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Manhood & Rudyard Kipling’s Poem “If”

Every time I recite Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If,” I feel inspired and encouraged to work and keep going forward. Many people feel the same. It is a widely praised, quoted, and printed poem.

I was so inspired by it that I decided that I would try and do a “Bible” study on the poem in our church. No, I don’t think the poem is part of the Bible. Rather, I thought it would be worth considering what Kipling is saying and seeing how it fits into the Bible’s picture of manhood.

Here’s how we did it. We would take a line or two from the poem and ask four questions:

  • What is Kipling saying?
  • Is it biblical?
  • What would it look like to implement it in our lives?
  • How does the Gospel empower us to move toward the ideal in the poem?

It all turned out quite well. We had a lot of good discussion about what it meant for us to live as men of God in this world.

Here’s a few things we discovered.

There are many parallels to Ecclesiastes and particularly Ecclesiastes 7 in the poem. For example:

  • The caution against anger (7:9)
  • Not getting stuck longing for the past (7:10)
  • Accepting conditions as they are without judging them (7:13)
  • Accepting good days as well as bad days with equanimity (7:14)
  • Not being too righteous (7:16)
  • Not getting upset by slander or what people say (7:21-22)

We learned something about the power of poetry. You can say, for example, “use your time well,” but it’s much more powerful to say, “if you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run . . .” Writing a poem of moral imperative is difficult, but Kipling makes it work by his continual use of the word “if.”

The poem challenged us to work through the things of the past and keep pressing forward to the future. This is in line with what the Apostle Paul said, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward” (Phil. 3:13-14).

The poem encouraged us not to get bogged down with the wrongs people do to us and to keep loving and honoring people no matter what. In other words, pay attention to your duty toward others rather than fretting over how they respond. We found this aspect of the poem in line with Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere.

While we did not reject outright any of the “ifs” of the poem, we did have questions about some of the statements and how they might be taken. For example, is it good to make one heap of all your winnings and risk it on one turn of pitch and toss, and is Kipling advocating this? Is the idea of neither foes nor loving friends hurting you consistent with the Bible’s view of grief? Would the idea of filling the “unforgiving minute” with “running” lead to frantic lives?

We also considered how the Gospel would encourage us to implement these things. The hope of the future that the Gospel provides can help us to move forward in the face of loss or past hurts. Trust in God’s justice can help us let go of the wrongs that others commit. Trust in God’s strength can empower us to do right in the face of pressure. We found many other encouragements. The Bible continually presents God’s power, promises, and presence when it encourages us to do our duty.

Finally, how does all this help us become “a man”? The promise at the end of the poem is, “you’ll be a man, my son.” The definition of manhood is complicated and controversial. In my view, the male orientation is fundamentally outward. The female is inward or home-oriented. I do not mean this to be an ethical prescription. It is a description of what actually happens. If you take maleness as that outward orientation, then you can see how this poem helps. These prescriptions help you move forward and move outward to do and act in the world in the face of the most common difficulties and entanglements that keep us from doing so. If we can keep ourselves moving forward in the face of loss, failures, enemies, and temptations, then we will really be able to do things that bless ourselves and others and glorify God. More importantly, we will live as we were meant to live. In that sense, we will find satisfaction in simply being “a man, my son.”

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How to Share Your Faith

Me Talking with Students at the Embassy in Pigeon Forge
In their Book Good Faith, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons present statistics that demonstrate that Christians in the U.S. feel very hesitant to share their faith. This fits with my own experience. People are less likely to talk about their faith than ever before. But this does not need to be the case. Here’s why.

Why are people hesitant about sharing their faith? People are hesitant about pushy salespeople, whether they are selling Mormonism or a new car. We’ve all had experiences of salespeople that made us uncomfortable or got us to purchase things we don’t want. We don’t like those experiences, and we don’t want to be that person. It’s easy to think of sharing your faith like that.

