Secular Meaning

This morning I was preparing for English Corner. Rebekah and I decided that this week's topic for discussion would be "the meaning of life."

In the middle of English Corner preparation I began searching for quotes regarding the meaning of life. (We are going to have a time of discussion where one group will build an argument/reasons to show the meaninglessness of life and one will build an argument/reasons to show that life is meaningful.)

It was so easy to find quotes (from the secular perspective) that speak of the meaningLESSness of life, but I also wanted to throw in some secular quotes that spoke of the meaningFUL side of life. (Not to fear, I grabbed some Ecclesiastes and Micah 6 quotes as well.)

I was actually shocked (Why?? Naivete? No, sin's deceitfulness.) to discover that when you get down to the meaning of the quote, there are actually NO secular quotes that tell us if life has meaning. Though they give the APPEARANCE of an answer, they are all merely facades that vanish into think air upon further questioning.

This is an excerpt from a quote spoken by the late Christopher Hitchens,

A life that partakes even a little of friendship, love, irony, humor, parenthood, literature, and music, and the chance to take part in battles for the liberation of others cannot be called 'meaningless' except if the person living it is also an existentialist and elects to call it so. It could be that all existence is a pointless joke, but it is not in fact possible to live one's everyday life as if this were so.

This quote had me laughing. (Well, actually -- one guffaw.) In the full quote, he first mocks "theists" for supposing that he could not live life without meaning. When he finally gets to the point, he has no point. Essentially, he's just throwing words around when he says that "what could be called meaninglessness can't be called meaninglessness because it doesn't feel like meaninglessness (unless your an existentialist)." He never actually tells us what he thinks, except that he doesn't know...and doesn't want to over-rule the other philosophers' ideas.

His conclusion, "it's not possible to live one's everyday life as if [the meaningless joke life] were so."

But wait, isn't that the question the theists asked him? "How can you live a life without meaning?"

His answer SHOULD have been, "I don't. I pretend I have meaning to make myself feel better."

The reality is that because he denied the One that brings meaning to all areas of life, Hitchens removed from himself the possibility of having a truly meaningful life.

Another quote I found compared us to animals and said our purpose is to stay alive. Well, that sucks considering that it's folly to try to stay alive since everyone dies in the end anyways.

The nicest quote came from Jamine Isabel E. Uy,

“When you learn to appreciate everything around you, that is when you have found the true meaning of life. But when you have learned to love another with all your heart, that is when you have finally understood and start to actually fulfill the purpose of your existence.”

She wants us to appreciate the horror around us as well? What if the one we love with our whole being betrays us? How do we find this "one"? Who has given us the purpose? What kind of love do you mean? What is love? How do we show this type of love? What if the one we love doesn't love us? Though she may come close, she's merely pointing us to each other. Vanity.

As I tried to decide how to bring our discussion(s) to a fitful end I planned to go to Philippians (pressing on for the prize,) but was interrupted by 2nd Corinthians 4 & 5.

Wow.

Then I began looking through the list of songs I have in iTunes in order to end our time with "quiet reflection". I saw Chris Tomlin's, "I Will Rise." I pushed play to see if the lyrics would work within our discussion.

Whoa.

What blessed assurance! To KNOW my Savior lives. I/we have more hope than any other group of beings on this planet because our hope is real. Our answer is real. It is not a facade of a worldview that must be denied in order to allow us to live -- for the mere moment.

Our worldview accurately describes what is around us and brings a fulfilling hope to our past, present, and to our future.

This last week I have been downcast in my soul, questioning what I should do with my life. (Stay in China? Return to family? Continue teaching? Teach a higher grade? Write? Counsel? Why does the Bible say "stay as you are"? What do my decisions matter??)

How foolish. While I will (in December) need to make those decisions, I can't allow them to overwhelm my mind.

How foolish for me to think (which I did, as I was searching for the quotes,) that the secular world could have a semi-fulfilling summary concerning the meaningfulness of life. I can't believe that thought was in my brain! How STUPID I am.

I haven't believed God's truth. I have believed the advertisements and TV shows. They look like they're happy. Sure, some will go to hell, they won't know the love of Jesus and His saving power, etc, etc, but (I guess??) I figured that their statement of having a fulfilled life was to be believed because they seemed to believe it.

Idiot.

Their (the secular) statement of a meaningful life is a distraction to prevent them from thinking about their hopelessness. (Ultimately.) They may feel happy. They may see meaning in their activities, but they can't answer why. They have been given over to the hopes and desires of their rebellious thinking. It is false. It is a trap.

He is the ONLY hope. False hopes and pretend "dreams" don't fulfill because they are not reality. The only reality is rooted in the One who has given life to all.

My focus has been re-aligned. Press on!!

Experiments in the Kitchen

Tonight I am using my powers of experimentation in the kitchen!

I got some tofu, some spaghetti sauce, some raw/bulk legumes, (I am not entirely sure what they all are. I am pretty sure one bean is a dark red kidney bean. The others…maybe a black bean and a pinto??) And then I went through our veggie draw to cut up and toss in all veggies/produce that are wilted and ready to die. (ie carrot, broccoli, bean sprouts, cucumbers, green beans, potato.)

I started the cooking of some of the veggies with an onion and a dibble of vegetable oil in a wok. (It started to smell very nice.) I threw in the tofu.

I added some garlic. (Yummy.)

I started the liquid boiling.

I threw in all the stuff.

I added some salt.

I added some Italian seasoning (From the import store; could be the States.)

It’s still boiling.

Through this experiment I have discovered that raw beans need to be given longer to soak… I think??

I had overheard someone saying that raw beans need to be soaked. I soaked mine for a few hours. They were all still rather hard. I checked a few minutes ago on the beans…they seem to be softening. Don’t worry. I don’t mind a bit of crunch in my soup.

