Signs of the Times - June 2019 by Adventist Media

JUNE 2019

Overcoming

OPIOID ADDICTION a success story

IS FEMINISM MISUNDERSTOOD?

HOW TO CELEBRATE THE SABBATH

A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON THE WORLD TODAY

IN THIS ISSUE

JUNE 2019

OVERCOMING OPIOID ADDICTION PAGE 32 Recovery is hard, but it’s possible. A success story.

6 CURRENT

WHAT IN THE WORLD ALL JUICED UP Taking shortcuts at the gym can end badly 12 STREET SIGNS Gym culture—the public speaks out 14 CLOSING THE GAP Is feminism misunderstood? 4 6

WELLBEING

20 SLEEP YOUR WAY TO

BETTER HEALTH 22 DADS HURT TOO A hug can go a long way

26 PAIN: MY JOURNEY How to be thankful

when it hurts 30 GO HEALTHY FOR GOOD Health news for every body

FAITH

38 RIGHT PLACE,

RIGHT TIME Maybe real spirituality is more everyday than we think 46 HOW TO CELEBRATE SABBATH What it’s like to take every seventh day off

52 THE MYSTERY OF FAITH Glimpses of

transcendence can be found in unusual places

CULTURE

58 THE BIDURA EFFECT

Book review

SCIENCE & TECH

44 THE CUTTING EDGE What’s happening in

research, engineering and technology?

FUN

62 CROSSWORD & SUDOKU Have you been paying

attention? Yes, there will be a test! FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 2

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • JUNE 2019

/SIGNSOFTHETIMES

FROM THE EDITOR I love long road trips. My family not so much. They’re hanging out for the time when we can finally get out of the car; I’m urging them to take a better look at the scenery passing by: the play of light on the hills, the ever-changing clouds, the unique little towns and farmhouses we see along the way. “Life is about the journey, not just the destination,” I tell them for the umpteenth time, provoking an exasperated eye-roll from my wife. She might not be feeling it, but she knows I’m right (I think). Each little encounter and episode along the journey of life makes us who we are. And the decisions we make at each of these apparently minor intersections set the trajectory for our future. I guess that’s the theme of this month’s Signs of the Times. World Vision CEO Tim Costello points to those unexpected glimpses of a spiritual reality through the arts and the natural world (page 52), “Right Place, Right Time” (page 38) suggests that spiritual encounters can be found in the mess of everyday life, and we get to see this principle in action in an airport boarding lounge in “Dads Hurt Too” (page 22). But to see the world through spiritual eyes like this does not happen by itself. It takes discipline and practice . . . and rest, as we learn in “How to Celebrate Sabbath” (page 46). As we journey spiritually, our view of all kinds of issues evolves—drug use (pages 6 and 32), feminism (page 26) or chronic pain (page 26), for example. And we gradually begin to see people as infinitely precious—even the annoying ones! Even ourselves.

Kent KENT KINGSTON Editor

VOL 134 NO 6 ISSN 1038-9733 EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Brad Kemp EDITOR Kent Kingston ASSISTANT EDITOR Daniel Kuberek COPYEDITOR Tracey Bridcutt GRAPHIC DESIGN Nerise McQuillan Theodora Amuimuia PHONE +61 2 9847 2222 EMAIL info@signsofthetimes.org.au WEBSITE signsofthetimes.org.au ADDRESS Adventist Media PO Box 1115, Wahroonga New South Wales 2076 SUBSCRIPTIONS Kelli Geelan PHONE +61 3 5965 6300 Australia, $A26; New Zealand, $NZ26; South Pacific countries, $A41; Other countries $A51 Published since 1886, Signs of the Times is printed 11 times a year by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and is registered as a periodical. Seventh-day Adventist Church (SPD) Limited ABN 59 093 117 689 NOTE The inclusion of a person or their image within does not imply their endorsement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church or its beliefs. Unless otherwise stated, Bible verses are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc®. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved worldwide. COVER PHOTO: Estradaanton—Getty Images

@Kent_SignsMag JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

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WHAT IN THE WORLD SO FRESH AUSTRALIA

North-west Tasmania has the cleanest air on the planet, according to a claim by a measuring station in the area. The Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station has been testing the air since 1976, and claims the title of the least polluted air on the planet. However, the area is still affected by rising pollution, increasing from a C02 level of 330 parts per million in 1976, to 405 in the present day.—SBS

AUSTRALIA

In the lead-up to March’s NSW election, the Greens announced their commitment to clearing cannabis possession convictions. The historically pro-marijuana party is also aiming to decriminalise the drug, promising $1 million to community centres to assist the process. More than 25,000 NSW residents have recent cannabis possession convictions on their criminal records.—Pedestrian.tv 4

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IAN COCHRANE—FLICKR, PIXABAY, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, JACKIE—PEXELS

RELEASE FROM THE JOINT

GYM

The AUSTRALIAN GYM INDUSTRY is currently valued at

$2.2 BILLION

NO EXCUSES NEW ZEALAND

The Mental Health Foundation has rebuffed claims the Christchurch shooter was mentally ill, saying the massacre was being falsely attributed. “Shooting people is not a symptom of mental illness. White supremacy is not a mental illness,” said a Foundation statement. Islamophobia, anti-immigration and white supremacist sentiments are alleged to have been the shooter’s motives. The massacre claimed the lives of 50 people and injured 50 others.—Stuff.co.nz

and is expected to grow to

$2.8 BILLION BY 2022.

—Australasian Leisure Managment

100% 3:11 PM

Username

1/2 of Australia’s registered fitness professionals say they believe INSTAGRAM

FITNESS INFLUENCERS 120 likes here your caption Username nts 50 comme View all

are A FAD. —Fitness Australia

1.5 MILLION AUSSIES

with a gym membership go

LESS THAN ONCE A WEEK,

wasting fees totalling

TASTE GOOD?

$1.8 billion. —Finder.com.au

USA

Pesticide residue has been discovered in 70 per cent of fresh produce in the United States. Strawberries, spinach and kale are among the fruit and veg that are found to be the most pesticide-laden. Kale is often found with the residue of up to 18 different chemicals. Dacthal—a common pesticide used on kale—is banned in Europe for its potential to cause cancer.—The Guardian

The NEW ZEALAND

GYM INDUSTRY has been growing

6.5% pa since 2010. —ExerciseNZ

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ALL JUICED UP

Go harder. That’s what gym rats tell themselves before their final rep. But steroid abuse? Really?

ALORA GRIFFITHS—UNSPLASH

BY DANIEL KUBEREK

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have a mentor friend at the gym who I catch up with every now and again between sets. He’s one of those massive dudes who everyone in the gym knows—his walk from the locker to the dumbbell rack consists of greeting and fist-bumping pretty much every guy on the way. With eight years of gym wisdom behind him, he’s often emphasised to me how much obsessive behaviour is ultimately irrelevant. “You don’t have to be hard-out eating lean protein all the time. You can eat unhealthy food every now and again; I go to McDonalds sometimes on a weekend. It’s not going to stop you reaching your goals.” In gym rhetoric, eating food that doesn’t contribute to goals occurs on what’s called “cheat day.” One time he approached me in between back-row sets, and started sharing pearls of wisdom. The conversation shifted and we were soon talking about steroids. He started mentioning names. “You know this person?” he asked, describing one of the larger guys that I’d seen around. “He’s using the juice.” He went on to list off a few more of the larger guys at the gym. “Some of them enter natural competitions, but they’re not natural,” he said, using the lingo that refers to bodybuilders going drug-free. We live in a world of constant dissatisfaction. Overweight people feel pressured to become skinny, and skinny people feel pressured to bulk up. It’s often said that the standard is set by movies and magazines, but ultimately it’s what others think that

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drives people to doing some crazy and even illegal things. And this desire to want to reach that standard leads people to cut corners—sometimes with deadly results.

