It's Only Money!

For anything of real value in this world there's always a counterfeit. Something that has the appearance of the genuine article but is actually nothing but a cheap imitation. It may look, smell or even provide us with comparable performance in the short term but that's usually where the similarities end.

Money is kind of like that, many people often mistake it for love or happiness...

Can you imagine anyone purposely choosing a fake Rolex watch over a real one or a Cubic Zirconia over a real diamond? You might be unaware of it but most if not all of us do something very similar to that on a daily basis! It's evident in some very significant aspects of our lives, from the way we treat each other on a personal level to the corporate structures we patronize. When we purchase food's that have been commercially processed by large corporations we become part of an industry that has little or no respect for life, certainly not for the lives of the animals they inhumanely raise and slaughter or for the lives of the workers they hire for sub-standard wages to work in dangerous pesticide saturated environments and who not surprisingly also have no respect for us either! Is life sacred to you? From my perspective that's a simple yes or no question, and if the answer is yes then the truth of that belief should extend to all life regardless of whether it's born or unborn or walks on two feet or twenty!

Instead of approaching peoples health from a holistic perspective that takes into account the root sources of our maladies which are physical, spiritual and nutritional, we're a nation of people who'd rather choose a pill that only masks the problem by eliminating symptoms to some degree. We're willing participants in a system that disrespects us by seeing our health as a business with profit as the real objective. We'd rather pay the sometimes exorbitant monetary cost and expose ourselves to the possible side effects than do the real thing which no doubt would include us making some of the different food choices and lifestyle changes as well.

Nope, hunt-uh, no thanks!

As I thought about all of this I really struggled to understand why people,myself included, seem to be more comfortable with fake than they are with real...and this is what occurred to me. Maybe it's because before we'd be comfortable with real,which is respectful, caring and is based in ethics we'd have to insist on those same qualities in ourselves...We'd need to have a healthy self respect that wouldn't allow us to be a part of such a thing, or consider doing the unthinkable...caring about others more than ourselves! Give us just one reason to choose something less and we'll swoop down on it like no tomorrow which is smack dab on the doorstep of where this sort of unsustainable thinking has landed us.

We've chosen what we think makes economic sense, and on both a corporate and personal level we've gone with what will make us the biggest profit or save us the most money with not much thought being given to the long term consequences.

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

I'm certainly not against people making a living and based on Paul's writing in the above verse I don't think he was either. It's placing money or the power it conveys above people, to love it, which is merely a representation of value more than we do others is to sow seeds of sadness into our own lives. What we've failed to understand is that it is truly "Only Money" and that someday, maybe even today, we'll live a life that reflects our accountability for the choices we've made.

Sick and Tired...

There are always good and bad examples within any industry or profession and here in America our health care system is certainly no exception. However I don't think it would be unfair, or an overstatement to say that the business of health care in this country has gone way beyond that! At the onset I want to make it clear that I have the utmost respect for the many people of integrity who work in the medical field and who's passion it is to ease human suffering. Having said that, my intent here is to heap scorn onto the purveyors of what I see as being the primarily profit motivated, patient abusing quackery so sadly common in this country.

But first, who am I and what are my qualifications, what makes me think I could possibly have anything relevant to say on this topic? My answer is that that is exactly the perspective held by too many people both in and out of the health profession, that we're too dumb to have a valid opinion about our own health or understand there's something wrong when a listing of the side effects following a drug ad takes 20-30 seconds to recite. I'm sorry but it's just hard for me to place a lot of trust in an industry that based on the frequency of it's malpractice supports an army of lawyers or that can't seem to make up their mind about something as simple as an egg! One thing's for sure, our ill's aren't the result of a lack of drugs in our bodies...so how can they cure anything?

