Holiness, Happiness, and Honesty

A.W. Tozer wrote a book  titled Of God and Men that was published in 1960. It is a series of short essays arranged as chapters. One of the essays is titled “Holiness before Happiness.” Tozer has some interesting things to say  (you can see a PDF of the chapter here). The main points of his argument are that humans wrongly see happiness as a right, Believers often place more value on happiness than holiness, and “God is more concerned with the state of people’s hearts than with the state of their feelings.”

I’ve been thinking about this.

I agree with Tozer, but I have questions about how I should act accordingly. My questions center around the role of happiness and sadness in the life of the Believer and how they should be portrayed. This leads to questions of honesty.

In the interest of moving from a theoretical discussion to an actual situation I will use myself as an example. As the first half of 2012 draws to a close, I realize I have never had a year in which my beliefs and feelings were more disparate. I am very aware of the embarrassment of riches in my life. I have been so blessed. And yet a sadness has permeated me. I would state it like this: “It is well with my soul, but my heart hurts like hell.”

I don’t write this to elicit pity; I’m more interested in analyzing the situation. How valuable it is to be honest about sadness?

Someone I respect and admire recently mentioned he was sad. I was shocked at how much this affected me. I’m not happy he is sad, but I find encouragement that my experience is not unique. His moment of candor was refreshing. Many times in life we preserve the public illusion that all is well. We put on a plastic smile. We are above struggling. We do this out of fear of vulnerability and in the name of social grace.

And this is what I find myself wondering about.

We live in a fallen world. Pain and sadness are inevitable. How should a Believer respond?

I have many more questions and comments, but I’ll reserve those for conversations.

SCEFC Set List: July 1, 2012

On Sunday I’ll be serving as the worship leader at State College E-Free Church. The message will be based upon Nehemiah 5 and will touch on greed, generosity, and the fear of the Lord.

Prelude: (G) Unashamed Love – Lamont Hiebert
(A) It is Well With My Soul – Horatio Spafford | Philip Paul Bliss
(D) From the Inside Out – Joel Houston
(E) Be the Center – Michael Frye

Response Song: (D) The Wonderful Cross – Isaac Watts | Jesse Reeves | Chris Tomlin | J.D. Walt | Lowell Mason

Closing Song: (D) Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken – Henry Lyte | Bill Moore

Afternoon Baseball in Reading

The Reading Phillies played the Richmond Flying Squirrels this afternoon. First pitch was at 12:05. I was returning to State College from Montgomery County today, a trip that takes me right past First Energy Field. It seemed like a good idea to fit in a stop at the ballpark.

I got to the park before the gates opened. At the box office I asked for the best available ticket, which turned out to be behind the plate. As soon as the gates opened I wandered into the park and sat in the empty park, watching the grounds crew rake the infield and mark the lines. I enjoy this. There is something soothing about seeing the crisp, fresh lines being placed on the freshly raked infield.

The lines are marked before the game.

It was a beautiful afternoon for baseball.

A wide angle shot from behind the plate.

I do not sit behind the plate frequently when I go to baseball games. It was fun to see the game from that vantage point today. The picture below shows the abundance of action that is visible in a narrow window. The shortstop moves laterally from second where he had been holding on the runner. The runner takes his walking lead. The pitcher delivers. The batter stands ready. The catcher prepares to receive the ball. The umpires watch closely.

So much competition, so much drama.

The Crazy Hot Dog Vendor is a mainstay at Reading.

The Crazy Hot Dog Vendor.

In the 3rd inning the Reading Phillies took a lead thanks to a Brandon Tripp 2-run home run to right.

Brandon Tripp circles the bases after a home run.

To promote healthy eating the Reading Phillies have a vegetable race. Candy is a villain. Before the race he roams the stands telling kids to “EAT MORE CANDY!” and “CANDY IS AWESOME!” During the race he attempts to sabotage things; this afternoon he delivered a flying kick to Lettuce that resulted in an impressive wipe out. Moments after this picture was taken Broccoli would stumble, allowing Cauliflower to win the race.

Candy takes out Lettuce.

The starter for Richmond, Justin Fitzgerald, did not have a good day. He threw 4+ innings and gave up 6 runs (5 of them earned). After issuing a walk in the 5th to load the bases he made an angry gesture at the umpire. And immediately was ejected. This resulted in a pitching change, with the reliever given as much time as he needed to get ready. I had never witnessed a pitcher get ejected while on the mound before.

Austin Fleet warms up.

Neal the Singing Usher has been leading “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretches in Reading for as long as I have been going to games. I don’t think he is at every game anymore, so I was happy to see him today (even if he does sing ” . . . root for the Phillies . . .” instead of “. . . root for the home team. . ..”).

Neal the Singing Usher leads “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

The R-Phils won the game 7-4. And I was back on the road en route to State College.

A Night at the Ballpark

Tonight I went to Citizen’s Bank Park with my good friends Duane and Matt. We grew up watching and playing baseball together, so this evening was fun. It was a perfect day for a ballgame.

The game begins.

The Phillies defeated the Pirates 5-4. It was a good game. Highlights included a Hunter Pence triple to right center, home runs by Carlos Ruiz and Ty Wigginton, a pretty outfield assist by John Mayberry Jr., and Jonathan Papelbon striking out the final batter to secure the win.

Across the park, many fans wearing red.

It was a nice night. Baseball and friends.

A Saturday Hike

Today I climbed the Pennsylvania Matterhorn on the Mid State Trail with some friends. It was a beautiful day for a hike.

View 1 from the top of the mountain.

View 2 from the top of the mountain.

I saw some great plants, including American cancer root  (Conophilis americana). I couldn’t identify it on site, I had to return home and look it up. It’s  a strange parasitic plant that does not photosynthesize.

Conophilis americana in Pennsylvania.

We walked out an access road after traversing the trail. Where the access road met the regular road there was a stop sign. A very cool stop sign.

This made me smile.

After the hike we stopped by a swimming hole at Rattlesnake Rock. We did not see any rattlesnakes. According to a sign by the parking lot they were very common at one time, but now are less so. The sign warned visitors not to harm the snakes, saying: “Using common sense and tolerance will result in a better experience for both you and the snake.”

Rattlesnake Rock.

It was a good Saturday.