Miserable cities

Forbes Magazine puts out a list upon which no city wants to find its name. How would you like to be living in one of "America's Most Miserable Cities?" You may have thought it was the color you painted your house. No, the problem goes deeper than that.

The things examined by Forbes to come up with this inglorious list include "the serious" and "the less weighty." Things like unemployment and inflation, violent crime, foreclosures, taxes, and home prices appear alongside quality of life downers like weather and commute times.

Below I have listed Forbes' top 20. As you examine the list, notice which states show up again and again. Consider what these places have in common.

1. Detroit, Michigan. Home prices tanking. Violent crime through the roof
2. Flint, Michigan. People are leaving the city faster than sponsors are leaving Lance Armstrong.
3. Rockford, Illinois. Illinois. Need I say more?
4. Chicago, Illinois. Another feather in the cap of Rahm Immanuel.
5. Modesto, California. Third highest unemployment in the U.S.
6. Vallejo, California. Hmmm...Michigan, Illinois, California...hmmm...
7. Warren, Michigan. We have Michigan by a nose.
8. Stockton, California. Largest city to file for bankruptcy in 2012. Top 5 in crime and unemployment.
9. Lake County, Illinois. Okay, this started out kind of funny. It's turning tragic.
10. New York, New York. You knew this had to break the top 10.

There's the top 10. Have you noticed the similarities? On with the show.

11. Toledo, Ohio. Another state heard from. Apologies to Cpl. Klinger.
12. St. Louis, Missouri. I'm not surprised. I've been to their bus depot. Sounds like mis-er-y.
13. Camden, New Jersey. 42% of residents living below the poverty line. How can that be?
14. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Interesting choice. Forbes didn't like their winters nor their property tax.
15. Atlantic City, New Jersey. I guess casinos aren't the solution to the world's ills.
16. Atlanta, Georgia. Breaking out of the mold. Housing collapse and heinous traffic.
17. Cleveland, Ohio. Forbes said, "Only Flint and Detroit have a faster exodus rate."
18. Poughkeepsie, New York. Cutest name in the top 20. Lousy weather and commute.
19. Gary, Indiana. Sandwiched amidst Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan, what did you expect. Kentuckians are thankful for the Ohio River!
20. Youngstown, Ohio. Nothing left to say.

Three from Michigan. Three from Ohio. Three from Illinois. Three from California. Two each from New York and New Jersey. These are places steeped in government and social law. There are other common factors, too (union thuggery, broken families, and out-of-wedlock births), that I'll not address here.

So how's the state as savior working out for them?

If big government is crushing cities on the local level, what makes us think big government will cure all ills on the national level? Freedom constrained breeds blight and sucks the life from the organism.

The nanny state is unsustainable. We must jettison it soon by choice and pick up the heavy and productive yoke of personal responsibility. If we do not, it will come crashing down all around us, and great will be the fall.

Election!

One of the most craw-sticking ideas in the Bible among believers is the doctrine of election. Most, sadly, find it repugnant.

If you have wrestled with election and God choosing whom he will, let me encourage you to invest 40 minutes to listen to a Bible-infused, Bible-laced message on the topic. You may not like the speaker; set aside your preconceptions and hear what he says. You may not be a fan of the web-site; open your Bible and compare what is being said with what God's word says.

Pause. Chew. Meditate. Think. Pray. And let the God of all bless your soul.

You'll find the message here.

Suicide's aftermath

If you've ever watched M*A*S*H, you have heard the music. If you've seen the movie, you've heard the lyrics. As the chopper breaks over the mountain, the guitar licks to "Suicide is Painless" introduce the show, but lyricist Mike Altmann (son of the movie's director, Robert Altmann) had it horribly wrong. Suicide is anything but painless.

I can think of little save divorce and tornadoes that leaves such a wake of unforeseen destruction and devastation.

Eleven years ago this March, I picked up the phone and heard my friend Lou choke out words no man should have to form. Our friend, Kevin, had taken his life. How do you respond when all the oxygen gets sucked from the room? What do you say when your brain crashes to a standstill?

As a Christ-follower, I could do nothing but cling to him. I held fast to his unwavering word when all the world had become in an instant as heaving as the Bering Sea. More than a decade later, I still do not understand. I still see and feel the effects of that decision that changed so much for so many.

I have long been a fan of the Newsboys. I particularly like their work that has Steve Taylor's fingerprints upon it. You might not know Steve; most don't. He's a singer in his own right and is a fantastic producer and song writer. He wrote a song that the Newsboys cut on their Going Public CD titled Elle G. It's a song about a guy trying to come to terms with a Christian friend of his who has taken their own life. He finds no tidy answers, and in the end, he's left to cling to the garments of God.

I found it a comfort in the painful days following my friend's suicide. Perhaps you will, too.