Wisdom For Your Weekend: your weekly installment of things we’ve been reading (and watching) around the web.
Video of the Week
God Wrote a Book, Desiring God. Few people can evoke the kind of wonder and excitement about the Bible as John Piper does. Listen to this and be inspired to spend more time with the most valuable item you will ever own. “God wrote a book. And with this book—these words in front of us—he wakens our dead, bored souls. He frees us bondage to sin, from desires that rob us of life. He comforts the depressed, inspires the discouraged, guides the confused. He satisfies us completely and forever, with words—his words.”
Articles of the Week
Five Ways to Ruin a Perfectly Good Dating Relationship, Tim Challies. It’s no secret that our current generation of young singles finds dating mystifying and complicated. When dealing with the vagaries of another human being, of course, some measure of difficulty will always be there. But as Challies points out, we also sabotage ourselves far more often than we realize. Take a lesson and avoid these common mistakes.
The World’s Short Attention Span, Quantified, Kalev H. Leetaru, The Atlantic. Chances are you’re aware of the current crisis in and around Syria. But do you remember the earthquake that devastated Nepal earlier this year? Probably—although the news doesn’t. Why is it that when it comes to news, we have such short attention spans? Leetaru offers some answers, with graphs to back it up.
The Myth of Quality Time, Frank Bruni, NY Times. While I (Chris) sometimes disagree with Bruni, his writing is masterful, and he often produces profound social critique, as in this article, which argues, “There’s simply no real substitute for physical presence.” Intimacy isn’t something you can manufacture and slot into specifically “quality” time; it’s something that grows throughout the otherwise mundane moments. If you love someone—your spouse, your kids, your friends—it’s not too complicated, thought it’s plenty difficult: be present.
Three Sinful Things to Say in Conflict, Lore Ferguson. There are, to be sure, far more than three sinful things to say during any one conflict (seventy times seven, perhaps?). But Ferguson points out three of the more subtle ones. I could’ve anticipated the first two, while the last one wasn’t what I expected. But she’s right about that one, too.
On The Lighter Side
Seven Magic Tricks That Went Horribly Wrong, Mental Floss. Yeah, this is a bit dark to be “on the lighter side.” But it’s reminiscent of a train-wreck—terrible, but you just can’t look away. On the positive side, not all of these magicians ended up dead. So that’s…something.
Wisdom For Your Weekend is presented to you by Chris Pappalardo, with occasional guidance from J.D. Greear. 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.”