The list of things that science has gotten wrong throughout history is a long one. The world wasn't flat, the practice of bleeding people doesn't cure or help anyone, and so, we need to remind ourselves that there's no doubt we've still got a few things wrong today! In another hundred years will they look back at how we currently treat people with mental illness and wince at our crude methods? What about cancer, is it the best we can do to poison ourselves with chemotherapy and hope that it kills the renegade cells before it kills us? And yet some who work in the healing arts have the audacity to be offended when we question whether a prescribed therapy is right for us, seek out a second opinion, or opt for an alternative treatment. It's not the unavoidable ignorance of medical treatment that bothers me the most it's the eye's wide open snake oil peddlers who profit from peoples misery I'm against.

However unlikely the realization of it may seem I believe that the American people must take back responsibility for their health from the existing medical establishment. It's not really the insurmountable task that some might think, many people live long and very healthy lives by following simple principles of balance such as work eight hours, sleep eight and spend the other eight doing something you enjoy! Also why not give our overworked digestive systems a break and cut back on the amount of red meat we consume, I suspect that many peoples lack of energy is in part due to the constant demands placed on our blood supply to digest this habitual over consumption. If we could stop eating anything that's been bleached, overly processed, that contains high fructose corn syrup or comes from a drive through window I believe our collective health would improve so much that it would put big pharma and big agra out of business!

Yes, I'm sick...

Sick of the way people in this country have been brainwashed into self destructing...

And I'm tired of pretending that somehow everything is going to be "okay"...

Next post...It's Only Money!

The American Nightmare

For me it's sort of an inescapable conclusion that at some point in the future man will look back at what once was the United States and weep. Perhaps he'll be overwhelmed by the loss of what once was,or enraged by the self serving greed that was responsible for it's demise! He may even be dumbfounded that people were so complacent, that they let themselves be used for profit and then be tossed out like garbage afterwards.

Call it what you will, absurd perhaps...negative, unpatriotic?

One thing's for sure, it's bad news!

In this post and in forthcoming installments I'll explain my perceptions of why I feel as though we're headed for the rocks and leave you to draw your own conclusions. While considering how to best accomplish this I was at first discouraged by the scope and complexity of the problem and then also perplexed over deciding which of our national issues to include. My intent is not to be exhaustive or to bombard anyone with more information than most people care to know, but instead to provoke thought and discussion as I casually relate what I perceive to be happening to all of us who call ourselves "Americans".

Where to start?

They say that if you've got your health you've got everything. If you doubt it, simply ask the next terminally ill billionaire you meet which he or she prefers--his or her money or his or her life!

As our nation has become more and more urban and less and less rural something critically important has changed with regard to the average Americans diet and "lifestyle". People stopped growing their own vegetables and raising their own animals opting instead to simply get a job and buy those things from a store. I believe it was called the industrial revolution. Sounds important, doesn't it? We then turned this most important responsibility over to corporations whose primary motive is profit and then somehow we're shocked and disillusioned that they might not live up to the claims they make in their commercials of how they "care about your families health". In fact, the results of this sort of "caring" are the primary precipitating factor to practically every major health problem we have in this country!

We're a nation of over-fed and obese, malnourished people...Huh?

That's right, we consume foods produced under unnatural conditions which are not only practically void of nutrition but are for many reasons outright toxic to us. Our bodies continue to crave nutrition that our foods don't have and so we continue to consume more and more in an attempt to satisfy our needs. What happens is that in this futile process we end up ingesting a incredibly high number of calories we have little or no chance of burning since few of us do very much daily manual labor while sitting at a desk or driving a truck.

Diabetes, Heart Disease, Cancer...

Recently I met a lady from Africa whose mother came here for a visit. When taken to a local grocery store she was at first very impressed with the great abundance and apparent quality of the food she saw but after tasting it her opinion changed. Within weeks she told her daughter that she had to go home because she couldn't eat our food. I believe the reason for her aversion is that she simply knew the difference between the real food she was used to and our fake food! I further believe that food does, or at least should have, "soul ". That love is a tangible ingredient that can be touched and tasted, one that's essential to our health and one that's sadly absent in our food supply! It seems as though in the name of corporate profit we've been duped to the point that we don't, as the lady's mother did, even know the difference!

