Are you lonesome tonight?

What are you doing tonight? More importantly perhaps, who will you be with? According to a recent survey, those between the ages of 25 to 34 are more likely to feel lonely compared with those of other generations (http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/generation-y-so-connected-but-oh-so-lonely-survey-20110719-1hn6a.html). While some may argue that loneliness is the status quo of the 30s and rail against the ‘social construct’ which demands ‘normal’ people be in some sort of relationship or another, others compensate their lack of social activity by utilising technology to meet and interact with other people.  In the same article, social researcher Hugh Mackay warns however, that too much reliance on electronic relationships could be detrimental and socialising in the real (physical) world is necessary for healthy social development.

Another interesting report from the ABC (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-21/australian-men-living-with-realdolls/2802302) seems to indicate that loneliness could be more widespread that we know. For some middle aged men (or at least they are in the article anyway), meeting the right woman has been difficult and elusive so they consort (both um, literally and figuratively), with uh, dolls. And these are quite ‘special’ dolls too! Not just in the price department ($8,500 a pop) but also in terms of anatomical correctness (yes, all of it). Still, one owner insists that his relationship is entirely platonic saying, ‘I do actually enjoy their company. I don’t think people truly can appreciate that element.’ Hmmm.

As Christians, what should our response be to this epidemic of loneliness? Are our congregations warm and welcoming? Perhaps more importantly what are WE doing to help make our churches more warm and welcoming? As followers of Jesus, we can see that all sorts of people were made to feel welcome in his presence (Mark 2:15-17). How can we follow His example? A church in Sydney recently asked everyone in the congregation to write down what they thought best described their group. Most prominent of all the words was “Community”. For them, church was a place where they would always feel loved, accepted and welcome, a place where they truly felt like brothers in sisters in the family of God. And who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?

How much too much?

Benjamin Franklin, in one of his letters is said to have written, ‘…in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes’. And so it is that the time of the year has come once again when those who death has not claimed download e-tax from the ATO website (http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.aspx?doc=/content/32234.htm&page=5&H5) or make that appointment with the accountant. And thus shall the forms be filled out and sent forth by one and all. And so it has been and so it shall be for evermore (or that’s what it feels like anyway).

Getting those receipts together for the taxman can be helpful. It can be a time of reflection on spending habits in the past financial year. Was it really necessary to buy that plasma TV? Were those alloy rims really that important? Perhaps impulse buying those shoes/clothes/latest electronic widget was just a bit extravagant? But then again, how much should one spend on oneself and how much should one give to God?

Both Genesis 1:1 and Psalm 24:1 remind us that everything on earth belongs to God. So we are merely then stewards of what God has made. God wants us to enjoy what He has created and gives us many good things as an expression of His love and generosity (Genesis 1:28-30). The danger is that we can take all these things for granted and forget who really owns them. We may think what we own is ours through hard work or ingenuity but we should always remember that all things belong to God and we take nothing with us when we leave this mortal plane.

In Mark 12:41-44, Jesus points out to his disciples a widow who has just put in two small copper coins into the temple treasury. She did not give out of her excess. She put in all she had to live on. Perhaps just as importantly, she was a widow in an age when women depended on their husbands to put food on the table. She may not even have known where her next meal would be coming from. Was she being foolish? Jesus thought not.

The New Kingdom

It’s not every week a new nation is formed. For a brief moment this week, the world looked on as the Republic of South Sudan declared independence from Sudan. The print and broadcast media gave us a brief glimpse of jubilant South Sudanese citizens dancing and singing. And then the world moved on and we all went back to scrutinising Princess Kate’s wardrobe from her travels through North America.

While there is much potential for this new nation to rise and prosper (due to its oilfields), it does face many challenges in the days ahead. According to Wikipedia (the great hive-mind of collected knowledge), ‘South Sudan is at war with at least seven armed groups with tens of thousands displaced’ and with a great many atrocities committed in the name of fighting rebellion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Sudan). In addition, Sudan has also been blacklisted as a state sponsor of terrorism (which is why all of the petroleum only seems to go to developing countries) and if you thought the state of health care in Mudgee is bad, consider the fact that in South Sudan, one in every ten children will not make it past the age of five, maternal mortality in the country is the highest in the world and in 2004, there were only three surgeons in South Sudan with one area having only one doctor serving 500,000 people (something to consider the next time we sit in the waiting room at the Medical Centre).

Interestingly when Jesus appeared on earth 2000 years ago, he too talked a lot about a new Kingdom (Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15). The new kingdom would start small, but finish big (Mark 4:30-32). In this new order, God’s will would be done (Matthew 6:10), members of the kingdom would have authority over demons (Luke 10:18), the blind would see, the lame would walk, the deaf would hear, lepers would be healed and the dead brought to life (Luke 11:4-5). With Jesus, the Kingdom of God has come, through Jesus, the Kingdom of God will grow (Matthew 28:18) and when Jesus returns one day, it will be complete (Revelation 21:1-4). Until then, we live in hope.

Our Psychological Edge

What makes a good tennis player a great one? Even among two players equally matched in physical ability and skills, it’s not always brawn that wins. Even in this year’s Wimbledon finals, commentators used terms like ‘psychological mastery’ and ‘mental character’. On the topic of ‘Mental Toughness’, Wikipedia has this to say: ‘…a psychological edge that helps one perform at a high level consistently’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_psychology).

