Pain Makes You a Philosopher

Thanks so much for all your prayers and support for me as I had surgery to replace both my knees on Aug 10, 2018.

From July 9 to Sep 5, 2018 I was away in Malaysia. My bilateral knee replacement surgery was not planned, but I decided that it was the best option for me.

The constant symptom after surgery was the pain from the surgery, the sutures, the swelling, the stiffness and from the physical therapy daily. My daily activities was markedly curtailed, reading, studying and just sitting at the table was very difficult, and sleep was near impossible every single night, because there was no comfortable position and the pain felt worse than during the day. Thus, I thought about the "problem of pain" that all human beings experience with no exceptions.

The Kind of Man Paul Was (Acts 20:17-38)

What kind of a person are you? Truly?

As I was preparing for my bilateral knee replacement (Aug, 10, 2018), I obviously desired a good result from my surgery. But I realized that the kind of person I become and how I respond following the surgery is far more important than the good outcome of the surgery.

I began to think about the kind of man I should be. Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders came to mind, as Paul spoke freely from the heart expressing the kind of man he was.

What kind of man was Paul? What kind of person should I be as a man, a Christian and a leader?

Legalism, Liberalism and the Gospel

Ben Toh; June, 2018

Legalism (conservatives, generally“older”) “Jews”	Licentiousness (liberals, generally “younger”) “Gentiles”	The Gospel
God is holy – shape up.	God is love – be yourself	God is holy and love.
Man is a soul. Spiritual life important.	Man is a body. Physical life important.	Man is both body and soul.
Just teach the Bible (evangelism). Focus on the soul and eternal life.	Just do social justice. Focus on caring for the present life of all people.	Do both.
Sin is very serious – beat yourself up and/or beat up (criticize) sinners.	Sin is no big deal – ignore sin, minimize sin in yourself and others.	See Christ on the cross – he took your sin very seriously and still loves you.
Repent of “sin.”	Repentance? What is that?	Repent of sin, especially self-righteousness.
Reject physical pleasure. “Deny yourself.”	Satisfy your physical desires. What feels right is right.	Physical enjoyment is good, but live wisely.
Hard to embrace unrepentant people – people  who don’t change.	Embrace people with no consideration of whether they change or not.	Embrace people with prayer and tears for their repentance/conversion.
You must do this. You must do what I say.	You don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to do.	Do what is right in love (grace and truth).
You must earn righteousness.	You don’t really need righteousness. Who knows or cares what that is anyway.	Receive God’s perfect righteousness.
Critical, condescending, condemning, censuring, conditional.	Embracing, welcoming, unconditional, non-discriminatory. Ignore and overlook issues.	Face and confront issues with unconditional love.
Critical of (hates) liberals - too loose.	Critical of (hates) conservatives - too rigid, inflexible.	Critiques both. Loves both.
Impatient. Absolute.	Tolerant. Relative.	Gracious. Kind. Absolute and tolerant.
Just change.	People don’t need to change.	People can change, but it takes time. There are no quick fixes.

Either my way of the highway. Anyway is okay. Jesus says, "I am the way."

Living with Uncertainty and Insecurity (Psalm 91)

"For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go" "For He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways" (Psalm 91:11, NLT, HCSB).

Troubles abound in life. No one's life is ever trouble free. No one's life is ever always a bed of roses. We may not think so, but even Bill Gates' life is hard. Life gets better, then it gets worse. Uncertainty in life is a certainty. Unpredictability should be predicted. Unexpected events should be expected. Life is like that.

How do we deal with such a life? Psalm 91 deals with such a life head on. Simple trust will bring us into a place of strong defense (Ps 91:2), the personal warmth of divine care, pledged defense (Ps 91:4) and a host of heavenly guardians every step of the way (Ps 91:11). Psalm 91 wants us to know that those who truly trust God are a protected species.

When Life Disappoints (Psalm 90)

Psalm 90 is about time – God's time and our time. It speaks about the shortness and preciousness of life. The truth is that Times Flies and Life is Short! How can you invest your life rather than just spend it? Each of us needs to evaluate how we use the precious gift of time. We need to regard each day as a valuable gift from God. We need to make the most of what little time we have during our lives--which is very very short in light of eternity (Ps 90:2)! How would you like to live your life?

My favorite metaphor of life is that of an eagle flying in the sky (Isa 40:31; Ps 103:5). An eagle looks beautiful and majestic. When it is flying, cruising or soaring in the sky it looks like a symbol of freedom. It appears able to fly in any direction--north, south, east, west, while ascending or descending--at any speed--fast or slow or mid-range speed--according to it's own choice and decision. This is the picture of a life of freedom as a Christ-follower, always led by the spirit (2 Cor 3:17) and never enslaved by anything or anyone (Gal 5:1), yet always consciously obedient and surrendered to God and freely in love with Him (Dt 6:5; Mt 22:37).

The Alliteration of Love (1 Corinthians 13)

Love (1 Corinthians 13) for God, each other and others:

1. The preeminence of love (1 Cor 13:1-3).
2. The practice of love (1 Cor 13:4-7).
3. The perfection of love (1 Cor 13:8-10).
4. The progression of love (1 Cor 13:11-12).
5. The permanence of love (1 Cor 13:13).

Love must always be present, predominant and persistent. May our love for God, each other and others be:

Grace, Enthusiasm and Power (Romans 1:1-17)

"As it says in the Bible, 'the just shall live by faith'" (Rom 1:17b, The Kingdom New Testament, N. T. Wright). " "The righteous by faith will live" (NET Bible).  "The people God accepts because of their faith will live" (CEV).

Romans 1:16-17 is the gospel, the theme and the thesis statement of Romans in summary form and the essence of Christianity. It summarizes Paul's theology as a whole.

"The gospel is not advice to people, suggesting that they lift themselves. It is power. It lifts them up. Paul does not say that the gospel brings power, but that it is (present tense = continually) power, and God's (omnipotent) power at that." Leon Morris.

Forgetting the Good Things God Has Done For You (Psalm 103)

Bless the Lord by Matt Redman is the most popular worship song of 2013. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits" (Ps 103:2, HCSB). "... may I never forget the good things he does for me" (NLT).

The book of Psalms is one of the truly majestic pieces of biblical literature. It is a collection of 150 songs inspired by the Spirit of God. Some of these celebrate the history of the nation of Israel. Others pronounce severe judgments on those who set themselves as enemies of God. There are psalms that are messianic in thrust: they point to the coming Messiah. Some psalms, though, simply lift up a chorus of praise to the Creator. Psalms 103 may be the “Mt. Everest” of praise psalms. It exalts the soul to breath-taking heights.

Who The Happy People Are

The term "blessed" (used 26 out of 45 times in Psalms) is recurrent in Wisdom Literature and describes the faithful followers.

1. Job 5:17; Ps. 94:12 — disciplined by Shaddai

2. Psalm 1:1 — studies and walks in God's word

3. Psalm 2:12 — takes refuge in YHWH

4. Psalm 32:1-2 — sin is forgiven

5. Psalm 40:4; 84:12; Pro. 16:20 — trusts in YHWH

6. Psalm 41:1-3; Pro. 14:21 — considers the poor

7. Psalm 80:6 — strength is in YHWH

8. Psalm 89:12 — know joy and walk in the light of YHWH's countenance

9. Psalm 119:2 — seek Him with whole heart, observe His testimony

10. Psalm 112:1; 128:1 — fears YHWH, walks in His ways

11. Psalm 146:5 — YHWH is his help

12. Proverbs 3:13 — finds wisdom

13. Proverbs 8:32,34 — listens to YHWH, keeps His ways

14. Proverbs 28:14 — fears YHWH

15. Proverbs 29:18 — keeps YHWH's laws

Immediate Forgiveness (Psalm 32)

"It is a Psalm of penitence, but it is also the song of a ransomed soul rejoicing in the wonders of the grace of God. Sin is dealt with; sorrow is comforted; ignorance is instructed." G. Campbell Morgan.

"This was Saint Augustine's favorite psalm. Augustine had it inscribed on the wall next to his bed before he died in order to meditate on it better." James Montgomery Boice.

A Change of Heart (Psalm 51 outline, study questions)

Sin will take me further than I want to go.

Sin will keep me longer than I want to stay.

