Every now and then God will call somebody to do extraordinary things and change the way people think. Many of these people end up being giants of the faith. Charles Spurgeon. Billy Graham. D.L. Moody. Jim Elliott. C.S. Lewis. Joni Eareckson Tada. Some live long, full lives of service, others endure great misfortune that God uses for His glory. God uses all of them for His purposes.
But what about us “normal” people? What about those of us who aren’t going to fill a stadium or hold a revival, or be overseas missionaries?
I’ve got two things to offer for those folks.
The first is that just because you don’t feel like you have a grand purpose right now, that doesn’t mean you never will. Ask for a way you can use your life and your talents to honor the Lord. If you haven’t found a calling and you want one, you should ask for one. Ask every time you pray. Pray for it all the time. Keep praying long enough, and He’ll show you what to do. (Just don’t be surprised when it’s something bigger than you expected, and once that happens don’t be put off by it.)
The second is that even though we can’t all be Billy Grahams, we can be faithful to what God’s asked of us. He asks different things of different people, and somebody else could very well have been called to do something cooler than what you’ve been asked to do. We rarely know ahead of time God’s reasons for doling out tasks the way He does. Some things are little, others are big. The important thing is that when God asks something from you, you endeavor to give Him your best and follow through on it, even if you don’t understand why He would ask it of you.
It’s also important to keep in mind that your role may not be confined to a single function. Your calling could involve one big thing, lots of little things, or something in between. Sometimes the thing God wants from you is surprisingly ordinary. Just show yourself to be reliable. If you can’t be faithful with little things, how can you be trusted with big things? Love God, be faithful, and show love to others, in that order.
I’ve done a lot of extreme/adventure sports in my life, and I’ve purchased thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment over the course of my life. One thing I’ve never had to purchase, but never turned down when offered, is a life jacket.
It’s one of those things you forget is there until you need it. You might even forget what it’s supposed to do until it does it. During my outings I’ve been dumped out of a raft in whitewater, I’ve bailed out of a capsized kayak as I approached a waterfall, I’ve crashed dozens of times while trying to do a barrel roll on a kneeboard, I’ve crashed a canoe in the middle of a set of rapids so I could stop in a hurry to help someone, and once I was even trapped underwater with a tough choice while my boss was truly in a life-threatening scenario mere feet away.
In all of those situations, the lifejacket I was wearing pulled me toward, or kept me at, the surface. Even when I got thrashed around underwater and didn’t know which way was up, the life jacket got me moving in the right direction. As Christians, we need something in our spiritual lives that helps guide us and bring us in the right direction. Practically speaking, it’s a combination of reading the bible consistently, praying regularly, and listening to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. When you’re temporarily disoriented because of the craziness going on around you, those things start pulling you toward the way you’re supposed to go.
One more lifejacket story. In college during the long winter months, it wasn’t practical to go kayaking, so our “Paddle Sports” club held pool sessions twice a week. For those of us who went regularly, there were only so many things you could do in a pool with a kayak before you got bored. In our boredom, a few of us started tossing a diving brick (it was a hard rubber brick that weighed probably 10 pounds or so) into the deepest part of the pool and dove for it. That got boring too, so I put on a life jacket and tried to dive down to get it. The first time I made it a decent portion of the way down, but I had to kick and flail pretty hard to make progress and I didn’t quite get deep enough to get the brick. When I stopped flailing and just relaxed, the life jacket carried me gently but persistently to the surface. It was a neat contrast to be thrashing all your limbs so hard to go one way, then go completely passive and travel so easily to the surface. I was able to dive down to the bottom of the 12 and a half-foot pool and grab the brick, then float gently back to the surface, buoyed by the jacket. This, too, is like the Holy Spirit working in a life that pursues God. Even if you start going the wrong direction, you won’t be confused about it being the wrong way.
And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.” – Isaiah 30:21
Did you ever see a couple that was fighting about something, but rather than address it head on, they just kind of ignored the issue and left the ball in the other’s court to resolve? Maybe they even made the issue a little worse to increase the pressure on the other partner? That’s sort of what’s going on with Iran.
