The Noticer

Andy Andrew's little book The Noticer (2009) reminded me of Og Mandino's books of another era.  He uses a simple story to make a larger point, not entirely unlike the use of a parable.  Andrew's book, admittedly is not an overtly religious work, even though published by Thomas Nelson.  Still, it's an engaging story and quite practical with natural applications to a Christian life.  The subtitle explains the heart of the tale: "Sometimes all a person needs is a little perspective."  As an old Chinese proverb states, "if you want to know what water is, don't ask the fish."  Or as Ravi Zarcharias notes, "total immersion deprives the mind of a counterperspective and, for that matter, an honest evaluation."  To put it more simply: we often lose perspective when we are too close to the issue.  In Andrew's story an indigent old man named "Jones" provides this perspective to a number of people in crisis.  For some it's a marital crisis, for another a crisis of morals, for another simply of purpose in life.  Looking back on the many times I have been called to 'counsel' troubled people as pastor I realize that I probably was employing, much of the time, Jones' simple attempt to regain perspective, to be able to see the problem from a different, and hopefully, more productive angle.  We can choose to see life in any way we want, and too often we choose the negative.  And one thing I learned in psychology class, self-fulfilling prophesies do work.  If we see our lives as
unmitigated disasters we will begin to live in such a way to reinforce that.

Of course Andrew's book lacks the most important ingredient of God's grace in action, and if I had one substantive critique it would be there.  Not that you can't see God's hand at work even without mentioning His name, but it would have been nice to acknowledge God's work as the real healing in this scenarios.  All in all, though, it's a nice little book worthy perusing if you find yourself with a few minutes at the library. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Firefighter's Cross

Image
[Note: A similar article to this will be shared with my department at their next meeting. During this Lenten season when we are meditating on the significance and meaning of the Passion of our Lord and the Cross at Golgotha, it seemed like one way to offer a witness to the department that captured their interest and yet was not too heavy.] [Editorial Note: In response to a recent comment on this article I have made some changes to the original version of this article especially in regard to references to the so-called St. Florian's Cross. For any confusion the previous unreferenced information may have caused I apologize. I hope that the changes are satisfactory.] THE STORY OF THE MALTESE CROSS In many ways the familiar symbol to the right requires no explanation. It is the universal insignia of firefighting nationwide. Yet the precise origins of this symbol are less clear. The most popular explanation proposes its beginning in the far distant past of medieval Crusaders fi...
Read more

Historical Roots of the Warham Guild Hood

Image
In doing just a little checking on the internet, it's interesting to see how the Warham Guild hood, which I have as part of my STM degree attire, is actually a throwback to the Medieval hood. One article notes "the work of the Warham Guild in its imaginative renderings of medieval hoods" (reference is from here ). Again, here is my hood: The Medieval hood, which was originally a very practical outer garment to cover a person's head and shoulders, protecting both from the elements, bears striking resemblance to this revived form: This hood was also a part of the garb of monks in that era. The Medieval hood, in some cases, also had what is known as a "liripipe," a long tail hanging from the back of a hood. You can see the modern stylized version of this on my own hood. From an article on "Academic hood development" we read that "By 1463 the favourite dress of doctors was the hood with round bell-shaped cape, and the lir...
Read more

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Image
According to a recent documentary, for all the talk about academic freedom in the world of the large American university system, it would seem that it extends only as far as the system defines it - especially with regards to the subject of origins and science. Noted speechwriter Ben Stein stars as host of the film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Dr. Angus Menuge, professor of philosophy at CUW, highlights the film in an article included in the Concordia University - Wisconsin magazine Concordian , including some seemingly revealing details about the expulsion of talented scientists who apparently were ‘expelled‘ from their positions for mentioning the theory of Intelligent Design: “In the current climate, even when academicians have a relevant doctorate and a track-record of peer-reviewed publication, their careers suffer if they argue that the scientific evidence points to an intelligent source involved in the creation of the world. In 1992, Dean Kenyon, a biology professor at ...
Read more