The State of Nature

It's been too long since my last post. I've missed the Blogosphere, even though I'm not actually that deep into it. 

Now, for today's post. 

I just returned from a weekend trip in Port Angeles, Washington, about a four hour drive from my home town of Yakima, Washington. It's a town rich in natural beauty: a typical view (even in the downtown) consists of a panorama of rich, blue sky, snow-capped mountains, and expansive water. And being surrounded by nature at all times got me to thinking. As my thinking deepened, I began wondering. Then, I was flat out astounded at the beauty surrounding me.  

On Sunday, my friend's dad drove us to Hurricane Ridge, located in the heart of the Olympic National Forest. I don't think I'd ever been frozen by my surroundings. I stood, almost cowering at the majesty of the Olympic Mountains. My eyes were utterly focused on sharp peaks and snow-covered mountainsides. I'm sure my mouth was agape at one point. 

When we reached the ridge itself and found our way to the lodge at the top, we came across a docile deer, feeding on the lupine-laced hillsides near the mountains. At that moment, I felt convicted. My experience on the ridge was characterized by awe and amazement, but I realized I hadn't been channeling my focus on the One who caused such a reaction. 

"The same God who I worshipped in church earlier today, the same God who created this peaceful animal, created these jagged-edged, rocky mammoths," I thought to myself. And Scripture ran through my mind: "The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples have seen His glory." Psalm 97:6 (NASB)

I looked around. I wasn't just surrounded by mountains. There were groups of people. Children, women, men; young, middle-aged, elderly. Some Christians, some not. Some unsure, some decided. Some living in sin, some living for God. As I've experienced many times before, I was shaken by the Word of God. This scripture transformed my view of nature. 

According to dictionaryreference.com, "nature" is defined as "the material world, esp. as surrounding humankind and existing independently of human activities." 

According to the Western world, "nature" is a god in and of itself. The Western world has transformed something like nature, due to its sheer size, to the status of something worth worship. I'll let you think about that until my next post. 

The State of this Lifetime

If you haven't noticed, I seem to find blog subjects from my conversations and experiences. Today is no different. 

My parents recently returned from a vacation in Hawaii. While there, a series of notable events took place, both in Hawaii and back at home (here in Central Washington). My aunt's mother (not my grandmother, my aunt is related to me by marriage) passed away after a yearlong fight with cancer. My sister's friend left for a year in Iraq serving his country, but not before finding out that his wife is pregnant. And, in Hawaii, my mother learned how to surf. My mother explained the events as "a death, a new life, and a check off the bucket list." A popular secular slogan for the pattern of events in this life is "c'est la vie," which, in essence, means "that's life" in French. 

As often is the case, such mundane a situation as this led me to a more complex train of thought. People have made such loaded statements like c'est la vie into trite, empty excuses for the horrors and joys of this life.

I thought to myself two things. First, "is that normal?" and then, "does humanity create cliches to make meaningful events meaningless?" Such thoughts often appear in my mind, mostly due to the fact that I'm a realist by nature (although some people would call me an outright pessimist). But it's more than my mindset to me. Prepare yourself, I'm about to get all Christian up in here. Here's where I present my view of humanity through a biblical lens. 

Humans are imperfect—I know, that's hard to swallow for some people, but let's be realistic (not pessimistic). Likewise, humans are unable to approach perfection. Let me explain. You see, for us to establish that something is perfect, we must keep in mind the grammatical implications behind the word. Perfect is a superlative, which means it's the "highest form" of an adjective. So, when someone says, "it was the most perfect day outside," he or she has made a grammatical error, because once something is perfect, there can be nothing greater than it. Also, perfect suggests that there is nothing that surpasses the object being described. 

According to dictionary.com, there are 10 definitions for the adjective perfect. Each of them suggests the same basic idea, however: Something that is perfect is without flaw, without error. 

This is where we have to be realistic. Each and every one of us would admit to having made at least one mistake, even if we view 'mistakes' from a relativistic standpoint. Also, we would admit that we aren't without flaws in appearance. Even though our bodies seems symmetrical, many of our paired extremities (hands, feet, even digits) are different in length, width, and bone structure. Even though our eyes seem to be the same shape and color, if we were to view them under a microscope, we would see that there are distinct discrepancies in iris color and veins.

All of these thoughts are to serve as an introduction to human nature. Because I'm writing about this lifetime, I must take into consideration the people that are living it, right? 

In Romans 3:10, Paul writes, "as it is written, 'There is none righteous, not even one.'" This verse refers to what is written in Psalm 14 (my favorite psalm, by the way), at the end of its third verse. The message in this verse is not implicit. There's no code to decipher its true meaning. It doesn't require an in-depth exercise in biblical hermeneutics. Paul is making an explicit claim for the unrighteous nature of humanity. This unrighteousness is what makes us think that we can attribute perfection to earthly objects. 

