Seasons Reasons?

Note: This is an article I wrote a few weeks ago and tried to get published in a few different places. I started a bit late (either that, or it's just not that good!), so I never got a response, but I did want to share it with those that come here. I might try and rework it next year and try again, but for now, it's for the blog faithful only. Hope you enjoy it!

Ginger bread. Mistletoe. Flying deer. A fat guy in a red suit. Elves.

What do all these things have in common? The birth of Jesus Christ, Son of God.

Really?

Have you ever looked at the culture that surrounds "the most wonderful time of the year" and scratched your head? How did we get here? What's the point of it all?

As I walk through the mall, my senses are assaulted from every angle with painfully obvious reminders of the season. Trudging through the department stores, I'm lost in a forest of fake trees with gaudy ornaments hanging from every possible limb. Strange songs flood the loudspeakers, containing very bizarre messages: a large, elderly man allegedly sees when I go to sleep and when I wake up, a mutant reindeer has supposedly been promoted in the arctic north, and someone is apparently trying to set chestnuts on fire … though I'm not sure what any of that has to do with Christmas.

As I drift along through the sea of commercialism in the holiday season, dodging Santa Clauses, Rudolphs, and lunatic bargain hunters, the question looms large in my mind: what does this have to do with Christmas? What really is the reason for the season?

Dozens of church signs and pastors preaching holiday sermons offer an answer. They know the true meaning of the season: it's not sales, gifts, baked hams, or even family gatherings, they say: it's Jesus. Jesus is the "reason for the season."

As a pithy saying, this is all well and good. It rhymes, it'll preach, and for all intents and purposes, it's a welcome reminder of what we truly celebrate. I wonder sometimes, however, if we have merely repeated these words in mantra-like fashion, thus robbing it of any meaning until it becomes little more than a trite slogan.

In fact, it seems that often we forget that Christ didn't take on flesh so he could hang out with some fishermen and give us some good quotes for a few thousand years. He didn't come because heaven was getting boring and he needed a change of scenery. No, the truth is much more profound. Jesus Christ was born of a virgin and lived among men because the world was lost in its own sin. Wickedness plagued the heart of mankind; and without a Savior, humanity was destined for perdition.

During a brief perusal of national news outlets, I came across the story of Jeremias Bins. In 2006, Bins became enraged that his wife and 11-year-old stepson were spending too much time at her church. In his anger, he beat them both to death with a hammer before driving to a police station to turn himself in.

Jeremias Bins is the reason for the season.

In my local newspaper, there was recently an article reporting on the civil conviction of Jarred Hensley, the vice-president of the Supreme White Alliance. He was convicted of assaulting Jordan Gruver, a U.S. citizen of Panamanian heritage, leaving him with permanent injuries. Hensley calls himself "an equal opportunity hater," and the Ku Klux Klan "soft," which should give you an idea of his outlook on life.

Jarred Hensley is the reason for the season.

The evil would be more comfortable if it were relegated to news stories and confined to only the extreme dregs of society. Personal experience has told me this is not the case. The evil that lies in Jeremias and Jarred lies in my own heart, albeit in different forms. This week I have lied, cheated, and coveted. I have neglected the poor, spurned justice, and hated my neighbor.

I am the reason for the season.

In proper perspective, Christmas is irrevocably tied to Easter. The celebration of the birth of Jesus can only be fully appreciated when viewed in light of his crucifixion and death to pay the debt of sin owed by all mankind. Otherwise, Christmas is confined to mere sentimentalism. It is a time of awe and wonder at the limitless mercy of God. When we view the evil and depravity of the world around us, we can truly appreciate the angels' song to the shepherds and the Magi's homage to the King of Kings. This is not a Hallmark card. This is the hope of the nations and the Savior of the world.

