The Friday Update - Not Bespoke

Happy Friday,

Some focus on parts of the Bible they cannot accept. Christ-followers should focus on the parts of their lives the Bible does not accept. Indeed, we should run towards the correction.

Three Cheers for Aristotle

Given that Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics stand as the only serious rival to the ethics of Jesus (at least in the West), I’ve viewed his approach as a cross-town rival. But The Philosopher’s claim that virtue is the midpoint between two vices—e.g., courage is the mean between cowardice and recklessness—has merit. Especially today, when we need more middle. Here’s a suggestion: as we roll through our 250th, let’s avoid turning the US into an idol or seeing only her faults. May gratitude and honesty > triumphalism or cynicism.

Nominees?

Because the rise and fall of words is a signal about the moment, I profile new and trendy terms under WOTW. I’m up for also doing the opposite—i.e., drawing attention to words that have gone MIA. Take bespoke. This term, which holds the title for clunkiest non-German word of recent memory, is suddenly being bespoken much less. Curated is following close behind. A few years ago it escaped the museum to be deployed on coffee beans, vacation itineraries and conference experiences. If you can think of others, send them my way. 

Overheard 

1) The opposite of addiction isn't sobriety, it's communion.

2) Many who say they don't have time to pray find time to be anxious.

3) Comparison is the thief of joy; envy is the assassin of gratitude.

4) Children spell love T-I-M-E.

5) The shortest distance between two people is a story.

6) Lots of people were in the right place at the right time but failed because they were the wrong person.

7) If you want to live a miserable life, convince yourself that all of your problems will disappear once you get to the next tier of income and social status.

Without Comment

1) More than 40% of Americans who identify as upper or upper middle class are worried about their finances.

2) According to AmeriCorps, adults with a child < 18 are 10% more likely to volunteer than adults without children.

3) Corporate giving hit a record $44B in ’24.

4) The number of US weddings have dropped to a near-record low, but $ spent per wedding continues to climb.

5) Per Jean Twenge, as of '24, 3 out of 4 boys (and half of girls) don’t disagree with the statement that it’s best if men are the achievers and women take care of the home and family.

6) Per Gallup, only 33% of Americans are proud to be so, a record low.

7) Total global debt—the combined debt of governments, corporations, and households—now exceeds $340 trillion, which = 310%+ of global GDP. 

Quotes Worth Requoting

1) "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." — Kurt Vonnegut

2) "There are no solutions; only tradeoffs.” — Thomas Sowell

3) “Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.” — Milton Friedman.

WOTW

Honorable mention goes to productivity guilt (the belief that rest must be earned or it’s being stolen), Operation Reconquista (the movement of conservative Christians Zers attempting to steer Protestant mainline churches back to orthodoxy), and hesychia (a Greek term for the inner stillness pursued by the Desert Fathers). Full honors go to midwit, internet slang for those of above-average intelligence who overestimate their intellect and overcomplicate simple concepts.

IS2M

1) Every Uber driver sent my way has a rating > 4.8. Clearly Lake Woebegone has nothing on us.

2) One of society’s main divides is between those with Utopian expectations and those with Thomas Sowell instincts.

3) You can accomplish a lot if you're willing to endure the shame of rejection, the boredom of repetition, and the pain of feedback.

Worth Remembering

If you have power or money - and especially if you have both - you should realize that few people other than your spouse, kids and close friends are likely to tell you the truth. You should also realize how tragic this is, because feedback is the real Breakfast of Champions. 

Dignity or Contempt

The creators of The Dignity Index—an eight-point scale measuring whether our words communicate dignity or contempt—note that the latter rarely changes minds. It simply hardens hearts. Those apprenticing with Jesus must learn “to disagree without demeaning, contend without condemning, and defend truth without surrendering love.”

Resource

1) Click here to hear my final sermon in the forgiveness series.

Closing Prayer

“O God, Make yourself always present to my mind, and let your love fill and rule my soul, in all those places, and companies, and employments to which you call me this day. O you who are good and do good, who extend your loving-kindness to all mankind, the work of your hands, your image, capable of knowing and loving you eternally: suffer me to exclude none, O Lord, from my charity, who are the objects of your mercy; but let me treat all my neighbors with that tender love which is due to your servants and to your children. Let your love to me, O blessed Savior, be the pattern of my love to them. Amen.” (John Wesley - 1703–1791)