Remember how the word 'perfect' is a superlative? That means it would have to refer to one person, place, or thing. This object—a being, actually—is God. In Psalm 14, David writes, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good." This passage suggests that mankind does not naturally acknowledge the existence of God. Therefore, it makes sense that man would attribute such an exclusive word to myriad of people, places and things. Mankind is separated from God because of its sinful nature; therefore, it cannot know what true perfection is. If it knew that God was the Reason for the word's existence, surely mankind would use it scarcely, especially if it had inherent knowledge of God's holy nature. 

I hope I haven't lost any of those reading this post. It seems that my argument for man's flawed, imperfect nature was a departure from my initial point. But it's not. Think about it: If we considered the fact that life isn't perfect, we wouldn't have to make it a series of cliche sayings. The fact of the matter is, the secular view of life is indifferent. If we were inherently ingrained with the knowledge that God was the true source of perfection, we would not attribute it to a life that is characterized by death (my aunt's mother, Jackie), discomfort (my sister's friend leaving his pregnant wife to serve in Iraq) and the occasional moment of happiness (my mom's surfing experience). Based on those three examples alone, life is still only 1/3 good. There's not much perfection in that. 

Web sites utilized in this post:

http://www.biblegateway.com/

http://dictionary.reference.com/

For further information on the depravity of man (man's imperfect nature) see:

- THE BIBLE (the books of Isaiah and Romans in particular)

- The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul

- The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis

The State of the Housing Market

We all know how bad the real estate situation is in the United States. Sub-prime mortgages and the whole nine yards. We know that there were the over-zealous buyers who wanted a house they couldn't afford. We know that foreclosure rates are astronomical. 

But somewhere along the way, a crucial aspect of the crisis was left out. In fact, it could be called the the root, the source, of the issue. It's a root that is enormous, yet has gone virtually unnoticed. It's the people selling the houses in the first place. 

I recently sat in on one of my sister's epic TV watching marathons. On this day, she was watching HGTV. A commercial came on for The Stagers, a show in which a team of "professionals" comes into a house that isn't selling and implants the finest furniture, fabrics, dishes, appliances, paint, wallpaper, flooring and the like. Not surprisingly, houses that have been "staged" sell much faster than those that are left in their normal states. 

According to Stagedhomes.com, a home that has been staged sell in an average of 37 days, compared to the 182 days it takes an "non-staged" home to sell. This statistic shouldn't be a surprise. 

Home stagers' greatest draw is their claim for price increase. According to Mortgagenewsdaily.com, home staging costs range from a $200 consultation to a $6,000 hands-on operation. Either way, they claim homes will sell for a minimum of 3% more than their "pre-staging" price.  

Economically speaking, staging is an easy choice. Sellers pay a small fee for huge results. Real estate agents get a fatter commission on the house. Everyone's a winner.

Aesthetically speaking, buyers can see the house's "full potential" and gain a "vision" for interior decorating. The house itself will also undergo improvements (painting, flooring and the like) that will contribute to its overall appeal. Sometimes, stagers will do exterior work, too. 

But when it comes to the matter of ethics, staging is severely lacking. Consider this: a first time home buyer looks at a house that has been staged. It has the finest linens on its beds. Its furniture compliments the paint on its walls. The new flooring makes for an attractive foot space. The buyer is sold. He or she buys the place, realizing that it's about $10,000 over his or her budget, but the perks are worth it. 

I hope you're seeing the problem. 

Real estate professionals somehow have it in their minds that it's okay to treat buying a home like shopping at a department store. A person walks into the store and finds the clothing her or she wants. He or she tries it on. It fits perfectly, so he or she buys it. Then, he or she takes it home (no pun intended). It gets wrinkled in the car, so it needs ironing. It gets washed once, and the color fades. Then it gets stained. At this point, there's no way it can be returned, so the person gives it away or throws it out. 

Clearly, owning a home is different. Instead of the $20 a person spends on a shirt that can be returned, he or she is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a house that will need thousands of dollars for upkeep. The analogy can only be taken so far, but it's exactly the way real estate agents treat their clients' investment. 

Much like a salesperson at Macy's a real estate agent will follow you around, asking "how does it fit," and "if you need any more help, my names is ..." At the end of the day, a real estate agent is a glorified salesperson, only he or she gets paid more than deserved. It's as if real estate agents are being paid for the decisions their clients make. Ultimately, it's not just what the agent says, it's what the client wants. 

And that's the source of staging. Agents get an idea for what their clients want. They goad the struggling sellers into staging their home. They show buyers the house, knowing that they will be intrigued. When the house sells, the agents make sure the stagers get the borrowed goods out the house. Then the buyers move in, feeling misled, maybe even betrayed. 

Ultimately, the point is this: Staging treats a significant life decision (buying a house) as if it's an everyday occurrence. It's no wonder buyers have recently made impulsive decisions on houses they couldn't afford. It just goes to show that the real estate industry is a ruthless business. And I have no pity its current state. Ironically it's unethical endeavors like home staging that have run property values into the ground. It's led to an unhealthy trend in an industry that is oblivious to its mistakes.