Recycled Revelations

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)

The recycling mania of civic activism hurtles forward at warp speed.  Single-use plastic bottles that fell into anathema years ago have now been joined by plastic straws, Styrofoam dinnerware, all things made of wood, metals, glass, paper or cardboard, along with a host of other condemned eco-damaging commodities.  In turn, factories miraculously convert these recycled materials into a wide range of consumer products like grocery bags, park benches, cooking utensils, clothing, stationery, building components, auto parts—the list goes on and on.  Environmental crusaders have achieved dizzying success.  Ignorant slugs who don’t recycle represent the dregs of twenty-first century society.  The deep dive point to be made, however, is that trash can be re-created into treasure.  Objects that served their initial purpose can enter into another life, often more valuable than their original use. 

But the spiritual aspect of recycling recently hit me like the proverbial ton of feathers.  Isaiah said God’s servants would renew their strength.  A little venture into the thought processes yields even richer and more expansive benefits redounding to a child of God.  Revelations once received can morph into an even more awesome enlightenment of spiritual truths.  Blessings can compound into greater blessings.  Experiences can be recycled into more profound experiences.  Relationships can enjoy a deeper, more meaningful status than they were in their beginning stages.  In fact, this is the divine purpose and pattern.  We do not serve a “one and done” God.  Our God sets a record one day and breaks it the next day.  God described Himself to Abraham as his “exceeding great reward.”  He is a God without walls, without ceilings or floors.  “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” Ephesians 3:20 (KJV). 

Expanding on this theme, consider three basic relationship fields regarding our walk with God that can be recycled and transformed into incredible spiritual landscapes.  I call these areas “Him, Us and Me.”  The “Him” refers to our intellectual knowledge of God; “Us” concerns our relationship with the church; “Me” comes down to a personal relationship with Jesus that reciprocates meaning to the “Him” and “Us.”  Those who settle for a superficial treatment of Christianity choke the possibilities of the born-again phenomena. They resemble single-use containers or packaging.  They possess an “so what?” or an “is that all there is?” ADHD attitude.  Scratching only the Gospel’s surface, they move on to some cheap bling that catches their eye.  But how can anyone get bored with infinity?  How can people be so crude as to yawn at omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence?  The God who spans the solar system and beyond deserves total investment into His essence.

The Him Level

Most educated people around the world possess a rudimentary knowledge of Jesus Christ, irrespective of their belief system.  Millions know the basics of the Gospel, the historical facts of Jesus, and the nuts and bolts of the Bible.  More than a few even boast of superior knowledge of these facts.  Admittedly, while knowing about Jesus does not automatically mean knowing Jesus, it remains true that a simple grasping of His story has inestimable value.  It is here that we begin to lay the foundation of the Gospel in our lives.  We need to know His origins, His birth, life, ministry, death, burial, resurrection and glorification.  We need to know His identity, His attributes and His character.  “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.” Micah 7:18 (NKJV).  This is the “Him” level.  Without this knowledge, we have no possibility of a relationship with Him on any level.

The Us Level

The next step is the “Us” level, or our relationship to the church.  The importance of this level cannot be overstated.  Here, we go beyond an intellectual understanding of religious facts and begin to integrate with followers and disciples of Christ in real time in the real world.  This is Christ’s ingenious concept of the ecclesia, or the church.  Evidently, He knew that we needed more than a mere individual, laissez-faire relationship with Him.  The human state demands interaction, comraderie, friendship, support, company and closeness with other humans.  The vertical relationship needs the horizontal relationship to maintain viability and endurance.  The church provides the context for believers to receive instruction, demonstrate submission, learn faithfulness and perform duty.  Through the church we love, forgive, grow and feel compassion for others.  Thus, Jesus declared, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18 (NKJV). Those who dismiss the church as an unnecessary appendage to spirituality, or even an impediment to truth live in stark contradiction to the plan of God.  Their very opposition to the church underscores their need for the church.

