowers covered the hedges, and under one little apple-tree, Spring seemed especially busy, telling his tale to one of the branches which hung fresh and blooming, and covered with delicate pink blossoms that were just ready to open. Now the branch knew well how beautiful it was – this knowledge exists as much in the leaf as in our blood. I was not surprised when a nobleman’s carriage, in which sat a young countess, stopped in the road right by. She said that an apple-branch was a most lovely object, and an example of spring at its most charming its most charming. Then the branch was broken off for her, and she held it in her delicate hand, and sheltered it with her silk parasol. Then they drove to the castle, in which were lofty halls and splendid rooms. Pure white curtains fluttered in every open window, and beautiful flowers stood in shining, transparent vases. In one of them, which looked as if it had been cut out of newly fallen snow, the apple-branch was placed, among some fresh, light twigs of beech. It was a charming sight. Then the branch became proud, which was very much like human nature. People of every description entered the room, and expressed their admiration. Some said nothing, others expressed too much, and the apple-branch very soon came to understand that there was as much difference in the characters of human beings as in those of plants and flowers. Some are all for pomp and parade, others are busy trying to maintain their own importance, while the rest might not be noticed at all. So, thought the apple-branch, as he stood before the open window, from which he could see out over gardens and fields where there were flowers and plants enough for him to think and reflect upon, it is the way of things that some are rich and beautiful, some poor and humble. “Poor, despised herbs,” said the apple-branch, “there is really a difference between them and one such as I. How unhappy they must be, if that sort can even feel as those in my position do! There is a difference indeed, and so there ought to be, or we should all be equals.” And the apple-branch looked with a sort of pity upon them, especially on a certain little flower that is found in fields and in ditches. No one gathered these flowers together in a bouquet; they were too common. They were even known to grow between the paving stones, shooting up everywhere, like bad weeds, and they bore the very ugly name of “dog-flowers” or “dandelions.” “Poor, despised plants,” said the apple-bough again, “it is not your fault that you are so ugly, and that you have such an ugly name. But it is with plants as with men, – there must be a difference.” “A difference?” cried the sunbeam, as he kissed the blooming apple-branch, and then kissed the yellow dandelion out in the fields. All were brothers, and the sunbeam kissed them all – the poor flowers as well as the rich. The apple-bough had never considered the extent of God’s love, which reaches out over all of creation, over every creature and plant and thing which lives, and moves, and has its being in Him. The apple-bough had never thought of the good and beautiful which are so often hidden, but can never remain forgotten by Him – not only among the lower creation, but also among men. However, the sunbeam, the ray of light, knew better. “You do not see very far, nor very clearly,” he said to the apple-branch. “Which is the despised plant you so specially pity?” “The dandelion,” he replied. “No one ever gathers it into bouquets; it is often trodden under foot, there are so many of them; and when they run to seed, they have flowers like wool, which fly away in little pieces over the roads, and cling to the dresses of the people. They are only weeds. But of course there must be weeds. Oh, I am really very thankful that I was not made like one of these flowers.” Soon after a group of children came to the fields, the youngest of whom was so small that he had to be carried by the others. And when he was seated on the grass, among the yellow flowers, he laughed aloud with joy, kicking out his little legs, rolling about, plucking the yellow flowers, and kissing them in childlike innocence. The older children broke off the flowers with long stems, bent the stalks one round the other, to form links, and made first a chain for the neck, then one to go across the shoulders and hang down to the waist, and at last a wreath to wear round the head. They all looked quite splendid in their garlands of green stems and golden flowers. It was then that the oldest among them carefully gathered the faded flowers – those that were going to seed in the form of a white feathery crown. These loose, airy wool-flowers are very beautiful, and look like fine snowy feathers or down. The children held them to their mouths, and tried to blow away the whole crown with one puff of their breath. “Do you see?” said the sunbeam, “Do you see the beauty of these flowers? Do you see their powers of giving pleasure?” “Yes, to children,” scoffed the apple-bough. By-and-by an old woman came into the field, and, with a blunt knife, began to dig round the roots of some of the dandelion-plants, and pull them up. With some of these she intended to make tea for herself, but the rest she was going to sell to the chemist, and obtain some money. “But beauty is of higher value than all this,” said the apple-tree branch; “only the chosen ones can be admitted into the realms of the beautiful. There is a difference between plants, just as there is a difference between men.” Then the sunbeam spoke of the abundant love of God, as seen in creation, and seen over all that lives, and of the distribution of His gifts to all. “That is your opinion,” said the apple-bough. Then some people came into the room, and, among them, the young countess – the lady who had placed the apple-bough in the transparent vase, so pleasantly beneath the rays of the sunlight. She carried in her hand something that seemed like a flower. The object was hidden by two or three great leaves, which covered it like a shield, so that no draft or gust of wind could injure it. And it was carried more carefully than the apple-branch had ever been. Very cautiously the large leaves were removed, and there appeared the feathery seed-crown of the despised dandelion. This was what the lady had so carefully plucked, and carried home so safely covered, so that not one of the delicate feathery arrows of which its mist-like shape was so lightly formed, should flutter away. She now drew it forth quite uninjured, and wondered at its beautiful form, and airy lightness, and singular construction, so soon to be blown away by the wind. “See,” she exclaimed, “how wonderfully God has made this little flower. I will paint it with the apple-branch together. Every one admires the beauty of the apple-bough; but this humble flower has been endowed by Heaven with another kind of loveliness; and although they differ in appearance, both are the children of the realms of beauty.” Then the sunbeam kissed the lowly flower, and he kissed the blooming apple-branch, upon whose leaves appeared a rosy blush. This article was originally published in the May/June 2028 issue of the magazine. This is a lightly modified/modernized version of Andersen's “The Conceited Apple-Branch.” ...

