Always His Friends

"Why do you dress like that?" Vivian Kent stutters, "Like...?" In the Netflix show *Inventing Anna*, she's visiting the jail where the con artist Anna Delvey is held. Anna looks Vivian over again: "What are you wearing? You look poor." The aphorism still holds: "The clothes make the man."

Toward the end of his life, the missionary John Paton recalled how his father, James Paton, saw him off to college. His dad walked with him for six miles; Paton writes, "His counsels and tears and heavenly conversation on that parting journey are fresh in my heart as if it had been yesterday." When they finally had to say goodbye, his father said to him, "God bless you, my son! Your father's God prosper you, and keep you from all evil!" Then, "Unable to say more, his lips kept moving in silent prayer; in tears we embraced, and parted."

"Whoever said 'money can't buy happiness' really knew what they were talking about 😔." Elon Musk posted this on X, the social network he owns, the same month Forbes estimated his net worth crossed $850 billion. A few months later, he became the world's first trillionaire. He's given away less than 1% of it. I can't relate to his cash position, but I have the same spiritual struggle. I know more money won't make me happier, but I still want to see if I'm wrong.

After the large group ended, I stood at the back of Sever 113, one of the auditoriums on Harvard's campus, to talk to students. One visiting student asked me a simple question: "Are you a Republican?" I was a Republican, and proudly so. But he wasn't really asking about my politics. It was a test to see whether he needed to be a Republican to belong here. I knew he would be fine, as many students in our group supported the Democratic Party. I felt caught between wanting to argue over politics and welcoming him. He saw me hesitate, and I never saw him again.

After I started Uncommon Pursuit, I took a marketing course that recommended I create a 'brand promise.' I needed to tell you how reading my Bible studies would fix your marriage, make your kids follow Jesus, and get you a promotion at work. But I don't control what God will do. And following God more closely doesn't mean your life gets easier. When everyone wants a guaranteed return, being a Christian sometimes feels like walking around with both hands tied behind your back.