Of all places, today I heard from God while listening to a song from Sublime.

The song’s called “Rivers of Babylon,” a re-make of a Bob Marley song by the same name. The lyrics go something like this:

“By the rivers of Babylon
Where he sat down
And there he wept when he remembered Zion.
Oh from wicked, carry us away from captivity
Required from us a song
How can we sing King Alpha’s song in a strange land?
So let the words of our mouth
And the meditations of our hearts
Be acceptable in thy sight”

This is taken almost word-for-word from Psalm 137, a psalm that tells the heartache and pain of the Israelites when they were taken from their homeland and forced to live in a country that was very much not their home.

The concept of feeling a divinely-inspired allegiance to a geographical location is something that I’ve come to only appreciate as I’ve grown older, and especially as of late. My friend Dave loves Chicago. My friend Drew loves his home in Colorado. Another friend of mine declares that the city in which she finds herself now “saved her life.” Clearly this is something that is not a new concept.

I’ve come to feel a love and appreciation for my city, Des Moines. I love this place. I love it even more after watching her go through the drama and pain of the Floods of 2008 in the last few weeks. I felt the pain of the Psalter as I watched the Des Moines River nearly consume the downtown area of Des Moines. As I thought about what it might mean to have the coffee house where I grab my Tuesday morning Americano destroyed, my heart reflected these words:

“How can we sing King Alpha’s song in a strange land?”

How could I enjoy the things I enjoy about downtown Des Moines somewhere else? Where would I get sushi with my friend Lincoln? Where would the Farmer’s Market go? Where else would I get that incredible view of the Capital when strolling down E. Locust? Phew.

All that to say, I heard someone say this past week on the news, “it’s just stuff – all this stuff can be replaced” when trying to rationalize the tragedy of losing everything they had to the flood waters. I understand their heart, but all that “stuff” makes up a “place” and a place makes up a “home” and multiple homes make up a “city.”

So take heart wherever you are, and thank God for the place you reside. Chances are, he’s knitting you to your home in ways you can’t even imagine. Do you see this in your own life? Where’s your “homeland”? Are you unable to sing because you find yourself in a “strange land”? Let’s hear it…

So here’s my predicament: I ignored a beggar on the off-ramp today while coming to work. And when I say, “ignored,” I mean “totally did not even acknowledge his existence – no eye contact, no wave, nothing.” Just to be clear.

As I passed him, I noticed the sign he was holding. It said, “Hungry – Need food, please help!” Instantly, I became angry. I was angry at a presumably homeless beggar on the side of the road. I know what you’re thinking, “Wow, this pastor sure is compassionate. Where do I sign up to go to his church? I bet they not only ignore the homeless, but punch gentle elderly folk in the face and gamble with the offering dollars!” Trust me, I felt awful about my initial reaction as well. It was a struggle that has followed me around since the incident this morning. Allow me to let you into my struggle…

When I passed this man, I noticed something very peculiar:

He was not old, he was young. He couldn’t have been older than 30.
He was holding a sign about being hungry, yet he was smoking a cigarette with the pack in his other hand.
He was dressed not in rags, but in fairly decent clothing. I wouldn’t have chosen his clothes, but he looked presentable.

This puzzled me.

I am of the belief that knowing the background of any given situation will change the reality of that situation almost 100% of the time. For instance, a father on a subway with seemingly no control over his screaming and out-of-control children looks a lot different when you learn that he just came from the hospital where his wife died and he has no idea how to tell his kids. Compassion breaks forth when you learn of this and a mild irritation becomes a heartbreaking scenario.

Take my puzzling situation from this morning and I will fully admit to you that my compassion was tested. It was tested because of the questions in my head:

“If he’s hungry, then why is he smoking cigarettes? Why couldn’t he take that money and buy a meal? Or even a hamburger? If there is money for cigarettes, why could there not be money for food?”
“If he is hungry, and as young and as healthy and well-dressed as he appears to be, why can he not go and get a job? Even manual labor can provide a livable wage – what is the hang up here?”

So this is what I struggle with. Maybe you have struggled with the same question? The question of, “when do I give to the poor and how much?” This question, regardless of religious affiliation, is a uniquely human one. Even as a committed follower of Jesus, this question still hangs over my head like a cartoon thought bubble made of bricks. (What makes this matter even more difficult is the increasingly common stories of “beggars” who make $100,000 a year sitting on the corner, begging for a living. They are professional beggars. They don’t beg because they need it, they beg because, quite literally, it’s an easy buck or two… or one thousand.)

How do you answer this question? Would knowing the background of every beggar that you meet change if and how much you give? Why or why not? Would you give even if you knew the person would spend the money on something else than what they needed? Where does the line for benevolence begin and the line for personal responsibility end?

Some of the things I’m considering on a Tuesday morning. Peace to you…

If you missed it, I started a Top 10 list on Monday of some of my favorite things. This is the second half of the list… Here we go:

5. Downtown Des Moines. Maybe it’s true, the old adage: “You don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone.” Although Downtown isn’t in any danger of being “gone”, the floods that are slowly creeping in down there made me think twice about what a nice place Downtown has become (in the words of a friend of mine from Denver, “Des Moines looks cool”). Let’s hold those waters off and continue making Downtown into everything it can be.

4. “Friends” on DVD. Shut it. Just save your snickering and snide remarks – my wife made me do it! She’s a full-blown “Friends” addict from her college days and after two years of marriage, she has slowly roped me in. Alas, I stand defeated.

3. “When the Levee Breaks” by Led Zeppelin. Good. Old. Fashioned. Rock. And. Roll. Plus, I had it on repeat last night while driving around downtown Des Moines, praying for the contrary.

