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 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.” While we do not always agree with everything these authors post, we share these resources because we find them challenging and enriching. As we often say around the Summit, when it comes to reading, “Eat the fish and spit out the bones.”
Resources for the Church
How to Develop a Safety Plan for Domestic Violence, Brad Hambrick. “Often, as Christians who place a high value on marriage, forgiveness, and unity, we feel inherently guilty for leaving in a dangerous domestic situation. While we want to affirm these values, consider it this way: The best way to honor someone you love but acts with volatility is to remove the opportunity for them to do greater damage with their anger. Your self-protection is not selfish; it is actually the most loving thing you can do.”
Articles of the Week
Death in the Age of Narcissism, Frank Bruni. John McCain and Aretha Franklin passed away this month. While their passing has led many to offer tributes to their memory and legacy, Bruni points out that many of the public statements are more about the authors than the deceased. You and I may not have the same platform as the famous folks who are cranking out “obituary opportunism,” but we are just as liable to twist eulogies into self-congratulation.
America Soured on My Multiracial Family, David French. Motivated by a desire to live out the gospel, the French family adopted their daughter Naomi from Ethiopia in 2010. They did so full of hope. In the years since, however, they have encountered resistance from every angle of the political spectrum. As French says, “Naomi’s days of material deprivation are long past. But there is this disturbing reality: Many people hate that our family exists.” Our nation may not desire multi-ethnic unity and affection as it should, but thank God that his children pursue that goal anyway.
You Are Not Your Temptations: Three Insights for Understanding Same-sex Attraction and Sanctification, Jackie Hill Perry. Two things strike me about the insights that Perry offers here. First, all three are explicit contradictions to the way our culture views both temptation and same-sex attraction. Second, all three insights, while forged in the crucible of same-sex attraction, are wise words of comfort to every saint.
Wrestling the Giant: Why I Deleted Instagram, Andrew Peterson. I’ve already given Facebook and Twitter the axe. Instagram lingers. But perhaps it is time to follow Peterson into a narrower path, one marked less by envy and manipulation and more by hiddenness, service, and presence. At the very least, hear Peterson out on his “four social media rules” at the end.
On the Lighter Side
Real Actors Read Yelp Reviews: #19, Dunkin’ Donuts, Therese Plummer. This is a bit of a throwback, just in case you weren’t around for the first time I linked these little gems. I’m sure we all imagine that our negative reviews would be read with such pathos.
