Our use of time

As i get older (I'm middle age now), the concept of limited time keeps coming back to me.  As mortal we only have so much time, and it seems like we have so much to do.  One very important thing to learn is analyzing and prioritizing (I guess that's two things).  We have to question the true value of a thing or activity by considering it in light of eternity.  A week from now, a month from now, a year from now, on the new earth, will this thing still be important? If not, we shouldn't necessarily not do it, but at least consider it and give serious thought to something else that is truly important. 
This is not about things that are sinful or not, that's pretty obvious, but the multitude of inconsequential things in our life.
How are we using our time? Do our actions exhibit a love for God and neighbor, or are they strictly self centered? Do they lead to a fruitful positive end, or are they disposable, merely forgotten in a week?
In general, this seems to fall into the typical theme for me.  Giving things done thought and acting on the results.

Who is responsible?

I, for the most part, agree with the economic theories of the Austrian School, as propounded by Mises, Rothbard and Hayek, among others. A great source for this economic thought is found at www.mises.org.  Anyway, recently I was reading a post discussing the place of government controls over the consumption of alcohol.  I commented on this post with something about the government's responsibility to protect the innocent.  Another commentator balked at this and called my comment absurd.
This got me thinking.  Is it the responsibility of the state or federal government to protect the innocent or is it merely to punish the guilty? Should the government step in and protect people from their own foolishness?  What if that foolishness has serious adverse effects upon extended family or the community at large?  Who then decides what is adverse? Should we leave protection up to private organizations? If we look at a strongly patriarchal society, husbands and fathers protect their women and children.  But what about a seriously liberal society when the men have become effeminate and self centered?  I really hesitate to give the federal government any power other than the authority of representation.  But I also cannot see just leaving the weak to fend for themselves.
We could talk about the actions and responsibilities of individuals but one person can only do so much.  One person can only expend so much time and money, regardless of desire to do much more.  There must be something here about the strong protecting the weak. 
Ultimately this is about love for neighbor.  What are we responsible to do in order to be obedient to this command?

Fathers to Sons

What are we doing wrong?  It seems to be a pretty wide spread problem that children are not following the faith of their fathers.  The truly scary alternative to this interpretation of the facts is that children actually are following their fathers, very consistently, in fact.  What this would then mean is that fathers profess one thing but live another.  What is it that children are seeing on their fathers?  Granted, it must be recognized that children do have free will that they may choose to sin regardless of the good example they see in their parents, but I would venture to guess that in most situations this is not the case. 
What are we communicating to our sons that they grow up to reject our faith?  What is it in our words and actions that turns them away? Is there an inconsistency?
Probably the best place to start figuring out this problem is to seek input from trusted advisers. We cannot see the back of our own head, so wisdom requires that we seek input from those who can.  Our wives and our pastors are a good place to start.  What are they seeing in us that ought to be addressed? A really interesting point to consider is the response of children.  Kids seem to take the example before them and live it out more consistently than their example.  That puts a pretty scary spin on our situations. It's worth considering anyway.
Look at the details, consider where they may lead and consider the possible sources. And don't hesitate to act, you may miss an opportunity.

Love is the answer

It may come as a surprise to those who know me, but i am becoming more and more saddened by the fallen state of men.  I see so much that is so messed up, there is so much grief and suffering that simply does not need to be. 
It seems that the older i get, the more i know and understand and the more i see that is wrong.  Along with this is the ever broadening view that there is so little i can do. Obviously, the most straightforward answer is that if everyone did just a little bit, very much could be accomplished.  But the big problem is that everyone, myself included, is terribly self centered and short sighted.  We are too selfish to see the needs and hurts of others.  We are too focused on ourselves and our entertainments to address anyone else's pain.
Ultimately, the answer is love.  The Beatles had it right, U2 has it right, Orthodox monks and nuns have it right.  Loving men as God has loved us is what we are supposed to do.  And this will solve all the problems in the world around us.  This is not bright eyed idealism, this is an attempt to live as Jesus has commanded us to live.
This is not romantic, warm feelings either.  To love as God has loved us means to strive to help others grow in holiness.  It's not about nice, warm thoughts, is not about romance. It's about focusing on others instead of ourselves, regardless of their sin or impression upon us. To gain our life we must lose it. To receive we must give. Love is the answer and we must learn to live the answer. Love for neighbor built upon a genuine love for God, as he has revealed himself in the body of Christ is the final answer.

