Glee and God's Relatability

In my young adult Sunday School class at church, we’re doing a series on portrayals of God in culture and how they compare to the God of the Christian faith. This blog post is an adaptation of some of the discussion points from the second lesson.

Let me begin by addressing the elephant in the room: This is not the original version of the song “One of Us.” This is the Glee version of the song “One of Us.” I am not ashamed of my love for Glee or for their rendition of this song. I came across it during a recent re-watch of the show and found it to be the perfect topic for a discussion like this one. Although the show from which it comes is dramatic and silly, if we take the song seriously, it reveals some profound truths about the way many people view God, and I think that’s worth discussing.

I used to think I was being a bit rebellious when I listened to this song, like I might get in trouble for it if my pastor found out. Because the lyrics contain some questions about God that you wouldn’t expect to hear someone ask in church, at least not in such blunt terms. But I don’t consider this song offensive; rather, I’d call it misinformed.

“One of Us” reveals some beliefs and questions about God that are common in our culture. These issues usually lie under the surface, but it’s important to bring them into the light because they are real, and the church has adequate responses to them. What follows is a short list of the theological issues I see raised in the song and how the Christian faith addresses each one.

This song portrays God as mysterious and unknowable. The opening line asks the question, “If God had a name, what would it be?” This implies that God doesn’t have characteristics of basic relatability, or at least that he hasn’t revealed them to people. This sort of belief is all too common in our culture today. While it’s true that God is transcendent and beyond human comprehension (see last week’s blog post, there’s much, much more to the story.

One of the most amazing truths of the Christian faith is that the God of the universe desires to know us. He’s chosen of his own accord to enter history and interact with his creation in a deep, personal way. He even allows himself to be affected emotionally by human actions. He didn’t have to do that, but he chose to.

In response to the song’s question about God’s name, the answer is clear: God has a name, and he’s chosen to reveal it to us (Exodus 3:14). This revelation of the divine name has huge implications for our ability to know God and to relate to him on a personal level. Every relationship has two elements: knowing someone and being known by them. God knows us fully, whether we like it or not, but our ability to know him is dependent on his revelation of himself, and he’s chosen to take that step, to open himself up to us. Some might even call that vulnerability.

The song also views God as distant and unreachable. According to the lyrics, God has no face and lives “up in heaven all alone” with “nobody calling on the phone.” Like the narrator of this song, many people believe in God but don’t think that they have any access to him. Some adhere to the “cosmic watchmaker” theory, the idea that God set the universe in motion and then withdrew from it, allowing things to play out according to the natural laws he put in place. This apathetic deism is tragically all too common in our culture.

But it does not line up with the way God is portrayed in the Bible or the way God has interacted with his people over the centuries. Christians worship a God who is not only involved in the affairs of the world, but is so involved that he is always available to his followers. God is omnipresent, which means that his presence is with us in all places and at all times. All we have to do in order to communicate with him is reach out in prayer. Does that sound like a distant God to you?

God is involved in the mundane, everyday events of our lives. Every minute, he is present with us and available to us. We each experience phases of life when God feels distant, but even in those moments, he is there. He is available to us because he wants us to reach out to him, to know him, to live this life with him. All we have to do is open ourselves up to his presence.

The thesis of this song is the question, ”What if God was one of us?” The song imagines God as a stranger simply trying to get home. This question reveals a deep desire that we have to worship a God who is relatable. We want a God who can sympathize with us, who knows what it’s like to go through what we go through. We want a God we can relate to, a God who is like us in some way.

In response to that desire, the Christian faith has some good news: God did, in fact, become one of us. We don’t have to wonder what it might be like if God were one of us, because it’s already happened. In the person of Jesus Christ, the God of the universe became a man and lived life with us. He experienced what it’s like to grow up, to work, to struggle, to have his heart broken, even to suffer and die.

