God and Small Talk

A few years ago I started putting a question into conversations with friends who I knew were Christians. I was interested in both their response and their answers. The question was, “So how are things between you and God?” or, if they didn’t understand this, I would add “What has God done for you lately?”

I ask people this question for two reasons. First, I am passionate about God, and since I know I get excited by what He does in my own life, I know I would get equally excited by the things He is doing in my friend’s lives. It’s like being nosey, but in a good way. The second reason is to make a point, and hopefully to help some Christians to try and fight what I am trying to fight- the unspoken taboo that is our relationships with God.

Security vs. Value

Refunds, guarantees, warranty insurance and money back. Our culture, and our location in history, offers a sudden wealth of ways in which consumers can pay for something with money, and then get the money back again. This transaction in trade is so accepted and common now that many people try to deliberately flaunt these options on a daily basis with the aim of getting something for nothing.

But does the result of never paying for something diminish its value? I think that at least in our minds it does. If you buy something and are promised a refund if you aren’t happy with it, then you are less likely to care if it works because if it doesn’t you know you will take your refund and have lost nothing. But if you buy something and are told it is non-returnable, if you are told that you have bought it and therefore have to live with it, you will probably try to take better care. You will be more wary how you use it, and by comparison to the disposable item that you returned, your increased attention could be seen as a type of increased value.

Cities vs. Towns

Jenny and I weren't able to do a house hunt prior to marriage until we had done a town hunt. We both graduated from our universities at the same time, and had the option to pick any place in UK to start married life. Out of the two locations we narrowed our choices down to, a distinct difference was that one felt like a town and the other felt like a city.