cautionary tale

Aziz Shavershian was a legend to my mates throughout high school, especially when I was in Year 11 in 2012. Some of them had recently discovered the gym and were looking for bodybuilding role-models. Referred to as “Zyzz,” Shavershian epitomised the rags-to-riches story, working his way up from being a lanky kid to exhibiting a “cut” figure with popping muscles. His back-catalogue of “inspirational” expletive-laden YouTube videos may have been unintentionally hilarious, but a horde of internet followers were watching Zyzz’s bodybuilding and party-obsessed lifestyle content. One small problem. Zyzz had actually died in 2011—a cardiac arrest. While on a trip to Thailand, a haven for bodybuilders looking to easily get onto a steroid cycle, Aziz Shavershian suffered a heart attack while in a sauna. It turned out he’d had a congenital heart defect. He’d denied ever using anabolic steroids, though his brother, Said Shavershian, was arrested for possessing the drug in July 2011. A fellow bodybuilder and confessed steroid user Tim Ward recounted a conversation he’d had with Zyzz in the days leading up to his untimely death. He’d asked Zyzz, “What [steroids] are you taking

in Bangkok?” “Everything,” was the answer. “That’s when I warned him, ‘slow down man,’” Ward told traveller.com.au. Zyzz duxed high school and had almost completed his business and

ing to the Heart Foundation, 42.4 per cent of males are overweight in Australia, and 1 in 3 New Zealand men are classified as obese. A lot of positive lifestyle goals, from losing weight to finding stress relief, lead

“

Zyzz had a horde of internet followers . . .

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

commerce degree at the University of Western Sydney when he died at age 22. A life with so much potential, apparently claimed by an obsession to look more muscular.

buyer beware

Aziz Shavershian’s life and unfortunate death highlight a worrying trend among young males. Accord-

to men ending up inside a gym. But we’ve also seen a shift to the other extreme, where young men, in particular, feel pressured to maintain a “shredded” physique. Any bodybuilder, natural or not, will tell you that success is about more than just packing on muscle mass. Ingesting protein is necessary to repair and rebuild muscles, and JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

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vulnerable

Body image is certainly not a gender-specific issue. Much has already been said in the media about the body-image pressure on young women. The plight of young men, however, is often neglected. They often have a skewed perception of masculinity pushed on them also, and are left with a desire to reach unreasonable aesthetic body standards. According to the National Eating Disorders Collaboration, 28 per cent of males aged 11–24 aren’t happy with their appearance. The Collaboration also noted this was resulting in “dangerous dietary practices”, including “weight control methods, excessive exercise, substance abuse and unnecessary surgery to alter appearance”. A study by the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport found 3.2 per cent of high school boys are using steroids, and a Queensland Needle and Syringe Program survey found steroids accounted for 8 per cent of all illicit IV drug use in 2015. The advent of bodybuilding is a fairly recent trend—just a few decades old—but the Bible has some timeless wisdom in regards to being healthy. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit,” 1 Corinthians 6:19,20 asks. “You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.” In a gym context, working out can be honouring God. Losing weight and gaining muscle helps boost your energy levels, improves posture and

RASTUDIO, ALVAREZ—GETTY IMAGES

is found in a lot of both plant and animal foods. But then there’s a whole host of other supplements that you can find at your local supermarket or chemist, including highly caffeinated pre-workout formulae and hydrates, such as creatine, that boost what your body naturally produces. These are all legal and readily available, though their overall health impact is hotly debated. What isn’t legal are the various types of anabolic steroids that add hormones, such as testosterone, into your system. They’ll make you bigger—at a price. Severe acne, genital shrinkage, hair loss and bouts of aggression are all common side effects of anabolic steroids. Then there are the heart problems, which, it seems, contributed to Zyzz’s demise. And let’s not forget the ethical issues surrounding using an illicit substance to become bigger than your fellow gym buddies—especially in preparing for a competition. This begs the question—is it all really worth it?

back health, and can generally boost confidence and positivity. But the Bible also warns about obsessive behaviour and “idolatry”—the worship of idols. This is not only about golden statues, but also objects and behaviors that can lead to infatuation, and remove our attention from a relationship with our heavenly Father. Colossians 3:5 puts it bluntly—“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” Can taking it too far at the gym become an idol too? And what about the internal drive to go to the gym, the feeling like we could always be

better than what we are? The Bible has a special message for the insecure, which reveals God’s true nature as a caring Father: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1). God wants us to love ourselves as much as He loves us. No amount of steroids or extreme gym practices will ever take away how God feels about us and how we look. His love is unconditional. Daniel Kuberek enjoys the regular gym sessions he fits in around his work as assistant editor for Signs of the Times.

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STREET SIGNS I’m going to the gym at the moment because I’m going through a break-up. Everyone says “if you go to the gym, it helps”. But it doesn’t really make a difference anymore. I did go for the first two weeks [after the break-up] and then it’s not very fun. . . . I like someone who goes to the gym, but doesn’t make it obvious all the time. I don’t like people who are obsessed with it.—Emma

The reason why I was big when I was a young bloke—I was three times the size I am now—was because I used to surf. I used to surf waves up to 16 foot. Twelve foot in Yamba [NSW]. . . . To build your body up, surfing is the hardest thing in the world. —David

I go to the gym so I can challenge myself in ways I haven’t been challenged before. . . I want to be able to stand up proud and tall and strong; living up to my potential. And my body is a part of that. Developing my body as much as I can. We’re in our prime years. We may as well push ourselves as far as we can get.—Kevin 12

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IS BIGGER better? In this day and age, so many people are fake. They might look like they’re something, but they’re actually not. I like to think of myself as the real deal. . . . I can go great distances and just carry on while someone who’s just pumping themselves up really big probably can’t go very far. They’ll be hanging out for their protein shake or big meal, and just have a meltdown. They won’t be able to push on.—Peter

Women are human as well, so they’re going to want to expect men to look a certain way. . . . When it becomes wrong is when that becomes the main benchmark. For example, if you’re in a relationship and the person no longer looks the way that they used to look, and the reason you decide not to be with them anymore is simply because of that, then that potentially isn’t right. —Melody JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

IMAGES BY DANIEL KUBEREK

Steroids is cheating. . . . I don’t do sport to look fit or get more women; I do it for fun. [People go to the gym] because they don’t feel happy with their body. They try to look better for the rest, but they don’t look better for themselves.—Gonzalo

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CLOSING THE GAP Is feminism a revenge movement or a long-overdue push for equality? BY CAITLIN JANKIEWICZ

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BRIANAJACKSON—GETTY IMAGES JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

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1800s, a time when women were allowed only a limited education, denied the right to vote and unable to own property. Additionally, the National Museum of Australia says “Women’s bodies were not their own—birth control was illegal and a woman often had to be sexually available to her husband whenever he wanted.” Early feminism aimed to dismantle the systems that relegated women to second-class citizenship, and to grant women basic human rights and a more equal standing with men in society. As a result of early feminist efforts women can now vote and run for office, discrimination on the basis of gender is illegal and, as author Nicholas Kristof writes, “The tide of history is turning women from beasts

TASSII—GETTY IMAGES

n March, Captain Marvel, the latest installment in the Marvel cinematic universe (MCU), was released amid a storm of controversy. Starring Brie Larson in the title role, Captain Marvel is the first MCU movie to feature a female lead. This was incredibly empowering for me as a young woman; I felt like I finally had a Marvel character I could see myself in and relate to. However, this opinion is not shared by everyone. Even months before its release, Captain Marvel was under heavy fire. Online trolls attacked the movie on Rotten Tomatoes to drive down the ratings, and calls to boycott it circulated the internet. Complaints included that Larson didn’t smile enough, that she had too much power and that she and Marvel were pushing a “feminist agenda”. According to Merriam-Webster, feminism is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. If this definition is correct, why are people so upset about the feminism in Captain Marvel ? Well, it seems that, amid misunderstandings and myths, the original meaning and goal of feminism has been lost, replaced with the vitriol and sexism against men that, in the minds of many, characterises contemporary feminism. Feminism in Australia and New Zealand began to stir in the mid-

“

More than half of women aged 18 and older have experienced sexual harassment . . .

