Dec. 25: I'm a small part of a really big show
I'm always bewildered when non-theists criticize Christian athletes
for having, what they perceive to be, a myopic view of God. They thank
Him when they catch the football or hit a home run or score a hat trick,
but they extend no middle fingers to the sky when they fail. The idea
is God intends them to succeed. When they fail, the almighty is simply
taking a day off.
That's ridiculous. When I hear an athlete praising the Lord, I know he's just doing his best to be humble. I know he lives in a society that glorifies athleticism. I know his salary is likely a hundred times what I make, I know he has groupies throwing themselves at him whenever he's on the road, I know he's constantly being offered booze and drugs and multi-million dollar endorsement deals.
The temptation to succumb to this sort of faux-godhood must be overwhelming. Christian athletes are public about their faith not because they believe (or want others to believe) that they play for the almighty's favourite team, they do it as a means of maintaining their humility.
They know that they are a small part of a really big show.
-
Forrest Gump is one of the most over-rated movies of the 1990s. I'm upset that it scooped up a bunch of Oscars that should have gone to Pulp Fiction, but I'm also upset that its magical special effect wizardry upstaged the film's premise, which is that simple people can accomplish amazing things.
Another movie called Stuart Saves His Family, penned by and starring Saturday Night Live alumnus (and total leftie) Al Franken, does a much better job of demonstrating that idea. The titular character, Stuart Smalley, is "a caring nurturer," someone who has been through a number of 12-step programs. He has a big heart even though he's not very bright and is certainly not a licensed therapist. If you've seen the Stuart Smalley segments on Saturday Night Live then you know you're not exactly laughing at Stuart. It's impossible to hate Stuart. Maybe we pity him a little. We laugh because we realize that level of sweetness, that level of naivete, is often only found in the hearts of the simple. Mr. Franken once said that one of the reasons he created Stuart was because he wanted people to understand that you can learn something from people who are not as bright as you.
-
For most of my life, I was a lousy student. I was lousy because I believed that "needing instruction" was like saying "I'm a dummy." That is not only untrue, it's dangerous. The best teachers will tell you they resent the education model of "I have knowledge and you do not and my job is to insert the knowledge in your brain." The best teachers understand that education is a game of give-and-take.
The best pastors don't see themselves as CEOs or entrepreneurs or even spiritual surgeons. They view themselves as interns in hospitals that are full of sick people.
They realize that they are a small part of a really big show.
-
A long time ago, I was a member of a usenet group called alt.fiction.original. We were a bunch of aspiring novelists and we would post works in progress and other posters would critique them.
Somewhere along the way, we attracted some English dude who never posted his own fiction but wasn't shy about criticizing other people's work. Most of the time it was quite scathing. He sparked a number of flame wars with some of the group's regular posters. One of them challenged him to post his own work so everyone could benefit by seeing how wonderful it was. He said he wouldn't because "I have nothing I can learn from you people."
I always found that sad. If you don't think you can learn something from anyone you meet, then you're probably an uptight arrogant jerk. As Arthur Conan Doyle once observed: "Mediocrity sees nothing higher than itself but genius recognizes talent instantly."
The geniuses realize that they are a small part of a really big show.
The mediocre believe that they are the show.
-
Burgeoning artists should be taught to love the craft in themselves, not themselves in the craft.
-
There used to be a card magician named Martin Nash, who was widely recognized as being one of the finest card mechanics in the world. He billed himself as "The Charming Cheat" and his closeup act would often draw standing ovations. He was that good.
One day, Martin Nash was performing for a group of people - one of those people being a magician friend of mine. My magician friend, who was quite young when he saw Mr. Nash's performance, noticed that one of the elder magician's moves wasn't as clean as it could be. Now my friend had a dilemma. Should he tell Mr. Nash what he saw and risk being yelled at or should he just let it go?
Well, he decided to tell Mr. Nash. Mr. Nash was grateful for the tip. Apparently, he asked my magician friend to try to narrow down exactly what part of the routine where he slipped up. He wanted to correct it.
I was happy to hear that story and I am happy to recount it today. It shows that Martin Nash knew he was just a small part of a really big show.
-
If there is no God then everything will be forgotten. The day will come when William Shakespeare's words will never be spoken by anyone again. The day will come when every word written, every song composed, every work of art that has ever been made will turn into ash.
As for me, I am friends with several magicians who could blow me out of the water. Many of them are quite a bit younger than me.
My shelves are stacked with books written by men and women whose minds are so brilliant that they make me feel unworthy to even write note-a-day. And I am reminded of the words of Kurt Vonnegut, who once told budding artists not to go out into the world because if they did, they would run into Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Stay home. Stay home.
-
They say that the master has failed more times than a thousand novices have even tried.
Do you want to know why Martin Nash was able to do such amazing flawless card routines? I'll tell you why. It's because he failed to do those routines thousands of times while working in his practice room.
The reason the concert pianist performs so beautifully? Because he failed thousands of times which practising at the conservatory.
