Microgod

Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, was interviewed November 1995 on PBS by David Frost. Below is the transcript with minor edits.

Frost: Do you believe in the Sermon on the Mount?

Gates: I don't. I'm not somebody who goes to church on a regular basis. The specific elements of Christianity are not something I'm a huge believer in. There's a lot of merit in the moral aspects of religion. I think it can have a very very positive impact.

Frost: I sometimes say to people, do you believe there is a god, or do you know there is a god? And, you'd say you don't know?

Gates: In terms of doing things I take a fairly scientific approach to why things happen and how they happen. I don't know if there's a god or not, but I think religious principles are quite valid.

Gates was profiled in a January 13, 1996 TIME magazine cover story. Here are some excerpts:

"Isn't there something special, perhaps even divine, about the human soul?" interviewer Walter Isaacson asks Gates "His face suddenly becomes expressionless," writes Isaacson, "his squeaky voice turns toneless, and he folds his arms across his belly and vigorously rocks back and forth in a mannerism that has become so mimicked at MICROSOFT that a meeting there can resemble a round table of ecstatic rabbis."

"I don't have any evidence on that," answers Gates. "I don't have any evidence of that."

He later states, "Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There's a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning."

Who?

It’s normal to look to other people to help you understand who you are. This is one of the primary reasons that relationships are so important. Martin Buber writes if there is no “you,” then there can be no “I.” In other words, if there is no one else, we have a difficult time understanding how we are similar and how we are the same. We learn more about ourselves by how we react and affect other people than we would by being constantly alone.

Being alone is a conversation of one and you can only know what you know – there is no other perspective or idea. The way we react when we are around other people can be both affirming and condemning. It can give us joy to be in the company of friends, but it can also trouble us if we seek too much approval or depend too much on their opinion than the Father’s.

But, even though people help us to understand more about ourselves, they are not perfect mirrors. They can help us to see, but their image is often distorted and incomplete. The reflection we see has got to be balanced and informed by the Father’s perspective. He sees us as “new creations” (II Corinthians 5:17) and as beloved children (I John 3:1).

This is one of the reasons I admire Jesus so much. He was with numerous different people and he met each of them where they were. He accepted them for who they were and went to them. But, he was defined by his relationship with the Father. He was centered in the Father’s love for him. This, I believe, is where we need to live.

Somedays You're the Fire Hydrant....

Kathy and I used to own two Rottweilers named Midnight and Raven. They were both male dogs. When we would let them loose in the backyard, it was amusing to watch them follow each other around marking and remarking their territory. Raven would sprinkle his ownership on a helpless bush and Midnight would be right behind him to reclaim it for himself. On and on the struggle for ownership would rage in our backyard.

Struggling to possess and own is not limited to the canine world. Attempting to carve out territory and proclaim ownership is, unfortunately, a temptation for us. We want to take and hold as though we can grasp these things forever. But what we have today will be someone else’s tomorrow. We are simply momentary caretakers.

Far from being depressing, this is liberating. We are free to enjoy without the burden of ownership. Possessions can be enjoyed and shared, rather than becoming chains that bind us or things that possess us. There used to be an adage that stated “He who dies with the most toys wins.” Maybe, but he who dies with the most toys still dies.

Love Hurts

One of my all time favorite album reviews was a three word appraisal of Cher’s album Love Hurts. With acid pen, the critic had simply stated: “Not this much.” Beautiful! “Brevity is the soul of wit.”

Yesterday Kathy was reading a quote from a book which said “Love always leaves a mark.” It is true. Love always wounds and love always hurts. It must be so because love is always costly. If we truly love someone, then we are willing to inconvenience ourselves, sacrifice, give and disrupt our lives for the sake of another. Love that costs nothing is nothing at all.

It may be that this is why so few of us will ever find love. We have bought the deception that love only brings personal joy and satisfaction. Because we have become conditioned to believe that love is never painful, we begin to pull away at the first sign of discomfort.

Love requires sacrifice. Love can be costly. But, a life without love is infinitely more agonizing.

And Then The Fight Started...

I asked my wife, "Where do you want to go for our anniversary?"
It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation.
"Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!" she said.
So I suggested, "How about the kitchen?"
And that's when the fight started....

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming
Anniversary. She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 In about 3 seconds.'
I bought her a scale.
And then the fight started...

My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion, and I
Kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table.
My wife asked, 'Do you know her?'
'Yes,' I sighed, 'She's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to
Drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she
Hasn't been sober since.'
'My God!' says my wife, 'who would think that a person could go on
Celebrating that long?'
And then the fight started...

I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my
Order first.
"I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please."
He said, "Aren't you worried about the mad cow?""
"Nah, she can order for herself."
And then the fight started...

Saturday morning I got up early, quietly dressed, made my lunch,
Grabbed the dog, and slipped quietly into the garage.
I hooked up the boat up to the truck, and proceeded to back out into a Torrential downpour.
The wind was blowing 50 mph, so I pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and discovered that the weather would be bad all day.
I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into bed. I cuddled up to my wife's back, now with a different anticipation, and whispered, 'The weather out there is terrible.'
My loving wife of 10 years replied, 'Can you believe my stupid husband Is out fishing in that?'
And then the fight started ...

My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping channels.
She asked, 'What's on TV?'
I said, 'Dust.'
And then the fight started...