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August, 2010
Free Will and Good Will
It has become so routine in our everyday entertainment options, to make “G & PG” choices that include fictional popular situation comedy’s and dramas about extramarital sex, divorce, single Mom’s having babies etc., that our young people have finally accepted that these events and choices are “normal”. At least far too many believe that and mimic these behaviors as they move past adolescence.
Forget for the moment that the Bible has carefully qualified these practices (illustrating the horrible results) throughout ancient history and think about why in modern times these societal choices are even more critical. Here are a dozen daily and weekly lesson’s we’ve been led to believe are OK:
- Abandoning responsibility will be quickly forgiven by our family & friends,
- The inherent emotional scarring routinely imparted is a fact of everyone’s life so move on,
- Walking away from problems is easier and more desirable than fixing them,
- Long term commitments are not important or necessary, lifetime commitments are obsolete,
- Carefully considered choices are a “thing of the past”,
- Children’s health is less important than Adult personal happiness,
- Family, friends and relatives make better choices than God,
- Pain can be humorous,
- Pleasing ourselves outranks pleasing others,
- Caring is at best part time or even better, somebody else’s job
- Love is a first and foremost a physical pleasure and of course … the acceptable conclusion
- The morale decay of civilization is both expected and acceptable.
These not only are NOT OK, but they are the formula for personal AND societal disaster. Now throw in drunkenness, rudeness, greed, retaliation and vengeance (the remaining entertainment choices) and you have the life application accelerants for a raging Armageddon. If we believe that we’re smart, savvy or mature enough to “handle it”, one need only look at the mess and complications that we’ve already created with this attitude to know better. Free Will equals choices, Good Will equals common sense.
JC CALKINS with COMMON SENSE 4 UNCOMMON PEOPLE
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Time, Generosity & Sacrifice
Generosity is a willingness to give and some nobility of thought or behavior. Even our government incentivizes certain categories of generosity by offering tax deductibility. Yet, there is another word in our language which should be included with generosity; that’s sacrifice. Generosity almost always involves some degree of sacrifice by the “givers” who’ve chosen to share time, their most precious resource or something else they have “extra” of like food, clothing, shelter or money. Donations, even without real sacrifice are… read more
God Remember’s Ground Zero
It isn’t often that my loyalties to both nation and God are in conflict but this is one of those times where it is. The USA, 234 years ago founded a nation under God. Since 1954, Our Pledge of Allegiance to this nation and it’s flag has included the words, “One nation under God, indivisible … “. Two of the primary drivers that promulgated our ancestral emigration to a new land and nation, were the principles of free speech and… read more
The Purr of the Lion
This was one of those days when the Lord used whatever was at His means to secure my attention and implement His glorious power to separate me from my mundane life distractions. When this happens, I’ve learned to stop and listen. Slowing down or glancing up simply isn’t going to be enough. A red flag is a red flag in any language. All that I heard on this day was; “so you think everything is fine and you don’t need… read more
A Letter On Spiritual Beliefs
Thanks so much for forwarding your local paper’s “eulogy” written about your friend. It’s nicely written with a unique familiarity focused on the kind of individualistic character and person too few people ever really get to know. It seems, the more “different” people are, the less likely others will be willing to venture up close to that familiarity. There is something overly threatening, maybe jealousy, perhaps envy, possibly it’s just that being introduced to someone who really knows him or… read more
Another Coincidence or God’s Doing?
In order to understand this relationship example, a little bit of background is helpful. Some quick history. According to Genesis, God created the heavens and earth, then the creatures of the earth, then later God created man to rule over those creatures, each creature in it’s kind serving a particular purpose. God, later still, brought the animals to man so that he could name them. After that God created a suitable helper for man, which man (not God) then named… read more
Using The Ups & Downs
Life will deal us some really lousy hands, a lot more than we want. YET, the sun will rise again tomorrow and there will be another chance and another hand to play out. Learn something from each “down” and know this; there is one all-star, perfect teammate that always wants to play by your side, you just need to invite him to be on your team. When you learn this and recognize his voice, your challenges will become opportunities and your daily obstacles will become your personal playground. Here’s your clue, The Word.
The Death of the Golden Rule
Discrimination in America (at least) is alive and growing, we simply shift the targets of discrimination as time dictates. The recent recession or depression (depending on how hard the impact has been on you), evidences this clearly. Prior to this economic downturn, there was a competitive race to hire experience. Now, when profits are threatened (yet corporate coffers remain full of cash) the youngest and the oldest are the worst hit. The youngest because they have little experience and no seniority (no juice). The older because they are (or were) paid more and may not be perceived as aggressive, as some middle ground climbers.
Copyright 2010 4 Natural Reflections, LLC