News

Health-adjusted life expectancy plummets

Canadians can expect 3.5 fewer years of good health compared to a decade ago, according to recent data published by Statistics Canada. Life expectancy has increased steadily in Canada and throughout the world for many decades, though with a noticeable dip around the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. But it is one thing to live longer, and another to live healthier. The Statistics Canada report examined health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE), a measure of the number of years in good health an individual is expected to live. Comparing the period of 2000-2002 to 2010-2012, HALE increased by nearly two years, to 70.4. But fast-forward a decade later to 2023, and HALE has dropped to 66.9 years, erasing the gains from the previous decades. Factors that contribute to the drop include the thousands of annual deaths from drug overdoses, increased mental health challenges, increased obesity, more misuse of drugs and alcohol, and a strained healthcare system. Although other countries also experienced a drop, it wasn’t as significant. The World Health Organization reported a 1.6 year decrease for HALE during and after the pandemic internationally. And although Canada ranked 5th in the world in life expectancy in 1990, our ranking has plummeted to 25th today. The Statistics Canada study noted that Canadian females have a life expectancy of 84 years and a HALE of 67.7 years, while males have a life expectancy of 79.6 years and a HALE of 66.4 years. Scripture makes it evident that God sovereignly determines how many days we live (Ps. 139:16) and is the One who gives us health or takes it away (Jer. 30:17, Ps. 103:3). We also learn from passages like Proverbs 3:1-2 (“keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity”) that walking in line with God’s Word is good not just for our spiritual health but also our mental and physical health. This correlates with studies that find that those who regularly attend religious services live about four years longer than average and have a much lower (up to 33 percent less) risk of death at any given moment....

Assorted

A crowd can make you crazy

Crowds are scary. Many of the stupid, foolish and sinful things we do involve a crowd, even if the crowd is just one or two other people. Examples:...

Assorted

How to plan for your next chapter as a senior

By the year 2030, one in four Canadians will be over the age of 65. In my role as the CEO of two seniors’ living centers in Edmonton, I’m seeing h...

In a Nutshell

Tidbits – March 2026

Still true in some places… Johan had left Edmonton to go up northward, near Neerlandia, for a bit of skydiving. Late Sunday evening he was found in...

Assorted

The slippery slope is real

Some weeks ago I wrote a piece about a San Francisco pastor, Fred Harrell, who had recently attacked the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement. ...

