Cabbages and Kings...

Yes, yes.  I know.
I only did one post about leadership.
No worries, I'll get back to it.
Although, pretty much everything I think about circles back around to it...so there's that.

I FINALLY finished with Advent...just in time for Lent!  Go me!

And now I am back with my good buddy, Tozer- remember him?  Mr. Spiritual Fluffy Bunny?
Yes, him.
Dang.  I am just so amazed how there really is nothing new under the sun.

Here are a few goodies from the last couple of days:

Human society in general

(and especially in the United States)

has fallen into the error of assuming that fame

and greatness are synonymous.

Yeah.  That.

And this...

Christians have fallen into the habit of accepting

the noisiest and most notorious among them as the best and the greatest.

They too have learned to equate popularity with excellence,

and in open defiance of the Sermon on the Mount 

they have given their approval not to the meek, 

but to the self-assertive; not to the mourner,

but to the self-assured; 

not to the pure in heart who see God

but to the publicity hunter who seeks headlines.

Mic drop.

WOW.  I mean, WOW.

Does this look familiar? AT ALL?  Seriously.  YIKES.

It is terrifying.  This was written decades ago BEFORE Facebook and twits who tweet and all of it- the constant barrage of info and everyone demanding that you pay attention to them.

What the crap?
Seriously.  Short of becoming Amish- how do we tune this all out?  

Sigh.  I dunno.
True confessions, I love Facebook.  I love keeping up with my family and friends- and yes, I am a sucker for all things BBC and cute cat related videos as my feed can attest to, but still.... I wonder. I know that it's time and brainspace sucked away- but you know what?  When I am done typing this, I will check Facebook.

Because I have become a product of my age.

Back in Tozer:

...it is part of our lostness that we do not know how lost we are..

but viewed in the light of eternity, 

are not most of our little human activities almost as meaningless?

Regarding the truth of the Gospel:

"The truth cleanses his mind so that he can recognize things that matter

and see time and space and cabbages

in their true perspective."

Time. Space. Cabbages.  I love that.  Perspective.

Yes, we need perspective.

We are itty bitty beings in the midst of vast universes that make us seem beyond microscopic- and yet, it's all about us.  What the?

And it is about us, because HE (as in JESUS) made it all about us- but we have got it all bass-ackwards, as usual.

Fame.

Does it matter?  To who?  Whom?  (Whatever...it's late)

Why does it matter?
Does it go back to the deep longing of being known?  But being known as "famous"- isn't really known at all, is it?
It's all false.  And fake.  

It puts you in a spotlight of judgement, surrounded by "yes" men- and do any of us really have the strength of character to not buy our own press and become complete jerks?
I don't even want to test that for myself....

People are famous...and idiots.
Good heavens- we're in a crazy-ass election year...with Voldemort in the running.  

I just can't even.  People respond to him because he is noisy, and famous...and dangerous.

Voldemort as king.  Lovely.  That's not a recipe for disaster or anything.

But that doesn't change Truth.  Even if (God forbid...please) Voldemort makes it into office.

It doesn't change truth.

It doesn't change God.

It doesn't change Jesus.

And it shouldn't change us.

Well, except that we will need to look out for one another even more because...shudder... I can't even.

Which we should be doing anyway.
Loving one another.

I feel like I sound like a broken record, but wow- it's a record we need to hear.

Changing our perspective- that's what we need to do.  To get God's perspective.

It's so hard.
WOW.

SO hard.  In all the noise- even in our own families- noise. 

No listening- just shrill noise.  How do we counterbalance that?
We don't need to defend God, He is perfectly fine- we need to BE Jesus.

We need to love and care for the marginalized, champion the oppressed-  just do what we're supposed to do- and the world...

Well, it will be the world, won't it?
And there is nothing new under the sun.  These sermons/essays that I am reading by Tozer- they could be blog posts today.  

People have been idiots pretty much as long as there have been people.

Kings and cabbages.  In the grand scheme of eternity- are they the same thing?

Perhaps...depending on the king, I guess.

Did you see the film The 300?  CGI loincloths?  Anyone?
And Carl.

That's right.  Carl from Love Actually.

Aww.

Well, in The 300, THIS is Carl....

I KNOW.

But do you know who he is?  Who this character actually is?  Because he existed, this guy.  Perhaps not this blinged out, but he was real.  And he was kind of a wanker. This Xerxes?  He happens to be Queen Esther's husband.

Yep.  True story.  Look it up.

This is the idiot who ordered his wife the QUEEN to appear naked in front of all his drinking buddies, and then had her"disappeared" because she said, "I'm QUEEN...so NO." 

Did I mention he also had the river "whipped" because it wasn't doing what he wanted?  Yeah.  That.

A few months later, he got to missing his queen and because his team of "yes men" didn't want women to be "thinking" or "be defiant" or anything.... at their suggestion, pretty much every gal in the country who had hit puberty ended up in his harem.  AWESOME.  What a lovely thing for the country.  This included wee Esther- who thankfully was positioned and obedient enough to prevent the GENOCIDE of the Jews because Xerxes (the idiot) gave all the power of his kingdom to one of his power hungry lackeys....just sayin'...

KINGS CAN BE IDIOTS.

Unless it is THE King. (And I don't mean Elvis- I am pretty sure his perspective is as it should be right now)

Fame and riches and worldly glory...the American dream...whatever.

Somehow, I think it's not all it's cracked up to be.

In the grand scheme of eternity- it might all just be....cabbages.

Strongest minds are often those of whom the noisy world

hears the least.

William Wordsworth

I need to go check Facebook.

Selah.