Exactly who are the expediters of this American nightmare? I'm not afraid to name names....Corporations such as Monsanto,Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland top the list of entities who are out to monopolize our food supply and force feed us nutritionally bankrupt, genetically modified,commercially irradiated, poisonous, substances cleverly disguised as food! It's almost as if our government has pimped out the American people to these food conglomerates, and to the World Health Organization with their "better" ideas such as Codex Alimentarius

But don't be alarmed.

Because we in America have the best health sick care system in the world--

And that's the topic of my next rant blog entitled

"Sick and Tired"

Would You Believe?

I've often heard it said by people who claim to be atheists that they wish they could believe in God. They go on to explain that for them to do so would require them to disregard the whole of science and conventional wisdom and to reject all that they believe about mans past,present and future.

And they're unable to do that.

I know people who've made a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ who claim to have trusted the care of their eternalsouls to Him but who all too often allow themselves to be put in bondage by worry. They're consumed by soul wrenching, anxiety producing worry over various aspects of their lives. If we're able to trust Him with our eternity, shouldn't we also then be able to trust Him in this moment? I think so...

But they're unwilling to do that.

John 6:29

Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

As a member of the church, and of the body of Christ, I believe that many of us overlook the simplicity of what Jesus is saying here. He's saying that opening our hearts to His love is all that's required of us! From that point on, it's His Holy Spirit shining through our surrendered vessels that accomplishes His purpose.

Matthew 5:16

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Perhaps the difficulty lies in our understanding of the word believe. Our modern usage of it as a description is often confused with what it means to know. To believe, or to think to be true, carries with it a measure of doubt or at least it leaves a space open for it as in the expression "I believe it is so" .

1 Corinthians 13:12

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

As you can see there's a leap to be made from now to then. From what is belief to what is knowing. Faith is the conduit. Not only does it take us there but it allows it to come to and through us! Being the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen tell's me that it's not a blind leap but instead one of reasoned logic not unlike following a trail of breadcrumbs through a wood. It's truth based upon truth, and the belief or assumption that the past is the best predictor of the future that compels us on.

Mark 10:15

Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

What does this leap of faith consist of, what do Christians believe? We believe that as descendants of the first man Adam we're all born sinners. We believe that Jesus, the son of God, chose to pay the price for our sin and offer it to us as a free gift. We believe that we must accept His gift of salvation and receive it as ours. It's not too complicated; there are no unnecessary hoops to jump through or fine print that needs to be carefully read.

John 20:29

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

I'm quite impressed that Jesus foresaw what was going to happen with us in the future. He understood our limited ability to overcome our flesh and to have faith. I don't think He expects us all to be great theologians or to have faith that moves mountains. (Which is a good thing because most of us don't!)

I do however believe that He expects us to be moving in (and under) his direction!

Would you only believe?

Look At Yourself...

I don't know any perfect people...

I'd even go so far as to say that I don't know anyone who doesn't have at least a few issue's that they're working out, myself included of course. The same goes for people I don't know, be they Christian or Atheist, rich or poor, even if you're the Pope or the Dali llama it really doesn't matter! All of us share the same gene pool, and there below our fancy Latin taxonomic name I think it should say in parenthesis...

One common approach used by those who feel compelled to address this greatest of all truths as a spiritual problem or sickness is to engage in various forms of self medication. To, by the use of ritualistic practices, behaviors or good works, overcome or compensate for their bad or evil nature with good or righteous acts. For Christian people this sometimes means regular church attendance or being involved with some personal ministry or outreach effort that their church supports. One thing I've noticed about volunteer work in the church is that there's usually far more people who're willing to sign on to do high profile activities such as taking meals to homeless people or visiting the sick than there are who are willing to work at the church. There are certainly exceptions, but usually they have to pay people to come in and do the cleaning, lawn care, and other more mundane tasks that are essential to the function and care of the church whereas outreach ministries provide their participants with an immediate "this looks AND feels good for me" pay off.

