Two of the Worst Words in Heaven’s Vocabulary
President Trump returns today from his meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong un after what appears to be a successful summit. Both shared cordial words about one another after leaving the negotiating table.
I’m sure they uttered more noxious things about one another in private the past few months.
Robert DeNiro unleashed a two-word epithet about our president recently at the Tony Awards. His lack of self control reeked of pride, vulgarity, and immaturity. I can’t put one of his words in print, but the second one was “Trump.”
There are many profane, false, and hurtful words that human beings use in our fallen world. I’m sure none of those destructive sayings exist in heaven. If the unseen realm has a conduct code (based on the love of God and His redemption), then I’m sure a speech code (or norm) exists also.
What might be the two worst words–that bring cringes and groans–in the Heavenly world?
Purpose & Self-Control: The Best Spiritual Technologies
A number of thoughts cross my mental radar screen this day and I’ll comment on all of them instead of focusing on one.
The first relates to 500 days, another to religious liberty, and a third to patriotism.
I will hinge them all together through an excellent article by African-America television personality Armstrong Williams.
Both the news and Mr. Armstrong confirm that the best spiritual technologies are having God-given purpose in life and exercising self control.
Five Hundred Days
President Trump has now been in office 500 days–doesn’t it seem longer than that? He was not my first, second, or third choice for president. But he beat the odds and everyone else. Some say his election was providential–like King Cyrus in history. I liken him to a Hebrew judge like Jephthah or Samson whom God raised up, despite personal weaknesses.
The report card after 500 days: Remarkable.
Despite Deep State/media collusion opposition of unprecedented proportions, the economy roars, unemployment is 3.8 percent, black unemployment has reached a historic low of 5.9 percent, North Korea is coming to the bargaining table, there are more followers of Jesus in government, and American optimism soars.
Marc Thiessen, not a pro-Trump pundit, recently concluded that this president keeps his promises more than any recent president and admits, “He is not the most religious president we have ever had, but he may be the most pro-religion president.”
That’s stunning. If you don’t like him, thank God anyway. He’s been used in his first 500 days to reverse some very negative trends in America.
Religious Liberty
Marriage between a man and a woman for the purposes of love, social stability, and procreation was God’s original idea (Genesis 2:18-25).
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court didn’t rule on that, but nudged us back that direction by confirming that Christian baker Jack Phillips can’t be forced to acknowledge same sex marriage because the government says so and is hostile to biblical beliefs.
This was a huge win for religious liberty and the truth about marriage. There is a long way to go to restore the God-ordained family, but the dominoes now tip in the direction of God’s divine purpose.
Patriotism
The National Football League changed its policy recently. It will no longer tolerate its highly-paid athletes disrespecting our nation and military by protesting during the singing of our national anthem. The new rule is if they won’t stand, then they must stay in the locker room. If they will stand, they can take the field.
Good for the NFL. Love of country is a good thing as long as it’s guided by godly principles.
This issue was never about freedom of speech–but appropriateness of protest during two minutes of national unity before football games. There are 1438 other minutes in every day and 10,000 as week when people can speak their conscience and press their causes.
Singing, and placing your hand on your heart during our national anthem is a no-brainer–unless your real desire is to tear down your country.
So kudos to the NFL–though I believe the wisest policy would have been to return to the norms of the past and keep all the players in the locker room during the anthem. Finally the fans get some “social justice” (and common sense).
Which brings us to Armstrong William’s great piece which was titled “There’s No Such Thing as Free Love.” That provocative title sells, but the power is in its words.
The article is really about having God-given purpose in your life and exercising self control to achieve it. Here’s the gist of his wisdom.
“I often wonder: What does it mean to live a life of purpose and meaning? As I reflect on the experiences that I have had in life, a few recurring themes seem to emerge.”
“The way forward for me has involved constant introspection, observation, and work. I’m not referring to working on my career or business, although that is certainly a part of it. I’m talking about the meta-work that one does even before showing up to the office on a daily basis.”
“That work is the self-sacrifice, working toward strengthening character, and avoiding the pitfalls of temptation and lust. It is the work of self-abnegation and prudence, the daily sacrifices made in service of a higher ideal.”
“This is the work that ultimately grants us the freedom and true fulfillment that we are seeking. Those things that seem attractive to us in the short term: sleeping in just another hour, giving into the temptation to over-consume food, or to have gratuitous sex for immediate gratification, do not provide long-term happiness.”
“No, true joy does not arise from the vulgar applause of adoring crowds or from the creature comforts of mediocrity. True joy arises from the fruits of years of labor that has been diligently and consistently applied. The deep joy of working toward a goal and seeing it come to fruition over time is what life can be all about.”
