‘May the Fourth be with you’. (Can the Force be with you?)

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Picture from Cayusa on Flickr

Today is Star Wars Day – with this date, May the Fourth, chosen because it echoes one of the films’ most famous catchphrases/mottos (and there are lots to choose from!): ‘may the Force be with you’.

In the Star Wars universe, this phrase is uttered regularly by the ‘goodies’ to one another.  It seems to be kind of half-encouragement (‘you go do that thing you’re about to do, I think it’s great!’), half-prayer (‘I actually hope this thing that exists called ‘the Force’ is actively with you today’) and half-reminder (‘don’t forget about the Force, now’)  – and, yes, I know that’s three halves.

People do this all the time, referring to higher powers or external forces in conversation (whether or not they believe in them as real things): ‘good luck!’, ‘God forbid’, ‘OMG!’, ‘karma will get you back’, ‘swear to God’, ‘I hope the gods are on your side’ etc.  And the Bible is no different: full of people who continually mention higher powers when they talk to each other. Some would say that the Bible is also like Star Wars in that they’re both made-up.  But what if it were true?  What would it mean for people to be saying things like this to each other in the real-world, in our universe?  What would it mean if they meant it – if they were talking about something they believed to be real?

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. (Numbers 6.24-26, ESV)

May the God of peace be with you all. (Romans 15.33, ESV)

And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, ”The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.” (Ruth 2.4, ESV)

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13.14, ESV)

What would you wish of/say to your friends?  Is there a higher power/Force/LORD to call on?  Are the people in Star Wars nice or naive or stupid or cool or considerate or thoughtless when they say ‘may the Force be with you’?  What about when your friends wish you luck or whatever?  What about the people in the Bible?

Action for Happiness’s ‘ten principles’ – a second opinion?

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'smiley face stickers' from South Carolina's Northern Kingdom on Flickr

Today sees the launch of something called ‘Action for Happiness‘ – which apparently ‘hopes to inspire a mass movement for fundamental cultural change’.  Now, I doubt there’s many people who’d say they didn’t want to increase their happiness, so they might be on to a winner there!  But how does it work?  Does it work?  As a starter, to help us ordinary, happiness-seeking people become happier, Action for Happiness have put together a set of ten ‘keys to happier living’.

I thought it’d be interesting to get a sort of second opinion on these principles – in this case, from the Bible.  A lot of these principles could be seen as tracing their roots back to the Bible – but I think there are also notes of caution there for each one.  Anyway, have a look and see what you think.

Happiness principle The Bible agrees! But also cautions…
Giving (do things for others) ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ – Leviticus 19, Matthew 22 

‘in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others’ – Philippians 2 (ESV)

 ‘When you do good deeds, don’t try to show off. If you do, you won’t get a reward from your Father in heaven.When you give to the poor, don’t blow a loud horn. That’s what show-offs do in the meeting places and on the street corners, because they are always looking for praise. I can assure you that they already have their reward.’ – Matthew 6 (CEV)
Relating (connect with people) ‘Honour everyone’ – 1 Peter 2 (ESV) 

‘Don’t get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don’t give up. We should help people whenever we can’ – Galatians 6 (CEV)

 ‘My friends, you were chosen to be free. So don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve each other with love. All that the Law says can be summed up in the command to love others as much as you love yourself. But if you keep attacking each other like wild animals, you had better watch out or you will destroy yourselves.’ – Galatians 5 (CEV)
Exercising (take care of your body) ‘Bodily training is of some value…’ – 1 Timothy 4 (ESV) ‘…[but] godliness is of value in every way’ – 1 Timothy 4 (ESV)
Appreciating (notice the world around) ‘Consider the ravens… consider the lilies, how they grow’ – Luke 12 (ESV)

‘The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge’ – Psalm 19 (ESV)

‘Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.’ – Romans 1 (ESV)
Trying out (keep learning new things) ‘Let instruction and knowledge
mean more to you
than silver
or the finest gold.
Wisdom is worth much more
than precious jewels
or anything else you desire’ – Proverbs 8 (CEV) 		‘”All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.’ –
1 Corinthians 10 (ESV)

‘For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.’ – Psalm 84 (ESV)

OK, this is getting long, so I’ll do the remaining five tomorrow!

