the simple life, part 1

The “Gospel of Consumption” article I discussed in my last post has been part of a larger stream of thought for me this month. As we live in this consumer culture, I believe we find a war of sorts going on inside of us – a war of desires. On one hand, having bought into this consumer gospel, we consistently live according to its doctrine: the more you buy, the bigger the house, the nicer the appliances, the happier you will be. Yet, we also consistently find that this doesn’t actually prove to be true in reality. Then, when we look around at all of our accumulated stuff, we begin to hate it because all it really does is complicate our lives and give us more to worry about, more to maintain. So at the very same time that we desire more, we also find in ourselves a strong desire for less. We hunger for a simpler life that is not spent maintaining all of the things that don’t actually make us any happier.

This desire for simplicity is no secret. In fact, it seems to be a fairly consistent theme in the films and literature of our culture. Films such as Fight Club and, more recently, Into the Wild, explore the depths of this human desire and potential responses to it. Songwriters such as Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Bono (U2) and Jay Farrar (Son Volt) regularly explore the emptiness of a consumer culture and identity, while juxtaposing it against the deeper spirituality inherent to us humans. Indeed, filmmakers and songwriters, who in many ways act as prophets of our day, regularly pit those two realities against one another. Is our identity what we own? Or is it something deeper? Something both simpler and more complex? We long for a life that finds its meaning not in what we own or in a successful career, but in the depth and security of our relationships (with God and others). We all know that the label on our jeans doesn't say anything about who we are, yet somehow we can't help defining ourselves this way. (It may be far more subtle, by the way. Do you drink Kaldi's Coffee, or Folgers? Shop at Wal-Mart or Whole Foods?)

Earlier this year, I finally had a chance to read what is widely seen as a classic of Christian spirituality: Celebration of Discipline, by Richard Foster. Although it was written 30 years ago, I found it to be profoundly relevant still today. The book focuses on 12 different spiritual disciplines, one of which being simplicity. It is there that I want to linger for a few posts. Foster’s explanation of this classic discipline is something we all desperately need to delve into for ourselves in order to find a center amidst the reckless pull of a consumer culture.

First, as a brief but important note: spiritual disciplines are not intended as means toward a relationship with God. In fact, they can only rightly flow out of a relationship that is already established. Discipline that is not empowered by a restored relationship with God, based upon faith in Christ, amounts only to hard legalism and works-based salvation. Our works don’t save us, Jesus does. And he is the one who enables us to grow in any discipline. Once that relationship is established, the disciplines are what many theologians have called a "means of grace," or a God-ordained way that we grow in and deepen that relationship. That’s a whole separate discussion, and an important one, but one I won’t go further into here.

Foster points out that with any discipline, there is both an inward reality (this begins with that foundational new life in Christ I just spoke of) and an outward reality. The former must come first, before any outward fruits. So with simplicity, we don’t want to just change our practices (ie. stop buying so much stuff), but first change inwardly. I want to spend this post and the next on the inward reality, and then the last on the outward manifestations.

So how would we cultivate this inward reality? Foster points to Matthew 6:25-33, where Jesus explains that we don't need to worry about having what we will need, for God will provide our needs if we simply "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness." This is the foundation for a simple life. The reality is that we will spend our lives in pursuit of something. That's how we are made - we all worship something, whether it's God or something else. The only way to true simplicity is to renounce these other gods (whether it be the latest gadget or anything else) and seek first God's kingdom and righteousness. This means that our day-to-day priorities are determined by God and not our own passing fancies. And surely if we hope to break out of our current stream, then we must have hope in a different one. The fact that Christ is Lord, and that His Kingdom is here now and will be fully here in time, gives us a totally different world view from which to work. To pursue this kingdom means seeking a place where the last are first, where possessions are shared, and where justice is established. It is a place much different from the one we know.

It’s easy to respond to the consumer culture with frustration and anger, and come up with many possible solutions. Like I said, many already do this in various ways within our culture. But, as Foster says, we need a “place to stand” in order to see true change within ourselves and in society as a whole. Seeking the kingdom is a reorientation of our desires and pursuits so that they are pointed toward the right place, and the only place in which they can be fulfilled. Could it be that the pursuit of contentment we see so freely at work in our consumption habits is actually a reflection of a deep desire to pursue something meaningful? What if we redirected that pursuit toward that which actually lasts? That is what Jesus is saying – don’t store up treasure where everything fades away, store it in a place that endures! Seek first the kingdom – my Father’s eternal kingdom! This isn’t a killing of our desires for happiness – it’s the only place they can be fulfilled. True, in seeking genuine simplicity, we will kill some of our desires and die to ourselves. Jesus said boldly, "Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." (Luke 9:24) So in the end we do not lose. What will remain is our life, more pure and full and human than we can possibly imagine from where we stand. So this must be the starting point for any journey toward simplicity. Only here are we free to look at our possessions and pursuits in a new light.