of burden and sexual playthings into full-fledged human beings.” The reduction of overt gender discrimination has led some to the incorrect assumption that gender equality has been achieved. The facts suggest otherwise: in Australia, women, who make up 50.7 per cent of the population, take home an average of $251.20 less per week than their male counterparts, a gender pay gap of 15.3 per cent. More than half of women aged 18 and older have experienced sexual harassment at some time in their lives. A quick search on the Parliament of Australia website shows women in government remain significantly under-represented, making up only 32 per cent of sitting members. Globally, almost 750 million women and girls alive

today were married before their eighteenth birthday and at least 200 million have undergone female genital mutilation. According to the Borgen Project, women make up two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population and less than 40 per cent of countries offer equal access to education for both genders. In the face of these inequalities, the need for continued advocacy of women’s rights is clearly evident. According to the BBC, however, many young women don’t identify with the term “feminist”, associating it with man-hating, lesbianism and a lack of femininity. While this may be the result of misconceptions and stereotypes, the focus of some extreme feminists does appear to be bashing and degrading men, as well as belittling women who choose to pursue a more “traditional” lifestyle. This has obscured feminism’s initial intent to promote equal rights for women and has done nothing to bring peace in the battle of the sexes. Though Christianity has had an unfortunate history of misogyny, some may be surprised to learn that gender equality is a concept supported by the Bible. In the Garden of Eden, “God created mankind in his own image . . . male and female he created them”(Genesis 1:27). There was no distinction in rank between the two genders. Though they were JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

from the dead, the first person He different, they were equally perfect appeared to was Mary Magdalene, a and equally valued by God as the woman (John 20:11–16). Not once pinnacle of creation. Though the did Jesus show partiality to men over effects of sin led to men dominating women. Years later, the apostle Paul women, that wasn’t God’s original plan. Time after time throughout the put words to Jesus’ actions: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither Old Testament He made provisions slave nor free, nor is there male and for women, elevating their status female, for you are all one in Christ and ensuring that they couldn’t Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). In the eyes of be abused. The book of Ruth, in God, women are equally as imporparticular, illustrates these concerns. In the decidtant and valuable as men. edly patriarchal Today, femiculture of first century nism in the West Palestine, Jesus no longer needs to In the treated women strive to attain the as equals. He vote for women or decidedly saw them when access to educapatriarchal no one else did. tion. However, He took the achieving these culture of first time to speak goals was only the to a broken, beginning. Gender century Palestine, lonely woman inequality and Jesus treated at a well (John discrimination 4:1–42). He against women women as equals. encouraged continue to be women to issues of global spend time significance. As with Him, together with men, we as a society continue to strive listening to His teaching (Luke towards equality, both globally and 10:38–42). He saw, forgave and locally, we also need to remind both protected a woman caught in men and women of the issues at the adultery (John 8:1–11). He comheart of what feminism really means: that men and women are equal, pletely disregarded the rules of ritual created in the image of God. purity and engaged with a bleeding woman, refusing to condemn her for touching Him (Luke 8:43–48). Even Caitlin Jankiewicz lives in Berrien Springs, USA. She computer science and maths at Andrews when dying on the cross, He ensured studies University. With a penchant for writing, she also that His mother would be provided enjoys rock climbing and baking. for (John 19:26). And after rising

“

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • JUNE 2019

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ELL B EING

SLEEP YOUR WAY TO BETTER HEALTH Sleep is a vital part of staying healthy. If you regularly miss out on sleep, it can impact your brain function, waistline, fertility, immune system and hormone balance. It can even place you at risk of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes. So why aren’t we getting enough sleep? It could come down to technology. As amazing as they can be, online devices have created a culture of being “always on”, meaning we’re working longer hours, sending emails from home, getting notifications at all hours and generally finding it tough to switch off. It’s easy for sleep to be the first thing that suffers. SO HOW MUCH SLEEP DO WE ACTUALLY NEED? Ideally, the average adult needs between seven and nine hours, but everyone is different. Some people can cope with much less sleep. The amount of sleep you need can also change during different life stages. CAN YOU EAT YOUR WAY TO BETTER SLEEP? Lack of sleep can also make you feel hungrier and often

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grumpier. When you don’t get enough sleep, your level of ghrelin (a hormone that makes you feel hungry) goes up and your level of leptin (a hormone that tells your brain you are full) goes down. Eating and drinking to promote a better sleep goes beyond avoiding caffeine and

HOW I CAN GET A BETTER NIGHT’S SLEEP? WORK OUT. Exercise regularly to boost your energy levels throughout the day. In the evening, wind down by choosing quieter activities after dinner.

heartburn-inducing foods. A number of studies have found a range of nutrients may help you to fall asleep faster and sleep soundly. These nutrients include: • Selenium: studies show that a lack of selenium may play a role in sleep abnormalities. You can top up your supplies by eating Brazil nuts and sunflower seeds. • Magnesium: getting enough magnesium has been linked to sleep quality. To boost your magnesium levels eat green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale. • Vitamin D: there has been a strong link between lack of vitamin D and excessive sleepiness during the day. As well as sunshine, you can get vitamin D from mushrooms and some fortified foods and beverages, such as soy milk. • Melatonin: this is a hormone produced by the brain that is linked with how our body prepares for sleep. It is also found in some plant foods, including pineapples, bananas and oranges.

DRINK UP. Stay well hydrated throughout the day. Keep a water bottle at your desk or in your bag to remind you to drink up. However, ease off before bedtime to reduce night-time trips to the bathroom.

VOLHA_R—SHUTTERSTOCK

SWITCH OFF. Turn off screens, including TV, radio and smartphones, to help your mind switch off before bed. Try avoiding having any technology in your bedroom at all.

Article courtesy of Sanitarium Health & Wellbeing. Visit sanitarium.com. au or sanitarium.co.nz and subscribe to Wholicious living for more great health and nutrition info each month. JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

ELL B EING

S D A D HURT TOO

What do you do when you inadvertently brush up against a stranger’s pain? BY LYN MEDHURST

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PATRICKHEAGNEY—GETTY IMAGES JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

was waiting in a Chicago airport lounge for my flight to Toronto to open. I chose a seat to “people- watch” as I waited—it’s a pastime that usually serves well in whittling away time, and often provides considerable amusement. But, on this occasion, I noticed a handsome young man in his early 30s talking on his mobile phone, pacing up and down and getting more and more agitated. I began to feel uneasy as I watched and told myself it was none of my business—look away. But my concern for him did not dissipate—I had a strong sense that I should do something to help, but what? As he paced, I noticed him becoming more heated and his manner become more desperate—even to the point of almost throwing his phone! I listened in alarm as he waved his arms, gesturing his frustration and protesting, “Why should the grandparents have all the say?” and with choking breath—almost a sob, “But he is my son, too!” Sadly, the body language of this desperate young man was an all-too-familiar scene—our son had experienced the frustration and gut-wrenching sadness over a number of years of having his sons taken away from him. So, try as I might, I could not shake my concern and empathy. Again, I reasoned with my inner self that this wasn’t my business, but my sense that I was being prompted to intervene was becoming irresistible. Suddenly I felt myself propelled across the

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thoroughfare to where the young man had paused to write a text message. “Hello, I can see you’re very distressed,” I said. “Can I give you a hug?” His reply was instantaneous: “Oh yes please!” We embraced and he hung on. The poor guy was hot and sweaty and very distressed emotionally. I listened to his sorry plight—he was being denied access to his precious five-year-old son. He couldn’t understand it. He had known the mother of his son since Year 8, and now it all seemed to be falling apart. I listened, not asking the circumstances of their relationship. He looked at me, his eyes bright with tears and full of pain, “I’m a good dad and love my son so much.” It really undid me to experience his pain. We cried together. I asked if I could pray for him— was it another prompting from my heavenly Father? The young man readily agreed and told me his name. So I prayed a simple prayer for Scott, his precious son and his situation, asking God to resolve the impasse amicably and to give Scott a measure of God’s love and the ability to be patient and wise through the difficult time he was experiencing. He told me he had listened to an audio recording of a church service that morning on his way to the airport, and now when he needed it, I’d asked him if he needed a hug and prayed with him. “I don’t know what I might have done without this intervention,” he told me.

