You are currently browsing the monthly archive for September 2009.
“I’ll take oversized ego for $400, Alex.”
Answer: “These two recent acceptance speech spoilers displayed unfettered arrogance. The first grabbed the microphone from a winner at the MTV Music Video Awards; the second gave a self-indulgent speech at the Basketball Hall of Fame.”
“Umm, who are Kanye West and Michael Jordan?”
“Correct!”
Game show of life
I’ve always been a fan of the popular quiz show Jeopardy. I can imagine the above scenario unfolding based on the antics of those two individuals.
You probably saw the video or heard about it on Facebook. Just as country music singer Taylor Swift was about to give her acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, the hip-hop artist Kanye West brazenly jumped onto the stage and uttered his now immortal words “Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you, and I’m [going to] let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!”
Michael Jordan, though not interrupted in his speech, garnered the wrong kind of attention when his Basketball Hall of Fame induction speech was more akin to settling scores than being gracious and appreciative. New York Time’s columnist David Brooks called MJ’s speech “egomaniacal and self-indulgent.” ESPN’s Rick Rielly labeled it “the Exxon Valdez of speeches. It was, by turns, rude, vindictive and flammable. And that was just when he was trying to be funny. It was tactless, egotistical and unbecoming. When it was done, nobody wanted to be like Mike.”
The “me generation”
I believe both of these incidents give telling glimpses inside the self-serving nature of our modern culture.
We can trace the history of such modern self-centeredness (sociologists call it “expressive individualism”) back to the cultural revolution of the 1960s. Journalist Tom Wolfe famously defined this period as the “me generation.” Virtues such as duty, sacrifice and a strong work ethic were replaced by self-absorbed values like moral relativism, more emphasis on physical pleasures and self-expressiveness.
These changes in Western societal values quickly spread and now are deeply imbedded in our thinking, from the entertainment industry to sports, business, school and sadly even some churches. It seems we in the wealthy industrialized nations are in no hurry to get rid of “me” as the center of all things.
If not me, who?
Our Creator, however, never intended it to be this way. He designed us to seekHim first and foremost. Such a dramatic personal turnaround leads to an attitude that esteems others better than self. That’s a major shift from the predominant view today.
The Bible calls this jeopardized attribute “humility.” James, a leader in the early Church, set it straight: “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10).
True personal worth
This is not to say the individual has no worth. On the contrary, God knows and loves each of us on a very personal level. It is simply not our place to prop up or exalt our own self-importance. Let God take care of that detail.
Focus instead on how you can serve Him and others! This exemplifies God’s way of “give” versus the world’s way of “get.” You can learn more by reading“Building a Better Relationship with God.”
Humility may be in jeopardy today, but you and I can know the answer to the “Final Jeopardy” question. Cue Alex Trebek:
Answer: “When humility will gain its rightful place in society.”
“What is the Kingdom of God on earth?”
“Correct!”
VT
- About the Author -
Hansel New and his wife Rachelle live with their two young children near Eugene, Oregon, where they attend the United Church of God.
Sometimes you learn from others and sometimes you learn from experience.
A few days ago I walked a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) road race. Finishing where I thought I would, perhaps a little ahead, I was pleased with the outcome. It was a beautiful, sunny autumn day and the crowd was in a positive mood.
There’s more to the story. Walking that far at a good clip isn’t something I would have seen myself doing six years ago when I began a battle with chronic fatigue. Getting up off the sofa was a big achievement, but as the saying goes—time heals. Learning patience, however, is another challenge!
Plan ahead
Training for this race took me six years, but the “official” training required a 10-week schedule of walking at increasing length and speed. Goals and good intentions are great, but training and planning make things happen.
Because I had logged my training hours, I was able to push myself to achieve more than my initial goal for the race, which was simply to finish. I kept up a pace and improved my personal minutes per mile—having several thousand people in the competition helped too!
It made me realize that we require interaction and positive challenges to improve ourselves. That’s why God has allowed so many of us to inhabit the planet! He could have had us live our lives one person at a time, kind of like being stranded on a deserted island waiting to be rescued, but what fun would that be?
Don’t cheat
On the other hand, people can be peculiar. At the start of the race the officials reminded all competitors that this was a walking race—no running! The top finishers were speed walkers, and according to observers some clocked 8-minute miles simply by walking with good form! Some were also working toward Olympic goals.
Most of us were competing against ourselves in order to improve our times. The crowd was large enough that we couldn’t all start at once. Since we each had a computer chip clipped to our shoes, our times began when we crossed the starting line.
However, mid-race more than a few individuals felt the urge to run (in this case a disqualifying offense). The message on the shirt of one fellow competitor said,Why run slow when you can walk really fast? I had to ask myself—what’s the point of running when you’ve knowingly entered a walking race and are merely trying to better your own time? My guess: pride.
Learn well
In the book of Ecclesiastes the author spoke of the race not being to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. It’s true! Not everything goes according to how we perceive it should. On the other hand, the apostle Paul wrote of running (or walking, as the case may be) a race in such a way so as to win—the ultimate goal being not just a temporary victory, but becoming a part of God’s eternal family.
Our athletic ventures aren’t the epicenter of our lives, but some of the lessons we learn along the way can illustrate the dedication it takes to achieve a far greater goal, an existence in the ultimate prize—the Kingdom of God! Read more about this in the article “Courageous Olympic Moments—and the Race We Run.” VT
- About the Author -
Amanda Stiver lives near Columbus, Ohio, where she works as a freelance writer and editor and serves on the Vertical Thought staff.
