The Friday Update - Absorb Pain

Happy Second Friday in Lent,

The suggestion that God knows the worst about us—and loves us anyway—is not just counter-intuitive, it counters our deep need for self-justification. We want to save ourselves. Legalism is our native tongue. Consequently, it’s not enough to accept the doctrine of justification by faith alone. We must drive it deep into our hearts. This work is never done.

Absorb Pain

Make it your goal today to absorb someone else’s pain. After they act inappropriately—e.g., cut you off, misrepresent your views, say something unkind, leave you to clean up a mess—surprise them with your gracious response. Let me go so far as to suggest that you model your treatment of them on Christ’s treatment of you. This will not only help them and bring you some joy, it may help save society. We’re descending deeper into an “eye for an eye” world where everyone ends up blind. Someone needs to stop the trendline; it might as well be us.

Overheard

1) Starting with the Industrial Revolution, we began spending more time with people we’re not related to than with those we are.

2) Lord, forgive me for being a stubborn idiot.

3) How we treat people who disagree with us is one of the greatest revealers of our heart.

4) It seems as though AI will soon join the wheel, gun powder, the steam engine, refrigeration, electricity, antibiotics, the automobile and the pill in the “inventions that changed the world” hall of fame. 

Quotes

1) “He is no fool who gives away what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” — Philip Henry (Though often attributed to Jim Elliot, it originated 300 years earlier with Henry.)

2) "Every great team must suffer a little, and sometimes a lot, in order to achieve greatness. Scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue." — Patrick Lencioni

3) “The time has come to replace the image of success with the image of service.” — Albert Schweitzer

Without Comment

1) This new study of 460K adolescents, shows a strong link between cannabis use and significantly higher incidents of psychotic, bipolar and anxiety disorders.

2) Gallup estimates 9% of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ+, unchanged from last year.

3) Per Bloomberg, Americans with a bachelor’s degree now account for a record high one-quarter of the unemployed.

4) Per this classic study, those instructed to suppress anxious thought became more anxious.

5) Although tourism grew globally last year, the US saw a 6% decline in foreign visitors.  

TV’s Mt. Rushmore

Survivor, which debuted in 2000, launched its 50^th season this week, placing host Jeff Probst alongside “the most televised people of all time” – think: Oprah, Walter Cronkite, Queen Elizabeth II, David Hasselhoff and Homer Simpson. With the move away from TV to streaming, Probst may be the only person who has truly outwitted, outplayed, and outlasted television itself. 

WOTW

Honorable mention goes to libido dominandi (the human heart’s desire to control others), the Great Decompression (the phenomenon of higher incomes rising faster than lower), Amara’s Law (our tendency to over-estimate the short-term and underestimate the long-term impact of new technology) and orthorexia (an obsessive preoccupation with healthy eating). Full honors go to Reality Apathy, which occurs when the volume of conflicting information makes discerning the truth costlier than the value of knowing it. 

IS2M

1) Gambling platforms - e.g. Modo Casino, FanDuel, Draft Kings, Kalshi, etc. – appear to be catching Big Pharma as the big funder of TV ads.

2)  I’m suddenly hearing more about trans-humanism than transgenderism.

3) C.S. Lewis claimed we can learn more about the problem of pain by suffering a toothache than by reading the philosophers. Having read many books on the problem of evil - and now suffering with a tooth I broke eating raspberry yogurt - I have to agree.

I’m Available

A recent WSJ article noted that some lawyers now charge $3.4K/ hour. I have no formal training, but I’ve watched several episodes of Law and Order and I’m willing to work for half their fees. I'm also available most Tuesday afternoons between 2 and 4. 

Resources

1) Click here to hear my introductory sermon for the Holy Habits Lenten series – which is exploring how we actually grow.

2) Click here to register to attend (in person or virtually) my Monday (March 2) 7pm CST discussion with Dr. Meghan Sullivan on The Thorny Ethics of AI.

3) Click here to watch my interview with John Owen, a Christ-follower, UVA political science professor and the author of several important books. We discuss the state of the world and the U.S.'s place in it. 

Closing Prayer

“Be kind to your little children, Lord. Be a gentle teacher, patient with our weakness and stupidity. And give us the strength and discernment to do what you tell us, and so grow in your likeness. May we all live in the peace that comes from you. May we journey towards your city, sailing through the waters of sin untouched by the waves, borne serenely along by the Holy Spirit. Night and day may we give you praise and thanks, because you have shown us that all things belong to you, and all blessings are gifts from you. To you, the essence of wisdom, the foundation of truth, be glory for evermore. Amen.” (Clement of Alexandria c.150-215)