Culture Clashes

When sports is an idol

Eric Liddell showed how Christians should do sports differently ***** In July 1924, Scottish sprinter Eric Liddell refused to race in the qualifying heat of the Olympic 100-meter competition. A devout Presbyterian, Liddell had been heavily favored to win the event’s gold medal. When schedule-makers placed the qualifying heat on a Sunday, however, Liddell resigned from the competition rather than violate his conscience by competing on the Lord’s Day. Liddell’s story has been honored for over 100 years through biographies, children’s books, and the blockbuster movie Chariots of Fire. For Christians, Liddell is a model of godly participation in sports, a demonstration that playing and watching sports may bring glory to God when contained by self-control. Sunday as sports day The challenges Liddell faced, however, have not disappeared in the modern context. Today, youth sports fill up Sunday morning after Sunday morning in the calendars of many Canadian families, impeding church attendance and implicitly inculcating an alternate-catechism. Sunday is also the preferred day for many major televised sporting events including the Super Bowl, the Olympic gold medal hockey game, and the World Cup Final – in addition to standard NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, and CFL broadcasts. A day designed for lasting spiritual benefit has become a feast day for temporary entertainment. Some benefit Scripture affirms that bodily training – including involvement in sports – is of some benefit. However, when this temporary benefit hinders growth in holiness, the Christian should lay aside such a hindrance. Of course, Christians must also avoid the trap of gnosticism, the ancient heresy which taught that the material world, including the body, is inherently evil. Against this, the early Church asserted that the incarnation and resurrection of Christ proves the inherent goodness of the body as designed by God – every human being has a body that is designed by God and must be respected rather than ignored. Paul tells the Corinthians “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31), giving spiritual worth to the regular care of the body. Participation in sports, then, may glorify God by exemplifying stewardship of the body, and valorizing the self-control which marks high-level athletes. This is affirmed by Paul himself when he tells Timothy that “while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Tim. 4:8). The “some value” of bodily training may be incurred through direct participation or by watching professional athletes compete at the highest level – giving cause to rejoice in the creative wonder of God. These benefits, however, are only applicable to the heart of a God-worshipper. When our human bodies are offered as sacrifices to self rather than “living sacrifices” to God, the temporary benefit dissipates and instead becomes a hindrance – a distraction from the eternal benefit of holiness. A rival religion The temporal must always serve the eternal. If what is temporal, fleeting away, and quickly aging is honored as the ultimate prize of life, then bodily training is of very little value. If, however, the body is disciplined for action in service to God, there is great value in sport. By contrast, the world often presents sports as a rival religion to Christianity. Fans congregate together, watch repeatedly, spend money, make pilgrimages, and speak constantly of their favorite teams. This rival religiosity is reflected in the habits of Canadian families. In addition to exorbitant costs, families are often required to travel long distances for extended periods of time for children’s sports. Perhaps more alarmingly, avid sports fans spend countless hours consuming sports-related content on TV, social media, and audio platforms. Increasingly, the cost of lost time is conjoined with the cost of squandered wealth as recently-legalized sports gambling leads to dramatic increases in the number of individuals reporting sports gambling-related addiction and financial crises. There’s plenty of reasons, then, to want to topple this growing idol. Whose glory? So how should Christians respond to a sports-obsessed world without becoming modern gnostics? Here, the example of Eric Liddell is helpful. Eric Liddell invested a significant amount of time into training. He endured pain, studied other athletes, rose early, and traveled far distances to compete. Yet he did so to the glory of God. When faced with the choice to glorify himself or to present his body as a living sacrifice by keeping God’s law, Liddell did not hesitate – a decision that baffled onlookers. Eric Liddell understood that physical training was of “some value” but, more fundamentally, he understood that godliness is of eternal value. Liddell flourished as a Christian in sport because he did not worship sport. Sport, instead, was for him a means by which he could present his body as a living sacrifice. In later life, Liddell became a missionary to China, pouring out his life for the sake of lost souls in a foreign nation that knew little of his athletic achievements. Ultimately, Liddell would die in that country, having become sick in a Japanese concentration camp during the Second World War. The youth he served inside the camp reported his last words: “It's complete surrender.” Liddell died as he had lived: in obedience to the Master who was able to deliver eternal godliness to his soul, far beyond the “some value” of bodily training. Even as Liddell’s once athletically unmatched body began to fade, his eternal godliness and joy – which his sporting career helped cultivate – became stronger and stronger. Today, the location of the gold medal sacrificed by Eric Liddell and won by Harold Abrahams is unknown. Liddell, however, is seated with Christ on high – having received the reward of his total surrender. And his body – trained by godliness – will soon be raised to immortality. Though his medals are corroding and will one day be consumed by fire, his eternal reward is everlasting. With Liddell as an example, Christians should play and watch sports as if it holds some value, all the while remembering that godliness is of eternal value. Josh Senneker is a Christian political operative from Southern Alberta. He grew up playing Little League baseball and cheering for his two favorite hockey teams: the Calgary Flames and whoever is playing the Edmonton Oilers....