The fruit of Protestant thought

As they say in science, every action has a reaction.  This is true in worldview/philosophical thought as well.  With the start of the Protestant Reformation, a new worldview was created that has taken the world by storm, even creating a new nation, America.  This worldview is that of individualistic final authority. Martin Luther saw serious errors in the Roman Catholic Church and wanted to make changes to be more faithful to Scripture.  The Roman Catholic authority responded by telling him to repent and not question their ideas.  Luther responded by refusing to do so.  The authorities then kicked him out of the church. Luther was then in a difficult position.  Does he submit to church authority even though he strongly disagree with what was being taught or does he go with what he believes to be true, in essence making himself the final authority?  It's important to remember that Luther never wanted to leave and many of the doctrines that Protestant disagree with, he was okay with.  He was forced to leave.  Once that decision was made, the religious world was never the same.  Luther introduced the idea of self authority.  This concept has morphed into a completely different monster than Luther ever imagined. 
So looking at the United States today, we can see the fruit of this decision within Christendom.  The concept of choosing for oneself instead of appealing to a higher authority has brought about a radical change in our culture.  This thinking has filtered into all areas of life.  Address such as economic policy, sexual orientation, modesty, diet, the use of time, war, and many others are now driven by self authority instead of the church.  Many of the problems in our culture today have come about because people don't want to look to the church for answers but instead look to themselves.  Homosexuality is now seen as acceptable by many Protestant denominations because words, ideas and concepts have been redefined instead of following the historic church.  So long as we are making ourselves the authority in these many decisions before us, we will continue down this path of destruction.  Our culture in America is coming to an end.  We will only reverse this terrible trend if we return to the authority structure that God has established in the body of Christ.  As long as we continue to look to ourselves, we will continue to fail.

If God....

My place of employment is Christian owned and operated, which is really nice.  We actually have a chaplain that helps alot of people and leads a bi-weekly chapel service. While not Orthodox it is still leading people in the right direction. In the hallway leading up to the lunchroom is a small library containing all Christian books, one of these caught my eye, it was called "If God is good, why is there suffering?" As i pondered this title, something occurred to me. As Christians, the statement should be "Since God is good, why is there suffering?" This is a huge difference. As Christians, we certainly believe that God is good.  This is not a question in our worldview.  If it is a question, that is a serious problem that must be addressed and answered.  The question of suffering is answered by considering man's freedom and God's nature as not a tyrant.  There is suffering because man chooses to sin and those decisions affect others.  Someone who balks at the idea of God not intervening and stopping evil needs to be asked if they want God stopping them from doing something God calls evil.  I don't suppose that they do. Do i claim to have all the answers as to why God doesn't interact with various situations to protect the innocent? Absolutely not. There are some things beyond us. What I do understand though is that we as people have the responsibility to protect the innocent, whenever and wherever we can.  it really comes down to three things: God is sovereign, God is good, and there are some things we don't understand.  As humans we have limitations to our abilities.  To argue otherwise is pride and foolishness.

A Comprehensive Faith

The inconsistency currently present in the American Orthodox Church makes the pursuit and application of a comprehensive faith difficult.  We must be aware of and address any presuppositions foreign to Orthodoxy.  This would be those beliefs held prior to our baptism into the Church or those things taught to us by those who are inconsistent in their beliefs, holding to things incompatible with Orthodoxy.  This is especially a problem in America, as America began and has progressed and grown as a predominantly Protestant and Evangelical nation.  The introduction of the Orthodox Church into this culture has found a serious amount of work to transform the thinking of her converts into a truly biblical mindset.  Unfortunately, no one is tabula rasa.  All men have some sort of belief system, which in most cases is contrary to biblical belief, which must be overcome.  It is bad enough that men hold to false beliefs, men also have corrupted and darkened hearts that must be sanctified as well.  Really, the work that all men have before them is that of changing their beliefs (to be consistent with the Christian faith), to sanctify their hearts (to love God and neighbor and hate evil) and to change their practices (acting in love and not in selfishness).  This is three fold: minds, hearts and hands.

This is one reason the Orthodox Church appeals to tradition.  Any one man will be influenced and distracted by his prior beliefs, by those things falsely taught to him by others and by the culture around him.  The concept of tradition is that of those things held, taught and practiced by the Church since its apostolic beginnings.  We can appeal to tradition, which includes Scripture), because we believe that God has been leading his Church from the very beginning. 

So instead of appealing to common sense, logic or philosophy, we realize that all of these are influenced and controlled by the culture in which they are conceived, so we must trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit on the Church as a whole.

Returning to the opening statement in this post, inconsistency comes from the influence upon us from outside of the apostolic faith.  We must work to overcome these falsities and strive towards truth and love.  Our work is that much more difficult when the inconsistencies are not recognized as false but are instead identified as Christian faith.  The problem comes from being American, not from being Orthodox.  Let us seek to understand and live out the apostolic faith, regardless of how foreign it may seem to us and to those around us.  The Christian faith is present before us in the life of the Church.  Let us strive toward this example.