And a good day to you too...
SCENE 4: “The Life of PI(E)”
You
guys have both seen Life of Pi,
right?
I loved that movie … from the gripping story-line to the
fantastic cinematography to the twist ending where you are left wondering if
the story actually happened or not. Any movie with a Tiger on the poster is
gonna be a hit.
For the final time I am borrowing a movie title because
it captures an important truth for me … a lesson for life that changed me
forever once I saw it. (OK, I cheated on this one by adding an extra letter to
PI … get over it).
This entire BLOG is about PIE so the point I want to make
this week is very simple. When you figure out PIE in your life, everything
makes sense: everything!
Let me refer you back to my first official post on
Feb.28. I spoke about PIE and why I’m doing this
blog and I got a wee bit into the details. In particular I linked PIE to 4
basic questions that everyone asks, starting with: “where did I come from?”
Whether or not you believe the Bible and the details of
man’s origin found in Genesis is moot … the story has been around for millennia,
and with it, the story of the origin of PIE. Check it out:
IDENTITY
God said, “Let us make man in our image.” So God created the man Adam … which perfectly answers the identity question: man was created in the image of God. He was different from all the other creatures that had been created to that point. His uniqueness was due to the fact that, unlike the other creatures, he had a spiritual component … in particular, God’s Spirit was part of him.
God said, “Let us make man in our image.” So God created the man Adam … which perfectly answers the identity question: man was created in the image of God. He was different from all the other creatures that had been created to that point. His uniqueness was due to the fact that, unlike the other creatures, he had a spiritual component … in particular, God’s Spirit was part of him.
PURPOSE
God’s first act with his newly created Adam was to put him in the garden He had created (Eden) and tell him to work it and take care of it and everything in it … and ultimately fill the earth with more like himself in order to take control of all of it. Adam had a job to do … he had a purpose.
God’s first act with his newly created Adam was to put him in the garden He had created (Eden) and tell him to work it and take care of it and everything in it … and ultimately fill the earth with more like himself in order to take control of all of it. Adam had a job to do … he had a purpose.
EMPOWERMENT
Everything God had created up to Adam was good; God was pleased with His creation … so far. However, once Adam was in the garden by himself God said, “Wait a second … Adam can’t actually do what I told him to do … he can’t do all this work by himself nor can he reproduce and make more like himself the way all the other animals can … so he can hardly fill the earth and take control of all of it.”
Everything God had created up to Adam was good; God was pleased with His creation … so far. However, once Adam was in the garden by himself God said, “Wait a second … Adam can’t actually do what I told him to do … he can’t do all this work by himself nor can he reproduce and make more like himself the way all the other animals can … so he can hardly fill the earth and take control of all of it.”
OK, I know you both know the Genesis story well enough to
know that that’s not actually what God said. Instead we read that God said, “It
isn’t good that Adam be alone . I will make a helper suitable for him.” We go
on to read that Adam realized all the other animals had “suitable helpers” …
ones able to provide not only help but also companionship and ultimately the
ability to reproduce.
Let’s look at the empowerment component in a bit of detail. The Genesis account
of creation provides a marvelous example of PIE, and in particular,
empowerment.
God gives not just a job, but He gives a BHAG to a creature that He specifically created for that job … and then He fully empowers that creature to execute it well. Imagine for a second that God is a manager … an exceptional manager. Here’s how God empowered Adam:
God gives not just a job, but He gives a BHAG to a creature that He specifically created for that job … and then He fully empowers that creature to execute it well. Imagine for a second that God is a manager … an exceptional manager. Here’s how God empowered Adam:
- He gave Adam everything necessary to get the job done
- Intelligence to manage it all
- Sufficient food and life-resources to survive
- A helper to work with him (one who was perfectly suited for him because the helper was actually made from Adam’s own body)
- A mate to reproduce with to make more workers
- He gave Him full authority over everything that had been created, with only one single rule of engagement (“don’t eat the fruit from one particular tree …all the rest are fair game)
- He let Adam manage things as he wished
- He let Adam take ownership by allowing him to name everything himself, including all the other creatures ... even his own helper (he named her Eve, a name which means that she literally came from him)
The very best bosses that you will have in your life are the ones who do what God did with Adam; they will give you a big challenge that's slightly beyond your own capacity but that's suited to your skills and how you are made, they will give you what you need to get the job done (resources, tools, help), they will give you the authority to make your own decisions about how to get the job done, including the freedom to manage the resources yourself ... and then they will get out of your way.
As I mentioned before, PIE (especially empowerment) is strongly linked to freedom.
I believe the Genesis story completely … not necessarily the way
Creation Scientists try to explain it, but in a way that respects both the
Biblical text and the incontrovertible discoveries of science*. I believe that
Adam and Eve were real and that God demonstrated for us from those first two
humans what true identity looks like … what true purpose looks like … and what
true empowerment looks like.
I also believe one more thing … when we live our lives in
a way that aligns with how we have been created, our lives make complete sense
and we live a life free of anxiety because of the power that surges through us
when living that way.
It doesn't get any more spiritual than this. And when “spirituality”
actually aligns with the honest-to-GOD Creator Himself … well, “sky’s the limit”
… the ordinary becomes extraordinary … and the explainable simply defines
explaining (well, except for how I've just tried to explain it).
So my big ahha moment a bunch of years ago was simply
this… we were made for a life of PIE, and any time that we
allow ourselves to drift too far from this results in growing anxiety.
OK … get ready for something a little more dramatic next
week; we’re going into battle.
I love you both very much.
Dad
* - more on my thoughts behind the Adam and Eve story (which has nothing to do with today's post ... I'm just including it here as a footnote to the Genesis discussion - skip it if it doesn't interest you ... it might interest your kids some day)
As a scientist I'm not a fan at all of "Creation Science" thinking that says the earth was created in 4004 BC. There's simply too much credible data from cosmology, astronomy, physics, biology and biochemistry to ignore it all and simply say we're interpreting it incorrectly. As a Christian I'm just as quick to declare that the credibility markers for the Bible are similarly too vast to simply ignore. So how can both be true at the same time? Let's set aside the discussion of the 6 days of creation for another time ... it's fascinating but not relevant to today's discussion. Let's just focus on Adam and Eve. Here's what I believe:
When God said, "Let us make man in our image," I see nothing in the text (even examining the original language) to suggest that He created a new phylum (body form) for Adam. In making Adam in God's image is to make Adam a creature with a Spirit. What's to say God didn't take an existing body form that had already been formed through some form of evolutionary process (although not necessarily a neo-Darwinian process) and simply place His Spirit in that creature ... making it a new creation? This could explain how humanoid fossils could have existed for thousands of years prior to Adam ... and it could also allow Bishop Usher's chronology of 4004 BC to be reasonably accurate for the arrival of spirit-filled-humans. The whole debate has always hinged on the assumption that God created a never-before-seen body form when he created Adam and Eve. There's no need for that assumption for the Bible story to be just as true and credible.
[pet peeve - Both scientists and Christians have made far too many assumptions in their zeal to support their dogmas. As both a scientist and a Christian my very strong belief is that both have sufficiently credible evidence and data to declare them to both be true. Our job is to look for the resonance rather than the dissonance. Believe the data ... from both sides ... and see how they fit. For example ... Christians summarily reject the notion of evolution because they feel that it threatens their belief in the creation story. Yet, when I point out the actual text in Genesis 1:24, which says, "And God said, 'Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds ... ' ", Christians are shocked that the words have been staring at them their whole life ... words that open up the interpretation that animals were produced by the land. Sure sounds like some aspects of an evolutionary process to me. But it also says that God ordained the process (whatever the process looked like) so Christians need not fear that the process is random and eliminates the need for God.]
* - more on my thoughts behind the Adam and Eve story (which has nothing to do with today's post ... I'm just including it here as a footnote to the Genesis discussion - skip it if it doesn't interest you ... it might interest your kids some day)
As a scientist I'm not a fan at all of "Creation Science" thinking that says the earth was created in 4004 BC. There's simply too much credible data from cosmology, astronomy, physics, biology and biochemistry to ignore it all and simply say we're interpreting it incorrectly. As a Christian I'm just as quick to declare that the credibility markers for the Bible are similarly too vast to simply ignore. So how can both be true at the same time? Let's set aside the discussion of the 6 days of creation for another time ... it's fascinating but not relevant to today's discussion. Let's just focus on Adam and Eve. Here's what I believe:
When God said, "Let us make man in our image," I see nothing in the text (even examining the original language) to suggest that He created a new phylum (body form) for Adam. In making Adam in God's image is to make Adam a creature with a Spirit. What's to say God didn't take an existing body form that had already been formed through some form of evolutionary process (although not necessarily a neo-Darwinian process) and simply place His Spirit in that creature ... making it a new creation? This could explain how humanoid fossils could have existed for thousands of years prior to Adam ... and it could also allow Bishop Usher's chronology of 4004 BC to be reasonably accurate for the arrival of spirit-filled-humans. The whole debate has always hinged on the assumption that God created a never-before-seen body form when he created Adam and Eve. There's no need for that assumption for the Bible story to be just as true and credible.
[pet peeve - Both scientists and Christians have made far too many assumptions in their zeal to support their dogmas. As both a scientist and a Christian my very strong belief is that both have sufficiently credible evidence and data to declare them to both be true. Our job is to look for the resonance rather than the dissonance. Believe the data ... from both sides ... and see how they fit. For example ... Christians summarily reject the notion of evolution because they feel that it threatens their belief in the creation story. Yet, when I point out the actual text in Genesis 1:24, which says, "And God said, 'Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds ... ' ", Christians are shocked that the words have been staring at them their whole life ... words that open up the interpretation that animals were produced by the land. Sure sounds like some aspects of an evolutionary process to me. But it also says that God ordained the process (whatever the process looked like) so Christians need not fear that the process is random and eliminates the need for God.]
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