Inconsistency

One of the most potentially lucrative new technologies is the advent of generative artificial intelligence programs. The race to perfect AI has prompted companies large and small to invest huge sums of time and money to corner the market on this emerging technology.

One important issue is the lack of a regulatory framework to enforce the intellectual property rights of companies and creative people. Their work is used to train the AIs, which need millions of examples of creative work to properly learn how to replicate similar works.

Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI are investigating whether data output from OpenAI’s technology was obtained in an unauthorized manner by a group linked to Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek. They believe that this is a sign that DeepSeek operatives might be stealing a large amount of proprietary data and using it for their own purposes

Ironically, OpenAI itself has been sued by individuals and entities, including The New York Times, alleging "massive copyright infringement" for using copyrighted materials to train its AI models without permission or compensation. So, it looks supremely hypocritical to complain about DeepSeek stealing their proprietary data, when most of OpenAI’s proprietary data was made by stealing the data of others. In the race to perfect AI, it seems there is no honor among thieves.

Possible Preaching Angle:

This is a classic case of “the pot calling the kettle black,” and a blatant display of “he who lives in a glass house shouldn't throw stones.” It is the very nature of a Pharisee to condemn the very flaws they themselves embody, oblivious to the transparent vulnerability of their own character.

In September 2024, a Portland, Oregon advocacy group for safe and sustainable transportation rescinded its endorsement of mayoral candidate Carmen Rubio. This was after troubling reports of Rubio’s driving habits came to light. Daily newspaper The Oregonian reported that Rubio damaged a parked Tesla and left the scene without leaving a note.

This seemingly minor incident was of great public interest since it followed previous reports of Rubio accumulating 150 parking and driving tickets over the course of her advocacy career. Rubio also had at least one instance of failing to appear in court, had her car towed due to unpaid fines and fees, and had her license suspended six times.

Initially, The Street Trust advocacy group expressed disappointment but chose to stand by Rubio, citing her commitment to safer streets. However, the incident involving the damaged Tesla prompted the group to withdraw its support. The Street Trust stated that Rubio's actions contradicted their values and that they could not hold candidates accountable if they didn't act when those values were compromised. The group emphasized its commitment to supporting candidates who align with its mission of creating safer streets and promoting sustainable transportation.

While many of Rubio's prominent supporters, including Oregon governor Tina Kotek, did not withdraw their endorsements, Rubio was eventually defeated by another candidate.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Leaders must be held accountable not only for their values, but their actions. Those who serve the public must abide by the same laws that they enforce on others.

According to Business Insider, a big turn off for Gen-Z workers is what workplace experts call “a double bind.” Jeanie Chang is an expert on mental health in the workplace, and she defines it as “giving two or more contradictory messages at the same time.”

For example, claiming to value work-life balance by insisting workers are off their computers by 6pm, while at the same time supervisors routinely send messages after hours. Or when a job advertises unlimited paid time off, but workers are routinely denied PTO requests. Chang says that many Gen-Z workers use another name to describe the practice: “corporate gaslighting.”

As a member of Generation X, Chang doesn’t exactly blame managers for their double-bind habits. She thinks that many of them had the same practices modeled for them in their younger years, and just assumed that’s how work has to be. “People my age and up didn’t talk about mental health,” said Chang. She said that many of her coworkers adopted a survivalist mindset in order to battle burnout and fatigue, but they didn’t understand what was happening since they didn’t have the same common language to describe it.

By contrast, many Gen-Z workers adopt what Chang calls “a thriving mindset.” If they perceive that the company is an impediment to their happiness, many of them will quit, even without a backup plan in place.

“At the end of the day, you can't blame those older folks because they don't know what that is. So, it's a learning curve, but all sides have to be open. No one generation is better than the next.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

Business; Church Staff; Volunteer Recruitment; Volunteers - Whether managing people in an office, or working with volunteers in a church, leadership must be clear about their expectations and open about the amount of time and effort that is expected and not take advantage of workers.

After a two-week battle with a sudden fast-spreading infection, Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, passed away. Dean had recently given a deposition alleging that his firing in 2023 was in retaliation for having disclosed what he called “serious and gross misconduct by senior quality management of the 737 production line.”

The Boeing 737 MAX has a troubled safety record, with high-profile crashes in 2018 and 2019 killing hundreds, and an Alaska Airlines flight in early 2024 that had to make an emergency landing after an explosive decompression due to an insufficiently secured door plug.

According to The Seattle Times, Dean was 45 years old, in relatively good health, and known for a healthy lifestyle. In February, he spoke to NPR about Spirit’s troubling safety practices.

