My Inner Dr. Mike

My close friend, Dr. Mike ("Doctor" because he is also our children's pediatrician) has ruined my life several times.  


At least, that is what I tell him.  


The reality is: he has so often said things; read things to me; or given me things to read that have caused deep fractures in my presuppositions, because they have shined a bright light on faulty thinking.  


Here is a sampling of what I have to put up with when I see him:


(These are Dr. Mike quotes from my "Piecing Things Together" journals that I have kept for 5 years or so, where I note interesting or thought-provoking things I run across.)

"Patience should not become a sense of inevitability that nothing will ever change."

"Definition of "sloth": Being lazy toward higher things...a man that works for a factory 16 hours, and comes home ignoring his family."

"In our culture a few generations ago, parents did not try to protect their children from pain and suffering, but did protect them from immorality.  Now it is reversed."

"While we do know the end of the story, which gives a sense of comfort, we must remember that it is a story with casualties!"

"Relying on the philosophy and methods of our culture (which have been proven unsuccessful) in order to define and impliment a change in lifestyle is like a slave going to his master for ideas on how to escape."

My wife laughs often when I am trying to figure things out (which for me, is pretty much a non-stop endeavor) and asks me, "What is your Inner Doctor Mike telling you?"  And I laugh, because after 10 years of knowing him, my mind is littered with quotes from him, articles he has read snippets from, magazines he has handed to me to read, and (possibly the most devastating) a gift subscription to The Mars Hill Audio Journal*.


Dr. Mike is one of those guys in my life that make the words of St. Paul ring in my ears when he says of those he loves, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you."  


His pithy sayings.  His constant vigilance.  His intimidating command of memorized Scripture. His love for the Lord, and His Body...Well, peace be on him and his family.  That's what I say.


(* From the MHAJ website: "MARS HILL AUDIO is committed to assisting Christians who desire to move from thoughtless consumption of contemporary culture to a vantage point of thoughtful engagement. We believe that fulfilling the commands to love God and neighbor requires that we pay careful attention to the neighborhood: that is, every sphere of human life where God is either glorified or despised, where neighbors are either edified or undermined.")


Citation:
Powell, Mike.  David's "Piecing Things Together" Journals.  Accessed 3 March 2011.