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“Keinginan bereksperimen yang mengabaikan tradisi dan sejarah akan mendangkalkan jiwa manusia.”

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“The most dangerous ideas in a society are not the ones being argued, but the ones that are assumed.”

- C. S. Lewis

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1) A vision of God’s incomprehensibility Our limited minds cannot possibly comprehend God exhaustively. God cannot be known by us except as He reveals Himself to us in ��baby-talk”. We must avoid speculation and firmly adhere to that which God has been pleased to reveal to us. “Let a bridle be always set on our thoughts and tongue, so that after having spoken soberly and within the limits of God’s word, our reasoning may at last end in admiration.”

2) A vision of God’s sovereignty Even apart from any consideration of his wretchedness, man is not entitled as of right to demand anything of God, by the sole virtue of his createdness. As Job was “shut up to faith” when he tried to argue against God, so did Paul, who ends his doctrinal writings -- specifically regarding the mysterious doctrine of predestination -- in Romans 11 with an exclamation about the mysterious sovereignty of God. “When, therefore, one asks why God has so done, we must reply: because He has willed it. But if you proceed further to ask why He so willed, you are seeking something greater and higher than God’s will, which cannot be found. Let men’s rashness, then, restrain itself, and not seek what does not exist, lest perhaps it fail to find what does exist. This bridle, I say, will effectively restrain anyone who wants to ponder in reverence the secrets of his God.”

3) A vision of God’s glory When Paul wrote that “for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things” (Rom 11:36), he was continuing the line of thought from the previous verse that we are wholly indebted to God for everything. We are created by Him from nothing, and now we exist through Him. The only fitting response to the fact that we have been created, redeemed, and are continually upheld by God is to live our lives to His glory. Our knowledge of His incomprehensibility and sovereignty may prompt us to question God’s character, “Is He really not a cruel God? After all, we can’t fully comprehend Him, and He might misuse His sovereignty...” Yet since we now know Christ Jesus, who, “though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant”, we can be sure of His glorious goodness, and we can clearly see that from Him blessings and graces spring, so “let us drink our fill from this fountain, and from no other.”

- Summary from a sermon delivered by Derek Thomas on Romans 11:33-36, taken from “Preaching Like Calvin - Sermons from the 500th Anniversary Celebration”, edited by David W. Hall

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A poem by Edward Mote

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

When he shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, then may I in him be found; Dressed in his righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne.

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You have assured me that when you have accomplished all your blessed purposes concerning me, you will bring me home into your inner chambers of light and glory. And I will never leave, but dwell in them, and in the presence of God and the Lamb, forever and ever. Hallelujah!

What a morning that will be, different from every other! Lord, how often do I now awake with thoughts of earth, and sin, and trifles, and vanity? How have I opened my eyes this morning? Was it, dearest Jesus, with thoughts of you?

In that solemn morning there will be no longer dreams, as now, even in our waking hours—for all childish fantasies, shadows, doubts, and fears will be done away.

Precious Lord Jesus! Cause me morning by morning, while upon earth, to awaken with sweet thoughts of you. Let the close of night, and the opening of the day, be with your dear name in my heart, on my thoughts, and on my lips.

And in that everlasting morning, after having dropped asleep in Jesus, and in your arms by faith, may I awake in your embraces, and after your likeness, to be everlastingly and eternally satisfied with you. Amen.

- A prayer by Robert Hawker

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Generasi ini adalah generasi yang enteng.

Mulai dari media elektronik sampai ke media sosial, konten yang enteng membanjir dan mendapat banyak perhatian. Bertahun-tahun, pemuda dunia diisi dan dibentuk oleh konten-konten tersebut. Mungkin mereka sebenarnya bukan orang yang enteng, tapi mereka pun tak terelakkan dari terpapar konten-konten enteng yang meluap tersebut. Apalagi karena “ke-enteng-annya”, mereka sangat mudah menarik perhatian, memberikan kesenangan dengan segera, dan membujuk para pemuda untuk mencari lebih banyak konten-konten serupa.

Saya memikirkan akan hal ini dan saya harus membuat sebuah pembedaan (distinction) yang cukup krusial antara (1) lelucon; dan sebuah keadaan mental (state of mind) yang saya sebut sebagai (2) sikap enteng.

Lelucon, pada dasarnya, adalah salah satu hal yang unik dari bahasa dan percakapan manusia. Lelucon tidak terelakkan akan selalu muncul dalam pembicaraan antar manusia, dan lelucon memiliki beberapa dampak yang positif. Dua hal yang saya pikirkan adalah, kemampuan kita mengerti lelucon menunjukkan betapa unggulnya daya pikir manusia, karena lelucon mengharuskan pendengarnya untuk memikirkan sebuah kalimat atau ide secara lebih dalam, tidak hanya menganggap ide tersebut sebagai serangkaian kata-kata atau sebuah informasi semata, namun ada suatu pesan lain, pesan yang menggelitik, yang tersirat di baliknya (bahkan pesan tersebut dapat memperkuat makna dari ide yang disampaikan). Kedua, seperti yang kita sudah pernah baca dan dengar dari berbagai sumber, lelucon memiliki peran yang penting dalam kesehatan mental seseorang. Jadi, apa yang saya maksud dengan “lelucon” adalah isi/konten pembicaraan yang menggelitik, yang bahkan bisa diucapkan dengan cara yang mempertahankan keseriusan dalam berbicara. Merujuk kepada dua alasan tadi, saya rasa lelucon adalah hal yang baik dan diperlukan, dengan mempertimbangan batasan-batasan tertentu.

Sementara apa yang saya sebut sebagai “sikap enteng” adalah sebuah state of mind yang memiliki dua aspek berbahaya yang mendegradasi: (1) kelengahan dan (2) menganggap ringan/memandang rendah situasi atau seseorang. Inilah yang menjadi tanda dari degradasi mental pemuda pada zaman ini. Pemuda zaman ini senang sekali “bercanda” dan mengungkapkan lelucon yang remeh. Kebiasaan ini sangat berkait erat dengan pembawaan diri berwujud sikap enteng. Bahayanya, pembawaan diri ini tidak hanya nyata ketika “bercanda” dengan sesama mereka, tetapi terbawa bahkan ke dalam setiap momen hidup sehari-hari. Mereka tidak cukup memiliki kepekaan hati dan kesadaran batiniah akan situasi hidup sehari-hari dalam berinteraksi dengan orang lain. Sikap enteng tersebut mencegah kita untuk senantiasa mawas diri serta memperhatikan situasi dan orang lain yang ada di sekitar kita. Tidak mungkin kita bersikap enteng jikalau kita sedang berbicara kepada Presiden atau sedang berbakti di tempat ibadah, misalkan. Namun sikap mawas diri yang kita terapkan ketika berbicara kepada Presiden atau berbakti di tempat ibadah akan dengan segera kita lepaskan ketika kita telah selesai. 

Seringkali kita tidak sadar bahwa kita perlu senantiasa mawas diri, karena kita hidup di hadapan Tuhan yang mengamati setiap hal yang kita lakukan. Bahkan jika Anda tidak percaya bahwa Tuhan ada, pun, seharusnya menyadari bahwa seringkali sikap enteng tersebut kita bawa ke dalam momen sehari-hari. Karena lengah terhadap impuls diri yang egois, kita melukai perasaan orang-orang yang kita kasihi. Karena memandang rendah orang yang kepadanya kita berinteraksi, kita tidak memperlakukannya sebagai manusia yang memiliki suatu nilai inheren yang begitu berharga. Karena kita menganggap ringan suatu masalah, kita makin terjerumus di dalamnya. Sikap enteng membuat kita tidak peka terhadap keadaan sekitar. Sikap enteng dalam berlelucon membuatnya menjadi candaan yang remeh dan tidak berbobot. Kesalahan berpikir, berbicara, dan bertindak tumbuh subur dalam tanah sikap enteng yang gembur.

Sayangnya, kebanyakan waktu kita dalam satu hari kita habiskan untuk mengonsumsi konten-konten yang memupuk sikap enteng tersebut, sampai-sampai kita tidak peka kalau kita sudah terlalu enteng, dangkal, dan remeh sebagai manusia. Segala pemikiran yang berbobot, yang menuntut kita untuk mengambil waktu dan tenaga untuk betul-betul dipikirkan, menjadi seperti benda langit yang tidak tergapai. Jikalau hal-hal yang penting, dalam, dan serius kita abaikan, tidak heran kita menjadi semakin dangkal jiwanya, dan tidak heran umat manusia mengalami kemunduran sebagai umat, ironisnya ketika zaman terus bergerak maju.