As Christians, we too have a mental edge. Unlike sports or secular psychology, we do not look inwardly for that extra boost when we go through tough times. We have many promises in God’s Word that we can hold on too. We should not forget that the Bible contains many reports of God’s followers going through difficult times, and as the people of God, we too can look to the assurances God has made, and apply them to our own lives. Here are three which could give you that ‘psychological edge’ this week:

In Deuteronomy 31:8, Joshua is given the task of leading a nation into unexplored territory. He has no idea how many enemies are ahead or what strategies they will use. But God has a message for him: The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged (NIV).

In Jeremiah 29:11, we see the once proud nation of Israel beaten, crushed and exiled because of their rebellion against God. It looks pretty bleak for the people of God. Will the ever return back to their land? Will their favour with God ever be restored? Does God still love them? “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (NIV).

At the time of writing 1 Peter 5:7, the church is being persecuted. Many believers are paying for their faith in the crucified and resurrected Jesus. Much of this book talks about suffering and yet we are reminded: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (NIV).

A Strange Mercy

Two million people. It is hard to imagine how so many could have been killed in Cambodia from 1975-1979. It is even harder to understand why they were killed. In a bid to create an agrarian communist utopia, all professionals, intellectuals, artists, writers, ethnic minorities and religious adherents of any kind were arbitrarily tortured and executed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge). How anyone could justify the deaths of so many is a mystery. How does one come to the point where the killing of two million people is just another obstacle to be removed in a plan? This week four Cambodians will go on trial for their part in Pol Pot’s failed social experiment. There are not many survivors of that time left to see justice done, but one wonders if those in the dock will realise the gravity of the crimes they are being charged with.

While there is much we can say about the dangers of making the ends justify the means, or the awful consequences of forgetting the value of human life, we instead want to focus on the strange mercy of God. God shows compassion in many different ways. As Christians, we believe that in sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, God opened the way for a lost humanity to find their way back to Him (Romans 3:22-24). But God also shows mercy by confronting us with our sin so that we can recognise how far we have fallen from His standard and return back to Him. In other words, coming to grips with our own deficiencies, weaknesses and rebellion against God (or having others reveal them to us) is a good thing. Without being convicted of our shortcomings, we cannot ask for forgiveness and seek to change the way we live.

True, being confronted with one’s weaknesses is a painful and embarrassing exercise, but it is an antidote to the problem of pride. It is always good to be reminded that all of us have a long way to go in our Christian walk and that can stop us from developing an attitude of superiority over other believers (and non-believers as well).

Jesus and the Pokie Machine

Gambling is a touchy subject. On one hand, there are those who argue that the government should not have the right to tell us what to do with our money. On the other hand, there are those who have an addiction and who cannot stop putting money in pokie machines. The Four Corners programme on ABC, Monday night highlighted this dilemma and tried to give a balanced view on the subject (transcript of programme here: http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2011/s3248667.htm).

Viewers would have been quite touched by the stories of some of the gambling addicts interviewed in the programme. One talked about how some problem gamblers actually pay someone to beat them up so they can say that they were robbed on the way home. He wept as he shared about how he neglected his children as a result of this addiction. Another spent half a million dollars on pokie machines. From the other side, local clubs claim that Andrew Wilkie’s proposed plan will put them out of business and lower the contributions they make to community services (many of which depend on these clubs to keep going). However, the statistics were quite remarkable. Pokies machines generate $12 billion a year (enough to pay off the debts of several small third world countries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_external_debt), of which $5 billion comes from gambling addicts.

While it is a complicated business, the suffering of those who are addicted to gambling cannot be ignored. The Christian is compelled to help those who cannot help themselves and are seeking help (James 2:15-17). While it may be true that gambling contributes to the community, it is also true that some of that money comes from problem gamblers. How well could we sleep at night knowing that some of the money used in the building of that new park came from families with children that go hungry? Or that part of a clinic was funded by a man who lost his family as a result of his gambling addiction? Do the ends justify the means? Many individual lives as well as families have been destroyed by gambling addictions. Is it ever worth it?

The story of Jesus- worth dying/living for

If you tell enough people, then it must be true. Take for example the recent photo of a McDonald’s sign charging African Americans an insurance surcharge of $1.50 due to an increased crime rate. It was of course a hoax which sent the fast food giant racing to the press to set the record straight (http://www.news.com.au/technology/maccas-in-damage-control-over-seriously-mcdonalds-picture-hoax/story-e6frfro0-1226074651664). Other tall tales uncovered by the Sydney Morning Herald this week (http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/maccas-jk-rowling-lesbian-bloggers-hoaxers-take-over-the-world-wide-web-20110614-1g127.html) include author J.K. Rowling buying a house in Tasmania (she hasn’t), a woman getting profiles of all her Facebook friends tattooed on her arm (luckily she only had 152) and of course the discovery that the Gay Girl in Damascus blogger is actually (surprise, surprise) a 40 year old male post graduate student in Edinburgh (which is actually quite far away from the Middle East in case you were wondering).

But is something true just because enough people have heard about it? Christians for example are charged with just that: there is no proof that Jesus was a real person who did and said the things He did, but because news of Him got around to so many people, it became true. This is a possibility, except for the fact that for many people, then and now, following Jesus is a life and death decision. Back in those Roman times, following Jesus almost guaranteed a life of hardship, abuse and persecution. Many were stoned (and we don’t mean weed), crucified or fed to animals for amusement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Roman_Empire). Even today, Christians in some parts of the world still have to meet in secret to avoid prosecution. Throughout history, many men and women have staked their lives on the fact that the Biblical story of Jesus is true. Is a hoax worth dying for? Perhaps we are fools for believing in this but if so, we are in good company- John Anderson, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, and who was made an Officer of the Order of Australia this week is well known for his faith. As Paul says though, if Jesus is all fiction, then we Christians should be pitied more than anyone else in the world (1 Corinthians 15:19).