Did you know that gum completely disentegrates if you chew it long enough?
I didn’t. That is, I didn’t until I chewed my gum into a pulp and swallowed it the other night. You should try it sometime.

I was in Grapevine Books early this today when an employee asked me which school my ring was from. I let her know it was a ring from A&M to which she replied, “Oh did you just get it.”
Of course, this whole dialog reminded me of how young I look. I left the store thinking about how I look forward to the day that I look more like an adult than a high school student. As I drove off, I wondered why I was so concerned about impressions and why they caused me to wish for things I don’t have.
You see, I “dream” of the day that I look older. Ironically, older people dream of being young (see any birthday card as an example). Single people dream of not being single. Others dream for more money or a better job. Some married folks dream of being single again. Everyone dreams of things, but the question to ask is, do we waste our times dreaming about certain things?
Don’t get me wrong: dreams aren’t bad. But I think we waste a lot of energy dreaming about worthless things. All of things I mentioned above require a shift of perspective, not a shift of reality. Reality stays the same, and the key for us to enjoy what we have now, and dream of the things that we can actually effect.

I am convinced that the concept of justice is woven in the fabric of everyone. There is some underlying value that everyone possesses—it sounds a little alarm when injustice is committed. I don’t have any “scientific” proof of this but to understand this, randomly hit someone. If they don’t swing back, they will say something like, “What did I do to you? … So what did you hit me for?”
We intrinsically understand that actions should determine consequences. If you do something bad, then something bad should happen in return. Conversely, if you do something good, you should receive good in return. Of course, the definition of good and bad varies widely from person to person and from time to time. But that’s another story for another day.
I was reminded of this fact today when I read of Ken Lay’s death. Several months ago, Lay was convicted of fraud related to the fall of Enron. Whether or not he was guilty, I can’t conclude, but he was found guilty before the law, so I will have to assume that he did commit fraud. He was scheduled for sentencing this fall, and he was likely to receive a lengthy (20 years or so) term in prison.
But that was all put on hold today as they wheeled his body into the coroner’s office. Lay was dead, and he is now subject to judgment on all that he did during his life. Of course, this is from Christian perspective, but what about other religions. Assuming he was a bad person, every major religion includes the concept of judgment for the actions of earth. (I.e. If you think prison is bad, that would be terrible). And assuming an atheistic perspective, his life is over, arguably the worst possible punishment: cessation of existence.
So I was very surprised to read that former Enron employee, Sherri Saunders, said that Lay “got off easy.” I wondered…where is the mercy?
I didn’t lose any money in the Enron scandal. I don’t know what it felt like. But it seems to be a sad harbinger of society when people clamor for more justice than death. I mean, who better to deal with injustice than God (remember, most of the country still believes in God). And secondly, what better punishment is there than death.
But it seems that society has devolved into this strange bloodlust, always seeking to make others pay for what they have done. We want to see their pain. We want to see them writhe in agony as the punishment for their sins against us. Sure, most people wouldn’t say “sin,” but the concept boils down to that.
You see, we all crave justice for the wrongs committed against us. And we want to see the criminals punished. But there is a strange dichotomy: why do we keep saying that violent criminals should be rehabilitated? Why do we blame their problems on a rough childhood? Aren’t they to be held responsible for their actions? And aren’t the people they hurt in need of justice as well?
This seems to be another indicator of the strange deconstructivist nature of society today. The absolutes have been replaced by the relatives, and as well all know, if it happens to me it is worse. We have become so terribly narcissistic that we seek the delights of ourselves in spite of the obvious nature of reality: the world does not revolve around ourselves.
Sure, Lay did some bad things, and he hurt lots of people. But to be disappointed that he didn’t suffer enough—that’s terrible.
And sad.