Success, my friend, is the child of perspiration and tenacity. Sometimes he is born but more often than not, he is aborted. And as he grows, he will stumble and he will crawl and he will walk and then he will say his first words and if he has even an ounce of wisdom, those words may well be "I'm just a small part of a really big show."
That's ridiculous. When I hear an athlete praising the Lord, I know he's just doing his best to be humble. I know he lives in a society that glorifies athleticism. I know his salary is likely a hundred times what I make, I know he has groupies throwing themselves at him whenever he's on the road, I know he's constantly being offered booze and drugs and multi-million dollar endorsement deals.
The temptation to succumb to this sort of faux-godhood must be overwhelming. Christian athletes are public about their faith not because they believe (or want others to believe) that they play for the almighty's favourite team, they do it as a means of maintaining their humility.
They know that they are a small part of a really big show.
-
Forrest Gump is one of the most over-rated movies of the 1990s. I'm upset that it scooped up a bunch of Oscars that should have gone to Pulp Fiction, but I'm also upset that its magical special effect wizardry upstaged the film's premise, which is that simple people can accomplish amazing things.
Another movie called Stuart Saves His Family, penned by and starring Saturday Night Live alumnus (and total leftie) Al Franken, does a much better job of demonstrating that idea. The titular character, Stuart Smalley, is "a caring nurturer," someone who has been through a number of 12-step programs. He has a big heart even though he's not very bright and is certainly not a licensed therapist. If you've seen the Stuart Smalley segments on Saturday Night Live then you know you're not exactly laughing at Stuart. It's impossible to hate Stuart. Maybe we pity him a little. We laugh because we realize that level of sweetness, that level of naivete, is often only found in the hearts of the simple. Mr. Franken once said that one of the reasons he created Stuart was because he wanted people to understand that you can learn something from people who are not as bright as you.
-
For most of my life, I was a lousy student. I was lousy because I believed that "needing instruction" was like saying "I'm a dummy." That is not only untrue, it's dangerous. The best teachers will tell you they resent the education model of "I have knowledge and you do not and my job is to insert the knowledge in your brain." The best teachers understand that education is a game of give-and-take.
The best pastors don't see themselves as CEOs or entrepreneurs or even spiritual surgeons. They view themselves as interns in hospitals that are full of sick people.
They realize that they are a small part of a really big show.
-
A long time ago, I was a member of a usenet group called alt.fiction.original. We were a bunch of aspiring novelists and we would post works in progress and other posters would critique them.
Somewhere along the way, we attracted some English dude who never posted his own fiction but wasn't shy about criticizing other people's work. Most of the time it was quite scathing. He sparked a number of flame wars with some of the group's regular posters. One of them challenged him to post his own work so everyone could benefit by seeing how wonderful it was. He said he wouldn't because "I have nothing I can learn from you people."
I always found that sad. If you don't think you can learn something from anyone you meet, then you're probably an uptight arrogant jerk. As Arthur Conan Doyle once observed: "Mediocrity sees nothing higher than itself but genius recognizes talent instantly."
The geniuses realize that they are a small part of a really big show.
The mediocre believe that they are the show.
-
Burgeoning artists should be taught to love the craft in themselves, not themselves in the craft.
-
There used to be a card magician named Martin Nash, who was widely recognized as being one of the finest card mechanics in the world. He billed himself as "The Charming Cheat" and his closeup act would often draw standing ovations. He was that good.
One day, Martin Nash was performing for a group of people - one of those people being a magician friend of mine. My magician friend, who was quite young when he saw Mr. Nash's performance, noticed that one of the elder magician's moves wasn't as clean as it could be. Now my friend had a dilemma. Should he tell Mr. Nash what he saw and risk being yelled at or should he just let it go?
Well, he decided to tell Mr. Nash. Mr. Nash was grateful for the tip. Apparently, he asked my magician friend to try to narrow down exactly what part of the routine where he slipped up. He wanted to correct it.
I was happy to hear that story and I am happy to recount it today. It shows that Martin Nash knew he was just a small part of a really big show.
-
If there is no God then everything will be forgotten. The day will come when William Shakespeare's words will never be spoken by anyone again. The day will come when every word written, every song composed, every work of art that has ever been made will turn into ash.
As for me, I am friends with several magicians who could blow me out of the water. Many of them are quite a bit younger than me.
My shelves are stacked with books written by men and women whose minds are so brilliant that they make me feel unworthy to even write note-a-day. And I am reminded of the words of Kurt Vonnegut, who once told budding artists not to go out into the world because if they did, they would run into Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Stay home. Stay home.
-
They say that the master has failed more times than a thousand novices have even tried.
Do you want to know why Martin Nash was able to do such amazing flawless card routines? I'll tell you why. It's because he failed to do those routines thousands of times while working in his practice room.
The reason the concert pianist performs so beautifully? Because he failed thousands of times which practising at the conservatory.
Success, my friend, is the child of perspiration and tenacity. Sometimes he is born but more often than not, he is aborted. And as he grows, he will stumble and he will crawl and he will walk and then he will say his first words and if he has even an ounce of wisdom, those words may well be "I'm just a small part of a really big show."
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