Words I will think about for a long time.

[Dennis S]

I just got back from a public seminar by Dr. Carl Trueman, Professor of Church History at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia. I have had the pleasure of hearing several brilliant and thought provoking speakers. I would put Dr. Trueman near or at the top of my list.

I find my life to be a constant struggle against the infatuated pursuit of trivial matters. We have a rule here-which I strongly support-to leave discussion of overtly religious matters for another time & place. That reasonable rule keeps me from going further in considering why we find the trivial so attractive.

But Dr. Trueman said something I found very powerful, and I believe relevant for your consideration, whether from a religious or some other context. I need to set the stage, especially if you are not familiar with professional baseball in America. Barry Bonds is a highly paid baseball player in America. Barry Bonds was the athlete mentioned by Dr. Trueman, but it could just as easily have been any one of our many highly paid athletes, movie stars,etc.

Here is what he said. "It is no accident that we will pay Barry Bonds perhaps 20 times what we pay the President. The President is charged to protect us. But Barry Bonds is paid to distract us".

I left thinking about the following: We invest our time and treasure to be distracted from---what? In a culture that is a rip tide of distractions-how can I live a life of significance, truth, and true beauty? I hope to invest my life pursuing the answer to this question, and I am grateful to Dr. Trueman.

 

[Cooker]

Beats me.....

 

[hensylee]

Dennis, I believe we must have a balance between the two. If we did not have distractions, we would just dry up and die.

 

[Superbob]

Good Distractions

Good Distractions

With all due respect, your theologian's selection of Barry Bonds as an example was just a little too expedient. Although he has not been found guilty of anything, Bonds is under suspicion of having used steroids to inflate his home-run production. There are many athletes who are good role models. Two who were inducted in the baseball Hall of Fame yesterday -- Cal Ripken, Jr., and Tony Gwynn -- come immediately to mind.

Viewing athletics, or participating in it, can be a form of escapism at times, but it also can be a form of motivation and a source of inspiration. I don't know how my son would have gotten through high school and then earned a college degree if he had not known he had to study hard and keep his grades up in order to be eligible to play baseball. Athletes who have overcome great obstacles, such as the young woman I saw on TV yesterday who completed a full triathlon though she had an artificial leg, give us examples of courage and motivate us to get out and about ourselves, whatever our limitations.

The same can be said for the arts and various forms of entertainment. Some can be pure escapism; some can get the creative juices flowing. (And is escapism itself always a bad thing? As long as the form is legal and moral, we need to escape the messed-up world once in a while, if only for the sake of mental health. Is going to a country music concert some sort of terrible distraction? No, I don't think so. (If you enjoy country or bluegrass as I do.) Is walking my faithful dog Sadie a distraction if I fail to meditate on the Meaning of Life? No, I don't think so.

There are good, healthy distractions; and there are bad distractions. Driving a car while yammering into a cellphone, even if done for business reasons, is a bad distraction. Helping kids compete in a Special Olympics is a good distraction.

Frankly, Dennis, I think you may have taken the words of that speaker a little too literally.

 

[Bina]

Here is what he said. "It is no accident that we will pay Barry Bonds perhaps 20 times what we pay the President. The President is charged to protect us. But Barry Bonds is paid to distract us".

I left thinking about the following: We invest our time and treasure to be distracted from---what? In a culture that is a rip tide of distractions-how can I live a life of significance, truth, and true beauty? I hope to invest my life pursuing the answer to this question, and I am grateful to Dr. Trueman.

I'm sure that Dr.Trueman gave a wonderful speech, but what is it with the comment about Barry Bonds????
I find it absolutely disgusting the amount of money paid to athletes.....and for what? to "distract" us?
Sorry, but that money could be better used to fund education, build schools, fund hurricane relief, feed some of the starving children here in our own countries, and the list goes on....
I'm not a sports hater by any means, but the money involved is ridiculous.
And that is my 2 cents (that's all I have)

 

[Christina L]

Very thought-provoking

Very thought-provoking

Dennis but I, myself, need all the distractions I can get. I have always been one to overthink and overanalyze (duh!) and wish at times I could just switch off my thoughts and have FUN!! However, I am always thinking - except sometimes when I am engrossed in a project, working at my job at the realty office, OR watching the Food Channel, a movie, or watching live theater, i.e. all "diversions."

