Wednesday, November 8th | Life with Father

Hello, everyone. Today is Wednesday, November the 8th. I'm Ryan Hill. I'm John Galantis. And you're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abbadon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can visit us online at ClearviewTodayShow.com, or if you have any questions for Dr. Shah or suggestions for new topics, send us a text to 252-582-5028, or you can email us at contact at ClearviewTodayShow.com.

That's right. You guys can help us keep the conversation going forward by supporting the show and share it online with your friends and family. Leave us a good review on Spotify or iTunes.

I'm having so much trouble saying that this week. Spotify, iTunes. Spotify, iTunes. Absolutely nothing less than five stars. Basically, what we're trying to tell you is if you're listening or anything other than the radio, you can leave a review there, and we want you to do it. Yeah, not only... And leave a five-star review. Not only can you, not only we want you to, you must.

You will. I will come to your house, and I will... No, no. No, no. We're not...

Remember we talked about this? No, I'm not. No, I'm not. That's right. That's right. Sorry about that.

We're going to leave a link in the description, so you can do just that. Today's verse of the day is coming to you from Proverbs 16, 19, better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud. At the root of everything that we struggle with is pride. Oh, yeah. Every single sin. Name one.

Pick one out of the book. At its core is pride, because ultimately sin is looking at God and saying, I know better. I know what you have said in your word, but I know what's best for me in this situation. Yeah. So Solomon's words here in Proverbs, it's a reminder to both the person he was writing to and to us that we need to check our pride. It's much better. It's much more preferable in God's kingdom and God's economy to be humble, to be lowly.

Not weak. That's not what those words mean. Not wimpy and kind of over in the corner, but to be humble and to put others in front of yourself, because that's the picture that Christ painted for us. Even if it means that it doesn't reach the level of success that you desire for your life. It says better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly. It's better for you to be ...

I don't want to say unsuccessful, but it's better for you not to achieve your earthly goals than to do it and to get rich and gain the whole world and lose your soul in the process and divide the spoiled with the proud. Words to live by. Yesterday's intro, we got a little heated. We were so hot, in fact, that it started to smell like garlic and butter.

Just coming out of the pores. It was permeating the whole studio, and our bad attitudes were permeating the studio. We were livid, I would say. You were livid. I was livid. I was cooking. And David was kind of livid as well. We lauded out a staff member, but I figured we could put a face with the name and have him on the show today. Jackson, you stand accused of bringing stinky dominoes into the office and leaving it.

Yes. And rest assured that we're going to give you the opportunity to defend yourself, but you will be found guilty. If you do not answer according to how we see fit, we will burn you at the stake.

This is a living tribunal. People, we're not going to threaten bodily harm on the Cleaver Beach Today show. We cannot do that. We're not going to do that. But tread lightly. So what, I don't even know what to ask to get to the bottom of this.

Just why? Well, leaving the dominoes in the office leaves a just presence of a good past day. Like, you walk in, you smell, I had a good day yesterday. We had a good lunch.

We had a good lunch yesterday. I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm not switching sides, but he's got a point. I don't know if I can say this or not, but I think I'm starting to agree with Jackson. This is unbelievable.

This is, all right, my next gripe, my next gripe is turncoats in the Cleaver Beach Today show staff. Why it was there was because everybody was partaking. Adam does this too, by the way. We're coming down hard on Jackson, but Adam, Adam certainly participates in the dominoes. I've seen Adam leave like cans of Coke, like on his desk, like several cans of Coke on his desk. That's not the only place he's left them. That's not the only place he's left them. Where else does he leave them?

Do you see Adam leaving drinks in there? That's maybe another gripe. Yeah, we're coming down, we're coming down. That's another gripe. We're interrogating the heck out of Jackson, but he also, he also. We've uncovered a larger problem. My coworker participates. We've uncovered a larger problem.

That's not just me. We have a culture, we have a culture here of leaving like food and drinks on desks. Before Jackson was on staff, Jackson is our, for those of y'all who don't know, Jackson is on staff here at Clearview and he's, he's one of our drummers on the worship team. And before he was on staff, I actually was in the back hallway one time and I was rushing and I punted, I kicked a can of Baja Blast and it just went all over the carpet and all over the walls. And I didn't even have to think.