Another reason is that we lack examples of good engagement on controversial issues. Most of our experience of engagement on these issues is from Twitter or Facebook. These venues do not encourage us with examples of productive engagement on any issue, let alone religion or politics.

Finally, people lack positive examples. People in the church can experience those who are obnoxious about theological issues or who accept everything in the name of loving people. They may not have experienced someone who can engage with love and respect and yet hold to their convictions with clarity and grace.

I am no expert on this topic, and I am often afraid of talking to people about anything, let alone my faith. I have an aversion to being pushy or high pressure. At the same time, I want to share my faith. My relationship with God is central to my life. I believe that my views on these matters are true, important, and helpful.

So, how do I do it? How do I deal with that tension? For me, the key is “honor and respect.”

This begins by valuing people because they are people. God values people, and I believe that I should, too. If I don’t value people enough to connect with them, then I will have no opportunity to share my faith. On the other side, if I only care about people if they agree with me, then I will not communicate love the way God wants me to.

To me, this means being a good listener. We should take an interest in what people think about life and faith. We can ask them questions: how does God fit into your life? What do you think of religion? How do you make sense of life? How do you find the resources to go forward? Then, we need to listen, really listen, to the answers.

Once someone has shared with us, then we can ask them if we can share our answers to these questions. If they say, “yes” (which they will probably do, if they feel listened to), then we can share the substance of our faith. If they say, “no,” then that’s OK. We have heard someone’s perspective and hopefully learned something.

Miroslav Volf in his book Flourishing noted that the Golden Rule applies to sharing our faith. If we want to share our faith with others, then we should let them share their faith with us.

If we begin this way, then we will find many doors open up for us. The key is to honor and love others and to be ready to listen.

I have had the opportunity to do this over the past couple of years with foreign students who have come to our area to work. I have a natural curiosity about these folks coming to our country. I love to hear about their country. I have also felt free to ask them about their religion and what it means to them. Whenever I have had occasion to share my faith, I have always told them that I would be interested in hearing about theirs. The result has been good. They have ended up asking me many questions about Christianity. I have had some wonderful times of discussion and ample opportunity to share my faith. It always begins with my curiosity and interest in them as human beings and their unique experiences.

We do need to speak to share our faith. However, as the Apostle James admonished us: “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19). This is a way of sharing our faith that honors our faith and the relationship.

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A Quieter Experience of the Smoky Mountains — Maggie Valley, Waynesville, and Lake Junaluska

I love living in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area beneath the Great Smoky Mountains. You can visit Knife Works, Dollywood, the Comedy Barn, Crockett’s Breakfast Camp, and endless others. But when my wife and I want a quieter experience of the Smokies, we travel to North Carolina and visit Maggie Valley, Waynesville, and Lake Junaluska.

If you are looking for a place to take your kids for fun and excitement, Maggie Valley is not the place. But if you are looking for a place to relax and enjoy the culture of the Smokies in a picturesque, quiet setting, Maggie Valley is it.

When I think of the Maggie Valley area, I think of three distinct places: Maggie Valley itself, Waynesville, and Lake Junaluska.

Maggie Valley
Maggie Valley is just that, a beautiful valley situated in the midst of the Smoky Mountains with a crystal clear creek in the midst of it. Highway 19 is the main road through Maggie Valley, and it leads straight up into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

One thing about Maggie Valley is that the hotels are well-kept and clean. We’ve never had a bad experience at any of these hotels, and we’ve stayed at a lot of them. For example, the Clarketon Motel is an older style lodging place, but it has served us well when the other hotels in town were full.

There are a large variety of restaurants including many of the old style Southern, family restaurants that you won’t find in Pigeon Forge. My favorite restaurant is Butts on the Creek, a BBQ joint right on the creek. It’s a little hard to park there when it’s busy, but it’s well worth it. The BBQ is good, but they have one thing I’ve not seen anywhere else: fried corn on the cob. If you get a dish with two sides, get two of these. You won’t regret it. It’s one of the best sides I’ve ever eaten. Add to that the sound of water rushing over the rocks in the background, and you have a real dining experience.