And that fact offers us encouragement. There is nothing we can experience that God hasn’t already been through. It’s not enough that we can know God and reach him. He took it even further. He came to the earth and lived a human life so that he could connect even more deeply with us. There’s nothing unknowable, distant, or unrelatable about Jesus. He’s a person just like us, and he also happens to be God.

So you want to know what it would be like if God were one of us? Look no further than Jesus Christ. He is God, but he’s also one of us. And that makes all the difference.

Legislation Isn't Always the Answer

I realized at an early age that the world is a broken place. And it wasn’t the result of some traumatic event or major loss. All I had to do was look around, to pay attention to what was taking place around me, and it was easy to recognize just how messed up things are. Or more specifically, how messed up we’ve made things. The bad things that happen are generally the result of selfish decisions made by individuals and groups that have tragic consequences for themselves and for others. And as a kid observing these awful events taking place around me, I had a strong urge to stop them somehow. I wanted to make the world better. Often, I found myself seeing something happen in the world and thinking, “There should be a law against that.”

Take racism, for example. There was a time in my life when I literally thought that expressing racism should be a crime. “Sure,” I thought, “we can’t stop people from holding prejudiced beliefs, but we can stop them from voicing them.” In my mind, throwing someone in jail for saying something racially insensitive or treating another person differently due to the color of their skin would eventually suppress racism to the point that it would disappear. It sounds ludicrous now, but I actually used to think that we could legislate racism out of existence. Now, I know a little better.

As I’ve grown up, my recognition of the world’s brokenness has only grown more vast and nuanced. I’ve seen people mistreat one another in ways that break my heart and haunt my mind. And the more I see of these behaviors, the more I realize that the issue doesn’t lie in the things that we do; it lies at the very root of who we are. Things like discrimination, violence, corruption, and the like aren’t ultimately external or legal issues. They’re heart issues. And no law or punishment can heal a diseased human heart.

The truth is that we can’t legislate morality. As Jasmin Patterson points out in her article at Relevant, forcing people to adhere to a moral standard through the legal system can’t actually change their hearts. In fact, it probably only makes them less inclined to change their underlying beliefs. Whether it’s in the classroom, at home, or in the political arena, making anything mandatory automatically makes it undesirable for many people. And if we actually want to make the world a better place, we can’t just deal with the symptoms. We have to find a cure for the disease.

I’m not saying that laws are bad or unnecessary. Of course, we need a legal system that protects peoples’ basic rights and deals with those who infringe on the rights of others. And there are some issues that should be dealt with through the legal system. For example, I think that the regulation of businesses (such as rules against monopolies and measures protecting net neutrality) are best left up to legislation. But those legal measures are really just bandages that temporarily and inadequately treat the real problem. They can’t change the human heart.

So if making laws isn’t the way to solve the world’s problems, what is? There are some who say that a free and open market would naturally take care of most of these issues for us. On their podcast Who Would Build the Roads, hosts Josh Taylor and Kevin McCreary represent this view well and argue that social ostracization is a powerful enough force to keep people in line. If someone commits an act that goes against the public consensus of what’s acceptable behavior, the community can simply shun that person (especially by excluding them from participation in the exchange of goods) until they commit to following the rules.

This makes sense to a certain degree. People need to be a part of a community, and they have to engage in the market in order to provide for themselves and their families, so threatening to ostracize wrongdoers might be enough to convince most people to act properly. But does that really solve the problem? To me, it seems to have the same issue as the legal approach: It only deals with the symptoms, not the underlying disease. If one is only concerned with other peoples’ external behavior, then this method would probably work just fine, possibly even better than the legal system. But if what we really want to do is heal the world’s brokenness, we have to tackle the source of the issue, the human heart, and find a way transform it.

I’m convinced that the only solution to the issue of our brokenness is the love and grace of God. We humans are simply too messed up to fix ourselves. No matter what system we come up with, whether it be a government or a market or anything else, it will ultimately fall short of setting the world right because it will not be able to solve the issue of our own selfishness. The only thing that can overcome that selfishness is redemption, and redemption is a miracle that we cannot bring about ourselves.