I do understand that in the body of Christ there's a place for everyone to serve and I'm a huge fan of doing so but have you ever wondered why people who consider themselves to be servants all seem to be gifted the same way? Call me cynical or whatever but it's hard for me not to see it as strange, it's as though what they're really wanting is for themselves to be glorified by these works instead of God.

Matthew 6:3-6

³But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

⁴That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

⁵And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

⁶But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Over the past several years I've been on both sides of things. I've been the person in need and I've been the one who was in a position to give. I've been helped, and helped others as well. I've also been confused by people who would help you as long as by doing so they looked like a hero but then, when it was a much smaller matter where perhaps just a word from them asking after me and my situation would've meant a great deal they suddenly seemed rather indifferent.

I can still recall how struck I was by my own feelings when after volunteering with a local outreach ministry I found myself filling out insurance forms so people could get medicines at no cost from pharmaceutical companies. Within a couple of weeks I began to dislike doing it because of how boring and confusing it was at times. I began to feel uninspired, wishing I could be involved in some other aspect of the ministry that I might find more interesting. I remember thinking... "this just isn't my area spiritual gifting!" I continued to show up and tried to do my best. It sounds bad to say it but when I eventually became financially unable to continue making the hour long drive in twice a week I was actually sort of glad.

These scenario's are just small examples of what I think it means to look into your own heart and see how self centered and prideful each of us are. Of how desperately each of us are in need a Savior, and how amazing the grace of God which is extended to each of us through His Son Jesus is! To me the most remarkable part of this story is how faithful God has been to me. How He's shown me through untold small miracles how much I mean to Him. How is it then that I can turn away from what could've been an opportunity to share Christ's love with someone else through simple things or grow weary in serving God because I don't think it's a good fit for me? Things like spending time with people you may find repugnant but who God has put on your heart, or perhaps doing boring, tedious things you may not actually like to do. Who knows, maybe if by our doing these things in a selfless manor hoping for some privilege to share Christ through it we might just find our real place of service. We all want to find our purpose in Gods kingdom and play our part in His great plan. For some it's to be center stage with the white hot spot light and Gods anointment on them, and for others it's to work in the background in a supporting role of some kind.

What most of us don't realize is that it's only through our trusting God and being willing to do whatever He calls us to do in whatever circumstances we find ourselves that we'll ever truly find our way. There comes a point where we have to stop looking at ourselves and start looking only to Him as the source of everything! We don't look down, or back, or anywhere else but to Him! That's when the power of the Lord our God will be seen in a mighty way in our lives and in the lives of those who we're seeking to serve in His name!

Luke 18:9-14

⁹And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

¹⁰Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

¹¹The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

¹²I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

¹³And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Just Another Christmas Story

What's your favorite Christmas story? Perhaps it's one of the many works by Charles Dickens such as A Christmas Carol or The cricket on The Hearth. My personal favorite was always

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry.

With it's emphasis on man's redemption, the yuletide season serves as a fitting backdrop for so many great stories and novella's. Not only do these works wonderfully entertain us with their irony and drama, but in a classic fashion they remind us of what is yet good in this world by projecting it against what is evil. Speaking to the faint glimmer of hope held within each of us the desired effect is to draw us in. To, through the timeless magic of the story, embolden us to confront our own internal struggles and to realize some similar victory of virtue within ourselves. These stories are about giving and receiving and the triumph of good over evil in mens hearts. They hold out to us the possibility of a different perspective than the cynical one held by so many in this world today. The following is my Christmas story, on the surface it's about how I overcame my own personal obstacles and made it home for Christmas one year but on a deeper level it's also about faith and trust in something much bigger than myself.

