Rant of the Exiles

I am loving House of Cards, Netflix's original series starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. Asian American Christian men can learn a lot about game from Spacey's character, Francis Underwood, a prototypical Alpha male. The guy is a ruthless sociopath who lies, cheats, and manipulates his way into power. If you have experience with TV and movies, you know there's nothing new here. But then, there's nothing new about Alpha males either.  What is particularly enjoyable is how good Underwood is at what he does. He brings an elegance and beauty to power-mongering. I admire his command of relationships the way I admire Stephen Curry's command of the Warriors' offense. They are smooth, creative, and delightful to watch in action. What Christian principles of masculinity can we learn from a fictionalized politician? Let's compare Francis Underwood's quotes with Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4. 1) End useless pa

I'm good at being candid because of my conflict-loving personality. But often what I pass off as honesty is just an excuse for me to rip someone apart in order to make myself feel better. This is both nature and nurture. I inherited my dad's perceptiveness and critical nature along with my mom's quick temper. Awesome combo. My upbringing didn't help either. I often share the story of a basketball game when I was 10 years old. My dad told me I ran around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Around the same age, I remember a teacher trying to discipline me for insulting another student. I reasoned with her that if sticks and stones can break people's bones but names can never hurt someone, then my words were harmless. I don't remember her reaction to my argument. And like many bullies, I could dish it out but I couldn't take it. Throughout high school and college, my "honesty" helped me lose friends and alienate people. Relational pain   pers

If you have the long-term goal of buying a house in an expensive area, you should get a credit card as soon as you're responsible enough to pay the full monthly balance on time. My wife and I had dinner recently with a couple looking to buy their first house. They were having trouble getting a home loan because up until recently, the wife never had a credit card. And since she didn't have student loans and never bought anything on credit, she had no credit history. Even though both of them were employed, without a credit card, her income does not exist in the credit universe. This means they could only qualify for a loan based on her husband's salary.  Building credit is an ironic process. Credit history is supposed to be an indicator of how reliable you are in paying your debts. But what if you're so responsible that you never go into debt? Unfortunately, being debt-free is not worth anything in the universe of credit. It's stupid. Dave Ramsey, the p