Jesus is indeed the reason for the season; but not merely the reason for our gifts and our celebration. He is the reason for our wonder, the reason for our hope, and the reason for our very life. May we never become so enamored with the cute baby Jesus lying in the manger that we forget the crucified Son of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Irony -- breaking your promise about a political post

Since whoever is elected at all levels of government tomorrow will most likely go on to break about half of the promises they made during their mad rush to occupy their office of choice, I figured it is only fitting that I do the same. I promised a political post before election day, but I've decided to change plans a little bit. After we have elected our next President, I'll post some thoughts on this whole season, interacting a bit with the issues and commenting on the campaign process itself. Until then, make sure you vote tomorrow!

This is why I'm a UK fan ...

I'm sure some of you have seen this picture before but it makes me smile, so I wanted to post it here, especially since I haven't had time to do much lately. I'll have more time once the semester's over in a few weeks, so for the three of you that actually read this, you can expect more then. For now, I'm going to be taking a break from the REOG posts, as they're not as funny as I hoped nor particularly insightful. You might see one pop up every now and then, but I'll probably just go back to ranting and raving.

And just to ensure some controversy, I will promise at least one political post before election day. Should be fun!

America has talent???

I made a big mistake last night. I was sitting around, flipping through the channels (a luxury I can rarely afford), and I landed on "America's Got Talent." Wow. I've watched the show before, in pieces, but this was one of the final rounds, and I was somewhat depressed as a result. A few quick observations about my experience:

• For a show involving the words "America" and "talent," I saw very little of either last night. Two of the judges are British, and the only country that still seems to like Hasselhoff is Germany. As for the talent ... well, it was there ... sometimes ... in a way.
• I'm not sure who ever decided to make Hasselhoff a judge of talent, but one quick look at his previous work should cast a little doubt on his qualifications.
• I think this audience would give a standing ovation for a crippled dog in a Christmas sweater chasing its own tail. Seriously, every time an act begins, it's like the Beatles are performing in 1965 or something. If they are that impressed by everyone that performs, I weep for my country.
• I cringe every time Hasselhoff speaks. It feels like I'm watching the Office when Michael Scott tries to run a meeting or interact with another human being. I want to curl up in a ball and pretend he's not there.
• One of the top 20 acts is a 4 year-old girl singing "Beauty and the Beast." Seriously? Sure, she's adorable, but in the top 20? SHE'S A 4 YEAR-OLD GIRL! She can't even pronounce some of the words in the song. If the show was called, "America Is Cute and Innocent," then give her the prize, but can anyone say with a straight face she is one of the 20 most talented acts in the country? Piers Morgan, one of the judges, tells her she's adorable, but this might be as far as she goes, and the entire audience boos him. In a previous episode, he also told a man who dressed up like Britney Spears (complete with "pectoral enhancements") and did a painful lip sync to "Hit Me Baby One More Time" that he just didn't think grown men should dress up like teenage girls. The crowd booed him there, too. My weeping continues.
• Quick note from Wikipedia -- apparently David Hasselhoff is also known as: The Hoffenator, The Hoffenhessen, and my personal favorite, The Hoffetron. My comparison to Michael Scott is now fully justified.
• Jerry Springer and Sharon Osbourne are two of the most normal people on the show. Think about that for a minute.
• The point of the show is to find an act that can have a show in Vegas. I wonder if everyone voting realizes this. I've seen one or two acts that I would pay any money at all to see, much less whatever exorbitant amount a ticket will run in Vegas. But a 4 year-old singing Disney covers? A 12 year-old girl (who sounds like she's from Pike County, KY) fake beating up her dad and a bunch of other guys with mildly impressive karate moves? A group of 20 middle-aged fathers in tuxedos doing a tap dance routine? A chubby kid twirling a flaming baton? Sure, they're all talented (some moreso than others), but would I actually pay to watch them do it for an hour or two? Ummmm, not so much.

Nerds of America, meet your match ... (1 of 2)

I will be the first to admit that I've played some video games in my life. Especially as a younger kid, I played a LOT of video games. I've even played some pretty nerdy games in the past. My personality lends itself to games that are expansive and involved (read: dorky), and I have enjoyed the occasional RPG (role playing game), like the Final Fantasy series, in addition to the more standard shoot-'em-up and sports games. Now I rarely have the desire, much less the time, to turn on the ole PS2 and immerse myself in my inner nerd-dom.