The Me Level

Last, the “Me” level involves our one-on-one relationship with Jesus Christ.  This stands out as one of the strangest ironies of life: one cannot enjoy a functional relationship with others without a clear awareness of one’s self.  Psychologists, for example, have found that most interpersonal problems grow out of a conflicted personality.   War within translates into war without.  Thus, each person must experience a deeply personal connection with God that can only be described as revolutionary.  “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” John 3:3 (NKJV).  The rationale behind the new birth experience is that every believer needs a radical realignment of his or her essential self in order to have an effectual relationship with God.  This nullifies any notion of inherited spirituality, Christianity-in-name-only, or riding into heaven on the long coattails of one’s parents. God does not operate in a third-party mode.  He wants a mano a mano association with each individual. 

Recycling the Experience

Setting the table for this theme sets us up to witness the breathtaking beauty of recycling or enhanced spiritual experience.  Whatever a believer has experienced in his or her initial encounter with God includes a previously unknown, baked-in capability.  It resembles the phenomena of enhanced photography in which a grainy picture can become crisper, sharper and more detailed than the original image.  It is like slow-motion videography that reveals subtle movements undetectable by normal eyesight.  It is a dazzling array of color bursting out of a bland, nondescript scene, or a stunning sound clip edited to bring out luxuriant hidden qualities of an audio tape.  WYSIWYG meets its match in God—you get much more than what you see! Again, Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 (NKJV) The discerning disciple finds in God not a cul-de-sac, but a highway of holiness destined to take the believer to heaven.

Him Recycled

You think you already know everything you need to know about God?  Think again.  Your born-again experience will lead you to thrilling discoveries that your carnality obscured.  You will see truths in His Word that will amaze you.  The intricacies of His character, the wonder of His patience, the majesty of His presence and the unfathomable depths of His grace will become a daily epiphany for you.  You will marvel at fulfilled prophecies; you will be intrigued by His incarnation; you will exult in the never-ending outpouring of His love.  Go back to Bethlehem, go back to His ministry of miracles, go back to his Olivet discourse, go back to Gethsemane, go back to the cross, the empty tomb and Bethany of His ascension.  Every return trip will recycle into a blessing greater in scope than you ever imagined.  The grand Personage of the Bible won’t disappoint the most rigorous examination and He will satisfy the longing heart of every seeker. 

Us Recycled

Just when you think you’ve outgrown your need for the church; or when an unpleasant experience has left you disenchanted with the body of Christ; or when a surge of independent spirit overwhelms you, then it’s time to recycle.  A second look at the church will astound you.  The church that played the midwifery role to birth you is also there to sustain you and nudge you back to the proven pathway.  The God-called pastor speaks into your life with authority and wisdom.  Services you had come to consider routine become refreshing oases in the barren stretches of your journey; the annoying church crowd turns into a company of angels; the bothersome expectations and duties become sources of meaning and worth.  The church is much, much more than you thought it was.  It is a city set on a hill; a large tree in which the fowls of the air find lodging; an elegant mansion; a household of saints; the body of Christ.  The church fulfills every practical need for us as we live, work and grow as pilgrims in this sinful world.

Me Recycled

“A life unexamined is not worth living.” -Socrates. Years before the famed Greek philosopher taught this, the wise man Solomon said, “When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you.”  Proverbs 2:10-11 (NKJV).  In modern vernacular, quit the rat race; get out of the fast lane; be a warrior, not a worrier.  Tension, anxiety and paranoia quash any joy we may accrue.   We rush through our days, and often ruin one event or holiday by concocting plans for the next one.  Many of our meltdowns are self-inflicted.  You need a diversion, a derailment, a collision with reality. 

