Wisdom for Your Weekend is your regular installment of what we’ve been reading (and watching) around the web. Presented to you by Chris Pappalardo, with occasional guidance from Pastor J.D., this is our attempt to reflect Proverbs 9:9: “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.”
Articles of the Week
A Letter to My Dad, John Wall. Basketball star John Wall didn’t have a great relationship with his dad. Not in the traditional terms, anyway. And yet, if you read over this letter to his deceased father, what is the emotion you’re most likely to hear? Pride. Parents, it doesn’t matter what mistakes you’ve made in your life. You’re never too far gone to make a huge impact on the lives of your children. And as Wall’s story also illustrates, we can all be surrogate parents, however briefly and imperfectly, to the fatherless in our lives.
The Gospel Doesn’t Need Our Protection; Sexual Abuse Victims Do, Rachael Denhollander (interviewed by Morgan Lee). In case you missed Denhollander’s powerful words to her abuser, go back and read them all. (Or watch the video of her talk. Worth every minute.) It was shocking but beautiful to hear Denhollander extend forgiveness. But as Denhollander points out in this interview, forgiveness is just one aspect of the biblical picture. A gospel people are a forgiving people, but they are also a voice for the oppressed. The gospel, as she says, doesn’t need our protection. It requires our obedience, no matter the consequences.
How Cecile Richards Strengthened the Pro-Life Movement, Kate Shellnutt. This week Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards announced that she would be retiring. The announcement has sparked a lot of response—praise from her pro-choice fans and censure from her pro-life critics. This is hardly surprising. Under her leadership, Planned Parenthood gained more prominence and political sway. In the short term, this has been good news for those who wish to see more elective abortions. But it has also led to a resurgence of pro-life momentum.
Seven Ways to Seize Your Commute as a Christian, David Qaoud. Chances are your daily commute isn’t the highlight of your day. At best, it’s forgettable. At worst, it makes you want to swear off motor vehicles altogether. Short of ditching your Honda Accord, however, what can you do to make your daily drive more profitable, even memorable? Qaoud to the rescue.
Have Bible Quoters Replaced Bible Readers? Russell Moore. In Martin Luther’s day, the great challenge to biblical literacy was availability: The people didn’t know the Bible because they didn’t have one (or couldn’t read one). But in the United States today, Bibles could not be easier to access. Don’t have one? You can get one immediately on your phone! Why is it, then, that our biblical literacy is spiraling the drain? Despite the glut of Bibles in our nation, we’re looking at a deficit of Bible readers. Break the trend, my friends: Read your Bible.
On the Lighter Side
The 809 Objects Left on the Moon, Half as Interesting. It’s been a while since anyone has set foot on the moon. But if we were to travel back up there, we’d find a lot of leftover junk lying around. Including, among other things—96 bags of feces and vomit (of course), a hundred $2 bills (that was a mistake), and one portrait of astronaut James Irwin (left there by astronaut James Irwin).