OH! I have to get out my frozen spinach to throw in…

(…Well, the beans are still rather hard…and...dry… They are almost prune-ish, but hard in their pruned state. Ahh well.)

Tonight, I have also croc-potted (slow cooked) a dying sweet potato with cinnamon. Delicious, no? (Dui, bu dui?) <-Chinese being used*

I figured, it works with pumpkin, I really enjoy croc-potted apples and cinnamon, some people put cinnamon on their sweet potatoes (yams) at Thanksgiving, why not slow cook it together?!! (Cinnamon and sweet potatoes, that is. Though I DID think about throwing some apples in there too; just to see what would happen. Maybe next time.)

It turned out pretty tasty.

I may not make it sit in there so long next time.

…Maybe I should post pictures of my concoction. (It will be my lunch and perhaps some breakfasts and dinners all this week…No matter what it tastes like. I will not waste!!!!)

Other recipes still welcomed…

(Especially recipes with these bulk beans and tofu -- so CHEAP! The tofu was 1.5RMB! Oooh! Altogether, the various beans were about 8RMB. That's around $1.25, my friends.)

Radically Mundane

I was recently looking through my journal when I happened upon this entry written at the end of my first month of living in China, concerning my expectations of what China-living would be, “I thought I would be struggling to survive at every turn. I thought I would only be living as I cried on the floor to the Lord in prayer.”

Bad expectation.

In coming here I discovered the opposite and I was greatly disappointed. I was disappointed in the other expats who didn’t live this way. I was disappointed with the nationals who weren’t aware of persecution in China. I was disappointed in the lack of radical living; the lack of a readiness to sell all and die for Jesus. (All according to my standards and judgment, of course.)

But I think the Lord brought me here, to a place of great comfort, (when I was expecting great discomfort,) to discover the reality that even life lived on the other side of the world requires the completing of mundane tasks. The same clothes must be washed, the same streets must be taken to the same work, and the same people must be loved with the same strength of the Holy Spirit.

This is the life most of us are called to live.

Here are some statements from George Muller’s autobiography,

“The Way of the Cross is an ordinary street in an ordinary city. It is an ordinary life lived in the grace of God.” (95)

“’Just think of the mercy of God that He allowed me to carry mops and toilet paper for His glory. […] Many must carry mops and toilet paper, but few get to do this for God’s glory.’” (100)

And may we do those ordinary tasks (even when living in great abundance and without the threat of persecutions,) all the more with a greater fullness of joy knowing that we are doing these things in, for, and through Him AND in light of the great stewardship of BLESSINGS He has bestowed upon us.

Creative-less Cooking (HELP!)

I am discovering with great intensity that I am a less than boring cook.

To illustrate my point: my meals’ main dish is often scrambled eggs. More often than not they’re even unseasoned. (Except when I am feeling low in sodium. Then I sprinkle in some salt.)

What can I say?! They’re quick to cook in the morning, easy to buy, cheap to buy, and they are filled with protein.

For my morning and mid-day meals I, of course, throw in some veggies and fruit. If my roommate made rice for a previous dinner, I’ll throw some of that in there too. I seek balance, if nothing else, in my food consumption.

I have been to several websites where I have seen many nice pictures of creative meals made. But how am I supposed to do this in China?!! How does a real person do this at all?!

When I come home I just want (not literally) to workout, eat some food, finish some work, read, think, shower, and go to bed. Food is not really my top priority or focus for the evening. Accomplishing tasks and getting to bed at a reasonable hour, THAT is my focus. Just eat and get it over with; THAT is my theme.

Adding wondrous meal making to my to do list just stresses me out.

And yet, my ways must be changed.

First, because of my running goals;

Second, for the sake of my roommate who must endure monotony on my cooking night (chicken – always quick, good, easy; spaghetti; chili; pancakes; French toast; scrambled eggs; PB&J; hamburgers;) and

Third, I don’t like being boring. (I want to be cutsie too!!)

How do I go about changing my ways, guys?!

If you all have simple ingredient recipes for slow cookers, send ‘em my way. I now know how to make applesauce in the croc pot. (I can also make some nice steamed pumpkin. I am working on making rice correctly in there, however. It’s always too soggy or too crunchy.)

I also realize that planning is essential.

BOO!

Why is life filled with so much PLANNING?! Why can’t I just spontaneously go to the fridge, pull out random ingredients, and make something satisfying and delicious?!

…Maybe this is why I lack creativity in the kitchen…

If someone would just show me how and why it’s worth all the effort. I would try to make it again. (Like I did after my Chinese friends showed me how to make jiao zi and fungus soup, and after I learned how to make a pizza crust…though I highly question the efforts made with the pizza crust.)

If anybody reads this…I look forward to some simple suggestions.

(Remember: cheese is expensive and “hard” to buy.)

As a point of “accountability”: I will be searching out ways to use more tofu (since I am in China, the people eat it, and it’s so inexpensive,) and I MUST master the use of the Chinese spices/sauces!! (e.g. vinegar, sesame seed oil, cooking alcohol, soy sauce, etc.)

I keep watching my friends, (too bad they don’t measure stuff out while they cook!) but my vegetables don’t taste as good as theirs…and they’re always so limp and brown, (from the soy sauce, not from being burnt. …Well, MOST of the time it’s not from being burnt…)

(Side note: Ironic that making food stresses me out. Ridiculous. GETTING food is most of the world’s stress. Guess they wouldn’t care if their meals were monotonously non-custie or not….)

…Maybe I won’t reform after all…

No. Hospitality and kindness towards others tells me I should. Maybe when I DO I can invite those who are hungry to share my food with me. (Well, why wait? Just do it now.)

Good. Guess I need to go find some homeless people...