Americans and Iranians don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. We killed a lot of their leaders and destroyed a lot of their stuff, so it makes perfect sense that they’re not going to be very agreeable to the terms we want them to accept. On the other hand, the Iranian regime is known to be into some pretty bad stuff. They’ve killed Americans. They’ve heavily sponsored terrorist groups. They’ve killed lots of their own people for protesting. I’m going to treat the “who’s right and who’s wrong” aspect of this whole thing as outside the scope of the post, and instead focus on where we are right now.
Going back to the fighting couple, if there’s no clear willingness to move on, outside forces are going to be the thing incentivizing somebody to make the first move. If they’re fighting about an upcoming party, for example, the strategy of not addressing the issue will only work for so long before one of the two gives in and says “okay, we need to make a decision here.” In this case, the one who isn’t in a hurry about the decision probably has a little bit of an advantage because the one trying to solve the problem is probably more anxious about getting it figured out. As a result, the one who’s not in a hurry can have a bit of an upper hand because time is working against the other one.
That’s what’s going on here. Both sides are trying to outlast the other one. They’ll even try to ratchet up the pressure in other areas to make the other side cave first.
Iran’s looking at the U.S. saying “Americans hate high oil prices. All we have to do is incite enough fear and the oil prices will stay high. Maybe we can even draw down their oil reserves. If we can do that, it’s just a matter of time until Trump caves because he knows he’s got mid-terms coming up.” It’s a solid strategy, and is why you’ll see Iran intentionally launch drones or missiles at ships or U.S. installations in the region. A couple of things working against this strategy is that even though U.S. gas prices are elevated much more than they were prior to this military engagement, it is the United States’ ability to export oil that’s keeping its domestic price from going even higher. (It’s not a perfect buffer, but it’s helping.) Additionally, while this would normally play havoc with the stock market, the past decade or so has been so rife with international tension (the word “unprecedented” has been used so much it’s lost its punch) that Wall Street is kind of shrugging this off and expecting things to eventually work out. Last week we set all-time records for the Dow and S&P 500.
The U.S., on the other hand, is looking at Iran and wondering “why haven’t they caved by now?” I don’t know what Trump and his advisors were actually expecting, but they probably thought Iran would have thrown in the towel already. Hats off to the Iranians…they’re tough negotiators. Here’s the tricky part. Both sides want to make it look like they’re willing to consider a deal, but the Americans unquestionably have the upper hand. Just like in poker, however, it’s possible to have a winning hand and still lose if your opponent can outplay you. At this point the actual “cards” held are not what’s driving progress, gamesmanship is. Iran knows it can only last a little while longer before having to agree to a deal on America’s terms. What its leaders are doing is kind of a pattern of appearing willing to deal, but then finding some excuse to lash out and stall. They’re hoping that the President and his advisors get so tired of this uncertainty that they’ll agree to something less than their full list of terms for the sake of saying we got SOME kind of deal to campaign on.
President Trump appears willing to wait them out. Think of the Iranians like an angry child; while they throw tantrums, Trump just needs to be gently persistent, knowing he’s getting closer and closer to the outcome he wants. Adding to the complexity is the fact that the smashed Iranian Government still isn’t fully functioning. The new Ayatollah, if he’s alive and has the use of his faculties, has to prove to the different Iranian groups struggling for power that’s he’s alive and in charge. For anybody over there who’s pushing for peace, there’s probably someone else who’s a hardliner trying to sabotage that peace, and will try to keep drone and missile strikes going. Like the parent of that flipped-out child, we have to be willing to absorb a few hits from them if we think they’re close to giving in. (It would be a much different story if we thought they had plenty of fight in them.)
In the meantime, what’s NOT helpful is all the pundits on TV trying to tell the President how to do his job. My guess is that the Iranians point to this coverage and say “look, even your own media is saying you should give up!” This adds pressure on our own government to rush to a sub-optimal deal. It would be great if news organizations stuck to reporting facts and context and kept their opinions to themselves. Twenty-four hours a day is a lot of air time to fill, and when you don’t have enough material, you fill in the gaps with stuff that’s maybe not so factual. Then people think that because a news organization broadcast it, it must be true (or it’s the majority opinion). Maybe news channels don’t need to operate around the clock.