Meanwhile, this whole happiness agenda puts me in mind of Jesus’  statement in John 10: ‘I came so that everyone would have life, and have it to the fullest’ (John 10.10, CEV).  At first, it’s easy to think those are essentially the same thing – but, I wonder, is there a difference between ‘increased happiness’ and ‘life to the full’?’

What might Manchester United’s Javier Hernandez (Chicharito) be praying?

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If you follow the Premier League, you’ll almost certainly be aware of Manchester United’s Javier Hernandez (or Chicharito to his friends – and kit man). And you’ll almost certainly know at least these two things about him:

  1. He has a remarkable eye for goal (17 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions so far)
  2. He goes through a very visible ritual at the start of every game: kneeling on the halfway line, hands out in front of him, head tilted slightly up – praying.

Hernandez is very openly a committed Christian; as he explained in an interview with the Mirror, “I always pray on the pitch before a game. It is an important routine for me but it is not superstition”.

He goes on to say “I like to pray. I talk to God and I tell him to take care of the health of both teams because the worse thing for a sportsman are injuries and there are a lot of accidents on the pitch that nobody wants.

“I like to ask God to take care of me, because he gave me the opportunity to play.”

As a Christian, Hernandez is following in the Biblical tradition of individuals praying directly and talking to God – so here are some prayers from the Bible that might be informing his thinking or language (though I guess he prays in Spanish?):

Jabez prays for protection: ‘One day he prayed to Israel’s God, “Please bless me… Be with me so I will be safe from harm.”‘ (1 Chronicles 4.10, CEV)

And another prayer for protection, and also that people would recognise God: ‘But you are our LORD and our God! We ask you to keep us safe from the Assyrian king. Then everyone in every kingdom on earth will know that you are the only God.’ (2 Kings 19.19, CEV)

David prays for comfort: ‘I pray to you, LORD. I beg for mercy. I tell you all of my worries and my troubles, and whenever I feel low, you are there to guide me.’ (Psalm 142.1-3, CEV)

Nehemiah prays for success in what he sees as his God-given mission: ‘Our LORD, I am praying for your servants–those you rescued by your great strength and mighty power. Please answer my prayer and the prayer of your other servants who gladly honor your name. When I serve the king his wine today, make him pleased with me and have him do what I ask.’ (Nehemiah 1.10-11, CEV)

I guess the other question is: does it work?  What do you think?  (I suppose I’d just say: it depends what you define as your success criteria… :p )

Dear blank, please blank

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Simple idea, beautifully realised: http://www.fubiz.net/2011/03/30/dear-blank-please-blank/

Example:

‘Dear Fork,

I understand that we haven’t spoken since I ran away with dish, but I thought you should know that you have a son. His name is spork.  He has your hair.

Sincerely,

Spoon’

Of course, I also like this one:

‘Dear Mary,

Just admit that you slept with someone else.  This is getting out of hand.

Sincerely,

Joseph’

More on the backstory of that one (just in case you weren’t sure where to look) at Luke 1.26-38

God’s #100factsaboutme

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Another day, another hashtag; this time, the thing sending my real time TweetDeck search thing nuts is ‘#100factsaboutme‘.  You guessed it, people are writing facts about themselves (who said Twitter was egocentric?).  Like last time, this got me wondering about what a Biblical take on the hashtag might be.

The Bible often claims to report God speaking about himself – like in the book of Isaiah, where we read ‘I am the LORD All-Powerful, the first and the last, the one and only God. Israel, I have rescued you! I am your King. Can anyone compare with me? If so, let them speak up and tell me now’ (Isaiah 44.6-7, CEV) or when Jesus says to his disciples ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the Father’ (John 14.9, ESV).

So could there be some Bible bits that could be God’s ‘#100factsaboutme’ tweets?  How about these?

‘I AM WHO I AM’ (Exodus 3.14, ESV)

‘I the LORD love justice; I hate robbery and wrong’ (Isaiah 61.8, ESV)

‘When the ocean was born, I set its boundaries’ (Job 38.8, CEV)

‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven’ (Luke 10.18, ESV)

‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst’ (John 6.35, ESV)

‘I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’ (Jeremiah 31.33, ESV)

What else might you find if you read the Bible looking for #100factsaboutgod ?

