Why Literature Matters

 As an English teacher, I have heard a variety of derogatory things. First, the general teacher comments like "those who can, do; those who can't, teach." I have also heard "Go experience life instead of just reading about it." The most common statement I hear is from students who tell me that "reading is boring." Books, reading, stories, and literature can and often is seen as archaic and unnecessary. Students want to know why they have to read and learn about fiction in school. They tell me all the time "It's not like I am going to use this in my life." I would argue that statement is very incorrect. Not only is it used in life, but gives instruction for life and what life will look like.

Let me give you the example I use with my students. In modern America, we don't have arranged marriages. We allow each individual to choose who they are going to marry. This is just natural, and we of course believe this is the best option. From a purely logical and pragmatic sense, it is a horrible idea. Arranged marriages make more sense. Young people who are attempting to choose a mate, a lifelong commitment, are not rational. They are using emotion and are not seeing the picture clearly. Most individuals enter relationships before their frontal cortex is fully formed. They don't have the life experience to make the kind of wise, rational decisions required in this kind of commitment. The further parents have moved away from the process of choosing a mate, the higher the divorce rate in our country rises. Parents, who deeply want what is best for their child, would make a better choice of mate, based on shared values, compatibility, and maturity. As a father, I would pick a husband for my daughter who was kind, loving, hard-working, and would be supportive in every way. Why don't we see this in American culture?

The answer is Romeo and Juliet. We all read Romeo and Juliet, and the story is told and retold in our culture in a million different versions. Juliet reaches marrying age, and her parents find a good suiter. Paris is well-off, respectable, and comes from a good family. What does Juliet do? She runs off and marries the bad boy, the hot guy from the rival family. Their love is so powerful, they are willing to die to protect it. Their death brings the feuding families together. It has become the ideal. In reality, the story is about a girl and a boy who decide they are madly in love after meeting once, get married the next day, and are dead by the end of the week. Not a good model for a relationship, but somehow it has become the way young people act about love. It is repeated in love songs, romantic comedies, sappy romance stories, soap operas, and teenage dramas. The couple that defies the odds to be together.

Here is the point, literature shapes our society. We are defined by our stories, and it has been that way since the beginning of human history. Our identity is shaped by the stories we hear and relate too. By reading, learning, and thinking, we have a better opportunity to shape our lives, our communities, and our culture in positive ways. The stories that are being shared in schools, homes, churches, and the marketplace today will shape the next generation. The things we tell the younger generation will impact their identity. This is why there is such a fight over children and schools. The stories we tell matter. The narratives we communicate to our students today are the truth that they live tomorrow. Now, more than ever, being an English teacher is critical. If students do not get a balanced, accurate view of life from the stories, they are simply being manipulated. Teaching should be making students into informed, free-thinking, responsible adults. It should not just be creating smaller versions of our ideas and ideology to further our political or social goals. We need to be honest about the power and impact of stories in our lives. Our future may depend on it.

Why Secular Humanism Can't Solve Any Issues

 In the world we live in, we are surrounded by a progressive political ideology that is driven by a secular humanistic worldview. To summarize, this is a belief that man is the highest evolved being, there is no being above man and we are capable of moral and ethical good on our own. This idea is the basis for Malsow's Hierarchy, that man left to his own devices will seek his good and the good of his fellow man. It states that mankind is essentially good and will seek the best if given the opportunity Often, they view crime as wrongdoing as done in a sense of desperation.

The view culminates in progressive ideology, and the problem lies in the fact that their entire system of thinking is dependent upon humans being good. Secular humanism believes in nothing higher than man, so for them, good must come from man. This is the key to their entire system, so they must believe that mankind is generally good and noble. The belief in the nobility of man leads them to push in the direction they do, and they cannot question their root belief or everything falls apart.

The fundamental issue is that mankind is not good. Christians understand that mankind is sinful and ruled by sin. The good that exists in the world is external to man. God causes good, and the existence of God can only be attributed to God. The good that man does is the result of God's grace, and for man to be good, man must be redeemed and Spirit-filled. The Bible teaches that all have sinned, and that sin brings death. Left on our own, we are filled with all sorts of evil, and often the good we do has selfish and dark intent.

If you look at the world through a lens of man being good, it leads you to defund the police, let criminals out of jail, and increase welfare. The thought it, if you give the man what he needs, goodness will take over. If you distribute wealth from a secular mindset, then everyone will become productive. You can have open borders because no one will be a criminal. You can replace the police with a social worker because people just need help. You can trust people to do what is right if you believe that deep down, they are good.