You know what happens when you shake up a can of soda just before you open it, but you may not know why.  In the manufacturing process, soda cans are infused with carbon dioxide.  At rest, the gas collects at the top of the can and makes a mild hissing sound when the can is opened.  If you shake the can just before you open it, however, the gas mixes in with the syrupy contents causing the liquid to spew everywhere when it is released.  The explosion doesn’t require new ingredients to be introduced; forces acting on the can from the outside will change the dynamics on the inside.  Think of yourself as a can of soda in need of a good shake-up!  New, different and even radical thoughts converging from the outside creates an explosive impact on you, shaking up the monotony and predictability that has benignly collected on the surface of your life.

Stop.  Take the bare bones of born-again experience and run them through the recycling process.  Your relationship with God is not even close to everything it can be.  As you immerse yourself in pensive prayer, in ruminating though the Word of God, in faith ventures, in exploring the outer edges of spirituality, you reignite your entire conscious (and sub-conscious) being. 

If you have ever stood at Ground Zero where terrorists brought down the once proud twin towers of the World Trade Center, you know what I mean.  “Rising from its square base, the redesigned Freedom Tower tapers into eight tall isosceles triangles, forming a perfect octagon at its center. From these, an illuminated spire containing a television antenna rises to a final height of 1,776 feet.” The Message:? Burn it down and we will rebuild it, bigger and better than ever. God sent that message to Satan millenniums ago. Tear it down and I will remake it…much more than it was in the first place.  Just take a prayer journey and let God show you his storehouses of grace. But the theology of much applies to areas beyond the grace of God. 

The Left’s Hazing Practices

Joining a fraternity, sorority or some exclusive club requires certain initiation rites known as hazing.  Idiotic, dangerous, and sometimes deadly antics demanded of the inductee reduces him or her to a fool.  This describes to a tee the long-established practice of progressive elites in the political spectrum of the country.  Not only does the left disqualify those who fail the hazing, they subject the victims to contempt, abuse and blackballing.  Here are some of the criteria on which hazing turns. 

• Abortion on demand.
• Support and endorsement of all LGBTQ platforms.
• Acceptance and advocacy of climate change theory.
• Strict gun control laws which may include confiscation.
• Elimination of the electoral college.
• Sanctuary cities.
• Limited or weak support for law enforcement officers or agencies.
• Reduction of military support.
• Full rights for undocumented immigrants.
• Elimination or re-structuring of ICE.
• Open or porous borders.
• Government-sponsored health care insurance.
• Programs to reduce or eliminate student loan debt.
• Politically correct language enforcement.
• Globalism.
• Support of the United Nations.
• Hatred of populism.
• Hostility toward President Trump, his family and all his associates. 

The foregoing list represents absolute shibboleths of progressives.  They are to be accepted on their face without argument, question or substantive tweaking. Anyone who disagrees with one or more of these positions incurs the wrath and rejection of the left wing of American politics. 

Two exceptions to these positions exist.  One occurs when a high-profile conservative concedes to the left on a component of the progressive litany of beliefs.  That person is heralded as a champion, but only as long as it serves the purposes of the left.  Whenever that individual no longer benefits the left, they withdraw all support.  The other exception happens when they discover that one of their own has a divergent view on some point.  That fact, if it is mentioned at all, is quickly and summarily dismissed, and they brutally attack anyone who has the temerity to point out the inconsistency.   

For the left, the concept of truth must bear the imprint of the progressive narrative or it cannot be so labeled.  All views resisted or rejected by the left must, of necessity, be considered lies.  Independent thinking, wandering off the reservation or speculating about alternative viewpoints are strictly prohibited.  The left demands total loyalty and they put blinders on all their adherents.  It amounts to an evisceration of everything that stands in opposition to progressive thought.  Thomas Sowell opines, “There are only two ways of telling the complete truth—anonymously and posthumously.”  Go undercover or underground (literally) if you oppose the left. 

This is a new civil war.  In some ways, it resembles the Civil War of some 160 years ago.  President Lincoln’s admonition at Gettysburg bears repeating: 

“It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” 

You Don’t Have to Be . . .

A gift doesn’t have to be expensive to be priceless.

