brad pitt

Brad Pitt is one Hollywood star I like, not because he looks greatly handsome or acts well, though both are true, but all because one day years ago I happened to see him on a TV interview, and he was asked a question by the host: "Are you happy now (with all the fame and gain you have already)?", and he paused, then with a little smile said "Happiness is over-rated.."  Wow, this guy's deep. So I started paying attention to news about him, and his wife, Angelina Jolie, and surely they two have done quite some admirable work for mankind during the past few years..

We live in a country that lists "the pursuit of happiness" as one "inalienable" right on their founding document, it's no wonder then there are so many self-help books and theories on what happiness is, how to get happy, be happy, get even happier after you got it, etc. And indeed, according to surveys, Americans are happier people than most others in the industrialized world. Maybe America is indeed blessed--after all, we do have the highest percentage of Christians in this country among the industrialized world as well, don't we?

Is Bible a guidebook to happiness, or Christianity a gospel of happy living then? It does exhort us to "eat, drink, and be merry," "because tomorrow we die", that we like to use fondly when comes party time. Or taking it less carnally, up a spiritual notch, one reformed Christian doctrine says: "The chief end of man," is to "glorify God by enjoying Him forever." ("Christian Hedonism" by John Piper.) And personally sometimes I think Jesus is a humorist who "teases" the Pharisees when he told them that they had committed adultery already when they had wrong ideas seeing beautiful women!

But surely the Bible is not a light-hearted book like that at all. On the contrary, it says bundles about souls of sorrow and hearts in agony. From the cries of King David's--"the lamentations of death compassed me about; the pains of hell surrounded me; I cried in my tribulation," to the "spiritual darkness" that haunts Mother Teresa for decades even while she's dedicated her life serving God among the poorest of the poor in the slums of 20th century Calcutta, are testimonies that Christianity is by no means a "feel good" religion some make it out to be.

So what does God want me to pursue in my earthly life? One morning I woke up and the word "wisdom" came to me. Happiness is a psychological state that is not a pursuable object by itself. But wisdom is. How do I do that? By going out and experiencing life with a Godly mind, soul, and heart, I think. Or here I'd like to paraphrase what I heard our dear brother Ed said some time ago, permission assumed given: "Regarding my SHAPE, I realize I can do nothing about my S(piritual gifts), nor my A(bility) or P(ersonality), as they seem pretty much set already. The only thing I can still do then, is my E(xperience). By trying out different experiences, I hope I can then find out what my passion, or H(eart), is, and know how best to serve God." To me, a real wise person is not one smart or outwardly successful guy, but one who always knows when to give people a word of comfort, a kind smile, or a pat on the back. We all know people like these around us. They are true blessings from God, and they bring love, joy, and yes happiness, to people all around them. I sure hope I can be one of them someday. 


"If I turn on an electric light at night out of doors I don't judge the power by looking at the bulb, but by seeing how many objects it lights up."
"The brightness of a source of light is appreciated by the illumination it projects upon non-luminous objects."
"The value of a spiritual way of life is appreciated by the amount of illumination thrown upon the things of this world."

--Simone Weil

good routines

The other evening, on our way home from a dinner party in a ride share with some friends, the topic of "empty nest" was casually lipped upon. Light-heartedly we congratulated one lady who's kids are all going to colleges this year that she's going to have time to take care of her dear old husband again. "Actually, I am not much worried about that job," she said, "than about taking care of his mother"--who has been living with them for the past 10 years or so. We were a bit surprised to hear that, because as far as we can recall, her mother-in-law had been in pretty good physical shape and mentally agile. But, that was years ago when we last saw her. For the past few years, she said, her mother-in-law has been living a self-confining life within their home. She seldom comes out of her room, lying on bed most of the time. She has no social life, no hobbies, does not even watch TV. She's still physically sound, but there seems no joy or purpose in her living. She's just biting time, till the end, it seems.

The pictures of my father-in-law came to my mind (and I am sure to my wife's too). He had been an active man during his career as a utility company manager and even after he retired. Yet in the past two years, especially during our recent trip home last December, we found him physically and mentally retreating fast. He's staying in his room more and more, insisting on his ways more and more, in addition to the physical difficulties that hamper his movement.

