So I thought I’d check my email between workshops (I’m at a Pet Sitter’s Convention; yes there are pet sitters and they do have a convention), and as I got onto the Yahoo site, I saw this:
 
Scarlett Johansson named “Sexiest Woman Alive”
The 21-year-old actress is lauded for her hourglass figure, but she asks, “What about my brain?”
 
Indeed, what about her brain?  Yet, even as I appreciate her concern about all things deeper, I can’t help but wonder what damage the classification of a wealthy, young, “flawless” Caucasian woman does to people of other ethnic backgrounds.  When I saw the article, the first thing that came to mind was how cultural the concept of beauty is.  In a community in Africa, for example, a skinny hourglass figure would have no value.  In fact, such a figure would probably have little value to many non-western cultures.  All opinions of beauty aside, the title of “Sexiest Woman Alive” is really audacious.  It says that a magazine has the right to declare who will have that honor.  But even if you don’t care about such ridiculous titles, or don’t take them seriously, perhaps you should.  Because such honors devalue people, and they suggest that there cannot be more than one standard of beauty (or at the very least they suggest that beauty other than that as defined by Western ideas does not count).  Such titles ignore that inherent beauty that is present in diversity, individuality, and internally.  It ignores sprit, passion, knowledge, and talent.  It ignores the beauty that God gave each of us.
 
On another web-related note, my uncle sent me an email about an incident at NBC.  Apparently, some Bible verses were cut from a recent episode of the Veggie Tales.  Now, I should preface my comment by saying that I neither support the movement to protest NBC’s decision (to cut the verses) nor do I support an attempt (if there is one) to make Veggie Tales good but free from specific religious reference. So, about my comment—let me just say it is my understanding that Veggie Tales is a Christian-based cartoon, and in all fairness, to require them to water down their content seems silly.  As I see it, NBC should view Veggie Tales as a niche program, just as they would game shows, crime dramas, and any other program.  To worry that the public, or rather, a segment of it, might be offended by the avert Bible references is pointless.  If folks don’t want their kids watching a program of any bent, the simple solution is to simply prohibit their viewing it.  My parents were horrified by the program Married With Children, and to my own horror, they refused to let me watch it.  Of course, I watch it now (many years later) and laugh at the “offensiveness” of it—compared to what’s available now, I think my folks may have been a little too harsh about it.  Anyway, don’t like the religious content?  Don’t watch it.  Problem solved. I should point out that the if-you-don’t-like-it-then-get-the-hell-out attitude is not one I generally take, but in this case I think it’s okay.
 
Now for the second part of my comment on this issue, which is more of a question—why are people looking to secular network television to teach Biblical values?  I think NBC can edit what they want, and show whatever they want.  They are a publicly traded company whose foundations, I assume, are not in Christian values.  This is not a slam—it’s simply a recognition of what they are and are not.  Now, I realize some folks will say that Veggie Tales is a ministry.  Perhaps.  But TV alone will not guide a child in how to live, nor will it bring a child to God (my thoughts on children and “saving” are best left for another rant session).  The point is, NBC should not be where we look for values-based education and entertainment.  That is best left to the real world—our families, communities, schools, and religious institutions.

I am writing once again about what seems to be a prevalent occurrence for me—spotting church signs.  They are very popular around here, and in previous entries I have discussed the often-aloof messages that are posted on them.  But to be fair, I am going to write about a church in Southeast Greensboro that has great messages on their sign.  Of course you know that I have been ruined by house church, and am now unable to worship comfortably in a “traditional” church setting.  But if I were to, I think this church would be the one.  It’s off of Rehoboth, and in fact has the same name.  But, I digress.  Here are some of the recent messages posted on the Rehoboth Church sign:
 
“Swallowing your pride will not cause indigestion”
“A good leader is someone who knows how to serve”
“Attack problems, not people”
“God loves us enough to accept us as we are, but he loves us too much to leave us that way”
 
Messages like these prompt me to consider the ways of Christ, and how I need to be more like him.  They evoke a very different response than the ones that say things like “God is here.  Where are you?”  It’s worth considering—if a disciple of Christ (yes, I’m really referring to me!) gets uncomfortable reading such statements, what might someone who is outside the Christian “loop” think?