2. Martin Luther. I grew up in a Lutheran Church, but I never really got into it as a kid. Now that I’m in seminary and working in a Lutheran church, I have had a chance to dig just a tiny bit into Luther’s theology and teachings. God used him (and continues to use him) to liberate a lot of people from the spiritual imprisonment of a corrupt and damaging doctrine. He helped shift an entire culture’s picture of God and the Bible, connecting them (and us) with a clearer picture of their Heavenly Father.

1. Free time. The older I get, the more I covet time to do simply nothing. After I got married, I finally surrendered to the inner-homebody lurking within me. The “nightlife” for me is my favorite spot on the couch with my wife on the other end, a bowl of ice cream, and maybe the latest flick from Blockbuster Online. Hands off my time, suckas!

With that said, for those of you who are so inclined to pray, I’d like you to all join me in corporate prayer for our beloved Downtown. This prayer was originally posted here:

God of Creation, we come before you asking for your mercy. Just as you quieted the waters of a raging lake and walked on water, so now we’re asking for you to calm the waters of the Des Moines River. We’re asking that you would move in power and strength and would supernaturally cause those waters to recede. We declare your mercy for the people of Downtown Des Moines – mercy for their homes, businesses, families, and lives. We stand in agreement with your word in that you promised Noah that you would never send another flood that would wipe out all living things on the earth. We stand on this promise for Des Moines, specifically. Would you cause this flood to purge and cleanse what needs to be cleansed – not only in our city, but in our hearts and minds as well. We love you, God, and declare that you are the giver of all good things, even the very next breath in our lungs! We desire your mercy, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

“”If it keeps on rainin’, the levee’s gonna break…” Great Zeppelin song, but not exactly the words that Downtown Des Moines (and other waterlogged places in Iowa) want to hear.

For those of you who aren’t in the Des Moines area, we’ve gotten massive amounts of water in the past week and more is forecasted in the days ahead. We need some relief from this water!

One of the best things about having a blog like this is the ability to reach literally millions of people at the push of a button (“Publish,” to be exact). I believe that God loves to answer prayer, but even more so when multitudes of his image bearers are praying the same thing! With that said, I’d like any and all who are comfortable to join me in prayer for the city of Des Moines (and please forward this to your friends who may be so inclined to pray as well):

God of Creation ((Genesis 1)), we come before you asking for your mercy. Just as you quieted the waters of a raging lake ((Matthew 8:23-37)) and walked on water ((Matthew 14:22-27)), so now we’re asking for you to calm the waters of the Des Moines River. We’re asking that you would move in power and strength and would supernaturally cause those waters to recede. We declare your mercy for the people of Downtown Des Moines – mercy for their homes, businesses, families, and lives. We stand in agreement with your word in that you promised Noah that you would never send another flood that would wipe out all living things on the earth ((Genesis 9:11)). We stand on this promise for Des Moines, specifically. Would you cause this flood to purge and cleanse what needs to be cleansed – not only in our city, but in our hearts and minds as well. We love you, God, and declare that you are the giver of all good things ((James 1:17)), even the very next breath in our lungs! We desire your mercy, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Keep praying for Des Moines. Pray for her – even if you don’t consider yourself a “pray-er” or “spiritual person.” God desires to hear from you more than you know!

Photo credit: www.iowaflood.com 

These are the Top 10 (is that trademarked yet? David Letterman could be a billionaire, yo) favorite things going on in my life right now:

10. The new Coldplay joint, “Viva la Vida”. Love this title track – I’ve had it on repeat for the past two days. (I will say that I was a little disappointed when I learned that Chris Martin wasn’t saying “I know St. Peter will call my name” but instead, “I know St. Peter won’t call my name…” Kind of like, “hold me closer, Tony Danza…”)

9. Americanos. Caribou, Amici, or anything in between, I love this drink. It’s made by dumping two shots of espresso into a cup of hot water, a.k.a. coffee. But to the coffee purist (or snob), this beats the pants off of drip coffee. And Baristas, please don’t fill it too full – I need room for cream.

8. Twitter. I love this thing. I try to explain it to people but always come up short. Follow me at www.twitter.com/JustinWise and see what I mean.

7. “Mac’s World” on 98.3 WOW-FM. I’m a sucker for local – local restaurants, local grocery stores, local music… I love local. I like this show because they cover local goings-on and Bradshaw makes really funny (albeit inappropriate sometimes) jokes. Thanks for letting me know what’s going on in Des Moines!

6. Zen Sushi. My wife and I enjoyed a meal here a few months back and I keep going back for the spicy tuna rolls and edamáme. Great restaurant, great food, great location… It makes me proud to be from Des Moines.

That’s enough for this post… I’ll round out the Top 10 on Wednesday. What about you? What’re some of the best things going on in your life right now?

I remember thinking before I was a follower of Jesus, “this will never affect me in the future.”

Okay, so the picture you’re looking at is of an unhappy me with a band playing in the background, over my left shoulder. There’s three dudes here and they’re all wearing trendy hats and shoes and playing their guitars very loudly. Right in front of me.

I am in a coffee shop. When I am in a coffee shop, it’s usually to plug my earphones in, sip an Americano, and crank out some work. When I’m in a coffee shop, I usually like to be left alone. Not to be entertained.

This band is trying to entertain me. That is why I am unhappy.

I’m all for artistic creativity – really, I am. But please, trendy-hat friends, can’t you just be creative somewhere else?! Not here. Anywhere else but here.

Oh well. Guess it’s back to turning up “Band of Horses” even louder and making it obvious that I’m not listening to them. I’d be nicer in different circumstances, but a brotha’s got a lot of reading to do.

Peace to you….