So while I usually have sympathy for those that play some of these games, this is just ridiculous.

I encourage you to check out that article from yahoo, but let me hit the high points and offer some thoughts. Final Fantasy XI (yeah, there are eleven of them, actually more than that) is an online RPG, kind of like Everquest or World of Warcraft, if you're familiar with those. If not, here's the gist: you control a player, which you build up and equip through the game, which is played online with and against other players. Typically you team up with some other adventurers to advance the story line and make your characters stronger. There's much interaction and chatting between characters, and from what I understand, much of it is very much "in character." There's no talk of Tom Brady and his chances at an undefeated season; it's more about what spells you are fond of and which guilds you recommend.

Now, to quiet the snickering, I should say this: I have never played this game. I've already admitted to playing other such games (I really can't believe I'm typing this right now), but none of those involved this online component. Most are one player story line games -- one nerd limit. I have always restricted my nerd-dom from being shared with others in an online community. That's just a bit much for me. I liked to relish my nerdiness in isolation, to hide my shame from the world.

So anyway, the upside to an online game is that there are always updates that the developer can introduce: new bosses, side quests, equipment, etc. Square-Enix, developer of the series, recently introduced its latest addition -- a new super boss named, "Pandemonium Warden." Naturally, after hearing of its existence, some top level gamers ventured out to take it down. Only problem is, it's quite a resilient little bugger. In fact, these high-level characters blasted away at the monstrosity for over 18 hours straight, with no sign of weakening it. In fact, according to the yahoo article, leaders of the "player's guild" (go ahead, you can laugh at that) complained to Square-Enix that gamers were "passing out and getting physically ill." From a video game.

I'll give you a moment to take that in.

I'm pretty sure I couldn't (and wouldn't) do anything for 18 hours straight except breathe. Maybe not even that. But here's where this hits home: it's easy to make fun of people who would fight a ridiculously named online monster for the better part of a day if we weren't guilty of essentially the same thing.

See, in our culture we are awash in a sea of triviality. It is absolutely astounding how much time we devote to things that are completely meaningless, mindless, or both. Sure, you might not burn the midnight oil via online gaming, but how much time do you spend on Facebook every day? For what purpose? "Staying in touch with old friends?" Please. Rifling through hundreds of pictures in people's photo albums of people you've never met, scouring the news feed for gossip, and updating your status every 15 minutes is just as absurd as a prolonged battle with Pandemonium Warden. There are some legitimate uses to Facebook, I'll admit, (some even are useful in ministry) but if we're honest with ourselves, we exhaust ourselves of those uses pretty quickly.

Do you watch "The Hills"? I have a hard time believing you could convince me that there is one thing about that show that isn't completely meaningless. What about You Tube? How edified are you by watching that dumb skater kid fall and land on his daddy parts for the fourth time? Or that cute kid giggle at that bunny rabbit? What about sports? If you spend as much time as I have in the past pouring over statistics for your fantasy team or rumors of collegiate recruiting, you have wasted a good chunk of your life.

And yet we complain that we don't have enough time to spend in God's Word? To witness to our friends and family about our faith? To commune with our Lord in prayer? To read books to grow in our faith and knowledge? To invest in others lives in discipleship?

Sounds like a cop-out.

to be concluded ...

Why Non-Americans Shouldn't Talk Crap Like Americans

Part 2 of my NBA/Europe post is coming later today or maybe tomorrow, but I have to stop and comment on the Olympic 4x100 meter freestyle relay last night. If you haven't seen it yet, you need to. Now. I have no idea where they're replaying it, but it's worth watching. I woke up yesterday at 4:30 AM CST in St. Louis, and stayed up to watch this come on at 11:30 PM EST. Probably not my smartest moment, but it was worth it.