Yes, these diversions in the way of athletes or movie stars, are paid WAY too much, but life is rough and I think a person would go mad (I know I would) if I didn't have diversions/escapes from the everyday.

However, your point is well taken. I think our society is one that watches the world go by on the "idiot box", etc., instead of living in the now and paying attention to what is around us.

P.S. Those of us here on Vr.com know only too well how difficult life is -we of all people need diversions more than most.

Christina L

 

[Karlynn]

I took the statement to mean that our priorities have become pretty muddled. We pay billions of $$ to be entertained, and put more of our money behind the "distraction industries" than in places it is truly needed.

That being said, I'm not for someone else telling others what to do with their money. Telling others what to do doesn't change hearts and minds and that's what needs to happen for true change to occur.

Thought-provoking post Dennis. Thanks!

 

[Dennis S]

To elaborate:

To elaborate:

It is difficult to summarize the thoughts of a brilliant mind, expressed over an hours lecture in the few paragraphs I provided. It believe I may have implied that there is no place in life for entertainment or escapism, or that we should only be entertained by those who set a strong moral example.

I actually agree with the objections raised by many of you, and think I should have been more careful. I left the seminar inspired by those words, and perhaps would have done better to go to bed and write a day later with more rest. Let me try to clarify my thinking:

From athletic stars to movie stars, you will certainly find some who inspire, and some who cause you to cringe. And there is a legitimate and constructive place for entertainment and escapism. These fill legitimate human needs, and are one of the things necessary for good emotional health--and I am a big believer in actual participation in sports of all kinds.

Perhaps this is a more specific way to raise the question--and each of us will need to answer it for ourselves.

Is it a good thing to stop and give careful thought to what portion of our life and resources is spent pursuing entertainment/diversion/escapism? My answer is yes, that is a good thing to do. I don't want to wake up years down the road and wonder what I did with my life.

I look around me and believe the dangers lie more in too much diversion, and too limited a pursuit of such things as expressing and enhancing my love for my wife, my children, and many other things--you can fill in the blanks for yourself. You are not likely to see someone spend a million dollars on a 30 second message about the good you do yourself by taking the time to write a note or poem to your wife, kids or friends.

I know the world exists in shades of gray. What I meant to address is a concern for proper balance. I don't want to write anything that comes off as condemning anyone. These are simply my own thoughts, and are offered for whatever value someone else might take from them. This is an area where I am on the fringes, not the mainstream.

One important, specific point--the world is made a better place whenever a good man takes the time strengthen the bond between himself & a good dog!

 

[Wise]

It is difficult to summarize the thoughts of a brilliant mind, expressed over an hours lecture in the few paragraphs I provided. It believe I may have implied that there is no place in life for entertainment or escapism, or that we should only be entertained by those who set a strong moral example.

I actually agree with the objections raised by many of you, and think I should have been more careful. I left the seminar inspired by those words, and perhaps would have done better to go to bed and write a day later with more rest. Let me try to clarify my thinking:

From athletic stars to movie stars, you will certainly find some who inspire, and some who cause you to cringe. And there is a legitimate and constructive place for entertainment and escapism. These fill legitimate human needs, and are one of the things necessary for good emotional health--and I am a big believer in actual participation in sports of all kinds.

Perhaps this is a more specific way to raise the question--and each of us will need to answer it for ourselves.

Is it a good thing to stop and give careful thought to what portion of our life and resources is spent pursuing entertainment/diversion/escapism? My answer is yes, that is a good thing to do. I don't want to wake up years down the road and wonder what I did with my life.

I look around me and believe the dangers lie more in too much diversion, and too limited a pursuit of such things as expressing and enhancing my love for my wife, my children, and many other things--you can fill in the blanks for yourself. You are not likely to see someone spend a million dollars on a 30 second message about the good you do yourself by taking the time to write a note or poem to your wife, kids or friends.