So what would this new pursuit look like? How might we bring Christ’s Lordship to bear in every area of our lives, both personally and publicly? How might we pursue his righteousness and make that our primary concern over what we have or what we think we need? These are good questions to chew on before moving forward with this discussion.

consumed

There is a fabulous article in the latest issue of Orion Magazine entitled "The Gospel of Consumption." It explores the cultural shift that took place during the 1920s that led to the consumer culture we now know. To understand the world we live in, it is helpful to look back and realize that there was a time when people functioned differently.

It is staggering to realize that what we often assume now as "just the way the world works" is really only a result of the cumulative choices of people, especially people in power. The Industrial Revolution that began in the 1800s led inevitably to a crossroads. We had gained previously unknown abilities and powers to produce. So a choice was laid before Americans. Now that we could produce our basic needs at a much higher rate, would we seek to use that power for good? Would we seek new and creative ways to use our newfound extra time?

Americans made a choice, and it was the folks with the money that led the way. The article references a 1929 magazine article by James Kettering, director of General Motors Research. The title of the article was "Keep the Consumer Dissatisfied." And there you have the beginning of the culture we now know, live and breathe. As the article says, "he was defining a strategic shift for American industry - from fulfilling basic human needs to creating new ones." The author of the article, Jeffrey Kaplan, goes on to say:

"Business leaders were less than enthusiastic about the prospect of a society no longer centered on the production of goods. For them, the new 'labor-saving' machinery presented not a vision of liberation but a threat to their position at the center of power."

Listen also to these words from President Hoover's 1929 Committee on Recent Economic Changes:

"Economically we have a boundless field before us; that there are new wants which will make way endlessly for newer wants, as fast as they are satisfied."

Consider the prophetic nature of that statement, made almost 80 years ago. These are the beginnings of a movement we have yet to see the end of, but one which is beginning to run its course whether we want it to or not. What began in the 1920s has played out in the creation of a society where the consumer is "king" (or slave?). The wants of the individual, or the creation thereof, drive everything about the world we know. But inevitably, the wants and felt needs of people will collide with reality. The natural world and human community have limits to what they can support.

Think about it from a different perspective: we just watched The End of Suburbia for our monthly Movies and Mindmaps discussion at Karis. This documentary explores this problem from another angle: It specifically focuses on how the suburban movement, which is deeply connected with the larger consumer movement in Western culture, has led us to the current era of peak oil and waning natural resources. The consumer mentality that began in the 1920s, though put on hold a bit during the Depression and World War II, was ultimately indoctrinated in post-WWII America. This "gospel of consumption" became: "Tired of the toil of city life? Move out to the country, live the good life away from the bustle of your workplace. Have your own space, and plenty of it. Fulfill the American Dream and have whatever you need." And heck, that was probably a pretty compelling vision in a society that had just seen some pretty bleak years.

But, as the article argues, all we've done is create a busy world where we run around like crazy in order to keep up our lifestyle of comfort and consumption. We sense that we don't really need it all, but nonetheless we work incessantly to get more, more, more. We could have a bigger house with more privacy. We could climb one more rung in the corporate ladder. We could get the latest technological device to manage our insane schedules. On and on the list could go. But what's the point? That's the great question the Orion article asks. Here's a staggering statistic: we were the richest country on the planet in 1948. Most of the world has not caught up even to where we were then. If we returned to 1948 levels of production and consumption, we could work 2.7 hours a day, and make everything we need!

Now, of course that may not be realistic or even desirable. But it illuminates an important truth for us. Our production and consumption is way beyond what is needed for us to live happy and abundant lives. This production could be aimed toward providing for the real needs of poor people throughout our country and the rest of the world, and we could do this while still working less. Many in our society work 60, 80, 100 hours a week, just to keep producing and consuming. What if we fundamentally had our priorities changed? What if we remembered that our most basic needs are spiritual, relational, and simple physical (read: food and clothing)? What if we were grounded in a deeper reality than the one marketers sell to us every day?

