The cleanest place on earth - outside. The emptiest place - inside. I am pub researching again. It was a productive day for mission work, I got lots accomplished, even without my usual office tools to assist me. Not a bad day of work for being on the road. Now it's people watching time again.
It's a Monday evening and about half the pubs in town are closed. And the one's that are open are about half full. The one I am currently sitting in has exactly eight people in it at the moment including me. 50% men, 50% women, 7 out of 8 are smoking and one is getting his daily fix of second-hand smoke. Europe has not yet experienced North America's phobia about cigarette smoke. Europeans are more reasonable, plus they know that everyone is going to die, and few on their own terms.
Today as I was riding my bike on the pristine bike paths here, enjoying the amazingly clean air, I was trying to reconcile that with the behaviors that I see here in the pubs. Germany is considered one of the most aggressively Green countries in the world. They produce far less garbage per person than any other Country that I have ever visited (30+). You need an engineering degree here just to figure out the complex requirements for garbage separation. The ground is so clean, you could eat off of it. There is no trash, everything works perfect, runs on-time, is done with excellence.
This morning I went into a local eyeglass shop, because I had bent my sunglasses somehow and they were driving me crazy. The guy fixed my glasses for free, and then scolded me because the lens weren't clean! This obsession with clean, Green, and details makes Germany one of the most desirable locations in the world to live. But at a personal level, a spiritual level, you will not find a more bankrupt place.
This great country which has produced the most amazing musicians, and the premiere theologians of the last 500 years, and some of the greatest horrors of history, has no soul any longer. German is like the description Jesus gave the Pharisees in the New Testament, clean on the outside, but full of death on the inside.
But what about me? What is my soul like? Everyone is fretting about the political fallout of one Evangelical leader who sinned. My friends, all our Evangelical leaders sin every day, and that would include me. The pain I feel for this pastor is heart-crushing . . . I cannot imagine what he is going through. But I could go through the same gauntlet were my heart turned inside out for all to see. My family could experience censure and dismissal were my heart and thoughts made public. Frankly I think the same would happen to most of us were we honest, . . . and the rest are lying . . . to us and themselves.
So what is the difference in me and the great country of Germany? Not as much as I would like to think. If I do not keep and maintain a steady focus on God and His holiness, and a firm hand on my sinfulness and uselessness without Christ, then I would only need a day or two to become just like Deutschland.
It's a Monday evening and about half the pubs in town are closed. And the one's that are open are about half full. The one I am currently sitting in has exactly eight people in it at the moment including me. 50% men, 50% women, 7 out of 8 are smoking and one is getting his daily fix of second-hand smoke. Europe has not yet experienced North America's phobia about cigarette smoke. Europeans are more reasonable, plus they know that everyone is going to die, and few on their own terms.
Today as I was riding my bike on the pristine bike paths here, enjoying the amazingly clean air, I was trying to reconcile that with the behaviors that I see here in the pubs. Germany is considered one of the most aggressively Green countries in the world. They produce far less garbage per person than any other Country that I have ever visited (30+). You need an engineering degree here just to figure out the complex requirements for garbage separation. The ground is so clean, you could eat off of it. There is no trash, everything works perfect, runs on-time, is done with excellence.
This morning I went into a local eyeglass shop, because I had bent my sunglasses somehow and they were driving me crazy. The guy fixed my glasses for free, and then scolded me because the lens weren't clean! This obsession with clean, Green, and details makes Germany one of the most desirable locations in the world to live. But at a personal level, a spiritual level, you will not find a more bankrupt place.
This great country which has produced the most amazing musicians, and the premiere theologians of the last 500 years, and some of the greatest horrors of history, has no soul any longer. German is like the description Jesus gave the Pharisees in the New Testament, clean on the outside, but full of death on the inside.
But what about me? What is my soul like? Everyone is fretting about the political fallout of one Evangelical leader who sinned. My friends, all our Evangelical leaders sin every day, and that would include me. The pain I feel for this pastor is heart-crushing . . . I cannot imagine what he is going through. But I could go through the same gauntlet were my heart turned inside out for all to see. My family could experience censure and dismissal were my heart and thoughts made public. Frankly I think the same would happen to most of us were we honest, . . . and the rest are lying . . . to us and themselves.
So what is the difference in me and the great country of Germany? Not as much as I would like to think. If I do not keep and maintain a steady focus on God and His holiness, and a firm hand on my sinfulness and uselessness without Christ, then I would only need a day or two to become just like Deutschland.
2 comments:
David,
It's funny - Renee' told me the same thing about Germany. We now try to find imported German Cleaning products while looking for such things here in Mongolia. On a more serious note, I really appreciate your take and insight on the "fallen evangelical leader" issue. It's all served as a reminder of my own heart and the traitor (read another potentially disgraced evangelical leader, albeit not on the same publicity scale) that lies within. We all need the daily cross with daily grace and daily nearness to our God.
Thanks for the well written reminder.
Bernie
Excellent post. You paint a vivid picture. Thanks for reminder.
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