A sermon doesn’t have to be eternal to be immortal.

A family doesn’t have to be in total agreement to be harmonious.

Lyrics don’t have to be vulgar to be honest.

You don’t have to be well-traveled to be well-rounded.

You don’t have to be educated to be smart.

Your clothing doesn’t have to be trendy to be fashionable.

You don’t have to shout to be heard.

You don’t have to be cutting-edge to be effective.

You don’t have to be good-looking to be beautiful.

You don’t have to be “woke” to be insightful.

You don’t have to have money to be rich.

You don’t have to be cocky to be confident.

You don’t have to be liberal to be compassionate.

You don’t have to be sensual to be loving.

A church doesn’t have to be contemporary to be relevant.

You don’t have to be slender to be attractive.

You don’t have to be insensitive to be straight-forward.

You don’t have to be clownish to be humorous.

You don’t have to be pompous to be proper.

You don’t have to be trampled to be submitted.

You don’t have to be a walking thesaurus to be knowledgeable.

The Road Not Taken

The dayspring of a new year provokes many to wonder “what if?”  What if I had married that other person?  What if I had taken that other job?  What if I had enrolled in that other major or had earned that next degree?  Or gone to a different school?  What if I had bought a different house or moved to a different neighborhood?  What makes these thoughts even more exasperating is if they grow out of unhappiness with the present.  Would you be happier?  Would you enjoy life more?  Would you be better off?

I have to SCREAM at you for a moment.  You need to stop it!  Persisting down this trail of thought will never do you any good.  It’s crying over spilt milk, unringing a bell or going back in time.  Not only is it futile, it is taking an axe to the life you now have.  I give you three powerful reasons why you need to quit wallowing in remorse.

1.   Had you taken the alternative path, you undoubtedly would be wrestling with the same feelings as you are now.  There is no magical guarantee that all your dreams would be fulfilled, that all your problems would be solved or that you would be in a much more enviable position.  Chances are great that you would look back on your unexperienced present circumstances and pine for them as well.  In addition, you have no idea what different challenges you would be facing had you taken the other road.  Don’t delude yourself into thinking that everything would be much different. 

2.  Obsessing on what might have been robs you of the present moment.  Your unrealistic daydreaming suspends and sabotages positive and progressive thought about today’s circumstances and how to make them better.  It leads you to hate, not to love.  It causes undue frustration instead of calm reasoning.  It roils you into profound discontent instead of seeking out peace and harmony.  It makes you cantankerous and nasty instead of developing an amicable and uplifting personality.  You cannot see wonderful possibilities because you are always thinking about missed opportunities.

3.  Cursing the present and wishing you would have chosen something else is an indictment against the will of God.  Even if the road you did take was in contradiction to the will of God, you need to understand that the will of God is redemptive, not permissive.  God deals with you as you are, not as you should have been or could have been.  My favorite story of the Master Weaver comes from the Orient where tapestries are the special products of many villages.  It is said that the Master Weaver sits in the middle of the room, surrounded by his apprentices.  Whenever one of them makes a mistake, he brings the work to the Master.  The old man studies the tapestry until he figures out how the apprentice can incorporate the mistake into a greater design so that it would appear to the one who purchased it that it was supposed to be that way from the beginning. 

What you didn’t do is not important.  It has no present value.  What you did do is where you are.  Concentrate on that.  Pour yourself into the present.  Your present is EVERYTHING!  You will never find happiness in making yourself sick over the road not taken.  If you ever find happiness, peace and love, it will be on the road you now travel. 

Do You Like Me?

(Introductory note: I do not write this little piece for me, but for all those who struggle with low self-esteem.  It’s time to get some perspective.) 

Tyrants and cowards, homicidal maniacs and suicide victims, clowns and grinches, life-of-the-party types and loners, fierce competitors and couch potatoes—what do they all have in common?  Low self-esteem.  Not in every case, of course, but much more than one might suspect.  The need to be liked, the search for significance, the craving for recognition and the quest for popularity drive behaviors, actions and reputations.  Nothing can be everything.  If you believe you are nothing without other people noticing you, then everything you do will be a function of that perception. 

