Doing, fully, what you believe in.

Both in Tom Cruise's The Firm and Jim Carey's Liar Liar we find very similar plot lines, though carried out in two completely different ways.  The answer to the stereotypically unethical law practice is to dive fully into the practice of law as it was always meant to be practiced.  Though in practice it probably doesn't usually turn out this way, the point of the movies is that doing things the right way will always win out in the end.  But what if you are committed to being an ethical lawyer that does your job very well and thorough and by-the-book?  Will you always, or even mostly, win out in the end?  Will you thrive in your practice?  I'd like to think the answer is, "YES!" but I have no idea because I'm not a lawyer.

What do you do if you're on a team or part of a business or part of a church and things aren't going very well?  To what degree do you start doing things differently, or do you change your values, or do you give up all together?  How do you stick to what's right and true and pure?

Whether it's practicing law, medicine, leadership, or life, the only way to get through your days and weather the many storms is to double down on the essence of why you do what you do.  Know what you believe in, make sure it's worth believing, and 100% run with it.  There will be no greater regret when you come to the end of your working days (or your actual days) then if you held back from what you knew you needed to do.

There are certain truths from all of these professional disciplines that everybody accepts as non-negotiables.  One truth that supersedes them all and effects them all is the truth of the existence and activity of an all-loving, all-powerful, all-wise God.  His existence is not dependent on your belief in Him or not.  His activity is not dependent on whether you want Him to be active or not.  His presence, though, is deeply effected by whether you really want Him to walk with you or not.  He knows when He's wanted and He knows the heart of each man and woman.  As a result, we cannot fully understand His ways and why He does (or doesn't do) what He does.  But, we who trust Him and love Him can count on His many promises.

Psalm 91 holds promise to all who double down on their belief in this great God.  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."  But it's not because of smooth waters that the writer has this conviction, for he lists the many hardships - "snare of the fowler," "deadly pestilence," "terror of the night," "arrow that flies by day," "pestilence that stalks the darkness," and "destruction that wastes at noonday."  It's BECAUSE God is all that He says He is and has proven faithful for thousands and thousands of years that I will never turn my back on Him.  Nothing, and I mean nothing, in my life even touches these descriptions or the many examples in history of men and women who have suffered greatly and died while suffering yet never denying their savior and their God.

Stick to your convictions.  Yet, make sure these convictions dovetail with the reality of the God of the Bible.  If you do this, you won't stray far and He will always answer you, rescue you, and be your refuge.

Living in an Alternate Universe

Once again, a super hero movie does a wonderful job of nailing some key truths about our world, yet does it in such a way that it leaves God completely out of the picture.

 

Is it Hollywood’s job to teach us about God?  Of course not!  Is it the Christian movie industry' job to teach us about God?  No, it actually isn’t. But more on that at a later date.

 

For now, I will focus on the recent “The Batman” movie.  The problem of corruption in Gotham City is as staple of a theme in Batman as surface to air missiles is to James Bond’s cars.  How this last movie tackled it though, gives some humanity to the villain and puts the hero right in the middle of the problem.  If the villain is fighting corruption, can he be all that bad?  What actually separates the vigilante Batman from the villain, anyway?  Is it simply that he's not AS crazy?  Or, is Batman really the answer?  For the record, I really liked this version of DC's most famous superhero.

 

Yet, the main problem with these movies still persists.  Just like real life problems of racism, hatred, drugs, sexual assault, violence, bullying, etc. continue to be fought with the toothless weapons of legislation and the dead-end volleying of ideas on social media and at water coolers, movies continue to address real problems without any mention of or concept of or nod to God.

 

I realize that it’s much more entertaining to watch something in an alternate universe, but do we, the fans, really leave it there?  When we observe people living REAL lives in an "alternate" universe of do-what-I-want-with-no-consequences, it makes you wonder whether we’re all just hoping that there is a REAL alternate life waiting for us somewhere beyond this world.  "Maybe I can just live my next lifetime in a world where there’s no murder or hate?" we casually reason.  There must be a reason why there's such a huge market for alternate universe productions: Marvel has close to 100 movies and TV episodes that can be put in a timeline, for instance.  Star Wars has a similar universe going on, to the point that people have developed their own fan base on YouTube as a full time job.  One YouTuber, for instance, is advancing theories like Jar-Jar Binks is the evil emperor.  What if that is actually true?  Well, it would blow many minds, but it would actually make no difference whatsoever in any way in our day-to-day lives.

