Global Warming of a Different Kind

The global warming/climate change debate rages unabated. A newly released report stated despite horrendous early winter conditions in upstate New York and other parts of the United States, 2014 is set to become the world’s warmest year on record. Who knew?

Since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducted this study, it sounds credible. Who’s to argue with the NOAA? And yet, other seemingly reputable scientific sources report contrary findings. So who are we to believe – Al Gore? Frosty the Snowman? Congress, where it seems much of the world’s hot air is generated?

"It's A Wonderful Life" is a heartwarming, classic
story about redemption and redemption.

As I’ve admitted in previous posts, I’m not a scientist; much of scientific lexicon leaves me at a loss. So the magnitude and consequences of physical global warming aren’t something I’m qualified to assess. But I’ve concluded another form of global warming – global heart-warming – is definitely and desperately needed.

This is the time of year when schmaltzy, feel-good holiday films are shown in theaters and on TV – often simplistic, generally heartwarming stories of harmony overcoming animosity, love evicting hatred, unity dispelling division, compassion conquering selfishness.

One of my favorites for the holiday season is “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the Jimmy Stewart classic in which humility and sacrifice triumph over the tyrannical town magnate. Then there’s “Miracle on 34^th Street,” in which Kris Kringle succeeds in uniting a cynical mother, her hopeful little daughter and a trusting, determined attorney. And then we have “A Christmas Carol,” the Charles Dickens classic story of a crotchety miser whose heart is softened by a series of midnight visitations. Each concludes with its own version of happily ever after.

But why does this happen only in the movies and not so much in real life? Strife, hatred and conflict seem on the rise, while “good will toward men” seems increasingly in short supply. Why can’t we all just get along, right?

If someone could definitively solve that question, they’d be deserving of more than the Nobel Peace Prize. But as we approach the Christmas celebration, we are reminded a solution has indeed been offered. Discord and cold hearts don’t necessarily need to be our “default setting.” The question is, are we willing to accept it?

In proclaiming the birth of Jesus Christ more than 2,000 years ago, the angels proclaimed,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14). The King James Version adds the phrase, “good will toward men.” Imagine, peace and good will being made available through God coming in the flesh.

Later, during His earthly ministry, Jesus promised His followers, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

Many of us, however, don’t believe this. We try everything we can think of to achieve peace, but if anyone utters the name of Jesus, we hear protests of “intolerance” and “narrow-minded.” Maybe that’s why Jesus said His peace is not “as the world gives.” Maybe the reason animosity reigns across the world is because we so readily reject the peace He alone can provide.

We’re quick to observe the Bible tells us to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31), as if it’s simply a matter of willpower. But we forget the first part of Jesus’ statement, what we might call the prerequisite for loving our neighbors: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).

If we could do a better job of doing the first, maybe the second part wouldn’t be so difficult. And we’d have a lot more real-life, global heart-warming stories to tell.

What’s With Customer Service?

In the classic film, “Miracle on 34^th Street,” there’s a scene when Kris Kringle, Macy’s Department Store’s designated Santa Claus, tells a parent unable to find a gift for her child she should go to Gimbels Department Store instead. That’s a picture of what customer service is all about – even if it means sending a customer to a competitor.

I’ve been wondering what’s happened to this whole notion of customer service. At one time, too many salesmen in stores became pests, hovering nearby as you examined their merchandise at your leisure. Today, however, finding any sales associate is tantamount to finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. Often we even have to trudge across a store to make a purchase.

Several weeks ago I bought a new, expensive light bulb to replace one that had burned out in the range hood above our stove. Last week the replacement bulb burned out. So I went back to the name brand, big-box hardware store and exchanged it for another. The packaging for each of the new bulbs that matched mine was torn apart, so I purchased a different bulb a store associate stated would do the trick.

When I got home, however, I opened the intact packaging only to discover the new bulb was cracked in three places. So I returned to Name-Brand Hardware Store again, bought a bulb that seemed sound – no cracks – and brought it home. But this one didn’t work either. (Hint: When you pick up a bulb and you hear something that sounds like broken glass inside, it probably is.)

Lastly, for the second time in one week, the national newspaper I subscribe to – which is delivered every morning with the local daily paper – didn’t arrive. I called the newspaper’s circulation department, received the obligatory “I apologize” and “I’m sorry,” and was assured the periodical would be delivered by 3 p.m. As I write, it’s 4:30 – and still no national newspaper!

We read about the woes of the retail industry, citing declining sales and often decrying purchases made online rather than in stores. Is that any surprise, when retail institutions have cut service to the bone until it bleeds and we receive as much personalized attention on the Internet?

Years ago, entrepreneurs like J.C. Penney and Sam Walton built their businesses on genuine interest and concern for their customers, who felt valued and received help when needed. Penney and Walton were men of faith, undoubtedly motivated by biblical passages like, “do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12) and “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).

Modern-day business, loosed from the moorings of a Judeo-Christian worldview, prefers a short-term, profit-centered approach. Customers are treated like cattle rather than valued assets that help the businesses to survive.

God actually set the best example. He took a “customer service” attitude when He sought to reconcile rebellious humankind to Himself. In Romans 5:8 we’re told, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And Jesus declared in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Wow! If that’s not the ultimate in customer service, what is?