I feel sad for both cases and desire to do something for them next time I can (spending more time with my father-in-law, as my wife had scolded me already for not doing enough in our last trip there, is certainly one thing I'll do). What alerts me, though, is how quickly and easily we all can fall into such seemingly hopeless trap. My father-in-law had talked about doing some volunteer work after retirement, and we had been urging him to do some simple daily work or physical exercise since many years ago. Yet for some reason he couldn't consistently make those, and the inertia set in, till he became physically and mentally incapable.

Our body deteriorates every day--life is like morning mist that disappears, said the Bible, and that by itself is nothing to be dreaded about. What would be dreadful and sad to me is to let the physical-mental degradation drag my spiritual keenness down, or more subtly, fill my life with "garbage routines"--even at a relatively young age of 50, I feel I am more apt to stay put with my daily routines, however it was set up to begin with, than, say, when I was 45.

One way to combat this, I guess, is to set up "good routines" that take away the space of "bad routines", so I win the contest by design and by default.

Meeting you guys every other Saturday morning counts as one "good routine", I think.


"When you have thoughts and ideas that are worthy of credit to God, learn to compare and associate them with all that happens in nature-the rising and the setting of the sun, the shining of the moon and the stars, and the changing of the seasons. You will begin to see that your thoughts are from God as well, and your mind will no longer be at the mercy of your impulsive thinking, but will always be used in service to God."  -- Oswald Chambers

why do we work so hard

It so happened during our recent small group study the subject of "work as a God given virtue" (Adam was assigned the work of naming animals and working in the Garden of Eden before the fall) was brought up and discussed. It then brought to my mind there seems to be some theory claiming Christian Protestantism has something to do with the rise of Capitalism and economical prosperity of modern world. So I dug into the Internet and found something interesting that I thought I share it with you:

Two prominent figures of the Protestant Reformation movement, Martin Luther and John Calvin, had the following views on work that were somewhat different from traditional Catholic church's: 

Martin Luther believed that people could serve God through their work, that the professions were useful, that work was the universal base of society and the cause of differing social classes, and that a person should work diligently in their own occupation and should not try to change from the profession to which he was born. To do so would be to go against God's laws since God assigned each person to his own place in the social hierarchy. The major point at which Luther differed from the medieval concept of work was regarding the superiority of one form of work over another. Luther, being a former priest himself, regarded the monastic and contemplative life, held up as the ideal during the middle ages, as an egotistic and unaffectionate exercise on the part of the monks, and he accused them of evading their duty to their neighbors. For Luther, a person's vocation was equated as his calling, but all calling's were of equal spiritual dignity.

Luther still did not pave the way for a profit-oriented economic system because he disapproved of commerce as an occupation. From his perspective, commerce did not involve any real work. Luther also believed that each person should earn an income which would meet his basic needs, but to accumulate or horde wealth was sinful.

According to Max Weber, an early 20th century German political economist/sociologist who coined the term "Protestant work ethic", it was John Calvin who introduced the theological doctrines which combined with those of Martin Luther to form a significant new attitude toward work. Calvin was a French theologian whose concept of predestination was revolutionary. Central to Calvinist belief was the Elect, those persons chosen by God to inherit eternal life. All other people were damned and nothing could change that since God was unchanging. While it was impossible to know for certain whether a person was one of the Elect, one could have a sense of it based on his own personal encounters with God. Outwardly the only evidence was in the person's daily life and deeds, and success in one's worldly endeavors was a sign of possible inclusion as one of the Elect. A person who was indifferent and displayed idleness was most certainly one of the damned, but a person who was active, austere, and hard-working gave evidence to himself and to others that he was one of God's chosen ones.

Calvin taught that all men must work, even the rich, because to work was the will of God. It was the duty of men to serve as God's instruments here on earth, to reshape the world in the fashion of the Kingdom of God, and to become a part of the continuing process of His creation. Men were not to lust after wealth, possessions, or easy living, but were to reinvest the profits of their labor into financing further ventures. Earnings were thus to be reinvested over and over again, ad infinitum, or to the end of time. Using profits to help others rise from a lesser level of subsistence violated God's will since persons could only demonstrate that they were among the Elect through their own labor.