“This process of spiritual striving and consistent action toward goals—while avoiding immediate, pleasure-seeking behaviors—is the most advanced form of spiritual technology that I have found. It is far more powerful than the magic of compound interest as a builder of wealth because it aligns with the creative forces of the universe.”
“The most effective way to achieve long-term success in any endeavor, whether it be health, business, or life in general, is to align one’s personal goals with the interests of the whole. Sex is a great case in point. Sex can be both pleasurable to the individual, and, if properly aligned with the purpose of procreation, can also serve the whole.”
“As human beings, we have been blessed with both the power of intelligence and the gift of choice. This has enabled us to create tools that give us dominion over the earth and other creatures. But if not used properly, they can also lead to our mutual destruction.”
“We have seen this story repeat itself over and over again, from the Tower of Babel to the mistaken assumption that prompts some to choose abortions over the sanctity of life.”
“The so-called sexual revolution was brought to us by the technology that enabled us to seemingly forestall the results of sex thorough birth control, or to erase the responsibility created by sex through the abomination of abortion. It supposedly freed women to seek professional careers and cheapened the transaction cost of casual relationships. It freed men to opt out of family formation while doing their own thing.”
“So-called free love is never, in fact, free. The true cost of love and intimacy is commitment and faithfulness. These are enduring principles, unchanged by any artifice man can possibly engineer.”
“The truth is, no such bargain could ever be struck. In reality, pleasure-seeking behaviors, like sex outside of the bonds of marriage and abortion, work to thwart the creative process. These behaviors create the mentality that one should have sex without being spiritually, emotionally, and economically prepared to manage the creative force that sex invites and often demands.”
“Our success here on earth comes from using the creative power of God to manifest iterative creations with the gifts of intelligence and artistry. We tend to pollute this connection when we diverge from pursuing our God-given purpose.”
“Only when we align pleasure with purpose can we achieve true joy. Self-discipline and living in accord with the laws of God is the only path to freedom in this life and in the next. This is the most powerful spiritual technology known to man.”
Well said, Mr, Armstrong.
He mentions introspection, hard work, self-sacrifice, strengthening character, spiritual striving, and consistent action toward goals. He summarizes this “good life” as committed to higher purposes (God’s) and lived out through wise self-control.
At least for the present, many national policies, the truth about marriage and religious liberty, and the need for humble yet robust patriotism are coming more clearly into alignment with God’s purposes and the power of self-control.
Armstrong calls it “the best spiritual technology” he’s found.
It’s God’s invention.
Memorial Day Redux: The Bravest Boehme
The Bravest Boehme
Shirley and I are our two mothers just returned from a trip to the local cemetery. We do it every Memorial Day to thank God both for those who’ve gone before us, and especially for those who laid their lives down for our country.
Most of our relatives’ remains are interred at Sunset Lane in Port Orchard. The cemetery contains a beautiful view of Sinclair Inlet and each Memorial Day is festooned with large flags scattered throughout the property and small flags placed at the headstone of all those who’ve served in war.
Today, thousands of flowers graced the resting place of our forefathers–many containing vases of rhododendrons–Washington’s state flower. We brought the same from my mother’s yard to place at the graves of our loved ones.
I cherish Memorial Day because I’m deeply thankful for those who both gave me life and who laid their lives down that we might live free.
May we always be grateful for life and liberty.
It’s becoming a tradition I re-print the story of my uncle–Richard Boehme–the only member of the Herman & Lucille Boehme family I never met. As it says on my mom and dad’s tombstone “We’ll Meet in Heaven.”
I shared his story the past two Memorial Days. It’s worth re-printing this year.
Richard gave his life for his country in World War II. He is the bravest Boehme.
This is his heroic story.
My father was the oldest of six children, born and raised in Akron, Ohio. The second child born to Herman and Lucille Boehme was Richard. I am told that he was smart, athletic, and religious (in their traditional Lutheran home). While in his early twenties, “Uncle Dick” joined the US military and headed out to fight the Germans in the western theatre of World War II.
One day in the spring of 1945, a somber member of the US Army knocked on my grandparents’ door and informed them that Dick was missing in action in Europe. For over a year, my grandmother dried her tears with the hope that Dick would be found and come home. Then came the heart-breaking news. He had been shot down and killed on February 16, 1945–just seven months before the war ended.
For decades, our family was given little information on Dick’s death. Then, in the early 2000s, a man named Jerry Whiting tracked down my father to let him know that he was writing a book in memory of his own dad and all those that served in his squadron–including my uncle. (The book is called “I’m Off to War, Mother But I’ll Be Back.”)
Jerry Whiting would answer many questions about Dick’s last months on earth.
