Month: February 2013

The 20%

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In class this week, we discussed the legislative branch of the Texas state government. We examined the formal qualifications to hold a post as either a Representative or Senator, and we also looked at the informal criteria, based on the demographics of the legislature.

There are several stereotypes, from education attainment to race/ethnicity, occupation and gender. For example, there are 31 women in the Texas House of Representatives and 6 in the Texas Senate, at present. Out of 181 seats available between the two chambers, that means roughly 1/5 of our state legislature is female. We’ve made a lot of strides since Edith Wilmans paved the way as the first woman elected to the state legislature in 1922, but ~20% is hardly representative of our population.

We discussed some of the reasons why this number remains so low, and here are some of our findings:

  • The legislature meets for 140 days every two years, so it is difficult for the average working adult, much less a mom (working outside the home or not) with traditional gender-role responsibilities, to up & go to Austin for four-and-a-half months (plus special sessions, if need be).
  • Texas state legislators earn $600/month, plus a per diem to help cover travel expenses while in Austin. The “pro” to offering such a low salary (more like a stipend, if you ask me) is that it fosters a sense of volunteerism; people don’t run for office because of the financial package. The obvious “con” is that no one can actually live on that salary, so most people who work for a living are unable to participate. (By the way, that salary was set in 1975 and hasn’t changed since.)

I think it was an eye-opening discussion for the students, but it’s also disconcerting. We hear a lot about needing better representation, but the system itself precludes many people (like me) who otherwise would be interested and are (if I may say so in all modesty) reasonably qualified for the job from serving in that capacity. Consequently, we end up with a legislature disproportionately comprised of white males (’tis true) who are lawyers and CEOs (because they can take time off of work), retirees and the independently wealthy (because they don’t have to work).

Furthermore, the [wo]man on the street is skeptical of the government because s/he doesn’t see her/himself represented in the group. We tell our kids that they can dream big and do or become anything they can imagine, and yet even in the 21st century amid unprecedented accomplishments everywhere we turn, we still have a leadership indicative of generations past.

*sigh. Don’t even get me started on higher education (where women lead 1/4 of universities and 1/3 of two-year schools) and church leadership …

A Good Kind of Hate? (Prayer Devotional for the week of February 24, 2013)

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“Hate” is a very abrasive word, yet in Luke 14: 25-27, Jesus talks to a large group of people who had begun following him around, and many English translations say that he told them if they don’t hate their families – and even themselves – then they could not be his disciples.

Such a harsh statement seems contrary to other biblical teachings about honoring your parents (one of the Ten Commandments, in fact!). What did Jesus mean by that comment? Instead of the word “hate,” The Message paraphrase says that we mustn’t “refuse to let go of” those relationships. In a nutshell, Jesus ought to be our most important relationship … the center of our lives.

We talked last week about the Faith Hall of Fame lineage from Adam to Noah, and something stood out to me as I was counting how old each generation lived to be. Two of Noah’s relatives were still alive while he was building the ark: his father, Lamech, and his grandfather, Methuselah. Since we know that Noah was apparently the only person on the planet who found favor in God’s eyes (Gen. 6:8), I don’t think it is too much of a leap to speculate that Lamech & Methuselah weren’t walking with God.

Lamech died just a few years before the flood, but imagine with me, if you will, what life must have been like for Noah during those ark-building years. Lamech may have berated him, told him what a fool he was, that he’d never amount to anything. Yet, Noah persisted in obeying God.

Methuselah’s story is even more astounding. Apparently, he died in the same year as the flood – perhaps even during the flood. It would take an extraordinary trust in God to close the door on your own grandfather, knowing what was about to happen, and yet choosing to follow God’s instructions, anyway.

Noah put the Lord first and foremost, even when it meant “letting go of” his family who were not walking in faith. I imagine that Noah grieved terribly as the rain began to fall, and even more so during the long, stir-crazy months cooped up with his immediate family in the ark adrift on the worldwide sea. In a life-or-death situation, Noah followed God and didn’t look back.