Americanism vs. Jesus

In 1969, singer Peggy Lee released the song, “Is that all there is?” It was a surprising change for her, from upbeat melodies to a song that questioned whether it was worth going on, if that was all that life had to offer.

It was downright depressing, and ironic because it was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who had penned a bunch of happy pop tunes, including “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Yakety Yak,” “Kansas City,” “Leader of the Pack” and “Chapel of Love.”

That song came to mind because Pastor Don used the phrase in a recent sermon in which he questioned the quest for ever more worldly goods. I have been on that quest.

Years ago, feeling under-appreciated at my newspaper, I decided to do some free-lance writing. And not just one article, but an entire trade magazine. Every article in that issue would be by me, interviews with users of the product and the company’s system. The fee would be $2,000 and the promise of future assignments of the same type.

And so I did the work and eventually got paid. But there were no future assignments and no more of the appreciation, which was what I really wanted. What I hadn’t yet learned was that the praise of the world is fleeting, the money spent for who knows what. For example, how many today could tell you anything about H.L. Mencken, an American journalist based in Baltimore and nationally known in his lifetime (1880-1956) for his books and commentary?

Is it wrong to seek fame and national attention? I would say that it depends on what you do with it. If, as we see various celebrities and sports figures doing today, we use fame to raise money for good causes or to argue that the poor and suffering should not be forgotten, then fame can be a good thing.

But it can he hard to step up, to let go of the riches of the world. Consider the conversation Jesus had with the young man who seemed intent on becoming a disciple.

In Luke 18 18-23, the man asks Jesus “what should I do to inherit Eternal Life?”

Jesus replies, “But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and your mother.”

The young man replied he had obeyed all of these since childhood.

Jesus said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all you possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. The come, follow me.”

“But when the man heard this, he became very sad, for he was very rich.”

Unlike the other disciples, who had left their homes and families to follow Jesus, the rich man could not give up his riches in this world for heavenly treasure.

As I’ve become more closely acquainted with the gospels and their lessons, I have tried to absorb this one. But our American culture reinforces the idea that to be successful, we have to put up a good front, to have the newest, the most technologically advanced products. These things have many uses, but chief among them is showing them off to our peers, to demonstrate that we not only have the best, but we understand the technology very well. We seek to show that we are not only well off, but well-versed in the science of these things.

In my case, the risk of getting these things is that I might have to explain why I did.

“Isn’t that a complicated (and complicated) way to make a phone call?” some of my friends might say when I show off my new I-phone. Most don’t, because I am someone who hesitates to get something new when the old still works, So it keep it so long that when it needs work, the tech looks at me as if I’ve brought a Model T into his store, then says, “I’m not sure we can get parts for that anymore.”

At one time there were small shops that specialized in fixing old and outdated products, but most have closed now. I have lamps that are perfectly functional accept for the fact that the cords have disintegrated, dried out by age.

What I need to remember is that there are things that we can accumulate that will never dry out and crumble. Those are the treasures of heaven, as Jesus spoke of in Mathew, Chapter 6, Verse 19: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal.”

Instead, Jesus said, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, which are impervious to the things of this world that corrode worldly goods.

And accumulating heavenly treasures has another benefit, because to do that we must do the right things. And, Jesus said, “For where you treasure is, there will be your heart also.” The shiny car and the gadget-filled phone will eventually end up on the scrap heap, but our hearts will be heaven-bound if we remember what really lasts.

Embracing The Discomfort of Racism

Once Again, Riots

The previous two blogs have been done with topics suggested by the Rev. Don Conley. This one is my own inspiration and may or may not suit the Rev. Don’s plans. However, I think it is a topic Christians need to think about.

Back in 1968 I was a year out of high school and working at the Hecht Company department store when the news came in that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had been shot and killed. Our assignment as stock boys was to go into the warehouse underneath the parking lot and load up big sheets of plywood, which would be used to board up the windows of the downtown store. It didn’t happen; the store was damaged, according to period photos from the Washington, D.C. Library.

We finished loading, then came back to the store, where all the TVs in the electronics section were tuned to coverage of what was happening, with occasional breaks for singer James Brown’s attempts to soothe the troubled nation. That didn’t work, either, although Brown gave a concert the next night in Boston that was telecast live, calming that town for at least one night.

Interesting as that history might be, it doesn’t answer the question of why, more than 50 years later, mass demonstrations are happening around the country. And what obligation do Christians have to do something to make the situation better?

We are called on to love everyone, even our enemies, as Jesus loves us. That includes people of different races, backgrounds and religions, even if the things they do sometimes puzzle us. In this case, millions of people saw a white policeman kneel on a black suspect’s neck for more than eight minutes. Three fellow officers stood by, seemingly oblivious to the protests of bystanders, one of whom was videotaping everything. No wonder people got so upset; not to protest would be to accept what happened as just somebody else’s back luck. 

Even if the man had been guilty of the alleged offense he was stopped for — passing a counterfeit $20 bill — the penalty for that is not — and cannot be — death.

In this sermon June 7, Pastor Don recalled the words from the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” 

Those words refer to those who grieve over their sins, but they also have meaning to those who are grieving the loss of someone’s life. As Christians we know there is another, better world that awaits us, but we still mourn the loss of those we’ve known in this world. What else might they have done here, or said to us? How many of us have said, after the death of a loved one, that we wish we’d spent more time with them?

The loved ones of George Floyd are feeling that loss now and many people of all races are trying to propose solutions to what, in this case, was certainly police brutality. There are many things on the table and I have neither the knowledge or the intelligence to evaluate them. The only thing I know for sure is that what happens will depend on elected officials crafting solutions that will improve things without stirring up more hate. 