I just instantly knew it was Jackson. He had left it. He just left food. They, they, they leave food and they leave drink and, and that's, um, it's like, it's got to change squirrels that hide their harvest of like acorns and stuff. Um, and they forget where they put it. So they hide more. Like you go into a room and there's like three soda cans and two slices of dominoes. Then you go another room, there's like half a pizza of dominoes and one soda can. It's like they forgot that there was a, a little cash for them there.

And they just made another one. If this was a frat house, I would have no complaints, but it's a, and women also work here. Correct. They're very, they're very turned off by that. I've never seen Melissa complain about it though. That's because she's nice. She doesn't complain to your face. Melissa left a whole cake in the office yesterday. That's true.

Maybe we just are a dysfunctional team. Oh, oh, Adam's drawer beside his desk. There's two pieces of cake from when Melissa's in his drawer. You're lying.

If you pull his drawer out, there are like two pieces of cake. I'm going to, I'm going to, hold on Jackson, I am going to, I'm going to film this. Lead me. And this, this is a long intro.

I'm filming on my phone now. Lead me to the cake. Okay.

And he has cake in his. I'm going to come right back. This is unreal.

I'm so sorry. I don't, I don't know what's happening. This is kind of crazy. I'm going to welcome to the clear me today show where entries are made up and the timing doesn't matter. I'm going to cut this for Tom. Like this is unreal. I'm going to cut like this, this part. So right now I'm cutting iron. We're back. He's a hundred percent right. There's cake in the drawer.

This is incredible. There's cake in the drawer. Not in a good way. It's in a, it's in a little container and it's got saran wrap on it, but there's cake in the desk drawer.

And I have reason to believe that it is shrunk over time because he had not eaten any and it has gotten significantly smaller. We have to wrap. We have to wrap this intro. I help me someone texted and help. I feel like I'm alone and I'm spiraling at this point.

Forget churches. Like just talk about your family. Like is this normal?

Am I the abnormal one? I feel just alone here. Someone write in and help me two five two five eight two five zero two eight. Please let me know that I'm not alone in this and just get onto these guys. Help me.

Cause it's obviously not working when I say it. So you write in and just kind of chastise these guys. Love you guys. But this has got to stop. This culture has got to change. We got to bring Dr. Shaw in. This is getting out of hand. This is unbelievable. Visit us online at the clearviewtodayshow.com. We'll be back after this.

Hey everyone. My name's Elly and I'm David and we want to take a minute and let you know how we can actually serve you as you're listening to Clearview Today. The Bible paints an extraordinary picture of who we are as a church body. The mission of Clearview Church is to lead all people into a life changing ever growing relationship with Jesus Christ. A huge part of leading people is praying for them. A big reason that Christians have unanswered prayers in their life is because they're not praying.

You know, first John five 15 says, and if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of him. If you're listening to the Clearview Today show, we want to know how we can pray for you as well. There's a number of ways that you can get in touch with us at Clearview and share your prayer requests. But the best way is by texting us at 252-582-5028. You can also send us an email at prayer at clearviewbc.org or you can download the Clearview app on iTunes or Google Play.

You know, on that app, there's a dedicated prayer wall that helps us to get to know what's going on in your life, how we can pray for you and how we can take any necessary steps to get you moving in the right direction. Thanks for listening. Now let's get back to the show. Welcome back to Clear View Today with Dr. Abbadon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You can visit us online at Clearview todayshow.com or if you have any questions or suggestions for new topics, send us a text to 252-582-5028. That's right, after one of the most compelling things that we've ever done. It's a bold word choice. Very, very compelling. This was, it was, it was, things got real. Would you say things got real? Things got real out of hand.

And we, that's true. But we are back here in the studio with Dr. Abbadon Shah today. Dr. Shah, as you know, is a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and he's the host of today's show. Dr. Shah, can I offer you a piece of cake? Once you do it. I'd like to give you a piece of cake just to show that I appreciate you.

