On Religion

I just read a blog suggesting religion is not necessary, and that compassion stands on its own without religion (I believe the latter idea is true to an extent). For some reason I have a hard time not commenting on posts about religion. And I end up writing really long comments - sometimes longer than the original blog post. Here's an example that I wrote this morning:

I guess some people just want to be religious. But more than that, many of us want to understand the underlying reasons why we're here, who we are, what we should be doing, and where we're going. Certainly, each person can decide these things for himself, but only in the subjective way you indicate. On the other hand, if there really is a God who sent us here -- a being who knows absolute truth and is willing to impart of that truth -- then the search for religion is not futile, and the truth that is found is not subjective.

But that's obvious. The difficult part is knowing whether there is a God, and whether He has imparted any truths to man. If He has, how can we identify His truths from everything else out there? Certainly not all religions can be absolutely correct since they teach some contradicting doctrines.

Interestingly, though, most of them teach compassion, which, as you indicated, seems to stand alone as a relatively obvious principle that usually results in win-win situations. Most of them teach honesty, obedience, repentance, faith, etc. Some of these principles seem to stand on their own, such as honesty and repentance (the definition that implies changing for the better), but others (read obedience) require a higher moral authority than our subjective selves. And those who recognize this, cannot be satisfied until they find that higher authority upon which they can base their goals and aspirations.

Can meaning be found in life without knowledge of, or faith in, God? I think you hit the nail on the head by recognizing that human relationships are almost universally recognized as meaningful, with or without a religious perspective.

But having an almost certain faith in God (not knowledge, but a strong belief based on experiences and feelings as powerful as any I've had) has helped me understand "the meaning of life," order my priorities, have more compassion for others, refrain from doing things that might hurt myself or others, etc. It has brought a world of good to my life.

There's no stopping people from twisting religion and using others' blind faith for selfish ends. But they would find a way to do this without religion as well (political reasons abound).

It's easy to decide that religion is man-made. It helps us justify doing whatever we want since there is no higher moral authority than our own, and, consequently, we get to decide what constitutes living a good life.

But if there is a God, it's worth it to find and understand His plan for us. Not [just] to avoid Hell, but to achieve greater happiness and fulfillment in this life for us, our family, and neighbors (everyone). At least that's how it has been for me.

Fire Ants

Today I learned that one of my friends from church almost died after being bitten by a couple of fire ants. Apparently, he's allergic to their bite, and after being bitten twice on the neck, he had just enough time to warn his client (he's a real estate agent, and he was showing a house to a client) to call 911 before my friend passed out. By the time the ambulance arrived, his outer extremities had no pulse (due to swelling, I believe) even though his heart was still beating. They got him to the emergency room and he recovered, but it was certainly a scary experience. That said, the client really liked the house, has been through a second time, and may make an offer.

I dislike fire ants. I'm not allergic to their bite, but it still hurts. My feelings, especially. What have I ever done to you, fire ants, to make you bite me? Don't you realize that biting me makes me want to kill you? And though your numbers are great, and your staying power is impressive, I assure you that you'll never win the war, let alone any single battle. Bite me once and I'll be certain to dust your whole anthill. Please don't tell me you're still mad about the lawn mower incident(s). If you'd make your little anthills behind the shed instead of in the middle of the lawn, I wouldn't have to run right over your hill, and sometimes let the lawn mower just sit there above you, wondering if it affects your whole colony or just the outer surface.

Honestly, I think of myself as a pretty nice guy. I allowed that orange cat last year to take shelter in the little space under our shed. I eventually refrained from shooting birds with my BB gun. I catch moths in my open palms, take them outside, and let them go. And I will usually pet a dog at least once before washing my hands and being done with petting for the night (when we visit homes with dogs, that is).

But fire ants, my little friends-gone-enemies, you bring upon yourselves the wrath of Bart, something very few manage to accomplish. And though I wish we could just get along, I somehow doubt you'll stop biting when the opportunity presents itself. And, consequently, I'll always have a good reason to experiment with the lawn mower.

May 15th

In early February I decided to go back to school for a master's degree in accounting. In every way, the MPA program at the University of Texas (UT) was what I was looking for, and when I met with the director, the staff, and the students, I came away thinking it was the perfect program for me. I applied and was accepted, and everything seemed to be going my way.

Then one night, I couldn't get the thought out of my head that I should apply for the UT MBA program as well. I tried to push the temptation out of my head since I felt so good about the MPA and I hadn't been very impressed when I'd visited the MBA program office and met with current students. But I finally decided it couldn't hurt to apply to keep that option open in case I decided the MBA really was the route to go, and I submitted my application a few days before the third and final deadline for Fall 2008.

It's difficult to estimate what my chances were of getting into the MBA program. My undergraduate GPA and GMAT test scores were quite strong. I also interviewed well and wrote what I think were some pretty good essays. But I only had a couple of years of "post-graduate" work experience (top business schools are currently looking for candidates with an average of 60 months full-time, post-graduate work experience), UT had recently downsized their MBA class from the 800 range to the 250 range, and there was a huge surge in applications this year (presumably due to the recessionary market we've been having).

Still, when I read today that I had been denied acceptance, I was floored. You see, as I've explained in the past, I've never been accustomed to not "getting in." It's a newer thing to me, mostly because I'm pushing the boundaries more than I have in the past. I used to be less likely to try for something I didn't think I'd get purely because I didn't want to ever fail or be denied. But my perspective has changed to the point that I'm willing to try for things on the off-chance that I'll obtain them. I've come to realize that no failure means you're not stretching yourself enough.

Interestingly, I'm not broken up about this at all. The MPA, by itself, will launch me onto a direct path leading to the fulfillment of my long-term career goals. The MBA would have cost more and taken twice as long. And as lazy as this sounds, it's kind of nice to have had the decision between the programs made for me. If I really think the MBA is necessary in the future, I'll be in a much better situation to apply since I won't be limited geographically (Didn't want to uproot our family while Janssen's in the middle of her master's program), I'll have more work experience, and I'll have a much clearer career path set out before me.

That said, my current plan is to really make the most of UT's awesome MPA program, get my CPA, and become an expert in accounting and corporate finance. We're celebrating this weekend the fact that we finally know which direction I'm going. We're also celebrating something for Janssen:

On the same day I was denied acceptance to UT's MBA program (today), Janssen received news that she has been chosen for something for which she applied, and it's going to be extremely awesome (I'm sure you'll be able to read about it on Janssen's blog when the time is right).

Advice from Above

I started a new job on Monday. Yesterday, as I discussed the project I'm working on with my manager, he gave me some interesting advice:

---It's not how hard you work, how much you get done, or anything of the sort that gets you places. It's how people perceive you as a person and as a worker. If you're perceived as someone who is easy to get along with and who adds value, doors will open for you. In contrast, even if you work really really hard and completely know what you're talking about, if people don't know you, like you, or perceive you to be a great addition to the team, you're unlikely to get very far.---

[Disclaimer: This manager is a hard worker and makes huge efforts to get things done. He doesn't care how people perceive him at this point in his career. But he wanted to point this out to me nonetheless. I asked him if I had done something to prompt him to give this advice and he explained that he just wished someone had given him similar advice when he was starting out.]

I think he's right. At the end of the day, it's the relationships you have with people - the decision-makers - that really matter. Your integrity matters, your dependability, etc. And all those things effect how others perceive you. I don't think there's a good way to take short-cuts, either. In the long run, it's worth never compromising your morals and work ethic to keep your integrity intact.

Thoughts?

Staring Contest

Have you recently had a staring contest with your significant other? I haven't, but I plan to as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

I noticed a video staring competition online, and it reminded me of a date I went on in high school. The girl challenged me to a staring contest, but said we could blink as much as we wanted. We just couldn't look away from each other's eyes (don't ask me - she made the rules).

We must have sat there for twenty or thirty minutes - smiling, talking, laughing, doing things to make the other person look away - until finally I had to throw the competition in order to get her home by curfew.

It was a fun time, and I'm excited to challenge Janssen!

The Tollway Truth

I took the tollway to and from work today, friends. TO and FROM! That's over $2.00 of TXTag tolls.

But it was oh so very nice (trying to emphasize that sentence with exclamation points, bold lettering, caps, or italics doesn't do it justice. Instead, imagine soaring along the spacious road, bypassing intersections, turns, and slow traffic, to arrive at your destination ten or fifteen minutes before you'd otherwise have arrived).

I told Janssen this evening that I may be willing to use $40 of my $50 allowance each month to use the tollways. Considering today's experience in comparison to my mood in heavy traffic, she might just be willing to split the bill.

Favorites

Is it wrong to have favorites?

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking it depends on what I'm classifying, because there can't really be anything wrong with favorite colors or fruits or cars, right?

I agree. But what about people? Because to be completely honest, I just about ALWAYS have favorite scouts in my scout group, favorite sunbeams (though I have to admit they're all favorites, just in different ways), favorite nursery kids (ditto to my last parenthetical comment), favorite seminary students, favorite friends (if you've ever offered me chocolate desserts, you're on this list), favorite general authorities [guilty shrug], and favorite bloggers (of course that's you, dear blogger friend).

Can't I see everyone as favorites? Some people are like chocolate cake, and others are like lemon squares. They're both favorites, just in different ways and at different times. The question is whether it's really okay to think of some people as onions. They're fine (and even a great addition) when cooked and mixed into a good stew, but difficult to stomach raw and alone.

Most parents tell me they don't have favorite children - that they love them all the same. I really hope that's the case when we have children. That'd be killer to always feel guilty for preferring one over another. So I think we'll just play it safe and make sure all of our children are Roy’s Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflés.