Category Archives: Blog

‘Men of a Certain Age,’ by a man of a certain age

Ray Romano (l), Scott Bakula, and Andre Braugher (r) star in 'Men of a Certain Age' on TNT

Ray Romano (l), Scott Bakula, and Andre Braugher (r) star in 'Men of a Certain Age' on TNT


Tonight, Men of a Certain Age, the highly promoted new series on TNT, premieres at 10:00 EDT. As a man of a certain age, 46 for exactitude, I have been interested in this show since seeing the first preview several months ago. The main characters (Scott Bakula, Andre Braugher and Ray Romano) are men facing the middle of life with dreams unfulfilled, lingering questions about success and problematic relationships. It’s the stuff with which every man deals in some form if he is honest with himself and with those around him.

In an interview published in the December 4-6, 2009, USA Weekend paper, Braugher (Homicide Life on the Street), Bakula (Quantum Leap) and Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond), who is also the show’s co-creator and executive producer, fielded questions about romance, dating and life. Though Bakula is a “player” on the show, all of the actors are married-Romano for 22 years, Braugher for 18 and Bakula for 13 (second marriage). Men deals with the nuances of the dating process, but Romano admits, “I haven’t been on a date with a new woman in 22 years because I’ve been married all that time. If I had to do it now, I’d be terrified.” Bakula adds, “It’s hard to imagine yourself out there, attempting to date. It’s really frightening.”

Many men would think if the Hollywood A-listers are scared to face the possibility, then the average guy who finds himself unexpectedly entering that particular venue again should not feel so bad about their fears.

The TNT website mentions that Braugher’s character, Owen, is married with three kids, who is dealing with health issues and an overbearing father, for whom he works at a car dealership. Terry, played by Bakula, is “the perpetual bachelor of the group…an actor whose laid-back approach to life and love are half-envied, half-mocked by his two best friends, Joe and Owen,” while Joe (Romano) is working in a party store rather than playing golf, as was his dream, and is separated from his wife, though unwilling “to give up on his marriage, even though his wife has no such qualms.” In other words, pick out any three guys, put them in a booth at Waffle House and roll the camera.

That some men struggle mightily throughout their 40’s and 50’s to make sense of dreams gone south, marriages gone dull, kids gone wild and careers gone completely is a given. It probably happens to many more than will admit it, but it happens. I hope that this show gives a realistic picture of such situations without devolving into endless talk about sex; the show is rated TV-MA for language. In the aforementioned interview, Romano revealed that he has already filmed a “semi-nude” scene for the show, which sounds like a great place for a bathroom break to me; maybe TNT will put a warning on the screen.

Hoping against hope, perhaps Romano will bring spiritual content into the programming. Braugher’s breakthrough role as the lapsed Catholic Baltimore Detective Frank Pembleton in Homicide: Life on the Street featured regular conversations about issues of good and evil, God and Satan, fate and sovereignty. Though not always coming down correctly, both sides were generally given an accurate hearing. One would hope that serious spiritual discussion would become a recurring theme in Men since these things are important to men of every age.

Thoughts on President Obama’s Afghan war speech

Attacking during the Russian invastion of Afghanistan

Attacking during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan


Last evening President Barack Obama addressed the nation from West Point (His speech can be seen on C-Span). The focus of the last night’s speech by President Barack Obama was a troop surge of an additional 30,000 men and women into Afghanistan until troop withdrawal from Afghanistan begins in 18 months. The president did a very good job in a brief review of why we went into Afghanistan to begin with and a good job of communicating what he, as commander-in-chief, wants to see accomplished by the placement of $30B worth of additional military power in this year alone.

Three objectives:

1. Deny Al-Qaeda a safe haven.
2. Reverse the Taliban’s momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government.
3. Strengthen Afghan security forces and government.

Three strategic elements:

1. Pursue a military strategy that will break the Taliban’s momentum and increase Afghan capacity over the next 18 months.
2. Work with our partners and the United Nations to pursue a more effective civilian strategy.
3. Act with full recognition that success in Afghanistan depends on our partnership with Pakistan.

