Ariely concludes from the research that our society is composed of 1% really honest, 1% really dishonest and 98% small-scale dishonest people.  This 98% swell of the populace battles two opposite motivations that simultaneously allow us to be dishonest yet prevent us from being extremely dishonest.  This dishonesty often manifests itself in small scale cheating whether it be on tax returns, insurance forms, etc.

On the one hand, we want the benefit of “fudging” the numbers or bending the rules.  Yet, we want to think of ourselves as virtuous.  The benefit aspect tempts us to cheat.  The virtue part keeps us from cheating on a large scale.

Take a look at this graphic to see the factors learned by Ariely that contribute to either our honesty or dishonesty.

Since this is a Christian blog, it is worth worth making note of the “moral reminders” which decrease dishonesty.  When people were asked to recall The Ten Commandments prior to having a cheating opportunity, everybody stayed honest.  While we understand that a spiritual change of heart is the goal rather than behavioral modification, perhaps there is a lesson for those of us who are Christians.

Hiding God’s word in our heart and being led by the Spirit of God are the means to living a holy life.

For more details about this research, check out this article in The Wall Street Journal:  Why We Lie.

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name

These words are from the last verse of the song 10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord) by Matt Redman.

While singing this song with my church family on Sunday, I was brought face to face with my temporal earthly state like never before.  No longer am I the young man with most of my life before me.  My aging body bears the signs of more than half a century of wear.

This body is wearing out.  My earthly end will come.  Whether it is soon or whether it is later, I want it to be accompanied by my soul worshipping the Lord.  It really will be sweet to praise the Lord for 10,000 years and then forevermore. Or as John Newton put it,

When we’ve been there 10,000 years
Bright, shining as the sun
We’ve no less days
To sing God’s praise
Than when we first begun

See Also: From Dawn Through Evening

My biggest fish ever in the Atlantic Ocean near Boynton Beach, FL

The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name

These words are from the song 10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord) by Matt Redman.

Surely we would chalk it up as a good day if we begin by blessing the Lord in song and that song continues into the evening.  Don’t let the struggles of the day choke this song out of you.

Instead of using “whatever” as an adolescent lack of interest, let us face the whatever with a steeled confidence in the Lord.  The kind of confidence that leads to worship.

What is the difference with these three words of unbelief?  An agnostic claims to not know if God exists.  An atheist denies that God exists.  Both of these terms are similar in the location of the person – outside of the circle of those who claim faith in God.

But what about a heretic?  Let’s take a look at two recent “coming out” articles written by two women in the religious studies field.

The first article, Coming Out as a Heritic: Not Religious, Not Spiritual, Not Atheist – What’s Left?, is written by Kate Blanchard, a professor at Alma College in Michigan.

Blanchard describes herself this way:

I once counted myself among the über-faithful but then “fell away” in my twenties. Despite marrying a clergyman and spending lots of time in theological school, I never made it back to the one true way.

The second article, ‘Heretics’ or ‘Atheists’?  A Response is by Rachel Ozanne.  Ozanne is doctoral candidate in the History Department of the University of Texas.

Ozanne provides this self-description:

I too grew up in a Christian family, and, despite very intense Christian devotion and deep soul and scripture searching, I “fell away” from the faith in my early twenties. I have been “unchurched” for about six years now and have often struggled to identify my current relationship to the Christian faith.

Both writers aptly describe their position with the words fell away.  Herein lies the difference between claiming to be an atheist or an agnostic.  As already indicated, those two positions provide a present location of being outside of the circle of the Christian faith.  The heretic descriptor implies a position or location that is away from the previous position of the circle of the Christian faith.  It involves movement.

Atheists and agnostics are making no claim of a previous position when they use those terms.  Their position may be the result of a heretical journey, but it makes no such claim in title alone.

At times the word apostate is used to identify the person who has moved from the circle to away from the circle.  This is an important term because it will help us see that both article writers make a serious mistake in describing the movement to unbelief.

The word apostate is from the word meaning to stand with a prefix meaning away from.  So an apostate stands away from a previous position.  An important element in understanding a heretic is that we must determine the previous position.

Blanchard identifies her previous position as among the über-faithful.

Ozanne uses a lengthier positional description with, I too grew up in a Christian family, and, despite very intense Christian devotion and deep soul and scripture searching.

This where the two authors are mistaken.  They describe their previous positions as being “in” the circle of the Christian faith.  However, apostasy is to stand away from.  This means that they were near the circle but not in the circle.  They might have been as near as being right on the edge of the circle, but that edge was still on the outside of the circle.  Had they been in the circle, the term would be ecstasy.  The literal definition of ecstasy is to stand out of.  That is once have been in the middle of the circle, they are now outside of the circle.

