I love lemonade

Many times, adversity gives us an opportunity for growth. Recent events in my household have provided a healthy dose of adversity. The number of operating vehicles in my family has shrunk from two to one, as our family van is having mechanical issues. The one remaining working vehicle cannot safely hold the entire family, so going anywhere as a group requires significant logistical planning. We also ‘lost’ a computer (hard drive issues) so our school and personal computer schedules required adjustment as well. Hopefully these adjustments are temporary, but resolving them requires money, which a family on a budget does not have a lot of. However, I have been able to pull out a couple of positives from this situation and would like to give you my thoughts.

First, I discovered I don’t need to be on the computer as much as I was before the other computer went down. Of course, we justify our time on the computer, but is what I’m doing really important? When you have to justify what you’re doing and when you’re doing it, not only to yourself but to others around you, the reality of whether or not you’re making the best use of your time gives you clarity in what your priorities are.

Think about how much of your computer time is spent doing something ‘mindless’. Whether it’s flipping through emails, Facebook, blogs (am I cutting off my own nose to spite my face?), or playing games. There are other uses of your time that can exercise your body and/or mind (reading a book, taking a walk, you get the idea). The end result is you will be energized and ultimately feel better about yourself and others.

Second, I have ‘rediscovered’ reading.  Those who knew me growing up can remember how much I enjoyed reading (slipping a reading book inside of a school textbook – who needs to learn?).  Life, and other entertainments (to include computers) took my reading time away. I can read things on a computer as well as a book, but there is something different, and even magical, when you sit and read a book (either physical or on a Nook/Kindle).

I think part of it is the ‘quiet’ that comes when you are reading. The stillness allows your soul to be quiet. This is often missing when you are clicking or scanning through emails, web pages, or blogs. Also the colors involved in web pages are designed to catch the eye, which stimulates the brain. The simple, calming colors of paper and ink in books give a calming effect.

The bottom line for all this? Just as the old adage says ‘when life gives you lemons, make lemonade’, when life jolts you out of your comfort zone, use it as an opportunity for positive change in your life.

Shall they know us by our love, or by our accusations?

My title comes from John 13:35 (KJV) ‘ By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. ‘ I use this because in the last month or so I have read, seen and heard things coming from multiple ‘Christian’ communities seem to be anything but loving.  These have included the tearing down of an individual’s character, and whether or not someone is a Christian based on a particular belief. I’m not going to give any details because if you’re reading this you’ve seen what I’ve seen, or you’ve come across something similar in your own experience. Besides, it takes away from the point I’m trying to make.  Lack of a loving and charitable spirit can and really has been said about most other endeavors, to include politics, and societal issues.  I’m focusing on religion at this point.  Honestly, it’s because we have been given a wonderful example and it’s being ignored.

I have a difficult time personally when I see people being mean (for lack of a better term). I find this especially true when the accusers have little or no knowledge of the person being accused.  The verse I quoted above talks of love. One doesn’t have to dig very deep into the many commentaries available that point to this love, and the example of love that Christ gave us. One commentary I have come across recently is from the Blessed Theophylact. He was Archbishop of Orchid in Bulgaria in the late 11^th century. He wrote a series of commentaries on the New Testament.  At this time, the only one we have so far is for the Gospel according to John. One of his comments on this verse struck me as particularly relevant to the topic at hand:

‘Love prevailed among the disciples, and as a result they received the power to do miracles. If they had fallen out and separated they would have lost everything; for who would have believed men who raged against one another? This was indeed a great miracle of which Christ made them worthy, that the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul. [Acts 4:32]’ (emphasis mine).

I have no doubt that those who do not believe in Christianity enjoy when Christians focus their time and energies correcting one another. Some of these arguments are part of what drove me away from evangelical Christianity and their multiplicity of ‘subcultures’. If we are trying to witness the love of Christ to others, what kind of witness is it when we see the ‘raging’ against one another going on? And unfortunately it doesn’t seem to ever stop.

We are far better off when we humbly present our opinions and other things we’ve learned to a group. To use a further section of verses from the Bible, I would turn to James 3:13-18:

‘Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your heart, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.’

