Cover me

Last night you went to bed before I did. When I dragged myself up the stairs a half hour later, you were already asleep. I tried to be as quiet as I could getting ready for bed, and slipped under the covers. Except, as you often do, you had rolled over so that the covers did not cover my right side.

I thought for a moment about how to get some more covers without waking you. Then I thought about how it would be if I had the covers all to myself.

And I said a prayer thanking God for you, and went to sleep.

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Got 14.5 minutes?

Then please watch (or at least listen to) the first 14:30 of this video:

On June 25, 2011 LifeSiteNews Editor-in-Chief John-Henry Westen gave this powerful and moving talk to a Toronto, Canada audience. Westen, in a personal way, presented an overview of LSN reporting philosophy related especially to the most controversial issues covered by this news service. John-Henry received a standing ovation from the conference audience at the end of his presentation.

There are consistent themes tying the entire talk together as well as specific divisions within the talk as follows:

1. The first 14 and one-half minutes addresses the reasons, experiences and philosophy behind LifeSiteNews coverage of the homosexual issue.

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The parable of the chores

It was put to me that Christians are actually all self centered. The only reason why we do good works is because we want God to give us stuff, ultimately in heaven. Heaven and hell are constructs to make us think we're going to get something, and since we are selfish and want goodies and don't want to be punished we do it.

I think the claim says more about the speaker than about Christians, and so I offer this parable.

Once there was a man who had three sons. One day he called his sons to him. To the first, he said "Empty the dishwasher, for it is full of clean dishes. And when you have done this refill it with this morning's breakfast dishes." The first son nodded and headed towards the kitchen.

To the second son he said "Go forth into the backyard and collect all the sticks which are strewn about there. For it is written in the manual, 'do not run over large sticks with the lawnmower, lest the blades become dull and chipped'." The second son nodded and headed for the back door.

To the third son, the man said "Gather up all the garbage from all the wastebaskets in the household. Gather also the kitchen trash, for it emits a foul odor. Take all these and deposit them in the garbage can and take it to the end of the driveway, where it shall be taken away by the sanitation truck." The third son nodded and began to travel about, collecting trash.

In his mind the first son was thinking "If I don't empty the dishwasher my father shall be angry with me and perhaps even punish me." The second son was thinking "If I pick up all these sticks my father shall reward me richly, perhaps even unto the purchase of that new video game I covet." The third son thought "If I don't take out this trash my father will have to do it. Because I love him I will take this chore upon myself."

Which of these sons is doing his father's will?

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Money Can't Buy Me Love

I saw this article in Science Daily that makes some shocking claims

If you think having loads of money, fetching looks, or the admiration of many will improve your life — think again. A new study by three University of Rochester researchers demonstrates that progress on these fronts can actually make a person less happy.

This is "striking and paradoxical" (at least according to the article). It continues

The findings in this study support Self-Determination Theory... The theory holds that well-being depends in large part on meeting one's basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Very nice and scientific, but although the authors cite how previous researchers overlooked things, it sounds like they do too, unless "relatedness" includes service to God and to others. According to this much less scientific survey clergy are the happiest people followed by firefighters (who are mostly Catholic, as we all know).

Which leads to an even less scientific theory I call "conservation of compensation". Ever wonder why lawyers get paid so much? Because (almost) everybody hates them! If it were a respectable job (like teacher or firefighter) they'd be happy to take the job even if it didn't pay well. I propose that this law is universal, except for doctors. I'm still trying to figure them out.

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