The Friday Update - Evergreen Grace

Happy Friday,

The fastest runners occasionally trip. The best candidates can lose. The team with the most regular season wins does not always win the title. Solomon—AKA “The Teacher”—knew this. His message of “life isn't fair” and “we're not in control” can be unsettling until you know Who is. 

FYI

In spite of what’s being claimed, the political noise has been louder. During the 1800 election, a Connecticut paper warned that if Jefferson won, "murder, robbery, rape, adultery and incest will openly be taught and practiced," while a pro-Jefferson journalist called President Adams a "hideous hermaphroditical character.” (BTW, Adams and Jefferson renewed their friendship a dozen years later. So, yes, there’s hope for Thanksgiving dinner). 

Without Comment

1) Ten percent of the British population claims to be sick or disabled.

2) AI-related issues are now among our top 10 fears. AI harming the political process is #3 and AI disrupting the economy is #7.

3) This year, there have already been a record 200+ attempts to prevent an invited speaker from appearing on college campuses.

4) When Congress set Election Day in 1845, it chose a Tuesday because farmers needed a day to get to the polls without traveling on the Sabbath or missing Wednesday's market day.

5) Per this global survey, 34% of CEOs said they’d considered stepping down within the previous six months.

6) Americans will spend $13.5B on Halloween this year (with $4.1B going for candy). That is an average of $115.14/person. Note: Candy corn was originally sold as chicken feed. 

7) GLP-1 usage in the U.S. has climbed from 3% in ’24 to 11% today.

8) Per this WSJ article, the new so-hot-you-have-trouble-getting-in class at Harvard is on Western Civ.

Quotes

1) “Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.” — Thomas à Kempis

2) “Above all, don't lie to yourself.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

3) “I know only this: that when my mother told me she had not been the mother to me that she wished she’d been, she became that mother for the first time.” — Tara Westover, Educated

Overheard

1) Be wary of any candidate who says the world will end if he or she loses. It will end. Just not because of him or her.

2) Doomscrolling is the new ultra-processed food.

3) Grace is an evergreen topic.

4) You know you’re raising a “biblical family” when you’re pretty sure one of your kids is going to kill one of the others.

5) God is doing something much bigger than you getting to heaven.

6) Many people no longer turn to the news to inform them. They use it to affirm them.

7) Everybody wants to save the world. Nobody wants to do the dishes. 

Happy Reformation Day

Although tomorrow is now associated with Halloween, not the Reformation, you can join me in celebrating the latter. To that end, I offer a few reflections on Lakelight’s recent Reformation Tour: 1) The church has always been in need of reform. Launched in Acts 2, the church started to reform itself already by Acts 5; 2) Protestants make too little of confession; 3) Americans walking in Europe are right to note how young the U.S. is — but that is only partly true. No one has a constitutional government that is as old as ours. 4) The biggest takeaway is how important courage is. (BTW, I’m not a huge fan of huge skeletons, but Halloween is the one night a year when strangers knock on your door looking for something. Turn on the porch light. Learn a few names. Invite them over sometime. As noted before, if you know the names of more world leaders than of your nearby neighbors, you're doing something wrong.)

Thoughts on the Riots

While we avoided Europe’s unrest, I did smell a bit of fear. 1) Many of the young are understandably angry, which is a problem because few emotions feel as good or fuel as much self-righteousness. 2) There is also a lot of envy about. I think the French Revolution of 1789 was a bad thing, but those who stormed the Bastille had cause. They were “Jean-Valjean-steal-bread-to-keep-your-sister’s-kid-alive” poor. Many of these protesters are not. 3) Math wins. You can be as big and beautiful as Paris, but if you borrow what you can’t afford today, then you won’t be able to buy what you need tomorrow.

The Cause of the Anger

 A U. of C. political scientist says 25% of today’s ambient anger is fueled by social media, 25% by things related to Trump and 50% by the pace of significant societal changes (e.g., AI, demographics, widening wealth inequality) we are navigating. 

The U.K. vs M.S.:

For all its highbrow reputation and global clout, the U.K. now has a lower per capita income than Mississippi, the poorest state in the U.S. BTW, 1): In some lists, Mississippi is ranked 51^st (behind Wash D.C.). 2) When asked to rank themselves, the Brits believed they were in the top quartile of U.S. states — i.e., they’ve not yet read the memo. 

WOTW

Honorable mentions go to cognitive diet (a term best pondered alongside Philippians 4:8 — “whatsoever things are true,” etc.) and quockerwodger (both a wooden puppet and a politician whose strings are being pulled). Full honors go to Allhallowtide (the three days from All Hallows’ Eve through All Saints’ Day to All Souls’ Day—this year, Saturday, October 31, through Monday, November 2).

Resources

Click here to hear last week’s sermon—#11 of 40 in my effort to help people understand the Bible as One Story, not a collection of stories. 

Closing Prayer

“I thank you my Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please you. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.” (Martin Luther — 1483-1546) 

P.S.

 If TFU has become part of your Friday rhythm—and you’d like to help us out—then send it to a friend. Preferably one who reads. But we’re trying to be hospitable.