Wading Through Muck/Live It!

No, I'm not talking about an episode of "Dirty Jobs."

Although, covering the job of a presidential campaign manager would probably make a pretty good series on this popular cable reality show about the dirtiest jobs. Oh, reality show. That could be an issue. I mean, how can you tell what's real in an election anymore?

So, what are we to do? Awhile back, I came to a personal conclusion about elections: I needed to stop being lazy. I needed to get better informed. And I needed to quit expecting to be entertained. I'll take them in reverse order:

• Stop seeking entertainment. Our brains can't possibly take in all the impressions that this media-rich world brings our way. So, we throw up shields to avoid the deluge. Therefore, the communications have to become more clever in order to "break through" the filters in our minds. They entertain us. We need to understand that just because something is entertaining doesn't make it right. Be discerning. And for goodness sake, be discriminating. Just because something is funny, doesn't mean it's good for you. Evaluate and eliminate.


• Getting better informed. I'm amazed at how many people make a political decision based solely on emotion. Feeling strongly about something (or someone) is fine. But feelings should be informed in order to be validated. Counting on the candidates alone is a poor strategy. Unfortunately, you can't count on the news media for unbiased information either. Learn to recognized carefully crafted talking points. They are designed to create impressions rather than inform. Search out non-partisan organizations that develop voter's guides in your area. They aren't very entertaining; but you'll get the clearest picture of each candidate's views on the same issues.


• Lazy won't get the job done. If all this sounds like work, it's because it is. I'm a bit of a news hound, so it's somewhat like a hobby for me. I start paying attention to elections six months or so in advance. By the time the election roles around, I've marked my voter guide with my choices for candidates and initiatives. All I have to do is transfer those choices to the ballot (and now that ballots can be mailed, voting is a whole lot easier).

Can you tell I take voting seriously? Look at it this way: Right at 50% of the adults in this country determine what direction we all take. Does the other half just not care. Are they not disciplined enough to participate. Or are they just too busy to get involved?

It's a free country. But, as you've seen on a bumper sticker, insuring freedom isn't free. Make sure you register to vote this November, study the candidates and issues, and vote your conscience. Ignore the cynicism of the day and make your founding fathers proud.

Wading Through Muck/Go Deep

I was a rookie in the advertising field when negative advertising hit the fast food scene big time.

Working for a local McDonald's co-op was a challenge in those days with up-and-coming Burger King and Wendy's as competition.

Imagine in the board rooms of corporate BK and Wendy's as the Executive VPs of Marketing made their cases for negative advertising: "McDonald's is number one...we have to erode their market share...we have to differentiate our product from theirs...let's go negative."

So rather than saying, "Our burgers are bigger," Wendy's came out with the humorous classic, "Where's the beef!" Instead of touting their burgers' great taste, Burger King blasted the air waves with "fried versus flame broiled." Both were accompanied with exaggerated parodies of the actual McDonald's product.

The negative, sarcastic approaches seemed to fit the cynicism of the day--the days following the end of the Vietnam War and Nixon in the White House. There was a certain segment of society that really liked the attitude. They were the same folks that enjoyed the sniping political humor delivered in the Doonesbury comic strip.

And later, the wise-cracking commentary on Saturday Night Live about Ford's clumsiness and Reagan's old age. And later still, the left-leaning, late night barbs of David Letterman. And even later, the biting, right-leaning volleys of Rush Limbaugh against the left in this country. I could go on.

Do you see the trend? No doubt a majority of our voting-age population has been exposed to years of negative argument that is low on accurate information and high on sarcasm. We've rewarded the approach with high ratings. We've validated it by supporting its sponsors with our buying power.

It's no wonder that we've seen a proliferation of the tactic in virtually every aspect of culture. This is a general statement, but I fear there is much truth in it: we've become lazy, ill-informed and we demand to be entertained. Which also means we can be fooled and easily spooked by half-truths and shallow accusations.

I'm on my soap box, I know. Just be glad you're not around when I talk back to the television set. So, where do we go from here? Let's wrap up the week with that conversation.

Wading Through Muck/Think About It

We're thick into the "hip-deep in sludge" season--election time, that is.

You would think most Americans would gladly exercise their hard-fought right to vote for the candidate of their choice in local, state and especially national elections. Yet, voter turnout in this country is lousy.

Statistics I just reviewed from the Federal Election Commission indicate that only 43.6% of the voter-age population actually pulled the lever in the 2006 elections. That statistic goes up in presidential election years, especially when the contests are high-interest. During the 2004 presidential race, 55.3% of eligible voters cast a ballot.

I still consider that pitiful. But is it any wonder people are fed up with the process of electing our national leaders. Instead of informing citizens of their credentials and exciting voters with their proposed solutions to major national problems, candidates barrage their opponents with negative advertising.

Apparently, it's a more effective strategy in today's world to scare people off your opponent than it is to win them over to yourself. What is the impact of all this negative political talk? In a word, cynicism.

Life is way too busy to spend time trying to wade through all the misinformation being disseminated by candidates and their surrogates. (Indeed, the primary qualification for being a campaign manager must be a poker face. Watching them spin the facts is like watching a late-night reprise of the Exorcist.)

Is it any wonder that close to half the voter-age population tune out and opt to, what, wash their car, organize their tool box, clean up after the dog? Something productive. (See, cynicism.)

