Monday, November 24, 2008

Conspicuous Consumption

I always find it very bothersome to my soul when I see the distance between the “have” and the “have-nots”.  Mexico is a country with a tiny middle class, a very large population close to poverty and a small “elite” group.

Where I was in Puerto Vallarta, people told me that their wages ran from $8.00 to $13.00 per day.  You caught that, didn’t you?  That is a daily income level!

By working an entire day they would not even be able to afford a 150 peso box of Imodium!  That would be more than they earned for the entire day!  Yeah, you really do not want to get sick if that is all you make.

Then again, I am thinking of dining out.  Meals were even a little on the high side for the US.  They were good, but not exciting; however the cost was not in line with the value of what was received.  More so, when I discovered how little the workers made.  More so when I realize that there was almost no way a local would afford to even have a sandwich in a run of the mill place.

As I viewed the various stores, again the same opinions formed in my brain.  You could not work here and afford even a pair of shoes!  So where do the locals shop?  Asking around again – Mexico City! 

Yeah the average worker hops a bus to Mexico City for an all day trip to stock up on household, clothing and food items to bring back home.  Why?  Well, prices are about half in Mexico City, if not less, in the examples they gave me.

Conspicuous consumption is never appreciated by those whom are being short changed on their wages at the benefit of their employers.  But, what can you do?  You can tip extraordinary for the benefit of the serve provider.  You can visit the local orphanages and donate extra dollars towards their support.  You can be compassionate towards those whom are disabled.  You can also question how you should be spending your money – both at home and abroad….

Timing


Timing is everything and though we may not know why things go as they do, God already knows and will use ours and others’ situations or activities for His design!  So many events over the past week have pointed to this so plainly.

Just one example is important to my heart right now:  Dutchman’s son.  Ninety minutes after Dutchman was home, his son fell extremely ill.  We are talking ambulance ride here!  The emergency room ran massive tests on him and found nothing!  So, gambling it could be an acid reflux situation – they doped him up and sent him home.

Well, he is now back in emergency with what is appearing to be a heart attack!  At 20 years old (and drug free)!  So, as you read this please voice a prayer to God for his immediate safety and long term healing from what ever is going on with this poor lad!

Imagine had this of happened with Dutchman in Mexico with me.  He would be possibly dead.  Or riding on his motorcycle – definitely dead.  Or with my son on the motorcycle – both dead. 

Timing is everything.  There are no coincidences or luck in life – just God’s intervention and/or His foreknowledge…

Friday, November 14, 2008

Love, According to Children


'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'

Rebecca- age 8


'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'

Billy - age 4


'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'

Karl - age 5


'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'

Chrissy - age 6


'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'

Terri - age 4


'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'

Danny - age 7


'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that.
They look gross when they kiss'

Emily - age 8


'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents
and listen.'

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)


'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'

Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikkas on this planet)


'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'

Noelle - age 7


'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'

Tommy - age 6


'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.

He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'

Cindy - age 8


'My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'

Clare - age 6


'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'

Elaine-age 5


'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'

Chris - age 7


'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'

Mary Ann - age 4


'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'

Lauren - age 4


'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)

Karen - age 7


'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'

Jessica - age 8

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

When Storm Clouds Gather


I have found that the entire topic of walking the talk, or living our faith, or retaining our Christian belief to be one of the least understood areas in the classes I have taught.  Why should this be?

In part, a lack of discipleship programs in the Church to solidly ground new believers in their faith.  Yet, even the grounded will falter when faced with sufficient opposition often due to not keeping everything in perspective.  As humans, perspective is often lost when we do not have fellowship, study and prayer all active in our lives…

So, from the book of Acts, a few tips on weathering through the storms of life:

1.  For every opposition or situation ask, “Where have I seen this before?”  (Acts 27:9-10)
Often we have read in our Bible of a similar situation; know of it occurring in someone else’s life or even in our own!  When walking in faith, it is extremely important to have a grasp on history and other’s failures – or you get to learn from making the same mistakes!

2.  The path of least resistance is seldom the way forward! (Acts 27:13)
Nor is it usually the godly path either!  And having taken the easy way out, you will probably be faced time and again with the same situation until you finally learn to take the hard path through life.  You know, the one requiring faith and not your pragmatic brain being used to find solutions!