#threewordstoliveby

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This hashtag has been trending worldwide on Twitter all day today and it really is as simple as it seems: just tweet three words to live by.  It looks like it was started by @mariashriver (see http://twitter.com/mariashriver/status/48065264583065600 ) and has inspired contributions from the sublime to the ridiculous and everything in between.

The Bible sets itself up as being full of all kinds of ‘wisdom’ by which to live your life – see stuff like Proverbs 2 – ‘My child, you must follow and treasure my teachings and my instructions’ (CEV); Psalm 119 – ‘Young people can live a clean life by obeying your word. I worship you with all my heart. Don’t let me walk away from your commands’ (CEV) or 1 Timothy 4 – ‘godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance’ (ESV).  So what might be some Biblical #threewordstoliveby ?  How about some of these?

faith, hope, love

(1 Corinthians 13.13)

love your neighbour

(Mark 12.31)

do not murder

(Exodus 20.13)

ask, seek, knock

(Matthew 7.7)

God is love

(1 John 4.16)

Of course, if you just pick verses at random, you can end up with all sorts of stuff – like, erm:

don’t eat camels

(Leviticus 11)

make five crossbars

(Exodus 26)

bake with poo

(Ezekiel 4)

everything is meaningless

(Ecclesiastes 1)

What do you think?  And if you find any more that you like, lemme know!

Cheryl Cole – ‘Promise This’ lyrics and the Bible (short version)

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Did you know that ‘Promise This’ uses loads of phrases from the Bible? The song’s obviously about a guy and it looks like he’s so important to Cheryl that she wants to put their relationship on a scale of biblical proportions, literally…

 

‘Promise This’ – lyrics

Alouette uette uette
Alouette uette uette
Alouette uette uette
Déployer l’aile

In my beginning, there was nothing – so empty in the space between,
And you came in, turned the lights on and created what it’s came to be.

That’d be Genesis 1.1-3, then (the start of the Bible’s creation story – so, y’know, only a small thing to compare your relationship to)…

Before I pluck your wings, cover me, please, spread your wings, cover me, and

This idea of ‘sheltering under your wings’ is a common one in the Bible, used to describe God’s gentle, protective love for his people: Ruth 2.11-12, Psalm 17.8, Psalm 36.7, Matthew 23.37

Promise this: if I die before I wake, oh,
Promise this: take a time to say your grace,
On your knees you pray for me;
Promise this: be the last to kiss my lips.

Alouette uette uette
etc

Though I’m walking through the shadows, you are with me and you comfort me,
Lay me down now, time for sleeping – but, before that, would you rest on me

And that’d be pretty much a straight lift from Psalm 23

Before I pluck your wings, cover me, please, spread your wings cover me and

Promise this: if I die before I wake oh
Promise this: take a time to say your grace,
On your knees you pray for me;
Promise this: be the last to kiss my lips

Alouette uette uette
etc

By a thread we’re hanging on
In the hope you don’t let go.
If you ever leave me,
No, I wanna go with you

These bits sound a lot like conversations between Jesus and his disciples: first, Jesus’ promise to never let go of or leave people who follow him (John 10.27-28, Matthew 28.19-20, and then the disciples’ commitment to follow/go with him (John 6.67-69).


Promise this: if I die before I wake, oh,
Promise this: take a time to say your grace,
On your knees you pray for me;
Promise this: be the last to kiss my lips

This one’s interesting; obviously, there’s lots of ‘Bible-esque’ bits in there (grace, praying, er, dying :s) and ‘if I die before I wake’ comes from an old prayer but I think the whole chorus sounds a bit like the build-up to Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. ‘Take a time to say your grace/ on your knees you pray’ – Jesus prays on his knees for grace before he goes off to die; ‘be the last to kiss my lips’ – Jesus is finally betrayed by Judas greeting him with a kiss so the soldiers know who to arrest.

Alouette uette uette
etc

Dunno, it all looks pretty deliberate to me. So what do you reckon? Does the song take on a different meaning or dimension if you know it’s riffing on phrases from the Bible? Does it make you read any of these Bible bits differently? Or is everyone still just thinking about Cheryl Cole in her pants?