Selection of an occupation and pursuing it to achieve the greatest profit possible was considered by Calvinists to be a religious duty. Not only condoning, but encouraging the pursuit of unlimited profit was a radical departure from the Christian beliefs of the middle ages. In addition, unlike Luther, Calvin considered it appropriate to seek an occupation which would provide the greatest earnings possible. If that meant abandoning the family trade or profession, the change was not only allowed, but it was considered to be one's religious duty.

In sum, the combined theological teachings of Luther and Calvin encouraged work in a chosen occupation with an attitude of service to God, viewed work as a calling and avoided placing greater spiritual dignity on one job than another, approved of working diligently to achieve maximum profits, required reinvestment of profits back into one's business, allowed a person to change from the craft or profession of his father, and associated success in one's work with the likelihood of being one of God's Elect.

So goes the theory.

hypocrites

"Are we hypocrites?" my wife asked me the other day, on our way home from a small group meeting.

BIG question.

I remember when I first started attending small group meetings back 15-20 years ago, the word "hypocrite" often came to my mouth for no reason (sometimes during the middle of the night). Rather than interpreting this as a serious criticism or negative reaction to those nice people I was "fellowshipping" with (I was not officially a Christ follower then), I think it was more a reflection of my young, uncompromising heart that associated so closely with Jesus' harsh sentiment toward the Scribes and Pharisees, the hypocrites of his day, that is recorded in the New Testament. What a "joy"--for lack of better word, to hear Jesus call these fake people the living dead, walking coffins, snakes and vipers!

Then I grow older, see more things and experience more people, I get mellower, and I no longer burst out these words in my mind that often, nor as vividly as before when they do occur.

Instead, sometimes I wonder, if I am the hypocrite.

Do I say things that I don't do myself?

Do I pretend to be someone that I am not?

Take, for example, this occasion when my wife asked that firy question. It came after we had a vehement argument about how we treated our teen age kid, her 19-year old nephew, whom we took in 3 years ago and had just left for college last September. Long story short, he's not the great, nice behaving kid we expected him to be, we had both concluded long ago, and there were instances that made us both decide we had to be strict on him, to teach him some life lessons, so to speak. But now, after he had left home, my wife feels maybe we have been too harsh on him after all. "He's just a kid, really, no better and no worse than any other kids his age," she said. "Did we really give our care to him unconditionally, or did we do that only based on what suited us?"; "We talk about love all the time in front of other people, but have we really loved our kid enough?"

Though I tried to argue with her, in my heart I know what she said were true, as I have long pondered these questions myself and concluded the answers. We didn't really love him enough as parents should.

Am I a hypocrite then?

I guess I am.

The only solace I can take in this is that I know I am a hypocrite that knows himself to be one, and there is a higher standard that I can strive for, or, more accurately, a supreme power that I can rely on, to become a non-hypocrite one day.

Thank God for that.

cheap valentine

Other than my wife's birthday, Valentine's Day is probably the most intimidating day of the year for me.

First of all, I tend to forget it. It's just another day, isn't it? It usually falls on a weekday and people don't even take work off of it (Lucky are kids who get the day off as "Presidents' Birthday".. Hmm, why can't we have it as "Homeboss' Day" and all men get to go home and clean the house for the wives, supposedly, then I'll remember). Ah, wouldn't it be lovely if everyone, especially ladies, let it slip by just like any other normal, peaceful day of the year..

But nope, the commercial world won't let you go easy. Eventually I am reminded of the day's coming by all the Valentine's Day sales specials on TV and in stores. I have to act, that is, to buy something for my wife, while helping the economy a bit.

Now comes the other intimidating part: what to buy? Knowing my wife, and with the husbandly wisdom I gain through years of living with her, I know if I buy something really fancy, meaning high priced, she will first be flattered, perhaps, but then almost in an instant become upset that I "wasted" that much money on it (and in my honest mind I agree these overpriced vanity items have no practical use in life therefore "waste" is a right word for them). I may even have to return them afterwards.