NATO troops in Afghanistan. Photo: Getty Images

NATO troops in Afghanistan. Photo: Getty Images

President Obama responded to three counter arguments he’s already heard:

1. Afghanistan is another Vietnam. He gave three reasons why this is not like ‘Nam, including the fact that Al-Qaeda attacked us from Afghanistan.
2. We cannot leave Afghanistan in it’s current state, but keep only the troops we have. He objects that this would leave us in our current muddled condition.
3. Should not propose our time frame, some calling for an open ended campaign. The president states that we cannot afford a 10-year nation building program.

The president has already taken flack (see FOX News analysts) from not giving specifics as to how these things are going to happen. Frankly, I thought that’s why we have generals on the ground. They have the responsibility to work out the details. 99.9% of Americans are not military strategists and 100% of news anchors are not, therefore, spelling out of such details would not really help me know whether or not such information would help us reach his announced objectives. If the president had given 20 minutes worth of details he would have been derided for making the same mistakes made in Vietnam, to wit, letting politicians fighting the war instead of the military.

Whether or not President Obama has the clout or backbone to see it through will remain to be seen. Nearly a year into his administration, he has famously (as lampooned by Saturday Night Live) not closed Guantanamo though he repeated in this speech his intention to do so, while neglecting many other promises of his campaign (where he stands arm in arm with virtually every other holder of our nation’s top office). Personally, I’m thankful that he has not committed us to a war we cannot afford; heck, we cannot even afford the wars we have. I wonder if Dave Ramsey has been consulted on this…

I was at least glad to hear a reference to the average American making sacrifices, though I fear it is far to little and far to late. World War 2 saw community metal drives, rubber collections, etc, to provide raw materials for the war effort. War bonds were sold for financing the expense. People shut off their electric lights at night for the dual purpose of obscuring potential targets and saving the power. When the War on Terror started, we were famously encouraged to “Go shopping” as if Al-Qaeda would be defeated by the collective re-shoeing of American school kids and a new theater system in every home. That was and remains balderdash.

Being vigilant is a must without question and protection of the citizenry is a God given responsibility of any government. We have reached the point, however, where our economics must catch up to our ability to wage war afar while we fortify protection at home, lest we lose our capacity to do either.

A few specific quotes from last night:

“As president, I refuse to set goals which go beyond our responsibilities, our means or our interests.”

“We cannot simply afford to ignore the price of these wars.”

“Our prosperity provides a foundation for our power.”

“The nation that I’m most interested in building is our own.”

“America will have to show our strength in the way that we end wars and conflict…and we can’t count on military might alone.”

“We have forged a new interest with those in the Muslim world.”

“We must draw on the strength of our values…We must promote our values by living them at home.”

“As a country, we are not as young, and perhaps not as innocent, as we were when Roosevelt was president.”

On Gettysburg, war and peace

From the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum Photo: Marty Duren

From the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum Photo: Marty Duren


The day after Thanksgiving, I was able to visit the Civil War battlefields at Gettysburg, PA. After watching a short movie about the war in general and the Battle of Gettysburg in particular, we went through the museum. To say that I was overwhelmed with information would be exercising the gift of understatement to its limit as display after display had quotations from period sources and historical players, uniforms, firearms, books and photos of farms and soldiers, crude but effective medical instruments and movies from the History channel. One rather significant item on display was a booklet entitled “Slavery Ordained Of God,” by Rev. Fred A. Ross of Huntsville, AL, demonstrating how some southern Christians defended the institution that brought wealth to both the North and the South.

We spent half an hour or so in the National Cemetery that pre-dated the war by several years and was the location of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863. This was the cemetery referenced in Cemetery Ridge and Cemetery Hill where Union forces fell back under duress on July 1, 1863, the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, ultimately forming the upper curve of the fishhook shaped line that ran south to Big Round Top. It was this line that was unable to be breached by Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, leading to heavy losses and injuries on both sides, but the retreat of the Confederates on July 3.

The battlefields at Gettysburg Photo: Abigail Duren

The battlefields at Gettysburg seen from Little Round Top Photo: Abigail Duren


So fierce was the fighting that more than 4,000 were killed in one skirmish in “The Wheatfield,” (seen distantly in the photo above) while more than 5,000 Confederate soldiers were killed in a single hour during a maneuver famously known as “Pickett’s Charge,” an advance nearly a mile wide with soldiers. The three day battle, considered by most to be the turning point of the war, saw killed and wounded on both sides total more than 51,000 men and a few women.

Since the Civil War the United States has been involved in numerous conflicts worldwide and not a few wars. The century alone has saw World Wars 1 and 2, Korea, Vietnam, The Gulf War and this century joins with the ongoing War on Terror. (For the purposes of this writing, I’ll not include the War on the Unborn, which has claimed hundreds of millions of lives worldwide since its inception.) While Augustine argued that some war can be just (righteous), Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson called it, “The sum of all evils.” Augustine may be theologically and philosophically right, but the problem is that wars are not fought only theoretically and philosophically, but in reality and because they are fought in reality many times we find in them the sum of all evils.

Memortial to the PA Infantry Reserves on Big Round Top Photo: Abigail Duren

Memorial to the PA Infantry Reserves placed on Big Round Top Photo: Abigail Duren


Those evils often take place with suicides among the troops, intentional killing of civilians, rape of the defenseless and death by friendly fire. They also take the form of government cover ups to boost enthusiasm for the conflict for political means and ends. Perhaps this is the worst evil of all.

Who can forget the much publicized, though personally shunned, entrance into the Army Rangers program of Arizona Cardinals’ safety, Pat Tillman, in May 2002? Portrayed as a real American, an example of sacrifice and patriotism, Tillman refused all interviews or preferential treatment, even when he had an “Army excuse” for early discharge before the tour that eventually took his life. His entry and his death were used, against his wishes, by the Bush administration to bolster American support for the war, posits Jon Krakauer in Where Men Win Glory. Tillman’s death was due to friendly fire following a Keystone Kops episode of bad command decisions. The cause of death was hidden for months from his family, the press and the world so it could be used for political expedience. Former White House press secretary under Bush, Scott McClellan hypothesizes in his book, What Happened?, that the “permanent campaign” of politics makes it impossible for any aspect of decision making to happen without an eye to the polls and political ramifications and this includes, or, perhaps especially includes, war.

Since even a theoretically possible “just war” is often led and fought by unjust men, it would behoove Christians to be careful not to support a war simply because a liked president is “Commander-In-Chief,” or to oppose it simply because an otherwise disliked president is stopping the buck. Some Christians tend to make support for the war a test of fellowship or something as if lack of enthusiasm for an earthly military action is akin to renouncing one’s heavenly citizenship. Most seem oblivious to the fact that patriotism is a commitment to the constitution, not the ever-so-often selected first-chair occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave or that our commitment to the kingdom of God supersedes both.

While it is certainly a truth that Scripture gives governments the right to wage war in certain circumstances, Scripture also records that followers of Christ are to be wagers of peace above war. I don’t think this leads inevitably to pacifism, but it cannot mean less than our striving to seek peace from the playground to the boardroom to the battlefield. I think it was George Washington who said, “Sometimes you have to have war before you can have peace,” but Lee reminded, “What a cruel thing is war; to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world!”

Does your future include a sixth sense? For $350 it might

Image: Twentieth Century-Fox

Image: Twentieth Century-Fox


Can humans develop a “sixth sense” for accessing information databases? Do humans need a sixth sense? What kinds of abuse could being online 24/7/365 bring?

If you have seen the Tom Cruise/Steven Spielberg film, Minority Report, you may have been forced into thinking about the extent of government intrusion that may take place in a country at any given time. Libertarians and constitutionalists warned that The Patriot Act opened the door to a regular abuse of civil liberties under the guise of fighting a “war of terror,” to use Borat’s jumbled description.

If you remember Haley Joel Osment’s haunting turn as the literally haunted Cole “I see dead people” Sear in The Sixth Sense, then you know his “sixth sense” was his ability to see and communicate with the dead, ultimately with the challenge to help them in slightly more serious ways than Ricky Gervais similar effort in Ghost Town as he was also able to communicate and help the dead through a sixth sense developed during his own near death experience.