Making specific plans when your a truck driver can not only be an exercise in futility, but one of frustration as well. This is due to the fact that as such you're continually at the mercy of a far greater range of un-foreseen happen-stance that can, just like they did in John Steinbecks novel Of Mice and Men, wreck havoc on "even the best laid plans" that one might make. Knowing these things full well, I didn't make a lot of specific plans that year, I simply knew that one way or another I was going to get home by Christmas! The company I drove for at the time routinely shut down on the 21st of December and so on the 20th I was set to deliver my last load of tools to a sale truck in Indiana which would then free me to come back west and stop over at "the house" during the holiday. But after delivering my load and placing a call to my dispatcher (who plays the part of Scrooge in this drama) I was informed that after my drop, I was needed to make a pick up in Kentucky that would have to then be taken back to the warehouse in Kansas without delay.

OOP'S!

As I drove along I reasoned that the natural solution to this dilemma would be to simply call my wife and have her pick me up in K.C. (a 6 hour drive) but after inquiring after such, I was informed that she had to work (3rd shift) every night until Christmas, making it quite impossible for her to come and get me.

OKAY...

Another complication was that I had a bunch of gifts in the truck with me that I'd bought. My only option available seemed to be to call her and have her meet me at a point closest to home on my way back west and drop the gifts off with her thereby freeing me up to then make my way home by whatever means unencumbered. After achieving that objective rather easily, I continued in my duty and returned to the warehouse in Kansas arriving around mid-evening. Resolved to my lack of any other remedy for my predicament I slept for a few hours and before light the next morning I was on my way back the way I had just came toward my home.

How you ask? by what mode or method? on foot my friend...

I took off walking with only a rolled up rain poncho and a black magic marker to make my destination signs with. I had to walk about 10 miles on 207th st. which is a gravel road before I came to hyw 69 at Stanley Ks. I scrambled up an embankment to the 4 lane road and within minutes was offered a ride with an older gentleman who took me to Harrissonville Mo. Next, I was given a ride from the 7/71 jct. on the back of a 1 ton flatbed all the way to Spfd, Mo. It was a very cold ride but despite my discomfort, I was most content, quite thankful even...imagine that!

Soon I arrived in Spfd at the I-44/13 junction, my new friends were headed into town and so I hopped off there. I was rather numb in my legs from the cold and so my walking was with a stiff limp. I hobbled over to the nearby McDonald's for the days first "nourishment" of any kind and upon returning to my journey couldn't help but notice how many people were crowding the ramps of the highway that day, panhandlers holding signs each pleading their case for charity. I remember I felt some embarrassment at that because I was afraid I would be mistaken for such because of my cardboard sign that read,"hyw 60 east" but I had come much too far to let such a baseless reluctance dissuade me.

It was nearly midday now and I had made it close to half way home! In the waning hours of that late December afternoon what I remember the most was walking what seemed like great distances on the snow covered frozen shoulder of the highway, hands and feet stinging from the lack of circulation in them, feeling the blasts of frigid air pushing me back and then swirling around me as the endless convoy's of the freight trucks blasted by. Under these circumstances,one must also steel themselves to the thousand's of curious stares fixed upon them by passing motorists, each with questioning eye's which at times seemed to ask,

"What are you doing out here?'

But the Lord was with me...and after several warm comfortable rides I traveled the remaining 150 miles. By 4:30 that afternoon I was on the phone to my stunned wife asking her to drive the short distance into town and pick me up! As I think back I'm still amazed by many aspects of what occurred that day. I'm amazed at the kindness of strangers who perhaps disregarded their better judgement in giving me a lift that day. I'm amazed at my own tenacity that I would even attempt such a thing. Being put in the position I was, what was most essential to me was my faith and trust in God, that he was with me and that he would make my way if only I would just continue to put one foot in front of the other quite literallywalking in faith! My feeling was that for every step I took after Him, He took two towards me! It was as if he longed to express his love for me and show me that no detail is too small to escape his notice and that nothing can separate me from his love and care...Several years have passed since then, but just like so many other times in my life before and since when I needed Him, my heavenly Father was always there!