The self-seeking you see mentioned is that ‘I’m better than those other people because I know better’.  Whether or not one does know better isn’t going to make a difference if they’re coming off as arrogant and boastful. For those who are trying to convince others through harsh words and tones: what good will it do if no one will listen to you? Or conversely what makes you so sure you’re right? This is especially true for those areas delving into religion.

There are those who would argue that one shouldn’t worry about whether or not they offend someone with the message of the Gospel or Christianity.  To a certain degree I would agree with that statement.  However, it does no good, and in reality probably does more harm when the message is colored throughout with superiority.  I would say it works far better when you present your position in a positive light (i.e. ‘this is why I believe x’).  If you’re asked questions as to why you don’t believe or hold the other position, you can still point to the positives without being mean-spirited.

There are quite a large number of Bible verses I could use to continue to hammer this point home but I’m just going to use two more.  I would first point out James 4:11-12:

‘Do not speak evil of one another brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?’

If we’re judging others, we’re putting ourselves in the position of the one who actually IS the judge.  This ties back to Matthew 7:1-2

Judge not, that you are not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged: and with what measure you use, it shall be measured back to you.

I do not judge anyone’s salvation or faith because that’s not my place. I also do not attempt to judge anyone based on their statements or actions.  In all honesty, I have way too many issues to deal with in my own life to attempt to expend any energy trying to determine the eternal state of others.

Does anyone know what normal is anymore?

Sometimes I wonder if I've moved into a world where the normal rules don't apply. I could say more about that, but I won't. I'll just relay some thoughts about the BP Oil spill.

I was listening to a conversation the other day revolving around the BP oil disaster, how long it's been going on (it's really been almost two months since it first occurred?) but there were two main points that stood out to me:

1) You haven't really heard anything from the environmentalists about this. Not that long ago, if there was a hint of an oil spill anywhere, environmental activists would have been out in force demanding the oil companies pay. I don't know about you, but I haven't heard much of anything. Oh there was some noise and whimpering and whining at first, but it's pretty much died out. Maybe they're just waiting for the final damage assessment before they 'lower the boom', but that's just the cynical skeptic in me.

2) These people were actually talking about physical harm being done to executives, on the order of 'showing on TV these executives being punched in the face, etc.' To me, it spoke back to the days of the Roman Forum and the gladiators. I guess we really are not that far removed from those days of 'unsophisticated' violence. How much of a push would we as a society need to want to see killing and death (real killing I mean) on television?

One other thing I've noticed about this disaster: has anyone noticed you don't hear stories about oil and gas prices rising to outrageous levels? We saw it with Katrina, and while this may not have the same potential, I would have thought the cost would have gone up at least a little. Petroleum being a scarce commodity and a significant amount being lost. I will admit I've been distracted and not scouring the news to search or research, but with some things you don't have to search very hard.

Just an observation

This is just one of those things that I've noticed for a while, but really haven't taken the time to sit down and write it out. I don't know if this is going to make sense, but I'll give it a try anyway.

With our modern society, and all the different things that have come with it, such as the internet, there have been many things opened up to us. We are able to communicate with many different people, it is far easier for us to communicate our thoughts, opinions, and feelings than it has ever been before. Information is right at our fingertips, so anything we want to know about or learn is easily accessible.

However, with all this information, opinion, and ease of access comes some issues, and I really wonder if we see all the unintended consequences. With everyone able to give their opinion, one has to be able to discern between what is good and important information and what is truly 'off the wall' opinion that we need to set aside. Of course, how we determine this is subject to some debate. If you can confirm something through multiple groups and those groups are from many different viewpoints, you can generally rely on it, but you still have to be careful. If multiple groups with the same viewpoint are saying it, then you really have to be careful.

But the one thing that has made me pause is how our modern information has allowed the growth, I would almost call it rampant, of what I could best call 'infidelity'. Some recent emails in my 'spam' really brought this to my attention with ads asking if I want to find someone willing to have an affair. I know that the internet has brought out 'adult entertainment' to the point where you really have to be careful of what you type in search engines. I guess it just surprises me that it's gotten to the point that they can come out so brazenly and ask married people to cheat on their spouses. I use the word spouse because I came across a study recently stating 40% of married people (both husbands and wives) cheat. With the recent revelations about Tiger Woods and his infidelity, I'm sure there are some people who wonder if marriage is worth it in today's society. That, and these spam messages, make me wonder more about how far our society has fallen.