What's on my mind: (11/20/01)

Remind me never to be a gunner.

I don't know what exactly it is about it that bothers me. Part of it is that it's so comparative and competitive. It's not just that gunners want to do well. It's that they want to do better than others. So they're never quite satisfied. It's kind of scary to me. They want to get more than other people because they feel they're better, and thus entitled to more. Even if they want to do something "Christian" and give it away, they still want to make more to validate themselves.

I feel like gunners can never feel fully happy for a friend who succeeds and there's something deeply disturbing about that. I can't handle it. Which is why I think none of my closest friends are gunners. I actually think we're the opposite. By all accounts, we should be achieving more from a worldly perspective but we're too lazy. Which is also a problem, but one I'm more comfortable with.

But really it's the sense of entitlement that bothers me the most, and I think it's a general problem in our generation, at least in the West.

Perhaps my favorite Christian lyricist is this guy named Steve Taylor. You've maybe not heard of him - he doesn't get nearly as much recognition as he should. Pretty talented guy - he wrote and produced songs for Newsboys which is why they started getting big, produced Sixpence None The Richer's self-titled album (the one with "Kiss Me"), and has directed a bunch of videos, including many for Rich Mullins. He's the guy who decided to film the video for "The Color Green" in black and white and to film "Here In America" in Europe, if you ever saw those videos and thought that weird.

Anyway, his lyrics are consistently amazing. Definitely worth reading. I love his music but it's a little weird for some people. Too progressive for the Christian crowd, unfortunately.

Here's one song where the lyrics nails things on the head, I think.

Cash Cow (A Rock Opera In Three Small Acts)

Act I

Move...
Move in closer...
Move in closer to the...
Move in closer to the middle of the frame

Act II

It was a morning just like any other morning
...in the Sinai Desert
...1200 B.C.
It glistened, it glowed, it rose from the gold of the children of Israel
(and most of the adults)

The Cash Cow

The golden Cash Cow had a body like the great cows of ancient Egypt
And a face like the face of Robert Tilton (without the horns)
And through the centuries it has roamed the earth like a ravenous bovine seeking whom it may lick

Cash Cow, Cash Cow

From the Valley of the Shadow of the Outlet Mall
To the customized pet-wear boutique
From the trailer of the fry chef
To the palace of the sheik
The Cash Cow lurks
The Cash Cow lurks
The Cash Cow lurks

Who loves you, baby?
Who'll give you good credit?
Who says you'll regret it?
Who loves you, baby?
Who'll give you good credit?
Who says you'll regret it?

"I was young and I needed the money"
"I had money, and I needed more money"
"I was filthy rich--all I wanted was love. And a little more money..."

Woe to you, proud mortal!
Secure in your modest digs
You think you're immune?
You, who couldn't finger said cow in a police line-up with the three little pigs?

Cash Cow--Master of Disguises
Who's gonna change shape at will?
Who's the eye in the pyramid on the back of the dollar bill?
Who loves power lunching from Spago to the Sizzler?
Guess who's coming to dinner?

Who loves you, baby?
Who'll give you good credit?
Who says you'll regret it?
One yank on that udder
Will land your butter
In a sling
First one's free
Cow junkies take heed

Cash Cow, coming to getcha!
Why?
Because you think this is stupid, don't you?
The Cash Cow will not be mocked!
The Cash Cow's planning a coup!
The Cash Cow chews cud bigger than you!

Woe, woe, woe to you who blow off this warning
Perhaps you've already been licked...
I, too, was hypnotized
By those big cow eyes
The last time I uttered
Those three little words
"I deserve better!"

(intermission)

Act III

Like, a lot has been written how people today have moved from believing they have the right to the pursuit of happiness to believing they have the right to happiness. Hence our lawsuit-happy society.

Anyway, I've been thinking recently that a lot of our generation's problems can be traced to this attitude. Like why we can't be satisfied at our jobs, why there's so much movement. Because somewhere deep down (or not so deep down), we believe we deserve better. Why we resent having to work at all. Why there's so much divorce. Why we're so materialistic. And greedy. Think about it. I dunno, to me, It all seems to stem from the inner voice that says "I deserve better".

And I think that's totally unBiblical. KCPC had a unified service this past week and I was really really blessed by the sermon. The gist was, we're supposed to be thankful in all circumstances. And the way to do this is to keep perspective. When you lose perspective, it's hard to be thankful. The example was the Israelites. They've been freed, but they don't have food so they're not thankful. They get all the food they could need, but it's the same thing all the time so they're not thankful. If your perspective is off, you can always find a reason to not be thankful.

And conversely, if your perspective is right, you can always find a reason to be thankful. I dunno, I thought it was a great sermon, a great message. Perspective.

And, I'd have to do a study to be sure, but my impression is that the Bible's perspective is that we deserve nothing but the worst. My impression is that what the New Testament is consistently trying to remind us is that we deserve the worst and have been given much, and should be thankful. We're not entitled to anything except by the grace of God.

So there's no Biblical justification for this attitude of entitlement, I think. That's the perspective we need to have. I dunno, I'm just 100% against the mindset that says "I deserve better". Whether people realize it or not, I think that's what we're thinking. And that's simply not Biblical. My opinion.

So yeah, I don't like gunners because they're the worst with this. Not satisfied with an unglamourous job, unhappy when they don't get the credit they "deserve", stuff like that. Bad news.

"I deserve better" is the root of all kinds of evil. Perspective. Being thankful and content in all circumstances. That's what's been on my mind.