I'm conflicted now, I don't know what to believe, should I or should I not? If you offer... I have two pieces of cake that have your name on it. If you offer him pieces of cake that you found in a desk drawer, I'm going to make the executive decision to, you'll take a hiatus from the show. Just a paid sabbatical, if you will?

Well, we'll discuss the details. I'm going to offer you some Domino's pizzas. Now I'm curious, what is the deal with the cake?

So there may or may not, and by may or may not, I mean there definitely was, two pieces of cake discovered in a drawer in someone's desk in the office, and it was not mine, and it was not John's, and it did not belong to anybody in this room. Now in the break... Okay, so I'm thinking, Melissa? No. Not Melissa. No. Jackson? Closer, but no. You're getting close. There's only one person left.

Only one person left. Yes, there is. Are you serious? Yes. Oh, that boy. Yes. Did he really do that? Yes, he did.

Oh, he really did. Was there a... So we take breaks after the intro, we'll do a lunch break, and in the break, was there a conversation? Yes.

Was it pleasant? No. I didn't do it. Ryan administered the comment. How do you tell an employee, how do you tell someone you can't leave cake in your desk drawer?

I use those words. You can't leave cake in your desk drawer. The end. For how long? This was more than a month. It was getting close to two. Oh my goodness. That's insane. It was wrapped. Oh my goodness. It was wrapped.

Yeah, but still. What can I say? It was not, it was not great. Sometimes in ministry, man, you just can't make up the stuff that happens. You just can't make it up. A lot of people think we just come up with all this goofy stuff on the Clearview Today show, but man, it happens.

That it's scripted, that it's just kind of made up. Oh, ancient cake. Do you think we might find the bread from The Last Supper, maybe?

It might be in another desk drawer of that same person. We'll have to look through it alone. But we're sure going to stockpile like we can. Yeah. Okay. Any mana, maybe? Could be. Could be. We'll have to check and see. I don't know. I do not love people leaving food in the office, but you know what I do love?

What's that? I love Broadway. You're a theater man. I am.

Yes, he is. I love theater. And this is crazy because I didn't, I didn't ever know this about myself like growing up. It wasn't like we watched a bunch of like plays and musicals or anything like that.

But then when I switched schools in between my sophomore and junior year, the school that I went to had a pretty robust like theater and drama program. And that's when I really got into it. I was like, I could get into this. Dr. Shah, you were head boy. Yes. You were very studious and into your academics and into your grades.

I was super into like band and like marching band, symphonic band and music. You were a theater. Yeah.

Yeah. But Dr. Shah, you did theater as well. Yeah, I did. I did.

I did a lot of, I did. I did. I did. I do. I do. I do. I do. I did some Charles Dickens. Yes. Very nice.

David Copperfield. I've done Tale of Two Cities. I played a double role of Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton. Wow. Yeah. It was the worst of times.

It was the worst of times. Yeah. They did a double role. And I still have pictures of them. Maybe we can show them sometime. Yeah.

Let's do it. That would be awesome. Yeah.

We can maybe drop them in this episode if we can find them. Yeah. Yeah. Of course.

That'd be fun. Yeah. But we're talking today about a Broadway play, not a musical, but a play that still holds the title of the longest running non-musical play on Broadway. To this day. To this day.

Don't hold the record. To this day. Wow.

It debuted on Broadway in... Let me get this right. 1939. 1939.

Wow. World War II. And it still holds that title. Yeah.

That's insane. Still to this day. Debuted in 1939. It was written or compiled by 1935 by Clarence Day, one of my favorite authors. And I happened upon this book sort of by chance, fortuitously.

And you'll find it interesting, the story of how I found this book. So every Christmas growing up... What is the smell of Christmas? Everybody has their smell. Some people think it's the smell of the pine trees, Christmas trees or whatever. Some people think of pumpkin pie or- Ham in the oven.

Ham in the oven. Yeah. For me, it was paint. Ooh. Paint.

That's unusual. Paint. But every Christmas, right before Christmas, like two weeks before Christmas, we would have the entire church, the inside of the church painted. Sometimes even the outside.

