To seek peace is to constantly and deliberately seek to fulfill the will of others. You cannot live a life that is self centered and truly seek peace; you will find only narcissism and empty spaces. This life has the potential for great things and the simplicity of it all is what gives me hope.
Common goals and interests are pivotal to the search for harmony but it is when we actually share with others as we find value in the lives around us that we begin to see harmony. Valuing others is a key but before we can do that we must discover the value in ourselves. We have it on good authority that we are loved and that we are valuable. Matthew 6:28-30 and Matthew 10:29-31 are good places to start.
Understanding value becomes critical. In math, a value is essentially a number. Zero is a number which carries a value of zero, one carries a value of one and so on. As humans we understand value differently and when we look at something we usually assign it a value greater than zero, because let’s face it, if it was truly a zero, we would not waste our time.
A life equals a value of one; it is an amount greater than no life. When a life ends, so does its value on earth. However, when we celebrate life, it becomes quite valuable to all of us. If life is valuable it is because we choose to make it that way. God chose to give life value. We have that choice today when we choose to value a life through encouragement and growth by way of accepting someone for who they are, and promoting their life in what they add to ours.
Valuing a life simply means assigning worth to any life. Is life really that precious? Let’s consider this from God’s point of view. Here is your quote for the day…
The apple came from the tree of life and it brought death to all that followed. Jesus was placed on a tree of death and brings life to all that follow. (Yes, I wrote that, at the prompting of the Holy Spirit).
In the beginning, God made man and woman and he gave them a breath of life that he did not give to all the other animals on the planet. He gave man a soul and a reason and a will. It wasn’t too long after creation that man made the epic failure of eating from the tree of life and evoking God’s wrath upon all mankind. For thousands of years man had to have struggled with that understanding of failure from his earliest ancestor. But man had hope of a savior.
Then God sent His son. (I have wondered about the span of time between creation and the fall and if it matches that of Jesus’ life from birth to crucifixion. Not that the span of time is critical but other similarities seem significant to me so maybe there are more that I don’t see.) The correlation between the apple being plucked from the tree in an act of defiance to God’s will and plan for His creation, and the crucifixion of Christ on the tree at Calvary is palpable. In God’s salvation plan, He gave His people something that was so much more valuable than that apple and yet they rejected it.
Adam took something from a tree that God had commanded he not touch. The consequences were banishment from the garden, the loss of immortality and a lifetime of pain and hard work that appeared to have no hope. After being banished from the garden, what hope of eternal life did Adam and Eve have? The gloom of that day created a dark cloud over humanity that lasted for thousands of years.
God never commanded His people not to eat of the tree of death; instead He created an antithesis to His tree of life by sacrificing His only son on a tree. During the last Passover meal, Jesus Himself said to take of this bread as if it were His flesh, and to drink of this wine, as if it were His blood. Jesus represented mankind’s second apple, our second chance to get it right.
In Christ we have been given a second chance at the garden. We have been freely given a chance to re-enter a life with God that was only possible if we obeyed God’s commands. Our apple is before us, it is Jesus. The value that God has placed on us is measureable by looking at what He gave us.
One life that is so precious that it provides value and worth to all that accept it. Jesus is that one life, and all we have to do is accept Him.
____________________________________________________________
My life is not mine, and yet it is mine to live for Him. Peace to you all.
D
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Competition
Competition is laced through everything we do in life. From sports to work to fellowship activities at church, we pour a win or lose attitude into nearly every facet of our lives. When we maintain that view of win or lose, we build ourselves and others up for exceptional expectations. It becomes something of a lifestyle that is perpetuated by the next bit of competition.
Competition as defined by the early Greeks was something that made each participant better. You competed to become a better athlete and player, not just to win. The idea was meant to reinforce ones activity in the market place while also boosting morale of all people. Anyone could compete and win, but becoming better by simply participating was the goal, along with the chance to know your competition. It is important to know the strengths and weaknesses of those whom you compete against, regardless of the arena. In time there is the opportunity to know and understand everyone that you might compete against, whether on the field or in business.
