I don’t really agree with that phrase actually. It’s slightly self-serving, despite it’s good intentions. I think a better mantra is:
Treat others like it’s their last day.
One of the problems with moving around a lot, is you always feel like there are ‘last days,’ both for you, and all your friends. It’s tough, I’m not going to lie, and honestly it’s taking it’s toll on me.
Categories: Musings
A little update on this post.
In a Bible study the other night–in Chinese by the way–a woman asked me to read a passage again in English, since I was the one with the English Bible and needed it because written Chinese is impossible difficult. And after I did, she decided to explain herself: she felt that only in the English translation could we accurately interpret what was being said; it was more direct, more concise, and the words were very clear.
I suppose good thing most everyone in Taiwan has some grasp of English.
In other words, here was this lady that went out a limb to declare to everyone, the Bible in our own language isn’t capable of giving us the full, complate 100% picture, so let’s use another language to help fill in the blanks.
Let’s assume this is true. Is it then possible, that the Bible in English is equally incapable of transmitting certain ideas, therefore causing us to lose bits and pieces of “the big picture?” Naturally, this leads us to the next question.
What about the other hundreds of languages on this planet?
Some people have a heart for the poor. It can never escape their minds as they go about their day that even if they make a measely $30,000 a year they’re already deep into that top, coveted bracket of the richest 10% of the world. They remember that every day 30,000 kids will die from starvation. Countless others die from disease, and still more will die from prolonged wars somewhat in part fueled by our corporate greed with ten degrees of separation.
Some go to Africa to build better infrastructure. Some go to India and China teach, maybe hand out some Bibles. Some go to develop clean drinking water systems. Others go to Western governments and lobby for these things.
Some people have a heart for the poor. I think, and I can’t say for certain, I might have a heart for the rich.
I have no scientific evidence or statistically significant data beyond anecdotal stories here. Only what my gut is telling me, and I have yet to run across anything that has challenged my gut feeling.
If anyone stabily living in the developed, so called “Western” world, is deeply rooted in the top 10% richest on the planet, then I would guess, that they also live in the top bracket for most depressed and unhappy.
It’s a shocking and perhaps overly bold statement, even for me, but the more I learn about our developed world, the businesses that run it, the governments that run it, the systems and ideals that run it, the more come away feeling that these people cannot be happy.
We’ve become a people that have overemphasized, to the point of mortgaging our own life and society away, our own selves, that somehow we are so important that the world spins on the axis of our self. Like we have somehow managed to destroy our own soul in the quest for our notion of wealth, comfort, and life. Cultures change, societies change, people change, and so the concept of a 9-5 job isn’t wrong by any means; the concept of searching for our life’s purpose must be worldwide and one of those eternal questions that someone asked thousands of years ago standing where I’m sitting right now, but only in the Western world do we have the physical and material means to ignore that question. Only we have a billion forms of entertainment, the supposed antidote to the working world. Only we could turn something potentially good like the Internet–something with the power to keep us connected–into a poison that hampers our ability to connect with each other physically as each generation grows not knowing what a life without text messaging is.
I suppose caring for the poor is actually easier. Yes, it requires more mental and physical work, but how does one dedicate their life to changing the modern day world? How do you go about deciding that one will change the lives of the BMW owner for the better? How do you even go about doing such a thing?
For the Christians who read this, I’ll take this one step further. What percentage of America do you think is really Christian? Who lives out their life in a way that God intended? I don’t think that percentage is that high. If it were, our country couldn’t possibly look the way it does now. That said, why don’t we feel the need to do anything about it?
I don’t mean to be sensationalist, but it’s something I found, maybe not shocking, but definitely eye-cathing.
I was flipping through a Chinese Bible the other day and noticed, the paragraph titles are different–and not just different, sometimes they’re not even in the same places.
In other words, when printing the thing, someone actually felt that certain passages had more relevance to what came before than what came after, in contrast to another editor.
