This C.S. Lewis quote stimulated some serious self-examination for me. I hope it does the same for you.

"And you see, looking back, how all the plans you have ever made always have shipwrecked on that fatal flaw--on "X's" incurable jealousy, or laziness, or touchiness, or muddle-headness, or bossiness, or ill-temper, or changeableness. . .
This is the next great step in wisdom--to realize that you also are just that sort of person. You also have a fatal flaw in your character. All the hopes and plans of others have again and again shipwrecked on your character just as your hopes and plans have shipwrecked on theirs.
It is no good passing this over with some vague, general admission such as "Of course, I know I have my faults." It is important to realize that there is some really fatal flaw in you: something which gives the others just that same feeling of despair which their flaws give you. And it is almost certainly something you don't know about. . ."

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I'm not a huge Civil War buff, but I generally like Civil War movies. I wait through the girls crying as they say goodbye and the Southern drawl to get to the battle scenes. Isn't that the reason the movie was made? I like a lot of things about the battle sequences in movies (besides the fact that there aren't girls crying and Southern accents). I especially like the cannons. A single shot leaves a hole in the ranks on the other side. How they're deployed changes the battle. And you know it's all over when the enemy overruns the cannons. Once the enemy turns your own gun against you, you don't have a chance.

But why wait for someone else to use your arguments against you? Pull the beam out of your eye before someone has to tell you it's there. Before you fire away against the other side, at least make sure the cannon isn't firing from both ends. The tiniest amount of mental effort leaves most of our favorite criticisms unsaid. I'm amazed at how many there are:

I harp on sermons and people who "major on the minors." But a lot of my personal conversation revolves around the refuting and disputing the same "minors."

I say that stylistic elements in some music should be ignored in light of the good doctrinal content of the song. But when the music is a style that I don't like, I ignore the great truths in the song.

I insist that ministry is "relational" and shouldn't revolve around programs. But the number of personal discipleship/relationship opportunities that I take advantage of is embarrassing.

I excuse weaknesses of preachers that I like because they do hold to "the essentials". But I criticize preachers who differ from me on certain hot button topics even though they hold to the very same "essentials"

I complain that Christianity today and (especially certain sections of it) don't "love each other as brothers in Christ" and aren't unified like Scripture commands them to be. But I struggle mightily to love that annoying guy who asks dumb questions in class.

I love to talk about the foolishness of the "American Dream" and how the Church today has bought into the materialism of our day. But I find myself worrying about my car, bills and financial future like any other American.

I look down my nose at people who waste time. But I just have different ways of wasting my time.

The list could on. I've always known that Jesus said, "Pull the beam out of your own eye first." I used to think He was exaggerating. We get so easily caught up in our arguments and discussions. We load, aim and fire with a genuine zeal for the victory of the truth. It's our pride that makes us forget to check--does the cannon fire both ways?

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My Chapel Seat

This blog is dedicated to the Information Technology Department here at school. After near daily visits to their office, much frustration and almost a week and half of waiting--my internet works. I am connected to the outside world!

I love my chapel seat. The seat itself is broken. A bolt is loose, which makes the chair seat lean to the left and gives me the constant impression that I'm about to be sitting in the lap of the person next to me. I was nice enough to bring it to the attention of the usher and he was nice enough to bring to my attention that nothing would be done about it. But the biggest problem is that it's the first row of the balcony. This means that I have to view the speaker through a semi-reflexive piece of glass. This is a problem because the speaker is about two inches tall, right in the middle of the reflected image of my tie. You might not think this a big deal but you try listening to someone talking from the middle of your tie. I'm just glad I'm not into wearing cartoon ties. The other problem is that if my head bows even slightly, the entire speaker's body disappears behind the balcony wall and only his head is visible, leaving only a bobbling head to my view. If I slouch in my seat, I get an entire row of Dean Bobble Heads. Besides being a golden marketing opportunity, this is very distracting. I guess after I make my millions on bobble heads the chapel seat won't seem so bad.

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