Vicarious Spirituality

July 2007

Paris Hilton said to Barbara Walters after her jail experience: “I have become much more spiritual. God has given me this new chance.” Brad Pitt once affirmed: “I understand the fascination with fame. It is a little frightening: that we are so devoid of spirituality.” The very fact that what is usually a private, personal act took the form of a public announcement [by Hilton] is disconcerting. What are the implications of allowing our lives to be influenced by people we do not know? What are the implications of knowing more about what’s going on in the personal lives of celebrities than we do about our neighbors, co-workers, or worse yet, our own family members? I offer simple rules of disengagement from celebrity culture. Recognize that the vicarious life is not worth living. Realize that every life has intrinsic value. So, turn off the TV. Think of a lonely person, young or old, who could use a visit. Bake some bread and take it to a neighbor. Live your life, instead of being a spectator of someone else’s. – Dick Staub, Religion News Service, July 2007.

Happiness Elusive

June 1, 2007
United Methodist Reporter

The classic definition of happiness – Aristotle, Plato, Solomon, Moses, Jesus, Augustine – is a life well-lived. It’s the art of giving ourselves to something that’s bigger than we are. The definition changed in the late 1700s. Today, happiness means pleasurable satisfaction. If that is your focus, people get depressed. Jesus’ teaching about gaining your life by losing it is really about happiness. You get more happiness if you forget about happiness and try to be a good person. In the self-esteem movement, kids are told to feel good about themselves. Feeling good about yourself should result from a genuine life of virtue and character. The teaching ministry of the church is to move people from where they are to where they should be. – J. P. Moreland, author of The Lost Virtue of Happiness.