Is hate too strong a word?

Is hate too strong a word? No. Imagine this scenario: You arrive for the first time in a new town. You have never been there before, never spoken to anyone who lives there or shopped in any of the local stores. I guarantee this: If you are black, you will be viewed with suspicion and perhaps even become the target of racial taunts. Physical violence is even possible, all because of the pigment of your skin. That’s what black people live with.

So, how do we help resolve the hurt of our fellow citizens and improve our country’s race relations? First we pray, first for ourselves, that we have the wisdom to do the right thing. Then we look for good leaders, those who are servant leaders, as Jesus was. And we need to urge them to do the right thing, even if it’s the hard thing. Sometimes the right thing is not the popular thing and doing it may lead to a loss of high office. 

In the 1950s, when U.S. Sen. Jospeh McCarthy accused many people in government of being communists or communist sympathizers, many were reluctant to call him out. But in 1954, during hearings McCarthy called, attorney Jospeh N. Welch responded to McCarthy’s charge that a young lawyer in Welch’s firm was a communist sympathizer, by saying ""At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" 

During the Red Scare of the 1950s, some Americans were branded as traitors and blacklisted, which made it impossible for them to work. Welch risked a lot by challenging McCarthy. But he did it because it was the right thing to do. I hope as the nation goes forward, there are more leaders who will do the right thing. As Luke said in Ch. 14:25-33, there is a cost to being a disciple. So too there is a cost to doing the right thing, especially when it is not the popular thing.

Bob Maginnis a former newspaper writer. This blog is his opinion and not that of Ringgold Church, its staff or its ministers.

Racism

I have watched, I have listened and I have tried to wrap my mind around everything that is been going on. I i’s been extremely hard. Right now, I just hope I can provide some perspective and a starting point for reconciliation. So here goes...

George Floyd’s life was taken from him. He did not deserve to die. I did not know him but I felt like I did. Just like I felt like I knew Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, Philando Castile, Eric Garner and so many others. You see, I feel this way after each of these incidents because I do know them. They are me. They are my brothers. They are my nephews, my cousins, and my students. They are my neighbors; they are my friends. They are my future children and grandchildren.

If you are reading this then you probably know me. But if you don’t then just replace me with someone else you know and love and imagine this... Imagine me or your loved one under Derek Chauvin’s knee instead of George Floyd. Can you see me? Them? Facedown on the pavement, a grown man applying the entirety of his weight to the back of my neck as I labor to breathe and my nose begins to bleed. Do you hear me as I cry for my mom? If you know me you know how much I love my mom and how much she loves me. Can you see her sobbing uncontrollably over my lifeless body? Can you imagine me, or someone you love living out our last moments in that way? Alone? Unloved? Hated? Knowing that everyone is watching but help is out of reach? Imagine me or your loved one coming to the realization that we are going to die and simply waiting for the moment to arrive. Can you feel our pain? Can you imagine what we must be thinking? Why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this? Why are they killing me? Why won’t anyone help me? Now imagine not bothering to ask those questions because you already know the answer. “I am black, I matter less, and I am dispensable.”

The exercise you just participated in is what happens in the minds of black Americans when they see these heinous acts committed over and over without justice. It is instantaneous and it sends a message. “I am worth less.” Doesn’t that seem like a horrible nightmare? Now imagine that nightmare on repeat. Not just in the media when we turn on the TV or scroll through social media but in the back of our minds as we live out our everyday lives. The lives God gave to us just like the lives he gave to officers Derek Chauvin and Jason Van Dyke. Are our lives worth less than theirs? History has told us that they are. Our society and the systems that have been put into place have told us that they are. Our experience has told us they are.

I recognize that in many ways I have lived a privileged life and I would never pretend to know by experience the full extent of how systemic racism has impacted the lives of my black and brown brothers and sisters that come from places I can never pretend to be from. Conversely, with all of my privilege I can never truly enjoy or pretend to enjoy the privilege that my white brothers and sister enjoy day to day. I say this because like you, my experiences and my position have shaped my perspective. I’m realizing more and more that my perspective is not the only one that matters and that I need to shift my perspective to see through the eyes of others if I really care about influencing others and promoting positive change. If this does not seem like a mind-blowing revelation, that’s because it is not. Yet, it remains an elusive practice.

I want you to try something, reach out to someone who doesn’t look like you and have a conversation. Say hey, “ I love you and I respect you, can we talk about this? Can I make mistakes and bump my head with you? Can you explain how you feel and why? Can I explain how I feel and why? Can we promise to not pass judgment?” You will be enlightened; your relationship will blossom and you will become deeply invested in someone else. That deep investment will manifest into love and that love will move us forward. One conversation at a time. These conversations will be hard, they will be painful but they will be life changing. If you don’t know someone you can talk to, message me. I will listen to you. Let me also be clear about this, I encourage everyone to do this with someone that comes from a different background but it’s just as important to do it with those that look like us and that come from where we come from because our perspectives differ too.

I will end with this, we are all ignorant in some way, black, white or otherwise. Shaming each other for our ignorance is not going to benefit anyone. Ignorance is not a crime; the crime is never caring to shed that ignorance. Our perspective is not the only one that matters and everything is not okay. We will never get to the mountain top believing those things to be true. Now is not the time to push each other away or to alienate one another. We need to move toward one another and stretch our minds and our hearts beyond what we thought possible. I don’t have all the answers and knowing that is as good a place to start as any because that reminds me that there is so much more to learn. Thanks for hearing me.