For dessert, head toward Waynesville and stop at the Red Gingham Country Store. The store is nice, but I make the stop because of their reasonably priced Hershey’s ice cream. Hint: order a banana split to get more ice cream at a lesser price!

Lake Junaluska
After you’ve eaten your fill in Maggie Valley, it’s a great time to take the 2.3 mile walk around Lake Junaluska. This is my favorite place in the Smokies. It reminds you of something you might see in the Swiss or Austrian Alps with the alpine lake below you and the mountains all around you.

A large part of the lake is actually the conference grounds of the Western Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. This is apparent throughout your walk around Lake Junaluska (i.e., the Susanna Wesley Gardens).

Besides the lake and the mountains, you will see a large variety of lake houses all around Lake Junaluska. The architecture of these houses is attractive and interesting. They are not your run in the mill modern homes. They are old style houses with unique styles and structures.

Besides the lake houses, you will also find that the whole walkway is well-groomed and filled with plants and flowers. A section of the walkway is a rose walk with roses of numerous types lining the walkway.

The crown jewel of the lake is Memorial Chapel. As you come around the trail and see the chapel, you can almost imagine yourself coming across this scene on some Scottish loch. It has an old world feel. The chapel is usually open and is a great place to pray or meditate.

I recommend that you park near the gift shop. You can get a coffee or snack and sit out on the deck overlooking the lake. Then, you can walk around the lake and experience its numerous sights and views. You also have the option of doing an inexpensive boat tour and learn the history of Lake Junaluska.

Waynesville
Waynesville could be called “little Asheville.” It has the same type of restaurants and stores you would find there. It’s a picturesque downtown is a great place to stroll and shop.

For example, there is the old school Mast General Store. Upstairs is a clothing section. Downstairs you can find a variety of things including a section with the toys that you grew up. Warning: your children may not be as excited about these old-school toys as you are!

In the winter, the downtown is covered with lights and often filled with music. Even at night, Waynesville is a great place to visit, which is unusual for any downtown but especially in a small town. It is a true gathering place.

Of course, like Maggie Valley and Lake Junaluska, you have added to the good things you experience in the place itself, the wonder of the mountains all around. Wherever you walk in Waynesville, glorious scenes of the mountains await you.

Waynesville, Maggie Valley, and Lake Junaluska are some of the best places to enjoy the Smoky Mountains. I can’t wait until the next time my wife and I can get back there.

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Jesus as Logos (the Word)

When the early Christians tried to reflect on the man Jesus, they knew they could not describe Him as a mere man. They believed that this man born of a woman had existed long before He came into the world. At the same time, there were not polytheists. So, how could they think and explain what Jesus was? When John, a close associate and follower of Jesus, thought about it, he found a word ready at hand “logos” or “the word” (used interchangeably in this article).

Logos is a Greek word that was commonly used in the ancient world to describe the principle of existence or most basic form of reality. The Greek word can refer simply to a “word,” but it was also used as a specialized philosophical term. According to D.A. Carson, the Stoics, as one example, “understood logos to be the rational principle by which everything exists, and which is of the essence of the rational human soul. As far as they were concerned, there is no other god than logos . . .” (The Gospel According to John [Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991], 114). This is similar to what other philosophers taught throughout the Mediterranean world.

At the same time, this use of “word” is not alien to the biblical revelation either. Reflecting on the beginning of the world as described in Genesis, we have God speaking the world into existence. His word makes the world. As the Psalmist describes it, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth” (Psalm 33:6).

Another possible reference of logos is found in the wisdom literature of the Bible. In Proverbs 8, wisdom is personified as being present with God at the beginning of the world: “I was there . . . when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was constantly at his side” (Prov. 8:29-30, NIV).

So, this word was in use by Greeks and Jews to describe the basic principle of the world and the means by which creation came into existence. Commentator Albert Barnes concluded based on this: “The term was therefore extensively in use among the Jews and Gentiles before John wrote his Gospel, and it was certain that it would be applied to the Second Person of the Trinity by Christians. whether converted from Judaism or Paganism.”