"Now, I'm not saying they don't want you to go out there and inspect a job … but if you make too much trouble, you will get the Josh treatment,” Dean said, about his previous firing. “I think they were sending out a message to anybody else. If you are too loud, we will silence you.”

Dean’s death comes two months after another Boeing whistleblower, John Barnett, was found dead of a potentially self-inflicted gunshot wound. Barnett was also in the process of testifying against Boeing about potential safety lapses in the manufacturing of the Boeing 787, and claims that he was similarly retaliated against for his whistleblowing. Barnett was 63 at the time of his death, and known for a vocal criticism of what he perceived to be Boeing’s declining production standards.

Dean’s attorney Brian Knowles, whose firm also represented Barnett, refused to speculate on whether the two deaths are linked, but insisted that people like Dean and Barnett are important.

Knowles said, “Whistleblowers are needed. They bring to light wrongdoing and corruption in the interests of society. It takes a lot of courage to stand up. It’s a difficult set of circumstances. Our thoughts now are with John’s family and Josh’s family.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

Sometimes telling the truth can be costly. But this should never inhibit us from standing for the truth.

In early March, the Biden Administration began supporting a bill in Congress that would potentially result in a ban of the social media app TikTok. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called it “important,” saying the administration welcomes it. And it’s not the first restriction on the app; in 2022, Biden signed a bill banning the app on government phones because of potential security risks.

But critics of the president are calling such support hypocritical, because a month prior, the President’s re-election campaign began using the app to engage younger voters.

“We’re going to try to meet voters where they are,” said Jean-Pierre. Campaign staffers clarified that while no White House staffers have the app on their phones, they are working directly with TikTok influencers to get their message across, and taking appropriate security precautions.

The legislation in question, which has received bipartisan support, would require Bytedance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, to sell the app or face a nationwide ban because of the way its data is stored. U.S. intelligence officials are concerned that Bytedance could be compelled to leak TikTok user data to the Chinese government.

If the bill passes, it would likely be challenged in court by Bytedance, who successfully sued the Trump administration to overturn a similar executive order in 2020.

Possible Preaching Angle:

If we say one thing with our words but communicate something else with our actions, we are not walking in truth, and therefore our words will lack credibility.

A business professor quoted in the Wall Street Journal noted how Gen Z is craving stability in the midst of anxiety.

Not long ago, a friend who teaches a communications course at a Midwestern business school asked me to speak to her class. Her instructions were invitingly wide: “Just tell them about your career.” And so I did, trying to hit all the points that might be relevant to students about to enter the job market.

When I was done, my friend opened the floor to questions and, much to my excitement, a line formed at the mic. Then came the first question: “You’ve had such a long career,” the student said. “Could you please tell us how you’ve avoided burnout? Like, what do you do for self-care?” As the student sat down, so did about half of the other students in the queue, signaling their question had been taken.

I’ll spare you my answer, but perhaps you can guess it. I am of the generation that thought work was what you did, even when it was hard. You pushed through. Burnout wasn’t an option. Self-care is what you did when you retired.

She goes on to quote a survey which asked 1,800 new graduates what they wanted most from their future employers. The overwhelming majority—85%—answered “stability.” High pay and benefits also ranked high. The desire for “a fast-growing company,” on the other hand, garnered only 29% of the vote.

Representatives from the city of Portland appeared in federal court to address the city’s ongoing lack of compliance with a 2014 settlement agreement from the Department Of Justice. US District Court Judge Michael Simon was charged with assessing the city’s progress. And the initial feedback was less than positive.

City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty said, “I did not [want to] speak with the city today, because I don’t see myself standing with people saying, ‘We’re doing a good job.’ We’re not.” Hardesty pleaded with the judge to demand tangible actions to address departmental shortcomings.

The agreement was the result of a DOJ lawsuit against the city of Portland for consistent uses of excessive force, especially against people exhibiting signs of mental illness. And despite numerous hearings designed to shed light on the process since its 2014 inception, it had taken the city until February of 2020 for its police force to come into full policy compliance.

And yet, there were several incidents involving police response to the ongoing public protests throughout the summer of 2020 and into 2021 that revealed several operational gaps. City attorneys tried to explain these incidents as being products of extraordinary circumstances, but Hardesty and various community stakeholders say otherwise.

Attorney Ashlee Albies said, “PPB has held itself out as a learning organization. But in order to be a learning organization, it must self-reflect and do so critically. And it’s not for the purposes of punishment. It is for the purpose of … holding officers accountable, holding systems accountable, so that the public has faith in that system.”