Marriage, Parenting

Three questions for you

Here are three questions you should ask yourself about your communication with those you love. The way you answer these questions provides insight into the areas where your conversations must grow in depth and in maturity. 1) Do your spouse and your children have confidence that they will be able to say all that is on their heart without fear of your response? Is your family accustomed to being cut off or being corrected before they can finish speaking? Do you interrupt because you think you know what is coming? If this is your pattern you are building relational barriers that are difficult to overcome. Those closest to you need to be able to express what is on their hearts so that you can know how to lovingly and wisely engage them to bring truth and healing to your lives. See Proverbs 18:13 and James 1:19-20. 2) Are you an advocate or an accuser in your daily communication? Do your words create safety or anxiety for your spouse and children? If you love the way Christ has loved you, you will want to be a refuge and a place of safety for your family. Your goal is to point those you love to Christ, not to condemn them by reminding them how wrong they are. See Ephesians 4:31 and Proverbs 16:20-24. 3) Are you able to pray with your spouse about areas in your walk with God where you need to grow? It is relatively easy to pray to ask God to help your marriage partner. Don’t be tripped up by your own pride — invite your husband or wife to pray for you in the areas where you need help. See Ephesians 4:31-32. This article was first published in the July/August 2018 issue of the magazine. Jay Younts is the author of “Everyday Talk: Talking freely and Naturally about God with Your Children” and “Everyday Talk about Sex & Marriage.” He blogs at ShepherdPress.com, where this article (reprinted with permission) first appeared....

Bricks2026, Contests

CAN YOU BUILD IT BETTER?
– the brick-building contest results!