Sin will cost me more than I want to pay.

The evidence of true repentance is a clean heart (Ps 51:10), willingness and wholeheartedness (Ps 51:12, 19), confidence (Ps 51:13, 15), brokenness (Ps 51:17) and joy (Ps 51:8, 12).

1. David's confession shows the efficacy of repentance (1-6).
2. David's cleansing shows the evidence of repentance (7-12).
3. David's confidence shows the effect of repentance (13-19).

Soft, Gentle and Kind

The softest, gentlest and kindest man who ever lived is Christ Jesus, our Lord. Men may not like to be regarded as soft. It has the connotation of being weak. But Jesus was soft as in being tender and vulnerable, not weak. Anyone could approach him without feeling intimidated or scared. Though Jesus was soft, he was also the toughest man who ever lived. He stared his vicious enemies in the face and faced his own excruciating demise without flinching. He is tender and tough. He is vulnerable and fearless. He is soft and courageous. Jesus is a man's man.

The Bible speaks volumes about gentleness and kindness, which should reflect the soft heart of God and of Christ toward us fallen, belligerent and incorrigible creatures.

This Is My Life

What is my life? What is your life?

Billy Joel captures our human sentiments with his song: "I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life. Go ahead with your own life and leave me alone."

By God's grace, I would like my version to be: "I do care what you say, I always want to care, this is my life. Do live your own life and let me walk alongside you." And if you won't, maybe I'll shed a tear.

In The Greatest Showman, Keala Settle sang the Academy Award nominated song "This Is Me" (Benj Pasek, Justin Paul).These are the catchy lyrics:

When the sharpest words wanna cut me down

I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out

I am brave, I am bruised

I am who I'm meant to be, this is me

Look out 'cause here I come

And I'm marching on to the beat I drum

I'm not scared to be seen

I make no apologies, this is me

Commandment and Love

Law and love are not in conflict. Love is part of the law, and the law commands love. The command to "love your enemies" became one of the most important moral imperatives ever uttered. Also, the word "commandment" ("commanded" - Mt 28:20) is connected to the word "love," a connection that underscores the costly nature of true love: Jn 13:34-35; 14:15, 21, 31; 15:10. The linkage of the words command and love occurs > 30 times in the N.T., and thus is a significant theme throughout. This connection between costly, Christ-like love and Jesus' commandments is why Jesus calls this imperative the "new commandment."

"Our mission as Christians is to conform ourselves evermore to Jesus as the model of our lives." Pope Francis.

John 13:34: "Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other" (NLT). "Just as I have loved you, so you must love one another" (J.B. Philips). "You must love each other, just as I have loved you" (CEV). Jesus' disciples are to love one another with the same love Jesus had for them during his sojourn. Our love is God's sign to the world (Jn 13:35). This is the mark of genuine Christianity.

"The Johannine talk of love does have practical implications. Love within the community is not merely a matter of warm feelings; rather it is a matter of action." Richard B. Hays. 1 Jn 3:11, 16-18, 23 cover a wide range of activities. There is no sectarian retreat in the new commandment.

"It took me a long time to understand that God is not the enemy of my enemies. God is not even the enemy of God's enemies." Martin Niemoller.

"Loving those we like and hating those we don't like is as common as sin." Scot McKnight.

"If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the dividing line between good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being, and who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. [Most violence occurs between people who know each other. A husband, wife, coworker, boss, neighbor, family member, or former friend becomes the target of violence. Also all kinds of categories or stereotypes: blacks, whites, Hispanics, Muslims, Arabs, Jews, Democrats, Republicans, gays, punks, pro-abortionists, pro-lifers, illegal immigrants, dictators, jihadists.]

"What if a man gives way to grief and anger and indulges these emotions (which he should struggle against)? What if he rushes wherever injustice will call him? Such a man does not fulfill the duty of virtue. For he who tries to return an injury desires to imitate that very person by whom he has been injured. In short, he who imitates a bad man cannot be good." Lactantius (250-325), a prominent Roman teacher of rhetoric converted to Christianity.