One thing that is significant about the choice of this term is that John had no problem taking a term used by pagan philosophy to explain who Jesus was. For the many in his day who were familiar with the idea of the logos, the use of this word would have had a rich connotation indeed.

At the same time, John did not feel bound to use the term in the exact way used by the philosophical schools. In his use of the word logos, he went on to explain what he meant by the term.

He said that the logos was with God in the beginning. Lest someone think that the logos was something distinct from God or created by God, he immediately adds, “The Word was God,” or, in the order of the Greek: “God was the Word.”

John emphasized the divine nature of the Word in what He said next. The Word created all things. All things were made by Him, and, without Him, nothing was made that was made. Every created thing is made by the Word.

The Word also did not simply create and then leave the world. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of human beings” (in terminology very familiar to Greek philosophy). He is not only the Creator, He is also the Sustainer of all life.

This is an astonishing claim. What John is saying is that Jesus who came as a human being is the very God of the universe who created all things and sustains all things. Even if a person had not met Jesus as a man, they are aware of Him because He created them and is the source of their life.

For those who did know Jesus as a man, they could take comfort in the fact that He was already at work in all places. Every good thing they encountered in the world was the result of Jesus as Creator and Sustainer of human life. “In Him was life, and that life was the light of human beings.”

The words of John are deep and profound. They challenge believer and unbeliever alike to consider the challenge and wonder of Jesus. When John used the word Logos to describe Jesus, His listeners would have leaned in with curiosity. It can still make us do the same, if we have ears to listen.

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The Utterly Crucial Act of Giving Joyful Thanks to the Father

Why do we get so discouraged? For one, the world is discouraging!

But there are also good things, and we don’t see them in the way that we should. I wrote about this in my post last week that you can see here. In this post, I want to speak about the thing for which we should be most thankful. I want to speak to Christians for a moment about giving thanks to the Father for all that He has done for us in Jesus Christ.

I have studied a lot of theology in my life. I’m glad that I have. However, several years back, the Lord reminded me in a powerful way not to forget the simplicity of the message of good news in Jesus Christ. He called me to remember three things.

  1. Whatever we have done and wherever we’ve been, God offers free forgiveness and eternal blessedness and happiness to all as a free gift, if they will only accept Jesus as their Savior.
  2. If someone has accepted Jesus, however else they may differ from me, they are fundamentally at the same place as me and worthy of my special affection.
  3. If someone has not accepted Jesus, then they are only one act of faith away from fundamentally being at the same place as I am. So, I am not that far from anyone I meet.

So, I started preaching the simple message of the good news of Jesus Christ, the simple Gospel, week after week.

Then, one woman came up to me and said, “I appreciate what you are preaching, but how long are we going to go on with this? What difference does it make? I want help living a better life.”

I thought that was a great question. What difference does the simple Gospel make? I began to think about it.

The conclusion that I came to was that it made a huge difference. To the degree we could see all that we have through a relationship with Jesus, to that degree we could live more joyful and peaceful lives that glorified God in the world.

What do I mean?

  • Sometimes we feel shame, but then we remember that God has qualified us to participate in the kingdom of light.
  • We feel guilty, but we can remember that God has forgiven all our sins!
  • We feel alone, but we can give thanks that God is with us!
  • We feel like we don’t belong, but then we remember that we belong to the people of God.
  • We feel like we can’t get ahead, but then we give thanks to the Father that we have an eternal inheritance far surpassing anything we will ever have on earth.

I realized that this has the power to radically change the way we view and live our lives. The good news about what we have in Jesus is life altering!

That’s why it’s utterly crucial to give thanks. Thanksgiving is seeing the good we have and acknowledging God as the source of it. Joyful thanks blesses and transforms us and gives glory to God. And there is nothing for which we should be more thankful than the good news about what Jesus Christ has done for lost people like you and me.

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