Thinking back to childhood it becomes apparent that we have been hardwired. From what I can tell, every society on this globe is affected by competition, no one is left out. We can attribute the Olympic Games as a possible bit of reasoning but even before the Olympic Games were held in Greece for the first time, there was competition between siblings.
As kids we had to compete for everything from a place to sit on the bus to a place on the soccer team at school to our favorite piece of silverware (seriously). We fought for everything and we played to win. We believed that no one played to lose, because why would you? Every day brought new opportunities to compete and if you got your favorite spoon on Monday, you wanted it on Tuesday too. There was never a time when we stopped, we were relentless.
That attitude spilled into our adult lives and we chased down everything because of that upbringing. We went after good jobs and good spouses and good places to live and good churches to attend. We wanted the best and we were willing to compete for it all. Win or lose this has always been about being on top and then bragging about it to our sibs and friends.
Today we are spirited people who see joy in competition but we have experienced too many sorrows as well. When we set ourselves up with a win or lose lifestyle we create guaranteed heartbreak for someone. In many a case throughout our lives, each of us has experienced the agony of defeat. Losing comes not only in sports remember, there is the somber fact of losing your job, or losing a loved one. Losing can be devastating and the sting can last for years. If you have had losses in your life and they have stacked up against other losses without too many wins, your heart takes a beating and recovery seems miles away.
Too much of our global society puts a do or die ultimatum on winning and the consequences of losing are too great for most humans to bear. The fragility of human life proves to us that when we take winning to this place we disregard the essence of human emotion, which is love. This is never more obvious than when witnessed through professional sports.
I know that my position is not popular but we are coming to a point where unless you win, you will not get paid. That idea is alive and well today as we watch the global economy suffer. There is only so much of this made up wealth to go around and eventually certain wells will dry up. Only the winners will walk away with a paycheck and winning will no longer be about sport, but the bottom line. Naturally this is only an opinion but I have certainly never been afraid to share that.
Let me take a step back and dissect something for you that means a lot to me; the heart of sport. Personally I love soccer and I love to play and coach and watch. I am fully aware that there are winners and losers but I also know that on any given day, the team you think is the worst will beat you and the team you think is the best will fail. I know that it takes a team to play this sport and without all the players working together, there is absolute chaos on the field. Teams that do not work together find they get humiliated and run over by clubs who value teamwork.
In the sense that sport produces the opportunity for teamwork, I am struck deeply by the idea that teamwork is something we need in the very framework of life. We need it in our homes, our work places, our churches and every aspect of society. We cannot build bridges and homes without it. Large corporations could not survive without it, neither could small business. Police, fire and emergency workers are trained in being team players. Our military would crumble without it, regardless of what the Army says in their commercials. Trust me when I tell you this, there is no such thing as an army of one and there never will be.
So back to the idea that winning is everything. That idea comes from the greed of one and is always perpetuated by one individual’s pursuit of winning at all costs. This is displayed by coaches and team owners alike, as well as CEOs and wealthy tycoons who see value in winning regardless of the toll it takes on anyone else. Typically these individuals are obsessed with wanting more of the same, and the word winning is only a displaced adjective for a much greater desire; accumulation of wealth and notoriety and the elevation of self.
That desire for more is not the same as the desire to be the best at whatever you do. In sports, being the best is a value. Wanting more is simple greed and there is no place for it in sports. If this seems relative to anything else in your life, then you might be paying attention. As children we have an opportunity to discover teamwork as well as individual value through sports. As we grow, the idea is to take those lessons and apply them to our relationships, our careers, our marriages and even our spiritual journeys.
We all make choices regarding our involvement on any given “team”; whether at work or at home or anywhere in your life. When you decide to be a team player you are effectively saying that you want the team to excel and you are willing to put forth the effort to get there.