Maybe I’m being too clinical or philosophical.  Let’s try a different tack.  If you think I don’t like you, you will either punish me or patronize me.  Your actions toward me reveal that you are not really interested in me, but in my affection (or lack thereof) for you.  You’re like a cue ball whose only purpose is force others to move in a certain direction or to bounce off the circumstances in order to gain a favorable position.  With no inner peace or self-acceptance, you live by comparing yourself to others in your universe.  You either want to be loved or feared.  

If I want you to like me, I will spend money on you (even if I ostensibly spend money on myself, I’m really trying to manipulate you into liking me.)  If I want you to like me, I will praise you, affirm you or agree with you even if I am not sincere about it.  If I want you to like me, I may try to make you jealous, envious, or unduly interested in me.  If I want you to like me, I may overwork, overspend, overachieve or overcommit to impress you.  I may attempt feats that I am not qualified for, I may do things I despise or am terrified to do, I may join causes for which I have no real affinity, and I may befriend your friends in order to get an inroad into your heart.  In short, I become a fake person to capture your affection. 

On the flip side of the coin, if after all I’ve done, you fail to like me, I will make you pay for your mistake.  I consider you to be responsible, in part or in whole, for my miserable low self-esteem.  It’s obvious that I would be a much better person if only you would like me.  Consequently, I may lie on you, gossip about you, impugn your character and unfairly criticize you.  I may entrap you, defraud you, swindle you or mock you because you deserve it.  I may try to create chaos in your world, cause problems in your family or workplace or disrupt the peace in your neighborhood.  Depending on the intensity of my feelings, I may actually try to physically harm you.  If I can’t get to you personally, I may attack something or someone who symbolizes or represents you.  I am driven by my obsession for your love. 

If all else fails, I will hurt myself in order to punish you.  I may totally drop out of life and become a failure to teach you a lesson.  I may commit a crime or do something heinous to embarrass or mortify you.  I may attempt suicide by gun, knife, rope, jumping off a bridge or overdosing on pills.  If I’m too scared to do any of those things, I may try suicide by cop or oncoming traffic.  The world may not realize it, but you and I will know that you killed me.  You caused my misery. 

You would be wise to take a second look at historical events.  The precipitation of wars, the genocidal tragedies in the world, the horrific mass shootings, acts of arson that set millions of acres on fire, devastating bombs planted in public places, assassination of political figures, inquisitions, destructive pograms and witch trials may have been executed by people with low self-esteem.  It may never be documented how much suffering and sorrow have been perpetrated by seekers of affection or recognition.  The gigantic wheels of history have often been turned by small, individual needs. 

You may be tempted to think that narcissism rather than low self-esteem causes these aberrant behaviors.  It may surprise you to note, however, that the two are intrinsically related.  Here’s what the Mayo Clinic says: 

“Narcissistic personality disorder — one of several types of personality disorders — is a mental condition in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationships, and a lack of empathy for others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence lies a fragile self-esteem that’s vulnerable to the slightest criticism.

“A narcissistic personality disorder causes problems in many areas of life, such as relationships, work, school or financial affairs. People with narcissistic personality disorder may be generally unhappy and disappointed when they’re not given the special favors or admiration they believe they deserve. They may find their relationships unfulfilling, and others may not enjoy being around them.”  https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20366662 

This is precisely why I value the gospel of Jesus Christ above all other truths of life.  This is where Christ’s love becomes most relevant to the human condition.  The love of Jesus for each individual infuses the salvation message.  His love is total, unconditional and eternal.  His love does not regard beauty, handsomeness, age, intelligence, wealth, pedigree, education or race.  His love is pure, personal and redemptive.  His love dives down to the lowest degree, affects the core personality and suffers the most ignominious resistance.  His love was affirmed by His ministry, demonstrated by His cross and validated by his resurrection.  The deeper belief in Christ goes, the more thoroughly His deity is embraced, and the more faithfully his precepts are followed, the less issues of self-esteem dominate behavior. 