I know the world exists in shades of gray. What I meant to address is a concern for proper balance. I don't want to write anything that comes off as condemning anyone. These are simply my own thoughts, and are offered for whatever value someone else might take from them. This is an area where I am on the fringes, not the mainstream.

One important, specific point--the world is made a better place whenever a good man takes the time strengthen the bond between himself & a good dog!

Very eloquently worded. I, somehow (considering it's me I'm referring to) actually caught what you meant the first time. I think it is good to take stock of what we are giving importance to while enjoying all of life.

Now Barry Bonds....that's an easy distraction for me to avoid!! Dogs...another story entirely!!

 

[Nancy]

Life is always a battle with extremes in every respect. This is a true story.

A man was visiting the US from another country which frowns on any distraction beyond a fundamental religious path. He was walking with a family member who is a US citizen, in the springtime, when there were beautiful flowering trees. His relative remarked at how lovely they looked. He looked at them, and said, "What use are they? They should be cut down, they don't provide sustenance, or do anything practical. Things have to have a practical or spiritual purpose."

I say that is a man who needs a few distractions in his life, maybe not Barry Bonds, but flowering trees--- yes!

It's about balance.

 

[Dennis S]

Good point

Good point

I find this a very helpful addition to the discussion. I am imagining a continuum: On one end we might attach a label like ?grim". On the other end we might attach a label like "foam". We don't want our life's emphasis to be predominantly "grim", or "foam". (As you rightly say, it is an issue of balance).

I don?t find a lot of profit in detailing or evaluating the things we do for diversion. But we might profit greatly by asking ourselves about the life we are living between our diversions. I hope to come back to this later--right now I have a meeting to go to. (Hmm--I wonder

 

[Nancy]

I also think we have to learn to appreciate the beautiful things in life a whole lot more. Too many times, the tawdry and shameful things distract us, especially the younger people and are held up in great esteem. Just look at some of the music videos and latest styles for our young people, and how young people are portrayed in way too many movies.

I know, I know, I can hear my own parents lamanting (in my day) about Elvis (the pelvis) and how terrible he was gyrating around in public and how awful the music was.

But really, we should be teaching our young loved ones how to appreciate things of great quality like rainbows (how many do you see in a lifetime), sunsets, the stars, birds, flowers, old Master artworks, classical music, great literature--the human mind and how it is underused. And teach them how to do interesting things with their hands and minds. Along with that teach them compassion for fellow human beings and the animals and other living things we share this planet with.

It's not really important in the grand scheme of things for young girls to be dressed up like street walkers, or for young men to be showing their backsides and underwear. That's not important in life, and doesn't contribute much (if anything) to the world.

 

[Praline]

A story I thought would fit in this discussion...

A story I thought would fit in this discussion...

I came across this on TNet today and thought of this post.


The Mayo Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle,
when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayo
jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some
items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly
picked up a very large and empty mayo jar and proceeded to
fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the
jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles
rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then
asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed
it was.

The professor next picked u p a box of sand and poured it
into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything
else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students
responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under
the table and poured the entire contents into the jar
effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The
students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I
want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things---God, your
family, your children, your health, your friends and your
favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and
only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your
job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else---the small stuff. "If you put
the sand into the! jar first," he continued, "there is no
room for the pebbles or the golf balls The same goes for
life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small
stuff you will never have room for the things that are
important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your
happiness. Play with your children. Spend time with your
parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical
checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18.
There will always be time to clean the house and fix the
disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things
that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just
sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the
coffee represented . The professor smiled. "I'm glad you
asked".

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your
life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of
coffee with a friend."

 

[hensylee]

"To do great work, a man/woman must be very idle as well as very industrious." Balance.

I have two great granddaughters who are the same age and live in two different states. One of them wears the sexy short, short skirts and v-neck blouses, make-up and sexy hairdo that hangs over her eyes. She lives in a huge city. The other one lives here in the outskirts of a small town. She wears clothes that cover her, no make-up, hair that is beautiful but plain - like pony tails and parted in the middle. These children are twelve! Go figure.