The businessmen of the 1920s paved the way for a society that looks to marketers to create needs, and so we have consumed the world around us with little regard for the less fortunate, the environment, or future generations. We gladly bought their vision, because we are selfish and greedy just like they are. But now we face the hard truth that our own earth can't even support our endless cravings much longer. And we face the even harder truth that the consumer vision is spiritually bankrupt. As God's image-bearers, we are first and foremost relational, moral and creative agents, not consumers. We are made to pour out for the betterment of the world God gave us, not for the endless bloating of our own selves.

The Kingdom of God, which Jesus first pronounced and displayed, turns all of this on its head. It's only in that culture that we can be returned to our rightful state as healthy and whole image-bearers of a good and gracious God. It's only there that my neighbor - rich or poor, strong or weak - matters more than myself. It's only there that we are defined not first by what we have or buy or produce, but by an identity as children of a loving King. It is not a Kingdom that can be bought and sold, but one that is freely given where there is faith in the good promises of the King. In his Kingdom, the last shall be first. So when will we stop our endless strivings and willingly become poor so that we can become a part of this Kingdom? Will we be last in a world obsessed with being first?

The article closes with a great point: "If we want to save the Earth, we must save ourselves from ourselves. We can start by sharing the work and the wealth. We may just find there is plenty of both to go around." The question that remains, though, is: who will save us from ourselves? We haven't proven to adept at that. The force for real change must come from the outside, not within. The gospel of consumption teaches us to live for our own gain at others' expense. The gospel of Christ teaches us to die that others might live. Which will create a good and just society?

Read "The Gospel of Consumption."

dangit

So I really didn't want to be that guy who started a blog, posted a couple times and then disappeared. Oops. I'm that guy. I could start into my excuses about how busy the last few months have been, but alas, everyone knows that story, so instead I'll save that and just try this again. 

Honestly, I think I need to just spit out a basic "journal entry" of sorts to get myself back into the mindset of posting. The past few months have been very busy, at times a bit too much so, but they have been marked by much of God's grace. It began with the Resurgence Conference in Seattle, hosted by Mars Hill Church. This was a fabulous time of teaching aimed at a lot of young pastors and leaders from around the world. All in all, it was an encouraging time with great messages from folks such as Mark Driscoll, C.J. Mahaney, John Piper and Matt Chandler, all focused on what it looks like for the church to remain faithful to the gospel while contextualizing the message to our particular cities and their unique cultures. All of the sermons are available on video or audio here. Better still, I finally had a chance to hang in the marvelous city of Seattle with my brother and his girlfriend, which was a great time as well.

From there it was back to Columbia for the flurry of excitement surrounding the True/False Film Festival, my favorite weekend of the year as far as living in Columbia goes. This is a primo documentary film festival - it just gets better every year. Why the name True/False, you ask? Well, it's quite the fitting title, in fact. The whole premise of the fest is sort of designed to dismantle the conception that just because a film is of the documentary variety, that must mean it is objective truth. The folks spearheading this fest rather operate under the assumption that the film-makers' perceptions and world views color how the films are made (as would of course be true of any art form). Add to this fact that we find ourselves in a time where documentary as a medium is exploding with new ideas and creativity, and you end up with a weekend full of powerful films and great discussions. This is the kind of thing that makes for a flourishing city, so I'm thrilled to be in a place where this happens every year. We were able to catch several well-crafted documentary films, none of which are widely released yet. But if you see them around, I would highly recommend the films American Teen, Very Young Girls, Forbidden Lies, Man on Wire, and the Greening of Southie. I wish I could comment on them each here, but this post would get rather long. Perhaps later.

The following three weeks were the busiest, as leading music in church always comes to a head for Good Friday and Easter. Good Friday is always one of my favorite worship services to plan, as we put the focus heavily on music and the reading of Scripture - all with the aim of powerfully portraying the weight and significance of the crucifixion. Taking communion with my community here on that night is always one of the more affecting moments of worship of each year. And of course, to follow that with the joyous celebration of Easter as we remembered again the resurrection of Christ, overall makes for the high point of the year for celebration. Our hope is all summed up right there, in Jesus' death and resurrection, and our joining into that reality by faith. It's always great times, and as usual, I was completely exhausted afterwards!