I often mention my travels around town while blogging.  Usually, the “fuel” for my ranting is something stupid—a thoughtless bumper sticker, aggravating church signs (the one I saw today read: “God is here.  Where are you?”), and such.  But my travels today reminded me that some people are so cruel that they will hurt the least of us.  Mary-Alice and I were driving down a main highway when we spotted an obviously starving pit bull.  We pulled over.  I called to him, and he wagged his tail as if he were expecting us.  But then we saw them—the bite marks and puncture wounds.  The maggots.  Mary-Alice took it hard; I did too.  It was obvious that the dog was the victim of the often celebrated, but very cruel practice of dog fighting.  His sweet disposition led the director of the SPCA to suspect he was used as bait—a way to engage the more aggressive dogs into fighting. 
 
We took him to the SPCA farm, where he was photographed for evidence of cruelty.  We gave him water and then he went on to the vet.  And so we waited.  I hoped he would be able to come live with us as our foster dog after the vet visit.  And then the call came.  The call you don’t want to get when you’re the one who rescued the animal.  The call informing me that he was put to sleep.  He never had a chance, really.  I guess it was the best we could do for him.  But I cried any way.  I cried because he would never know what a regular meal is.  He would never know what it was like to have love, treats, toys, and his own dog bed.  He would never know what it was like to sleep in a home where he is the cherished, beloved family pet.  Maybe I’m getting sappy here, but really, when would be a better time?  I know I’m a self-centered jerk many days, but it’s just hard for me to understand how one living being can treat another living being this way.
 
But fortunately, life is not all bad.  Nope—because today I had a reality check.  It concerns a friend of mine, the very creative, the very wonderful, the very beautiful Amanda.  I was having coffee with Tony-the-simple-churches-guy when her name came up.  Amanda had a hard year.  Things happened that no one should have to go through, and at times, it was hard for me to be her friend.  I guess it goes back to that self-centered-jerk-thing (on my part, of course).  Any way, Amanda has come through this whole thing with amazing perspective.  But the reality check came in this observance of her—Amanda is back to her old self, but better.  Let me explain:  she’s happy at work.  She draws and writes and plays in the concert band.  She hangs out at the coffee shops meeting people.  Basically, she’s doing what she did before.  But there’s a twist.  Now, she’s content.  She’s hanging out in the my-life-is-just-as-it-should-be place, just where God wants her to be.  And really, how beautiful is that?  It makes me think that perhaps, just perhaps, I’m also right where God wants me to be.

I was listening to Eric Clapton during my travels this morning.  He was performing Tears in Heaven when it hit me:  I am not the only person suffering right now.  I have always known this, of course.  But when you are in the midst of pain, it’s easy to become so overwhelmed by it that you forget that you are not alone in your sadness.  I thought about many of the people I’ve known or heard about.  I considered their pain.  I realized that mine is really not as bad as it could be.  But before you go thinking that I’m really noble or selfless or something, I should say that rationalizing the “insignificance” of what I’m going through did not make it any easier per se. 
 
So when I got home, I decided to search through the scriptures to read about sadness.  The Bible is full of sadness—death, loss of spouses and children, crushed dreams, and not to mention the near constant suffering Jesus endured.  So, I suppose, this pain of mine puts me in good company.  Or if not good company, at least lots of company.
 
And then I came across this: a devotion about suffering and leadership.  It was in Genesis, the part where Joseph is sold into slavery by his wonderfully loyal brothers.  The situation was sad, and no doubt really scary.  But God used Joseph’s suffering to set him apart in leadership.  And the devotion pointed out that leading often involves suffering of various sorts.  Now Joseph’s suffering was not brought on by any actions of his own; mine is.  But whether one is in pain from the bad decisions they have made, or the decisions of others, probably matters very little.  The point is, God can use suffering to build character, empathy, and humility.  Jesus experienced it, so it really follows that his disciples will too.  A leader in the church community should strive to be like Christ, and that doesn’t mean that he or she will live happily ever after.  Instead, it means that they will live a life of service, sacrifice, and oftentimes, pain. 
 
The devotion concluded with this—“Accept your problems today as opportunities for growth”.  The point is not to suffer in vain.  Instead, pain and suffering should bring us closer to what is real.  The world around us is full of pain—if we are willing to “be” in our pain and problems, then God can help us to come nearer to one another.  He certainly did that for us.