Judge Simon agreed saying, “We want policing to work. We want our community to trust our police officers. We want our police officers to continue to feel good about what they do and to earn the respect of the people that they serve.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

As Christians it's our responsibility to respond to correction with humility and repentance. Refusing to do what's right is not being steadfast, but being stubborn.

Jeanne Pouchain knows she’s not dead. But she has to prove it in court. The 58-year-old French woman was declared dead by a court in 2017 during a decade long legal case. An employee Pouchain had fired years ago sued her for lost wages and told a court that Pouchain was dead after she stopped responding to the employee’s letters.

Without evidence, the French court accepted the allegation and levied a judgment against Pouchain’s estate. The court’s decision set off a chain reaction in France’s bureaucracy, which scrubbed her from official records and invalidated her identity cards and licenses.

Pouchain recently told The Guardian, “I have no identity papers, no health insurance, I cannot prove to the banks that I am alive … I’m nothing.” Pouchain’s attorney then presented an affidavit to the court from her doctor attesting to her continued existence. Her former employee says Pouchain had been pretending to be dead in order to avoid paying the court-mandated damages.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Christians can also appear to be dead if they let their spiritual life lapse. This is true in church membership (Rev. 3:1) and also in the lifestyle they choose if they fall into worldliness (Eph. 5:14-15; Rom. 13:11).

In 2013, New York City narcotics agents announced an unusual indictment of five Brooklyn men. These types of indictments are, unfortunately, commonplace in metropolitan areas like New York, but this one did stand out.

The men who were charged were members of a Sabbath-observant drug ring. Though cavalier about New York’s drug laws, the group was scrupulous about observing the Sabbath. Text messages from members of the gang show them alerting their clientele of their weekly sundown-to-sunset hiatus.

Text messages, used as evidence against the group, included group chats to clients, “We are closing 7:30 on the dot and we will reopen Saturday 8:15 so if u need anything you have 45 mins to get what you want." The name of the NYPD sting operation that led to the drug bust: "Only After Sundown."

It's hard to imagine that anything literally hanging from utility poles across Manhattan could be considered "hidden." But throughout the borough, about 18 miles of translucent wire stretches around the skyline, and most people have likely never noticed. It's called an eruv (pronounced “ay-rube”) and its existence is thanks to the Jewish Sabbath.

On the Sabbath, which is viewed as a day of rest, observant Jewish people aren't allowed to carry anything—books, groceries, even children—outside the home (doing so is considered "work"). The eruv encircles much of Manhattan, acting as a symbolic boundary that turns the very public streets of the city into a private space, much like one's own home. This allows people to freely communicate and socialize on the Sabbath—and carry whatever they please—without having to worry about breaking Jewish law.

As the writer Sharonne Cohen explains, eruvin were created by “the sages of the Talmud” to get around traditional prohibitions on carrying “house keys, prayer books, canes or walkers, and even children who cannot walk on their own.” New York City isn't the only metropolis in the US with an eruv. They are also in St. Louis, Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, and numerous other cities across the country.

A cynic might wonder at the effort required to string wire around huge swaths of public space, in order to allow adherents of a religion to do what the tenets of that religion would otherwise prohibit. Even some religiously-minded observers might find it hard to imagine a God that wouldn’t regard this as the flagrant concoction of a city-sized loophole.

Possible Preaching Angle:

1) Excuses; Rationalization - We might shake our heads to think that anyone could believe that they could get around God’s law using this scheme. But in retrospect, aren’t we guilty of the same thing when we push the boundaries and think that we can get away with finding a loophole in God’s laws when we sin? 2) Jewish People; Law; Sabbath - As a positive illustration, this might be a loophole but at least this story shows how seriously our Jewish friends take their commitment to honor the Sabbath.

Rabbi Adam Mintz, co-president of the Manhattan eruv, talks more about it in this video.

In 2017 the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Patrick Mahomes from Texas Tech. In 2018-2019, his second season, Mahomes led the team to the AFC Championship game. Then in 2020 he led the Chiefs to their first Superbowl win in 50 years. His performance in the biggest game of the season earned him the title of youngest Superbowl MVP. Some sports analysts suggest that Mahomes has the potential to become the “Greatest of All Time.”

Mahomes has not always been universally adored, however. After being drafted in 2017, a writer from the USA Today gave the Chiefs a C- grade for selecting Mahomes. The writer proclaimed:

Calling Mahomes a project is a major understatement. He’s nowhere near ready to play in the NFL. And, honestly, he may never be. Between his inconsistent accuracy due to poor mechanics, his tendency to bail from clean pockets and his lack of field vision, he’s going to leave as many big plays on the field as he creates. This was a risky pick.

History, however, will give the Chiefs an A+.

Possible Preaching Angle:

The Bible is full of examples of godly men who failed to see potential and gave C- grades to future A+ leaders. Samuel looked at David and didn’t see a leader, but anointed him only because God had already “drafted” David. Paul refused to take John Mark on his journey and even parted ways with Barnabas when Barnabas “the Son of Encouragement” rightly saw potential in Mark. These stories, both biblical and contemporary, remind us to be cautious in our evaluations of others, to seek counsel from other leaders, and to ask God to give us his eyes to see people as he sees them.

A government agency designed to protect those who blow the whistle on corruption and malfeasance was retaliating against the very people it’s supposed to protect.

The Trump administration created the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection (OAWP) in 2017. The President was quoted as saying, “This bill protects whistleblowers who do the right thing. We want to reward, cherish, and promote the many dedicated employees at the VA.” Now, however, the OAWP is being investigated by a watchdog group called the Office of Inspector General.

Dan Martin of VA’s Northern Indiana Health Care System said “OAWP set me up.” When Martin discovered improper contracting practices, he was reassigned by his superiors to work in an office with no heat or air conditioning. When the VA launched an investigation, they asked Martin to record several conversations with his superiors. But after the OAWP was brought into the loop, his superiors became aware of his cooperation against them. “They incentivized [my facility] to go after me.”

Tom Devine, legal director at a government whistleblower advocacy group, praised the early accomplishments of the OAWP. But he now claims “didn’t have the teeth to enforce their good deeds … (and) they turned on the whistleblowers.”

Potential Preaching Angles: God is not pleased when those entrusted with enforcing the law do not do so. Part of our calling as Christians is helping to protect those who are falsely accused.

At the 2016 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate at the American Museum of Natural History, the question of whether or not the universe is a simulation was addressed.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who was hosting the debate, said that he thinks the likelihood of the universe being a simulation “may be very high.” But says he wouldn’t be surprised if we were to find out somehow that someone else is responsible for our universe.

Tyson uses a thought experiment to imagine a life form that’s as much smarter than us as we are than dogs, chimps, or other terrestrial mammals. “What would we look like to them? We would be drooling, blithering idiots in their presence,” he says. Whatever that being is, it very well might be able to create a simulation of a universe.

Tyson goes on to say, “And if that’s the case, it is easy for me to imagine that everything in our lives is just the creation of some other entity for their entertainment,” Tyson says. “I’m saying, the day we learn that it is true, I will be the only one in the room saying, I’m not surprised.”

Albert Mohler, commenting on this article states, “So a man who denies the very possibility of the divine creation of the cosmos is here willing to entertain in public the idea that some higher species has merely created the entire cosmos as a simulation for that being’s own entertainment.”

A small town police chief spoke at a public forum about preventing hate violence. Hours later, he discovered that his son is a suspect in a hate crime.

The area had been rocked by a recent spate of attacks on Sikhs, including the beating of a 71-year-old man named Singh Natt by two teen assailants in nearby Manteca. Union City Police Chief Darryl McAllister had been speaking to members of the local Sikh community, trying to engage them in strategies in violence avoidance.

The next day, chief McAllister left the following words as part of a note on the department's official Facebook page: "It is not that often that I find myself sharing with the general public issues that pertain to my personal family life. I feel it is a MUST that this be one of those rare occasions."

After recapping the details of the attack, he continued: "I am completely disgusted in sharing with you that, later yesterday evening, I received a call from the Manteca PD that the suspect in this horrific crime turns out to (be) my 18-year-old son."

Tyrone McAllister, who was reportedly estranged from his police chief father, was taken into custody and charged with attempted robbery, elder abuse, and assault with a deadly weapon, in connection with the attack. Manteca police were able to locate him after his father provided relevant information.

In the statement, Chief McAllister also wrote that he and his family were "shaken to the core."

Potential Preaching Angles: (1) Holiness; Character; Discipleship; Racism—As God's children are we reflecting his character in all that we do? Or is there a glaring inconsistency between who God is and who we are?(This illustration especially focuses on God's character about racism.) (2) Fathers; Fatherhood—A father's (or a parent's) core beliefs do not automatically filter down to his children. Of course this is not to blame parents for their children's behavior, but as father's we must be vigilant in teaching our children well.

Despite its mission to confront cruelty of animals, at least one member of the Humane Society of the United States needs a reminder that humans are just as deserving of compassion and protection.

CEO Wayne Pacelle resigned after allegations surfaced of sexual harassment. Initially, its board voted to retain Pacelle after concluding that the allegations weren't supported by credible evidence. However, a donor outcry, several board resignations, the launch of an official investigation, and the threat of an employee walkout were enough to trigger a swift reversal.

Much of the outcry against Pacelle was amplified after the Washington Post published several details from the official investigation. Those accounts demonstrated a pattern of behavior that, while not outright predatory, was still coercive, and including sexual advances made toward subordinates and volunteers. The scope of the investigation widened after several female senior-level officials claimed they had previously warned Pacelle that his behavior was negatively impacting the organization. Additionally, several other women were paid in settlement cases after claiming they were fired in retaliation for speaking out against Pacelle, whose behavior seemed to be tolerated among certain senior management.

Merriam-Webster defines "humane" as "marked by compassion, sympathy, or consideration for humans or animals." The organization could probably use a reminder that in the official definition, humans come first.

Potential preaching angles: Before you go out and change the world, ask God for help in changing yourself. Leaders should be held to a higher standard of conduct. Judgment comes first to the house of God.

Doctors make a lot of recommendations for their patients. But do they incorporate these suggestions into their own lives? An article in The Wall Street Journal had a number of doctors weigh in on this question. One doctor noted that doctors often warn their patients about stress and burn out, and yet a survey from Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic found that 40 percent of surgeons said they were burned out.

A doctor of internal medicine from California insightfully said, "We tell our patients to avoid stress, to not work too hard, to balance their professional and personal lives. Yet many of us who dole out this advice completely ignore it ourselves … We ignore it because it is [darn] hard to follow. Rather than closing our eyes to this well-meaning bit of hypocrisy, we'd do well to confess our own struggles to our patients."

Another doctor lamented that doctors often tell their patients to pursue life balance but "From relentless studying in pre-med years fueled by vending machines and burned coffee, to medical school's brutal avalanche of information, many of us take our own health for granted. Often, we fail to see that our lack of balance affects our ability to care for patients with compassion and focus."

Occasionally the costumed street performers in New York City's Times Square fall on hard times. The ordinary folks dressed up as Spider-Man, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, or a whole host of popular movie and TV characters compete to get pictures with and payments from tourists. But a few years ago there was a rash of unseemly incidents with these street characters. One of Times Square's Spider-Man performers punched an NYPD officer after resisting arrest for harassing a tourist. According to another report, "Cookie Monster stands accused of shoving a 2-year-old. Super Mario was charged with groping a woman. And Elmo was booked for berating tourists with anti-Semitic slurs."

Why all the drama? According to one psychology professor at Tufts, "When we are anonymous, the unwritten rules of society fall by the wayside and we engage in acts that we wouldn't usually want to be held accountable for. Masks are a good physical substantiation of that."

Possible Preaching Angles: This applies to every follower of Christ, not just Spider-Man wannabes. We all need community, accountability, and the truth in love (Eph. 4:15) that helps us grow up into Christlikeness.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, singer-songwriter-guitarist J. Tillman (now known as "Father John Misty") was asked: "You were raised in an evangelical Christian household. How did that affect you?"

Misty responded, "I remember asking my Sunday-school teacher who made God. It was the first time I ever saw someone's eyes glaze over and robotically recite something. She said, 'God's always been.' For the Western world, enlightenment is having an airtight answer to a question. That to me is the quickest way to make yourself absurd. I think certainty is completely grotesque."

Misty was then asked: Was there anything valuable about your evangelical upbringing? Misty replied, "I was promised redemption and forgiveness and salvation over and over, but it never manifested in any meaningful way. It was like Charlie Brown and Lucy with the football. There's something about my writing that keeps looking to that problem."

Rob Smitty donated one of his kidneys to a stranger. It was a noble and generous sacrifice. While browsing the Internet, Smitty developed an interest in people needing organs. He said his motivation involved doing something that would make his children proud.

But his 10-year-old daughter wasn't impressed by his sacrifice. Amber said her father never comes to see her and never calls, not even on her birthday. "I don't think he's much of a hero," she said.

Tennessee records show Smitty had not made child support payments to Amber's mother in nine months.

Just as Amber is not impressed with her father's sacrifice, God is not impressed with sacrifice that takes the place of obedience.

In the 2004 presidential election, partisan fervor visited the University of North Carolina. Two students – —one supporting George Bush, the other supporting John Kerry – —debated over a unique political question. Who would Jesus vote for?

Jesus didn't reveal how he would vote, but we can be sure how he felt about the debate. When the exchange became heated, one of the combatants slapped the other in the face. His opponent fell to the concrete patio, suffering a head injury.