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“Jika nenek moyang kita terlahir sebagai bangsawan, kita pun bisa disebut sebagai bangsawan bahkan meskipun pengetahuan dan prestasi kita tidak ubahnya seperti pepatah ‘katak dalam tempurung’... Saat ini, pencapaian dan pengetahuanlah yang akan menentukan posisi seseorang. Inilah kenyataan yang melahirkan munculnya ‘bangsawan pikiran’.” - Abdul Rivai, 1902

Mengapa, saat ini, ketika waktu sudah berjalan satu abad sejak Rivai menulis demikian, sistem sosial budaya dan pemikiran kita malah kembali mundur satu abad?

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“If worship of God was so serious and so counter-culture in the Old Testament, is it likely he would want it to be light and playful and culture-mimicking in the New?”

https://www.challies.com/articles/from-tabernacle-to-stormtrooper-dance/

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Only One Life, ‘Twill Soon Be Past (a poem by C.T. Studd; an English missionary to China, India, and Africa)

"Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life's busy way; Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart; Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done; Then, in 'that day' my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat; Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God's holy will to cleave; Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears; Each with its clays I must fulfill. Living for self or in His will; Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score; When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say; Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep; Faithful and true what e'er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life; Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn; Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne; Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, "Thy will be done"; And when at last I'll hear the call, I know I'll say "twas worth it all"; Only one life, "twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last."

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“Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last. And when I am dying, how happy I'll be, If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee."

(source: http://cavaliersonly.com/poetry_by_christian_poets_of_the_past/only_one_life_twill_soon_be_past_-_poem_by_ct_studd)

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"Eternal Father, Strong to Save", also known as the “Navy Hymn”, is a British hymn traditionally associated with seafarers, particularly in the maritime armed services. Written in 1860, its author William Whiting was inspired by the dangers of the sea described in Psalm 107. It was popularised by the Royal Navy and the United States Navy in the late 19th century, and variations of it were soon adopted by many branches of the armed services in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Whiting, an Anglican churchman from Winchester, United Kingdom, grew up near the ocean on the coasts of England, and at the age of thirty-five had felt his life spared by God when a violent storm nearly claimed the ship he was travelling on, instilling a belief in God's command over the rage and calm of the sea. As headmaster of the Winchester College Choristers' School some years later, he was approached by a student about to travel to the United States, who confided in Whiting an overwhelming fear of the ocean voyage. Whiting shared his experiences of the ocean and wrote the hymn to "anchor his faith". In writing it, Whiting is generally thought to have been inspired by Psalm 107, which describes the power and fury of the seas in great detail:

Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep. For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. -- Psalm 107:23–26

Eternal Father, strong to save, Whose arm hath bound the restless wave, Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep Its own appointed limits keep; Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee, For those in peril on the sea!

O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard And hushed their raging at Thy word, Who walkedst on the foaming deep, And calm amidst its rage didst sleep; Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee, For those in peril on the sea!

Most Holy Spirit! Who didst brood Upon the chaos dark and rude, And bid its angry tumult cease, And give, for wild confusion, peace; Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee, For those in peril on the sea!

O Trinity of love and power! Our brethren's shield in danger's hour; From rock and tempest, fire and foe, Protect them wheresoe'er they go; Thus evermore shall rise to Thee Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

The first verse refers to God the Father forbidding the waters to flood the earth as described in Psalm 104. The second verse refers to Jesus' miracles of stilling a storm and walking on the waters of the Sea of Galilee. The third verse references the Holy Spirit's role in the creation of the earth in the Book of Genesis, while the final verse is a reference to Psalm 107.