Preparing for You a Place of Love (John 14:1-6)

The whole journey of life is a journey of preparation. The journey of faith is to prepare the heart to see the marvelous face of God. The whole Christian life is a work of Jesus, of the Holy Spirit to prepare a place for us, to prepare our eyes to be able to see, to feel, to grasp the beauty of what awaits us--that definitive homeland toward which we are walking.

"Don't let your hearts be troubled," Jesus continued. "Trust God--and trust me, too! (Have faith in God and have faith in me)" There is plenty of room to live (there are many places of rest) in my father's house. If that wasn't the case, I'd have told you, wouldn't I? I'm going to get a place ready for you! And if I do go and get a place ready for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, so that you can be there, where I am (so that where I am you might be also). And as to where I'm going--you know the way!"

Love and Obedience (John 14)

Theme: To love God is to trust him (Jn 14:1). When we love and trust God we obey him (Jn 14:15, 21, 23). Our ultimate obedience is to trust God regardless of our situation (Prov 3:5).

Pray that January 2018 may be the month of love. The last two weeks we touched on Real Love (Rom 12:9-21), and  Love at Ten Years (1 Cor 13:1-13)--last Sunday being West Loop's 10th anniversary. Paul says that love must be real (Rom 12:9) and that love is the greatest (1 Cor 13:13). This Sunday, we consider what Jesus says about love and obedience (Jn 14:15, 21, 23).

In 2013, while studying Jesus' upper room dialogues, I preached on John 14 with the title Believe in Jesus. My point was that when we simply believe in God without fear or doubt, all of our problems vanish away. That's what Jesus promised his disciples (Jn 14:1). It really seems cliche and simplistic or even unrealistic to say, "Believe and trust God and you'll have absolutely no problems!"

Yet our lives, even as we profess faith in God, is often inundated with our own frustrating problems and issues that never seem to go away, or that keep recurring again and again. Often without any effort, we keep falling into the same problem over and over: fear, lust, anger, bitterness, resentment, sorrow, unforgiveness, even uncontrollable hatred.

Love that is Genuine, Sincere and Real (Romans 12:9)

Just how important is love? What is the place of love in Christianity? What is the evidence that you truly love God? What Who When Why How.

Romans 12:9-21 - Love Must Be Real; Love and its manifestations. [The transforming power of the gospel: Christian conduct (12:1-15:13).]

From Rom 12:1 Paul shifts his focus from instruction to exhortation, from theological to practical, from "indicative" to "imperative," and from "what God has given us" (Rom. 1-11) to "what we are to give to God." Yet it must be noted that what we are to give to God cannot be produced independently of God's continuing gracious provision; it cannot be anthropocentric.

Commands are rare in ch. 1-11 (Rom 6:11-13, 19; 11:18, 20). To Paul, what he teaches in Romans has an eminently "practical" significance. For if we take the gospel to heart it will affect our lives in uncountable ways. In ch. 6 Paul makes clear that our union with Christ in his death and resurrection leads to "walking in newness of life" (Rom 6:4) and demands that we "present ourselves to God as those who are alive from out of the dead" (Rom 6:13). Now in 12:1-15:13 he fleshes out these general principles about the transforming power of the gospel by urging Christians to manifest the power of the gospel in specific areas of day to day life.

Ro 12:1-2 is one of the best-known passages in the NT. Its fame is justified. Paul succinctly and with vivid imagery summarizes what the Christian response to God's grace in Christ should be.

12:9-21 is a parenesis. It strings together admonitions of a general ethical content and is characterized by eclecticism (borrowing from many sources). Rom 12:9a is regarded as the heading for the entire section. Genuine love is the overall topic and the underlying motif of the section. In Rom 13:8-10 Paul spotlights again that love is the fulfillment of the law and basic to the section. Paul keeps coming back to love as the single most important criterion for approved Christian behavior.

There is no verb in the Greek in Rom 12:9. Paul says, literally, "sincere love," "genuine love" or "real love." These words are the heading for what follows, as Paul proceeds in a series of clauses to explain just what sincere love is. The addition of an imperative verb in all major English translations is not off the mark, as Paul's purpose is to exhort, not simply to describe.

