I Belong To My Daddy

One of my baseball teammates has two little boys that attend many of our games. One of the first times I met one of the boys, he promptly stated "I belong to my daddy". His immediate identity was tied to that of his dad. I thought about that statement relative to my life. I want my life to reflect that I belong to my daddy and my daddy is Jesus Christ. Anything that draws attention to me in the absence of my daddy is bad but anything that draws attention to my Lord (at least in a positive way).

When we attend an Indians game, we sometimes sit up in the upper, upper deck. Mainly because we are cheap. During the game, we might yell out "C'mon Kipnis". Now where we sit, Kipnis has no more chance of hearing us than he does hearing someone stationed on the moon. Yet, why do we yell such a thing? (I am drawing a distinction between this type of yelling and general cheering which melds together with the rest of the crowd). Because we like to draw attention to ourselves. I remember being in New York City around Thanksgiving and someone was driving in a convertible with the top down blaring tunes. It was probably about 30 degrees out. Drawing attention to ourselves again.

It then is a far distance to go from purposeful behavior to draw attention to ourselves to draw attention to my heavenly father. I pray about it every day, but man is it hard. Am I living in a way that draws attention away from myself and towards my heavenly father? Because I belong to my daddy.

Thoughts on Jared Fogle

I am not totally shocked by anything I hear when it comes to sexual deviancy. Why would Jared Fogle, the everyday middle American male who challenged us to lose weight while eating well, be any different. I think this area of sexual perversion has just touched the tip of the iceberg.

1. The line between what is now viewed as acceptable and even normative is increasingly moving towards higher and higher levels of sexual deviancy. The line between sexual norms and sexual misconduct are blurry.
2. A man down the path of sexual perversion can progress further and further down the line without any thought of where to draw it.
3. Surround sexual desire with a newfound sense of power and you have a witches brew waiting to happen. Apparently Mr. Fogle did not think twice to tell others of his obsession.

Our society and culture bring images to our life that are available 24x7. Movies like Fifty Shades of Grey are popularized in the mainstream. Whenever we gaze at images, we imprint them on our brain and they stay there. Then it moves to acting it out. James wrote 2,000 years ago about the progression of sin and in particular sexual sins. "But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lusts. And when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin has accomplished, it brings forth death.  Do not be deceived my beloved brethren" (James 1:14-16).  

Outrage is the response of many of us and as it should be. Sexual perversion of this kind is indeed shocking. But when we look at the grand scheme, we should not be surprised in any way.  

Empathetic Prayer

It is every traveler's nightmare. You see a baby/toddler getting on the plane. You hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Sure enough, barely up in the air and the baby starts screaming. I am not talking about light screaming either. I am talking about gasps of air of silence to get the full effect and then blood curdling screaming.  You know what I am talking about. Thankfully it was a short flight (Boston to Cleveland), but the baby was screaming virtually the entire flight.

Initially, I put my head phones on trying to tune it out. But this was so loud that it could not drown it out. Then I went through a phase where I thought "what is wrong with these parents - can't they calm that kid down?".  How quickly I forget as the parent of three children that the best of us can be completely helpless when this type of screaming starts. Then I turned to my young co-worker and asked him if he was sure he wanted children.

Then something amazing happened. The Holy Spirit said to me as clear as a bell - "Why don't you pray for that family?". This may have seemed like a trivial thing to pray for. Doesn't God have bigger crises to deal with than this screaming baby on a closed fuselage somewhere over the northeast?  Apparently not. I call this empathetic praying - supplication that happens in everyday circumstances. So I prayed and prayed hard - like it was a life or death matter. I asked God to calm this child and give her parents a break (the rest of us needed the break too so it wasn't totally selfless). I prayed hard - kid still screaming. I prayed again. The child stopped abruptly. Now I am not saying that my prayer had anything to do with it. That is the mystery of prayer. God is completely in control but He wants us to pray as if it depends on us. We get to enjoy participating in this mystery of life in the seen world.

I learned something from this as well. I have asked God to show me people from His lens. Empathetic praying - being aware of others. A friend asks for prayer - I shouldn't slough it off. I pass an accident on the road already being taken care of. It looks bad but God says pray for that family. I sat next to a girl on another flight on her way to her fiancee's funeral who was tragically killed in a car accident. She is carrying his child.

This is something that can be learned and developed as the Christian man matures. I am nowhere near where I would believe God wants me, but I am thankful He has showed me my warts and turned it into the practice of empathy.