But that doesn’t mean that we have no role to play. Those of us who claim to follow Christ can have an immense impact on the world by simply living out the Christian life authentically. By choosing to walk with joy instead of cynicism, to forgive those who do us wrong, to love others as ourselves, and to live in the radical way that Jesus calls us to, we are putting God’s love and mercy on display for all to see, and we are drawing others towards him through the way that we conduct ourselves. Authentic Christian living is compelling, and it has the ability to inspire others to live the same way. Only by living with God’s love and mercy as realities in our lives and sharing those realities with others can we truly have a lasting impact on the world around us.

The world is broken, and recognizing that brokenness can be disheartening. We’ve tried every way we know of to fix it and found that every method of human invention simply falls short. But there is a solution to the corruption of the human heart, and it lies at the heart of God. Some of us have personally experienced the redemption that God’s love and mercy offer us; others have not. But it’s available to all, and it’s the responsibility of those of us who’ve experienced God’s grace to live into it, to share it with others, and in this way to begin to transform the world into a more loving, less broken place.

The Best Kind of Tired

I spent the last week in Louisville, Kentucky, working with children at the Free Will Baptist National Convention, my denomination's annual gathering. It was a great conference filled with worship services, choir practices, Bible competitions, and tons of quality time with great friends. But the overwhelming feeling I get as I reflect on my experience is simply exhaustion. After a week of hard work and the brutal schedule that conferences impose, I’m tired.

And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. In fact, I find it entirely appropriate. If I weren’t tired after a week like last week, it would probably be an indication that something had gone terribly wrong. Because even though I don’t like feeling tired and do my best to avoid it, there are times when tired is the best thing I possibly could be.

We often think of exhaustion as an indication that a person isn’t taking take of themselves, and I’ll admit that I’ve put myself in that position before. But that isn’t always the case. I don’t think it’s true for my current situation. Did I get as much rest over the past week as I should have? Probably not. But that’s not the real reason I’m so tired. If it were, I wouldn’t be writing a blog post about it; I’d be napping. Instead, my feeling of exhaustion came from a much more positive place.

The truth is that I’m feeling tired because I put all of my available energy into the tasks at hand over the past week. Whether it was running audio and video for a service, helping teach a song for the children’s choir, or simply spending time with other people at the conference, I didn’t hold anything back. I was totally engaged and willing to give it my all in order to make the week as successful and enjoyable as possible. And of course, that left me feeling drained by the end of the week.

This experience of being dedicated completely to something is not one I’m used to. Most of the time, my mind is being pulled in a dozen different directions, and I’m rarely able to focus on any one task at a time. As I type this blog post, I’m exporting a video, uploading a file to a server, and trying to stay on top of my Twitter feed. And this is just a typical day for me. So when I get to a place where I’m able to focus all of my time, energy, and attention on what’s right in front of me, I find it refreshing.

And after the fact, there’s a sense of catharsis and accomplishment that simply can’t be beat. Like the feeling of soreness in my muscles after a particularly strenuous workout, I savor the inevitable exhaustion that comes from giving my all to something. It’s a sign to myself and to others that I really did do my best, and it gives me an opportunity to slow down, reflect on what I’ve experienced, and truly appreciate how wonderful it was. I’ve been blessed to do just that over the past few days, which is what inspired me to write this blog post.

These sorts of experiences can’t be manufactured or planned. Believe me, I’ve tried. But when they come, they are truly magical. I’m so grateful that I was able to go to the conference this year and give my all to make it the best it could be. I only hope that the next time I’m feeling this tired, it’s because I gave my all to something, because this is the best kind of tired that there is.

Outrunning the Apple Watch

When the Apple Watch was first released, no one really knew what it was. Was it a computer for your wrist? A fashion piece? A fitness tracker? Or something else? To be fair, the smartwatch market was—and still is—in its infancy, so it’s understandable that there would be some growing pains. But in the time since they first announced the Watch, Apple has been forced to refine their approach and decide what exactly the device is for and who it should be marketed to. One of those key demographics: athletes.

