Comfortable?

"Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

I used to think of these verses strictly in terms of the so-called "problem of evil". That is, I used to think that this passage only gave a reason for our "troubles", namely, so that we can help others "experiencing any trouble". I no longer view these verses in only this context, and hope to walk you through a whole new way of looking at this Pauline teaching.

Ok, here we go...

Paul begins this section with a brief, straightforward doxology, "Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ". He then focuses on a particular aspect of God's character, saying, "the Father of mercies and God of all comfort". Notice that comfort is attached to God (and again at the end of v. 4). In the Greek, the word "comfort" could be taken as a genitive of content, and would read "God is full of all comfort".

Keep that in mind because Paul is going to describe an "interaction" of comfort between God and man. Paul says that God is the one "who comforts us in all our troubles". Notice, God comforts man. But, Paul doesn't stop here, he describes another "interaction" of comfort, "so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble" This time, man comforts man.

Here's where it gets interesting, Paul says that we comfort each other, "with the comfort with which we ourselves were comforted by God." What an incredible concept. First, God comforts man, then man takes that same comfort, and comforts other men.

The implications are startling, God allows us to, how can I say this without sounding heretical, function as God towards those around us. What a humbling thought, that God would choose to use fallen human vessels for His service. Analogous to How God reveals His glory through the heavens (Psalm 19), God actually chooses to reveal Himself through the agency of human beings as well.

My question to you is this, "Can people see God in you?" When someone needs comforting, do you show them the comfort of God Himself? You might be the channel through whom God expresses his comfort. The people around you have the chance to catch a small glimpse of God's comfort through, don't miss this, you! The God of the universe, who had the bright of idea of 'comfort' in the first place, chooses to, at times, give comfort to His creation, through His creation. Amazing.

One is the Loneliest Number

Since it's inception, I've tried to make Tangential Lucidity relevant to a wide demographic. In an effort to improve TL, I've decided to make this a team blog, and have invited Stephen Archer to be a regular contributor. Stephen has run his own blog, God Restores, for about a year, and his writing always provokes thought.

Hopefully, our posts will function relatively independent of each other. We aren't on here to debate, and the topics we blog about might be quite different from each other. While we do agree on many topics, simply patting each other's arguments on the back isn't the purpose of this blog either. Our goal is to simply run an eclectic team blog that challenges people to think about current issues from a Biblical worldview.

The Standard in All things Human

If I had to pick one thing that bothers me about Christians/the Church/Christendom today, it's our lack of drive to be the absolute best. We ought to strive for nothing less than excellence in all of our endeavours. We are a reflection of the God we serve, and looking around at God's reflectors here in America, God seems pretty, well, lousy.

Jesus asks us to function as lights to society, so that they can "see our good deeds and give honor to our Father in heaven." Furthermore, in I Corinthians Paul said that we should do everything for God's glory.

If God is really so great (not to mention real) why aren't His followers great? Why aren't we producing the most talented music, running the most successful businesses, building the most efficient houses, writing the most brilliant books, developing the most advanced technology, and altogether running circles around the competition?

To make matters worse, we hypocritically condemn the "secular" pursuits of the world, only to capitalize on their developments. We use cell phones, drive cars, shop at stores, watch TV, take medication, live in houses, and enjoy other such "worldly" creations. Basically, we mooch off of society's advancements, all the while touting an I-only-pursue-God-and-I-don't-waste-my-time-on-temporary-pleasures-because-I-am-so-spiritual attitude.

We tell ourselves that anything other than Bible study and prayer is somehow un-spiritual, and so we don't pursue our interests with excellence (i.e. we aren't good "contributors to society"). If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well. If you think it would be a waste of time to perform something you do with anything short of excellence, you are wasting your time. God has given us dominion over this world, and has asked us to bring honor and glory to His reputation. We are supposed to be making God famous. People should watch what we do, and see the glory of God. God has saved us from an old life of bondage to sin, and brought us into a new life of bondage to Him. We have been brought from death to life. We should want to please God, by doing our absolute best for Him. Anything else damages the reputation of God.

The problem comes when I look in the mirror. Am I an excellent writer? researcher? assistant manager? citizen? church member? husband? Do I contribute something worthwhile to others, or just leach off of other's accomplishments?

Truth is, I'm a pretty mediocre guy. Maybe the problem isn't other Christians. Maybe the problem is me.

American Theater

IMDB (Internet Movie Database) is a massive online tool for researching anything to do with movies, TV, actors, etc. On their website, they have a list of the all-time USA box office movies. Tell me if you noticed the same thing I did about the following list of the top 35 grossing movies of all-time in the USA.

