The Big Question

I invite you to begin a conversation again with me this week.  It is an answer to a great question that has skewed my view from the Open Road.  In fact, being perfectly honest, as a second year seminarian, I have been struggling for most of my seminary career with this question. 

What theological concept do you most struggle with and what options are out there?

Now, I must admit before I go too far that as I read this question, pulled from the “Box of Doom,” aloud to my classmates, I rather jokingly made the admission that I personally struggle with just about all theological concepts. Although this was a flippant response, said in a jokingly good-natured way, I must confess that as I continue to ponder theology and the implications of theology I am more convinced than ever that I will continue to struggle with almost all theological concepts.  Maybe that is a good thing because the struggling builds both clarity and conviction.

 Nonetheless, back to the question:

What Theological concept do you most struggle with?

Recently, upon reading a book titled How to Think Theologically written by Howard Stone and James Duke- two professors from Brite Divinity School in Texas, I stumbled across this definition to theology, “theology is a seeking after understanding- a process of thinking about life in the light of the faith that Christians engage in...”[1]  I like this definition.  As Christians “every aspect of ...life...is a theological testimony.”[2] Did you ever stop to think about that?  As a Christian everything you do, or don’t do, has a theological implication.  Everything!  I never really thought this way before entering seminary.  And, you might not have either.  If you had asked me previously to define theology, my definition would have been something like this: Theos- God; ology- study of= the study of God.  A pretty trivial definition to be sure but nonetheless it’s how I thought.  I would not have considered myself a theologian.  I was a husband, a father, an uncle, a son, a builder, a student...but a theologian?  NO WAY!!  Here lies the real struggle; most of us don’t think that we actively engage in theological study, when really we do.  Theology is not just left to the people with a ton of letters behind their name, rather theology is something you and I, as Christians, are constantly doing- even if we don’t realize it.  Every thought, action, plan, deed....reveals something about how we respond and think about God.  In this light, everything we do is theological reflection.

So, if you’re like me, these thoughts are probably surprising to you, aren’t they?  I mean do we really think about God all the time?  Is every decision I make a decision that is theologically relevant?  If we are honest, the answer is “no.” You see, in our day-to-day reality, for most of us, unless we are actively involved in Bible reading or study, the sad reality is that we tend to run our lives as if we were on self-pilot.  God is a reality that all too often is forgotten in the hustle and bustle of the day-to-day activities. We rely on our own control and only allow God to have control when we lose control of our lives. Reliance is a weakness to us. However, scripture reveals a very different reality, a reality that we would do good to follow.

In Psalm 121 we encounter a God who is our helper (vs. 1&2), our keeper (vs. 3&4), our protector (vs. 5&6), and our guard (vs. 7&8).

Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.”

Isaiah 26:4 says “Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock.”

Jeremiah 17:7 “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.”

Matthew 6:25-34 Don’t Worry

Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Are you beginning to see a theme emerge?  Live in total reliance on God.  It’s that simple!  Not only is it a major scriptural strand, but it also opens us to the reality that indeed all, our entire being, revolves, is centered on, thinking theologically.  When we see that as Christians, we exist and have our being by thinking theologically then the focus we commit to the study of theology takes on a very different meaning as well.

For this week, this has been my view from the Open Road.[3]

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[1]Stone, H.W and James O. Duke. How to Think Theologically. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2006, 2 

[2]Ibid

[3] If you wish to explore living in total reliance upon God and placing God first in everything further, an awesome book (easy to read) is Practicing His Presence by Brother Lawrence.

First, an apology:

Okay, so I slipped a little.  I promised to keep my blog post updated and it has been several weeks since I posted last.  It seems that, with all the assignments, course readings, discussions, other papers to write, and the like- not to mention family and the needs they have, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep the blog site current.  The big ambition was to be able to write a new post every week.  The reality is becoming quite a different story however.  Nonetheless, I will still try- even if it is relatively sporadic at best, to keep posting new content. 

