To Be Loved

Courtesy y-axis.com

Satya Nadella wants love, but he's looking for it in all the wrong places.

Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, recently made a statement that caught my attention. He stated,

"We want to move from people needing Windows to choosing Windows, to loving Windows. That is our bold goal."

A bold goal, yes, but not an uncommon one. I'll follow that up with a bold statement of my own, Mr. Nadella has this love thing all wrong.

Now, to be fair, one can't get a full view of what someone thinks about a topic, (especially a complex topic such as love) from a couple sentences, but it's a start. You can't judge a book by its cover, but you can still get a general idea from that cover as to what is inside. So that being said, let's unpack Nadella's statement.

Nadella's Ladder

• Needed: When we associate with someone out of necessity it means that we really don't want to, but we do it because we have to. An example is children choosing teams for a game, the last kid picked was picked simply because they were the only one left. Not a favorable position to be in.
• Chosen: The next rung in Nadella's ladder is more favorable, but still not ideal. Someone in the chosen category is definitely liked, but is also interchangeable with others. Firmly in the middle of the pack, it's nice for them to be around, but we don't really miss them when they're gone.
• Loved: The top of the ladder, and Nadella's goal for Windows. Someone in this category cannot be done without. The first one picked, they not only make life worth living, but also are sorely missed when they're gone.

That sort of progression may work with Mr. Nadella, but God's love turns that list around.

God's Love is Different

With God's list, the love comes first. In fact, God loves us even though we were/are His enemies. He doesn't need anything from us, but still wants to spend time with us. Not only does He love us, but He also showed that love by dying in our place.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8 NIV

Let that sink in for a little bit. The best human relationship we can imagine pales in comparison with the relationship that God offers us. In essence, this unconditional love and acceptance is what sets Christianity apart from other world religions. Nothing is earned, it is only received, and anyone who states otherwise is not a true follower of God.

So as many people (at least in the United States) start talking about a holiday of love, don't be like Nadella and look for love simply from other people, look to the True Source because it is only from this Source will your desires be truly fulfilled.

Ich Bin Adolf?

Adolf as a Child, Courtesy: wikipedia.com

Genocidal dictators aren't born, they're created, and they started out being a lot like you and me.

I recently viewed a documentary on the beginning of World War II, which of course talked a great deal about Adolf Hitler, and a somewhat disturbing thought came to mind; Adolf was once a regular person. Curious as to whether the facts support this thought or not, I did a little research.

A Regular Person

According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Adolf was born into a middle-class Catholic family. He pursued a career as an artist despite his family's insistence that he join the army. After his parents died, he bounced around quite a bit, supporting himself with his art until eventually joining the army in World War I. Most importantly, up until the end of WWI, his racism was nothing extraordinary, keeping in line with much of the general public at that time.


A Single Step

At this point you may be asking yourself, "What does this have to do with me? I'm nothing like Hitler." Sure, almost nobody goes to bed a law-abiding, tolerant person, and then wakes up a hate-filled mass-murderer. It's a process that one goes through. As the saying goes, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Many times that single step is a step in the wrong direction.

Jesus stated in His famous Sermon on the Mount that thoughts have the same weight as actions because thoughts are that first step. One does not set out to murder without first nurturing hatred to a person or group of people. Young Adolf got caught up the wrong crowd that encouraged the negative parts of his character, and the rest, as they say, is history. Sadly, history has a way of repeating itself.

Swimming Against the Current

Even one with only a passing knowledge of current events can see that there is a lot of hatred going around. Aside from those atrocities that make the national and international news, people are being killed everyday simply because they are different. Beyond that, the world-wide web often becomes a forum for people to spew hate-filled diatribes against those who simply disagree with their views. With hatred such as this being so prevalent, it's easy to allow yourself to go with the flow. In order to not be changed by that hate, one must swim against the current of popular opinion, even when that popular opinion has seemingly good intentions.

No God Zones

In a must-read article on the British website the Telegraph, Cristina Odone voices her valid concern about the potential creation of "no God zones" in which no public religious display will be allowed because such display might provoke an attack. The discrimination would be for their own protection. She continues by pointing out those who have taken steps in the wrong direction.

Secularists once sought only a separation between Church and State; today they want to purge all signs of religion from all public space: the staff at Charlie Hebdo said they did not want to hear the bells of Notre Dame mourning their colleagues’ murders. Salman Rushdie weighed in, saying religion, as a "maedieval form of unreason", is the enemy.

Instead of simply religious extremists being the problem, religion itself becomes the problem, and it doesn't take much imagination to see where that mindset can take you.

The Right Path

Young Adolf took such a mindset to the next level and ended up being one of the most reviled people in history. He kept nurturing that hatred until it controlled him. There is no room for such hatred in the Christian, even in small amounts. So I challenge you to make the right choices, to choose the right path. Such a choice will be difficult, but remember this, you can do all things through Christ Who gives you strength.

Just A Game?

Courtesy blog.apimages.com

Why people, especially Christians, should rethink how they view sports.

They stood in stunned silence, some openly wept, while others cried silently. An elderly man comforted a small girl. Many who saw the event on television left the room in tears, unable to bear the sight. What had these people seen? A terrorist attack? A mass shooting? The assassination of a beloved dignitary? Sadly, none of the above. They witnessed the Brazilian football (soccer) team lose badly in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

There was one picture of a woman that pushed me over the edge. Seen out of context one would have thought that she had received the news that her child had been brutally murdered. I thought that something is out of control here, something must be done. Therefore I decided to write this post because as the saying goes, better to light a candle than simply curse the darkness. The following are a few reasons why I think that people, especially Christians, should rethink how they view sports in general.

Loss of Perspective

I put this one at the top of the list because it provides a foundation for all the other issues. Sports easily becomes the highest priority in people's lives. So that if our favorite team or individual wins or loses, we win or lose. Everything else becomes less important then the game or match. Vince Lombardi, a famous coach of American football is quoted as saying, "Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing." Such an attitude goes completely against one of the primary tenets of Christianity (as well as Judaism) which is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." God should be the primary focus in a person's life, anything that tries to take one's focus off of God should be avoided.

Waste of Time/Money


It's no secret that there is a lot of money in sports. CNBC reported that Brazil spent over 11 billion dollars (US) on its preparation for the latest World Cup. Sadly, such spending is not too far from normal. Alongside the massive spending of major organizations comes the individual spending of those who watch the games and/or buy sport-related merchandise. In a world with so much need on so many levels, can we honestly say that God is happy when we spend money on things that merely entertain ourselves?

Some may say that they don't spend any on sports. They don't buy merchandise, go to games, or even host game-watching parties, they simply watch the games for free. However, in so doing, they spend a much more valuable resource, time. Money spent can be earned back, but time spent is lost forever. Again, how can God be happy when we spend time on things that merely entertain ourselves?

Us versus Them

Finally, sports creates an "us vs. them" mindset with our favorite team being against your favorite team, and ultimately me against you. I've written on this mindset before (here and here), so I won't go into much detail other than to say that I have experienced this first hand both in person and via social media. What makes this worse is that all the people involved in the confrontations, taunting, and general unChristlike behavior I witnessed claimed to be followers of Christ. People already talk too much about the hypocrisy of Christians, do we really need to add fuel to the fire?

Think About It

I hope this post has gotten you thinking. What we see and do ultimately affects who we are. Do we really need to spend so much time, energy, etc. on sports? I'll let you come to your own conclusion on the matter. I hope that you come to the right one and start living a life less influenced by the sporting world.