JUANMONINO—GETTY IMAGES

Scott looked down at his watch and said, “I really must hurry to catch my plane, but thank you so much for approaching me, a stranger, to offer a hug.” He hugged me again and I hugged him like my son, both with tears in our eyes. As he began to rush off he quickly turned and asked, “How did you know I needed a hug?” “I have a son like you who has gone through something similar,” I replied. Inside I was saying to myself, God told me! My mother-heart ached for him and still does, but I continue to pray that God will keep Scott in

His care, and reunite him with his precious son. So often opportunities come our way to say a kind word, give a hug or speak about God’s love. Do we listen to those nudges or shrug them off, saying, “It’s none of my business”? We never know where God will use us if we open our hearts to His promptings. Give it a go, I’m sure glad I did. Lyn Medhurst is an active grandmother who lives in Bonnells Bay, Australia.

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ELL B EING

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PAIN:

my journey It’s a tough way to learn, but pain can teach us lessons that are hard to appreciate any other way. BY LYN SCARR

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PORNCHAI SODA—GETTY IMAGES

AIN. Just the mention of the word usually causes us to recoil, to shudder at the very thought. I’m sure most of us can identify with that feeling at some point in our lives. Pain can come in varying degrees—a sharp twinge in bending the wrong way or neglecting to warm up before an exercise routine, to prolonged, searing pain that seemingly never finds relief no matter what we do. Sometimes prolonged pain can be productive—it can alert us to further investigate our ongoing distress and recognise that our symptoms are in fact a warning signal of a deeper issue. It’s a prompt to address complications of a more serious nature. Pain is not always physical. Emotional pain can be just as debilitating, sometimes more so, and is often borne privately for many years, sometimes a lifetime. It’s hidden because we feel

2. I can still use my unaffected arm.

3. I can still walk.

4. I have medical and financial help and support.

5. My own pain has helped me to realise more fully the depth of

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“

. . . I realise more fully that my own pain is but a shadow of the pain Jesus bore for me.

other people’s pain—sometimes it’s easy to forget when are not in pain ourselves. 6.

6. It has helped me to realise I need to take more time out for rest and recovery and not feel guilty in seeking that balance.

7. Sometimes we can be too stoic in not acknowledging our pain and thereby deny others and ourselves a blessing in their ministry to us.

8. I’m thankful for practical help from family and friends.

9. It has helped me to realise that sometimes nature just has to takes its course and can’t be hurried— it’s a lesson in patience.

10.

10. By not working in my usual capacity I’ve had more time for prayer and personal reflection.

KEVINCARDEN—LIGHTSTOCK

others won’t understand, or maybe they’ll even judge us. Perhaps the hurt is too raw to acknowledge or express. Behind a managed smile there is often a heavy heart. Silent tears can be very lonely. Constant nagging pain is a slippery slope, at times all-consuming. When there is no physical evidence of pain, the sufferer is often dismissed or not taken seriously. My pain began after a workplace incident in which I sustained a “frozen shoulder”. At times I felt the pain was almost unbearable. My range of movement in the affected shoulder was reduced to almost nil. While my pain has decreased somewhat, six months later my range of movement remains limited. Sitting on my bed in tears one day I thought, Surely God has a purpose in all of this and I asked myself, Can I find 10 things to be thankful for in my pain? I surprised myself when I got started. In fact, I found 11 things to praise God for! I want to share these insights with you in the hope that you too can find reasons to hope and find some blessings, even through painful times: 1. 1. My injury was not sustained to my dominant arm.

11.

11. I’ve been reminded of timeless words of wisdom, such as “This too shall pass”, “The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step” and the Serenity Prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.” Having said those words to others many times, did I really believe them myself in my own situation?

Having had much time to contemplate the feelings and emotions pain evokes, I realise more fully my own pain is but a shadow of the pain Jesus bore for me. It is but a glimpse of the immense suffering He was willing to bear to show us the Father’s unfathomable love. Agonising pain, shame, torment and humiliation were His lot in order to reconcile a broken

and hurting world to Himself. God can and does bring blessing out of the most soul-shattering and trying circumstances. “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you,” says the Bible in Hebrews 13:5. Those are words worth clinging to. If you are living with pain, don’t lose hope. Allow Jesus to press you to His heart and give you peace within the pain. We may not see it at the time through our tears, but God’s promises are sure. The last few lines of that beautiful poem, “Footprints”, sums up the essence of divine love in a hurting world: “When you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.” Lyn Scarr is a nurse in Ocean Shores, on NSW’s north coast.

JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

ELL B EING

GO HEALTHY for good WITH

DR NERIDA MCKIBBEN

PAWS FOR THOUGHT

ON TOP OF THE WORLD

RISKY WORK ENVIRONMENTS

Researchers in New Zealand assessed lifestyle and occupational exposure of patients with motor neuron disease (MND). There was close to a threefold increase in risk and positive associations between employment duration and MND for agricultural workers. Petrol station attendants had a whopping eight-fold increased risk, while the risk for fishery workers, hunters and trappers rose six-fold. It’s not clear yet how these occupations increase the risk of MND.—Occup Environ Medicine 30

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • JUNE 2019

Australia is one of the only English-speaking nations in the top 10 of the 2019 Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index. Rankings include 169 nations. This year, Australia slipped a couple of spots to seventh place and New Zealand rose to 18. The top 10 list includes mostly European nations, with Spain at number one.—New Daily

MEL ELIAS—UNSPLASH, JUDAM—PIXABAY, IMAGINIMA, MASTA4650—GETTY IMAGES, REPUBLICA—PIXABAY, FATCAMERA—GETTY IMAGES

Women who own pets may be at greater risk of lung cancer. A large study of cancer deaths found that women who own a cat or a bird are twice as likely to die from lung cancer as those who do not. This finding persisted even after adjusting for smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity and weight. Dogs did not confer greater risk, and men did not appear to have any increased risk from owning dogs, cats or birds. —Environmental Research

PROTEIN RISK

A 20-year study has found that men who get most of their protein from animal-based foods have a 23 per cent higher risk of death than men eating a mix of animalbased and plant-based protein. Eating more than 200 grams of meat per day was associated with a 23 per cent greater risk of death, compared to eating less than 100 grams a day. Eating more protein overall was associated with a greater risk of death in men with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer.—news-medical.net

ANYTIME FITNESS Doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in the evening does not seem to disrupt sleep, according to a recent Australian study. The study tracked the sleep patterns of 11 men after they’d completed 30 minutes of HIIT on a bike, either in the morning, afternoon or evening. They exercised at maximum intensity for one minute and then rested for four minutes, repeating the cycle six times. They slept fine, regardless of when the exercise was undertaken.—HealthDay News

KEEP MOVING!

Even 10 minutes a day of brisk walking can help people with osteoarthritis to maintain their independence. A four-year study of 1500 seniors with arthritis in their legs and hips found that the majority of those doing at least an hour a week of moderate-tovigorous physical activity were more likely to be able to bathe and dress themselves, and to cross the street quickly enough to be safe at the end of the study. —HealthDay News Dr Nerida McKibben, a New Zealand-born obstetrician and gynaecological surgeon, passionately enables people to achieve their greatest health potential. Wanting everyone to live life to the fullest, she integrates wholistic principles into medical treatments and procedures. For more, go to www.hop.ec/gohealthyforgood JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

ELL B EING

Overcoming

OPIOID ADDICTION A SUCCESS STORY

I felt completely helpless and hopeless— prescription drugs had destroyed my life. But it wasn’t the end of my journey. BY CASSIDY WEBB