If you have a Christian worldview, then you understand the the only thing that keeps us from doing the wrong thing is the consequences. We do the right thing with incentives. Apart from Christ, only a system of rules and laws will preserve any order. The natural man, apart from Christ will only seek the good of himself. If you create a system in which a natural man can benefit others while benefiting himself, that will work. You cannot expect a natural man to give of himself with nothing in return. This is why the rich and wealthy protect their assets against taxation. This is why people hoard resources during a pandemic. This is why people steal, vandalize, assault, and kill others. People are naturally selfish and self-serving. The only hope for mankind is Christ. The only hope for civilization is law, consequences, incentives, and justice.

The secular humanist is incapable of making the right decisions because they don't understand what they are dealing with. They want to "tax the rich" not understanding that selfishness and greed will motivate the rich to tie up all of their wealth in untaxable assets. They want to get rid of guns, not understanding that violent men only fear the threat of violence, and a man protecting his family with a gun is the only deterrent to a violent man with a gun. They don't understand that asking nicely and using rational arguments against evil people will not help. They don't even understand that they are evil and selfish and sinful, they don't have a context for that type of thinking. The result is, they are ill-equipped to deal with modern society.

Right now in America and the world, Jesus is the only hope. We must pray for revival and awakening, too many have moved too far from God. Evil will not only increase but continue to be called "good". The secular humanist will continue to redefine the world to fit their ideology. The things once held sacred will be profaned and outlawed. The things once outlawed will be celebrated. The humanist will not, can not solve the problems of modern America until they acknowledge the God they continue to deny.

How To Get Unstuck in Life

In my various roles and responsibilities, I find that many people are stuck in life. They feel trapped in a bad situation and don't see a way out. Sometimes it is finances, sometimes relationships, sometimes jobs, and sometimes it is just life circumstances. The feeling is often the same. I have been stuck, in dead-end jobs, in financial hardship, and even on the couch with a messed up back. These are situations that are hard on your mental health and leave you drained and overwhelmed. There is hope and there is a way out. As a life coach, I have walked with many individuals as they have looked for the next steps. I have also served as an employment specialist and job coach. There are some principles to help you get out of the mud and back on the road.

First, you need to be honest about the situation you are in. Don't blame someone else if the problem is you. Don't blame yourself if the problem is someone else. If you have money issues, be honest about your situation in regard to income, spending, and saving. Take an accurate assessment of where you are. This sounds simple, but it is harder than it sounds. Many of us struggle to be honest with ourselves. We want to save ourselves from the shame of our failure. We don't want to admit that someone we love is causing the problems. We don't want to acknowledge where we are and how we got there. It can be hard to admit our failures, our inadequacies, and our insecurities. It is critical and the only way to get back on the road is to admit how far off the road you have gone. Be honest with yourself.

Next, you need a goal. It is not good enough to know that you are not where you want to be. You need to set a goal of where you do want to be. It is important to be realistic about your goals, but don't be afraid to dream. I still have a goal of having my books read and used all over the country. I don't have a goal to be a best-selling author, but to empower people and churches to live out their calling. That is a big dream of mine. That is where I want to be. I also want to continue in my teaching career, continue my education, and continue to serve local churches. I have my goals and dreams in each of these areas. This gives me a vision of where I want to go.

Once you know where you are and realistically where you want to go, it is time to make a plan. Seldom do good things happen without a plan. Making a plan is critical to getting unstuck because it will show you where to step and where to go. A journey without a map is wandering, and wandering gets you lost. A plan is a map for your life. What will you need to complete your goal? In my goals, blogging is one way to move forward. By blogging, I put down my ideas, improve my writing, build an audience and I refine my ideas. In my professional life, I continue to study and attend training classes. I am looking towards another Master's Degree and I have applied for the program. These are steps that I continue to take to progress forward. Perhaps your plan is to get more education, so the first step is to research options. Maybe you need to look at job openings and begin to look for opportunities. Maybe you need to make a plan to decrease spending or increase your salary. Looking at your goal, what are the steps you need to take to get there. It will probably be more than one step. It might take weeks, months, or even years. You may have to get a lot of parts into place. Even if it seems like it will take forever, it is better than doing nothing.

Finally, as you begin the journey to get unstuck, remember the plan and the process. Find support systems. Share the goals with others and ask them to help you. As you begin to complete the steps for your journey, it will seem less daunting. Achieve small victories. Celebrate the first chapter complete, the first class done, and the first $20 saved. Watch the progress you are making and remember that no matter how hard it gets, there is nothing worse than that feeling of being stuck. Being unstuck is worth the struggle and the trials.

I know you can do this. You can achieve great things, the hardest part is getting started. Once you do, things will keep going and you will find tasks being checked off. There is no time like the present to start. I am cheering for you, I am excited to see how far you can go!