I wouldn’t consider myself athletic by any means. I played football for one season in junior high school and absolutely hated it; that was the extent of my sports career. But after I graduated from college, I took up running as a way of staying active and quickly found that I love it. The feeling of the wind against me, the soreness in my muscles after a good workout, and the sense of achievement I gain from constantly pushing myself to improve are just a few of the things I enjoy most about running. Not to mention that I simply look and feel better when I’m saying active.

When I first bought my Apple Watch, I didn’t take its fitness tracking features too seriously. Sure, it was cool that I could get a snapshot of my heart rate and an estimate of the number of calories I burned each run, but it seemed more like a gimmick than anything else. But as the Watch became more and more a part of my everyday life and I heard message after message from Apple about what a great fitness tracker the device was supposed to be, I started to pay more attention, and I wasn’t entirely impressed with what I found. Comparing the data provided by my Watch with other sources (especially workout machines and my own experience while running) led to me to a startling conclusion: Even though I’m not a particularly good runner, I’m pushing the Apple Watch to (and sometimes even past) its limit when it comes to fitness tracking.

I’ve found the Watch to be limited in its fitness tracking capabilities in two key areas: distance and heart rate. The first is more forgivable. I tend to run on a treadmill rather than on the street, which means the Watch has to depend on its accelerometer rather than GPS to measure how far I run. Basically, the Watch acts as a pedometer, estimating my distance by the back-and-forth movements made by my arms as I run. Maybe the Watch just doesn’t like my stride or pace, but it consistently measures my running distance well below the measurement I get from the treadmill, which I assume to be more accurate. This is frustrating because I use the Health app to keep a record of my exercise, and this limitation leaves me with underestimated statistics.

But even more frustrating is the heart rate problem. Independent research has concluded that the Apple Watch has the most accurate heart rate monitor of all wearable technologies on the consumer market, and the sensor has proven able to detect health issues in people wearing the Watch long before other symptoms arise. At least on paper, the heart rate monitor in the Apple Watch seems pretty incredible.

Why is it, then, that every time I go for a run, the heart monitor freaks out intermittently and simply stops working? I keep the Watch attached tightly to my wrist throughout my exercise routine, sometimes even adjusting it to fit more snugly if it starts to slip due to sweat. And yet, it seems that every time I work out, the heart rate indicator on the little screen goes dark for at least a few minutes, and I have no idea how this is affecting the results that the Watch reports at the end of each run.

I can’t be sure, but it is my suspicion that the Watch's heart rate monitor can only measure up to a certain level before it gets overwhelmed and starts losing count. It seems that if I go past 170 BPM (heartbeats per minute), the Watch just sort of gives up and stops counting until the rate comes back down. This seems like a pretty low bar, considering the fact that athletes can push themselves well past 170 BPM during training, so if Apple is serious about making the Watch the go-to wearable for athletes, they should probably upgrade the heart sensor's capabilities.

Apple seems to be aware of these issues and is working to rectify them. At this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference, CEO Tim Cook announced a new set of software tools called GymKit that will allow workout machine makers to make their machines sync with Apple Watches via near-field communications to ensure that each device is measuring and sharing the data it is best suited for. But it is unclear if these features will be available on existing machines or will roll out slowly as gyms buy new models. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. GymKit is certainly a step in the right direction, and it indicates Apple’s commitment to making the Watch the perfect wearable for athletes, but it remains to be seen if these changes will be enough.

I don’t mean to be hyper-critical. The Apple Watch is a great device, and it is certainly the best wearable on the market right now. For most people and most use cases, its activity tracking capabilities are more than adequate. But Apple wants the Watch to be for athletes, and they are the power users of wearable technology, the ones who push their devices to the limit. The Watch is going to have to step it up in order to keep up with runners like me.

Does Prayer "Work"?

