Think About It

As I sit here in my office, I have music going in the background. In all honesty, modern music abandoned me a while back, so most of what I listen to dates back to my childhood and adolescence. (Yes, they did have music back in the 20th Century … and it was pretty good music.) When I am typing along, I will hear a song that takes me back to a time or place and, at least for three minutes, I get to bask in the good times of yesteryear. In a sense, this is the soundtrack of my youth. Interestingly, there is another soundtrack that keeps playing over and over; but this one has nothing to do with tunes. The sounds are the words that people said to me and around me as I was growing up. My emotional soundtrack is a lot calmer than the musical one it parallels. I hear the voices of calmness and peace. I can tune into the words of encouragement and the expressions of love I heard. Sure, in the distance, I can hear some of the din of unrest, but my primary soundtrack is filled with hop...

I was in a discussion the other day where we were discussing a very emotional issue that had some serious consequences. As we discussed the impact this event would have, someone brought up the possibility of “moral injury”. I had heard the phrase, but I hadn’t given it much thought. When I did my homework, I realized just how life-changing this can be. Moral injury can come about when someone who is impacted by a traumatic event feels a negative emotional reaction because the event violated a deeply held moral belief or value. They may have participated in the event; they may have failed to act to prevent the critical incident or they may have merely witnessed the event; but something about what happened violated their conscience. When I was looking at the concept, the first word that came to my mind was guilt. People who deal with this may be plagued with the thought, “I should have …”. They may walk away from the incident without any physical scars, but emotionally and spirit...

I don’t necessarily consider myself a perfectionist – however, I do have some tendencies in that direction. For instance, I might be a bit disappointed I didn’t score 100% on a test or qualification but as long as I passed the minimum requirement, I won’t lose too much sleep over it. However, there are some things that tend to bother me. If I misquote a scriptural reference in a sermon or class, I tend to dwell on it. If I make a statement of fact that is inaccurate – especially something that others might use in basing a decision – I worry about it and will often try to find ways to correct it. I don’t know that I have ever delved too deeply into exactly what bothers me and what I can let go, but I do know that there are times I want to make sure I not only get things right, I get them “exactly” right. I realize there are some people who are classic perfectionists and others who might have a make-up similar to mine, so what happens when we come across Jesus’ teaching, “Therefore ...

The doctrine of free will is one that has been debated by spiritual people throughout the centuries. Most of us believe that God has given each one of us the right to choose how we are going to act. Even though there are likely to be consequences for our actions, people like to be able to have a choice in how we want to live. Even with its challenges free will is a blessing from God. While free will is a nice thing, there is a something that is even better – a free gift that allows us to overcome even those times when we misuse free will. When the Apostle Paul was discussing the forgiveness that leads to salvation he noted, “But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.” (Romans 5:15). The grace that God offers allows us to outlive the bad choices we make. While this does not give us license to keep doing stupid stuff,...

When the United States amended the Constitution to include the freedom of speech it set in motion a process that would inevitably come to a head. Was all speech protected or is there some speech that is so blatantly bad that it wouldn’t be protected by this freedom? Throughout much of the 19th Century, the government was able to limit this liberty if the speech had a tendency to harm public welfare. As you might expect, this concept was vague enough to land it on the doorstep of the Supreme Court and in 1919, the justices ruled that about the only thing that could be used to silence public speech was if it posed a clear and present danger. Without getting too deeply into this debate, let’s just say that the concept of freedom of speech had a whole new lease on life! As we have moved into the 21st Century it seems that there is very little that can’t be said – either by, about or in front of the government! People feel free to say what they want. While this might be a nice liber...

When I was in college we listened to a couple things called albums and 8-track tapes. (Yes, there was a world before CD’s, cassettes and digital downloads.) One of the albums we played a lot at our house was the self-titled album “Boston” by Boston. (We were real original back in the day.) I think my favorite song on that album was “Rock And Roll Band”, but one song we listened to a lot was called “More Than A Feeling”. In this song, the singer uses music to help recall certain events in his life. At least a few of them seem to be connected to someone named Marrianne. The other day as I was thinking about that song title, I got to thinking about love. Not a romantic love, but what might be called goodwill. You see, this type of love that is so often mentioned in the Bible, is more than a feeling, it is tied to actions. Christian love isn’t a warm feeling we have for others, it is a commitment to help others become the best they can be. It is wishing the best for others and do...

Have you ever been wound up about something and had someone say, “Just let it go!”. Most of us have sought counsel about something (or more probably, someone) troubling you and had a confidant say let it go. It’s not only common advice, its pretty good advice … but what does it mean? One of the issues with this type of advice is that even if we admit it sounds good, do we really understand what people are trying to get us to do? Are they telling us to just forget about what has happened to us? Even the best of us will struggle with forgiving and forgetting, so how do we let it go? As I thought about this quip from a deeper level, I don’t think the point is to try to forget what has happened as much as it is for us to just take the emotional pain out of it. We may remember the details, we just don’t feel the hurt. Troubling situations can help us to grow and develop, but when we can extract the lesson without harboring ill-will we will be much better off. Is there something bothe...