Honor and Dignity

The American culture is obsessed with ease, beauty, talent and youth. This is 

detrimental, since this infatuation leads us to murder innocent life, to hide the 

disabled and the elderly. By putting the people who fit in these categories aside, we 

are dishonoring them and not giving them the dignity they deserve. 

As a nation we have decided that ease and comfort are more important to us 

than life. If it’s inconvenient to us to care for and love the children that are in the 

womb, we play God and decide whether or not they shall live. God’s word says that 

children are a blessing, that they are like arrows in the hand of a mighty warrior. 

Regardless of whether or not these vulnerable beings will be born with a disability 

or not, is not valid grounds for terminating a persons life. And certainly our desire to 

have an “easy” life without anything or anyone to get in the way of our trip to the 

lake with the buddies isn’t worth destroying another human. 

When we ignore those with disabilities, we lose out on great friendships and 

subtle ways that God shows His greatness. So many of my friends have a disability, 

and they have taught me so much about the world, about God, and life. And yet 

because they’re not beautiful or intelligent by the world’s standards they get pushed 

aside, out of sight out of mind. This is detrimental to our society since it is missing 

out on some of the best treasures in human form. Suffering produces some of the 

best character and these people deal with suffering every single day of their lives. 

How can we do without these treasures? 

As we age we lose standing in a culture that worships youth and beauty. 

Beauty is considered more worthy then age. By pushing the elderly to the margins of 

society, we are loosing out on years of wisdom and experience. We are also proving 

to them and everyone who is growing old that eventually they will be obsolete. Yet it 

never appears to occur to us that everyone gets old eventually. It doesn’t seem to 

matter, if the elderly person has left us with amazing scientific advances, created 

beautiful art or had wonderful insights about God and His goodness, we still push 

them aside. However the Proverbs say, “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in 

a righteous life.” (Proverbs 16:31 ESV) This kind of language suggests that we 

should give them more honor than we do.

As Christians we need to be in the business of giving all human life the honor 

and dignity it deserves, regardless of whether it is young or old, convenient or not, 

beautiful or ugly, talented or untalented. The results would be astronomical. We 

would see the value of human life in all its forms; great friendships would be 

formed; wondrous discoveries would be made; and God’s glory would shine forth.

The Merry Adventures of Comfort

Adventure and comfort, danger and luxury, peril and pleasure. These words don’t often go together, but surprisingly they go together quite well. You can have one without the other and yet they are harmonious with each other. Both are unique, and admittedly very different, and yet can be accomplished together. 

Adventure is the thrill that comes from going forth and trying new things that are perhaps a little bit dangerous. Whether it’s going on a daring expedition, or skiing the Alps, adventure is out there. My sense of adventure is very keen. It is well known among my family and friends. In fact I usually end up pulling them into my crazy adventures. Every year my church goes on a camping trip to the lake, and one of my adventures happened while there. We had barely set up camp when I noticed that there was an outhouse in the middle of the lake for all the boat-users. My best friend, brother and I were hanging out and had heard that the younger kids were going to canoe out to this floating outhouse, and we decided we wanted to join them. After changing into our swimsuits rather quickly, we discovered that they had left without us. A bit disappointed but not daunted I decided we could swim out to the floating water closet. At first there was some resistance to my idea, but then they acquiesced. Still uncertain that my idea was a good idea, my trio finally made it into the water and started swimming. My friend kept feeling imaginary fish touching her feet, which was making my brother and I laugh uncontrollably, which made swimming a bit difficult, but exciting. About an eighth of the way out to the outhouse my mom noticed us out in the water. Well, that’s all it took to put that adventure to an end. She was frantic, yelling for us to come back. Pretty soon everyone in our group campsite knew what we were attempting. We had no choice but to swim back to shore. I have never been able to live down that adventure. It has always been my mode of operation to pull others along with me in my adventures, but it wasn’t till the adventure of the outhouse that others realized these crazy ideas were mine. People always thought I was the quiet one who never rocked the boat, until that day when they realized I was the mastermind behind all the crazy ideas. I blame my desire for adventure on the fact that when I was one-month-old my parents took me cross-country skiing. Granted I was in a front pack, but I learned well from even at a young age. I am the oldest cousin on both sides of the family and the oldest sibling and I knew how to get everyone involved in my adventures and then slip away as soon as I heard the adults coming and would slip around the back and act surprised at the craziness in progress. No one ever suspected. Not until that day at the lake. 

As exciting and thrilling as adventure can be, there’s nothing like curling up with a blanket and a good book. Comfort is a comfy blanket and a good story. To truly snuggle up with a book, there are a few steps that should be taken. First the type of blanket that you use is important. You need to decide whether you like heavy blankets or soft blankets. I personally like the microfiber blankets, the softer they are, the more I like them, and then a good pair of slippers is required. Your choice of tea, coffee or hot chocolate is then procured: popcorn is always a must. The hardest question of all is what book do I choose? Should I pick Jane Eyre or Anne of Green Gables or The Fellowship of the Ring? Or do I choose an audio drama instead? What about a movie? Once the mode of entertainment has been decided, it’s time to snuggle down. Or maybe it’s time to grab a glass of lemonade or ice tea and head to the hammock with a book. Perhaps The Secret Garden or Pride and Prejudice. After a good adventure there is nothing quite like take refuge in a book or movie, with the complete comfort of a cozy blanket. 

There are those who would say that adventure and comfort are incompatible. However, when done well they go together quite well. From the comfort of your own favorite haunt, you can engage in the adventure of your choice. Sometimes the desire for adventure and comfort come at the same time. Both equally strong and equally needing to be satisfied. There is a way to gratify both the need for adventure and the need for comfort. By choosing a book or movie with sufficient elements of excitement and bravery and daring, and by getting your comfort drink of choice and your snack, and your favorite blanket and slippers, they go hand in hand. Often I can’t decide what I want to do, go on an adventure or snuggle up, but then I realize that watching Star Trek or The Count of Monte Cristo or Mission Impossible will fill my need for adventure and getting to snuggle up and watch the movie fills my need to snuggle. Or even choosing a good adventure book like The Swiss Family Robinson or The Chronicles of Narnia or any tales about King Arthur and his knights of the round table, is sufficient. 

There are many ways to get comfortable and just as many ways to go on an adventure. And as Christians we should take both adventure and comfort seriously. We are to take dominion over the earth and a very big part of that is adventure and exploring the world. Comfort is a part of resting, which is a big part of the Sabbath. It is hard to explore all the time, but it’s not so hard to rest or seek comfort. A healthy mix of the two is the best choice, and maybe not a heedless swim out to an out house. The world has tried to take over adventure and comfort, and they are doing a good job. But their idea of comfort and adventure are not Biblical and are incomplete and not a whole view of what each should be, all the more reason for Christians to reclaim adventure and comfort. So here’s to adventure and comfort!