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SPUKKATO—GETTY IMAGES JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

llicit drug abuse has become a serious problem for communities across the developed world. It shows no signs of slowing down, as rates of opioid-related deaths have increased by nearly 30 per cent in the past two years. Hundreds of opioid prescriptions are being written daily and between eight and 12 per cent of people in my country, the USA, who are prescribed an opioid medication will become addicted to it. In my story, I was the one who fell into addiction, but I was fortunate enough to embark on a journey of sobriety. The first time I tried opioids was after my wisdom teeth were removed. I was prescribed enough pills to take for 18 days, but they were gone within six. When one pill failed to take the pain away, I took another and found myself in a euphoric oblivion that I fell in love with immediately. Not only did it take away my pain, but it made me feel calm. I struggled with anxiety— it was like having a hamster wheel in my head that never stopped spinning. But opioids brought that hamster wheel to a complete stop. I

finally felt at peace. In addition to curing my anxiety, opioids took away the feelings of insecurity I had struggled with for so long. I had always felt like the black sheep. Whether it was among my peers or my family, I always had this indescribable feeling of inadequacy. Opioids made me feel comfortable in my own skin. I believe that I was addicted right away. I found the medicine that would fix the way I felt and I ran with it. The very thing that started as the solution to my problems became the thing that destroyed my life—it took everything from me. I was deceitful, untrustworthy and manipulative. I couldn’t be relied upon, so people stopped trying to help me. I faced legal charges, was fired from jobs and was (rightfully) abandoned by my friends and family. Regardless of the pain I put others through, the only thing that truly made me want to get sober was the internal depression I was inflicting upon myself. For months on end, I woke up each morning swearing to myself that I would not use that day,

•

FAST FACTS ABOUT

OPIOID DEPENDENCY

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • JUNE 2019

About 750,000 Australians are currently addicted to opioids • Out of the 1800-plus opioid-related deaths each year in Australia, two-thirds involve legal medications. Deaths exceed the road toll in most states • New Zealand has so far avoided widespread opioid addiction, but pain medication prescriptions are increasing Source: news.com.au / stuff.co.nz

professionals call “dual diagnosis”— an addiction and a mental health disorder that each impacted the other. I was able to learn more about how past trauma and my mental health struggles made me more susceptible to substance use. It was comforting to learn that I was not alone in my efforts to self-medicate my underlying mental health issues—the majority of people with substance use disorder also struggle with a mental illness. The treatment centre I went to was faith-based. My counsellor emphasised the importance of faith in a Higher Power for individuals in substance abuse treatment. Since I was completely powerless over opioids, I had to rely on a Power greater than myself to relieve my compulsion to get high. Despite the resentment towards religion I had developed as a child, I began to pray. I was desperate enough that I was willing to try anything that would take away the pain I felt. Slowly but surely, I came to realise that God was the only reason I was still alive. Through the

but each and every day I failed. I couldn’t make it through the vicious withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawals felt like the worst case of the flu—there were cold chills and hot sweats, restlessness in my legs, sharp pains that I felt in every area of my body, diarrhoea and vomiting. But the worst symptom of all was the voice in my head that convinced me to give up and get high once again. My addiction was irrevocably more powerful than me. My depression and anxiety became worse than ever before. I formulated a plan to intentionally overdose and end my own life. I simply saw no way out of the chains that bound me to opioid addiction. In 2017, nearly 47,000 Americans died due to an opioid-related overdose, but I wasn’t one of them. I woke up feeling completely defeated, so I made the decision to go to treatment. Seeking professional help was absolutely necessary in order for me to recover. Before treatment, I had no idea why I couldn’t just stop getting high and I had no idea that I was suffering from what health RISK FACTORS FOR

FALLING INTO ADDICTION

• • • • •

Mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression or bipolar Exposure to emotional, physical or sexual trauma and/or abuse Genetic predisposition—children whose parents have substance use disorder are more likely to suffer as adults themselves Environmental influence—being raised in or spending considerable time in a setting where drugs are used Early drug use in adolescent years JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

multitude of dangerous situations I had put myself in, I was kept safe. Through prayer and meditation I developed a faith in God; if I were to trust in Him, He would provide. Treatment wasn’t the end of my recovery. I continue to work hard each day to do the things I need to do to stay sober. I surround myself with women who have more clean time than I do and I follow them around like a lost puppy. I want the life they have, so I do the things they tell me to do. I attend recovery meetings with a group of sober people who share their experiences. I continue to pray to God, I practise spiritual principles such as honesty and unselfishness, and I lend a hand to help the next sick and suffering addict. Perhaps the biggest blessing I have received is a life based on service to others. I believe that my God-given purpose in life is to show other women exactly how I overcame the disease of addiction with the same vigilance demonstrated by the women who showed me in the beginning. Today, I have the privilege of watching others recover from the disease of addiction. I get to watch the light come back to their eyes. I get to watch colour return to their skin as they get healthy. I get to watch women return to their families to be a good mother, daughter and friend. I have come to appreciate all the suffering I endured, because it gives me the opportunity to share my experience, strength and hope 36

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Still in recovery: the author today.

with others. I believe that if one less person dies from an opioid overdose today, my job has only just begun. Cassidy Webb is an avid writer from Florida, USA. She works for a digital marketing company that advocates spreading awareness on the disease of addiction. Key information in this article is drawn from from drugabuse.gov and Psychology Today. To find more resources aimed at helping people overcome addiction, visit adf.org.au or call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (Australia) or 0800 54 33 54 (New Zealand).

WHO IS IN CONTROL?

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FA IT H

Right Place,

RIGHT TIME Believing in God only becomes real when it affects the way you live. BY JOTHAM KINGSTON 38

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • JUNE 2019

t’s easy to lampoon people who are “hyper-spiritual”. Perhaps, like me, you’ve smirked quietly when someone who considers themselves “holier than thou” loses composure when their toddler spills juice on the carpet. Or if you’ve seen the 2008 kids’ movie Kung Fu Panda, you’ve probably laughed at Master Shifu’s unspiritual annoyance at the eager but blundering Po. As a person who grew up in what you’d call a religious environment, I’m horrified at the prospect of being lampooned as hyper-spiritual. Because of my background, it would be easy for me to fall into the trap of observing the outward forms of spirituality and unconsciously pressuring people around me to do the same, while on the other hand have a glaring character flaw that’s obvious to everyone except me. Consequently, I’ve spent decades pursuing an authentic, practical spirituality. By this I mean building a lifestyle where my dayto-day actions are grounded, genuine and more than just skin-deep. I’ve found a few tips and tricks along the way that I think are worth sharing.

LEOPATRIZI—GETTY IMAGES

understanding spirituality

What does spirituality mean? YouTube comedian J P Sears expresses the common view that “no-one knows what that actually is”. I, on the other hand, am brave enough to hazard a definition. Spirituality describes how a person puts their beliefs about supernatural things into practice. You may, for example, have beliefs about the existence of karma, angels, God, honouring the dead, an afterlife, etc. But it’s only when JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

beliefs about these things are put into action that spirituality emerges. Beliefs about supernatural things emerge because, at the most basic level, humans face two problems that exceed the boundaries of the natural world. The first problem is death. Throughout history, humans have believed that there must be some supernatural loophole to cheat death and get to an ideal afterlife. The second problem is that humans across space and time experience a persistent and deep-seated sense of unease, and feel a need to be “at peace” or “in harmony” with God, or Self or Nature or the Universe. Consequently, spiritual practices in general—meditation, prayer, pilgrimages, fasting—are expressions of the desire to be in harmony with the supernatural.

so which spirituality?

So if all spirituality addresses the same basic problems, then are they all equally valid? My answer to this question is “no”. If the supernatural is real then obviously there are some things that won’t work to bring a person into harmony, the same as there are some diets that won’t work to make a person healthy. So which spirituality? For me it’s important that my spirituality is grounded—not on a set of traditions or on a vague feeling in my spleen—but on reality. For example, if I sincerely believed that the earth rested on the back of a turtle, and it was turtles all the way down, my 40

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sincerity would not make my belief true. This is why it’s important to me to weigh up the evidence. Consequently, I have grounded my spirituality on a real, historical event, for which there is ample evidence: That around 2000 years ago in the Middle East, Jesus of Nazareth was executed and came back to life just as He predicted, and showed Himself to hundreds of people. As the saying goes, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” If Jesus cheated death and found that loophole into the afterlife, then I’m willing to trust His explanations about supernatural realities recorded in the Bible. Furthermore, I continue to find the spirituality of Jesus Christ refreshing, authentic and pleasantly very far from the lame “hyper-spiritual” stereotype. Here’s how I’ve been trying to apply His example in my own life.