Even our house inside would be painted every year. That's just something we did. Because growing up in India, the roads are dusty. It's not like they're dirt roads. They're just dusty. I don't know how else to say it. So the summers are hot and the monsoons are really wet, but then it gets dusty when everything dries up.

So it's important. Not everybody does it in India, but my dad did that for us and for our church and for our home, that he would have everything painted inside, outside, inside the home. And so when this would begin, maybe the end of November, first week in December, usually the end of November, a lot of your household items would have to be brought outside. So like the cabinets, the cedar chest, whatever, would be brought outside so that the painters can move around freely and paint the house. So also in my dad's library that was in the vestry of the church, they would take everything outside in the yard next to the church building, because we live literally 10 feet from the church. Oh yeah.

I mean, you can just touch it. And then we would cover it up in tarps and whatever. So as the painters are painting and they'll bring everything back in. So all these things were brought outside. I remember this very distinctly. And a lot of books, books that would fall behind the bookshelf or they would slip back here, slip back there, all those were brought outside.

And I was walking into the yard and saw the painter setting up the scaffolding and setting up the ladders. I saw not this particular book, but because this is a compilation, but I saw the Life with Father by Clarence Day. And I was probably about seven to eight years of age, very young.

And I'm like, Life with Father. And it was not this thick, it was probably about this thick. And I'm like, okay, I'm going to read this. So I took it and I remember very distinctly took it and there was a tree by the side of the church.

There was a wall there, still there. I went sat under that tree and I started reading it. And it was probably about nine, 10 o'clock in the morning. And I did not get up from that spot until like 12, 1230. Aren't those the best days?

Those are like some of the best days of childhood. Yeah. Just lose yourself. Yeah.

Yes. And I'm sitting there reading this book, smelling that paint and the nice sunny day. And I was hooked. I was hooked on reading.

Not just hooked. It's crazy how days like that and memories like that will stick with you for life. I remember it like it was yesterday or maybe like last month.

At the most. That's incredible. And I sat there and it was chapter after chapter and I thought it was the funniest book ever. And if those of you who may not know, it is based on Clarence Day's father and it's set in the 1890s. So think about 1890s. This is the era of big corporations sort of falling apart. And then the turn of the century, a lot of Victorian homes are sitting there empty. Wall Street is overburdened by financial crisis after crisis.

You know, in the 1880s, I believe it was a crisis, run on the bank and all that. So it's a story about this family and their dad. And the dad is sort of overburdened, overstressed, just particular about what he wants, how he wants things to be. And my dad was sort of like that, not completely, but sort of like that. So I saw parallels.

And I remember my dad standing over there talking to the painters as to where they need to be painting and what they need to patch up and all that. And I was like, this is a little bit like my dad. Some of the best stories you ever read, you do draw those parallels. You find the humanity in those stories. And I know I've said this on the podcast, but that's why I think you're such a skilled preacher is that you do that. What Clarence Day did with his father and you drawing that parallel to your dad, you have a knack of doing that with biblical figures and biblical characters, like drawing out the humanity in those figures.

Not just to go tit for tat, but you guys do that. You do it when you're on the stage, Ryan, so phenomenal. And then, Jon, you do it when you write.

I mean, I see the same things coming out. So thank you all for it. Oh, absolutely.

Thank you. And we should say we're talking about this because on November 8th is this is the day that it actually aired. This is the day that it premiered on Broadway. Opening night, as they say. That's what they say. Yeah.

Yeah. And so the stories are just hilarious, where the family just sort of goes, Dad's having his moment. He's upset about something. He's upset about the milkman not bringing the milk. He's upset about the cook quitting on them. He's upset about the pastor coming and fussing at him about not being in church.

I mean, he said something, and then the father just has his, he lets them have it or whatever. And instead of becoming, like in today's world, you do that, you're going to get canceled. Oh, yeah.

You're getting canceled on the spot. You can't even show any annoyance. Right. Because you're like domineering, male chauvinistic, such an unaware person. To the contrary, he becomes more and more beloved to the whole family.