Several months ago, MIT prof, Pattie Maes, gave a lecture at TED regarding a new sixth sense available to humans. Not exactly communicating with the dead, this gizmo, developed by her student, Prinav Mistry, gives the user the ability to access the information of the internet instantly to assist with decision making and has the capacity to replace clock, watch, camera and your subscription to Consumer Reports. Imagine going to a car lot, new or used, and asking the salesman for information and, while hearing a skewed sales pitch, having the accurate info beamed right onto the hood of the car (or in a future iteration the inside of your sunglasses). Think of meeting a new coworker who sees emblazoned on your white blouse:

Ordered room service for two at the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta last night; husband ordered room service for one at the Holiday Inn, San Francisco airport.

Watch the video and see what you think; leave a comment if you desire. Is this “Big Brother” or are we big brothering ourselves? Is this government intrusion or Google instrusion? Can she be serious when she talks about a “sixth sense chip” being implanted in one’s brain? Would you get one?

(HT: Brett Compton)

The power of one to incite stupidity

Ralph Lawler and Michael Smith. Image Credit: Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images

Ralph Lawler and Michael Smith. Image Credit: Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images

As sports commentators will do, some game conversations will digress into banter about family, other games, politics or, if Charles Barkley is involved, running for governor or the “trbl” play of someone in the game or the teams as a whole. According to the AP and carried by ESPN, a brief exchange during last week’s Clippers-Grizzlies game cost play-by-play announcer, Ralph Lawler, and analyst, Michael Smith, as each was suspended for a single game for remarks about Memphis’ Iranian born center, Hamed Haddadi. Clippers point guard, Baron Davis, sided with the broadcasters saying,

A lot of times when you’re commenting on games, it’s a source of entertainment. And a lot of times, people may take offense. But the viewers need to understand that it’s entertainment, and people are entitled to their opinion. I stand by Ralph and Mike because they’re great guys and they only want to support and help everybody in the league.

The full exhange, lasting some 40 seconds, was published on the L.A. Times website. From late in the game:

Smith: “Look who’s in.”

Lawler: “Hamed Haddadi. Where’s he from?”

Smith: “He’s the first Iranian to play in the NBA.” (Smith pronounced Iranian as “Eye-ranian,” a pronunciation that offended the viewer who complained.)

Lawler: “There aren’t any Iranian players in the NBA,” repeating Smith’s mispronunciation.

Smith: “He’s the only one.”

Lawler: “He’s from Iran?”

Smith: “I guess so.”

Lawler: “That Iran?”

Smith: Yes.

Lawler: “The real Iran?”

Smith: “Yes.”

Lawler: “Wow. Haddadi – that’s H-A-D-D-A-D-I.”

Smith: “You’re sure it’s not Borat’s older brother?”

Smith: “If they ever make a movie about Haddadi, I’m going to get Sacha Baron Cohen to play the part.”

Lawler: “Here’s Haddadi. Nice little back-door pass. I guess those Iranians can pass the ball.”

Smith: “Especially the post players.

Lawler: “I don’t know about their guards.”

Hamed Haddadi. Photo Credit: NBA.com

Hamed Haddadi. Photo Credit: NBA.com

According to both the AP and L.A. Times, the complaint was due to Lawler’s pronunciation as “Eye-ranian” and the suspension was the result of a single viewer’s email. Haddadi, a one year veteran from Ahvaz, Iran, may or may not resemble Sasha Baron Cohen or his alter-ego, Borat (judge for yourself), but is currently playing like him: 0.7 points per game and 1 rebound per game for the 7′ 2″ center.

One person made one complaint about the way an announcer pronounced a country and two people were suspended from their jobs. FOX Sports has lost its collective mind. The statement from the network said:

We regret the remarks made by Clippers announcers Michael Smith and Ralph Lawler during Wednesday’s telecast. While we believe that Michael and Ralph did not intend their exchange to be offensive, the comments were inappropriate.

I once heard Barkley say to Ernie Johnson, Jr., on an NBA game broadcast (not the studio program):

Ernie, I bet your parents didn’t even let you play with the black kids growing up, did they?

Sir Charles didn’t get suspended. The late Skip Caray, of Atlanta Braves broadcast fame, once called Phillies Hall of Fame third baseman, Mike Schmidt, “Mike Sh-t.” It was a slip, but he said it nonetheless. There is a place in sports commentary for entertainment, humor and silly observations and, as Caray proved, the occasional blunder of the live broadcast. Not all announcers are funny, many of them are not even good, but the ones who are either or both bring added enjoyment to the broadcast. FOX Sports’ decision was idiotic, moronic and vapid.