#1 At the heart of Jesus’ explanation of spirituality is the concept of BE FREE AND CREATIVE!

freedom. A New Testament writer, the apostle Paul, explains that Jesus’ death and resurrection was intentional, that its purpose was to offer humans freedom, and that the purpose of freedom is freedom itself: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). So while Jesus did not speak in terms of harmony and disharmony, He did speak in terms of slavery and freedom. He described a spiritual person as being free like the wind: “The wind blows wherever

it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). Putting freedom at the centre of spirituality is both exciting and liberating. A person who is free has a will that is not bound by physical and chemical processes, but that has the power to make change on the natural world. This is the essence of Godgiven creativity; to “make things up” that have never been. Thus creativity is tied up with authentic spirituality and extends to such things as building a bridge over a creek, writing a song, organising a birthday party or coding a computer app.

#2 But surely, nerding up some

SHIRONOSOV—GETTY IMAGES

“DO IT ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD”

computer code is as far from spiritual as you can get, yes? Well, no. Not according to the Bible. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10) or “So whether you eat or drink, or what-

ever you do, do it all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). This perspective shows that there need be no gap between “spiritual” and “mundane”, but that even everyday things can be elevated. This means it’s possible for me in my high school classroom to teach to glorify God, or to ride my bike to glorify God, or to clean the kitchen to glorify God. Eric Liddell, the Scottish sprinter who competed in the 1924 Olympics, summed it up in his famous quote, “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” This idea of living to the glory of God goes beyond mindfulness and gratitude. It captures the idea of living life as a response, in harmony with the Creator Himself. As I’m growing in this, I’m coming to the realisation that living to the glory of God is eclipsing my drive for money and recognition, and even security.

#3 Obviously, there are some things that you can’t do to the glory SERVE OTHER PEOPLE

JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

#4 The biblical account shows that Jesus’ approach to life often RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

seemed haphazard, yet He was regularly and remarkably “in the right place at the right time” for serendipitous encounters where He was able to serve others. These serendipitous meetings bear witness that Jesus lived in harmony with God moment by moment. The key to Jesus’ successful method seems to be that He regularly spent time alone in prayer, often outdoors, and that during this prayer time the communication went two ways. This focused prayer time put Him in deep harmony with God. Here’s an example: “Very early in the morning, while 42

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it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: ‘Everyone is looking for you!’ Jesus replied, ‘Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come’” (Mark 1:35–38). To Jesus’ followers, this sudden decision to abandon His admirers in that town and move on must have seemed haphazard—illogical even. But the momentum of Jesus’ life was driven by the Spirit-wind He’d talked about—a wind that could not yet be seen or heard by His followers. I’ve discovered that the hardest thing about learning to be “in the right place at the right time” is

PACIFIC PRESS—GOODSALT

of God. There are things that are the opposite of spiritual and are described in the Bible as “carnal” or “works of the flesh”. Jesus said, for example, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride and foolishness” (Mark 7:20–22, NLT*). The common thread here is selfishness, and the purpose of freedom is not selfishness, but service. As the apostle Paul says, “Do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself ’” (Galatians 5:13,14).

“

. . . Jesus’ approach to life often seemed haphazard, yet He was regularly and remarkably “in the right place at the right time”.

dealing with the sense of panic when events seem to go awry. For example, I lose my keys and spend an extra six minutes looking for them, but this delay places me in the right position to meet an acquaintance who needs support hours later. In this context, Jesus’ warning against worrying snaps into focus: “Do not worry about your life. . . . but seek first [God’s] kingdom” (Matthew 6:25,33). In other words, instead of panicking, take a moment to be curious and ask, What is God doing in this situation? For me, learning to be in the right place at the right time is gradually displacing a sense of busyness and restlessness.

over to you

For me, “right place, right time” is the sweet spot that is the cul-

mination of my beliefs about the supernatural world. It lies at the intersection of human freedom, serving other people and “doing all to the glory of God.” There’s nothing “hyper-spiritual” about it and I’ve found over the years that continuing to seek out the right place at the right time through a prayer connection with God results in God putting me into situations that give Him an opportunity to heal the blind spots in my soul. It’s a practice that is unique, authentic, brings peace and is highly satisfying. Jotham Kingston is a high school religion teacher. He lives with his family near Kempsey, on NSW’s mid-north coast. * Bible verses marked NLT are used with permission from the New Living Translation, copyright © 2015, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois.

JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

IE N

CE/ TE

THE CUTTING EDGE

TOP 3

CONSERVATION DAYS THIS MONTH 1. World Environment Day (June 5) Started in 1974 by the United Nations (UN), the day is recognised in 100 countries to acknowledge humanity’s impact on the earth. This year’s theme is #beatplasticpollution.—UN 2. World Oceans Day (June 8) Conceived by the Canadian government in 1992 and run by The Global Ocean Project since 2002, the day raises awareness about the importance of the ocean, and protecting and conserving it.—Global Ocean Project 3. World Day to Combat Desertification (June 17) One billion people in 100 countries are threatened by the growing spread of deserts. The UN hopes to decrease the threat to ecosystems by promoting the planting of trees and hedges.—UN

INNOVATIVE PLACES OF WORSHIP The main chapel of the Ibraki Kasugaoka Church in Osaka was designed by Tadao Ando and finished in 1989. Scaffolding from construction has been turned into pews, and the reinforced concrete walls feature an opening in the shape of a cross. 44

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • JUNE 2019

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, JUNAIDRAO—FLICKR,FREEPIK

CHURCH OF LIGHT (OSAKA, JAPAN)

UPCOMING TECH EVENTS LONDON TECH WEEK

(10–14 JUNE)

A week-long expo that brings together tech leaders. Events include the upcoming 5G rollout and summits on how artificial intelligence can assist business. The expo will also discuss how workplaces will look in the future of technology.

(11–13 JUNE)

The Los Angeles-hosted event is renowned for being the video game industry’s premiere showcase event. As well as servicing gamers, E3 also introduces cutting edge hardware and software, in mediums such as electronic and print media.

AI FOR GOOD SUMMIT

(20–21 JUNE)

Hosted in San Francisco, the summit will explore the benefit of upcoming artificial intelligence technologies on healthcare, education and more. The summit asks the question—”How can AI be used as a tool for public good?”

CARDBOARD CATHEDRAL (CHRISTCHURCH, NZ) During Christchurch’s 2011 earthquakes, the landmark Anglican cathedral was severely damaged. A cardboard cathedral designed by Shigeru Ban was nominated as a 10–15 year temporary replacement and opened in August 2013. Ninety-six large cardboard tubes comprise the church’s A-frame roofline, combined with laminated wood and polyurethane. The cathedral seats 700 people.

BOSJES CHAPEL (WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA) Conceptualised in 2012, the chapel design draws inspiration from Psalm 36:7. The large windows provide views of vineyards, mountain vistas and a nearby pond. Unlike traditional churches, the chapel does not have a spire, instead exhibiting a unique wave roof that touches the ground.

JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

FA IT H

HOW TO

e t a r b e Cel THE

SABBATH

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • JUNE 2019

Catch a glimpse of how Sabbath observance brings families and communities together.