 

Jesus singled out love for others as the essence of the OT law (Mk 12:28-34), and the central demand of the New Covenant (Jn 13:31-35), which is enshrined as the traditional and characteristic ethical norm of Christianity (1 Th 4:9; Gal 5:13-14; 1 Cor. 13; Jas 2:8-9; 1 Pet 1:22; 1 Jn 2:7-11; 3:10-18; 4:7-12, 18-21; Rom 13:8-10). The love of Christians for others is grounded in, and enabled by, the love of God expressed in the gift of his Son (Jn 13:34; 1 Jn 4:9-11). Love is a necessity and is an indispensable mark of the new creation in Christ.

Rom 12:9. Paul has already reminded us of this love (Rom 5:5-8). So basic does Paul consider love that he does not even exhort us here to love but to make sure that the love he presumes we already have is "genuine." In urging that our love be genuine, Paul is warning about making love a mere pretense, an outward display or emotion that does not conform to the nature of the God who is love, and who has loved us. The Greek word literally means "without hypocrisy," not playing the part of an actor on the stage. This same adjective is applied to love in 2 Cor 6:6, 1 Tim 1:5 and 1 Pet 1:22 (2 Tim 1:5 describing faith; Jas 3:17 describing "wisdom from above").

Discipleship Rooted in Love

"In the twilight of our lives, we will be judged on how we loved." St. John of the Cross.

"To love yourself in the right way and to love the neighbor correspond perfectly to one another; fundamentally they are one and the same thing." Soren Kierkegaard.

"Christian perfection is loving God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. This implies that no passions contrary to love remain in the soul. It means that all thoughts, words, and actions are governed by pure love. Charles Wesley. For Wesley, all God is and does is motivated and governed by divine love.

"God gave love. God bestowed love. There brothers you have the scriptures of God." Augustine. "The entire finite universe disappears like a speck when placed on the scales of value next to the love of God." Kreeft. Love has infinite value.

"It is not by ideas and programs or by conscience, duty, responsibility and virtue that reality can be confronted and overcome, but simply and solely by the perfect love of God." Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

"Therefore let us repent and pass from ignorance to knowledge, from foolishness to wisdom, from licentiousness to self-control, from injustice to righteousness, from godlessness to God."  Clement of Alexandria.

"The (Bible) is God's open love letter to humankind and thus should be read with a deep hunger for the experience of eternal love." John Armstrong describing what the Bible is. When I know love through God-given experience, I can then love as he loves. This experience of love is what leads to true discipleship. God's love is central to Jesus' mandate to "make disciples" (Mt 28:18-20). At its core Christianity teaches that following Jesus in true faith and obedience really can radically change our lives, despite how our early influences may have shaped us in less than optimal ways.

"In love, our self and another become entwined, so that sorting our benefits becomes absurd. Do good for loved ones and gratefully receive the good that comes from doing so. Give and don't count the costs, but don't give because it costs. Give because there is a love for the recipient and glory in giving." Chad Engelland. The Way of Philosophy, 2016.

"A real love for God arises out of the knowledge of what God is like. But at the same time that we begin to have this knowledge, we also come to know what being in the image of God means. We long to have that image, covered over with the muck of everyday life, restored to what it was meant to be. Then we are able to seek our own salvation not out of self-hatred, but rather out of a love of our own life. We begin to see that if God loved human beings so much that we were given the gift of the incarnation, the terrible crucifixion, and the resurrection, then no one can offer any Christian justification for despising or hating any human being, ourselves included." "It is the way God made us when God set us in creation, for creation itself is changing. The real issue is not physical change at all, but moral or spiritual change, over which we (d0) have control." Roberta Bondi.

Love functions as the goal, yet love is also the means to the goal. Love is the language of the covenant, and the basis for discipleship.The Spirit loves us and draws us into the redeeming relational love of the triune God (2 Cor 13:13).

Make Love Your Goal

"Let love be your highest goal!" (1 Cor 14:1, NLT) "Follow the way of love..." (NIV). "Pursue love..." (ESV, HCSB). "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (Gal 5:6b).