Maybe you’d like to share your thoughts: Contact FOX Sports.

Grieving father warns of teenager and prescription drug mix

Prescription meds, teenagers
On Friday morning, November 6, I received a prayer chain call from church. While the requests can run a wide berth of concerns, this one caught my attention in a way that almost stopped my heart. Prayer was being requested for a church member whose 18 year old grandson, a young man I knew, had been found dead that morning. I really could not believe that I had heard it right, so I listened again and the message was indeed what was initially thought.

I placed a couple of quick calls seeking information before finally touching base with his grandfather who confirmed the story as true. The initial concern was that he had overdosed on prescription medication; a concern that eventually was determined to be correct.

Over the weekend, this young man’s Dad sent an email to family and friends, an email which is published below with his permission. It has been edited slightly for clarity and privacy. The words “my son” have been substituted for the young man’s name.

Dear Business partners and Friends,

Words cannot begin to express the overwhelming support felt by all of my family this past weekend. Thank you so much for the food, prayers, thoughts, hugs, and words of encouragement. I would like to share with you my son’s story in hope that no one else ever has to experience the tragedy of burying a child:

On Friday morning of last week, my worst nightmare came true, I received a call from my younger son, 15, that his brother, 18, was unconscious and I needed to get over to their house quick. When I arrived, my son’s mom and the paramedics told me that they had nothing to work with-he had obviously been gone for a few hours. Within 15 minutes the outpouring of love, support, and prayers began-God showed up and placed his arms of comfort and peace around everyone. Family, friends, pastors, co-workers, students and neighbors began to show up and offer any assistance they could. I was amazed.

Like most people, I live in a fast paced life. I am not sure where I thought I was going all the time, but I was always doing something quickly-sometimes doing things right –sometimes not. The death of my son has made me take some time and think about what is really important. Our children are important. If you’re receiving this email and you are a parent that feels like everything moves to quickly, please slow down and take time to find out what is going on in your child’s life. Spend time with them each day, talk to their friends, their teachers, coaches, and anyone else they are involved in. Check their cell phones-you will be amazed. Check there email, Facebook, etc. You’re their parent-you have the right!

Just 2 years ago, my son was a typical teenager- interested in girls and cars-the usual things for boys. Two years later- he is gone. Where did it go wrong, where did the tide turn, what were the signs? If you have a child in school, chances are they have been asked or know someone that has been asked to participate in the taking of “prescribed” medicines. They take pain killers, anti-inflammatory, anxiety, depression, sleeping pills and any other meds they can find to “alter” their state of mind. They do not take it as prescribed. They think if one is good-two is better- and three is “killer”! What they don’t understand is it can kill them- it killed my son!

Some of the signs to look for are: sudden changes in mood, appetite, irritability, sleeping to much or not enough…they will take something to give them energy and then take something to bring them down. It’s hard to tell- but the signs are there. Keep all your medicines in a safe place that only you know about. These kids will have their friends steal meds from you while they steal meds from those friends’ parents (they don’t feel as bad this way). Do whatever you have to do to try and keep them safe.

While his death is a tragedy-it is also a success story. Just three weeks ago, my son spoke to Pastor Robbie at Hopewell Baptist church and Robbie asked my son if he knew Jesus as his Lord and Savior- he said “yes”. They prayed and my son was so excited. He called me and told me that he was changing his life and gonna quit doing the things that had gotten him in trouble. I was so excited that he had seen the light and wanted to change, but the devil wasn’t finished. As the days went by, my son began to be tested – he gave way to temptation- he lost that battle—but in the end he won the war. Because of his decision to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior, he is in heaven and at his funeral over 10 people accepted Jesus and will spend eternity in heaven when they leave this world. I don’t think I could be any prouder of my son.

I hope that my son’s story will cause us to make changes in our lives for the good- I hope that his story will bring families closer, that people will get back to the basics in life and realize that we are only here temporarily-that there is a place in eternity with God if we want it.

