It Seems We're Better Off Breaking Hearts

Congratulations to Mr. Jeffrey McCain for correctly naming "Suspension" by Mae as the Tuesday Song of the Day.

How bizarre is it that sometimes the smallest things can put us in a bad mood? Well, maybe it's not so out of the ordinary because that is how things seem to happen to me all the time. Regrettably, I seem to allow the things out there in the world that really should upset me (war, genocide, racism, injustice, etc.) to pass through my mind, but not really change my mood, but something as ultimately meaningless as Sing Song can turn me into a grouch.

For a time I try to tell myself that it is okay to get frustrated about Sing Song because it is simply another avenue where people's character and true inner-motivations are given an opportunity to come to the forefront, but how absurd does that sound when I reflect on it?

I recently began reading Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller and I have been struck time and again by the simple yet powerful truth that he speaks throughout the book. This passage in particular really convicted me on the absolutely moronic way that I have been acting lately, even if that action is only noticeable in my own mind:

"I am learning to believe better things. I am learning to believe that other people exist, that fashion is not truth, and the gospel is the most powerful force in the universe. I am learning not to be passionate about empty things, but to cultivate passion for justice, grace, truth, and communicate the idea that Jesus like people and even loves them."

As I read that passage this morning, I decided to make a change. As I walked toward my Ethics class I knew that I had to tell someone about this decision. One of the greatest blessings that I have this semester is to sit by Jake Wardell in my Ancient Greek Civ. class and to sit by Luke Reeves in my Ethics class. I knew that I had to talk to Luke.

As he sat down, he was probably unaware that I reached such a momentous decision, but I told him about the book and then I told him that I had a mission for the day. Now, I didn't give him a full operational plan, but I did tell him what I intended to do, if only because I thought that he would serve as some form of accountability.

I told him that today I wanted to learn more of what it means to love people. You may be reading this and say to yourself, "What? I thought you were going to say something incredibly deep or momentous", but I think that is terribly momentous. That is what we are to be about in this world isn't it? With the work of God, we are to go about repairing a broken world and one of the most powerful ways to do that is by loving people.

It might seem like an overly simplistic goal, but I think that it could be one of the most challenging goals of my life and I only decided that I want to focus on today. That's not to say that I don't want to love people tomorrow, but too often my constant vision of the future prohibits me from seeing what I need to today.

So, there it is. It's not anything that you haven't heard before, but in some way it is subversive and revolutionary. Maybe the Blues Brothers had it right when they told everyone that they were on a mission from God.