a brief social commentary #1 (the looming)

while walking through a city the other night my mind stumbled to the
buildings looming high above me, so very out of reach. i marveled at
the architecture and thought how amazed someone from centuries ago
would have been at our modern achievments and may have thought they
stumbled onto heaven if only by the shear mass of the structures. i
then realized that the tallest building two hundred years ago would
have been a church, and upon further observations i noticed that the
tallest buildings in america now would be financial institutions.
in orlando, where this dawned on me, it was bank of america, wachovia
bank, and sun trust bank that were the largest buildings downtown. i
wonder if that is where our hearts have left of, or where our hearts
have turned us. no longer do we pursue things outside our grasp or the
intangible; but have reshaped our nation to the tangible.

Comments

Anonymous said…
10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Paul's Charge to Timothy
11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

- 1 Timothy 6:10-12

indeed, we have forgotten.
1:51 AM
Anonymous said…
Keep in mind that the shift you've noted here forgets one fact: 200 years ago the church was the richest institution in town. The tallest buildings have always required the most money. The mega church age has seen a resurgence of large scale churches, but it's not practical to have a 10 story auditorium. Turn Carpenters Home up on its side, though, and I'd imagine it would be as tall as any other building in Lakeland.
11:40 AM
Meg-a-roni said…
Did you know, that it use to be the law that the tallest building in the village had to be the church. that is why when you drive around england and drive by all the little towns, you can still see the church spire.
5:53 PM
Anonymous said…
I often get lost in Orlando's skyline as well. Our city isn't the biggest, but it certainly is continuing to grow. It is a beautiful sight to me.

What amazes me even more is to walk down there and in the midst of all the busy people and financial buildings, there still is room for a beautiful little cathedrale. God may not have the tallest building in this city, but He certainly is a part of it.
8:10 PM
Anonymous said…
We pursue money because we equate it with self-worth. We must value one another based on character, kindness, morality, and teach our children to demonstrate those qualities. God isn't going to look at my checkbook or see if my child has an Ipod, but he does see me try (and often fail) to be empathetic, kind, and patient.
10:57 PM
Kimberly said…
Today's world scares me. Our hearts really aren't in the right places.

And as an off-topic side note, I'm ecstatic that Anberlin is coming to Birmingham, AL on Nov. 18. I'm definitely going to be there. :)
5:13 PM
Anonymous said…
unfortunately it seems like people have taken your point out of context. obviously its the hearts of the people that matter...not the size of the building. but our hearts are revealed in what we spend the most time, effort and money on.
12:49 AM
Anonymous said…
i did think of that too, when i first came to america - seeing all these big buildings... although it didnt reach washington, dc where the white house is still the tallest.
that happens only because people all over the world changed their priorities, forgot about the fact, that money doesnt rule the world, they've lost their souls and freezed their hearts
11:08 PM
Anonymous said…
In all honesty, I think you should write a book. I would very much like to read it.
8:29 PM
Josh said…
that is so true...very wise thoughts indeed.
3:36 PM
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