If your family is dealing with an addiction or abuse situation, please seek help so that lives may be saved. A great starting point is Celebrate Recovery, a Jesus Christ centered ministry for those struggling with addictive behavior, hurts, habits or hangups. Search “celebrate recovery” and the name of your town to find a local ministry.

Christianity or Americanism?

american-flag-2a
For many years, observers of the church in America have been warning that too many believers may have inadvertently swallowed a bitter pill thinking it was good medicine. The re-prioritizing of the two kingdoms, man’s and God’s, has long been a temptation and it seem that we are destined to see it repeated over and over again until the return of Christ.

Whether the belief that England was in a covenant relationship with God, thus the moral authority to launch crusades against infidels, or that France was in a covenant relationship with God, thus the moral authority assumed by Joan of Arc to crusade against the antagonistic English, or the belief that “New England” was in a covenant relationship with God since “Old England” has turned away from the covenant, nations and peoples since the ascension of Christ have sought to pick up, dust off and wear the mantle of Israel’s covenant with God. Almost without fail this leads to an idolatry from which there is rarely a return. Even many pre-WW2 Christians in Germany welcomed the influence of the Nazi Party as if it were the evident blessing of God on “the Fatherland.” Thankfully the Confessing Church stood against the embodied blasphemy that was the 3rd Reich.

Amid the many “taking America back” ideas that permeate that portion of Americans who are Christians there seems to run a common thread of misunderstanding. There has never been a Christian America and never will be. Just as there has never been nor ever will be a Christian Sudan, Ghana, Canada, Russia or Egypt. “Christian” should refer to people who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, not countries, bookstores or concerts. While it should be obvious to any reader of the Scriptures that Jesus died to save Americans, He did not die to save America. To think that God has only used America for His purposes is to misunderstand history; to think that God has chosen American for special blessing in a way that He has chosen no other country is to misunderstand theology. Second Peter 2:9 makes it clear that the “holy nation” God has chosen in these day is the church, not a geopolitical entity. The church exists within the borders of United Nations national charters, she does not take the place of them or become them. The ongoing conflation of the two kingdoms has created an unhealthy relationship between church and government even here in the United States where both left and right leaning Christians equate the presence of the Kingdom of God with whether or not we get a single payer healthcare option or we finally drill for oil in the arctic preserve. It bears remembering for all American believers that every time the church has crawled in bed with the state, the government prospers and the church is left cold, wretched, miserable, blind and naked.

Valid questions for all American Christians are: Do we worship America or Jesus Christ? Have we been brought into the relationship marked by Christianity or the religion of Americanism? Consider the following as possible indicators that we might have switched kingdoms:

Does your blood pressure goes through the roof when you see someone burning the American flag, yet you can hear someone take the name of Jesus in vain and you don’t flinch?

Are you angered when you see disrespect to an American soldier, yet when the persecution of Christians is reported on the news you give it not a second thought?

Will you walk across a restaurant to thank a service man/woman you have never met, but never thank your pastor for taking care of the flock?

Are you worried more about the country going into socialism than you are praying for the financial obedience of your own church?

Do you actively recruit people to your political positions, but ignore the need those same people have to know Jesus?

Does the national anthem or “American the Beautiful” brings tears to your eyes while worship songs bring dullness to your ears?

Are you more concerned when the Constitution is ignored than when the Bible is ignored?

Are you more appreciative of freedom of religion granted in the First Amendment than of freedom in Christ promised in John 3:16?

Is there a greater place in your heart for Washington, Adams and Jefferson than for Abraham, Paul and Peter?

Is it more important to you to support war or to try and bring peace?

At the National Prayer Breakfast in 1973 Former Senator Mark Hatfield said, “Let us beware of the real danger of misplaced allegiance, if not outright idolatry, to the extend we fail to distinguish between the god of an American civil religion and the God who reveals Himself in the Holy Scriptures and in Jesus Christ.

If we as leaders appeal to the god of civil religion, our faith is in a small and exclusive deity, a loyal spiritual adviser to power and prestige, a defender of only the American nation, the object of a national folk religion devoid of moral content. But if we pray to the biblical God of justice and righteousness, we fall under God’s judgment for calling upon His name, but failing to obey His commands.”

Hatfield had it right. God help us not to get it wrong.