We had another wonderful response to our brick-building contest. We asked whether entrants could think of “things that aren’t but should be” – we wanted to see if they could “build it better” and more than 200 entrants said that yes, they could. We had all sorts of cars and trucks and motorhomes and tractors that could drive, and fly or float, turn garbage into tires or rocket right across the ocean at 28,000 km/hr (and, if you weren’t careful, they might even sting you!). In a “great minds think alike” moment, two entrants designed creative alarm clocks that used a teapot and a coffee pot to motivate a sleepy sort to get up now! And if you don’t like coffee or tea? There was a hot chocolate machine too! Some of the submissions were enormous like a plane that was 6 feet, 7 inches long, and a robot that people can go inside of. There were also a number of major appliances reinvented – dishwashers, dryers, and washing machines that had been upgraded to be even more automatic. And let’s not forget some fantastic homes – an apartment building that includes a smooth bar, a house on wheels, one that flies, and who wouldn’t want to live in a castle? There were also some entries that were powered and functional – like a tractor that could distribute Mentos, and a bulldozer of sorts that can collect all the LEGO that gets kicked under your couches. It was clear once again that our readers are a creative lot. While a picture can be worth a thousand words, in this case you have to check out the videos. Be sure to check out our YouTube playlist to go see the winners and the honorees give you a tour of their creation. The inventiveness on display is sure to spawn even more. Do you want to encourage your kids’ creativity? Watch these videos with the whole family and you won’t be able to stop your littles (and maybe your bigs too) from pulling out your LEGOs. That family fun is a big part of the reason we’ve enjoyed this contest. Our kids are growing up with screens all around them, and we need to help them fight the pull to distraction. And when hundreds of parents and kids do something constructive and creative instead, we’re experiencing the joy of doing what God made us to do – we are glorifying Him in time spent in communion, and glorifying Him too, by reflecting just a bit of His creativity. ***** Adults 18+ WINNER Colin Van Manen – Samurai sword mech Built entirely out of extra grey pieces, complete with a sword, a jetpack, a face mask, fully-functioning and posable parts… and with a pilot seat for the driver because it’s a better commute than a car, right? HONORABLE MENTION Felicity Tamminga – Washer/dryer one-basket system Imagine if you had a special laundry basket that could just be dropped right into your washing machine, and then, when the wash is done, lifted out and slotted right into your dryer – no hauling each piece out one by one! 14-17-years-old WINNER Jeremy, 15 – Tea pot alarm clock Have you ever slept through your alarm? That won’t happen with this upgrade – instead of just a sound, this one tips a teapot over to pour water on sleeping you. To add to the cleverness, the interior of the clock is a model bedroom, complete with bed, sleeper, and tiny teapot alarm clock! HONORABLE MENTIONS Everett, 14 – Technic crane This is a functional, motorized crane that works via a remote control. It’s just downright impressive! Charlotte, 14 – The ultimate motorhome! It’s got 3, count them, 3 bumpouts, a cat condo, bathtub, fireplace, solar panels, and all the storage you’d ever need. Gerred, 17 – Avro Arrow CF-105 This is what should have been – but wasn’t – if Canada, under Prime Minister Diefenbaker, hadn’t scrapped the Avro Arrow. Everyone loves a good history lesson with their build, right? It includes air defense systems with nuclear-armed missiles and functional landing gear and is just a really cleanly built plane. 10-13-years-old WINNER Quinten, 13 - A self-sustainable floating island This is a detailed build! It includes dams, wind turbines, rooftop gardens, and solar panels. There’s space for camping, for farms and rural areas, plus a city equipped with a hospital, police station, fire station, and a church. There’s even a lighthouse to guide the boats from the ocean/lake. To add to the detail, there are even layers of rock underneath the build where the island was ripped from the ground. HONORABLE MENTIONS Austin, 13 – Self-cleaning LEGO machine LEGO should clean itself up, but it doesn’t. Introducing the self-cleaning LEGO machine! An entirely motorized vehicle with two drive wheels – each with its own motor – and a spinning blade connected by gears to its own motor. It collects the LEGO into the hopper for you to simply empty and start again. Problem solved! Evan, 13 – Plane and tank A plane…and a tank? With stabilizers, shooting missiles, a tank turret under each wheel, wing flaps, and landing gear where the tank wheels are hidden while flying and deployed while driving, and extendable wings for added armor – who’s the engineer up for building this? Eden, 12 – The mall with more There are some things we can all agree on, and this is one of them: “I think that all malls should have a waterpark and a petting zoo.” 9 and under WINNER Oscar, 9 - Jurassic World abandoned jungle Join 7 explorers as they brave Jurassic World with all its predators, erupting volcanoes, caves with hidden animals, fighting dinosaurs, and a dino-capturing helicopter. Let your imagination run wild! HONORABLE MENTIONS Eliza, 8 – Bumble car It’s a bee car that can drive, park, and fly. And watch out, it can also sting! Adam, 6 – Hygiene helper “It has everything you need to go to school” – a toothbrush to brush your teeth, comb and scissors to style your hair, gets you dressed, helps you eat breakfast, and will walk right up to you to get things started! Carina, 9 – Walk-in picture frame “I thought it would be really cool if you could walk into a picture frame because then you could paint or draw your own world and walk right in.” Some of our other favorites! There were so many great entries that we just had to share at least a few more – here are some of our other finalists! Be sure to check out even more videos on our YouTube playlist. ...