Really? They just love him. They're just like, oh, Dad's having his thing. Oh, there goes Dad again. And then that sort of calms down, and he realizes, well, I messed up there.

He'll apologize. But he apologizes his own way, and that makes it even more special. I think something that is interesting about that is that they see through his anger or through his getting upset what he values and what he cares about. Right.

And it speaks volumes for the Christian life, because Christian fathers do, or at least are called to, set the tone, the spiritual tone for the household. Yeah, absolutely. And again, I would recommend be like that person, be like that father. But there is some humanity in there that you can learn from and go, I get what is happening here. Because if you don't understand that, and you just dismiss that person as whatever, you don't get me or whatever. And that's the world in which we live today. And I want to be sensitive to that world, but at the same time, I'm telling that world you're missing out. Right.

You're missing out on a certain way of living that if you don't get it back, there'll be huge gaps in your life. That's right. Because you are the authority. You are the father figure for yourself. That's right. Imagine being your own father.

Can't do it. So there's a section that maybe we'll get Ryan to read it for us. I remember this because I've read this book several times through the years growing up. And then I haven't read it in a long time, like you're talking about 20, 25 years. Oh, wow. Looked at it in bits and portions. You have black and white.

It was a TV show for a while as well. So maybe you have time to read a few. Let's make this like an Audible segment. Okay. All right, here we go.

So this is coming from Life with Father. Let me put on my theater voice for a second. We are not sponsored by Audible. We are not sponsored by Audible. We should be, but we're not. Yeah.

Audible, if you're interested, let us know. So this section is called Father Thumps on the Floor. Old Margaret was just the kind of cook that we wanted. Lots of cooks can do rich dishes well. Margaret couldn't, but she cooked simple, everyday dishes in a way that made our mouths water. Her apple pies were the most satisfying pies I've ever tasted.

Her warmed up potatoes were so delicious, I could have made my whole dinner of them. Yet even Margaret sometimes miscalculated. A large royal looking steak would be set before Father, which upon being cut into would turn out to be too underdone. Father's face would darken with disappointment. If the earth had begun to wobble and reel in its orbit, he could scarcely have been more disapproving. He would raise his foot under the table and stamp slowly and heavily three times on the rug, thud, thud, thud.

Bro, I see why it's thumping on the floor. At this solemn signal, we would hear Margaret leave the kitchen below us and come clumping step by step up the stairs to the dining room door. Margaret, look at that steak. Margaret would step near and peer where the shocked look at the platter.

The Lord bless and save us, she would say to herself in a low voice. She would then seize the platter and make off with it to better the best way she could, and Father would gloomily wait and eat a few vegetables and pour out a fresh glass of claret. Father and Margaret were united by the intense interest they both took in cooking. Each understood the other instinctively.

They had a complete fellow feeling. Mother's great interest was in babies. She had never been taught how to cook. All she wanted was to keep Father pleased somehow.

And if it was too difficult, she didn't always care about even that. At the table it was Father who carved the fowl or sliced the roast lamb or beef. I liked to watch him wet the knife and go at it. He had such a fine, easy hand. To a hungry boy he seemed over-deliberate and exact in his strokes, yet in a moment or two he had done.

And usually the cooking had been as superb as the carving. Sometimes it was so perfect that Father's face would crinkle with pleasure, and with a wink at us he'd summon Margaret with his usual three measured thumps. She would appear clutching her skirts with both hands and look worried.

What's wanting, she'd ask. Margaret would tell her affectionately, that fricassee chicken is good. Margaret would turn her wrinkled face aside and look down and push the flat of her hand out toward Father.

It was the same gesture she used when she said, get along with you, to flatterers. She couldn't say that to Father, but she would beam at him and turn and go out and stomp back down the dark little stairs without ever a word. Every once in a while, when the household bills were getting too high, a platter with three tiny French chops on it would be placed before Father, and a larger dish full of cold corned beef or Irish stew before Mother.

At this sight, we boys would stop talking and become round-eyed and still. Father would look over at Mother's dish to see if it seemed appetizing, for he often said there was nothing better than one of Margaret's stews. The stew usually seemed possible even enough to him, yet not quite what he wanted. He would then ask Mother if she'd have a chop.