The Love of God

MercyMe

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell
The guilty pair, bowed down with care
God gave His Son to win
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin 

Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade 

To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky 

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah 

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song

A Modern Paraphrase of “To Every Purpose There Is a Time”

There is a time to tweet; there is a time to refrain from tweeting.

There is a time to talk on your cell phone; there is a time to quit talking on your cell phone.

There is a time to respond to a Facebook post; there is a time to let it slide.

There is a time to suddenly change lanes; there is a time to defer changing lanes.

There is a time to honk your horn; there is a time to refrain from honking your horn.

There is a time to slam on your brakes; there is a time to coast to a stop.

There is a time to take a picture: there is a time to hold back from taking a picture.

There is a time to post a picture on Facebook; there is a time to decline posting a picture.

There is a time to play games on your X-Box; there is a time to stop playing on your X-Box.

There is a time to share who you voted for; there is a time to keep your vote secret.

There is a time to carry a loaded weapon; there is a time to leave your weapon at home.

There is a time to scold your children; there is a time to postpone scolding your children.

There is a time to wear your pajamas; there is a time to not wear your pajamas.

There is a time to wear your school logo; there is a time to wear an unmarked sweatshirt.

There is a time to stick out your tongue; there is a time to bite your tongue.

There is a time to give someone an angry look; there is a time to keep a straight face.

There is a time to act tough; there is a time to look vulnerable.

There is a time to order a T-bone steak; there is a time to order a hamburger.

There is a time to sign your name on the dotted line; there is a time to refuse to sign your name.

There is a time to shout “Amen;” there is a time to murmur under your breath.

There is a time for normalcy; there is a time for idiocy.

Help! I Have Money Problems!

It’s typical.  Understandable.  Universal.  It’s also avoidable.  You just haven’t come down hard enough on yourself yet.  Because your principle problem isn’t money.  It’s you.  That’s right.  You.  Does that make you mad?  Sorry.  It’s the truth.  Here are a few truths that demand acceptance and submission. 

1.  You have all the money you deserve.  I’m not talking about your intrinsic value or your personal worth.  I’m talking marketplace.  In a market economy, each of us offers something of value that other people want.  The more people that want what you’ve got, or the more intensely they need it, then the greater your value becomes.  No need, no value.  Little need, little value.  Great need, great value.

2.  Cultivate your value.  Don’t have a skill?  Develop one.  Have a skill?  Make it better.  Have a great skill that no one knows about?  Advertise it, sell it, broadcast it, show it.  Unknown qualities and commodities equal non-existent qualities and commodities.  Find your niche, locate your most promising opportunity and capitalize on it.

3.  Rein in your appetite.  Stop spending money on non-essentials.  Reevaluate your tastes, desires, wants and affections.  It may be a very basic and obvious tendency, but the more money you spend on things you don’t need, the less money you will have to buy the things you need.  Quit whining about not having enough money for food, clothing and shelter when you spent it on luxury items that only serviced your unchecked lust for looks, comfort or prestige. 

4.  Reexamine your priorities and role models.  Take inventory of your habits.  Something or someone is driving you to behave in certain ways with your finances.  None of us live in a vacuum.  None of us do things for no reason.  We all have tastes or desires that control our behaviors, or else we have role models whom we consciously or unwittingly emulate.  Unrealistic goals or unattainable profiles of your heroes will drain you dry. 

5.  Exercise patience.  Note, when you have patience, you have to wait on fulfillment.  That seems like a given, but it still comes as a shock to many people.  Things are not going to happen overnight.  It’s what you do and how you handle yourself in the meantime that determines your outcome.  When you get tired of waiting, you will sabotage your prospects for success.  Wait a little longer than you expect to wait.  All you will hurt is your pride.

