Talking with God

Over the past week or two, I have had a continuous conversation with God. This has been a fascinating experience…I have thought before about the reality of God and how often we fail to realize it, but it has been a while since I have had time where I intentionally submit myself to God and his unfathomable power. We’ve talked mostly about my future, and what God has in store, but about other things too. Sometimes I get nostalgic about periods of history that I never could have experienced, and in mentioning to God how cool it would be to see Grand Rapids 100 years ago, He said, “You wouldn’t recognize a thing…” to which I replied, “I know, but it would be cool!” God, in His infinite wisdom, has placed me here for a reason – in this city, in the year 2012, in this job, in my life. And no matter how hard I try to change it, God won’t let my plans deviate from His.

I was selected as a finalist for a dream job – a history position with potential for coaching soccer, teaching an AP class, and living in a new town right in the middle of Milwaukee and Grand Rapids – which the administrator recently informed me was being offered to the other candidate. This, frankly, sucked. I haven’t been so bummed about something since Michigan lost to Ohio State at the Horseshoe in 2006. But this rejection is pretty significant. Since looking for a better teaching job, God has given me several opportunities that have fallen through. Timeline….Spring of 2010: Top three finalist at a premier Christian school in St. Louis, rejected. Fall of 2010: Opening at the high school where I student taught and still have friends on staff, not qualified because my degree in History and Political Science is not a Social Studies degree. Spring of 2011: Another opening at the St. Louis school, not even given an interview. Spring of 2011: Top ten finalist at a local Christian school in Hudsonville, rejected. Now, spring of 2012: Top two finalist for an outstanding position in Chicago, rejected. Sometimes it feels like God is using me to thoroughly enjoy a satisfying game of Whack-a-Mole. It’s like he’s glued a dollar to the cement, or ran a current through the cookie jar (too sadistic?). But as easy as it is to be frustrated with how my own plans aren’t working out and wallow in self-pity, it has been made painfully clear that my plans are not what is best for me, or more importantly, my wife and me.

So this is what I’ve learned: God is saying one of two things. Either, “Keep working – you’re almost there. I’m letting you get your hopes up to keep your confidence up and have an awesome position for you,” OR “Keep working, just not in history! You think you want to be a history teacher, but I don’t want you to.” The hard part is figuring out what the message is. Or maybe, the hard part is learning to trust. Where do you draw the line between following God away from what you think your dream is, and giving up on it? How do you know what signs to follow and what signs are misleading? No one can answer these questions, but everyone does at some point. It’s just a matter of being patient and knowing how to let go of all of the wisdom I might think I have in favor of a nebulous plan laid out by a Being that I cannot see, but who knows me best and what is best for me.

So, even though what I saw as an open door ended up being a brick wall that I ran into at full speed, it was put there for a reason. God and I will laugh at this later, but right now it’s time to get up, walk away from the wall, and figure out what door God has actually opened.

How the TEA Party Reminds us that we need Government

I just heard on the radio – just now – a ‘speech’ that was given by a candidate running for a seat in the US House of Representatives. This speech was to announce the candidate’s intent to run for the seat, but in it he revealed some very important points not just in his platform, but in his political philosophy as well.

Holding up a light bulb, currently in the works for being outdated and outlawed in favor of new, more energy-efficient bulbs, Hoogendyk (the challenging candidate) asked his core of supporters if we need the government to tell us what kind of light bulb to use, or if we need the government to tell us how much water we can use when we flush our toilets. The crowd, although small, seemed to agree as Hoogendyk made the claim that “we need to return the government back to the people.”

I understand this libertarian ideology. Anyone who has listened to any of Ron Paul’s speeches understand at least how libertarianism can be applied to current political situations, but the problem with libertarianism in the United States is that it perpetuates an individualized, no-strings-attached style of everyday living even though we live in a community that is necessarily linked from person to person, city to city, state to state, coast to coast – you get it.

So what if the government didn’t regulate how much energy anyone used, or how much water someone used? What if there were no regulations on fuel mileage for automobiles or air and water quality standards? What if everyone lived life in their own best interest without any regard for the sustainability of the resources that they consume, much less without any regard for the best interest of those around them? Forgive my pessimism, but I don’t think we would get very far! I am sure that we, as Americans, can rely on the goodwill of others to a certain extent, but if self-centered consumption and an ethos of relativistic law creation and enforcement becomes the status quo our nation will be incapable of surviving as a powerful international state. We would be incapable as surviving as a state at all! As Abraham Lincoln famously observed, “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” and that was in reference to two largely homogenous geographical and ideological masses. If the citizens of the United States adhere only to their own self-interest in regard to energy and resource consumption, self-defense, controlled substance regulation (Ron Paul once told a crowd that we shouldn’t rely on the government to tell us that heroine is bad for us…), and statutory/criminal/civil law, our national house certainly cannot stand.

Philosophical libertarianism is a beautiful thing that is based on the ability of man to govern himself and benefit from the fruits of political freedom and autonomy. Unfortunately, as James Madison once said, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary…” and men are not angels. (To be fair, the very next sentence in Madison’s essay says, “If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary…” which is a great argument for the libertarian.) So as good as libertarianism sounds especially in the face of big, left-leaning legislation that has been passed in the past 4 years, beginning with the bank bailouts under Bush, and continued by the stimulus package, more bailouts (GM), and health care legislation under Obama, we need to keep in mind that not all government is bad government, and although bigger may not seem better, it’s better than none at all.