Rank. Movie (Released) $Ticket Sales

1. Titanic (1997) $600,779,824
2. The Dark Knight (2008) $533,316,061
3. Star Wars (1977) $460,935,665
4. Shrek 2 (2004) $436,471,036
5. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) $434,949,459
6. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) $431,065,444
7. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) $423,032,628
8. Spider-Man (2002) $403,706,375
9. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) $380,262,555
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) $377,019,252
11. Spider-Man 2 (2004) $373,377,893
12. The Passion of the Christ (2004)$370,270,943
13. Jurassic Park (1993) $356,784,000
14. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) $340,478,898
15. Finding Nemo (2003) $339,714,367
16. Spider-Man 3 (2007) $336,530,303
17. Forrest Gump (1994) $329,691,196
18. The Lion King (1994) $328,423,001
19. Shrek the Third (2007) $320,706,665
20. Transformers (2007) $318,759,914
21. Iron Man (2008) $318,298,180
22. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) $317,557,891
23. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) $317,011,114
24. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) $313,837,577
25. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) $310,675,583
26. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) $309,404,152
27. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) $309,125,409
28. Independence Day (1996) $306,124,059
29. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) $305,388,685
30. The Sixth Sense (1999) $293,501,675
31. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) $292,000,866
32. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) $291,709,845
33. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) $290,158,751
34. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) $289,994,397
35. Home Alone (1990) $285,761,243

(Taken directly from this IMDB web page)

Even after a cursory reading of this list, it's hard to not notice the prevailing theme. All but five of these movies (Titanic, Passion of the Christ, Forrest Gump, The Sixth Sense, and Home Alone) have strong plot elements of fantasy. (Some would argue that "Passion of the Christ" and "Sixth Sense" also have elements of fantasy, I disagree). Whether it's animation (Finding Nemo), magic (Harry Potter), supernatural curses (Pirates of the Caribbean), Sci-Fi (Star Wars), aliens (Independence Day), superheroes (The Dark Knight), or people and places from a whole new world (Lord of the Rings) 81% of the top 35 all-time grossing movies in America have strong non-natural elements. Fascinating, isn't it?

It could be that these movies do so well, because, broadly speaking, they are more "family" oriented. In other words, movies that are rated 'R' can't do as well in the theater because you can't bring the whole family along and, consequently, the movie doesn't earn as much money. These Top 35 movies may have simply had the better chance of grossing high, not because of their genre, but because of their PG-PG13 content.

It could also be, and I think this is closer to the truth, that these movies fill a whole in our lives much more than a "realistic" genre, such as Drama, ever could. We want to escape from the hum drum of everyday. We want to exercise our imaginations again like we did when we were kids. We want a safe world where black is black and white is white. We want a hero we can emulate, and a villain we can conquer. We want the satisfaction of withholding impending doom from an alien attack. We want a place where our creativity can maneuver unhindered by the harsh realities of life.

Whatever your interpretation of the Top 35 list, it certainly provokes thought, and, perhaps, helps us understand each other just a little bit better.

No Harm, No Foul

I think we underestimate the tremendous impact the consequences of an action have on our judgment of the morality of that action. If we do something stupid, we quickly whip out our “Consequence Meter” and begin to gauge just how stupid said action really was in the first place. Let me offer a couple of illustrations in order to try and clarify my point.

Several months ago, I was driving through a section of downtown Chattanooga with which I was fairly unfamiliar. I was busy checking road signs, trying to get into the correct lane, and undoubtedly, (though I don’t completely remember) adjusting the radio. Suddenly, I became under the distinct impression that something wasn’t quite right. It was at this point I realized, while blowing through a busy intersection in broad daylight without a care in the world, the light - my light - was red!

Amazingly, I didn’t get into an accident, or get a ticket (I didn’t even get a ticket in the mail a few weeks later from those intersection camera thingamajigs). The only significant consequence of this bone-headed move on my part was that my heart rate increased for a few minutes. Other than that, it was business as usual for the rest of the day, and I felt very, very little guilt for running the red light. However, can you imagine if I had struck a car, and killed someone? What if I had killed a whole family? I would still be feeling absorbed with guilt, even to this day. I would have forever regretted not paying attention on that could-have-been-fateful day. The odd thing is, in either scenario (getting off scot-free vs. killing a family of five) I made the EXACT SAME MISTAKE - I ran a red-light. My evaluation of the mistake however, boiled down to the significance of the consequences.

Allow me to give a second illustration to complete the point. How many times have you said something to someone, only to wonder if maybe whatever it was you said would have been better left, well, unsaid. Confused? The other day I said something I shouldn’t have. (I’m sure that comes as a shock to all of you) I said something rude/embarrassing/insulting to a friend of mine. When I said it, I was afraid I had hurt his feelings so I asked him, “Are you mad at me? Did I hurt your feelings?” Why did I ask him that? Because I was going to judge the morality of what I said based on his response. If he had laughed it off, I would have been tempted to continue in my rude/embarrassing/insulting ways. If he had become upset or hurt, I would have felt terrible about what I had said, and judged what I had said to be wrong. In other words, I didn’t so much care whether or not I had said something rude, I only cared if HE cared. I was judging my behavior based on the consequences. (I am fully aware that in some instances, other people’s sensitivities/culture should guide what we say, that’s not what I’m talking about here).

So what’s the point? My point is, pay attention to how often you judge morality based on the consequences. There is a good deal of temporary injustice in this sin cursed world. Chances are, you might do something dreadfully bad and (don’t miss this) get away with it. Or, you might do something heroically good, only to draw the short straw.

News Flash: Sometimes good things happen to bad people. Truly mind-blowing. It’s so counter-intuitive to how we think. We think that if you’re doing the right thing, then people will respect you, you’ll have money in the bank, your boss will notice you, your friends will be loyal to you, and you’ll have a massive impact. Being a God-pleaser doesn’t always mean cake and ice-cream. At least not now. But, don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. (Galatians 6:7)