Timid Sheep

All of us are used to the shenanigans of our local law enforcement gang - the heat, the fuzz, the police - call them what you will. As we drive down the road we see them hiding out in bushes or donut shops in a operation called a speed trap. Something about the speed trap has never sat right with me. I think it has something to do with my natural Orwellian aversion response (a veiled reference to George Orwell's seminal work 1984). I feel like Big Brother is trying to spy on me from the shadows. (I won't even get into the whole notion of who polices the police? Have you ever seen the way these yahoos drive and seemingly (at times) ignore all of the rules of the road and common sense?) Somehow the idea of "the man" trying to pick off the common dude or dudette to meet the quotas they are given seems too fall into a Hazzardian paradigm (a not-so veiled reference to T.V.s Dukes of Hazzard with Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane running a crooked town).

Actually what I really wanted to note today (before I got so side tracked) was a behavioral tendency I have noticed amongst folks who drive past the more obvious speed traps. This tendency has led to the title of today's post, namely "Timid Sheep". Even if folks are already driving 35 m.p.h. in a 55 m.p.h. zone, they will still brake as they approach the P.V.U. (i.e. the police vehicular unit). These are the same folks who will not pass the same P.V.U. driving along at 35 m.p.h. in the 55 m.p.h. zone (dang Mabel, this must be a trick). Come on people, don't let the man scare you. Step up and act in confidence! If you are not careful, their hidden cameras will betray your nervousness and this will then alert the stormtroopers to pay even closer attention to your every move.

Unexpected Nudity

It's funny how we react around folks without their clothes on. Now I'm now talking about our reactions in the boudoir, that is the topic for another post (probably on someone else's blog). I'm not even talking about how we behave around the guys in the locker room, which is itself a very interesting culture. I am talking about our reactions when we happen upon someone who is sans fig leaf in an unexpected place or situation. I am sure that we have all either innocently walked into an occupied bathroom or changing room or had the same thing done to us (like the time when I was in the Charles DeGalle airport in Paris - yikes). Think back to how you reacted or how the other person reacted. Sometimes, just the simple act of seeing someone naked can alter a relationship permanently. What is the big deal? Why does exposure lead to such outcomes? Is it that the walls or images that we have been trying so hard to build up are instantly brought down?

The other day at work, I went into one of the bathrooms where there is a small shower stall. However, I have never seen anybody use this facility. When I walked into this undersized bathroom, there was this man standing there, totally in the buff, doing some kooky drying aerobics thing with his towel between his legs. My initial uncontrolled reaction was to audibly yelp, stare at his twig and berries in shock, and then try to cover this less than manly action with a quick "how ya doin'" in my deepest voice. I was so uncomfortable - I hastened through my business and got the heck out of there. I have no idea how shower guy felt about all this. Maybe he didn't give it another thought. Maybe he is now in therapy. Maybe he thinks that I need therapy.

Hare Seppuku

I set out to buy my young daughter a calendar for the new year. Driving to the store I thought about the monthly themes that she might prefer. Hmmm, maybe frolicking kitties, cute and huggable puppies, or pictures of rainbows and unicorns. Just thinking about the photos or drawings and her reactions to them each month kind of warmed me up inside. I ended up going to the local Barnes and Noble bookstore, which has a pretty decent selection. After making a first visual pass over the offerings, some twisted, warped part of me strayed away from kitties, puppies, and unicorns to bunnies. I can hear you say "but bunnies are cute and fluffy too". The problem is the calendar that I picked out was called "The 2009 Calendar of Bunny Suicides" by Andy Riley. (That should put to rest the rumors of my insanity.) But seriously, who would not crumble a little inside considering the plight of these poor, disheartened creatures? As one reviewer put it, maybe they are tired of their media image being limited to (a) wisecrackers like Bugs Bunny, (b) gibbering fools like Roger Rabbit, (c) soft-hearted sidekicks like Thumper, or (d) samurai warriors like Usagi Yojimbo.


Looking over the depictions, we see images of a lost bunny feeding himself to a venus flytrap, another trying to cleave himself with a knife attached to a remote-control truck, one about to be pressed wafer thin by an approaching bobsled. Where will the madness end? Perhaps we should enlist old Jerry Lewis (who I understand is much loved by the French people) to help emcee a dedicated telethon? Isn't there something that could be done for these poor souls? While I ponder on this subject a bit longer, I will have to be content to study my daughter's calendar in more detail and try to force myself not to smile.

Legalism Visited

Legalism. We read so much in the Bible about those grace-killing legalists - the Pharisees and the Sadducees. One can perhaps understand how the shackles of the full measure of the law crept into their lives. Somehow this notion fully took them over like an inescapable addiction. Not only did it infect their own existence, they projected this misguided principle onto everyone. Suddenly the metric by which they judged themselves became the yardstick by which everyone was judged.

