You're gonna have to serve somebody

You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes
Indeed you're gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody...

Bob Dylan, the somewhat reluctant recipient of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature, is one of those people who has been some part of my life since I was quite young. During my high school and especially university years (1960-70), I was more a fan of folk music than the rock music of most of my friends. I had a particular fondness for Gord Lightfoot; Peter, Paul and Mary; Ian and Sylvia; Simon and Garfunkel; Joan Baez; and, of course, Bob Dylan. 

And this brings me to my plans for a series of posts. It's been a bit of a hiatus since I was posting routinely in my two blogs, JohnOnLife (johnonlife.blogspot.com) and wholly stretch (whollystretch.blogspot.com). Since early in 2015 when I last posted regularly, my wife Sharon and I have fully retired, sold our home in Abbotsford BC, and made the big move across the country to Ontario. 

We now live in Smithville, a little town of some 4500 plucky citizens in the Niagara Peninsula approximately 40 minutes from Niagara Falls. Inhabiting a rather flat agricultural area replete with chicken farms has been an adjustment after 38 years enjoying the mountain, lake, and ocean beauty of Canada's west coast. But one look at my darling 20-month old granddaughter Hayleigh, who lives 30 minutes from our home, significantly improves the view.    

During the last couple of years before leaving our home town of nearly four decades, I was privileged to participate in two book publishing efforts. Both gave me, in their way, the opportunity to reflect on the principles, values, objectives, and experiences that have informed my thinking, doing, and writing over most of my professional life. 

Or to put it another way, they provided an avenue for exploring what constitutes my worldview. 

Bob Dylan summarized that concept rather nicely in his great song Gotta Serve Somebody (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frWP2TzpayM). He says, in essence, that no matter what your station in life, regardless of what role you play or position you occupy, something or someone is going to inform the way you look at life, and how you will act accordingly. 

My own interest, as any regular reader of my blogs will know, is in how faith infuses one's worldview. I thought much about this as I read the comments particularly of American evangelicals regarding the desirability of President-elect Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. [I hasten to add that I found the man completely undesirable myself, primarily for reasons coming out of my (I hope) faith-based view of life.]

I wondered, more than once, how anyone with a worldview remotely close to what I think would be characteristic of anyone professing to hold to the Christian faith could thank Jesus for Trump. It seemed like a blasphemy to me. 

At any rate, this is where I want to go over the next few posts--what is a worldview, what would make it faith-infused, and how would one approach building one for oneself? 

As usual, I have no answers to any of these questions at this point, and will find out what I think as I research and write. Stay with me--this could take longer than I hope it does.