So tell me; do you compete to win or get better? Is it possible to do both or should we just compete to get better? Society tells us to compete to win only but we have a chance to help each other get better, in every avenue from sports to business to our homes and with our neighbors. The unspoken line here is that as you get better, you actually help to make others better that are around you. That fact is something that goes unwritten and unsaid by the world in which we live. We are so busy trying to get better and/or win at all costs; we forget the effect we have on future generations regarding what we can teach them about competing in this life.
Compete to get better. Compete to make others better. Compete to build opportunity for all people to enjoy victory, for it is not yours alone.
____________________________________________________________
My life is not mine, and yet it is mine to live for Him. Peace to you all.
D
Competition as defined by the early Greeks was something that made each participant better. You competed to become a better athlete and player, not just to win. The idea was meant to reinforce ones activity in the market place while also boosting morale of all people. Anyone could compete and win, but becoming better by simply participating was the goal, along with the chance to know your competition. It is important to know the strengths and weaknesses of those whom you compete against, regardless of the arena. In time there is the opportunity to know and understand everyone that you might compete against, whether on the field or in business.
Thinking back to childhood it becomes apparent that we have been hardwired. From what I can tell, every society on this globe is affected by competition, no one is left out. We can attribute the Olympic Games as a possible bit of reasoning but even before the Olympic Games were held in Greece for the first time, there was competition between siblings.
As kids we had to compete for everything from a place to sit on the bus to a place on the soccer team at school to our favorite piece of silverware (seriously). We fought for everything and we played to win. We believed that no one played to lose, because why would you? Every day brought new opportunities to compete and if you got your favorite spoon on Monday, you wanted it on Tuesday too. There was never a time when we stopped, we were relentless.
That attitude spilled into our adult lives and we chased down everything because of that upbringing. We went after good jobs and good spouses and good places to live and good churches to attend. We wanted the best and we were willing to compete for it all. Win or lose this has always been about being on top and then bragging about it to our sibs and friends.
Today we are spirited people who see joy in competition but we have experienced too many sorrows as well. When we set ourselves up with a win or lose lifestyle we create guaranteed heartbreak for someone. In many a case throughout our lives, each of us has experienced the agony of defeat. Losing comes not only in sports remember, there is the somber fact of losing your job, or losing a loved one. Losing can be devastating and the sting can last for years. If you have had losses in your life and they have stacked up against other losses without too many wins, your heart takes a beating and recovery seems miles away.
Too much of our global society puts a do or die ultimatum on winning and the consequences of losing are too great for most humans to bear. The fragility of human life proves to us that when we take winning to this place we disregard the essence of human emotion, which is love. This is never more obvious than when witnessed through professional sports.
I know that my position is not popular but we are coming to a point where unless you win, you will not get paid. That idea is alive and well today as we watch the global economy suffer. There is only so much of this made up wealth to go around and eventually certain wells will dry up. Only the winners will walk away with a paycheck and winning will no longer be about sport, but the bottom line. Naturally this is only an opinion but I have certainly never been afraid to share that.
Let me take a step back and dissect something for you that means a lot to me; the heart of sport. Personally I love soccer and I love to play and coach and watch. I am fully aware that there are winners and losers but I also know that on any given day, the team you think is the worst will beat you and the team you think is the best will fail. I know that it takes a team to play this sport and without all the players working together, there is absolute chaos on the field. Teams that do not work together find they get humiliated and run over by clubs who value teamwork.
In the sense that sport produces the opportunity for teamwork, I am struck deeply by the idea that teamwork is something we need in the very framework of life. We need it in our homes, our work places, our churches and every aspect of society. We cannot build bridges and homes without it. Large corporations could not survive without it, neither could small business. Police, fire and emergency workers are trained in being team players. Our military would crumble without it, regardless of what the Army says in their commercials. Trust me when I tell you this, there is no such thing as an army of one and there never will be.
So back to the idea that winning is everything. That idea comes from the greed of one and is always perpetuated by one individual’s pursuit of winning at all costs. This is displayed by coaches and team owners alike, as well as CEOs and wealthy tycoons who see value in winning regardless of the toll it takes on anyone else. Typically these individuals are obsessed with wanting more of the same, and the word winning is only a displaced adjective for a much greater desire; accumulation of wealth and notoriety and the elevation of self.