Whiting spent decades combing through military files and collecting information. He traveled to Europe to interview folks who had met his dad and “band of brothers” and knew something about their story. They included soldiers, villagers, and even a Catholic priest.
When the book arrived, our family was ecstatic. Finally we would learn what had happened to “Uncle Dick”– a brave member of the 485 Bomb Squadron stationed in Italy. The biggest revelation? He had been shot down three times in the space of five months.
It takes great bravery to keep going under those circumstances. Here’s what happened.
October 16, 1944
Dick was captain of a B-28 Liberator that bombed some German military factories in Austria. After failing to fire on the first target due to clouds, the squadron went on to their second priority, the Neudorf Aircraft Factory at Graz. Upon finishing the assignment, they were running low on fuel and would not make it back to Italy. They’d also been hit by incoming “flak” from German guns.
Uncle Dick put out the Mayday signal and all of them parachuted out of the plane as it crashed into the waters off Yugoslavia. One of Uncle Dick’s mates hit the water, swam to shore and was found by a village girl named Narija Glavan who gave him clothes to wear and hid him in a hole in the ground from the occupying Germans.
Uncle Dick landed in the water a few miles from his buddies. The Germans saw his parachute descending and fired at him in the air–but missed. He started swimming but was caught up in the parachute. Two local Yugoslav cousins, Niko and Nikica Peros, jumped into action from shore. Here’s how Whiting tells the story:
“The Peros cousins saw Boehme struggling in the water…They swam out to Boehme and Nikica cut Boehme free from the parachute lines and both helped him to shore. As they swam, the Germans started shooting at them with machine guns. The Germans were less than a mile away, so the three men got out of the immediate area as quickly as possible.”
“They took Boehme to the village of Zaton. The villagers gave him civilian clothes and hid him from the Germans who were searching the entire area for missing flyers…The villagers refused to betray Boehme, so the Germans shelled the village, ultimately killing a young girl in the barrage.”
Helped on by the locals, Uncle Dick walked, hid, and traveled north for a week staying near the coastline. He was finally smuggled onto some islands and evacuated to Vis. From there he returned to Italy where he was awarded a Silver Star.
November 17, 1944
Three weeks later, Uncle Dick volunteered for another combat mission. His plane was again shot down while returning from Blechhammer, Yugoslavia. Details are scarce are this mission, but he eventually found himself in a battle between Chetniks and Partisans. On the run for a month, he finally made a safe return to Italy one month after his second crash.
The Final Mission: February 16, 1945
Uncle Dick was once again captaining the squadron when, after bombing their target, they came under heavy anti-aircraft fire near the Italian/Austrian border. Whiting describes the scene as two aircraft were fatally hit:
“Both planes broke apart after the mid-air collision. The tail was sliced off Tomhave’s plane (piloted by Uncle Dick) and part of the nose broke off. Major Olen Cooper Bryant (the navigator) was thrown through a hole in the nose of the plane, unconscious from the concussion of the direct hit. He fell from an altitude of about 10,000 feet without a parachute, landing in heavy snow.”
Miraculously, Bryant survived! Others parachuted from the two doomed planes–but not my uncle. The planes crashed near each other below the crest of Mount Belepeit, near the Slovenian border in northern Italy–west of the village of Chiusaforte. Those who lost their lives were John Carmody (navigator), James Cahen III (navigator), Marvin Woodcock (bombadier), James Dixon (flight engineer), Bruce Graves (radio operator), and Captain Richard Boehme (pilot).
Uncle Dick was 23 years old.
On February 27, 1945, after ten days of severe weather, Father Giovanni B. Lenarduzzi led twenty-five local villagers up the mountain to locate the remains of the American airmen and give them a proper burial–near the summit of Mount Belepeit. We, their relatives, are deeply grateful.
In the past forty years, some villagers have made an annual trip up the mountain to honor the American flyers were fought for their freedom. My dad’s letters contain e-mails from those folks–one as recent as 2005–which shows the tree-lined hillside of the mountain (in summertime) and numerous remains of the crash that are buried beneath the leaves and vegetation.
My uncle was a hero. He loved his God, family, and nation and gave his life that we might enjoy ours.
I think now of what Uncle Dick might have done if he lived past 23. Would he have become a doctor, pharmacist, office manager, or logger like his older brothers? Would he have moved to the west coast with the rest of his family? Had children, grandchildren? Lived into his nineties like his older brother, my dad?
How would he have continued to serve the God of his fathers? He never had that chance. He laid down his life for others–just like his Lord did for the sins of the world.
Let’s never forget the heroes. Let’s emulate their faith and commitment. In my latter years, I want to be brave like my Uncle Dick.
I’ll always consider him the bravest Boehme.