If everyone is super…then no one is.

Society, ,

The Incredibles

Having a younger daughter basically means my wife and I have seen every animated cartoon movie known to man. Honestly, we even find ourselves quoting animated movie lines during adult conversations—which can be a little embarrassing. Of course, I’m about to quote yet another cartoon movie, but only because the line really resonated with me.

The movie was The Incredibles, and the line came during a scene where the villain—like all villains do—took the time to explain his evil plan to Mr. Incredible. His scheme was to make everyone a “superhero” using his gadgets and gizmos, and in doing so, he said:
“When everyone’s super… no one will be.”

I’d like to connect that animated gem to something both personal and professional.

My daughter used to be in a baton twirling group. Yes, I’ll admit, I was surprised to learn that baton twirling is still a thing. But apparently, it is—and it even comes with the possibility of earning scholarship money for college. Who knew?

I remember her big competition one year. The parents were all gathered with their camera phones, the girls were in glitzy outfits, and loud music cued the routines on the gym floor. Then, off in the corner, there it was: a big table proudly supporting hundreds of trophies. And at the end of the day, each participant, of course, received a gigantic trophy simply for being part of the program.

While being part of a program is great, what we should really be celebrating is being an exceptional part of the program. Participation trophies, though well-meaning in their attempt to foster self-esteem, can sometimes have the opposite effect. Even kids can sense when an award doesn’t represent genuine achievement.

Which brings me to self-esteem.

All of us—whether parents, guardians, grandparents, teachers, or mentors—want our children to grow into confident individuals who believe in themselves and their abilities. But what we really need to build in them is what I call authentic confidence, because self-esteem can be fleeting.

Even as adults, we have days when we feel on top of our game—we have the answers, others seek our input, and everything flows. Then there are days when we feel drained or unsure if we even deserve our title or position, as if we’ve somehow lost the ability to move forward. That’s because self-esteem fluctuates—it can shift by the day, or even by the hour.

But authentic confidence is different. It doesn’t fade because it’s built on integrity, honesty, and hard work. It’s earned. And because it’s earned, it sticks with us—even on the days when our self-esteem wavers. With perseverance and character, we can weather the natural ups and downs of how we feel about ourselves.

When we choose to recognize only the average—or reward everyone the same just for participating—we unintentionally do a disservice to those who invested extra time, worked harder, or are exceptionally gifted. Don’t get me wrong—participating in sports, clubs, and other activities is valuable and should absolutely be acknowledged. But not everyone is the club president, the MVP, or on the Honor Roll.

Because after all, if everyone is super… then no one is.

Immigration: The same but different (a true you Yogi-ism)

Social Policy and Politics, ,

1892 immigration

“The culture of poverty has some universal characteristics which transcend regional, rural-urban, and even national differences…..

-Oscar Lewis, “The Culture of Poverty” in Four Horseman

The United States has always been a nation of immigrants. Consider the Irish in the 1840s, who fled starvation and, by the 1860s, welcomed the Civil War as a job opportunity—guaranteed meals and a roof over their heads. Whether it was Italians, Scandinavians, the English, or the Scottish—let’s face it, these newcomers were not “European nobility” by any stretch of the imagination. Immigrants were struggling, often impoverished.

Now, we are faced with what many are calling an “immigration crisis.” Numerous immigrants are arriving from our southern border, and they are coming for the same reasons immigrants have always come to America: opportunity.

Many are motivated by the strength of the American dollar. In several Latin American countries, U.S. dollars—primarily through remittances—account for up to 15% of national GDP (Pew Research, 2013). These immigrants actually provide a kind of weapon against inflation. The dollar has remained strong in part because of them, coinciding with a decrease in American wages as a share of total GDP (New York Times, 2013).

This economic squeeze on the blue-collar middle class—while painful—has helped restrain inflation. Immigrants contribute by sending American dollars outside our borders, effectively reducing the domestic money supply and helping preserve the value of the dollar. In turn, these same remittances become a vital source of income for neighboring countries, many of which are in desperate economic condition. So not only do these outflows help fight inflation at home, but they also act as de facto aid packages that promote regional stability—something that is absolutely in the best interest of the United States.

So yes—immigration is, without a doubt, beneficial. But…

I also understand the need to document and regulate immigration. America remains a land of opportunity, but the process to access that opportunity has become increasingly bureaucratic and inefficient (Council on Foreign Relations). We need to streamline the system for immigrants who are here primarily to work and send money home. Proper documentation would also give them a level of legal protection and allow law enforcement to better share information on their identities—though, admittedly, information sharing across government levels remains a baffling challenge, especially in this era of cloud computing and interconnected databases.

I also sympathize, in part, with the state of Arizona and its struggle to determine who holds responsibility for immigration enforcement. Federal and state roles remain poorly defined. Whether you support President Obama’s reform efforts, believe immigration falls solely under congressional authority, or champion states’ rights, one thing is clear: we would all benefit from a clarified immigration policy that simplifies and streamlines the process.

We were all immigrants once, and at some point, the system worked for our ancestors. Our current system does not. It needs fixing. Let’s rise above partisan politics and take action—but be warned: it will require compromise.

Old Testament Law and Jesus

Christianity, ,

As a practicing Christian, I decided to read the Bible in its entirety. If you’ve done this—or even if you haven’t you’ll know that one of the greatest challenges is developing a working mental framework to understand the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. This was a challenge for the apostles as well (circumcision or no circumcision in the Book of Acts, for example). It even led to early church splits, such as when the Gnostics refused to reconcile the God of the Old Testament with Christ as one and the same.

In this post, I’m focusing specifically on the concept of the law as it appears in the Old and New Testaments- not the nature or actions of God across both, which is a much bigger undertaking. To better understand the relationship between the Old and New Testaments as it pertains to the law, I looked to the teachings of the early Church, the words of Jesus, and my Protestant faith.

Old Testament law can feel overwhelming when you first begin to read the Bible. Many of these laws clearly no longer bind Christians today. To clarify the various types of Old Testament law, I turned to St. Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas divided Old Testament law into three categories: moral, ceremonial, and judicial. Moral law is dictated by natural law; ceremonial law pertains to divine worship; and judicial law governs the justice maintained among people. Aquinas concluded that only moral law remains applicable to Christians.

The Ten Commandments are a clear example of moral law, while much of the Book of Leviticus provides examples of ceremonial and judicial law. For Christians, the law has been sharply reduced in light of Aquinas and early Church teaching. With that in mind, we can now turn to the New Testament and specifically to the words of Jesus—to further understand the law’s place in the life of a believer.

In Matthew 5:17, Jesus directly addresses his relationship to Old Testament law:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
Clearly, the moral law is still applicable, but Jesus has fulfilled the law perfectly on our behalf.

Later in Matthew (22:34), the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus with a question:
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

This is a powerful quote and speaks directly to the relationship between Old Testament law and Christian living. It also provides a practical guide for how we, as Christians, should approach daily life and relationships. Jesus simplified the law down to its core message. First: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind…a daunting task! We must seek the Lord daily through His Word and prayer. In a world full of distractions, this is no easy feat, but daily seeking is a strong starting point.

Second: love your neighbor as yourself. This often feels more approachable, but can still be difficult especially when dealing with someone who is hard to love. In these moments, we must remember that all people are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). I also believe that these two commandments clearly point us toward genuine Christian service, especially to those in difficult or less fortunate circumstances.

My Protestant faith has further developed my understanding of the law (again, referring to moral law only). The law serves as a mirror to reveal our sin (Romans 3:20). It helps us recognize our sin—something made easier by the fact that the law is written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33; Romans 2:15). When we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, we become more aware of our sin. And through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, we strive to avoid sin, even while knowing we’ll never be completely sinless.

As Christians, we hold onto the truth that Jesus fulfilled the law, but we also acknowledge that the law continues to reveal our sin and drive us to repentance.

In closing, I want to quote Dietrich Bonhoeffer at length to further clarify the daily struggle of Christian life:
“Every day Christ’s followers must acknowledge and bewail their guilt. Living as they do in fellowship with Him, they ought to be sinless, but in practice their life is marred daily with all manner of unbelief, sloth in prayer, lack of body discipline, self-indulgence of every kind, envy, hatred and ambition.”
(Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship)

As Christians, we will continue to fight the daily battle. But we live in hope, because we know that Christ has already won that battle for us—and that all the law and the prophets ultimately come down to this: seeking Him with all our heart, soul, and mind, and loving our neighbor as ourselves.