Category Archives: Literature

02.28.19
by

Poverty, Possessions, and Happiness

I’m not a big poetry guy.

I try to be, but if I’m honest I don’t understand it as easily as I understand prose. Reading poetry is sometimes like trying to draw water from a well that’s deeper than my rope and bucket can reach.

But every once in a while I’ll come across a poem that quenches my thirst, like I did last summer while I was on vacation.

My family and I rented an Airbnb in the mountains of Virginia, and one rainy night I started thumbing through the books the cabin’s owner had left for guests and came across a thick, textbook-like poetry book. In it I uncovered a poem that stopped my outward search for entertainment and jump-started some serious introspection.

The poem was Ezra Pound’s “Salutation,” which hooks you right away with the opening lines:

“O GENERATION of the thoroughly smug / and thoroughly uncomfortable…”

Sounds like is, doesn’t it? The narrator then goes on to explain to the reader how he’s seen some of the greatest happiness among some of the poorest people, then he finishes with this thought:

“And I am happier than you are, / And they were happier than I am;  / And the fish swim in the lake / and do not even own clothing.”

Wow! The moment I read those words I was flooded with conviction, because far too often I’m the one who finds myself chasing happiness in success rather than celebrating the good gifts God has already placed in my hands.

Listen: Stuff will never satisfy you, because once you get what you want you’ll almost immediately start craving more.

Remember these words from the scriptures:

“He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 5:10 ESV).

and

“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God” (Luke 12:21 NLT).

In Christ alone can we not only experience salvation, but satisfaction too.

07.10.17
by

Passion: A Parable

adventure-1836217_1920A long time ago a father built a campfire with his son.  The father had to go away for a few hours, and night was getting close, so he warned his son to be careful not to let the flame go out.

The son received this responsibility with great care and seriousness at first.  He added wood to the fire every few minutes for the first hour or so, until the flames grew to three times his own height.

But after realizing the great size of the fire, as well as the fatigue that was beginning to set in from running back and forth to collect wood, the boy sat down on a log to admire what he had created.

As time passed he just sat and watched, until eventually the flame stood no higher than his shins.  He then got up and added a little more wood, but not as much as he had at first.

He did this several more times, letting the fire rise and fall, rise and fall, until eventually he fell asleep.

The boy awoke several hours later when he heard his father return to the campsite.

“What happened to the fire?” the father asked.

“I don’t know,” said the son.  “It just went out.”

“It didn’t just go out,” said the father.  “It went out because you stopped watching it.  You can’t expect a fire to stay lit if you only admire it and never attend to it.”

The son, in his shame, kept his eyes fastened on the ground, that is until he heard his father poking around the inside of the fire ring with a stick.  Digging through the gray ash like a miner in search of a diamond, the boy’s father finally stopped when he uncovered a glowing, red ember.

“Look here,” his father said.  “See that?  The fire may be gone for the moment, but if we care for what’s left the way we cared for the fire at first, we might yet see the flame restored.”

 

12.09.16
by

Five awesome quotes from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”

5-awesome-quotes-from-charles-dickens-2

If you’ve never had the opportunity to read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, I want to encourage you to do so this Christmas season.  We’ve all seen this story in one form or another on TV (my favorite version features the Muppets), but there are corners of the heart books seems to touch that films simply cannot.

Here are my five favorite quotes from the book:

1.

but-i-am-sure-i-have

That last part really hits me in the gut.  It’s both sad and encouraging.  We’re all “fellow-passengers to the grave,” so why show favoritism toward one person over another?

2.

they-were-not-a-handsome

One of the things I’ve been really learning from the Bible lately is that it is better to be content with what you have than to constantly want something else.  I mean, if you’re happy with what you have, why spend so much time and energy struggling after something you don’t need, something that won’t bring you satisfaction?

3.

i-wear-the-chain

This one’s all about personal accountability.  We can choose what we want our lives to be, and what our lives consist of in this life will ultimately impact what our lives are like in the next.  We’re either building chains for ourselves, or breaking them through the power of Christ.  Which are you doing?