All that to say, sit tight. Something will happen soon. Senate and Congressional primaries are happening pretty often now, so gas prices and inflation are about to become frequently mentioned issues. Iran’s economy is on the brink and basic utilities (water and electricity) are about to become even more important in the summer and can’t afford to be down for long. The pressure on both sides to make something happen is starting to build. We’ll have some kind of breakthrough soon.
Every generation of college students has something that, looking back, tops the list of “Things We Wasted Time On.” For the guys of my era, the number one thing would probably be playing “Goldeneye.”
Goldeneye, for those who aren’t familiar, was a video game based on the James Bond movie of the same name. By today’s standards, the game is archaic and unrealistic, but back then it was pretty cutting edge and exciting (“It’s in 3D, man!”). It used the N64 gaming console, which enabled 3D motion rather than the Super Mario-era 2D setup, along with a first-person point of view. While the missions themselves were cool and followed scenes from the movie, the REALLY popular thing about the game was the multiplayer mode. You could have up to four players join in an every-man-for-himself battle royale where you could pick the setting, the weapons, and the limits. For whatever reason, this video game was cool enough for us to waste the better part of entire days.
There were a whole bunch of us who were into the game, but only one guy, Tom, owned it. We consistently packed into his dorm room. The two guys who lived there arranged their room to somehow squeeze a loveseat in the middle so they could accommodate players more comfortably. Tom had a huge TV (pre-flat screen, so it was huge in all three dimensions), the N64 console, and a whole bunch of the N64’s weird controllers. There were constantly multiplayer battles and tournaments going on in that room. I don’t know how the guys who lived there got any classwork or studying done. When both guys were at class or gone for the weekend and their room was locked, people would actually break into their room to play Goldeneye.
For awhile there, this game took over our lives. It’s all we could think about doing in our spare time. Sometimes classes got in the way of our Goldeneye time, so they had to be skipped. (You’ve got to have your priorities straight, right?) The TV was on in that room for pretty much the entire weekend, every weekend. Diet and hygiene suffered, and I imagine grades did, too.
Eventually the guys living in the room figured out they had to impose some restrictions on things if they were going to maintain their sanity. “Office hours” were imposed, but those quickly got violated and the boundary lines got blurred. Then Tom secured the game cartridge in his locked drawer, but he either wanted to play single player or someone always managed to talk him into taking it back out. What eventually worked was the two guys taking the “submarine missile launch protocol” approach. They took separate key components (like the cartridge and the console’s power cord) and locked them in their respective drawers. That way, both guys had to consent to playing before they got everything back out and anyone was able to play again.
Can you imagine being so hooked on something that you can’t cope with the idea of going a day or two without it? Maybe you know exactly what this is like. Maybe you’re struggling with cutting back on or cutting off something you know you need to get away from. You’ve maybe even given it a try, but found it’s too difficult to escape its orbit for very long.
As much as you don’t want to hear it, your fastest way to make progress is probably to ask for some help with your struggle. Someone else is able to see things you can’t, be strong when you’re not, and provide a helpful, steady hand when your resolve is all over the place. Remove yourself from the areas of temptation you’re struggling with, and intentionally impose obstacles that will make it more difficult to misuse the thing you’re thinking about.
(By the way, toward the end of college as we all explored different interests and moved out of the dorms, the Goldeneye craze died out. Sometime before we all graduated I went to Tom and offered to buy it from him. He sold me everything but the Goldeneye game itself, but I got its sister game, Perfect Dark (which had some of the same levels), and I still have it more than 20 years later. Every now and then I pull it out of mothballs and play for nostalgia’s sake.)
This week marks a special milestone in my personal life.
Twenty years ago this week, my wife and I got married.
To my wife: thank you for being the wonderful, Godly woman you are…for dealing constantly with our three zany kids in all their crazy, for supporting me through the ups and downs we’ve faced, and for allowing me the decades-long habit of having multiple nights a week that are dedicated to school, blogging, or other projects.