That desire for more is not the same as the desire to be the best at whatever you do. In sports, being the best is a value. Wanting more is simple greed and there is no place for it in sports. If this seems relative to anything else in your life, then you might be paying attention. As children we have an opportunity to discover teamwork as well as individual value through sports. As we grow, the idea is to take those lessons and apply them to our relationships, our careers, our marriages and even our spiritual journeys.
We all make choices regarding our involvement on any given “team”; whether at work or at home or anywhere in your life. When you decide to be a team player you are effectively saying that you want the team to excel and you are willing to put forth the effort to get there.
So tell me; do you compete to win or get better? Is it possible to do both or should we just compete to get better? Society tells us to compete to win only but we have a chance to help each other get better, in every avenue from sports to business to our homes and with our neighbors. The unspoken line here is that as you get better, you actually help to make others better that are around you. That fact is something that goes unwritten and unsaid by the world in which we live. We are so busy trying to get better and/or win at all costs; we forget the effect we have on future generations regarding what we can teach them about competing in this life.
Compete to get better. Compete to make others better. Compete to build opportunity for all people to enjoy victory, for it is not yours alone.
____________________________________________________________
My life is not mine, and yet it is mine to live for Him. Peace to you all.
D
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
bored
I’m bored and don’t know what to write…not sure why but for some reason seem conflicted about whether to write on a new topic or keep discussing my favorite one. There are a lot of things I could talk about but I suppose I need some passion, gotta figure out where I hid that.
I have been at odds lately with many things, among them my family up north. I love them all very much but I am nearing the point where no interaction is acceptable, seeing as they are alright with that. For a while it appeared we could keep up some sort of regular conversation by phone, then that failed. There is always the annual pilgrimage home for Thanksgiving weekend, but that almost seems trite anymore. I want so much to have some sense of relationship but I fear it is one sided. I get the impression during chats that it would be best to just stop calling.
Relating to ministry, I have officially stepped down from one thing and have hoped to find something a little closer to home. So far nothing has materialized but I am trusting in God to direct my steps. With the winter upon us now, it is that time of year when most things are indoors which seems to limit my thoughts towards ministry. Now that I am working for parks and rec I am excited about the many possibilities to talk to hundreds of people that I would never have known. I am hopeful that God has planted me here to be a light. My heart has been screaming out to serve and I can only pray that God takes these hands and feet and moves me into the lives of the broken.
Work hasn’t changed much, speaking of my full time gig that is. We show up every day and find a way to make it happen. Times are tough and things have been ugly this year but I am very thankful for a boss that is so generous. I am convinced we will survive this mess and rise above but sometimes it is harder to believe than others. Right now we are looking good for the next few months and I am thankful that God continues to provide.
Does this feel like a Christmas letter? Yea, to me too…hmmm, not what I was intending, but now what? Politics? Boo. Hiss. Phffftttt! Sports? I was inspired by Ingram’s acceptance speech at the Heisman presentation and wish every athlete would watch that. I hope the Ducks crush Ohio State and I hope Cincinnati shows up against Florida. I am sick and tired of pro sports and wish I could ignore the 24-7 Tiger channel (the guy screwed up and now he is trying to figure out how to make things better…let’s back off and give him a chance).
I am looking forward to watching my daughter try basketball for the first time, starting in January. I had this crazy daydream of having ESPN Gameday show up at one of her games…tell me that wouldn’t be cool, Dick Vitale goin off about “diaper dandies”. I will get to watch every game and I am hopeful that she has a blast.
I continue to become more reflective as I age, this is possibly normal but it is all the more obvious to me as the days pass. I spend more time reading and then truly thinking about impacts. It has occurred to me that too many people on this planet are strictly reactionary and therefore too few people are effective in being proactive. That nature is what is destroying the movement to be more environmentally conscious. Instead of looking at this planet as a place to enjoy for many generations, too many individuals are living as if they get to be the last generation. It is despicable to witness and worse to come across Christians who think it is acceptable to be so reactionary.