3.  Every problem has a life expectancy.  (Acts 27:42-44)
We might think the end of the world is upon us, but in reality we rarely face a situation which is actually going to end the world, much less our own!  We must develop an eternal view of situations – before – we react!

4.  Never doubt in the dark of night, what you have seen in the light.  (Acts 27:23)
When times are easy it is easy to have faith and not take notice of the daily miracles which surround us.  When the storm clouds in our lives gather though, it starts to get a little harder to remember whom to trust in!  Keeping a spiritual journal – of both the good and bad in your life, as well as how things finally worked out, is a great way to remind yourself and others that God is still active!

5.  The most spiritual response is often the most intensely practical.  (Acts 27:33-37 & 28:3)
We rarely can see the “over all” picture and so when we do walk by faith and wait upon God for how to deal with a situation, we are often surprised that the course taken is rarely one we would have chosen – much less have foreseen the effect of having taken.  Yeah, sounds cryptic but as an example, think of where you could have lashed out in anger at someone, but did not.  That failure to respond as the world expects may very well be the opening of a door to witness to that person.  It might take years before you hear back in this manner, but I have been stunned at how often it has happened in my life! 

6.  Do not assume you are out of God’s will.  (Acts28:3-6)
Just because things are going “wrong” in your life, you or others will jump on the “gosh, you are a sinner bandwagon!”.  Yes, God could be correcting you, but I generally always know when He is doing that – because I know my heart way to well.  However, God can just as easily be leading to a new path to follow, a ministry waiting on the other side!  If you have been faithful, financial ruin does not mean the lesson is for you, it may well be intended for someone you know whom is supposed to step up and help  you.  Just because you fall gravely ill does not mean God is threatening you with death, you may need to learn about suffering in order to witness to those that do.  Etc.  God’s ways are not our’s, thankfully!

7.  Do not miss God’s will on the way to doing God’s will!  (Acts 28:7-10)
So often I have seen Christian programs simply die in the execution because we get in the way!  We impart our bureaucracy and politics, likes and dislikes, play favorites, listen to those whom the world finds successful, rather than God – and the ministry flounders and fails.  Everyone scratches their head and walks away, clueless as usual.  If God has lead you to do something, do it.  Do not wait, do not ask your friends what they think, just do it!  Of course I am assuming we are talking about a Godly ministry and not something in violation of Scripture!  If you are a married and feel that God is calling you to the mission field and your spouse disagrees – guess what you were actually not called be!  (A very common situation, hint, hint!)

Yeah, there is no rocket science here.  There is a question of character though.  You need to develop within yourself the character of a Christian which can stand in faith and upon God’s Word.  No one can do this for you, there are no pills, nor are there any books you should read (other than the Bible!).  It is a question of your commitment to your Creator.  Often as not, that commitment is not there because no one ever suggested that something other than singing songs, listening to a 20 minute sermon once a week and living your life is anything other than the Christian ideal.

Observing, learning, remembering, standing firm in your faith and prayer – without them you will be just another casualty of the next storm…  And the point of your existence as a Christian is to bring glory to God – through all of the storms in our lives.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Morality


Friedrich Nietzsche identified morality as an error, introduced to human thought through Plato's Forms.  The Platonist view holds that what is 'true', or most real, is something which is other-worldly and can never properly be known, while the (real) world of experience becomes a mere 'shadow' of perfection.  This transcendence also had a parallel growth in Judaism, which prioritized life-denying moral qualities such as humility, obedience, goodness, and maintained through the Christian church.  

Nietzsche saw his life-long task, the revaluing of all values, as rescuing mankind from these errors.  He envisioned a future where individuals acted naturally, using their full natural potential or will to power.  He believed mankind would progress and fulfill this potential only by starting to act naturally and instinctively according to each individual's desires and drives.  Happiness would naturally emerge through this effort.  Nietzsche wanted to prepare the soil for mankind's growth by "re-naturalizing" human drives.  Once we become free of morality (and, by association, of religion) he believed that the coming generations would grow unpolluted, free and strong.

Of course, we saw the fulfillment of this philosophy through the rise of National Socialism in Europe with some 20,000,000 dead a decade later.  Yeah, natural man is nothing to write home about….