I, Robot

This afternoon I saw "I, Robot" the new film starring Will Smith.  I can't say that I would recommend it to anyone to watch before it hits video, and even then it's an iffy pick in my book.  Although, it did have a GREAT "Gen X" (am I allowed to use that term or is that too out of date) quote in there.  At one point the Will Smith character sneezes and says, "I'm sorry.  I'm allergic to bullshit."
 
Going in I knew that it had something to do with robots revolting, or something of that nature.  It was a somewhat interesting surprise to discover that one of the large themes was that of feelings versus logic.  We learn that the Will Smith character dislikes robots because some time back he was in a car accident and two cars went into the river.  A robot jumped in and saved him, even though he commanded the robot to save the little girl in the other car.  The logic in the robot calculated that the Will Smith character would have a higher percentage of surviving so he was rescued.  Consequently the girl died.  A human would likely override that calculation and recognize that the little girl had a chance, even if slim, and that she was somebody's baby and would try and rescue her.
 
Sometimes it seems that what is logical is not what is right and what is right is not always logical.  This was one of the driving themes of the movie and we can see that in our lives, in our faith.  That God would send His only son to die on our behalf is not logical whatsoever, but it was right.  Consequently Jesus calls us to serve one another, to love our neighbor (including those who get under our skin, those we might deem our enemies), which doesn't always appear logical but it is the right thing to do.  Sometimes the right thing to is to sacrifice for one another in love, but it isn't always instictively the logical thing to do.  So to steal from another movie I encourage you to "Do the Right Thing."

Emotion vs. Reason

Earlier this week while working at the diner one of the regulars was lamenting that he's never seen a time in history so driven by emotion and logic is so very removed.  Granted I probably haven't done is argument the justice it deserves, but it's enough to let you know what jump started this train of thinking.  I think it is true that we are currently a very emotionally driven society, and I'm not so sure we can really do otherwise.  I think the down turn started in the late 80's and early 90's with the growth in popularity in talk shows.  I'm talking about both the radio talk show's and the television talk shows.  Folks like Rush Limbaugh and Jerry Springer began to blur the lines in very different ways.  The lines between logic and reality began to be blurred fueled through emotion.  What grew out of that were shows like "Real World" and the rest of the Reality TV craze, which amazingly has blurred the lines of what is real.  Is Reality TV depicting reality, a created version of reality, what reality could or should be?  Is Reality TV somebody else's reality, which perhaps makes my life unreal?  With this inability to detect what is real how can we operate on logic?  We're left to make our decisions on emotion, and politicians are among those who have done a fine job of capitalizing on that.  Look at Kerry's campaign.  He's been played off the emotion of the disfavor for President Bush while offering very little substance of how that change should happen... now I'm left wondering how we might change that tide?  Or do we even need to change this trend?  Are we perhaps just as well off listening to our emotions, to our gut feeling?

Two Unrelated Thoughts

For some of you this first thought probably isn't a big surprise, but it's rather struck me recently.  I don't know what it is, but I've found that it's rather difficult for me to spend money.  It's not so much that the money isn't in the account, it's the deciding that it's okay to remove that money from the account.  A couple of weeks ago I stopped by REI and bought a few items including a day pack/water pack for some longer day hikes and it took forever to decide which pack to decide.  The big thing slowing me down was trying to decide that it was okay to spend $75 on the pack.  Never mind that between my dividend and gift cards I had over $120.  Tonight I hemmed and hawed forever about buying a new modem for my computer, never mind I needed it for a number of reasons and it was easily within my budget.  Hello Mr. Cheap...
 
Flipping channels the other day I came across an Eminem (or was it D12, I'm not hip enough to know the difference) video.  I have absolutely no idea what he was singing about, but I noticed the anger in his voice.  It struck me that many of his songs are filled with a bit of anger, which made me wonder if he (and other hip hop artists) is writing some of the Lament Psalms of our time.  I love the Lament Psalms, I think Psalm 13 is my all time favorite.  There is something so very real about the anger, frustration, but then there is a realization of the need for God.  It is life wrapped up into one poem.  Hip hop has a way of doing that as well, although perhaps not always so blatantly declaring the need for God's help to get out of the particular struggle.