I will admit that up to now it has been nice to be an American but I am coming to grips more and more that I am simply a visitor here and will soon fade away like everything else on this planet. With that notion in mind I have toyed with the idea of giving up my citizenship if it means I can stand for the one thing that no one can take from me, and that is my faith. I know that I spoken about Americanism and being not of this world, but this is more of an ultimatum now. My faith has to be not only more important than my place as an American, I have to find a way to make it clear that I would happily give up my rights to prove a point, which is that being an American is becoming something of a liability.
Since starting this post I have experienced the joy of being laid off. During this economic time when so many are hurting I feel blessed and am willing to be tested if that is God’s plan for my life at this moment. Spending time in the fire may be just the thing for me and I am excited for what God can do with this sojourner.
We have made it to another year. We are stronger and wiser (hopefully) and continuing to seek better than we had last year. In this coming year, take moments to reflect on what you have and forget about what you do not have. Thank God in the little moments as well as the big, He enjoys hearing from you all day, not just at the end. When you are down remember that others are down there with you so pray for them because you might be able to help each other up.
____________________________________________________________
My life is not mine, and yet it is mine to live for Him. Peace to you all.
D
I have been at odds lately with many things, among them my family up north. I love them all very much but I am nearing the point where no interaction is acceptable, seeing as they are alright with that. For a while it appeared we could keep up some sort of regular conversation by phone, then that failed. There is always the annual pilgrimage home for Thanksgiving weekend, but that almost seems trite anymore. I want so much to have some sense of relationship but I fear it is one sided. I get the impression during chats that it would be best to just stop calling.
Relating to ministry, I have officially stepped down from one thing and have hoped to find something a little closer to home. So far nothing has materialized but I am trusting in God to direct my steps. With the winter upon us now, it is that time of year when most things are indoors which seems to limit my thoughts towards ministry. Now that I am working for parks and rec I am excited about the many possibilities to talk to hundreds of people that I would never have known. I am hopeful that God has planted me here to be a light. My heart has been screaming out to serve and I can only pray that God takes these hands and feet and moves me into the lives of the broken.
Work hasn’t changed much, speaking of my full time gig that is. We show up every day and find a way to make it happen. Times are tough and things have been ugly this year but I am very thankful for a boss that is so generous. I am convinced we will survive this mess and rise above but sometimes it is harder to believe than others. Right now we are looking good for the next few months and I am thankful that God continues to provide.
Does this feel like a Christmas letter? Yea, to me too…hmmm, not what I was intending, but now what? Politics? Boo. Hiss. Phffftttt! Sports? I was inspired by Ingram’s acceptance speech at the Heisman presentation and wish every athlete would watch that. I hope the Ducks crush Ohio State and I hope Cincinnati shows up against Florida. I am sick and tired of pro sports and wish I could ignore the 24-7 Tiger channel (the guy screwed up and now he is trying to figure out how to make things better…let’s back off and give him a chance).
I am looking forward to watching my daughter try basketball for the first time, starting in January. I had this crazy daydream of having ESPN Gameday show up at one of her games…tell me that wouldn’t be cool, Dick Vitale goin off about “diaper dandies”. I will get to watch every game and I am hopeful that she has a blast.
I continue to become more reflective as I age, this is possibly normal but it is all the more obvious to me as the days pass. I spend more time reading and then truly thinking about impacts. It has occurred to me that too many people on this planet are strictly reactionary and therefore too few people are effective in being proactive. That nature is what is destroying the movement to be more environmentally conscious. Instead of looking at this planet as a place to enjoy for many generations, too many individuals are living as if they get to be the last generation. It is despicable to witness and worse to come across Christians who think it is acceptable to be so reactionary.
