Doxologies

"I replied I don’t know what, still “making conversation.” As answer after answer was torn to shreds it at last dawned upon me that he really wanted to know. He was not making conversation, nor joking, nor snubbing me; he wanted to know. I was stung into attempting a real answer. A few passes sufficed to show that I had no clear and distinct idea corresponding to the word “wildness,” and that, in so far as I had any idea at all, “wildness” was a singularly inept word. “Do you not see then,” concluded the Great Knock, “that your remark was meaningless?” I prepared to sulk a little assuming that the subject now be dropped. Never was I more mistaken in my life. Having analyzed my terms, Kirk was proceeding to deal with my proposition as a whole. On what had I based (but he pronounced it baized) my expectations about the Flora and Geology of Surrey? Was it maps, or photographs, or books? I could produce none. It had, heaven help me never occurred to me that what I called my thoughts needed to be “baized” on anything. Kirk once more drew a conclusion - without the slightest sign of emotion, but equally without the slightest concession to what I thought good manners: “Do you not see, then, that you had no right to have any opinion whatever on the subject?”
…
If ever a man came near to being a purely logical entity, that man was Kirk. Born a little later, he would have been a Logical Positivist. The idea that human beings should exercise their vocal organs for any purpose except that of communicating or discovering truth was to him preposterous. The most casual remark was taken as a summons to disputation. I soon came to know the differing values of his three openings. The loud cry of “Stop!” was flung in to arrest a torrent of verbiage which could not be endured a moment longer; not because it fretted his patience (he never thought of that) but because it was wasting time, darkening counsel. The hastier and quieter “Excuse!” (i.e., “Excuse me”) ushered in a correction or distinction merely parenthetical and betokened that, thus set right, your remark might still, without absurdity, be allowed to reach completion. The most encouraging of all was , “I hear you.” This meant that your remark was significant and only required refutation; it had risen to the dignity of error. Refutation (when we got so far) always followed the same lines. Had I read this? Had I studied that? Had I any statistical evidence? Had I any evidence in my own experience? And so the almost inevitable conclusion, “Do you not see then that you had no right, etc"

C.S. Lewis @ Surprised by Joy (pg. 134-136)
This is his autobiography for those who did not know.

Note to self: Don’t discuss things you have no business or experience speaking of. How often do you talk about things that you are but vaguely familiar with. Cooking? You have hardly dabbled your feet in the art. Disneyland? You barely know the place. Reading and writing? You are incompetent. Theology? You’re thinking right now about penal substitution and the curse motif of the atonement and how you can hardly come up with a paragraph of things to say! Do you honestly know what the Bible has to say about faith, grace, prayer, worship …. the host of gems that litter the revealed Word? I fear that you trust your opinions and your so-called ability to synthesize tidbits of information rather than the Word that endures forever. At this rate, you’re going to end up being the babbler Paul was accused of while preaching in Acts!

Form a stance with a backbone, for goodness sake.

I wish I had a Kirk in my life who would straight up say, “Do you not see, then, that you had no right to have any opinion on the subject?”. ;_;

"R: to be strictly and firmly faithful to my trust, that that in Prov. 20:6, “A faithful man who can find?” may not be partly fulfilled in me."

Jonathan Edwards, Resolution #32

What does it mean to be faithful? I think there is much to learn from Moses, which the author of Hebrews declares, was faithful in God’s house serving the Son. Recently I’ve been reading biographies and autobiographies to get a glimpse of faith in the lives of the saints that have gone before. Isn’t that what Hebrews 11 is all about? It has been great encouragement to me, to see men who were able to be faithful their entire lives. George Whitefield is crazy!

I believe part of being faithful is to always examine yourself, as Edwards made it a constant practice to do. In order to be faithful you need to be constantly weeding out sin to “fight the good fight of faith”. I was encouraged by Alex Yi’s personal model of Edward’s resolutions, and hope to do something of the sort in the coming years.

As of now, I’m stuck with Edward’s legacy.

"Like a madman who throws
Firebrands, arrows and death,
So is the man who deceives his neighbor,
And says, “Was I not joking?"

Proverbs 26:18-19

Reminder to self: This is something you most definitely need to watch. Sometimes you feel like you’re speaking more sarcasm than you are English. Your conversations are riddled with too many ‘just kiddings’ and you ought to be ashamed. Be mindful and try not to say something you would later take back, for the harm you do that can be much greater than you think, like death. Your poor decisions are likened to the prodding with burning wood, a piercing projectile, and perhaps the most prominent result of sin. Is that what you want? Heed the proverbs, and in this situation, especially those pertaining to the tongue and idle words.

Rather than utter such crudity, try to speak graciously and encourage tactfully, for a word spoken in right circumstances is likened to apples of gold in settings of silver :)

"The true Christian is called to be a soldier, and must behave as such from the day of his conversion to the day of his death. He is not meant to live a life of religious ease, indolence and security. He must never imagine for a moment that he can sleep and doze along the way to heaven, like one traveling in an easy carriage. If he takes his standard of Christianity from the children of the world, he may be content with such notions; but he will find no countenance from them in the Word of God. If the Bible is the rule of his faith and practice, he will find his course laid down very plainly in this matter. He must fight."

J.C. Ryle

Tis’ a challenging reminder.

¹⁸This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them youfight the good fight, ¹⁹keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. I Timothy 1:18-19