Wisdom For Your Weekend: your weekly installment of what we’ve been reading (and watching) around the web.
Articles of the Week
Hillary, Bernie, Donald, and Me, John Piper. A lot of people aren’t thrilled with the remaining presidential candidates. John Piper, on the other hand, seems to see something redemptive about Hilary, Bernie, and Donald—their age. All three presidential candidates (and Pastor John) want to spend their 70s doing the hardest job in the world. But they’re only trying to run the tiny territory of the United States. As Christians, we get to be ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. So don’t waste your 70s, your 80s, and beyond. God still has plans to use you.
Four Bigger Repercussions of the Bathroom Debate, Trevin Wax. Everyone is talking about bathrooms these days. But beneath the surface of the debate about transgender rights, Wax notices other trends that are worth following—about governmental authority, education, and the nature of hope. There are more questions here than answers, but they’re enlightening, gracious, and necessary ones. (For more on this, be sure to read Brad Hambrick’s helpful reflections on what it looks like to talk this over with your kids. You can find that here: Talking to My Boys after the Transgender Talk at Their Public School)
The Secret of Consistently Reading, Aaron Armstrong. It’s not a huge secret, really. But Armstrong is on to something here. Reading, like most activities that matter, only happens when we make time for it. Want to read a book this month? Then plan for it. Not sure how to plan it? Then let Armstrong show you the way.
A Confession of Liberal Intolerance, Nicholas Kristof, NY Times. “We progressives believe in diversity…We’re fine with people who don’t look like us, as long as they think like us.” This is a rare admission, so we commend Kristof for making it. It seems that in the media and the academy, diversity definitely has boundaries, and those boundaries cut out conservatives, especially conservative Christians. To me (Chris), this is becoming one of the most critical mission fields in our country: universities shape society, and we need to be thinking of sending some of our best and brightest into universities equipped to be a counter-cultural, gospel presence.
Why Porn Kills Sex, Russell Moore. Pastor J.D. touched on the dangers of pornography during last week’s sermon, and Moore shines another light on the issue. Incredible wisdom here about why pornography is so destructive (instead of just finger-wagging and guilt trips) with implications for what we should do about it. As Moore notes, “Pornography kills sexuality because porn isn’t just about sex and because sex isn’t just about sex.”
On The Lighter Side
Remove a Letter, Spoil a Book, Abby Heugel, 22Words. I (Chris) have always loved this little trick. It’s a favorite game among nerds. Twitter has made it a little more ubiquitous, and offered us a handful of book covers to supplement the joke. (I was glad to see Here’s Waldo, Princess Brie, and One With the Wind. Would have liked to see The Invisible Ma, Back Beauty, or Goodnight Mon. Maybe next time.)
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.”
