Laying aside glory

We heard a very good sermon today about the friendship between Jonathan and David. It was very encouraging. The chief reminder that it gave me was the sacrificial aspect of love.

Everyday and in every place that I look, I see the worship of glory. The best looking people get the love and attention of our cities, the most sucessful business men are pandered to, and, more relevant to academics, the smartest are encouraged to overtake, dominate, compete, and conquer. The logic is pagan. To the best goes the glory.

This sermon just reminded me that Jesus taught us another way. The one who lays down the glory is the highest. Consider that friends. What is your glory? Will you lay it down to serve and die?

Grace and Peace,
Krammy

Dressing Up

Some readers of this blog may not know that for eight years of my life I wore the same outfit every day- blue jeans and a white t-shirt. In the last three years I've changed that habit and taken to wearing free shirts (if they're funny) and whatever sort of pants I get.

Della and I reflected on the psychological effect of our clothing as we drifted to sleep last night. I wonder how much my current dress affects the way I see myself and how I interact with the world? I know that I'm very different in a lot of ways than I was then, but how much of that is attributable to my attire? Certainly not all of it, but some of it I'm sure.

I think my initial over-reaction to fashion was to this aspect of clothing- a rebellion against the mere imagery that clothing represented. A well dressed man can still be a scoundrel, and a geeky guy can still be really fun. So, clothing must be false right? At least that's how I thought about it freshman year of high school. Now I think I'm just trying to be normal and approachable. The problem is that I don't think I'm really all that normal and when I dress with intentionality, I feel like I'm acting a role in a play, like I'm playing dress up. There a loss of sincerity there that really makes me miss my white t-shirts.

Just some thoughts. Have you thought about this, too?

Femies

I saw a a bumper sticker on the way home this week that was a bold faced lie. It read, "Feminism is the radical notion that women are people." Baloney.

Before anyone gets crazy, I'm not in the slightest attacking the idea that women are people. I think women are more glorious and consequential than most feminists do I'm sure. I can say that because I believe that women, along with men, are created in the image of a loving, good, and creative God, whereas most feminists have only wishy-washy metaphysical foundations for the importance of persons. Women, in my view are to be respected and cherished on the basis of this foundational point, which a host of other considerations buttress and nuance.

So what is feminism then? Putting a simple definition on it is silly as the movement has become very large and unwieldy, but in its origin, feminism is the belief that each women should decide the terms of her own existence. Thus, the first wave (post 1968 in the USA) of "feminism" followed the existentialist feminism of Simone de Beauvoir, who made recommendations for a moral revolution: on demand abortion, no fault divorce, equal pay for women, among others.

So what is feminism? The idea that women should have the full support of society in being master's of their own fate, capable of at any time and for any reason cutting all ties and responsibilities to their community, to their husbands and to their offspring. Denying them this is now to be interpreted as oppression.

It is, in fact, our commitments and relationships that define us. We can no more determine our own identity than we can determine our species. I don't oppose equal pay for women, but I won't fall for some bumper sticker aphorism that makes such false light of marring the image of God, disconnecting that which was created in the image of the Trinity from the responsibilities and community which are the arena of its glory.

Down with stupid bumper stickers.