When I was in college I liked to go for early morning walks. One day I was walking by some sheet-metal buildings on campus, when I happened to look up and notice an ornament at the apex of each roof. The construction company—Morton—had installed a weather vane, embellished with their company name, on each of their buildings. However, when I compared the three weather vanes on three nearby buildings that breezy winter morning, I noticed that they were each pointing in a different direction.
Sometimes what we believe in ourselves to be a high state of morality is really just an inflation of ego. The question is not what would we do or not do, but what it would take to entice us. This is vividly illustrated by a short story I found some time ago (unfortunately I have lost the reference):
Once upon a time Oscar Wilde was at a gathering. He spied a beautiful woman on the other side of the room, and approached her. After some small talk, he asked, “Would you be willing to sleep with me for a million dollars?”
Dr. Frank Lauback: “Heaven trembles lest we may prove too small and too late, lest we be bound by our weak habits when God summons us to great deeds…. I’m afraid of some … who have neither fire nor vision … who begin to see why this might be hard, or unprecedented, or premature if not properly surveyed, or too informal, or too big. The put-on-the-brakes type, the go-slow type … can ruin God’s program. O ye of little faith, keep your foot off the brake…. Who ever heard of God holding us back? He weeps over us as He did over Jerusalem. We have nothing to fear; we shall not fall when God is pushing us. I tell you what we need to fear: Fear the way we are now, for we aren’t good enough, hot enough, daring enough, far-visioned enough, for this splendid hour.” Quoted by Robert Pierson in So You Want to be a Leader, p. 11.
Dan Augsburger recently posted a collection of short but inspiring quotes — General Charles Gordon: Selected Thoughts. It is refreshing to read the words of someone who is past the “form” of Christianity, and deals candidly with matters of the heart. Charles Gordon was a British general who lived in the 1800s.
Some years ago the “Hot or Not” website was released, and made quite a sensation. I never had the courage to submit my photo. My self-esteem is low enough, thank you very much. But recently I had reason to mull over what it is that makes someone “hot.”
The very existence and popularity of a site like “Hot or Not” says much about the superficiality of our culture. Many women and men have all the trimmings of a “hot” exterior, yet have such offensive personalities or behaviors that their relationships are doomed, or at least prone to constant conflict, disappointment, and pain. Despite this obvious fact, our culture places much more emphasis on the external factors than on the characteristics that contribute to lasting, healthy relationships.