Next up was California for vacation, which came at that perfect time, for when Missouri doesn't know whether it wants Spring or Winter, California is much more certain. Sunshine and warmth were much easier to find in Los Angeles and San Diego, even if it's still cold at night down there. In any case, it was a fun time visiting several friends and catching the wedding of one of my oldest friends, Ryan, in San Diego. It had been a while since we'd been able to spend that much time together, so I was grateful for the opportunity to renew our friendship a bit, get to know his new wife better, and catch up with his family. Plus, weddings are always a great reminder of the vows Ann and I have made, and they seem to have a way of spurring us toward greater unity and renewed focus on building each other up. It was quite refreshing. All in all, we were quite blessed on our trip to California - we didn't need to rent a car or stay in a hotel, all due to the generosity and hospitality of our friends. Praise the Lord, indeed. 

So here we are, back in Columbia. We celebrated Ann's birthday last night, and thanks again to the generosity of family for our birthdays, we were able to go to the best restaurant in town, C C's City Broiler, for the first time. I don't even know how to describe the experience my taste buds had there last night. I wish I could somehow let them speak for themselves, as I'm sure they could articulate the ecstasy better than I. Fresh Blackened Salmon with fruit salsa with a Cabernet? Yes, my friends, I think I will leave you pondering the greatness of that short time of bliss. It may be another 5 years before we can go to that restaurant again, but it will be worth the wait. 

And with that, we're caught up. Please feel free to chastise me if I do not resume a more regular flow of posting. 

thy blood was shed for me

Although I love the Lenten season, I often find it difficult to actually observe it. In the end, I think it reveals how much restructuring my whole life needs, not just for this one season a year, but for every day. Not enough space is made for prayer. My ears are not open and my heart is not as attentive as it should be. I live like a frantic, worried soul when I should be at peace.

Richard Foster's book, Celebration of Discipline spoke deeply to me this week. Two of his chapters revealed to me what I lack (among many other things): simplicity and solitude. He refers to these as two of the outward disciplines, but stresses that the outward manifestation flows from an inward reality. "It is possible for a person to be developing an outward lifestyle of simplicity and to be filled with anxiety," he says. The inward must come first. This is what Lent should be about: a pursuit of the deeper inner realities of the Spirit-filled life; those realities that can only express themselves outwardly.

Strangely enough, all of that was simply an intro to what I am actually posting about. My point is that I am actively trying to observe Lent and go deeper, so here is something to that end.

I'll be teaching the song "Thy Blood Was Shed For Me" in church tomorrow. This is a somber and penitential hymn originally written by Charles Wesley and put to new music by Matthew Smith, one of my favorite modern hymn-writers. The melody is wonderful in its ability to capture the two sides of repentance the lyrics portray. First, we see our sin and grieve over it. But then, we leap in faith into Christ - casting our sins onto Him. So musically this works itself out beautifully. The start of each verse is low, quiet and sorrowful, a deep meditation on our poverty. But then the melody immediately soars like an insistent plea as the lyrics turn from sorrow over our sin to a surrender to Christ and his ability to cleanse us. My ability to describe it stops here - I can't begin to portray the arrangement in words. You can hear part of the song as Smith's website. Just scroll through the tunes on the main page.

It's a fitting melody, but ultimately it is the words that anchor a hymn in place. And these lyrics powerfully portray our situation both apart from Christ and in communion with him. Here they are in full:

Let the world their virtue boast and works of righteousness
I, a wretch, undone and lost, am freely saved by grace
Take me, Savior, as I am; let me lose my sins in Thee
Friend of sinners, spotless Lamb, Thy blood was shed for me
They blood was shed for me

Full of truth and grace Thou art and here is all my hope
False and foul as hell, my heart, to Thee I offer up
Thou wast given to redeem my soul from iniquity
Friend of sinners, spotless Lamb, Thy blood was shed for me
Thy blood was shed for me

Nothing have I, Lord, to pay nor can Thy grace procure
Empty, send me not away, for Thou knowest I am poor
Dust and ashes is my name, my all is sin and misery
Friend of sinners, spotless Lamb, Thy blood was shed for me
Thy blood was shed for me

That first verse is especially relevant to our Lenten journey. This is ultimately where we must go: seeing the depth of our lostness, we turn from self-boasting to see the breadth of Christ's fullness and we declare "Take me, Savior, as I am. Let me lose my sins in Thee!" In this season of the "Christian Passover" may we speak these words and know their truth: "Thy blood was shed for me."