I don't think I'm telling you anything you don't already know. So here's a question to ponder: How much of what the candidates peddle is our fault? Think about it, and we'll talk mid-week.

Releasing Burdens/Live It!

If only I could fully implement the wisdom I find in Scripture.
Life would be more like what God intended it to be.

I want to draw on three insightful words that urge releasing the failures of the past and the pressures of the present. Jesus is the author of one and the Apostle Paul the other two.

There's a practical application and a spiritual one with each statement. Together, they offer an elegant counter to this impulse we have to carry useless burdens in our life.

Jesus said: "...do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes." (Luke 12:22-23)

It's a universal. We all carry the burden of the day-to-day with us. Yet, practically, Jesus said that by worrying we can't add one single hour to our life. And since that is true, why worry about the rest. Simply put, worrying is not a productive (nor a healthy) exercise, yet it takes a major toll. Work for the things you need, but don't worry.

From a spiritual perspective, Jesus said flatly that worrying signalled a shallow faith. He pointed to the birds in the sky and the flowers of the fields as proof of God's faithful provision for His creation. So have faith that the God who provides so well for birds and flowers will do even more for you who are MORE valuable.

In terms of carrying today's hardships, Paul instructed: "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2) The practical lesson is that we shouldn't go through life as a loner. Most burdens are too heavy for one person. By sharing the load, we spread out the weight and each of us carries a lighter burden.

The spiritual application is that by reaching out to someone in need and helping to carry their burden, you are fulfilling what Christ commanded--namely, love God and then love other people. When the people of God are at their best, they are together in unity, stronger because of the support they provide each other. And by doing so, they move closer to God in faith and practice.

In terms of carrying our failures from the past, Paul knew all too well what he was talking about when he said: "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 3:14)

Paul had some major failures to look back on. But he knew that Christ had taken care of his guilt. Also, he knew that looking back made it very difficult to move forward. As a practical matter, putting our failures under a constant microscope is another unproductive exercise. It gains us nothing, except heartache and a loss of confidence.

From a spiritual aspect, Paul saw life as a forward race in pursuit of living up to the gift of grace that Christ captured for us through His death on the cross. I say "pursuit" because there is no way on earth that we can live up to that standard. But, we should chase it, according to Paul. A Christian's life is about growth and maturity, achieved though facing life's challenges in a godly fashion.

So let go of the worry, share the burden, and quit carrying around those mistakes. Plus, be sure to lift with your legs.

Releasing Burdens/Go Deep

There is a burden that is too much for a man.

King David knew it all too well.
"My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear." (Ps. 38:4)

David withered under the load of guilt that he himself could not remove. His sin caused him physical pain, failing health, severe mental anguish, and agonizing isolation. There was only one answer to his need: "Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior." (Ps. 38:22)

Guilt is easy in the making, but impossible in the living. Guilt is like slow death, sapping energy, creativity, vitality, and zeal for life. Guilt is also what makes death so unbearable for the person who does not know God. Without relief, guilt will crush a person in life and condemn him for eternity in death.

So when Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Mt. 11:28)," he wasn't making some shallow political promise. Jesus was speaking to the central need of mankind. And, he wasn't just talking about it, he was doing the work necessary to remove completely and forever the burden of that guilt from all mankind.

I've been fortunate to live guilt-free for the majority of my life, having accepted Christ's gift of grace when just a teen. I say "guilt-free" with the full knowledge that I still mess up and have to ask for my Savior's forgiveness. But I never have to carry that guilt any longer than it takes me to let go of my pride and submit to His will.

What I do tend to carry far beyond the point I should are the failures of my past and the pressures of my present. Both can consume the best of what life has to offer, and they deserve to be jettisoned from your life. In fact, Christ and the first century Apostles gave clear guidance about how to handle both.

We'll clear the way to a burden-free weekend by covering both on Friday.

Releasing Burdens/Think About It

"That's all right. I have big shoulders," I would hear my father declare when he was being buffeted by storms on several fronts.

It wasn't that he needed to boost others' confidence in his abilities to handle the onslaught as much as it seemed he needed to verbalize his own determination to hang in there. It was an age of self-reliance when men--just by virtue of the fact that they were men--were expected to stand against whatever came their way.

A John Wayne philosophy of manhood, my Dad's mindset had both merit and flaw. On the merit side, it is so important that a man hang in there when the going gets tough. Often, I have heard of men who drop-out when a wife contracts a life-threatening, long-term disease. Too many times, I've seen men fold when the economy goes south and they see their career plans slip away with it.

My family benefited so much from my father's strength and faith in hard times. He always seemed calm in the face of troubles and always communicated a faith that things would work out. Yet, I know he secretly held doubts and worried a great deal about the negative outcomes that were possible.

He shared many of those doubts with my mother, but he held many of them within himself, and it took a toll.

My father died after a massive heart attack shortly before his sixtieth birthday. Some 45-plus years of smoking and eating fatty foods were major contributors to that attack, but doctors agreed that stress played a definite role in triggering the event.

So, contrary to the John Wayne playbook, there are burdens men should not carry--at least not alone. A word to consider this week from Jesus: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Mt. 11:28)

What burdens have you been buckling under lately? Think about it and we'll talk more mid-week.