Thank you for your love and respect this whole time.
Thank you for your honesty and integrity.
Thanks for taking care of yourself and still looking good 20 years later. 😉
Thank you for more laughs than tears.
Thanks for stepping into the growth opportunities God’s placed before you.
Thanks for holding on during this wild ride as we see what unknowns God takes us into.
Did you ever recognize something was wrong, but you compared it to the wrong standard? Trying to make it right using something that’s wrong isn’t going to work out so well.
One springtime years ago my wife and I took our three young kids to visit my Mom and Dad in the house where I grew up. Compared to where we lived with our kids at the time, Mom and Dad’s backyard was huge. They also lived way out in the country, miles from the nearest stoplight, so the wide open space and curvy back roads were an adventure for my kids.
All the old roads and routes came back to my memory. Any time we headed out to go somewhere I had to sort through old memories of how the roads connected. One day we loaded everybody up to head somewhere, and I decided on the route we’d take.
Wherever we were going, we took a road that passed right through the middle of a pig farm. It was a spot I’d passed through countless times on my way to or from school, football games, or friends’ houses. I even got pulled over by a cop there once. (I was speeding, but got away with a warning.) As you might imagine, pig farms don’t smell so good in the spring. The smell began percolating into our minivan’s interior, and the kids all started exclaiming “eeeewww!”
Deciding to take action, my younger daughter pressed the button to roll down the window, letting in the high-volume unadulterated stink in all its glory. With angry and surprised shrieks coming from the back, I hit the button to close her window again and we hurried out of the area. Confused about why she would do that, we asked what she was trying to do. In her mind, opening the window was going to blow the bad smell out. I guess it makes sense if you think of it that way, but she didn’t realize the air outside was even worse than what we were already dealing with. Though she meant to get rid of the smell faster, all it did was let in a whole lot more.
Remember in this life that even when it’s easy to be distracted about what’s important or what’s true, there’s only one real standard. It’s easy to begin comparing yourself to others. “I’m not anywhere near as bad as those nutjobs on TV.” That might be true, but Jesus is your standard, not the nutjobs. If you start focusing on the wrong standard, you’re going to lose sight of just how much (and how often) you need God’s grace, and that you’re dependent on it every day. It’s important to keep that in perspective. Don’t use really stinky air to make clean air.
Here’s a little spinoff of what we learn about spiritual gifts from the New Testament.
In 1 Corinthians 12, vv 4-6, Paul says There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Later in the chapter Paul goes on to address the people who desired to have the spiritual gift(s) that someone else had, rather than the gifts they themselves had been given. He goes on to write his famous “there are many parts, but one body” text, where he addresses the error of desiring to be a different part (that is, to have a different spiritual gift).
I’d like to present a similar topic in the same light. Think back over your life about some of the Christians you’ve known. Sometimes their Christian walk, or even their entire life, can be summed up or characterized by a simple description. Some have a deep compassion for the poor, while others seem meant to spur others on in encouragement. While some are out on street corners or in auditoriums evangelizing, some people are just trying to hang on long enough for God to untangle the horrible circumstances of their lives. For the people who struggle just to make it through each day, something like having a fiery desire to see justice done seems like an impossibly distant goal, the luxury of someone with time and space to take a deep breath.
Every Christian has a testimony, very few of which are the exact same. Long before we were born, God knew what our lives would look like, and He orchestrated events in our lives to either impose circumstances or tee up choices that would affect our lives in big ways. While some Christians are seemingly on the front lines of ministry, there are many who are fighting for spiritual (or physical) survival. Each one is important and none of them is less valuable than another if it’s God-ordained. If they all stay faithful to the Lord, they all bring Him glory in His timing.
We have to avoid the temptation to judge others in light of the spiritual purpose you’ve been given in your own life. So whether you’re out there engaging with others or you’re just trying to hang on a little bit longer, give God the glory and the praise for the things He’s brought you through and the things He’s yet to do. Your calling is for you, so whatever it is, give Him your best as you live it out.
