God Issues Today: "Blame My Walls"

Author, educator and commentator Dr. James Denison has been pastor of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas since June, 1998. Prior to that, he was pastor at churches in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as Midland (at First Baptist!) and Mansfield, Texas.

Now I know why I'm no good at math—my walls are the wrong color. Janet handles our checkbook so we don't go to jail. For all these years, I thought my mathematical deficiencies were my brain's fault. Now I read in today's New York Times that painting my walls red would make my mind more accurate and detailed. Blue walls, on the other hand, would make me more creative. My problem is that I'm writing this essay in a room covered with brown paneled walls; if you find this essay neither accurate nor creative, blame my walls.

Athletes in the 2004 Olympics who wore red instead of blue in boxing, tae kwon do, Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling won 60 percent of the time. Red symbolizes dominance, researchers think. Now I know what to wear to my next deacons' meeting. Another study found that women seen in photographs on red backgrounds or wearing red shirts were considered to be more attractive. I'll remember that fact for my next modeling job.

As we continue our news you can use theme, the Times informs us today that Twinkies are back from the bankruptcy grave. They were created in 1930 (I think I've eaten some of the original batch), and have survived the Great Depression and the Atkins Diet. Now in these health-conscious times, they are offering "Twinkie Bites," which have 100 calories a pack. If you think that Twinkies are good for you, you must be reading this essay in a blue-walled room.

Scientists tell us that a cloudless daytime sky is blue because molecules in the air scatter blue light from the sun more than they scatter red light, making the blue spectrum more apparent to our eyes. What a boring explanation. I think that God, who isn't bound by time, was reading today's New York Times when he designed our world. In my theory, the blue skies I can begin to see outside my window are evidence of his creativity. What he was thinking when he permitted us to invent Twinkies is a mystery, however.

Our Maker is a creative God, more inventive than we can possibly imagine. When he made the world with its blue skies and red flowers, he called it "good" (Genesis 1:10, 12, 18, 25). But when he made us, he called his work "very good" (v. 31). We are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14), the "apple of his eye" (Psalm 17:8), the favorite of all his creation. We are his twice—he made us and then he bought us back on his Son's cross. No matter what the world thinks of you, remember that the King of Kings is delighted to call you his child. Have you thanked him for his grace yet today?