No matter what season it is, can a man have any more comfort than that?

tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy...

After A Fashion...

Chasing after fashion trends is something we Americans do like no one else! We go to great lengths to express our status and identity through any number of vehicles such as cars, clothing, and even our religion! One flagrant example of this fashion victim mentality I've noticed is the practice of young adolescent males wearing their jeans pulled down over their boxer shorts...

"What's the harm in it" I protested to myself...don't you remember? You certainly had your share of "youthful quirks" that were certainly much worse! Recently I've began to notice I felt the same about other fashion statements I saw happening around me and so I started digging for the common element 'd offence. In my attempt to sort out my feelings regarding the latest hip-hop urban dress styles, the first thing I made note of was that I didn't really care that the young black men did it. I realized that my annoyance instead had to do with the young white adolescents who were doing it. Upon further analysis I surmised that my feelings were a product of my disappointment with a people who because of some cultural funk deficit became imitators of those who they perceived to be flush with the fashion.

I decided to look up the root word of fashion which I understood to be "fash" and upon doing so was gratified to discover that it's definition (please click the link) quite accurately described the overall effect all of this fashion had on me. Although it may not technically be the root of the word fashion I found myself intrigued at the insightful comparison's it's definition invited, I'm yet to be fully convinced there isn't an actual connection between them somewhere.

How curious it is to me that the key to the success of any fashion trend lies in it's ability to evoke strong and yet divergent reactions in people. It hardly matters if that reaction is one of love or hate, the only reaction it can't abide is one of indifference. Controversy is critical to fashion! I can't think of any truly great iconic fashion trend that didn't divide people. Remember long hair? How about "mini and micro" short skirts? Another curiosity is that it's typically young people who're the most fertile ground for cultivating these phenomenon however I suspect that regardless of a persons age theres still an element of rebellion at the core of these behaviors.

Even the lack of what's typically considered fashion is a fashion. Amish people wear clothes that they make themselves that are mostly blue and black, do they have to do that? No! They make pretty good money around here, and so I'm pretty sure they could afford to buy well made modest clothing but they simply choose not to, at least in part I believe, so that they stand out from other people. All of this is done in the name of their religious beliefs and customs.

What about people who have incorporated Jewish traditions such as the observance of the festivals etc...into their Christian expression of faith? This is another topic I have feelings about similar to the other's I've mentioned. In my research regarding this matter I talked to Jews, messianic Jews or Judeo-Christians and "Christians" who perhaps see themselves as being more Jewish than Christian, to gain their insights. I read some of the works of Saint John Chrysostom (c.347-407) who wrote some very specific homilies which I saw as being both enlightening and freightening. I was directed to the works of Stan Telchin, whosomehow managed to inspire practically every Messianic Jewish Leader in this country to band together against him and the ideas expressed in his book entitled,

"Some Messianic Jews say: 'Messianic Judaism is not Christianity.'"

A Loving Call To Unity

Starting with the title it was a bit confusing to me, But it seemed to clear quickly. Here's an excerpt from the forward.

"It is true that if one is a Jew,then he or she cannot be a Gentile. And if one is a Gentile, he or she cannot be a Jew. But you can certainly be a Jew and a Christian at the same time. This is what I am!"

I think that somehow the answer to all my questions and the explanation of the root cause of my feelings on the subject lie within this statement. Could it be that my unsettled feelings have to do with my perception of Christians who seemed more concerned with being "Torah observant" than they are with being Christ centered? I've no doubt that this is a far more complex issue than is the juxtaposition of someones trousers and their undergarments, but in another way perhaps it's not. None of us can be what we aren't, but whether the goal is simply to be cool posing as someone other than yourself, or to have a relationship with our heavenly Father, in either case theres no need for any act! All of us have the same access to the Father through Christ and we're definitely not fooling Him! The most important thing that any of us can do is to know who we are in Christ instead of trying to be something other than we truly are or being someone else that's an imitation, that's merely...

After a fashion!