Trials and Tribulations...

Life is not discriminatory. If you live it, at some point, you will be challenged by it. God doesn’t play favorites. It would appear that part of the reason for living is the challenges. Most likely, a huge part of the reason for living is the challenges. It’s as if God is asking if we will remain faithful in all and any circumstances.  For some, when life is going along without a hitch, that is a challenge.  A challenge to their faithfulness.  Will they stay focused on God when things are going so well, or will they find their focus is on other things.  For others, it's when life is difficult that they may find themselves at odds with God and turning away from Him.  It doesn't always work that way, though.  As the bible teaches, God would actually draw the Israelites to Himself through hardship. They would turn back to God when things got tough.  

Capitalism 101...

It seems to me that at the very core of capitalism is greed, selfishness, and vanity (1 Tim 6:10). If you can build a better mousetrap, you can make more money. If you can make more money, you can buy more things, potentially live more comfortably, and attain a perceived higher status. If you make enough money, you can go back to being lazy (early retirement), or have someone else run the company while you play.

On the plus side, capitalism creates incentive, incentive breeds competition, and competition breeds innovation. Capitalism motivated by a base nature of greed, selfishness, and vanity, is the counter weight to another base nature component of selfishness...laziness.

So here is the crux of the matter. Capitalism is inherently shortsighted. It’s about making as much money as you can as fast as you can. It’s about you, it’s about now. That makes for lousy planning for the future and future generations.

Have you ever witnessed an incandescent light bulb glass break while it was turned on? The now exposed element burns very bright for a couple of seconds before burning up and going out. That is my analogy of capitalism. Societies built on capitalism can indeed burn brightly for a moment in time, but then they will fall.

It's an interesting thing...

It’s an interesting thing…this thing called vanity. We can see the one that dresses up, albeit, with long hair or a beard or a mustache or a tattoo or body piercings or green hair or name brand clothing or expensive shoes or belt buckles or ball caps or jewelry, etc. Their costumes say ‘look at me’…I’m special…I’m cool…I don’t give a damn…I do give a damn….I’m a rebel…I’m successful, etc. This outer adornment may seem prideful on the surface, but sometimes this adornment of the outer is but a cry for self worth and approval. This one that dresses up may well be lacking in pride.

And then there is the one that may misjudge those that are decorated as being prideful. And though they that judge may not be dressing up, they too are caught in vanities snare.

Was Jesus GOD?

  Here is what scripture says:   1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord...