The Pandapolis Blog

When I woke up this morning, I heard on the local all-news station that a lot of Christians in the Tampa Bay area are especially cheering on the Rays in the World Series, which begins at Tropicana Field tonight, because the team dropped “Devil” from their name during the off-season, from the Devil Rays to simply the Rays. One local pastor was quoted as saying, I suppose with a chuckle, that the team’s miraculous turnaround is God’s reward to them for getting rid of the pitchfork. And churches with midweek services may see low attendance tonight because of the Series.

As an evangelical Christian myself, I chuckle myself that some of my fellow believers can be so wierded out by any reference to the word “devil” that they avoid things like sports teams like the plague. The fear factor surrounding the Devil Rays name may have played into the negative image the team named as a reason for dumping the devil. The Devil Ray name was originally picked to give a fearsome image like that of a stingray. The real devil ray, however, is supposedly harmless.

If nothing else, I think the real Satan has belly laughs that he still puts fear into those he’s forever lost to Jesus. While the devil is real and has great power, we in the church tend to attribute more power to him than he really has. We must remember that Satan is the mother of all losers. He was defeated by Jesus at the cross, not the other way around as the prosperity preachers on TV falsely teach. He is going down, and even though he’s still trying to bring down as many people as possible with him simply to spite God, he’s still going down.

The apostle Paul wrote about those in the faith whose consciences were bothered by food that were dedicated or offered to idols, as often was the case in Roman times where meat sacrificed to the gods would end up sold in the marketplace and on the dinner table. He said that those strong in the faith–those who realized that such paganry was false and had no power over the follower of Christ–should not egg on their weaker brethren (no pun intended) by eating such foods in their presence. To do so would be sin because it was not done in love, but rather out of arrogance and pride. Instead, we are to be sensitive to their consciences and not discourage their faith by our actions.

This goes even to Christians concerned about sports teams with devilish nicknames, as well as some of our Adventist friends who are committed vegeterians for religious or health reasons, or other believers who don’t drink, smoke, or use chaw because their bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and must be taken care of. I remember a big sigh of relief some members of my church in Orange, CA gave back in 1996 when the Postal Service changed our local ZIP code from “92666″ to “92866″, but didn’t make fun of them over it.

Thus, I won’t berate those in Tampa Bay who never supported the Rays until this season because of their name. In this election season, there are far more important things to get worked up about… like whether or not Manny Ramirez will vote to stay with the Dodgers next season. I’m just glad the Manny-Man was traded from Boston.

On October 22, In-N-Out Burger will celebrate its 60th anniversary. On that date in 1948, Harry and Esther Snyder opened a roadside drive-thru hamburger stand on Francisquito Avenue in Baldwin Park, the first of its kind in the restaurant industry. In-N-Out is now a popular Southern California institution.

Emails have been forwarded and multiplied that as part of the celebration, all In-N-Outs will reduce its prices to 25 cents for hamburgers, 15 cents for fries and 10 cents for sodas on its birthday, for one day only.

Too bad the discount is a lie.

According to rumor-buster Rich Buhler at Truth or Fiction.com, this was an e-rumor that spread across the web like the great smell of an In-N-Out hamburger patty on the grill. In-N-Out president Mark Taylor says that while the chain works hard to keep the prices of its wildly popular burgers and fries low, it does so in part by not engaging in discount promotions, and that includes not doing wild ideas like rolling back to 1960’s proces for its 60th anniversary. He even went so far as to post a press release about the rumor at the company website. And to add insult to injury, a local paper, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, reported the embarrassing story.

It fooled one of my supervisors at work, and she was disappointed to find out it was a hoax. It really hurts because In-N-Out is just across the street from our office.

This is just yet another example of how quick it is to start a rumor on the internet and spread it around the planet many times over before it’s finally squelched, usually when it’s too late. Whether its cyberbullies, pranksters, gossip sites or even overzealous fanboys excited about the latest comic book superhero to make it to the big screen, once something is posted on the web, it could take on an out-of-control life of its own that the creator never intended, kinda like Frankenstein, unless nobody ever reads it.

Kinda like this blog.

What an intriguing title. The subtitle could be “Or… What Drugs is He Taking, and Gimme a Double Dose of It Now!”

The stock market is crashing, the global economy has tanked, everybody’s net worth has evaporated by half, and unbridled anxiety is ruling the financial world. At its core, the faltering of subprime mortgages has triggered all that is going on around us.

And yet I am relatively calm. What am I, nuts?

I work a temporary full-time job, I was on unemployment insurance for most of 2008 prior to getting the job, my bank account isn’t anything to brag about, I’m struggling to make ends meet just like everybody else on Main Street, and I rent a room rather than have an entire house of my own.

But I am content. Really, am I nuts?

Maybe. Nuts over contentment and living below my means, perhaps?

Two years ago, I began following the Crown Money Map, a financial recovery and development plan from Crown Financial Ministries, a Christian organization helping people in the church be better stewards of their money and investments. Rather than telling people to send them money so they can pray for a miraculous financial breakthrough, Crown gives practical advice on handling money based on Bible passages and teachings about money. And yes, the Good Book has a lot to say about your Piggy Bank.

One of the first steps on the Money Map is to immediately save $1000 for an emergency fund, then build that up to cover one month’s worth of living expenses, then up to three months. Another step is to pay off your credit card debt as quickly as possible, or other debts such as overdue bills. Very practical stuff.

By following those steps, I’ve made it through most of this year all right, even with the present situation on Wall Street. I’ve paid back many overdue bills, am keeping up on my college loans, and am renting a room in a really nice neighborhood. And most of this was paid off with my unemployment checks–really!

If you don’t believe me, I don’t blame you. Follow the Crown Financial Minstries link to find out for yourself how the Money Map works.

Another reason for my serenity is that like the apostle Paul, I have learned to be content with what little or much I have. Yes, it would be nice to have a car again, a permanent job, to have more money in the bank, or a nicer computer with more memory. But in the big picture, it’s all stuff. And stuff is expendable. I am grateful for the greater things in life–good friends, loving family, doing work (paid and volunteer) that I love, the natural beauty of the surrounding hills and creeks in my neighborhood, and most importantly, that there is a God who cares for me and has sustained me with not always what I want, but what I need.

And most of all, He’s given me the one most important thing of all… eternal life through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

I brought nothing into this world, and I won’t take any of it with me when I leave it. Besides, I keep losing it. It’s all stuff, anyway. What I keep is something far more valuable, and eternal.

So what about you? Is your identity found in your “stuff”? If so, it might all evaporate or wipe out in the coming weeks or months. Consider finding your worth not in what you have or what you do, but who you are and how you live. Better yet, find your true worth in the One who says you are worth more than all the gold on earth, the One who died so that you would not perish with stuff.

This is the first post of the all-new, redesigned, brand-spankin’ new Pandapolis Blog, now powered by WordPress. Engaging in this superflous wordsmithing is much more efficaceous, verbose and downright fun than simply saying the generic “Hello world!” often seen in web programming tutorials, which this is not.

Hello world!

More to follow as this blog rolls onward here at Pandapolis.