4.

mens-courses

I love this thought!  As long as we have breath in our lungs, it’s not too late to change.  It’s not too late to become a better parent.  It’s not too late to change how we treat our spouses.  It’s not too late to put your faith in Jesus.  It’s not too late, and though you may have built up many chains for yourself, if you change course and turn to Christ you can leave all of those chains behind, forever!

5.

some-people-laughed

This is an attitude I aspire to have.  Who cares if people laugh at you for doing good?  Who cares if people mock you for turning down a better path?  Do what is right, what is best, and let men chatter while you live at peace.

09.12.16
by

Strength and Beauty Are Not Opposites

“Real strength never impairs beauty or harmony, but it often bestows it; and in everything imposingly beautiful, strength has much to do with magic.”

-Herman Melville

untitled-designThe above quote from Moby Dick refers to a whale’s tail, of all things, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the same could be said of God.  He’s almighty, the creator of heaven and earth, the one who holds the universe in his hands.  We describe him as omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (everywhere at once), and omnipotent (all-powerful).  He has no equal, and there’s nothing within reason for us to compare him to.  Our minds simply cannot comprehend his wisdom, presence, and might.

But at the same time, Jesus showed us God is no power-crazed war-monger.  In Christ, God stepped down from his throne in heaven, taking the form of a servant, in order to extend his grace to us.  He showed his gentleness by not roaring in like a lion ready to devour us because of our sin, but by laying down his life as a lamb so as to take the hit for us.  His gentle gesture was the most beautiful the world has ever seen.

I love the way the wise woman from Tekoa put it for David in 2 Samuel 14:14.  “All of us must die eventually,” she said.  “Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.”

How much more gentle could he be?  Despite being able to easily “sweep life away,” he instead makes plans to gently reconcile us with him — now that’s beautiful.  Although we’re undeserving, he gives us a chance to be made right with him.

Like God, I aspire to be tough and tender too.  I enjoy training and competing in boxing and mixed martial arts.  I like movies like Gladiator and Ip Man.  I want to be strong and be able to protect my family from people who would try to harm them.

But I also want to be gentle in the way I speak and act toward my wife.  I want my son to know I’m not afraid to be affectionate, and that it’s okay for a man to show some emotion.  David was a vicious warrior who played the harp!  I think I’m in good company if I can both fight and enjoy a good sunrise.

So be strong and beautiful.  Be tough and tender.  They’re not the antithesis of each other.  In fact, as God has shown, there are few characteristics of a person that are more complementary!

06.10.16
by

Pithy is powerful

hway8According to legend, Ernest Hemingway was once eating a meal with some fellow writers when he bet all of them $10 that he could write an entire novel in six words.  Six words!  It seems ridiculous at first, which is why the other writers were probably pretty quick to take up his offer.  Hemingway then took his pen to a napkin and wrote these chilling words:

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

He then passed the napkin around the table and, one at a time, each of the writers payed up.

This story about Hemingway, it turns out, is nothing more than a legend, but it proves an important point: pithy can be powerful.  You don’t have to be long-winded to make an impact with your speech or writing.  Preachers don’t have to spend hours and hours drawing out every little detail of a story, because the human imagination is powerful.  Allowing it to fill in the blanks actually adds more color to a story than a communicator could ever add on his own.

In the economy of words, less is more.

Jesus seems to have understood this.  Some of the sermons we consider the most powerful ever spoken are just a few sentences long.  Like Hemingway, Jesus got to the heart of the issue in a quick and memorable way.  His use of parables and short imagery allowed him to paint a broader picture without wasting his breath.

If you are a communicator by trade this kind of thing might really interest you, but what if you’re more of a behind-the-scenes kind of person?  Well, in Matthew 6, Jesus also told us the word count on our prayers doesn’t affect whether or not they’ll be answered:

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”

The Bible also encourages us to be better listeners than orators, and seems to suggest those that fail to listen well are more likely to be angry people too.  James writes, “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”

Proverbs 17 suggests the same, saying, “A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered.”  It also goes on to say even fools seem intelligent when their mouths are shut!

So be wise and learn to do the same.  Listen well, allowing your thoughts be well-formed before they leave your mouth, your keyboard, or whatever.  And when you do speak, remember an entire novel can be written in six words!

04.28.16
by

Living in the Moment – A Lesson from Leo Tolstoy

Good stories are more than just entertainment; they have the power to be life-changing. Jesus understood this, and at times chose to let his illustrations be the sermon rather than just a part of it. In his parables he spoke of what were most likely some fictional characters and events, yet his works of fiction conveyed more truth than the combined contents of stacks of autobiographies.

From now on that will be the focus of Faith Nerd Blog: keeping an eye out for God’s truth in stories, especially works of literature. It’s a blog at the intersection of reality and make believe, reading everything through the lens of the Gospel.

Tolstoy’s Tale

Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy wrote a great little story called “The Three Questions” in which a king theorizes he can avoid failure if he knows three things: the right time to begin everything, the right people to listen to, and the most important thing to do at any given moment.  

He surrounds himself with wise men who try to answer the three questions, but they have conflicting ideas so he decides to consult a hermit who is known far and wide for his wisdom.

The king disguises himself in order to talk to the hermit because the wise man will only receive “common folk.”  The hermit is digging in the ground in front of his hut when the king approaches to ask his questions, but when the hermit doesn’t answer, the king takes the spade and offers to dig a while so the hermit can rest.  

After hours of working the king becomes impatient.  He demands the hermit answer his questions, but just as he does so a man runs out of the woods bleeding from his abdomen.  The king washes and bandages the wound as best he can, but the blood keeps flowing.  So again and again he washes and bandages the wound, until finally the blood stops and the man’s life is saved.

By this time the sun has set and the wounded man is thirsty, so the king brings him some water and, with the help of the hermit, carries the man to the hermit’s bed to let him rest.  Afterward the king is so exhausted from his hard day’s work that he falls asleep.

When he awakes in the morning, the king finds the wounded man already awake.  The man apologizes to the king, not because he had been an inconvenience, but because he had actually come into the woods to avenge his brother’s death (and the loss of some property) by killing the king!  He had been wounded by the king’s bodyguard while on his mission, but is both grateful and astonished that his enemy would take such good care of him.  

The king not only forgives the wounded man, but says he will send his own servants and physician to care for him and will restore the lost property.

The king is happy to have made peace with his enemy, but still has some unanswered questions.  He asks the wise man one last time to answer his questions, and the man responds, “You have already been answered!”  The king, still confused, seeks more clarity, so the old man explains:

“Do you not see…If you had not pitied my weakness yesterday, and had not dug those beds for me, but had gone your way, that man would have attacked you, and you would have repented of not having stayed with me. So the most important time was when you were digging the beds; and I was the most important man; and to do me good was your most important business. Afterwards when that man ran to us, the most important time was when you were attending to him, for if you had not bound up his wounds he would have died without having made peace with you. So he was the most important man, and what you did for him was your most important business.

“Remember then: there is only one time that is important– Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power. The most necessary man is he with whom you are, for no man knows whether he will ever have dealings with any one else: and the most important affair is, to do him good, because for that purpose alone was man sent into this life!“

Learning from Leo

I love the message this short story delivers: one of the most important things you can do is live in the moment.  Even believers, who have the hope of eternal life in them, have to keep in mind that while heaven and perfection are our future we still live in the now, so we can’t neglect it or the people in front of us.

The most important time for you is right now.  One of my personal mantras is, “You only have today.”  It’s a constant reminder that you can plan ahead and reflect on the past, but you can’t possess any moment but the present.  So go out and carpe the crap out of your diem!  Don’t rest on the laurels of your faith by over-reflecting on what God did yesterday or get stuck waiting on what He’ll do in the future.  Today is the only opportunity you have to act.  Right now is the only time you have any power.  Use your now wisely!