Saturday, February 27, 2010

Olympic Gold


Living in Seattle right now is very exciting! The Olympics are right down the road, everyone talks about it, some co-workers even went on a whim and saw some events! Whew! I myself was unable to go, but it has been neat to see all the different ups and downs.

Thinking (as I always do) about the Olympics I was a bit jealous. All these cool young kids in the spotlight that I will never be in, corporate sponsorship, the flash and excitement, national television coverage, etc. "I want that too!" I say on the inside. There is a price though, and I want the glory without having to pay it. I think this is a typical human emotion, but maybe it's just me.

The Olympics very closely echo life. We go throughout our lives living very basic, daily, mundane existences. If you read anything about the speed skating team not only did they have grueling daily practices for 4 years, but they were also broke until Stephen Colbert helped them out. Think about that for a second. Grueling daily practices for 4 years. Giving everything you have in your young life, your education, goals, friends, family, excitement, entertainment, fun, etc for 4 unsexy, unfilmed, hard, thankless years. That is what it takes to be an Olympian though. You either make that sacrifice or forget Olympic dreams. They say it takes 10,000 hours to become the greatest at something. Sports, programming, finance, etc. 4 years, 6 days a week for 8 hours a day = 9,984 hours. That is what a gold medal costs. Oh and by the way there is no guarantee that you will get a gold just because you put in this time. That is just the minimum requirement. Still want to sign on?

I don't think I would have the patience to watch 4 years of training on TV, much less go through it! The thing is I want to be Stephen Colbert not the speed skating athletes. Stephen Colbert got funding for the Olympic speed skating team, was named as an Assistant Team Psychologist. As I understand it if you are on the team in any capacity you get a medal. Maybe I'm wrong but bear with me for sake of example. I want to do that! I just want to give a bit of cash and be amazing! I want to have things easy and still get something you have to work for. I don't want to put 10,000 hours into one thing and then still have to compete to win a prize, with no guarantees. Ouch!

This feeling also echos into my Christian life. People think you are really dedicated if you go to church on Sunday's and a mid week bible study. Take me for example. I became a Christian around 6 years old. Lets assume that I got a 1 hour service and a 3 hour midweek study in consistently since I was 6. (Now obviously there are times where I got more or less Bible, but stick with me.) That is 5,408 hours. Hey I am halfway to being an expert! If we assume that I put in 1 hour of personal study that ups it to 6,760. Thing is I probably haven't been that consistent or dedicated. It isn't like every Sunday I woke up chomping at the bit to go to Church. It isn't like I paid perfect attention at every Bible study I've been at. When you get right down to it people think I know a lot about the Bible, but if you compare it in human terms to Olympic athlete dedication I am pretty pathetic. I have been consistent in how I live life, but it isn't a pretty picture. It isn't Olympic in any area of life. Not even in dedication to God.

Paul in the Bible actually compares the Christian life to the Olympics. In 1 Cor 9:24-27 he sets forth that his Christian walk has been like an Olympic training session. That is how life is. The grueling daily workouts. The unsexy sweat and training for long periods of time, with no cheering crowd, no camera, and unsatisfied coaches. I am realizing the Christian life is like blue chip stock, Olympic training and farming. It is very daily, very mundane, very unsexy. Thing is it is very worth it. The Olympians and their prizes of today will fade, God's prize will not.

This isn't to paint a picture of works salvation. Please understand I believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again, because we are helpless sinners with no hope of salvation outside of Him. He is the one who loves us eternally and gives us the power to do anything. What I am saying is if you are a Christian, "What are you doing with the time God has given you?" "What am I doing with the time God has given me?" I get amazing love, grace and forgiveness from God, does it motivate me as much as the hope of Olympic gold, or do I take it for granted? I want my heart to be right and I don't think it is right now. I am motivated by flashy, sexy, easy, and cool. I need to be motivated by God's love.

How about you?

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Tired of the news/new


When there are slow times at work I have an opportunity to take a look at the news and what is going on in the world. Lately I have been, not only tired, just overwhelmed not by the volume (even though there is quite a bit), but more by the sheer repetition and inanity of all that we call "The News". Oddly enough I find John Stewart and Steven Colbert more relevant and entertaining than say Rick Sanchez on CNN. (Although Rick does try...No, wait...Twitter as news?!...come on Rick!) At least the comedians don't pretend that what they are saying is important, or they do and that is what makes it funny. Either way they win!

Then there is the ever slobbering horde of advertisements for the next "new" thing, the next "new" band, the next "new" fashion design, the next "new" car. Blech! Getting burned out on all of it.

I think a similar thing happened when I traveled around Europe quite a bit. Everything was new and exciting, but then the tourist sheen slowly wore off. The veneer of what I thought Europe was really fell away after a while. I got tired of paying exorbitant prices to see dead rich people's stuff. The art museums I never got tired of but I could never stay long enough to satisfy me. Eventually I became a sort of tour guide for others before I left. I was glad others had a good time, but really couldn't have cared less about seeing monuments to dead people their accomplishments, victories, triumphs, and greatness.

The old is past and gone, the new is constantly being shoved down my throat, where is the balance? I don't need to know about all the tiny details of thousands of things every second. Most of what passes for news has zero impact on my life. What actually has an impact will be lost in the blur because it is boring, mundane, or otherwise obscured. We all got along fine when newspapers came out once a day. We all lived just fine when we didn't have cell phones. I still had something to eat without the internet. I am not complaining about advances, I wish I didn't feel like they ran my life so much. Also what good are all the advances in the world if I have difficulty connecting with people, or something deeper then the now?

I have had a desire to sweep away all that doesn't matter in my life and focus on what does. If I am distracted but never take the time to focus then I will always be distracted. Something that lasts longer than the next quarterly report, something that lasts longer than a year, something that lasts and brings tradition and a tiny bit of order would be nice.

"...and that's the news. Fred what have we got next?"