MONKEYBUSINESSIMAGES—GETTY IMAGES

BY CHRISTELLE AGBOKA

JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

culminated in hugs as we wished one another “Happy Sabbath”, setting the tone for a weekend celebrating an amazing life. Being raised in a Seventh-day Adventist home, Sabbath observance was a given. Every week, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, my family and I would refrain from work (paid employment, study, housework) and secular activities, including sports, shopping, watching TV or reading non-religious books. Our Sabbaths typically included family worship on Friday and Saturday evenings, church attendance on Saturday, lunch as a family or occasionally with other families, and physical rest. Growing up, while I enjoyed aspects of the Sabbath—such as the increased family time and seeing my

Sabbath best: Ladine (white jacket) shares worship with her family. 48

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SUPPLIED

y grandmother’s eightieth birthday celebration began as most of our family reunions do—with a Friday evening worship session. As the sun descended below the horizon, 13 of us from across Canada and the US—one great-grandchild, six young adult grandchildren, four children and two sons-in-law—converged on my aunt’s cosy living room to welcome in the biblical Sabbath. After a busy week of travel and preparation for the special event, we finally had a moment of spiritual and physical rest. Even family members who were no longer regular churchgoers appeared relaxed and happy as we sang well-loved hymns, read a passage from the Bible and prayed for one another. The familiar scene

peers at church—it often felt like a routine; a list of “can’t dos”. However, as life grew more complicated once I left home, I came to see the beauty of the Sabbath, a reflection of Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28 (NLT*): “Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” I came to crave the Sabbath—a time to set aside stresses and rest in Jesus’ love. These days, working full-time as a communications professional and living solo, my Sabbaths vary widely—from a quiet Friday night at home and attendance at a local church, to a packed weekend attending special church services or events. To understand a broader spectrum of Sabbath experiences, I interviewed friends from different walks of life—Fifa, a single 20-something media professional; and three women in their 30s and 40s—Aimee, a graphic designer married to a pastor; Pastor Liz, co-director of Family Ministries with her husband at a regional headquarters of the Adventist Church; and Ladine, a high school teacher whose husband is a financial counsellor—all married mums with kids. Here’s what they had to say:

1peace during theToSabbath, gain a sense of it’s best AVOID A PERFECTIONIST ATTITUDE.

to prepare as much as possible before sunset on Friday—cleaning the house, ironing and setting out clothes, preparing food and snacks,

etc. However, your pre-Sabbath preparations may fall short. As Ladine says, “You feel the challenge of the deadline and sometimes can’t get everything done ahead of time.” Remember that the Sabbath was not meant to be a burden; it was created for our benefit. As Jesus stated, when questioned about healing on the Sabbath, “Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).

ACCEPT THAT YOUR SABBATH EXPERIENCE MAY BE MORE STRESSFUL, DEPENDING ON YOUR STAGE OF LIFE. All three mums

admitted that Sabbaths with very young children can be difficult. Aimee, who has two boys, Sky and Hero, ages seven and nine, respectively, and a one-year-old daughter, Cassia, described spending much of the Sabbath caring for her kids, particularly her baby girl, so her husband can focus on his ministry—Sabbath is the busiest day of the week for him! This means she’s usually up at 6.30 am so she can get the kids organised. Whatever your situation, remember that while the Sabbath may not always be restful, “[God’s] power is made perfect in [our] weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). For stressed-out mums, that’s a message worth remembering at almost any time!

CURB TECHNOLOGY BY REPLACING IT WITH OTHER ACTIVITIES. Like many of us, in JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

4 Fifa recalls going for family Sabbath walks along the beach CELEBRATE THE BEAUTY OF GOD IN NATURE.

in his native Madagascar. While he now lives in the much colder climate of Canada, he still goes on hikes with friends on occasion. Ladine, her husband and kids are taking more walks as a family, where they can actively learn in God’s creation. She notes that it’s one thing to read in the Bible how God cares for the sparrows (Matthew 10:29), but quite another to watch a sparrow in real

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Aimee and family.

life and wonder at how God can provide for such a delicate creature. For her, a key purpose of Sabbath is to encourage us to acknowledge God as Creator (see Revelation 14:6,7).

5to church and seeing“Herohis loves going friends,”

COMMEMORATE THE SABBATH IN COMMUNITY.

says Aimee of her nine-year-old. She hopes all her children will experience what she did growing up—lifelong bonds with church friends who became family. Living alone, Fifa especially appreciates his church’s

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his professional and personal life, Fifa spends a lot of time on the internet. On the Sabbath, he makes a concerted effort to change his thoughts from everyday things to spiritual matters. He’s found, though, that when he tries to forfeit his usual weekday activities without replacing them with something else, it’s hard to keep from relapsing into those activities. Thus, he reads spiritual books on Sabbath instead of going online—“it refills my spiritual energy and helps me refocus,” he says. Ladine and her family are also increasingly seeking the “discipline of disconnection” with activities such as visiting nursing homes, sharing their faith or going for walks. Disconnecting weekly helps us better filter what we view online, as per the ancient, but surprisingly apt words of Psalm 119:37: “Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.”

“ Sabbath is not about rules, it’s about relationships. weekly Sabbath shared lunch, which often includes birthday celebrations. As a fairly new vegetarian, he appreciates the wide range of delicious vegetarian foods offered—typical of many Adventist churches. It’s also a welcome opportunity to socialise with friends he doesn’t see during the week. Hebrews 10:25 states, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” If you grew up with the Sabbath, it’s easy to take it for granted, yet it is an invaluable gift given by a God who cares about our relationships and our health. And Sabbath has proven benefits! Researchers who traversed the globe to study populations with large numbers of centenarians and overall better health discovered that the largely Seventh-day Adventist-populated Loma Linda, California, is a Blue Zone—one of only five regions

worldwide known for longevity. Moreover, in this study and others, the Sabbath, including resting from weekly activities and attending religious services, was found to promote better mental and physical health. Finally, Sabbath is not about rules; it’s about relationships. Ladine said her love for the Sabbath has grown as she’s grown closer to God. “In this world of anxiety, overwork and stress, the Sabbath is an antidote—on a physical, spiritual and emotional basis. The Sabbath reminds us that when God created the world, He carved out a specific time for a cessation of work so He could connect with us. Sabbath observance is a love walk with a Saviour who’s given us so many gifts.” Christelle Agboka heads up the communication department for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ontario, Canada. * Bible verses in this article are taken from the New Living Translation, copyright © 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois. JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

FA IT H

THE

MYSTERY OF Faith Will all our questions ever be answered? Or is it best that some things remain unknowable? BY TIM COSTELLO

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • JUNE 2019

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few years ago, my wife and I attended the hilarious Broadway hit The Book of Mormon. The plot goes like this: two Mormon missionaries sent out from Salt Lake City, USA, to Uganda find themselves in a community riddled with HIV/AIDS, polluted water, gender oppression, and a militia leader raping and enslaving women. The missionaries are total novices who lose the plot and screw up the Mormon message so badly that, when the Mormon elders visit, the missionaries are excommunicated. The elders are shocked at the syncretism of the recently converted African Mormons and kick them out of the Church, destroying their hopes of moving to Salt Lake City, their promised land. The converts are shattered by this rejection. But through their grief the Ugandans realise that, despite their rejection by the official Mormon church, their home has changed and they no longer need to emigrate to Salt Lake City. The spread of HIV/AIDS has stopped, they have clean water, the girls are in school and the militia leader is now a peaceful Mormon family man (keeping his wives). Here is the power of transcendent belief. Even if it is a corrupted Mormon placebo, it worked. There are not too many cynical musicals lampooning religion that you leave inspired by hope, yet that’s exactly what my wife and I experienced. Religion has also played a role in the World Bank’s audacious goal to eliminate absolute poverty by the year 2030. Previous president Dr Jim Yong Kim knew that technocratic plans, however JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

smart, cannot deliver development outcomes without alignment with religious faiths. Holy men and religious institutions are still the main cultural force and spiritual glue in many societies, and people will only be committed to change if they see these development goals framed in the language of their faith. The result is a remarkable document written about the moral and spiritual imperative called “Our Common Understanding”. It sets out a shared moral consensus between all the great faiths to respond to the many in the world living in degrading conditions. The religious leaders pledge to lead a compelling vision to end extreme poverty by the year 2030. Faith is clearly experiencing a resurgence, from courses offered in medical schools to the World Bank to the arts. I know that if I had a church with all the Christians who still believe, but no longer attend church, it would be the biggest megachurch in the nation by a country mile. But just because they no longer attend church does not mean that all these disparate people and groups are not committed to pursuing spiritual meaning. Spiritual meaning is how people find solace in times of tragedy. I cannot explain why people suffer from natural disasters or innocent children endure terrible disabilities. I have read the various explanations of where evil comes from, and I worry that too many of these answers seek to exonerate God—from “people do 54

