Impressed

Not being particularly interested in spectator sports, I found myself channel surfing today when I came across a televised sermon by Joel Osteen. Normally, I would have blown right through this but JPD said that this guy had the most coherent view of Christianity he had ever come across. Since JPD is no fan of Christianity, I thought Mr. Osteen deserved some serious attention.

First, let me say that I was seriously impressed. His sermon was as good a piece of wisdom writing as I ever heard. Not as sophisticated as Spinoza but then Spinoza never had a weekly live audience of 30,000 people. It occured to me that the strength of the Bible lies in its ability to speak to 30,000 people, providing wisdom enough for the sophisticated and narrative enough for the less so. It truly is an impressive document.

I am not a Christian. I have been but it's been a long time since I've had any real faith the in Goodness of a Supreme Being. But my turning away from faith has left a hole all the sciences and theories cannot fill. It's not a question of volume. It's just a different kind of emptiness. So much of my existential struggle is a personal one. A search for reconciliation between Faith and Reason, science and religion, Athens and Jerusalem.

Having said all that, Joel Osteen's sermon was simply amazing. Though I am not a believer, I hold no aversion for Christian beliefs and I find it easier for me to draw wisdom from Christian sources than some of my friends who have strongly negative feelings regarding religious doctrine. It occured to me one day that I didn't have to believe in God to learn the lessons of the Bible just as I didn't have to be a Christian to have spent a fascinating afternoon with a brilliant Benedictine Monk. Maybe that's heretical but I don't think that's for Man to decide.

The sermon today was about friends and how the people surrounding you will either enrich your life or limit it. He spoke of creating the right environment to reach one's potential. He addressed all the standard arguments clearly, never hiding behind the Bible. "Your environment will change you before you change it." Truer words were never spoken. Maybe this sermon rang true to me because it justified my protectiveness of my own time. There was a time when I hung out with people simply because I enjoyed their company or because I had a long standing relationship with them. That hasn't been the case for a long time. I realized exactly what Mr. Osteen said. As your friends are, so will you become. When I realized that truth, I became very selective picking friends who would inspire me to be better, to be the best that I can. Mr. Osteen said that you have a place to go, something to strive for- your full potential- and people in your life either help you reach it or they don't. My experience with this wasn't easy. It's not fun disassociating yourself with people you enjoy for reasons they may not understand or would find insulting. But enjoyment stopped being my standard for being a friend. Surely, I love spending time with my friends but to the man, each one of them possesses something lacking in me and when I am around them, I am inspired to work on that trait. That's not to say I'm unfriendly to most follks. I am not. I try to be friendly and polite to everybody. But being my friend is something else entirely.

Mr. Osteen ended the sermon by asking that we take stock of our friendships and ask if they inspire us or limit us. Do they encourage us to be the best we can be or allow us cover to make compromises? Whatever your stance on God, that is surely good advice. And I will be tuning in to Mr. Osteen whenever I get the chance.