I can’t remember how old I was, but I was in elementary school the first time I heard the parable of the old man and his horse. It’s not a biblical parable, but it’s something that stuck with me for more than 30 years. It goes something like this:
There once was an old farmer. One day, his only horse ran away. Hearing the news, all the neighbors in the village said to the old man, “What a terrible loss, such bad luck!”
The old man replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no. We’ll see.”
A few days later, the horse returned to the farm, accompanied by seven wild horses. “Wow, that’s incredible! What good luck!” his neighbors exclaimed.
“Maybe yes, maybe no. We’ll see!” the old farmer replied.
The next day, the farmer’s only son attempted to ride one of the wild horses. The horse threw him, and he broke both of his legs. The neighbors said, “I’m so sorry, that is such horrible news. What misfortune.”
The man simply replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no. We’ll see.”
Soon after, the country found itself at war and every able-bodied young man was drafted to fight. But the farmer’s son was spared because of his injuries. “You must be so happy, what great news! Such luck for your family,” said the neighbors.
And the old farmer simply replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no. We’ll see!”
I think hearing this little story was probably one of the first times the idea of perspective really hit me. Your outlook on life profoundly affects how you deal with the things it throws at you.
Then I got a little older and I got into movies about time travel. Back to the Future, Star Trek IV, the Terminator movies, Timecop, Bill and Ted, Freejack, (I didn’t say they were all good movies)…they all had an element of “if I can go back in time and change something, it will affect how things turn out in the future.”
Between the old man’s horse, Marty McFly, and Schwarzenegger’s T-800, my thinking really got shaped into a “maybe this thing happened so that this next thing could happen” mentality. For example, I sprained my ankle the summer before my freshman year of college, when I was supposed to show up early at school to attend a backpacking/adventure course. The fact that I had to bow out meant somebody on the waitlist got a chance to go. Whoever that person is…the two of us had much different starts to college than the “original” timeline we had anticipated.
A different example came a few years later, when terrorists hijacked airliners that ultimately crashed in New York City, Washington DC, and a field in Pennsylvania. I didn’t run out and join the Air Force when it happened, but if those things hadn’t occurred, I’m not sure I would have joined. My chosen field in the Air Force didn’t work out, but I was in it long enough to get connected to the people who introduced me to the woman who later became my wife.
I enjoy looking back and seeing how all these different things start out looking like they’re going one way, but then change direction and do something totally different. I have a tendency to overthink these things once in awhile, which makes my next point hit a little harder.
After reflecting for years on the “perspective” of these events, I naturally came to the conclusion that whatever God put me here to do, it hasn’t been completed yet. I went back to time travel movie mode and wondered what events were still to come, and why the Lord had seen me through so many close calls so favorably. Maybe it was because of some super inspirational thing I still need to say to one of my kids or grandkids. Maybe there’s somebody at a future job I need to help mentor. It could be that something I write in the future will be very useful to God’s kingdom.
But then I had a thought that blew me away. I pictured God saying “or maybe…the main reason I’ve kept you safe is because I love you.”
I don’t know why God’s blessed me with physical protection so many times while He’s allowed others to be put through the wringer to the point they can’t even perform basic functions for themselves. I know from the story of Job that every blessing I have can be taken away. I don’t take that blessing lightly, nor do I assume I’ll always have it. I’m incredibly thankful to the Lord for the ways He’s protected me. It’s quite the testimony when you think about it. I take it as encouragement to continue doing God’s work.
Hopefully you’ve been blessed by the Lord in some way. Include that blessing as part of your testimony. While it wouldn’t be responsible to tell others they’ll be blessed the same way if they follow Christ, your personal story is one of the most compelling ways you can share the love of Christ with nonbelievers. Share your testimony with others and let the Lord work through it. It might be the very reason you’ve been blessed that way!