(Source: Wikipedia)

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The concept of intellectuals in the modern sense gained prominence with the 1898 “Manifesto of the Intellectuals” produced by the Dreyfusards who, inspired by Emile Zola’s open letter of protest to France’s president, condemned both the framing of French artillery officer Alfred Dreyfus on charges of treason and the subsequent military cover-up. The Dreyfusards’ stance conveys the image of intellectuals as defenders of justice, confronting power with courage and integrity. But they were hardly seen that way at the time. A minority of the educated classes, the Dreyfusards were bitterly condemned in the mainstream of intellectual life, in particular by prominent figures among “the immortals of the strongly anti-Dreyfusard Académie Française,” Steven Lukes writes. To the novelist, politician, and anti-Dreyfusard leader Maurice Barrès, Dreyfusards were “anarchists of the lecture-platform.” To another of these immortals, Ferdinand Brunetière, the very word “intellectual” signified “one of the most ridiculous eccentricities of our time—I mean the pretension of raising writers, scientists, professors and philologists to the rank of supermen,” who dare to “treat our generals as idiots, our social institutions as absurd and our traditions as unhealthy.”

(http://bostonreview.net/noam-chomsky-responsibility-of-intellectuals-redux)

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Sebagai anak-anak yang merefleksikan karakter Bapanya, sifat utama yang harus terpancar adalah kekudusan.

Sebagai pengantin Sang Mempelai, kekudusan adalah dandanan yang terindah.

Sebagai bait tempat berdiamnya Roh Allah, kekudusan adalah buah pekerjaan-Nya yang terutama.

Sebagai suatu kesatuan umat, hal yang paling dituntut Allah adalah kekudusan.

Sebagai tentara rohani, senjata terbaik adalah kekudusan.

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Sejak kita lahir, natur keinginan kita yang liar memerlukan penebusan dan kekangan. Hal ini terlihat jelas bila kita mengamati anak-anak: orang tua (yang bijaksana, tentunya) pasti akan lebih sering mengatakan “tidak” daripada menuruti seluruh keinginan mereka yang mengalir dengan deras.

Namun ada hal yang sangat ironis: Bagaimana anak-anak dilatih dengan tegas untuk membatasi keinginan mereka, namun ketika mereka beranjak dewasa, mereka dengan sendirinya akan berusaha melepaskan diri dari pembatasan diri yang telah dilatih itu.

Hanya ada satu penjelasan: anak-anak itu tidak dididik untuk mengenal esensi seluruh pembatasan yang diberlakukan atas mereka. Mereka tidak mengerti inti masalahnya: keberpusatan pada diri sendiri.

“Kehidupan yang berpusat pada diri sendiri akan mengutuk otoritas, batasan, peraturan, dan kekangan,” demikian tulis Paul Tripp dalam bukunya, Seks & Uang: Kesenangan-kesenangan yang Membuat Anda Merasa Kosong dan Kasih Karunia yang Memuaskan. Ketika diri kita sendiri menjadi pusat, kita tidak akan berusaha untuk menolak segala keinginan yang kita miliki, dan hal ini akan membawa kita ke dalam satu bahaya yang besar: tumpulnya kemampuan penguasaan diri.

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A proverb

For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice, and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense, passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness.

And behold, the woman meets him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart. She is loud and wayward; her feet do not stay at home; now in the street, now in the market, and at every corner she lies in wait. She seizes him and kisses him, and with bold face she says to him, ”I had to offer sacrifices, and today I have paid my vows; so now I have come out to meet you, to seek you eagerly, and I have found you. I have spread my couch with coverings, colored linens from Egyptian linen; I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love till morning; let us delight ourselves with love. For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey; he took a bag of money with him; at full moon he will come home.”

With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life.

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“Thou wert the meekest man that ever ate in hall among ladies; and thou wert the sternest knight to thy mortal foe that ever put spear in the rest,” says Sir Ector to the dead Launcelot.

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as beautiful as the chance encounter of a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table

This interesting phrase -- coined by Comte de Lautréamont (pseudonym of Isidore-Lucien Ducasse), discovered by the chief apologist of Surrealism André Breton -- had become the singular slogan of the surrealist movement in early 20th century.

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"Di Pulau Flores yang sepi, di mana aku tidak memiliki kawan, aku telah menghabiskan waktu berjam-jam lamanya di bawah sebatang pohon di halaman rumahku, merenungkan ilham yang diturunkan oleh Tuhan, yang kemudian dikenal sebagai Pancasila. Aku tidak mengatakan aku yang menciptakan Pancasila. Apa yang kukerjakan hanyalah menggali jauh ke dalam bumi kami, tradisi-tradisi kami sendiri dan aku menemukan lima butir mutiara yang indah."

- Sukarno