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not have enough faith” to “God has a deeper plan and purpose.” I believe that God, in creating us, made us in His image, but He did not merely duplicate Himself. So I understand that humans have a different, independent existence; we are not just replicas of God. When that freedom results in selfishness, racism, sexism and militarism, God cannot be blamed for the choices we make. But, although understanding is important for meaning, and meaning matters most to me, I have no answer to the puzzle. Even without comprehensive answers I find I still believe. Call it foolishness or dishonesty, but I know that without this trust I would find myself less equipped to respond to the human suffering, whether caused by war and famine or cyclones, earthquakes and tsunamis, that has

occupied my professional life at rendered many rituals questionable, World Vision. like the Hopi Indian’s rising before Spiritual knowing is not the same dawn each day to pray the sun up. as scientific knowledge. Spirituality This story may be apocryphal but, takes mystery seriously. Even an as I heard it, when an anthropologist atheist like John Dewey wanted suggested they try an experiment religion taught in schools because and sleep in for just one morning, he recognised this form of knowing. they refused. When asked why, they We know that the religious impulse said, “And what—plunge the whole is deeply rooted in human nature: world into total darkness for the sake from thousands of your stupid of years ago there experiment?” is evidence of ritAnd at a deeper- meaning level uals and symbols they were right. we used to give The meaning us meaning. and rhythm With the We know that of their lives, advent of the culture and alphabet about the religious community 5000 BC, proimpulse is deeply would have been found questions shattered. about meaning rooted in human Likewise, we and purpose in the West are could be shared. nature . . . all still struggling The ancient with this loss of Greeks called it purpose. The philosophy, but Protestant Reformation in a sense it was still religious discourse. Of ushered in the first scientific religion, course, the advent of the printing with assertions about the inerrant press in the 1530s spread the Bible word of God and scriptural truth and spurred the Protestant Reformain geology and history and science. tion, but it also gave rise to science. Inevitably it led to critical methods Different ideas could be spread and being applied to the Bible as much tested and analysed. as to non-sacred literature to test The Reformation God was authorship and influences, which, for separate from His creation, so you many, undermined its authority. could experiment on nature without I still believe the religious knowing blasphemously experimenting on in the stories of the Bible. I believe God. This aided science but, objecthat creation is good, not bad. That tifying nature, it snapped a religious it was not born in violence, as some link with nature’s mystery and

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a Source of being or Creator. Faith is important in science. It took many years to empirically demonstrate Einstein’s mathematically elegant theory of relativity. But many of our theories today are beyond our power of observation and proof, with many scientists saying we have to accept that empirical verification—the scientific method—must be abandoned. We have to just trust the theoretical formula. After all, how do you test multiple universes or string theory? But we are already allowing these theories to underpin our thinking without assuming proof. In the same way, we can allow faith to undergird us without demanding proof of God’s existence. After all, there is still mystery in this world. Tim Costello heads up World Vision Australia. This article is extracted, with permission, from his 2017 book, Faith: Embracing Life in All its Uncertainty, Hardie Grant Books.

JASPER BOER—UNSPLASH

religious traditions have it. It is a gift. Beauty and awe nourish me and this permits me to live with joy and vital ity. I do not resent or fear Galileo’s discovery that the sun did not revolve around the earth, highlighting our smallness and the insignificance of our planet. The religious fear of this discovery was, simply: If we are not central then how are we the apex of God’s creation? I actually like the mystery that our minor, off-Broadway galaxy alone contains more than 100 billion stars, many with their attendant planets. Add to that maybe 100 billion other observable galaxies and, boy, are we small and insignificant! But it is still the planet that I happen to love, live on and need to find meaning in. I am comfortable with the unfolding scientific insights into the universe’s beginning. But I still confess faith in

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THE

BIDURA effect

Book review: A young social worker is confronted by the human heartbreak caused by Australia’s Indigenous affairs policies. BY MARITZA BRUNT

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • JUNE 2019

The Bidura Effect. By E P GEORGE (2017, Initiate Media)

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t’s autumn, and a young lady is on a Sydney train, headed for the inner city. She’s fresh out of university and it’s her first day of work. The anticipation and nerves of what’s ahead are familiar to many of us—but her situation is vastly different. “Twenty-one”, as she’s immediately nicknamed by her colleagues, is a social work graduate, and she’s about to be catapulted into a world of heartbreak, loss and profound suffering. This begins E P George’s The Bidura Effect, a fictionalised memoir which won her SparkLit’s 2017 Young Australian Christian Writer award. George, who does not disclose her full name and photograph for privacy reasons, worked with Aboriginal families affected by Stolen Generations policies, and said her experiences inspired her to write The Bidura Effect—a story that’s compelling, inspiring and heartbreaking all at the same time. Told through the perspective of Twenty-one, The Bidura Effect offers a glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes in Australia’s foster care system. The narrative, which follows a social worker’s year-long journey employed by the Department of Child Services, is centred largely around Twenty-one’s JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

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relationship with Doreen, an Aboriginal grandmother in her 60s who, as a “half-caste” child, was removed from her family by government authorities. Although the facts and names in the book have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals, all of the case studies used are, unfortunately, quite real. Doreen was taken from her mother when she was only six years old, and has been abused by the state ever since, eventually losing her own children. James is a teenager with Down Syndrome whose foster mum is unable to take care of him anymore. Hunter is just a baby, but his father is an alcoholic, and he’s at risk if he stays at home. As Twenty-one becomes closer with Doreen and gets involved with the heartbreaking cases assigned to her, she seeks to answer a question many of us have wrestled with: How can we reconcile our faith with all the suffering in this world? Through her relationships with her clients, her colleagues 60

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and her church community, Twenty-one draws the empathy of the reader as she navigates her way through her own faith journey. One of the most chilling and sobering realities is that The Bidura Effect is set in the heart of Sydney’s Redfern community, making these very real issues difficult to ignore. Along with Twenty-one, we’re allowed access into a world many of us are aware exists, but few have immersed themselves in. A quick Google search reveals the Redfern “Suicide Towers” where Doreen lives are real; as is the namesake of the book—Bidura is the children’s court in Glebe, where “some of Australia’s most infamous criminals had their initiation into custody”. These very real places, combined with the fact that the book handles heavy topics such as paedophilia, domestic violence, depression and substance abuse, does not make for an easy read. But it never feels completely overwhelming or crushing. Twenty-one’s relationship with her work col-

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. . . more than a story; it’s a call to action.

leagues Ben and Lucy bring lightness and a much-needed breath of fresh air at just the right times. With each day that passes, Twenty-one learns the true meaning of forgiveness and mercy, and the power of unconditional love. As an avid reader, I devoured The Bidura Effect in one sitting and was left wrestling with the book’s semi-abrupt ending. The case studies were no longer files; they were faces and names I’d become invested in. Some of the stories had happy endings, some didn’t and others were never mentioned again. At first, this irritated me, until I realised E P George was painting a picture of reality with her words—unanswered questions, unfinished stories. Life, for many people around the world isn’t going to have a fairytale ending. This is reality. And, as Twenty-one had to remind herself after wrestling with the highs and lows of each case, the best we can do to keep our humanity is to treat others the way God has called us to—offer people a safe space, listen without judgement and seek the best for them. The Bidura Effect is more than a story; it’s a call to action. It’s a heartfelt appeal to compassion, a celebration of a journey and a timely reminder of the thousands of stories in our own backyard that are yet to be heard. Maritza Brunt is assistant editor of Adventist Record. She and her husband live in NSW’s Lake Macquarie region and are expecting their first child soon. The Bidura Effect was published in 2017 by Initiate Media.

JUNE 2019 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES

FUN

CROSSWORD How closely have you been reading? Each keyword in this puzzle is also contained within this edition of Signs of the Times. Happy digging!

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SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • JUNE 2019

CROSSWORD CLUES

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Signs of the Times - June 2019

Articles inside

SLEEP YOUR WAY TO BETTER HEALTH

CLOSING THE GAP

ALL JUICED UP