What causes people to be arrogant?
Do we think that our skills and abilities are our own? Are they things we created for ourselves at birth for the improvement of ourselves? And what causes us to suppose that we are better than other people?
It seems to me that the root of arrogance lies in pride. “Look at what I’ve done,” or “Look how great I am” are two of the things that emanate from arrogant people. And the arrogance builds over such trivial things like friends, money, personality, approval, skills, talents, jobs, and more. But think of the concept of arrogance because of friends: who decided they are worthy to be a cause of arrogance? And why does having certain people as friends make you better than others? If you think about it, the use of friends as a source of arrogance is at best circular logic. It revolves around everyone in the group being “cool” and to a certain extent, feeding off of each other. But in the end, who determines cool? And so what if your group of 40 people thinks that you’re “cool.”
Social arrogance is a huge and growing problem. People waste spend their time reading about the celebrities and their “magical” lives, to a certain extent, dreaming that they can be like them. People buy magazines like “D Magazine” (Dallas), dreaming to become part of the “it” crowd. And all for what?
Look at Britney Spears. How could anyone in their right mind presume that she has a good life. Everything about her screams that she is missing something important in her life. And yet so many people dream of becoming rich, famous, and popular like her.
This post is not about Britney, though. This post is about the ever-present problem of arrogance in Christian society. I can name one good person that was not about arrogance: Jesus. He included the outcasts, picked the least-popular, and did great things through them. I don’t see this story line being played out in modern-day Christendom.
Why is that we choose the most popular, the prettiest, the best (in our opinion), and presume that God is going to do great things through our choices? Why can’t we understand that these surface issues determine what makes up good people? If I were to go outside with a shovel, dig up a half-inch of dirt and proclaim that the earth was composed entirely of this brown dirt, everyone would say that I am a fool. Why–Because I am basing my theory on so little of the actual earth, and I’m not digging enough to comprehend what the earth is actually composed of.
Now, am I blessed with a sense of discernment that others are lacking, or has years of work jaded us to the true nature of Christianity. I can’t think of a single command that says, “Go therefore and find cool people, and hang out with them. Then you will be happy.” Why? Because that’s an absurd command. That’s our natural impulse, and sadly it is an impulse that is far too often used to make our personnel choices.
I fear that our choice for personal comfort and enjoyment has led us to miss out on the greater joys in life. It’s not a natural tendency, but the joy that is provided by following God’s command is better than our selfish choices of picking the fun people and avoiding the rest.
Remember: this is post is directed primarily at me and secondarily at others. And if you read this post, and you think I’m talking about you, I am. The saddest part is that you will read the post and get angry because I’m pointing fingers at you. And you won’t spend the time to realize that there may be some validity to this.
So, to all of us who are bloated with arrogance, choosing the easy route. Cheers.

I saw a huge yellow sticker on the dash of a BMW X3 this afternoon. I’ve seen the X3 around my apartment complex for several months now, but this was the first time that I acutally gazed into the inside. It was interesting to see this beautiful car with a hideous sticker on the dash.
The sticker warns of the danger of the umpteen airbags in the vehicle. It says something like, “Wear your seatbelt and stay away from the little ABS logos because if you’re in an accident, they pop open and a bag appears” (paraphrased, of course). Manufacturers add these logos either because the federal government requires it or they want to have a bold enough reminder that if you’re stupid enough to get hurt by the airbag, it’s not their fault.
Most people understand the risks of the airbag and remove the label? But why has this girl decided to leave the label on? Do you think it helps her remember to put her seatbelt on? Do you think it gives her assurance because she knows that the airbags are there? Do you think she’s too lazy to pull the sticker off? Or do you think she’s fearful of the results of removing the label.
I’m not sure what her reasoning is, but it did make me consider warning labels in our lives. Unlike this girl, society tends to get rid of every warning label in life as quickly as it can. No premarital sex…ahh, that was the repressive nature of our unenlightened fathers. Don’t get drunk…they’re just trying to keep me from having a good time. Don’t use drugs…the adults just haven’t realized the spiritual nature of narcotics. Stay away from pornography…that’s the right of every adult. Don’t talk about people behind their backs…I can do what I want, when I want to and I don’t want you shoving your religion down my throat.
What do you do with the warning labels in your life?

