A Peaceful Fourth

A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Fortunately, God’s peace does not depend on the US government. Unfortunately, in the short term, world peace probably does.

B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Sometimes I feel so old. Not so much physically as emotionally. I feel tired of human ignorance, human cruelty, human depravity, human selfishness, human violence, human stubbornness. Tired of sin, I suppose. It’s not so much that I feel we need repentance and forgiveness, although they would help no doubt. More, though, that we need to be awakened to the waste of our ways, the misuse of our lives, the squandering of the marvelous gift you bestow upon us when we take our first breath.
So, tired and old though I may feel at times, I remain immeasurably and eternally grateful that you allow me the privilege of experiencing life.
Amen

C. Unquoting Jesus:
“Be all you can be – join the insurgency against Rome.”
[Nope, He wasn't that kind of revolutionary]

D. Blog: Unpatriotic at McDonald's?
You Call This Efficient??

I know our nation receives kudos for our efficiency, but sometimes I wonder…

At McDonald’s, for instance. High efficiency fast food, right? Food preparation and delivery like an assembly line, right?

Have you ever noticed, though, the line-up of cars in the “drive-through” lane? It never ceases to amaze me that efficient Americans will wait 20 minutes creeping through that line, when they could walk inside and get their food in less than five minutes.

Is that too fast for their taste, I wonder? Or are there other options on the menu of explanations?

- Don’t want to put on shoes and/or shirt?
- Can’t give up that costly cigarette? (That would be inefficient).
- Afraid their health-conscious friends might recognize them going into McDonald’s?
- Afraid their adult friends will observe them ordering the Scooby-doo kids’ meal?
- Can’t afford to miss a lap of the 400-mile NASCAR race on the radio?
- Hasn’t heard this song since, oh, I don’t know, the third time through the CD since she got in the drive-through lane?
- Afraid they might lose weight by walking – what’s the point of a Big Mac if you walk off the fat just getting it?

I just don’t like the inefficiency of waiting in a drive-through lane to get fast food. It detracts from our national reputation, and I wonder, around our national holiday, whether we should recognize it for what it is: unpatriotic.