Mother always said no. They looked nice and juicy, Father would urge her, but she would again say she didn't want any, and turn her eyes away from the platter. Father would then look around at the rest of us doubtfully. He had four sons, all with appetites. He would clear his throat, as though getting ready to offer a chop to each boy in turn, but he usually compromised by saying, will anyone else have a chop? No, Clare, Mother would quickly and impatiently reply, there for you, the rest of us are going to have stew tonight.

And she'd smile brightly but a little watchfully around at us boys, to be sure we were making no fuss about it, while she hurried to get the thing settled. We boys would then earnestly watch Father while he ate the three chops. Not that we didn't like Margaret's stew, which was the best in the world, but we regarded dinner as a special occasion, and we often had stew for lunch. If some of us had taken up Father's offer and left him with only one chop, or none, I suppose that he would have asked Mother, where are the rest of the chops? And been very cross about it when she told him there weren't any more. But his offer of them to us was sincere, though it cost him a struggle.

He wanted plenty of food brought for everyone, his instincts were generous, only it made him cross if he suffered for those generous instincts. Long after Margaret died, Father was speaking one night of how good her things had always tasted. I wish you could hear you, said Mother, she smiled tenderly at the thought of that gallant and dear little figure. If anybody ever was sure of going to heaven, she added, I know it was Margaret.

This struck Father as a recommendation of the place. He took a sip of cognac, and casually, I'll look her up when I get there. I'll have her take care of me. Mother started to say something, but checked herself.

What's the matter, he asked. Well, Clare dear, said Mother, Margaret must be in some special part of heaven. She was so good.

You'd be very fortunate, Clare, to get to the same part as Margaret. Ha, Father said, suddenly scowling, I'll make a devil of a roe if I don't. Wow. He's going through a tantrum and getting to heaven. So it's not like he is this individual that is, you just can't please, nothing is ever good enough. It's not like that, but he likes his things a certain way, but they know how to manage him.

And that's what gets you to understand that it's not like they have to walk on pins and needles. It's to the contrary, they'll know how to manage this person who is actually a very lovable person. And that's pretty endearing that your family knows you that well, and not only will put up with your flaws, but doesn't demand that you conform to their ideal of life. It's people coming together and loving each other and managing each other. And it's a beautiful story, and it's so contrary to what we hear today, where Dad's often the butt of the joke, or he's domineering and hateful. But it speaks to what you talk about, Dr. Shah, especially in your messages, about how men are the leaders of the household, but that doesn't mean that they are authoritarian over their wives.

That means that God has designed us to complement one another. And just like in that story, it's a blessing to be a part of a family together. And this is just one chapter you read, but there are other chapters as well where you see him giving in to or really taking care of his wife or his children, or the young son gets in trouble or he gets bullied and father shows up to pick up for him. So there are a lot of other stories that when you put the whole thing together, you go, wow, I want to be a dad like that. That's awesome. Let's leave an Amazon link in the description, because dads are sorely wanted in America right now.

And I'd say the world over, like Ryan said, they're either portrayed as abusive or just bumbling and neglectful. Well, ultimately he is our Heavenly Father and he is the perfect father. And in some ways we are a reflection, even that stories of Clarence Day, life with father is a reflection of the ultimate Heavenly Father. And through Jesus Christ, we can call him Abba Father. Amen.

So beautiful. If you guys enjoyed today's episode, or if you have questions or suggestions for new topics, send us a text to 252-582-5028. Visit us online at clearveetodayshow.com and click that link at the bottom of the page to become one of our giving supporters.

Become part of the Clear View Today Show family as we seek to impact the nations of the gospel. John, tomorrow's episode, what are we looking for? Sorry, I was eating cake.

Unbelievable. Every time I hear cake now, my eyes can twitch a little bit. I tell you what, let's let tomorrow's episode be a little bit of surprise. It might be about cake. It might be about cake. You'll have to stay tuned. We'll probably bring some cake in just for tomorrow's episode. I'm not going to lie, can I guarantee you? We love you guys. We'll see you tomorrow on Clear View Today.