I will admit that up to now it has been nice to be an American but I am coming to grips more and more that I am simply a visitor here and will soon fade away like everything else on this planet. With that notion in mind I have toyed with the idea of giving up my citizenship if it means I can stand for the one thing that no one can take from me, and that is my faith. I know that I spoken about Americanism and being not of this world, but this is more of an ultimatum now. My faith has to be not only more important than my place as an American, I have to find a way to make it clear that I would happily give up my rights to prove a point, which is that being an American is becoming something of a liability.
Since starting this post I have experienced the joy of being laid off. During this economic time when so many are hurting I feel blessed and am willing to be tested if that is God’s plan for my life at this moment. Spending time in the fire may be just the thing for me and I am excited for what God can do with this sojourner.
We have made it to another year. We are stronger and wiser (hopefully) and continuing to seek better than we had last year. In this coming year, take moments to reflect on what you have and forget about what you do not have. Thank God in the little moments as well as the big, He enjoys hearing from you all day, not just at the end. When you are down remember that others are down there with you so pray for them because you might be able to help each other up.
____________________________________________________________
My life is not mine, and yet it is mine to live for Him. Peace to you all.
D
Friday, November 6, 2009
short and sweet
War is not the opposite of peace. War is just a form of conflict, possibly the worst kind. Conflict is simply any disagreement between 2 or more people. Peace is something however that can be enjoyed on the inside by one person, but it is best when it is known by many.
Peace starts when we choose not to conflict with someone. What happens first is an understanding and then an agreement based on commonality. When we seek commonality with others, we are seeking peace, and what we end up with is a relationship.
That sounds like a good sound bite or quotation from some famous dead guy. The fact is that I am not famous and I am currently alive and kicking, but the statement is meant to be as profound as anything you read. I am not looking for fame, only the opportunity to shine a light on some dark places in our lives. My pursuit of peace is personal but it is meant to become corporate. My desire is to share the message of hope in Christ, which includes sharing His message of love, which includes His message of peace.
Somehow in the history of time since Jesus came, we have found a way to filter out this message of peace and suggest that Jesus didn’t mean it that way. We conceal the facts and massage the words to fit our beliefs. We can read His words but to be honest, those words are difficult to take and it is a lot easier to adapt His words to our lifestyle and not the other way around.
If you were to take the sins of the flesh out of the equation and show me what’s left, there would be only love. This is what Jesus was trying to show us for 3 years, and what his disciples tried to show us following the Passover. If love is all we had to show for our emotions, then peace would follow simply as a consequence of love. Too many people get hung up on the concept of peace and how we get there, but the path is not that hard; it starts with love.
In a nutshell, when we live our lives with love toward one another, peace follows. The very root of all of our relationships is a solid foundation of love and when disagreements arise we need to return our thoughts to the love we share. At that very moment peace is achieved and not through some great act of our own, but when we understand that His love is enough for all of us.
Peace is a result of love. War is a result of hate. This is not a game, it is an imperative that we understand the severity of our actions and recognize the impact we have on this world, but more importantly, the impact we have on eternity.
“Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another”. John 13:34 NIV
____________________________________________________________
My life is not mine, and yet it is mine to live for Him. Peace to you all.
D
Peace starts when we choose not to conflict with someone. What happens first is an understanding and then an agreement based on commonality. When we seek commonality with others, we are seeking peace, and what we end up with is a relationship.
That sounds like a good sound bite or quotation from some famous dead guy. The fact is that I am not famous and I am currently alive and kicking, but the statement is meant to be as profound as anything you read. I am not looking for fame, only the opportunity to shine a light on some dark places in our lives. My pursuit of peace is personal but it is meant to become corporate. My desire is to share the message of hope in Christ, which includes sharing His message of love, which includes His message of peace.
Somehow in the history of time since Jesus came, we have found a way to filter out this message of peace and suggest that Jesus didn’t mean it that way. We conceal the facts and massage the words to fit our beliefs. We can read His words but to be honest, those words are difficult to take and it is a lot easier to adapt His words to our lifestyle and not the other way around.