 

                                                                                                     

THEN and NOW

This week’s writing class introduced us to a little game called “The Box of Doom.”  Now, as intimidating as this title may be, the box actually favored me a little.  See, the sole purpose of this box was to collect, from our fellow classmates, a topic of doom.  We were to place in the box what we considered a hard topic to write on that was to be used by our classmates to construct their next blog post.  Well, as everyone else was pulling out topics that were more difficult, I reached in and drew the $1 that our instructor had placed in the box.  Thanks Adam, in this one single moment you doubled the amount I had in my wallet- AWESOME!  The adage of being a poor broke seminary student is no adage at all; rather it is a sad reality.  Therefore, rather than just take the $1 bill and run, I thought I would, for the sake of nostalgia, riff on this $1 theme for this entry.  Again, thanks Adam for providing the inspiration for this entry.

It is no doubt at all that a dollar bill just is not worth what a dollar used to be worth.  Inflation has quite literally stripped the dollar of its purchasing power.  Food, clothes, toys, health products, homes, cars, virtually everything has increased in price over time as the costs for production have also increased.  Modern living definitely has its advantages, but it comes as the cost of a dollar continually inflates.

Before we begin however, I must admit openly that neither finances nor money management are my strong suits.  In fact, aside from merely over-stating the obvious I have no idea really how inflation technically works.  I have no clue how to curb over-spending, aside from the obvious which is not spending more than you take in.  I am no economist, nor do I ever anticipate I will become one.  Therefore, this blog is not an economist’s approach to any sort of solutions.  Rather, this blog is simply a reminiscent look back at the value of things then versus their value now.  Then, maybe we can offer some theological insight as we close.  It is my hope, as always, to begin the conversation with you.

According to one report, “the cost of living in America has gone up about fifteen fold since the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.” (Charles B. Stockdale 2010) This may not come as any big surprise to you.  In this light, let us consider a few prices of some basic items and play them through from 1776 to the present.

In 1776:

• One ton of iron cost $63.73
•  A double-barreled shotgun cost three pounds (notice that in 1776 America was still using the British money system)
• One pound of coffee cost .13 silver dollars

In fact, in 1775 $1 was equal to $29 today.

In 1800:

• A dictionary cost $0.50
• A cow cost $10
• One pound of coffee cost $0.25

The money used was no longer British, as America had established its own monetary system.

Now, let’s fast-forward 100 years.

In 1900:

• A home in Brooklyn, NY cost between $7000-$12000
• An Oldsmobile car cost $650
• One pound of coffee cost $0.15, $0.10 less than it had in 1800

$1 in 1900 would equal $26.40 today.

In 1950:

•  A Corvette cost $3000
• The board game Monopoly cost $4
• One pound of coffee cost $0.79

$1 in 1950 would equal $8.91 today.

In 1975:

• A six pack of beer cost $1.49
• A ticket to the movies cost $1
•  A pound of coffee cost $1.49

$1 in 1975 would equal $3.98 today.

In 2000:

• A 12 pack of Bud Light cost $8.99
• A movie ticket cost $7.50
• A pound of coffee $3.54

$1 in 2000 would equal $1.25 today.

Today, 2012:

• A 12 pack of Bud Light costs $12.49
• A movie ticket costs $9.75
• A 12 ounce package of coffee $5.99

$1 today, is just that, $1.

You may be asking yourself why this all matters.  On the other hand, you may have completely glossed over as you read the information above.  Either way, one thing is certain; the value of $1 has and will continue to change drastically in our lifetime.  In fact, as the information above indicates, most likely the dollar will continue to lose its value.

Now, the theological perspective I hold is that Jesus owns it all.  The dollar may continue to lose its value because of increased competition and costs, but ultimately Jesus still owns it all.  He gifts us with what we have.  He does however require us to be wise stewards with what he has entrusted to us.  I believe the parable of the talents, as found in Matthew 25, points this out well.  With what he has gifted us come certain expectations, caring for the widow and the orphan (James 1:27), feeding and clothing the hungry and naked (Matthew 25: 31-46), and so much more.  The value of the dollar may be decreasing continually but the expectations Jesus places on us, as his disciples remains constant.

For this time, this is my view from the Open Road.

Works Cited:

Charles B. Stockdale, Michael B. Sauter, Douglas A. McIntyre. 24/7 Wall Street. September 16, 2010. http://247wallst.com/2010/09/16/the-history-of-what-things-cost-in-america-1776-to-today/ (accessed October 21, 2012).