6.  Figure out your attitude towards money.  Is it just a way to live comfortably and take care of your needs, or is it a pathway to fame, fortune or admiration?  Is it a means to a status level or an instrument for pride and boasting?  If you regard money as a way to compare yourself to your peers, then you will always be disappointed.  Most people will not be impressed, or else you will outgrow your present peer group and then find yourself beneath the next more prestigious group.  It’s a battle you will never win.

7.  Don’t make money the measure of your contentment.  Be content with whatever you have, whether little or much.  The irony of contentment is that you can work or strive for more even while you remain content with what you have.  And, contentment is based on an appreciation for what you have.  Jealousy, envy and covetousness undermine contentment. 

8.  Progress is a matter of direction, not distance.  Little steps, little bites, little successes count just as much a leaps and bounds.  You do not have to have it all at once.  When you operate one day at a time, you will look back after 365 of those small increments and be amazed at what you accomplished in a year!

9.  Make money a spiritual commodity.  Your attitude towards money and the way you handle your finances reflect your relationship with God.  Jesus spoke as much about money and possessions as He did any other subject.  When you consider the spiritual aspect of money, you will make it a matter of prayer and you will adhere to spiritual laws concerning your use of money. 

10.  Finally, get help.  You may need some critical information, some helpful advice or even a rigorous education about money matters.  Just because you can add, subtract, multiply and divide doesn’t mean that you know how to handle money.  There are financial planners out there who can offer invaluable services to you on your money habits.  Don’t be so headstrong or incorrigible that you turn down the opportunity to learn more about your finances.  Swallow your pride and make that phone call.  A year or two from now, you will be glad you did. 

Impeaching God

With the impeachment craze in full swing, I imagine that there are those among us who would like to impeach God.  Abuse of power would most likely be the primary charge, but some quid pro quo and bribery may also find their way into the articles of impeachment. 

Look no further than the most bigoted and exclusive set of rules ever written—the Ten Commandments.  The “no other Gods” edict reeks of egoism, narcissism and rudimentary bigotry.  It demeans other cultures and belief systems, creating a sort of “Jehovah supremacy” attitude among adherents.  The “no graven images” prohibition codifies an egregious offense against a pantheon of religious traditions that express believers’ faith through sculptures, paintings and other art forms.  We could go on, but one more charge could be leveled against the moratorium on ending life.  This broad overreach intrudes upon the sacred pro-choice stance and the growing popularity of euthanasia.  At the very least, all these commandments should be re-written if not abandoned altogether.

One glaring example of abuse of power may be seen in the creation of humankind.  If the Creator had the power to create a difference among genders, why he would be so short-sighted as to limit lifeforms to male and female is inexcusable and unforgiveable.  It took the power of evolution to finally shake out the truth of multiple genders, transgenders and non-binary self-assessments.  Moreover, it was especially cruel of God to configure the anatomy in a way that made gender re-assignment extremely difficult and traumatic.  He had the power to take these different positions into account, but instead, he foisted a silo mentality upon the human race.  These mortal sins make the call for impeachment obligatory.

Perhaps the most basic charge comprising the case for impeaching God involves quid pro quo.  He put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden with the demand that they avoid eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil or else they would be sentenced to death.  In other words, they had to obey God in order to stay alive.  By their very nature, obedience, obescience and compliance categorically imply quid pro quo, or “this for that.”  God leverages life and/or death against bowing to his wishes.  Who does God think he is?  A king?

Let the cry go forth: Impeach #1!  Impeach #1!  Even if humans lack the power to make these charges stick, future generations need to know that this woke generation understood the issues and wielded the full extent of its ability to act in accordance with perceived truth. 

In order to fully embrace this position, you need to obliterate the following passage from the Bible and from your minds.

“We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment.”

“And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross. You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got.  But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence.”  

“You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.” Colossians 1:15-23 (MSG)