If you were to take the sins of the flesh out of the equation and show me what’s left, there would be only love. This is what Jesus was trying to show us for 3 years, and what his disciples tried to show us following the Passover. If love is all we had to show for our emotions, then peace would follow simply as a consequence of love. Too many people get hung up on the concept of peace and how we get there, but the path is not that hard; it starts with love.
In a nutshell, when we live our lives with love toward one another, peace follows. The very root of all of our relationships is a solid foundation of love and when disagreements arise we need to return our thoughts to the love we share. At that very moment peace is achieved and not through some great act of our own, but when we understand that His love is enough for all of us.
Peace is a result of love. War is a result of hate. This is not a game, it is an imperative that we understand the severity of our actions and recognize the impact we have on this world, but more importantly, the impact we have on eternity.
“Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another”. John 13:34 NIV
____________________________________________________________
My life is not mine, and yet it is mine to live for Him. Peace to you all.
D
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Are you lost?
Let’s pose a question that has always been at the forefront of my discussions; why are you for war? I have heard many people tell me that they feel war is necessary and for that I have laughed but recently I have come to the conclusion that they are still looking for something here in this world.
There are many answers to that question and I will attempt to pose a few and then give retort to them. So backing up, one answer is that war is necessary. I have to ask the question however, of why is it necessary? But I know the premise of the initial statement of necessity. It is born out of fear and irrational thought but it is at least a common trait. Some people seem to be wired in such a way that when they see evil, they feel it must be vanquished immediately. When evil has a chance to spread it becomes a cancer that is fatal and for some people, the only way to deal with that type of disease is to cut it wholly. If it leaves a scar then so be it, but eradicate the cancer and all will be well again.
The sad fact is that in real life, cancer is something that even if you cut off your leg to erase one cancer, another one may surface in your arm or your head. Evil, like cancer, is something that exists in this world and all the fighting to date has yet to yield a result other than death. And guess what, evil still exists in this world. Hold that thought…
Imagine that prior to going to work each day you had to go to war with your neighbor because it was a necessity. Each day your neighbor would put up a new fence at the end of your driveway and he would barricade himself behind it and wait for you to try and escape. Rather than be late for work you would not wait around long and would drive your armored car through his barricade and move on with your day. Does this sound too inane to be real? Good, we have an argument against necessity.
For war to be a necessity, it has to be something you can’t get around. You have to be left with no other choice than to fight; that is necessity. Currently our country is engaged in two fronts, in two countries and we are not doing well in either. We do not have to be in either place but we have indeed chosen to be there. Let me repeat that…it is not necessary for us to be there. In fact, in the history of the world there is no war where an opponent was forced to fight, making war a necessity.
Another common belief for why someone is for war is the idea of fighting for peace. The oxymoron involved there is beyond comprehension but I have to offer something lest you think I’ve gone soft. Committing acts of violence in the name of peace is like trying to get your iron intake by putting nails in your peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It’s like throwing your baby in the garbage because he stinks. It’s like buying a sub-machine gun to use at a clay shoot. None if it makes sense and leads me to the conclusion that too many people are not convinced that they are not of this world.
War is perpetuated by people who have more ego than sense, more desire for power than decency. This is not my passive speak anymore, this is my in your face speak and I mean to make waves, not just stir the cesspool. It has been said before that you should never argue with a stupid person for fear that those looking on will not be able to tell the difference between the two of you. The same can be said of those who start wars. People who argue for war are in fact arguing against stupidity, but their arguments are so bold and they are moved by such “patriotism” that when people look on they fail to see the stupidity, and instead embrace grandeur.
There are three main points that I would like to make here.
First is, war never produces a winner, only losers, only death and only great loss.
Second is, when anyone masks the sin of murder with the lie of ridding the world of evil, he himself is evil. Your very intentions are to kill other people because YOU think it is right. God Himself said that “vengeance alone is mine”.
Third is, when man fails to recognize his calling to be in the world but not of the world, he loses sight of eternity and instead focuses on the one thing he thinks he has control over; this place.