Kayak Spotting

Last night at paddle club I got to see several different fun sights.  First we saw an absolutely beautiful hawk.  Towards the end of the "ride" we got to see a beaver up close.  Yet I think my favorite sight was the train that passed by on the side of the river.  Right in the very middle of the train were two engines.  I can't say that I've ever seen that before.  In a certain sense it speaks some to the book on leadership that I've been reading.  In there the authors talk about the importance of teamwork that Paul models for us.  It is a sense of being co-workers, it is a leading from within.  Perhaps that is what the train was demonstrating for me.  We often think about leading by pulling from in front (authoritarian leadership) or by pushing from behind (servant leadership).  How often do we think about from leading from within?  There is a sense of both pushing and pulling, but also being pushed and being pulled.  It is all a part of being a team where all are empowered to fill their role.

Notes...

So I've gotten a bit behind, so here a few quick thoughts from some of the things I've been thinking about...

Kayaking: A couple of weeks ago I went back out kayaking, with not a whole lot of success. About a third of the way into the first rapid I dumped and lost just about everything, including my shoes and my pride. I spent more time swimming that evening than I did upright in my kayak, I suspect. I'm sure there must be some sort of lesson, sermon illustration in all of that...I'm just not sure what... One possibility may be related to that popular phrase, "Go Hard or Go Home." When I took a class a few years ago I was taught to "attack" the rapids. I was just too lazie fair that night, which was part of the problem.

MTV: I caught a show last night on MTV called something like "Your Face or Mine" in which the contestants were put up against various pictures of other people and the audience voted on who was better looking. The contestants then tried to predict who the audience would vote for. It was an intriguing bit of vanity.

Waiting Tables: I've shared with several people I am just not cut out for waiting tables. It's not so much the physical aspects of it, rather it's more the unpredictability of it all. Last Wednesday I had this horrible grouchy table, that I was just starting to get over at the end of my shift, when it was time to total up receipts for the evening. Something went wrong in the course of giving change, or something, because instead of getting tips that night I ended up getting to pay $10 out of my own pocket for the experience. It made returning home to my home/room in the Best Western feel a bit more pathetic than I anticipated. Yet, there will be nights where I come home with more tip money than I probably deserve. I think I prefer knowing how much money I'm going to be coming with at the end of the night... on the other bright side is some of the ministry opportunities the job affords. One night I had a waitress asking my why I had chosen the Lutheran church. She had talked about checking out some churches and I loved that she said she was looking for a place that didn't have easy answers. This from a 17 year old gal. Later that night I got to do some pastoral care listening as a couple started sharing with me that they were driving straight from Southern California to Michigan because the husband's mother was dying and they couldn't get a flight. A tragic story, but an amazing opportunity to provide support and prayer. There have been others, but I suppose that's enough for now.

Black House

Recently I've been reading "Black House" by Stephen King and Peter Straub. It is a follow up to a book I started on CD and then finished reading by them called "The Talisman." In the first book the title character of Jack Sawyer, 12 years old, uses this parallel universe, he calls the territories, to travel across country to get the Talisman to save his dying mothers life.

"Black House" picks up some 20 or 30 years later as Jack has retired as a top LA Detective. He is in a small town in Wisconsin where it turns out a mass murderer has begun to rear his ugly head. Reluctantly Jack gets drawn into the case. As he enters into it a friend of his senses there is some secret in Jack's past but is unaware of it but suspects Jacks finally entering into the case has something to do with his mystery past. Consequently Jack's friend, Henry, asks Jack, "Are you running away from or towards your troubles?" Or something of that nature.

It is a question that arises several times in the book in different shapes or forms. It is a question that resonates with me. Is all of my moving around, all of my seeking of adventure running away or towards my problems, my troubles, my struggles. Those who know of my introverted nature might suggest that I'm facing them head on by venturing out. However, if we were to look beyond that might we see someone running away from deeper relationships for fear of the inability to hold up his end of that relationship? An interesting twist given my many rants about relationships and community. What is it really? Is it both? Are you heading towards or away from your struggles, troubles, or problems?