Heretics are apostates not ecstates.  They were near but not in.  As Jesus said,

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
(Matthew 7:21-23 ESV)

Jesus emphatically declares that he never knew them.  They were never “in”.  They were near enough to do Christian works and near enough to refer to Jesus as Lord.  But they were not known by the one who is at the very center of the Christian faith circle.

See also:

Atheists Want to Impeach God?

The Scariest Verse in the Bible to One Agnostic

Have you ever heard somebody say that after hearing a funny joke?  Better yet, have you seen somebody slap their knee when hearing a funny joke?

This response to humor was probably a little more common to generations before the modern usage of LOL.  Slapping the knee added emphasis to the sounds of laughter.

Knee slapping also conveyed a sense of intensity.  That is, it was a response to something that was really funny.  You don’t slap a knee when you only chuckle.  You slap your knee when you have a hard laugh.  Tears might even accompany this kind of laughter.

If you slap your knee when you are happy and are laughing, what do you do when you are sad and weeping?  It seems that our Old Testament brethren slapped their thigh.

For after I had turned away, I relented,
and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh;
I was ashamed, and I was confounded,
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
(Jeremiah 31:19 ESV)

In this verse, Ephraim responds to the discipline received from the Lord.  Ephraim had sinned against God.  God disciplined Ephraim.  Ephraim turned from their sin filled with shame and disgrace.  This sense of shame and disgrace was evidenced by striking the thigh.

Later the prophet Ezekiel uses similar language to describe the lament over the coming discipline of Israel.

Strike therefore upon your thigh.
(Ezekiel 21:12 ESV)

The inner sense of lament or shame of sin that is expressed through the tears of sorrow can be further demonstrated by striking the thigh.

We would much rather be in a knee-slapping mood.  Perhaps a bit more often we should be in a thigh-slapping mood.

A company at the Sweet and Snack Expo in Chicago is marketing a new “Christianized” approach to this tradition.  Scripture Candy is a company that produces candy with wrappers or other avenues of writing that include Bible verses or Christian statements.

Picture lollipop wrappers with a Bible verse or the word Jesus spelled out by candy canes.

One of the best sellers is the Jelly Bean Prayer.  Each color of jelly bean communicates a different message that is gospel oriented.

• Black – Sin: represents my sinful heart keeping me from you above.
• Red – Jesus’ Blood: represents the blood you shed to provide salvation free.
• White – Clean: shows the cleansing of my sin as I put my faith in Thee.
• Yellow – Heaven: for heaven above, my new home I’ll have someday.
• Green – Growth: for the growth I will see as I read your Word and pray.
• Purple – Royalty: shows you are King of all, the one I choose to obey.
• Pink – Thank You: thank you, Lord, for these jelly beans. They mean more than words can say.
• Orange – Lord: thank you, Lord, for these jelly beans. They remind me of your love.

What is your take on this approach?  Keep in mind that this company is combining business with faith.  That is not necessarily wrong.  But we might evaluate this keeping those two aspects in mind.  It seems to make good business sense as the founder, Brian Adkins, indicates they fly off of the shelves.

Adkins spells out the faith angle this way, Our mission is to reach the world one piece at a time with the word of God and it just happens to be on a piece of candy.

Adkins also indicated that the company is aware of people who have come to Christ as a result of the wrappers.

I know me.  I would be tempted to eat extra pieces of candy with the justification that I get to read more Bible verses.  As a diabetic perhaps I should just stick to opening my Bible and grabbing a carrot stick.

What do you think?

HT: Finding God — or maybe just comfort — in candy – Yahoo! News.

I am not writing about the kind of meditation that is popular in some segments of the population.  That is the kind that is practiced in order to produce a calming effect on the person meditating. This often involves clearing the mind, controlled breathing and visualization techniques.

That is something altogether different than what the Bible describes.  Consider these two passages:

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
(Psalm 1:2 ESV)

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
(Joshua 1:8 ESV)

Notice that biblical meditation has a definite object – the law of the Lord or the Book of the Law.  You do not need beads, incense or contorted body positions.  You only need God’s word and that is to be the focal point.

It is interesting to note that both of these references speak of meditating day and night.  At the very least this indicates that some time is involved in the meditation activity.  This is not the practice of reading a verse to begin your day and then leaving it behind.  It is much more involved than that.

The Hebrew word for meditate is used in other places in the Bible.  Looking at a few of the uses that employ vivid imagery can shed some insight into our meditating on God’s word.

The word is used to describe utterly stricken mourning (Is 16:7).

This is not the uncontrollable wailing that describes some who mourn.  It is the kind of mourning that churns in the soul welling up into tearful expressions of sorrow.

When it comes to meditating on the word, it should be that the word is inside of us.  We are churning it about so that it wells up within us.

The word is also used to describe the growling of a lion (Is 31:4).

Again, this is not the roar of the king of the jungle.  This is the sound that you can almost hear before it is made.  That is because it is a guttural sound from the belly of the lion.

