Mike's Blog

Its funny what books can do to a person.  I often get so caught up reading for knowledge that I forget the calmness of reading for pleasure; it’s quite soothing really.  I’ve been trying to spend one night a week in a coffee shop reading.  I normally start by reading a bit of the paper so when people say stuff like, “how ’bout that fidel castro situation” I can say something intellegent like, “I know, right?”.  But I try to spend most of the evening reading something with no real purpose.  Right now I’m reading a really wonderful book called, “Gilead”.  For anyone looking for one of those “soul calming” books, I really recommend this one.  I often have to put it down for a moment to really absorb the subtle beauty in it.  Here’s a bit of it:

“I really can’t tell what’s beautiful anymore.  I passed two young fellows on the street the other day.  I know who they are, they work at the garage.  They’re not churchgoing, either one of them, just decent rascally young fellows who have to be joking all the time, and there they were, propped against the garage wall in the sunshine, lighting up their cigarettes.  They’re always so black with grease and so strong with gasoline I don’t know why they don’t catch fire themselves.  They were passing remarks back and forth the way they do and laughing that wicked way they have.  And it seemed beautiful to me.  It is an amazing thing to watch people laugh, the way it sort of takes them over.  Sometime they really do struggle with it.  I see that in church often enough.  So I wonder what it is and where it comes from, and I wonder what it expends out of your system, so that you have to do it till you done, like crying in a way, I suppose, except laughter is much more easily spent.”                         -Gilead

1) I think wisdom is directly related to a person’s ability to listen.

2) I think “Walking with the wise” also applies to reading what they have written.  We have the ability to peer into the greatest minds of all time, neglecting that opportunity is such a waste.

 Just some things I was thinking about.  I also have a theory of behavior I worked out in the cafeteria the other day,  maybe i’ll post that.

Hey All, I’ve been working on some acoustic music lately.  If you want to check it out: www.myspace.com/michaelnagel. 

 Cheers, and Happy Presidents Day

-Mike

Wisdom is a paradox within itself, because to understand what wisdom is you need to be, yourself, wise.  I’ve been thinking a lot about wisdom lately, trying to figure out what it is and really how I can get more of it.  I want to quote some scripture but I don’t feel like looking it up right now.  But I can tell you that the Bible says stuff about wisdom.  It says things like, “those who want to be wise should walk with the wise” and “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”, stuff like that.

            I have this suspicion that wisdom has been mislabeled. “Wise” has become another word for “cautious” I think.  “He made a Wise Decision” can also be interpreted: “He did the safe thing”.  If a person is hesitant about making a decision we call it “Wisdom”.  The less risky option is often known as the “Wise Choice”. 

The dangerous option, the risky option, the unconventional option will never be labeled “wise”.  At best these options will be called “zealous” and at worst, if they fail, “foolish”.  And here is what it boils down to I think, we associate “wisdom” with successful profit-bearing decisions.  A business man invests his earnings in bonds which slowly and steadily grow and mature.  40 years later this man is retired, playing golf, and wearing sweaters.  “What a wise man” we say.  Another business man, “non-sweater guy”, sells everything he has and gives it to the poor.  40 years later he’s the old guy at walmart that waves when you walk in.  “depressing” we say, “he should have been more wise with his money”.

My example is ridiculous and unclever, I know.  But I can’t help but think that wisdom should no longer be associated with caution and profit.  I think that true wisdom is something much different, something much more exciting; and not easily defined or recognized.  I think that the man who seems like a fool is sometimes a philosopher.  I think that the man who seems wise is sometimes just scared to fail.  Wisdom is some intangible thing that eludes the proud and comes to the humble.  The Bible also says that those who ask for wisdom will receive it, but I think it may be a slow process.  

I’ve been trying to be quieter in the mornings.  Not in a polite “unselfish” way – to keep from waking my family or something- but in a soul kind of way.  And while I’m sure I will blog about my journey of “silence” in the near future, this post is about a piece of mail I found on my kitchen table during said “silence”.

It was an army recruitment mailer addressed to my little brother (still in highschool).  I sat at the table with my coffee and stared at the advertisement, trying to understand my anger and pain over this simple piece of mail.  If you are not saddened/frustrated by this picture, please look again…really look.  Those are four men standing in the cross-hairs, four people, four lives God created, and our government is telling my brother to put his Xbox skills to good use and kill them.  What dark side of humanity is this appealing to?  The ad shamelessly makes killing look fun…better than a video game if you ask them.  Let me ask this, how horrified would we be if we found an Ad in the Middle East with Americans in the cross hairs?  Telling Arabs to put their skills to “Good Use” and kill Americans.

            My girlfriend called me a hippie the other day, and I’m mostly okay with that.  About a year ago I found an old book in the Quad C library called “The Kingdom of God is within you” by Leo Tolstoy; not knowing what it was I started reading and since then I have been on a continuing journey to discover what Jesus really meant when he told us to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, repay evil with good.  I think Jesus was serious about those things, and I want to be too.  I cannot help but think that God loves the men in the cross hairs as much as the Americans behind the gun. I cannot help but think that God isn’t very interested in the Kingdom of America and is a bit more interested in His own kingdom. Which makes me wonder…is the Kingdom of America worth killing for? Is it worth dying for?

            I know where I stand on the issue. But I also know war and violence are complex international issues and the answer is more complicated than just, “lets be nice and not shoot eachother”.  But, maybe, being nice and not shooting eachother wouldn’t be a bad place to start.