Education

Life skills every high school graduate needs to know

What skills should every child learn? Schools have traditionally focused on the 3 R’s of education: reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmatic. (All right, whoever came up with that might have needed another year or two of school.) Modern schools and Christian schools have supplemented this standard by making science, civics, and Bible courses mandatory, with a wide array of elective courses to help students pursue their different interests and talents. But as all Christians should know, it isn’t only (or even primarily) the school that should teach children. The ultimate classroom is the home, where parents teach their children not only knowledge, but also character and skills. The “school of mom and dad” was particularly important for me and my siblings as we spent most of our grade school years being homeschooled. Much of our education included the standard academic subjects. But over the years, our family started naming a few less orthodox “life skills” that we needed to have some proficiency in before graduating high school, if not earlier. My family is made up of four boys, followed by our one sister. To some degree, our family's set of life skills was designed to ensure that, no matter our gender, we all could be competent in some basic life skills. So, without further ado, here is my family’s not-so-complete list of life skills. Cooking Cooking typically isn’t a strength of the male sex. The stereotypical menu of a young man when he first moves out of his parents’ house and lives alone or rooms with other young men isn’t a particularly nutritious or varied one. Quick and easy meals – ramen, mac ‘n cheese, pizza, or leftovers – abound. Lest you think this is more fiction than fact, I’ve lived it. For two years, I roomed with a set of university buddies. We each took turns cooking one night of the week for the five or seven of us. And you know what was on the menu three or four days a week? Pizza ordered from the school cafeteria. Most of my roommates didn’t have the ability (or at least the time or interest) to cook, and I ate more pizza in those two years than I probably will eat for the rest of my lifetime. Anticipating this problem, our parents ensured that we all had some basic culinary ability. Once all five of us siblings were old enough, we annually held an “Iron Chef Minderhoud” competition, based on a Food Network show. Each sibling (with our parents being the sous chefs for the younger ones) was responsible for cooking one new dish each summer. The goal was not only for us all to have the ability to cook, but also to spark creativity and explore new recipes. And pretty much all the recipes were a hit: lamb dhansak, pierogies, schnitzel and spätzle, crab cakes, lamb chops and couscous, lobster pasta, gulab jamun, cinnamon fudge, and xocolatl are the most memorable delicacies that I remember. The perks of gaining this life skill are that you will always be able to make delicious and nutritious food regardless of your stage of life. Whether you’re freshly moved out of your parents’ house and living alone, married but your spouse who usually does the cooking is out of town, or widowed towards the end of life, cooking is a life skill. Swimming Of all the “life skills” on this list, this is probably the most important one for preserving life. My parents never learned to swim. (We affectionately refer to them as “rock” and “anchor” at the pool.) But we often went to the beach on hot summer days. Well, one day when I was something like seven or eight, I decided that I wanted to swim across the tip of the lake. So, without telling my parents, I strapped on my life jacket and set out on the 150-meter swim to the dock on the other side. I made it across just fine. But my parents were terrified that their son was swimming in the middle of a lake where they were unable to reach me. When they realized what I was doing, my dad frantically ran around the outer edge of the lake, and once I reached the other side, he hauled me up out of the water. I was perfectly fine and rather proud of my swim, but I got quite the scolding for the heart attack that it gave my parents. And so, given their lack of swimming ability and their desire for us to be safe in the water, my parents diligently enrolled us all in swimming lessons. I forget precisely how many years we took swimming lessons, but my parents insisted that it was literally a “life skill.” Thanks to those years of swimming lessons, all of us have a basic ability to keep our heads above water. Even if we still have a penchant to sink rather than float. Volleyball This one might seem like the oddest life skill of the bunch, but it was the one most elevated to the status of “life skill.” Why? Well, this skill was less about volleyball itself and more about what it represented: being competent in common social activities. At the time, a common social activity at youth retreats, church picnics, or backyard barbecues was to play volleyball. Most people would join in and have a blast. Those who didn’t know how to play risked loneliness on the sidelines. Those who played badly risked inciting frustration from their teammates. In hindsight, those risks probably say more about the character or temperament of the other players than anything else. But, without being able to do anything about the actions of other teenagers and young adults, basic competency at volleyball was designated a life skill in our family. (How good we actually were at volley is another question