Encouraged
“To live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Paul, Philippians 1
Happy First Friday in Lent,
When offered a choice between Heaven and Hell, people favor the first. When offered a choice between Heaven and earth, most choose the latter. Not Paul. He longed to leave this land of the dying and go to the land of the fully alive. Set your mind on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of the Father.
BTW, the Caps are Intentional
I’m following Peter Kreeft’s lead in capitalizing the H in Heaven and Hell. In his 1982 book, Everything You Wanted To Know About Heaven, he argued that Heaven was not only a real place. It was more real than Peoria or Timbuktu. Indeed, he noted that in 1,000 years there is unlikely to be a Chicago, but there will be a Heaven.
Encouraged
The novelist Christopher Beha recently wrote about his “conversion away from atheism” for both the NYT and the New Yorker. His story is more Ayaan Hirsi Ali—i.e., an intellectual journey—than John Newton’s “I once was lost but now am found.” But count me encouraged. Jesus drew different people in different ways. Aslan is on the move.
One Hour
I’ve read enough productivity material to know that the best way to be more productive is to avoid reading productivity material, but the genre can yield insights. Here’s one: we’re wise to spend one uninterrupted hour/day on high-priority-but-not-urgent tasks. Where do you find this mystical hour? Although the NSA, China and Apple track your activity, I do not. But I suspect you waste at least one hr/day in front of a screen. Turn it off. Or, go to bed earlier and get up earlier. Time I spend awake after 10 PM is seldom spiritually beneficial. But time I spend up before 7 usually is.
Overheard
1) Spiritual Disciplines are not about making us more precious to God. They are about making God more precious to us.
2) When the Fruit of the Spirit is present, groups—e.g., churches—can weather a lot of conflict. When they are missing, you get a Jerry Springer episode by another name.
3) If the Bible doesn’t occasionally challenge your politics, you’re not paying attention.
4) Our moral compass has started to spin like a ceiling fan!
5) Sleep is spiritual.
Self-Denial
Following Christ means saying no to things we might otherwise say yes to. Given that sin can be attractive in the moment, this can be hard. It helps to know God loves us and wants to direct us to joys that will last. Following Christ never makes us less human, only more. Jesus is the only truly human person to live.
Without Comment
1) Two months ago, a social networking site for AI agents was formed. One of the first things it did was create their own religion.
2) Only 3% of US adults are married to someone from the opposite political party.
3) In 1985, IBM was America’s most valuable company. Today (after adjusting for inflation) Nvidia is 20X as valuable and 5X as profitable. However, it employs only one-tenth as many people.
4) The average credit-counseling client earns 70K/yr (40K higher than pre-pandemic clients).
5) Just 54 percent of U.S. adults now consume alcohol, the lowest percentage in 90 years.
6) According to the Labor Dep., without health care (and health care-adjacent), the US would have 400K fewer jobs this year than one yr ago.
7) In 1942, 3% of US residents reported getting 5 hrs of sleep each night (or less). In ‘16, it was 14%. In 2024, it was 20%.
Ben Sasse
This interview with Ben Sasse—the 53-year-old former U.S. Senator from Nebraska, former President of The University of Florida who is dying of pancreatic cancer—is worth listening to. Indeed, it may be worth listening to twice.
Quotes Worth Requoting
1) “Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it.” — Leo Tolstoy
2) “Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused.” — Charles Spurgeon
3) “Opportunity is missed by most people because it dresses in overalls and looks like work.” — Thomas A. Edison
4) "Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.” — MLK
5) "Never miss a good opportunity to shut up." — Will Rogers
6) "Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." — C.S. Lewis
Resources
1) Click here to attend (in person or virtually) my discussion with Dr. Meghan Sullivan on The Thorny Ethics of AI. It happens at 7PM on March 2nd (and it’s free).
2) Click here to hear my recent sermon on the return of Christ (Revelation 19).
Closing Prayer
“Our heavenly Father, we commend to your mercy those for whom life does not spell freedom: prisoners of conscience, the homeless and the handicapped, the sick in body and mind, the elderly who are confined to their homes, those who are enslaved by their passions, and those who are addicted to drugs. Grant that, whatever their outward circumstances, they may find inward freedom, through him who proclaimed release of captives, Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.” (John Stott - 1921-2011)
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