Storytime - Ham Ends

I have been blessed to hold many jobs over the years, and have met a lot of folks who have given me little bits of wisdom along the way. One of my favorites is from Hal and Frank - it's a story about ham - goes something like this....

A newly married couple were in their kitchen preparing for Sunday dinner, and the man watches as his wife takes the ham, cuts off the ends, puts it in the pan and sticks it in the oven. "Why did you do that?" he asked his new bride. "Do what?" she replied, looking at him oddly. "Why did you cut the ends off the ham before you put it in the oven?" She furrowed her brow, thinking for a minute, and then said "I don't know, but that's the way my mom cooks hams."

The husband nodded his head, but continued to think about his wife's answer. Several months later, that were at her family's home for Christmas dinner. The man goes into the kitchen and finds his mother-in-law hard at work, and watches her proceed to cut the ends off the ham before placing it in the oven. "Your daughter did the exact same thing a couple of months ago," he said, "but why do you cut the ends off the ham?" His mother-in-law looked at the ceiling, and then at him. "You know, that's just the way I've been doing it for all these years, but I'm pretty sure that's how my mom cooks hams."

The man continued to think about the answers he had been given by both his wife and mother-in-law. The following Easter, they went to the home of his wife's grandmother for Easter dinner. As the family was settling in, the man went back to the kitchen to find the grandmother preparing the meal - but was amazed as he watched her put the ham in the oven without cutting off the ends. "Grandma, both your daughter and your granddaughter cut the ends off the ham before they cook it because they believe that's how you cook it. So how come you don't cut the ends off now?" She gave him a wide smile and chuckled. "Sonny, the only reason I used to cut the ends off the ham was because my baking pan and oven were too small to fit a full size ham. I haven't cut the ends off for at least 30 years."

There have been times where I have found myself in the same position - doing something not because it was the best way, but because it was the way I had always done it. But if I am to improve, if I am to get better and make a difference I must continue to question my actions. I have to keep learning, be willing to listen and be willing to change when I find out that my way is not making the world a better place.

Anybody else have a good story to tell? What is your ham end?

Fun Friday

In case you missed any of the "Fun Theory" videos that are making their way around the Internet, you can head over to funtheory.com and check them out. And while I am a little skeptical about this since it is backed by VW, the evidence presented in the videos is hard to deny. Make something easier to do and more enjoyable and more people are likely to do it - think back to trying to get a small child to eat something because you turned the fork into an airplane.

So why don't environmental/social/religious organizations not spend more time on fun? Have we forgotten the old adage that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar? Do we really think that guilt works? Or that people enjoy being yelled yet? Maybe we're all just a little too grown-up for our own good. I just pray that the fun theory becomes a movement instead of a fad. Yes, there are a large number of very serious problems that society is dealing with - but that doesn't mean the solutions can't be clever and fun, we just have to be serious about solving the problem!

And if anybody out there has a clever idea, you definitely want to check out the fun theory site. The site is sponsoring a contest where people submit their own idea for making something more fun. The contest ends on November 16 (find details on the site), and it has a prize of 2,500 Euros (which is almost $3,800). Good luck!

What are you working for?

Ran into a great post over at The Church of No People about drug advertising, and it reminded me of a number of discussions I have seen about the consumer culture that we in the US seem to have allowed to rule us.

We (US) work a lot - I haven't seen the figures recently, but in recent years we worked more hours each year per person than workers in nearly any other country. Does that mean we are more industrious, or does it mean that we are simply wasting a lot of time? In other words, am I doing work to earn what I need to live? Or am I doing work to get the things I want?

Imagine the potential if we put the same time, money and effort into meeting the needs of all people, and not just our own wants. Quick example - I recently saw an advertisement for a prescription drug that helps you grow thicker eyelashes. And there are a lot of other things just like that out there. Imagine the change we could empower by adjusting where we invest our time/money/resources. Imagine the social, economic and environmental benefits that would follow by using what we have in a sustainable way.

And this is a moral issue - God calls us to do His work on earth. But instead we often choose to feed our own desires rather than help care for our neighbors. And so we keep working harder, so we can buy the things we want..... and then the satisfaction slips away and we go after the next new thing. It is a tough cycle to break, too, because we have trained ourselves so well - just work a few extra hours, or better yet use some credit, and get what you want now rather than later. So we toil away for stuff we know isn't going to last, turning away from God and our neighbors in the process.

I want to stop toiling (in sin). I want to start working (for God).