The singular mark of the church should be love. Why? There are many reasons foremost of which is that God is love (1 Jn 4:8, 16). Also, the greatest struggle inside the church has always been love, or the lack of it. Yet the church (and the gospel) has often been reduced to rules, rituals, commandments, theories or organizational goals and concerns. The highest priority of various churches are outreach, worship, youth ministry, leadership development, evangelism, discipleship, church growth, mission, purity, holiness, sacraments, particular doctrines of particular Christian leaders, denominational concerns, etc. These are not unimportant and certainly have their place. But should such agendas and ideologies ever supersede the place of loving others, or relegating love to just one of the many things the church does?

What should the church do? Shame people or slam "bad" people? Win the "culture wars"? Elect our "Christian" candidate? The Christian church is singularly commanded to bear witness to God's love for the world (Jn 3:16).

"Love is not something you choose to do, but what you choose to be." Dallas Willard.

"(Jesus' cry of forsakenness from the cross was) the climax of his pain (and) the climax of his love. The fact is that if 'Jesus is Jesus Forsaken,' that is, the Son who entrusts himself to the Father, without residuals and conditions, in the act in which the Father seems to hide the name of Abba in the most cruel and darkest trial--if Jesus is this, then our faith in him is a partaking, through grace, intimately, in the very event of his abandonment. Our faith is carrying within us the faith of the abandoned One in the occupations of our day. Whoever finds this man has found the solution to every problem human and divine."  Chiara Lubich.

"By each action done to the sick and dying, I quench the thirst of Jesus for love of that person--by my giving God's love in me to that particular person, by caring for the unwanted, the unloved, (the) lonely, and ... all the poor people. This is how I quench the thirst of Jesus for others by giving his love in action to them." Mother Theresa.

"It is hard to find a church or para-church staff that is practically oriented around Jesus' instruction: 'Love one another, even as I have loved you' (Jn 13:34). You might think this would be their primary explicit goal, but it usually turns out otherwise." Dallas Willard, Getting Love Right, 2012.

"At the 'heart' of Paul's theology was the 'Gospel' or 'good news,' about Jesus as the revelation of God's love and the source of all benefits that accrue to us from it (liberation, reconcilliation, redemption, justification, access to God, sanctification, and so on). The proclamation of this mystery is what Paul called the 'good news,' and his primary concern was that those whom he brought to Christian faith might fully participate in the Paschal mystery and its benefits. (Paul) regards love as the 'super' virtue that joins together all the other virtues in perfect harmony." Daniel J. Harrington, Jesus the Revelation of the Father's Love: What the NT Teaches Us. 2010.

"We know little, but that we must trust in what is difficult is a certainty that will never abandon us; it is good to be solitary, for solitude is difficult; that something is difficult must be one more reason for us to do it. It is also good to love--love is difficult. Love is perhaps the most difficult task given us, the most extreme, the final proof and text, for which all other work is only preparation." Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926).

"Jesus calls men not to a new religion but to life." Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Mt 5:17-20 is an indispensable text for understanding why everything "hangs" on loving God and our neighbor. From tradition we receive secondary forms of faith and practice. But what remains primary is the commandment Jesus gave regarding love for God and neighbor. All our religious practice and piety "hangs" on these commandments.

 "All the patterns, morals and predictions of the OT come to their complete realization in (Jesus). The first lesson we get in reading the Bible is this one: Look to Jesus as its central story." Scot McKnight, The Jesus Creed: Loving God and Loving Others.

"God does not demand great acts from us, but only surrender and gratitude." Therese of Lisieux.

"We do not achieve the disposition of agape love by direct effort, but by attending to and putting into practice the conditions out of which it arises." Dallas Willard.

Love Must Be Real (Romans 12:9-21)

Love must be real (sincere, without pretense). 

Hate (abhor) what is evil; 

stick fast (cling) to what is good. 

Be truly affectionate in showing love (show family affection) to one another (be heartfelt in your love to one another); 

compete with each other in giving mutual respect (honor one another above yourselves). 

Don't get tired of working hard (do not lack diligence; never be lacking in zeal; in zeal do not be lazy). 

Be (set) on fire with (by) the spirit. 

Work as slaves for the Lord (serve the Lord). 

Celebrate your hope (rejoice in hope); 

be patient in suffering (bear up under tribulation); 

give constant energy (be devoted) to prayer; 

contribute to (participate in) the needs of God's people; 

make sure you are hospitable to strangers (pursue hospitality).