Artificial

AUG 22 - AUG 28 2010 — ARTIFICIAL — ISSUE 168

As August wraps up, so too does our fun in the sun. The days are growing shorter and our opportunities to get outside and enjoy warmer weather provided by the sun is slipping away like a sock sneaking out of the laundry. Oh, that wonderful sun, which provides many benefits such as Vitamin D for fighting off cancers and other health issues, causing photosynthesis in plants so we can breath and not be left sucking wind every time we chase the Ice Cream truck down the street on one of those hotter summer days, allowing autotrophs to produce crops, giving us food (directly or for us meat lovers — and I don't mean pizza —  from animals that consume those plants) and warming the entire earth so we're not stuck wearing ugly Xmas sweaters every day in a bizarre, never-ending winter.

This means we'll be spending more time inside, under those good 'ol 60watt (or 13watt for you energy savers) light bulbs. Their benefits include being able to see at any time of day in any room of the house, helping you to not stub your toe during late-night raids on the fridge, and giving you ample light to look presentable before someone tells you those are navy pants, not black, and you're now a fashion disaster. Obviously artificial lights are helpful, but they can never do what the sun can. So, even though a long day in the sun can be rough, staying exclusively under artificial lights will only lead to dire results and that happiness brought will be short-lived.

JOHN 3:19

If you've ever taken a good, long look at yourself, or spent time with the human race, you know how true this scripture can ring. Many times in life we are drawn to do wrong, and we feel so bad about it we try to hide it, pretend it didn't happen, brush it off, or just never talk it about again once it's been exposed.

Sometimes I wonder if our lives aren't a lot like the differences between daylight and lamplight. We like to do bad things, but we don't like the guilt and shame that comes with them, so we convince ourselves in our minds we didn't do anything that bad through justifying our actions, seek to surround ourselves with others who do similar things so we're not alone in our deeds, or compare ourselves to others we view as worse, all so we can still feel like we're in the light, even though we know deep down we are not. No matter how much time we spend under even the highest watt light bulbs, and no matter how earth-friendly they are, they will never provide the life-sustaining energy we need from the sun.

But some would protest this, saying that too much sunlight is bad. It gives us yucky wrinkles (juvenile word used on purpose) and can even lead to skin cancer. If you've ever looked into that argument you'll see it's not nearly as straight forward as you would think, and usually it results from, amongst many other things, misuse of sunlight, not over exposure. Under exposure on the other hand, leads directly to far more issues, and the complete absence of sun has obvious and usually tragic effects, facts no one can deny and all too many real-life scenarios confirm.

In our walks with God, we cannot let ourselves be lured into artificial forms of Christianity, into weak, diluted relationships with our Creator, or into lives so numb to the reality of sin we can't even see or feel its tragic effects. We can't let the sometimes tough process of learning how to handle God's Word appropriately, the battles it takes to have real, honest and deep relationships, the endurance we must have to be humble in all circumstances no matter the injustice, and the effort it takes to stay positive in a negative world prevent us from spending time in the real Light.

So go ahead, spend some time in the Son today. I promise you'll feel better.

JOHN 3:20-21

Brett "Before rising in the morning, the sun has to put on Chuck Norris Screen" Hibbler