The Wonder Of It All
After spending the better part of four days completely immersed in The Art of Magic, I am struck by the folly of it all. Us mortals, trying to convince others that we have supernatural powers to find your card, teleport your coin, levitate your sister, change something old for something new.
Don't get me wrong...I love the Art of Wonder. I love the look on a spectator's face when the most unlikely thing happens right in their hands. Or, when they begin to sense what is coming and they giggle with glee over the final result. Or, when they simply retreat and shake their head, saying "How did you do that?"
But I am struck with the stark reality that "Magic" is a bunch of secret moves, misdirection, and schtick. There is no real work going on here. Only the appearance of something supernatural.
The healthiest moment of all for me was in a lecture with a man who could literally deal you four cards of any value, say four aces, from a completely shuffled deck. Without you knowing it or that anything unusual had happened. A true technician - an incredible cheat. When asked if anyone ever plays cards with him, he responded "Sure. They know I won't cheat. It takes two things to successfully pull of a card scam. 1) you've got to have the skill and 2) you've got to have the... (and he pointed at his heart)...to pull it off. I've got the first, but not the second. My heart won't let me do it."
Isn't that the truth -- "The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip. -- Psalm 37:31" Oh, that we were all so very true to the law of the LORD. That would affect our thoughts, our behavior, our giving, our devotion.
In our crazed world of liberated lifestyles, compromised morality, and "if it feels good, do it," this was truly a wonderfilled moment for me. But it begs the question -- What's in my heart? What's in yours?
Selah.
Don't get me wrong...I love the Art of Wonder. I love the look on a spectator's face when the most unlikely thing happens right in their hands. Or, when they begin to sense what is coming and they giggle with glee over the final result. Or, when they simply retreat and shake their head, saying "How did you do that?"
But I am struck with the stark reality that "Magic" is a bunch of secret moves, misdirection, and schtick. There is no real work going on here. Only the appearance of something supernatural.
The healthiest moment of all for me was in a lecture with a man who could literally deal you four cards of any value, say four aces, from a completely shuffled deck. Without you knowing it or that anything unusual had happened. A true technician - an incredible cheat. When asked if anyone ever plays cards with him, he responded "Sure. They know I won't cheat. It takes two things to successfully pull of a card scam. 1) you've got to have the skill and 2) you've got to have the... (and he pointed at his heart)...to pull it off. I've got the first, but not the second. My heart won't let me do it."
Isn't that the truth -- "The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip. -- Psalm 37:31" Oh, that we were all so very true to the law of the LORD. That would affect our thoughts, our behavior, our giving, our devotion.
In our crazed world of liberated lifestyles, compromised morality, and "if it feels good, do it," this was truly a wonderfilled moment for me. But it begs the question -- What's in my heart? What's in yours?
Selah.
posted by Steve Snediker at 4/03/2006 06:15:00 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home