Every word is important. Words change the meaning, if only minutely, of what you are saying. I know this sounds obvious, but I don’t think we actually consider how important the details of our speech really are.
My parents just spent a few days at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort. They came back raving about the place–talking about the pool, the environment, and the service. Of couse, we all know that resorts are well known for good service, so that’s no surprise, but the things that stuck out were not what I expected.
Here’s what my parents liked the most: when the staff addressed my folks, they greeted my parents by name: “What would you like Mr. Maddox?” or “Good morning Mr. Maddox.” You get the idea… Their service began with a personal greeting…
And the second thing that stood out to my parents was how they responded. The staff never said something like, “No problem” or “I think we can do that.” The staff said “Right away, Mr. Maddox.” or “Yes sir, I’ll go place your order right now.”
It’s a subtle change: the response jumped from a negative to a positive. From “no problem” to “yes sir.” As I contemplated this small change, I realized that small choice of words totally changed the service environment. And as I related it further, I thought of all of the times I said something like “no problem” instead of answering in a positive form.
For me, my responses indicate that I am fulfilling a special service for you…something that I don’t really have to do, but because you’re lucky, I’ll do it for you. Instead, I should respond, “Sure, I can do that,” or “That sounds great. I’d love to meet you for lunch” not “No problem,” or “Yea, I guess I can make it.”
Because those small choices in words make a big difference in building relationships and serving people.

I saw this very person at the wedding I attended on Saturday…so I thought I’d enshrine it in a cartoon. Enjoy.

It’s been raining in Houston lately. It’s been raining a lot. The bayous are flowing like roaring rapids and the streets are turning into mini-reservoirs.
It’s been dry in Houston this year. Only within the last few months has we started to catch up on the rainfall. Elsewhere in Texas drought rages on. But here we have more water than we know what to do with.
That’s the irony of life. Some places can’t get any rain. Some places get too much. It certainly doesn’t seem to be equitable. And it doesn’t seem fair.
And so it happens with the rest of life. Rarely do things actually happen how we want them to happen. They may come at the right time but in the wrong amount. Or they may not come at all. But that’s the mystery of life: we’ve never discovered a way to determine which events happen in our lives. Sure, we make choices, but there are all sorts of environmental variables that we cannot control.
The key is being ready to deal with the unexpected, and know that things rarely do happen in the ways we envisioned them.

I was looking at birthday cards tonight–and I finally relaized why I despise them so much–half of the cards were negative, demeaning, or straight-up sad. Several mentioned drinking, several more revolved around the lack of money, but most went on and on about being old and how bad that is.
I’m not one to utter sweet nothings about old age, but I do not understand how getting older can be viewed as such a negative thing. The only way to keep from getting older is to die, and unless you’re suicidal, that’s really not an option. So why not cherish and celebrate each birthday? Enjoy the day with friends and family and praise God that you have been blessed with another day of life. Don’t yearn for the “good ole’ days” when you were younger (side note: They probably weren’t as good as you rememeber them to be), but enjoy the time you have now, even if you have scores of candles on your cake!

Pride seems to be a huge problem with most people, and I’m definitely in that category.
There are all sorts of people who are prideful in a plethora of ways. A lot of pride is based on some skill or ability. I’m not condoning pride, but I do understand how Michael Jordan (in his prime) could be prideful of his abilities. The same could be said of Shaq (in his prime), Roger Federer, Magic Johnson, Babe Ruth, Wayne Gretzsky, and a host of other athletes. You could likely make excuses for famous musicians like the Beatles or the Rolling Stones or maybe famous artists like Monet or Picasso. They all are (or were) extremely talented, and to a certain degree had a reason to be prideful.
But then I encounter other people who are immensely proud and sadly have little to be proud of. They are proud about all sorts of things, but they’re neither good nor skilled in the areas they are prideful. They’re not that great (in my humble opinion), and likewise they are delusional because they act as though they are.
It would like me walking up to you and proclaimed that I was the greatest dancer in the world (editor’s note: I can’t dance worth crap). I could go on about how great I was while holding my head up high and looking down on you. And soon, I would be put in a position where I’d have to show my skill (or lack thereof), and there would be no doubt that my comments were no more than a cheap fraud.
So I wonder: what causes people to be so proud in areas where they fail? Are they delusional? Stupid? Abnormally and excessively hopeful? I can’t think of many sadder (or more irritating) sight than someone who proclaims their greatness in spite of the obvious contradiction with reality?
Note: All pride is bad, I’m just musing about this humanly unexplicable type…