entirely.) Other sports and games that are common social activities informally followed suit. Most of us are half-decent at hockey, cornhole, or spike ball, Setters of Catan, Dutch Blitz, or Codenames. And the life skill has paid off, at least for me. The life skill of being a (somewhat) capable athlete, board gamer, and card shark has led to countless hours of fun and fellowship. It may not be necessary for life, but it can certainly enhance the enjoyment of life. Personal hygiene I don’t think that this one ever officially made the list, but this was definitely a life skill that our parents had to hammer into our quartet of homeschooled boys. There were the parental refrains to put deodorant on, do our hair, untuck (or tuck in) that shirt, or shower after a hockey game before going to bed. When we were older, there were admonitions to get a haircut or trim that Hutterite beard. At the time, we didn’t care about such things. But now we sometimes look back through family photos and playfully tease each other about our stylistic choices of yore. The proverb “cleanliness is next to godliness” isn’t found in the Bible, but it still is a life skill that will benefit you and the people around you. Reading Now, I know that I mentioned reading at the top of the article. By listing reading as a life skill, I don’t mean the ability to read. (That’s absolutely a life skill, but one that I trust is virtually universal.) I mean a love of reading, which is far from universal. Teaching anyone to love something is far harder than teaching them about something. But the best way to ensure that a kid loves to read is to make reading enjoyable. My parents spent a pretty penny buying books that I enjoyed so that I would develop a love for reading. For me, that started with my parents reading aloud to me: Little House on the Prairie, Little Britches, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Redwall are all books that I recall listening to before bed. My personal love of reading began with the Hardy Boys. One day – probably for my birthday or Christmas – my parents gave me The Tower Treasure. I must have read it pretty quickly and asked for another because I got The House on the Cliff soon after. And then I got the next book. And then the next book. Eventually, I discovered that my mom had bought and stashed the entire 58-book series in her work desk. And so, when I finished one book, I snuck into the desk and grabbed the next book. Before my twelfth birthday, I had read a stack of Hardy Boys books that was taller than I was. After that, I got hooked on the historical novels of G.A. Henty. Writing at the end of the nineteenth century, Henty is certainly not an award-winning writer. But to a teenage boy, historical military fiction was addictive. I read and re-read about 45 of his books, recounting episodes as diverse as the destruction of the Jewish temple, the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, and the struggle between the British and Napoleonic forces in Spain and Portugal. That life skill of a love of reading has stuck with me. I’ve never quite been able to reach RP’s challenge to read 52 books in a year, but I always have a stack of books that I’m working through. Any others? These are a few of the life skills emphasized as I was growing up. Perhaps you’d consider them important life skills too. Perhaps you think that one or two of these are not so vital. Perhaps you have your own list of skills that every high school graduate should learn. Either way, it is a good exercise to think through. Are there any life skills that you would want your children to learn before graduating high school? Maybe some of these life skills would stem from personal regrets, skills that you wish you had but never acquired. Others might come from personal experience of what is important. Perhaps you’ve always thought that X should be taught in school, but isn’t. I challenge you to pick up a pen and jot down your own list. What makes the cut?...

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Titus 2 young men are not boys

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Titus 2:6 - "sober-minded"

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Culture Clashes

Which conspiracies are true?

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The Parable of the Talents: the Bible and entrepreneurs

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Advice to new brides

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Why I’m grateful for the notwithstanding clause

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The beauty of 52 Sundays

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6 days or 24 years: why does the difference even matter?

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The pursuit of wisdom: do it ‘til you die

In a Nutshell

Tidbits – April 2026

Assorted

When there is smoke…

Science - General

Wild about beetles

Economics, People we should know

Friedrich Hayek (1899-1992) showed us that free enterprise is necessary for freedom

Politics

5 ways God’s providence should impact how we approach politics

Being the Church

Retirement: What are you retiring from? What are you retiring to?

History

The case against the draft

Assorted

The conceited apple-branch: a Romans 12:3-8 fable?

News

Health-adjusted life expectancy plummets

Assorted

A crowd can make you crazy

Assorted

How to plan for your next chapter as a senior

In a Nutshell

Tidbits – March 2026

Assorted

CAN YOU BUILD IT BETTER?
– the brick-building contest results!