It’s time for another Iran update. I think a lot of people expected this whole thing to be done by now. While I understand that, it’s important to remember that we’ve completely upended a major regional power’s leadership and hamstrung its military capability. We can’t even say for sure what the nation’s leadership structure looks like right now. In many cases, the Iranians probably don’t even know. Using terms like “bogged down” and “quagmire” is a little premature when it hasn’t even been 60 days. (We spent about 10 years of direct combat in Vietnam and then 20 years in Afghanistan.)
When your nation’s leadership has been decapitated, there’s going to be a struggle between multiple entities to fill that vacuum. I’m sure everyone over there was initially filled with fury and rage, but that emotion settles down a lot faster for some than it does for others. Unfortunately, in Iran, those who propose discussions with the U.S. are probably seen as weak or lacking resolve, and are marginalized as much as possible. Those people need to somehow prevail within the rubble of their own government if we’re going to talk with them, otherwise the only people left are the violent hardliners.
On top of that, the country has prepared for this. Iran’s always known it can’t stand toe-to-toe with the U.S. and win a direct military confrontation. What it’s done instead is prepare to inflict as much pain as possible in a variety of ways. Its three main pillars of “sticking it to the West” are the use of proxies, employing decentralized execution, and exploiting the Strait of Hormuz.
First we’ll look at the proxies. Up until recently, Iran was the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism. The Iranian Government wasn’t willing to start wars with the U.S. or Israel, but it funded and supplied organizations willing to use guerilla tactics against Israel and the United States. If you follow the money, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are all heavily supported by Iran. All three of those groups have committed acts of violence against the U.S. and/or Israel. Israel is geographically closer to the area, so it’s had to deal with that type of violence (and incoming ballistic missiles) much more extensively than we have here in the States. (I’d liken it to Israel living in a pretty rough neighborhood; not only does it have a shotgun and a pistol at home, it carries a blackjack, a shiv, and brass knuckles, and goes out looking for ways to send a message.) Iran’s backing of proxy groups allows it to inflict pain on its enemies without directly engaging them.
Iran also uses decentralized execution. Since its government knew its power was concentrated in a small number of officials at the top, it prepared itself for the possibility of a decapitation strike. In the event its top leadership was to ever be removed, it probably had standing orders to implement wartime plans. Iran’s long known it needed to fight on two fronts: external threats (militaries from other nations) and internal threats (an uprising among the Iranian people). To address the exterior threat, it formed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC), more or less the elite branch of the military sworn to protect the Ayatollah and the Theocracy. For the internal threat, the Basij (think “secret police”) keep the people living in fear, putting down protests, arresting opposition members, executing protesters, etc. These two groups have both been taught to carry on even if their leadership is killed or otherwise removed from their positions. That’s what we’ve seen since the start of the war; the U.S./Israel coalition took out many of Iran’s rocket launchers and drone launchers, but the lower-level Iranian commanders got smart about how to use the stuff they still had left. When they launched attacks immediately before the cease fire, they used “shoot and scoot” tactics which make it tough for us to eliminate that equipment. While no longer effective at scale, they’re doing about as good a job as they can shooting at foreign targets without having a command structure. Similarly, Iran’s citizens have a hard time organizing an effective uprising when they have no phone or internet connections and there’s essentially a neighborhood watch keeping an eye on them, reporting the formation of opposition groups.
And finally, there’s the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian Government is militarily weak right now, but it’s not stupid. The Strait of Hormuz is its major remaining piece of leverage, and it’s a big one. It knows that once it gives up that leverage, it has almost no bargaining chips left. Iran’s leadership doesn’t have to worry about polling, but it knows politicians here in the U.S. do. Whoever’s in charge over there knows that if they can drag things out long enough, our own political will to continue the conflict will die. This wasn’t a war the American people were ever clamoring for; we just woke up one day and found we were in this conflict. Accordingly, it will take less time for Americans to truly sour on the war. The current Iranian Government knows it can’t win, but if it can just hang on long enough for Americans to demand an end to the conflict, it will walk away from it with more favorable circumstances than if it gave up control of the Strait right away. Four dollar a gallon gasoline is painful for Americans, and when it persists, those prices start showing up in a lot more areas of the economy than simply at the gas pump. The longer this goes, the worse it’s going to get for the party in power here in the States. Iran’s Government knows that, and will likely drag out its resistance as long as possible to affect public opinion and thus pressure American politicians. The hope would be the U.S. offers more and larger concessions to sweeten the pot for the sake of ending the conflict sooner.