the cult of celebrity, and more

This week has brought two separate but related conversations about the state of our celebrity-soaked culture. The second one is more direct. On Monday night, our church hosted its bi-monthly cultural discussion, Theology at the Forge. The design here is basically to create a public forum where people are challenged (first as humans and citizens) to look at themselves and the world around them a bit more critically. The basic underlying questions for our meal discussion are ones such as: what's wrong with society? What can be done to make it right? What do trends in society teach us about human nature? About ourselves? What good can be found? How can we create more of this good? What underlying beliefs have led to the "texts and trends" we find in our culture? In short, culture is a product of worldviews. When people get together, they inevitably live out on a communal level what their desires and passions are. At Karis, we think discussing such things is worthwhile, and it's essential for shaping us into people who live more and more consistently with reality, rather than by false presuppositions.

But I have diverged from my point, I hope that brief description is enough! In this particular installment of TATF, we discussed "The Cult of Celebrity: Who's Your Role Model?" When we look at our culture today, we see that the influence of celebrity culture is undeniable. The magazines we read, the news we watch, the fashions to which we adhere, even the causes we back up...many of these are a result of our subconscious connection with what flows from Hollywood. The first discussion that I was involved in, on Sunday night, went even deeper into this. We looked at the checkout lane of a grocery store from a theological perspective. This stems from an article in Everyday Theology called "The Gospel According to Safeway." The authors basically argue that the checkout lane is preaching a certain vision of the good life, and it is one that we often passively accept. Better sex, easy weight loss, convenient solutions and quick sugar fixes are all at your fingertips as you impatiently wait for the obnoxious mom with 3 kids in front of you to finish checking out. In fact, the authors argued that celebrities are the de facto symbol of the good life. They have everything we want (or think we want): wealth, fame, money, sex, and so, hard as this may be to digest, we idolize them (aka. we worship them). And what we worship shapes who we are.

But of course, the answer here isn't that all mass media or all celebrities are bad. Nor is it to say that there is no place for thoroughly enjoying a musician's work or an actor's films. Rather, this raises many pertinent questions for anyone living in 21st-century western civilization. Here are some that came up Monday night:

1) The death of Heath Ledger is all over the media. We hear more about this than about the deaths overseas, or for that matter, in our own communities. What might this say about our culture? About human nature?

2) Why do you think we are obsessed with celebrity gossip? (People is the most-read magazine).

3) The January issue of Esquire is peppered with advice from celebrities on how to live life. Would you say our culture equates fame with wisdom? Do we place more trust in celebrities for advice than our own friends and neighbors who know us?

4) It seems like soft news (ie. the Daily Show or the Tonight Show) are taking over as our source of information. Is this a good or bad trend? What does it say about our culture as compared to past ones?

5) Does fame equate to moral or spiritual authority? (Oprah would be a good example here)

6) What about the way celebrity culture defines beauty for us? Is this healthy?

7) So what might be an alternative vision for the good life in these areas already mentioned? If the life promised by the magazines is unrealistic, then what is realistic? (We can't really answer a question like that if you don't figure out what is true and foundational to reality).

I hope these questions are helpful. I'm sure there are many more that could be asked. I obviously have opinions on them, but I'll leave it at that for now. Feel free to post a comment - this could be good conversation!

an intriguing election year

I'm sure I'm not alone in my increased interest in this year's election race. Part of it, for me at least, is that I am more informed than I was four years ago, and more able to think critically about politics and the role of government. I was fairly naive in 2004. I'm still naive now, just not quite as much so! But the other part of it is simply that it's an exciting race, at least on the Democratic side. It looks like it will probably come down the wire for Clinton and Obama, which should make the next 6 months quite interesting.

In any case, my point for this post isn't so much to discuss candidates or what's happening in the race. Rather, I wanted to provoke some thoughtful engagement in some important issues. Jim Wallis' book, God's Politics, has been immensely helpful in forming not so much my specific stances on issues, but in teaching me how to think about my role both as a Christian and a citizen (which go hand in hand) in the political arena. The central point of Wallis' book is that the best role for any faith community is to stand outside the central political sphere and speak prophetically to both the Right and the Left. Rather than letting the church become an arm of the Religious Right or of an opposing liberal agenda, God's people should speak truth across the board, and call biblical values in all political issues. For example, as Wallis points out, poverty is just as much a moral concern as abortion is. This has hit home with me. Perhaps this is why I resonated quite a bit with what John Edwards had to say in his campaign.

