Aging!

Let's talk about aging ... I see myself in the mirror and ask, "Who the heck are you, and what did you do with that young man I once knew?"

Aging, the tick of the tock, the tock of the tick, or whatever ... but time moves on ... there's no return ticket on this one.

So, what does a consumer culture do?

It obsessives about aging ... what an industry ... creams and surgery, supplements and yoga, gyms and diets, pills and psychology.

Sure, let's look our best, but something is amok here - aging has become a sin. Yup, that's right, a sin. Something one shouldn't do. And looking old is a shame.

Ok, comb your hair, wear some makeup, wash regularly, and dress well ... but America's obsession with aging is over the top. 

Which reminds me, as to why historic Protestant Churches aren't fairing as well as they once did ... sure, we can blame ourselves for being a bit stodgy, times change, and all that, but on the other hand, our culture, with its obsessions on aging, has grown afraid of some basic truths about life - one is that we age, the other is that we die.

Historic Protestant Churches mostly faced all of this with a degree of honesty, admitting to and accepting of reality. The Bible pushes us hard on this point.

A culture that's increasingly scared to death of death is not likely to seek out reality, a reality that admits to death and at the same time reaches for eternity, as a source of hope, a source of energy for the here and now, even as the here and now is deeply connected to eternity.

So the next time you see an add touting the latest treatments to fight aging, ask yourself some serious questions about time, and how you see it, and what you're afraid of.

Afraid?

Yes, we all are ... period!

It's what it means to be human, to be cognizant of our own own demise, knowing that we're on a plane headed off to the horizons and there's no return ticket in our pocket; it's one way. 

I'm grateful to be a part of an historic Protestant Church tradition. We've failed plenty along the way, but we've also done well. In fact, I'd say, the good outweighs the wrong. Not that we should forget the wrong, or fail to rectify it, but that we have something worth celebrating, and I call it REALITY.

Being real ... with regards to time and life … and in such reality, there is something of the divine. God inhabits our years … each stage of the way … from our first breath to the last.

Aging?

It's a good thing ... look your best, but time will win out - and maybe we can recover what some other cultures still possess - a deep respect for the Elders - those who've seen it all, and done it all, and their accumulated wisdom, peace, courage, and hope.

And, in the end, be able to say, “Here I am LORD. Here I am!”

Consumer Society?

Consumer Society.

That pretty well covers it for America and those places of the world where our influence has triumphed ... from the status we desire to the economic engines of the world, consumptions is the fuel that drives all of it.

Yet, I wonder.

Are there other words to describe us?

Or does "consumer" thoroughly trump everything else?

I think it does.

For example, "generous" society. Well, yes, for some, I'm sure, but if consumption is the trump card, so to speak, in the game of life, then I'm going to be concerned about hanging on to what I've got even as I might be threatened by other "consumers" who are taking more of the pie than I want for them, or, heaven forbid, taking a piece of the pie "they don't deserve."

I think a lot of folks feel this toward the poor, when, in fact, it might be more accurate to have these feelings toward the uber-rich who seem to be taking the whole hog right now.

What about "kindly" society?

It's hard to be kind when feeling threatened, and a consumer mentality is always a heartbeat away from fear.

Without wasting any more of your time, I suspect "consumer" pretty well trumps all other words; in fact, it consumes them, chews them up, and spits them out like a farmer spits depleted chewing tobacco.

I think we have to do some serious thinking ... especially people of faith who generally agree that greed and materialism are destructive of both a person's character and that of a society.