We gave the Iranian people the opportunity to rise up and overthrow their government. As near as we can tell, they haven’t taken it. We can try to create the conditions that would be ripe for an uprising, but we can’t force them to take action. The ideal scenario would be to have the people rise up against their leaders, overthrow the Basij and the IRGC, and work with the United States to set up a new government that works to become a productive member of the international community. That does not appear to be an imminent possibility, however, so we’re stuck negotiating with the remnants of the last government.
Americans and the news media are largely impatient with this whole endeavor. What the public needs to understand is that when you’re working on something as significant as the dismantlement of the world’s chief sponsor of terror and permanent reduction of risk in the Strait of Hormuz, it’s something worth patience and being willing to take the time to get right, rather than rushing to get a hasty and incomplete settlement. Whoever’s representing Iran at the negotiations may not even have full control over what all the IRGC and Basij commanders are doing, so it’s perfectly understandable (though less and less tolerable) if small numbers of one-way drone or missile launches take place.
Hang in there. The problem’s being worked, but don’t be surprised when the President doesn’t fully inform the news media of his negotiation strategy. If they know, Iran knows.
I wrote previously about our college dorm’s “Olympics.” We came up with a variety of events and pitted our dorm’s four floors against one another in a stunning display of mindless testosterone to help build camaraderie and rapport within the various floors.
One of the events we did was pretty gross. We made four equal lines of dudes (one for each floor), and at the front of the line stood a judge who held a bag. Inside that bag was a collection of various nasty foods. I don’t remember what was in it except that it was the most vile collection of foods our dorm council president could find. Everything in the bag was actual food (it wasn’t mud or anything inedible, for example), but it was like, pickled squid and hot peppers and other gross stuff. There might have been something pretty benign (but difficult to eat quickly) like a large pack of saltine crackers or something similar.
Each competitor had to reach into the bag, grab an item, and eat whatever he pulled out. Upon demonstrating to the bag-holder that he had swallowed his food, he got out of the way and the next guy in line moved up and took a turn. All four bags held identical contents. The first team to get through all their items took first place, the second team took second, and so on.
You would not believe the competitive spirit displayed at this event. Dudes took it like champs. I think some guys were shoving stuff in their mouths before they even fully understood what it was. They were simply too dedicated to their goal to be bothered by the disgusting details. It was a different story afterwards; after they’d finished their turn, some guys made their way over to the tree line and tried not to toss their cookies. I’m not really sure what level of success they had.
It’s a little bit of a strange illustration, but it’s analogous to the erroneous pseudo-Christian doctrines some people follow. They think just because a group has “Jesus” in its name or has Him featured prominently, it must be righteous and worthwhile. It’s very important to question things and not just “swallow” all a given group’s beliefs without thinking them through. There are a few non-negotiable things (Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God, both fully God and fully man, He died as a perfect sacrifice on our behalf to satisfy God’s wrath toward our imperfection, we cannot “earn” our way to Heaven or reach the same level as Christ, there are no essential books other than what’s contained in the Old and New Testaments), but there’s a lot of freedom outside of those.
Some people mistakenly believe some of those non-negotiable items are flexible as long as there’s a reasonable substitute. They’ll add some kind of required practice or instruction that seems holy or reverential, but they’ve actually sacrificed accuracy. When eternity is on the line, accuracy isn’t something you want to fudge. False teachers don’t announce themselves; you have to do some of your own investigation.
If you’ve recently begun attending a new church, ask yourself what it believes about these things. A group of people can be nice, upstanding citizens and still completely miss the mark on essential Christian doctrine. The devil is very familiar with our human nature, and knows it’s easy for us to replace a meaningful relationship with mindless practices or rote repetition. Diverting an earnest follower by steering them toward something that doesn’t matter is a great way to rob Heaven of souls. Don’t fall for it.