So, to illustrate a point, let's look at the poverty example. We could stand within the same old debate and listen to the conservatives on one side say "you can't just give people handouts; you need to hold them responsible!" Or the liberals on the other side saying "but these issues are systemic - it's all about society's oppression!" But here is why I like Wallis - he does neither of these. I post here a quote from his blog in which he describes a discussion he had on a conservative Christian radio station:

"When our discussion turned to the subject of poverty, I brought up how all too often our lack of relationship with the poor is a deeper problem than our ideological debates about how to solve poverty – how very few of us, including liberal Democrats, including Christians, have real relationships with the poor.

As a committed Christian and committed conservative, Thor [Tolo, the Christian radio host] believes it's primarily the church's responsibility to address poverty—not the government's. Even so, he admitted, "I feel very convicted by what you just said," and admitted his lack of relationship with poor people, even though he had concerns about government helping to promote a cycle of dependency.

I said we need a grand alliance between conservatives and liberals on the issue, an alliance that calls on liberals to address family breakdown, out-of-wedlock births, and other dimensions of poverty involving personal responsibility, and for conservatives to champion strategic investments in housing, health care, and education—with clear outcomes and results.

But I added, "When did Jesus ever call his followers to serve only the deserving poor?"

Smiling, he conceded the point. It's hard to disagree with Jesus."

What do you think of Wallis' point here? Is it possible to engage in these debates on a deeper level? Can the church stand outside these issues and be consistently biblical? I find myself much more hopeful, thanks to folks like Wallis, that she can.

Finally, his challenge to all Christians who say it's the church's responsibility to deal with poverty, should cause us to pause. If we say that, then are we doing anything about it? Do we actually have those relationships? Or do we just look like hypocrites? How can we respond to this challenge?

It will be an interesting year indeed.

ash wednesday, a day late

Yes I realize I am belated on this entry. I hoped to post it yesterday, but alas, these things are not always so simple! I wanted to initiate/invite some reflection for Ash Wednesday (yesterday), as we enter the season of Lent.

To state it briefly, Lent literally means "springtime." This is a fitting description, not because it falls on the transition from winter to Spring (at least in our part of the world), but because it paints a picture of new life. Lent has historically been a season of repentance and renewal for the church - a time of once again looking at oneself and to the sacrifice of Christ for a new sense of the unity offered by Jesus to his followers. This is a unity that places us in Christ fully - in His death and His resurrection. So we remember his call to die to ourselves, to "take up our cross and follow" him. But we also remember that through His conquest of death, we have the hope of new life, both in eternity and in small vignettes of the Kingdom here and now.

In other words, it is not merely a drab and morbid season of self-sacrifice and meditation on the sufferings of Christ. Rather, it is a time in which we take action to promote a greater unity with Christ in our own lives and those around us. So, yes, giving to the poor and fasting are fitting pursuits in this time. Through such acts we simultaneously cry to God for His life-giving love and faithfulness and we proclaim to our community the greatness of the Kingdom Christ brought in with his life, death and resurrection.

This 40-day sojourn (46 including Sundays) from Ash Wednesday through Good Friday, culminating in Easter Sunday, is my favorite season on the church calendar. As with all traditions, there is a constant danger of becoming legalistic or simply going through the motions. But when observed with a heart longing for a deeper sense of God's presence in our world, these times can bring great refreshment and renewed purpose. Holy Communion comes with a profound and vivid sense of vitality for me this time of year. I invite you to join with the church around the world in remembering the beautiful sacrifice and redeeming life of Jesus Christ. We shall all shout on Easter Sunday: "He is risen!"

I'll leave you with a simple poem from Oscar Wilde called "The Ballad of Reading Gaol":

And thus we rust life's iron chain
Degraded and alone
And some men curse, and some men weep,
And some men make no moan:
But God's eternal Laws are kind
And break the heart of stone.

And every human heart that breaks,
In prison cell or yard,
Is as that broken box that gave
Its treasure to the Lord,
And filled the unclean leper's house
With the scent of costliest nard.

Ah! happy those whose heart's can break
And peace of pardon win!
How else may man make straight his plan
And cleanse his soul from Sin?
How else but through a broken heart
May Lord Christ enter in?

Blessings to you this (day after) Ash Wednesday. May our hearts break, that He may enter in and heal them.