Our final look at the usage of the word is that of the cooing of doves (Is 38:14).  This is the sound that warbles from deep in the throat of the dove.

If we put these three images together, we can understand meditation as that which is much more than an emptied mind.  It is having the word of God deep in us.  We turn it over and over until it percolates up through our throats into vocal groans.

Keil and Delitzch say of this word that it speaks “of a deep, dull sound, as if vibrating between within and without” and “here signifies the quiet soliloquy of one who is searching and thinking.” We can only attempt to appreciate the depth of this word as it depicts the blessed man who day and night is considering and pondering God’s word and whose voice sometimes breaks into sighs of longing or coos of delight as he interacts both silently and audibly with God in His word - Olive Tree (emphasis mine).

This kind of meditation does much more than lower blood pressure or calm the nerves.  It facilitates encounter with the living God.  Blessed, indeed, is the man who does so.

Thank you for my own mother:

• In her womb she nurtured me and labored to give birth to me.
• In our home she taught me your ways with words and by example.
• Out of the nest she has provided encouragement and wise counsel.
• From infancy through adulthood, she has prayed for me.

Grant that I will honor my mother with all that I say and do.

Grant that I will bring her joy by walking in the truth.

Remember the women who are grieving on this day:

• Those who have been unable to have children.
• Those who have stood by the graves of their children.
• Those who are wounded with sorrow by the folly of their children.

Turn the hearts of the women who need grace for sinning against their children:

• Those who have turned the protection of the womb into a killing field.
• Those who have abandoned children in need of a mother’s love.
• Those who have neglected to nurture their children so that they might grow in wisdom and stature.
• Those who have abused the ones who have been entrusted to their care.
• Those who have drained the joy out of their adult children.

Restore the respect for mothers in our culture.

And again, thank you for my mother.

Josh Beckett of the Boston Red Sox must be driving BoSox fans mad.  The pitcher endured an off-season of questions about his commitment to the team.  In the midst of the season he has raised the volume of those questions.  This past week he missed a start due to a lat muscle.  The muscle kept him from punching his time clock at work, but didn’t prevent him from hitting the links for some golf.  Beckett dismissed the fans’ criticisms with the appeal that he only gets 18 off days during a season.  He makes almost half a million dollars per start and starts about every 5 days.  He also gets more than a quarter of the year with nothing more to do than stay in shape.

Competitive juices or in need of anger management?  Bryce Harper and Amare Stoudemire both injured themselves and hurt their teams by trying to KO inanimate objects.

The Texas Rangers are celebrating 40 years of existence this year by letting fans vote for the 40th Anniversary Team.  Here are my selections:

• Starting Pitcher - Nolan Ryan
• Relief Pitcher - John Wetteland
• Catcher – Ivan Rodriguez
• First Base - Mike Hargrove
• Second Base - Michael Young
• Third Base - Buddy Bell
• Short Stop - Toby Harrah
• Outfield - Jeff Burroughs, Ruben Sierra, Josh Hamilton
• Designated Hitter - Juan Gonzalez

In the days of my youth, my home state of Oklahoma was without any professional major league teams (I’m not counting the short durations of the USFL and NASL).  Naturally most of my family connected with the teams in the Dallas area.  So it was the Cowboys, Rangers and Mavericks.  A few years ago the NBA took residence in Oklahoma City.  I have stuck with the Mavericks primarily because of Dirk Nowitzski.  Dirk is from Wurzburg, Germany, and I served in the Kitzingen-Wurzburg Baptist Church.  I find my allegiance shifting to the OKC Thunder as Dirk nears the end of his career.  I’m straddling the fence for now, but will become a full Thunder fan once Dirk is gone.

Since I live near Miami, I have made the Marlins and Dolphins my number 2 teams in their leagues.  I still can’t find it within me to pull for the Heat.

How about some soccer?  I love watching the World Cup and the European matches.  In fact, I’ll watch soccer any day over the NBA.  My favorite team in this sport is Bayern Munchen.

As a guy who played quarterback in football, I follow the play of the guys under center.  The top 3 QB’s in the NFL draft this year were Andrew Luck, RG3 and Ryan Tannehill.  However, I predict that Brandon Weeden for the Cleveland Browns will have the best rookie year of any quarterback.

Justin Tucker has signed as a kicker/punter with the Baltimore Ravens.  Tucker is the son of a former classmate, so I hope he does well.

I love me some me.  Terrell Owens uttered these words as it was becoming painfully obvious that he was lacking in the teammate department.  He could have said these words for his recent appearance on the Dr. Phil show when he was confronted for his less than stellar performance as a father.  Not sure many people had their popcorn ready for that episode.

Albert Pujols is dead last in batting average compared to anybody who has batted for the Los Angeles Angels this year.  Did anybody see this coming?