It’s one of the oldest questions in the book. Besides the theodicy question (which we’ll leave for another blog post), it’s probably the most common question asked by and of people of faith in the 21st century. We Christians spend a lot of time talking to God: thanking him, praising him, making requests of him, and the like. And yet, it often feels like God isn’t talking back to us, at least not in ways that we can hear. So why is it that we spend so much time and energy on prayer? Does prayer actually do anything?

I think it’s impossible to escape this question. I know that I’ve wrestled with it myself. Even people with deep, sincere faith commitments go through times that force them to wonder if God’s out there listening or if they’re simply talking to themselves when they pray. It’s an inevitable part of the life of faith, and we shouldn’t feel ashamed for it. After all, if you find yourself asking yourself this question, you’re in good company among biblical authors, theologians, and great leaders from Christian history.

In order to answer this question, I think we have to be open to new understandings of what it means for prayer to “work.” If your definition of a successful prayer is one that is answered exactly the way you hoped it would be, then no, prayer doesn’t work. At least, not the way you’d like for it to. Rather, prayer works in other ways that are deeper, less easily recognized, and sometimes more mysterious than we often imagine. I’m not claiming to have this whole issue figured out or even to be an expert on prayer, but I would like to offer a few ways in which I think prayer does in fact work.

Prayer works as an act of obedience.

One of the most basic reasons that we pray is because God tells us to. Even when we don’t want to, even when we feel like there’s no point, even when we’ve said all that we can say and run out of words, we still pray out of obedience to our God. One of the most amazing truths about God is that he wants to be in relationship with us, and relationship requires communication. So even if we don’t think that we’re doing anything more through our prayers than simply carrying out God’s desire for us to reach out to him, we’re still accomplishing something by doing so because obeying God is ultimately what’s best for us, and he blesses those who do his will.

Prayer works as a means of formation.

A line I often hear in reference to prayer is the cliche, “Prayer doesn’t change things; prayer changes us.” While I fundamentally disagree with the first half of that statement, I understand where it’s coming from, and I agree with the idea that prayer does have an effect on the one who prays. When we pray, we’re communing with God, and we can’t help but walk away from that kind of encounter changed in some way. Even the act of starting a prayer is an act of trust that helps us to express and grow our faith. And ultimately, the more time we spend with God, the more we know him and become like him. Prayer changes us by forming us more and more into the people who God created us to be, and if that isn’t prayer “working,” I don’t know what is.

Prayer works by changing things.

And finally, prayer works by actually changing the way things are in the world. This is ultimately the reason that we pray, right? Because we believe that by bringing our concerns to God, we can somehow influence the situations and issues that we face in our lives. And amazingly, God made it so that our prayers do exactly that. I don’t pretend to understand all of the mechanics behind it, but my reading of scripture, my study of theology, and my experience in my own faith journey have all taught me that the prayers of the faithful somehow influence God in such a way that the world is different as a result of those prayers.

Diseases are healed through the power of prayer. Relationships are mended through the power of prayer. Droughts end, jobs are attained, and lost pets come home as a direct result of the prayers of God’s people. I can’t say I completely understand it, but I believe it because I’ve seen it and because God’s word tells me that it is true.

It’s important to note that not everything we ask for in prayer is granted to us. Although prayer is powerful, there are other forces at play as well—especially the will of God—that may not always line up with what we want, and we have to be graceful enough to accept when this happens without giving up on prayer. Like any good parent, God sometimes tells his children no, and that can feel devastating. But we believe that God, in his infinite love and wisdom, is ultimately in control and working all things together for good for those who love and pursue him.

And so we pray. Even when things seem bleak, we pray. We pray out of obedience to our heavenly father. We pray in order to become the sort of people the Lord is calling us to be. And we pray with hope that our prayers will influence God and ultimately change the situations that we find ourselves in. Prayer is a powerful thing, and when we properly understand what prayer is for, we can say with conviction that prayer truly does work. Praise God that it does.