The following is my true Valentine's Day gift story of last year:

I was buying some miscellaneous stuff at one Big Lots discount store, and noticed some tiny earings on sale near the checkout counter. Looked nice and pretty, I thought my wife would like it. So I bought it. I left the price tag on the earings.

I gave it to my wife on Valentine's Day. She did like it, and she noticed the price on the tag: $25.

"Hmm, not too expensive, huh," she said, smiling, knowing I didn't "waste" a fortune getting this thing she likes.

"Yup," I said, "Better still, it's on sale when I bought it."

"Really," She smiles even more. A woman always likes a good bargain, and she's been lecturing me never buy anything unless it is on sale. It looks like I finally am taking heed to her advice.

"How much was it on sale?" she asked.

"They marked it down to $15, 40% off," I said.

"Wow, that's a great deal." Her face shines. She's happy I saved that much money for her, or, in her name.

Well, I could have stopped here, she's completely happy now, I don't need to worry that she not likes the earings, or she thinks I bought a cheap gift for her. But I cannot resist the temptation.

"Do you know how much I actally paid for it," I said.

"What do you mean?" She's puzzled and real curious now.

"Well, they marked it down even further at the chcekout stand. I actually only paid $5 for it."

Now she's totally taken aback, but then she realizes I am telling her the truth (an honest husband have I always been), she bursts into laughters... She must be thinking that she married the smartest man in the world... or at least that's what I think she thinks.

One cheap Valentine's Day story for laughs. Don't try it at home. May not work for you or your wife :)

what chores would jesus do

"What chores would Jesus do," is a story I read on LA Times last Saturday: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-monk26jan26,1,7718645.story?page=1&ctrack=4&cset=true

It was about two Christian families and one single man, feeling contemporary Christian life too soft and empty, moved in together to a communal house to truly live out a Christ centered life--live frugally, love others and help the needy unconditionally, something similar to what the early Christians did as recorded in the Bible.

It's a rough road, instead of fulfilling their noble goals, they found themselves bogged down by daily chores and petty grudges. After 3 months, they couldn't agree on what constitutes simple living, they hadn't helped any outsider, and they were frustrated by even issues such as whose turn it is to mop the kitchen floor..

But they regrouped and continued on. They invited in and lived with another difficult person; they learned what it really means to serve God and others at every annoying moment; they opened up their place for two homeless women and their kids when they needed it..

I won't divulge too much detail of the story. But if you read it, I think you will find it very real-life, touching, and enlightening.

"A wonderful part of Christianity is growing and learning of God's plan for our lives. Our sinful nature will often distract us from God's PERFECT path, but it's a joy to keep trying."

--One reader's comment after reading the story

shape & essence

A few words that got through to me this morning when reading Oswald Chambers':

"When we talk about the call of God, we often forget the most important thing, namely, the nature of Him who calls. There are many things calling each of us today. Some of these calls will be answered, and others will not even be heard. The call is the expression of the nature of the One who calls, and we can only recognize the call if that same nature is in us. The call of God is the expression of God's nature, not ours."

"The call of God is not a reflection of my nature; my personal desires and temperament are of no consideration. As long as I dwell on my own qualities and traits and think about what I am suited for, I will never hear the call of God."

Not to dispute the "SHAPE" approach that emphasizes on finding the kind of ministry work that fits your personality, spiritual gifts, experiences, etc., but I think the above does catch the essence of what a calling should be.

I hope you guys all had had a wonderful Christmas-New Year season. I am glad to see the beautiful blue sky and sunny landscape of Southern California again after my 5-plus week getaway to Taiwan and China. Are we ready to meet again this Saturday? Same time--8:30 AM, same place--at my home backyard. To celebrate my own home coming, I'll cook the breakfast for you guys--my self-styled omelette. "Come hungry, leave happy", as they say in the commercial. Just tell me whether you are coming or not, and I'll prepare the eggs, the sausages, the coffee as usual, and set the grill burning...