Of course, there are many modern forms of legalism and grace killing, sometimes very subtle and cleverly disguised. It is up to us to make the decision to give in to the pressures or understand what is at stake and make our own decision. I was inspired to ponder on this topic when a friend began an impassioned discussion with me about what movies he allowed himself to watch. Movies that included any sinful behaviors, sex, drug use, cheating, swearing, lewd behavior, were off limits. He also indicated to me that this filtering was starting to creep into other areas of his life such as the music he listened to or the people he associated with. I sensed that this ideal was growing within him and taking hold in his life. My side of the discussion was that enjoying a movie or listening to music or hanging around with tax-collectors is not necessarily sinful behavior. It depends on what we do with what our senses collect. While my friend acknowledged that my point of view was valid, I sensed that he could easily start to take his philosophy outside of himself and his family and start using it to measure others.

There are several approaches that are sensible as we decide how to apply rules and regulations to our lives. The first is to talk with Christians that you know to be wise and get some honest feedback. Discourse with an open mind. Next, one should try to understand what Scripture says and doesn't say about a given behavior or lifestyle. Finally, if you feel that following a certain paradigm is appropriate for you to protect you from sin, great, this demonstrates real discipline and inner resolve. However, always keep in mind that others may not walk the same path, and that this can be perfectly fine as well. There are many paths to the promised land for the fellowship of believers.

Hobbytown

hob·by (hŏb'ē) – noun, plural -bies - An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation primarily for pleasure.

You know that I have never had a hobby before, at least not as far back as I can remember. I played with games as a kid, and I played some ball way back in college, but I can't think of anything that one might classify as a hobby that has been part of my life for the past 20-some years. Strange, but there were always other things that seemed more important that needed my immediate attention. Things like graduate school, thesis work, find a postdoctoral fellowship, getting a permanent job, dreaming up new experiments, marriage, raising a family, earning a living to pay for every danged thing under the sun. Hobby, whoa there, not for me thank you. I've got a full load already that is fixin' to pull me under as it is.

This past year the notion of a hobby took on a different perspective in my life. It kind of snuck up on me when I wasn't looking and grabbed a hold of me. It all started with some questions that I raised in Community Group. A couple of books were recommended to me. As I pored through the volumes that were given to me, this naturally led me to other books and other authors and on it went. Now I have read more than 30 books in the past year, am in the middle of another few, and have a mounting to-read list. Bang, there you have it, an unplanned hobby that was cleverly foisted on me by my very own Community Group. Now the wall that separated me from Hobbytown had developed a breach.

Of course my Community Group could not leave well enough alone. I was minding my own business when I heard them huddled in the corner whispering in clipped and hushed tones about "blogging". This sounds like something young, sk8er-boi types with asymmetrical hair cuts partake in as they sketch a diamondz pumping mongo. Before you know it, dancarman.blogspot.com was born and I have written over 70 entries. Another hobby and more debris falls from the Hobbytown wall. Thanks folks for helping me find a creative and safe outlet to explore some issues and write about some experiences that have made me laugh, made me think, made me retch.

Amazing Grace

I just finished reading a book by Charles Swindoll called The Grace Awakening. I chose this book, not so much because I have been pondering on the subject of grace or worried about issues involved with receiving grace, or even so much about saying grace, I just happen to view spending time with Chuck (that's what I call him) like curling up with a nice warm mug of hot chocolate. It's soothing, inviting, and relaxing. I simply enjoy his perspective and his style. His advice is very often practical, too often needed, and typically resonates within me.

The book starts off with a description of grace from Donald Barnhouse that I really liked. "Love that goes upward is worship, love that goes outward is affection, love that stoops is grace." Thus to show grace is to extend favor or kindness to one who doesn't deserve it and can never earn it. This is the gift offered to us by God.

The cool thing is that by accepting this free gift, we also get some additional free perks, practical expectations that we can anticipate as we get a firm grasp on grace.

1. You can expect to gain a greater appreciation for God's gifts to you and others.
   
2. You can expect to spend less time and energy critical of and concerned about others' choice.
   
3. You can expect to become more tolerant and less judgmental.
   
4. You can expect to take a giant step toward maturity.

Sounds like a pretty good deal. It's O.K. if you are not ready to pick up your free gift today or even next week. The offer is yours whenever you are ready. It never expires, never runs out. There is no fine print or limited warranty. What could be better?

Groupies!

Picture the scene. A group of physicists is driving along in their 1978 AMC Gremlin to a scientific conference. According to popular belief, they all have glasses that are broken and repaired with tape, each has a pocket protector filled with assorted writing implements, and each is decked out in high-water pants pulled up to their flabby, white, pasty man boobs and old-man-type Florsheims. Here they are, your classic nerds. Each smells a bit and sports oily hair as they don't like to bathe. They love to talk in a strange, geeky syntax that only they understand. Now back to our intrepid crew, driving along, with plucky determination toward their destination. Would you be surprised if a gaggle of screaming devotees drove up alongside our heroes? They bear the unmistakeable scent of groupies. Faces painted, posters of scientific formulas, screams of "We ♥ you" (in hexadecimal, of course). Ahh, in such a world I could be king, ..., (73 69 67 68 21).