Perspectives
A Material Myth
We live in an age filled with unparalleled advances in technology. These have made it possible for people everywhere to have access to multiple luxury items that make everyday life easier than ever. For those willing, food and clothing are available at much lower costs. Transportation and communication improvements have created a society so mobile…
Read MoreAn Unfulfilled Life
Among common life goals people cite, wanting to make a difference usually tops the list. How people define making a difference may change due to the different interests and strengths people have, but people want to feel like what they are doing in life truly matters. Doctors, researchers, counselors, journalists, soldiers, politicians, and more all…
Read MoreThe Pattern for Social Stability
The last few years American society has experienced a rapid decline in basic social stability. One by one, various cornerstones of morality and civility either have eroded beyond recognition through neglect or have been destroyed through the combined blows of political activism and judicial overreach. Competing factions on the social and political spectrum have grown…
Read More7 Lessons Every Preacher Must Learn
From the moment preachers graduate from school and begin a work, they typically become the focal point of learning in the local congregation. The nature of the work necessarily includes the built-in expectation of advanced knowledge and the ability to communicate. The man of God must prove himself a man of character, ready to face…
Read MoreResilience
The year 2020 has created such a downward emotional spiral that everyone keeps trying to guess what will go wrong next. January seemed to take forever, and then February added tension and whispers of problems. March brought the COVID-19 pandemic to our doorstep, and April ushered in all its consequences. Just when everyone had absorbed…
Read MoreSomething Worse Than Isolation
Isolation has a rich history as a theme often explored by authors, directors, and teachers. In elementary school I remember reading Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell about a young girl stranded alone for years on an island off the California coast. A few years later I read Robinson Crusoe, the classic work…
Read MoreHow to Overcome Strife
Division and strife dominate the news cycle once again. The ability of people and the media to pivot so quickly from division over candidates to division over pandemic policies of various kinds to division over ethnicity and injustice boggles the mind. It appears impossible for people in today’s world to engage in serious issues without…
Read MoreA Plea for Civil Discourse
So. Much. Anger. No matter where you turn today, angry people seem to dominate discourse. It has become extremely difficult to find a reasonable discussion that focuses on facts, thought, reason, and balance—regardless of the subject matter. The entire temperament of society currently revolves around having a “hot take” rather than having an informed opinion. Clearly…
Read MoreKnowing the Difference
No one shows up in your life with a sticker on the lapel saying, “I am a gossip,” no matter how helpful that warning might prove. Similarly, to my knowledge, no one on Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media site provides a profile picture that reads, “Cagy Internet Troll.” Instead, we must figure these…
Read MoreCheapened Sexuality
As news headlines remind us on practically a daily basis, improper sexual behavior remains a significant issue regardless of political party, ethnic group, or social strata. Sexual sins tempt anyone from politician to preacher, exist in every form from sexual harassment to prostitution, and appear anywhere from the Internet to Hollywood’s casting couch. The people…
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