I don’t mean to make mountains of mole hills; this really isn’t that big of a deal nor does it change much. But it does raise some interesting questions about the inerrantness about the interpretations of the Bible with regards to translation and language. I’m not suggesting that the Bible isn’t perfect, or that it isn’t factually reliable; still, I think it’s a reminder of how different people all across the world are and how they all differently view the same thing.
I think it’s one thing to hold up a Bible and boldly proclaim, “There are no errors in this book,” and another completely to say, “the Bible as it was written has no errors.” If you believe the Bible, which phrase are you going to be using?
Categories: Religion
but today I started thinking about the uplifting question
If I knew I were going to die in a couple years, how would I live today? Tomorrow? What would I want to do?
I guess it doesn’t really change anything. My driving goal is still to help people, and to make their day better.
But gosh, if I knew I only had a couple years to do it, I think I would pack up and go to an orphanage. Help those kids build a new life, be the support that they’re supposed to have.
I would also consider going into a large city and opening a pseudo coffee shop, game room, mini library, and a “venting shelter” combined into one. The latter part being something like a psychological shrink’s den, you can come in and just vent and we’d support you. If you’ve ever heard the radio drama “Adventures in Odyssey,” it’d be exactly like Whit’s End. A fun place for kids and adults, and a refuge in the midst of a bustling city.
I’d also write. Maybe a screenplay. Maybe a novel. I feel like I have a lot of things I’d love to share. I just don’t know if they’re worth sharing.
But when the clock is ticking, that doesn’t seem to matter so much.
Categories: Musings
If I ran a country it would be a mandate that everyone work a shitty ass job that nobody ever “dreams about”. It’d be a required course in high school and you’d have to take it every year. And then after you graduate from college you’d take it again before doing whatever else your life “calls” you to do. You could have the option of being a garbage collector, waiter, plumber or a checkout attendant at a supermarket.* And those would be just the basic courses.
And if after college someone still doesn’t get it drilled into their head that they don’t get to look down on anybody–no matter how low their job is perceived to be–they’d take a remedial course, at something like future SAT research.
This bothers me about our culture: we’re always having people serve us. It doesn’t matter if we’re eating at a restaurant, buying movie tickets, taking the bus or receiving mail. Someone is there making the world spin for us.
Okay, it’s not inherently a bad thing, but when you combine that with the idea that as customers we somehow deserve something, we start treating people less like people and more like invisible slaves who have no life of their own and should be unnoticed anyway. The people behind the desk, waiting on tables, standing behind the counter, the people who pick up our trash…they’re just lowlifes who deserve to be looked down upon aren’t they?
It’s like they exist solely to serve us; they’re all supposed to be there as if somehow we’re better than them because we’re the ones doing their “boss” a favor since we’re the ones paying for something.
You know what? It’s true. We are the ones paying for something and they’re the ones who are supposed to deliver. That’s their job.
But that doesn’t mean we get to be put ourselves on a high rocker and be an ass about it. Nobody gives a wooden nickel how important you think you are, when you’re at a restaurant you don’t get to throw a tirade at the waiter because he somehow got your order wrong.
I can’t think of a good way to end this, suffice to say, give some people some respect. They deserve it more than you do your 44.7% cooked steak.
* “fail” note: I realized I fell into my own trap of labeling these jobs with the amazingly graceful and positive tag of “shitty ass.” My point (I would think, obviously) is not to demean those jobs, but was to be overly biting in how I believe the general perception of these jobs is unfair.
I was thinking the other day if, as a Christian, I need to be reading the Bible everyday. Or at all. And by need, I mean, you have to or else you’re clearly not a Christian.
Silly question, really. If you had to do something or forfeit your “Christian”-ness that would defeat the point. But then I wondered, why do people encourage (read: borderline guilt trip / force) you to read the Bible?
I suppose it’s like watching the state of your body. You don’t have to worry about your health. You don’t need to exercise. You don’t need to watch what you eat. None of those things will mean some mysterious power will show up at your door and revoke your right to breathe.
But if you want to live a better life, you probably should want to keep your body healthy, and to do that, you have to do any or all of the above things.
How much you want to do any of those things is of course everyone’s own choice.