What makes it so great is that the French decided to run their mouths. At the Olympics. Apparently Alain Bernard, the French anchor for the team, pre-emptively put his foot in his mouth last week with these words: "The Americans? We're going to smash them. That's what we came here to do."

Bad idea.

Nobody excels at beating other people and letting them know about it like Americans. It's one of the things that makes this country great. We don't just win. We win loudly. And last night, we showed that no one else should really try and take that mantle from us. Even though France was the odds-on favorite to win the event, I knew that you don't give us that kind of bulletin board material without paying for it.

Michael Phelps led off the relay, but failed to make a significant lead for the Americans. Garret Webber-Gale pulled out to a slight lead in the second leg, only for Cullen Jones to give it up in the third leg. Everything was going as France, and everyone else, expected. So when Bernard entered the water with a .6 second lead on Jason Lezak in the anchor leg, and proceeded to stretch it to nearly a full body length, I kinda thought we were screwed.

Then Lezak went all "American" on us and torched it. He didn't lead until the last tenth of a second, but the last 50 meters was epic, as he gained on Bernard each stroke, finally touching him out at the wall.

But as amazing as the race was (I've probably never been so excited about a swimming relay in my life, including 10 years of my own races), what I love is the interview afterward, the only place where Americans excel more than on the field, court, or wherever their sport is played. Michael Phelps referred to their competitors as "the Frenchies," and Webber-Gale admitted, "I was pounding on the block, saying the 'f-word.'"

I love America.

For further reading, I highly recommend Pat Forde's article on ESPN.com.

Oh, by the way, Bernard? Your dignity called. It misses you. It wanted to know when you guys could hang out again. My advice, dignity? Give it a couple of weeks.

King James? Or James El Rey? (Part 1)

Wow, two sports posts in one day? I know, call me one dimensional. Truth is, I was planning on posting this thought today, and when the Favre news hit, I just couldn’t resist. Rest assured, though I might mention sports every now and again, this is by no means an exclusive sports blog. Breathe easy, female readership (read: Mom).

I wanted to mention this, because it’s a fascinating story in the early stages of its development, and its implications are far beyond the realm of sports. It seems quite a few people are choosing to play ball in Europe rather than the NBA. For those of you new to the story, let me catch you up to date.

The craze started a few months ago when Brandon Jennings, one the top 5 high school recruits in the country (ranked #1 by some services), reneged on his commitment to Arizona to sign with an Italian team. Most people still expect him to declare for the NBA draft next year, but he has set a precedent for high school recruits looking to get around the one-and-done rule. Why go to college and make a mockery of an educational institution by labeling yourself a “student-athlete” (seriously?) for nine months when you can essentially take a year-long vacation, make some euros, and dunk on some Serbian fools? I’d certainly be tempted.

People have noticed this was an option ever since the one-and-done rule was put into effect, but Jennings is the only player (at least certainly the most notable) to actually take advantage of it. But the story doesn’t stop there. Ever since Jennings’ decision, several NBA players have left the league for the seemingly greener pastures of the Euro-league. Carlos Arroyo (formerly of the Orlando Magic) recently signed to play with a team in Tel-Aviv, and Earl Boykins (a 10-year veteran most recently with the Charlotte Bobcats) just became Italy’s Virtus Bologna’s (insert lunchmeat joke here) highest paid player, making around $3.5 million for the upcoming season.

So what’s the big deal? Is the league really mourning the loss of Carlos Arroyo and Earl Boykins? Not really. It’s part of a growing trend of parity on the global stage, though. Americans were shocked to discover that other countries actually had players on par with the USA’s best when the Americans were defeated in the 2004 Olympics twice, earning a bronze medal for their efforts, and bested again in the 2006 World Championships. That was one thing, but now to have players like Boykins, who’s never played outside the NBA in his career, be lured overseas is cause for a little concern.