Mankind continues to seek the pleasures and spoils of this world and continues to serve the wrong master. War is all about greed and ego and it will never be about righteousness and living out your faith. We have a unique opportunity as followers of Christ to serve this world, in light of eternity, as we have been called by the one who has saved us.
Maintaining that focus might bring persecution, but for His sake I pray that we stand ready for that kind of fight. There is no escaping conflict in this world; it’s your response to it that points to where you call home.
_______________________________________________________
My life is not mine, and yet it is mine to live for Him. Peace to you all.
D
There are many answers to that question and I will attempt to pose a few and then give retort to them. So backing up, one answer is that war is necessary. I have to ask the question however, of why is it necessary? But I know the premise of the initial statement of necessity. It is born out of fear and irrational thought but it is at least a common trait. Some people seem to be wired in such a way that when they see evil, they feel it must be vanquished immediately. When evil has a chance to spread it becomes a cancer that is fatal and for some people, the only way to deal with that type of disease is to cut it wholly. If it leaves a scar then so be it, but eradicate the cancer and all will be well again.
The sad fact is that in real life, cancer is something that even if you cut off your leg to erase one cancer, another one may surface in your arm or your head. Evil, like cancer, is something that exists in this world and all the fighting to date has yet to yield a result other than death. And guess what, evil still exists in this world. Hold that thought…
Imagine that prior to going to work each day you had to go to war with your neighbor because it was a necessity. Each day your neighbor would put up a new fence at the end of your driveway and he would barricade himself behind it and wait for you to try and escape. Rather than be late for work you would not wait around long and would drive your armored car through his barricade and move on with your day. Does this sound too inane to be real? Good, we have an argument against necessity.
For war to be a necessity, it has to be something you can’t get around. You have to be left with no other choice than to fight; that is necessity. Currently our country is engaged in two fronts, in two countries and we are not doing well in either. We do not have to be in either place but we have indeed chosen to be there. Let me repeat that…it is not necessary for us to be there. In fact, in the history of the world there is no war where an opponent was forced to fight, making war a necessity.
Another common belief for why someone is for war is the idea of fighting for peace. The oxymoron involved there is beyond comprehension but I have to offer something lest you think I’ve gone soft. Committing acts of violence in the name of peace is like trying to get your iron intake by putting nails in your peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It’s like throwing your baby in the garbage because he stinks. It’s like buying a sub-machine gun to use at a clay shoot. None if it makes sense and leads me to the conclusion that too many people are not convinced that they are not of this world.
War is perpetuated by people who have more ego than sense, more desire for power than decency. This is not my passive speak anymore, this is my in your face speak and I mean to make waves, not just stir the cesspool. It has been said before that you should never argue with a stupid person for fear that those looking on will not be able to tell the difference between the two of you. The same can be said of those who start wars. People who argue for war are in fact arguing against stupidity, but their arguments are so bold and they are moved by such “patriotism” that when people look on they fail to see the stupidity, and instead embrace grandeur.
There are three main points that I would like to make here.
First is, war never produces a winner, only losers, only death and only great loss.
Second is, when anyone masks the sin of murder with the lie of ridding the world of evil, he himself is evil. Your very intentions are to kill other people because YOU think it is right. God Himself said that “vengeance alone is mine”.
Third is, when man fails to recognize his calling to be in the world but not of the world, he loses sight of eternity and instead focuses on the one thing he thinks he has control over; this place.
Mankind continues to seek the pleasures and spoils of this world and continues to serve the wrong master. War is all about greed and ego and it will never be about righteousness and living out your faith. We have a unique opportunity as followers of Christ to serve this world, in light of eternity, as we have been called by the one who has saved us.
Maintaining that focus might bring persecution, but for His sake I pray that we stand ready for that kind of fight. There is no escaping conflict in this world; it’s your response to it that points to where you call home.
_______________________________________________________
My life is not mine, and yet it is mine to live for Him. Peace to you all.
D
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