 

Here’s a test that I have not looked into, but I’d be willing to wager something on:  There are many Summer movies coming out in 2022 that are parts of a franchise or at least a sequel of something.  Out of all of these this Summer, out of all of these alternate worlds, how many worlds have God as a part of them, in any way?  How, then, are problems solved and chaotic plots resolved in these movies? 

 

Having said all of this, I’m still a fan of such movies.  Why?  Because all truth is God’s truth.  Because no matter how hard we try to portray real human emotions and problems in a fictional universe apart from God, we will end up proving things that the Bible has been talking about for thousands of years.  As an example, let’s use the end of The Batman (minor, possible spoiler warning).  Batman realizes that, no matter who he puts away for however long, Gotham will never change.  Yet, he says that he still has to fight it.  Even after the observation that he may die doing it, he doesn’t relent.  Even after another tantalizing offer comes that could woo him away from Gotham to an easier life, the person trying to woo him says something like, “yet I know you won’t come, because you belong to another.”  Batman’s mind is already made up – he’ll never leave Gotham and go live the good life with his billions of dollars – because he simply belongs there.

 

Here’s the truth that God’s been talking about for, well, EVER:  We are meant, as humans, to belong to Him, to be on mission with Him, to be about something bigger than ourselves.  This mission, since God created us with that mindset already, is a mission specifically designed for us.  This is why, any mission apart from God, no matter how noble, leaves us empty and will fall short of truly solving any problems.  We are not meant for self-sufficiency or loving whoever we feel like or being true to ourselves, we are meant for putting others before us, for loving people in the way God loves us, and for being true to our God.  Nothing ought to draw us away from this mission, for once this mission is instilled in our head, once our love for God becomes a part of who we are, we cannot be convinced of ever leaving, for the world and others who are wooing us will realize that we belong to another. 

 

Covid-19 and Returning to Normal?

Illustration #5 of how our current Covid-19 Pandemic speaks to our even more real spiritual need:

What will you return to?

Written now a month later than the last illustration, this illustration centers around the anticipation of lifting restrictions that have been in place for over a month. What are we most looking forward to? What are we anticipating in order to feel like things are “normal” again? Similar to someone returning from a foreign land and craving some sort of “taste of home”, we realize what we truly missed . . . and didn’t miss. 

With God, though, we’re never put in that position of being without what we truly need, for He never leaves us or forsakes us. When we know He's always there, though, we risk taking the Creator of the universe and the Lover of our souls for granted. Maybe you'd say, "He’s always with us in quarantine or in large gatherings, so why do I need to attend a worship service or even be a part of a church?"

Back to the illustration: How many of these “creature comforts” would you say we need? Anything that truly is necessary, including a relationship with God, will not be the things we naturally crave, so we need to figure out a way to keep them before us. Keep God’s Word before you, keep God’s people within reach, keep God Himself as your peace and comfort and refuge. #Psalm50

No matter how long you've been away you can always return to God


Illustration #6 - At what point is it "safe" to return to "life"?

The huge debate around MN is that we need to open things back up, at least to some degree.  I just saw a picture of friends that were celebrating Mother's Day IN a restaurant!!  What!? How dare they do that during this time!  At the same time, how envious I was of them doing this.😁  Now, it was in North Dakota, who has different restrictions than we do here in MN, so I shouldn't be too surprised.  Yet, what will MN do this coming week as the latest stay-at-home directive expires on Monday, May 18?  How will its citizen's respond?  Now, even Congress is considering legislation that would protect businesses from liability if they return to business and Covid-19 spreads through their actions.

This fact remains: life itself is a risk.  Every time we enter on on-ramp to a freeway or put money into an investment or even shake someone's hand, we are trusting that the other people on the freeway, handling our money, and touching our hand will do their part to, well, not harm us.  Whether it was before Covid-19 or now, none of us knew what each day would bring.  When we return to some sort of normalcy or a new normal, who can you trust?  Who will you trust?  God has given us two things that can bring us peace and joy in the midst of any kind of turbulence:  First, the ability to choose - nobody else can choose for you, though you can choose to allow others to influence you.  Second, to help with our tendency to allow others to choose for us, God has given us Himself.  Through his Word (#Psalm73, #wordsoflife) and through His Son Jesus Christ (see John 3:31-36), we have all we need for this life.  By receiving His witness, we receive His Spirit and, as a result, His peace, grace, joy, and life that is truly life.

It is never safe to return to life, but there's always safety in the arms of God.