But it gets worse. The biggest name to head overseas recently is ex-Atlanta Hawk’s forward Josh Childress. He’s not exactly a household name, but he was a solid contributor for the Hawks (who nearly upset the champion Boston Celtics this year in the playoffs), and was the 6th overall draft pick taken in the 2004 NBA draft. He’s no scrub. He’s no slouch, either, as he’s now making about $20 million over 3 years for Greek powerhouse Olympiacos.

But the biggest news of all is that reports have surface that LeBron James, the king himself, would entertain offers to play in Europe “for a year or two” when he becomes a free agent in 2010. In fact, he’s already talked to teams in Moscow and the aforementioned Olympiacos team in Greece. Now, his condition is that the offer is for $50 million per year, but still. Can you imagine the fallout if the NBA’s golden boy ditched the league to play in Europe? Commissioner David Stern would have a stroke.

See, lots of NBA players leave to play in Europe. This year alone, the following players have left for European pastures: Nenad Krstic, Juan Carlos Navarro, Jorge Garbajosa, Carlos Delfino, Bostjan Nachbar, and Primoz Brezec, in addition to the above named players. But even the casual observer will note a common thread in these guys: they ain’t from ‘round these parts. They all came from overseas, and played for professional squads over there. Their leaving isn’t that big of a concern, because it’s happened for years, and it makes sense. But Josh Childress played ball at Stanford, and grew up in California. LeBron James is from Akron, Ohio -- how less foreign can he be?

So why would these guys leave the greatest league on earth to play for such “lesser” teams? Well, it actually makes a lot of sense. For one, at the time of this writing, $1 is worth about 0.65 euros, and that’s the highest I’ve seen it in a while. Also, the money in Europe is essentially tax free, as teams usually pay their athletes’ taxes for them. Also typically in the deal is a free house and car. And to top it all off, there is no salary cap in Europe. Some team would actually be allowed to pay LeBron $50 mil, if they could afford it (and it’s not out of the question by any means). No NBA team can even hope to match that. For comparison, the salary cap last year was set at $55.63 million per team. Match a $50 million offer, and you couldn’t afford to pay me. OK, you could afford me, but not much else. And yes, I know there are salary cap exceptions, but my point still stands. No salary cap > salary cap.

Plus, if you were an athlete in the prime of your life, where would you rather live? Cleveland, Ohio or Athens, Greece (home of Olympiacos)? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

But here’s my point in all this: where does it end?

Undoubtedly, once the collective bargaining agreement is up in 2011, there will be an outcry from the players to boost the salary cap (or eliminate it) to compete with the money being offered overseas. But is that really the solution? Pay our professional athletes more money? I would imagine the average working man would balk at that, rightfully so. After all, increased salaries ultimately mean increased ticket prices, and a quick glance at the economy today suggests that isn’t exactly a change people would be welcome to.

Is catering to our athletes even more really what America needs? This is the problem inherent with America – indeed, with capitalism itself. There is no possible way to satisfy the greed of human beings. Every year athletes are whining and pouting that they’re not being paid enough when they’ve already seen more money than 99% of the world will ever see. In the 2007-2008 season, Shaquille O’Neal made about $21 million. The country of Tuvalu, a small nation in the Polynesian islands, posted a GDP in 2007 of $15 million. Think Tuvalu is insignificant? What about Zimbabwe? They’re only worth about 30 Shaqs. And they have more than 13 million people living there. 1.8 million of them live with HIV, and the life expectancy for females is 34 (males are 37).

Something is wrong here.

Favre to the Jets ... can we please shut up about it now?

This picture was on ESPN. The "Worldwide Leader In Sports," and the best picture they can manage of Favre is from a video game. Hilarious. Don't they have Photoshop or something up there in Bristol, CT?

Anyway, I was ecstatic to hear this news, only because it means that I don't have to hear any more Brett Favre news every 15 minutes. (BREAKING NEWS: Brett Favre just went to the bathroom! No word yet on whether it's #1 or 2. John Clayton is perched near his septic tank for an update once the deed is done.)

Have fun getting smoked by the Patriots, Brett. Cheers.