The Virtual Salt

The Book of Ten Sayings 1

2022-06-18T11:54:00.002-07:00

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The Book of Ten Sayings 1

Introduction This "book" was intended to be an entire book when first conceived, consisting on an elaboration of the ten most important sayings of all time. But life circumstances have held it back into a very incomplete form. But perhaps there is a kernel of wisdom somewhere here that will resonate with you and help you to grow into a better person and friend.

The First Saying

1. Put God First .

Some have accused God of being self-centered and even egotistical for wanting to be worshipped and at the center of humans' attention. But the truth is, the fallen creature known as man has been so corrupted by Satan (who IS the egotist) that the only way to get man from being self-centered is to shift his focus onto something more powerfully attractive. Focus on God, knowing him, serving him, loving him, and you will find a better opportunity for happiness than through any other activity. Putting ourselves first results in unhappiness, to ourselves and others.

Take a look at those who can theoretically buy anything, including happiness. Often they embark on a trajectory that traces the meteoric path across the sky, running on alcohol, sex, drugs, and wild behavior. But even ordinary teenagers can find misery--or death--by putting themselves ahead of everyone and everything else.

I probably sound preachy, so I will just close with an anecdote. One year my friend Phil and I were driving on the way home from a computer conference in Las Vegas. Suddenly a small red sedan raced up behind us, swerved onto the median to avoid hitting us, and raced out of sight. Perhaps fifteen or twenty minutes later, we drove into a traffic jam. It soon cleared up. It was caused by the little red car, which was lying upside down in the ditch that separated the two sets of lanes. We read later that the car contained four teens. They died either by having their skulls crushed when the the top of the car collapsed on them, or else they drowned in the shallow--but deep enough--ditch water in the median.

The most serious and damaging of the "Seven Deadly Sins" is Pride because it not only does harm by its own misguided and misleading attitude, but it also stimulates some of the other of the sins, such as greed (or avarice) and anger (aka wrath). Finally, Pride affects and damages both the prideful person and everyone he comes into contact with. Some of the Seven Deadly Sins can be limited, generally speaking, to their owner. Sloth, for example, harms only the slothful one directly, although the damage done by shirking duty and by a attempting to skate by with shortcuts has negative effects on others, also.

There Is Joy in Hell Tonight: A Teaching Story

2022-06-09T17:39:00.117-07:00

There is Joy in Hell Tonight: A Teaching Stoiy

Every day on her way to work, Edna passed the bakery where a man, whom she thought of as Mister Skin and Bones, sat on the ground near the door and breathed deeply each time the door opened, hoping that the delightful aroma would enter his lungs and provide some molecules of nutrition or if not, at least diminish his hunger pains.

She had wanted to help the starving man, but when she mentioned the need at her church, she was rebuffed with a sneer by the youth pastor, who said, “You should be ashamed even to think about such a so-called good deed. Giving that man something to eat would be a ‘good deed,’ which is prohibited by the church.”

“But why?" Edna asked plaintively.

"Because helping him would contradict our theology that says people are saved by God's grace and not by any so-called good works."

"But I’m afraid that man is going to die if I or someone doesn’t help him.”

“Are you trying to buy yourself into heaven my doing a bunch of ‘good works’?”

“No,” said the woman, her voice beginning to tremble. “I believe that God has saved me by his grace because I put my faith in Jesus.”

“Well, then, there you go,” said the youth pastor, brightening up and smiling with triumph. “Be careful not to slip into wanting to do a bunch of worthless good works.”

“But, what about—?”

“You don’t want to diminish the priceless, infinite sacrifice of Jesus, do you?”

“No, of course not. It’s just that there’s so much need.”

“Well, there are food pantries stocked by other churches where the indigent can go to get a warm cup of coffee and a bit of a sandwich. I myself donated an old blanket to one of those charities. And remember that Jesus told us that we would always have the poor with us, so don’t go out trying to cure them.”

After much soul searching and prayer, Edna decided to see if another church had a different view of giving help to the needy. She found a church whose statement of beliefs included, "We are saved by grace through faith and rewarded for the good deeds we do."

Noticing that the new church supported its theology by quoting the Bible, Edna was impressed to begin a attending the services. She had finally found a place where Scripture made things clear. The passage that impressed her most about this issue was in the book of Ephesians:

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." --Ephesians 2:8-10

Knowing that we are saved by the gift of God and rewarded for--created for--doing good works made Edna's world make sense.

"And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." --Matthew 10:42

+++

Questions

1. In your experience, do pastors and other teachers of the Word clearly distinguish between doing good works as a means of earning salvation and doing good works to help others?

2. Do you think that this distorted view of Scripture reduces the amount of good that the needy would otherwise receive?

3. Do you think that if you are good enough (or if your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds) then you will be saved? If so, how did you conclude that?

Do You Believe?: A Teaching Story

2022-06-09T17:33:00.001-07:00

Do You Believe?

You have been selected to serve on an ad hoc jury to help improve the flow of cases through the trial court. Soon the bailiff brings into the courtroom an accused offender, a lifelong, often-convicted criminal. As he looks down at the list of current charges, the judge can be heard to mutter, “Not you again.” Then the judge looks through some of the summaries of the man’s previous convictions, pausing and sighing more than once. After looking back and forth between the criminal himself and the thick list of his most recent crimes, the judge fixes his eyes on the man for several seconds, seemingly trying to understand. Finally, he breaks the silence.

“Well, what do you have to say for yourself?”

The man remains motionless and continues to look at the floor.

Looking at the list once more, the judge asks, “Do you realize that you have broken every one of the Ten Commandments, some of them several times?”

The man just stands there, remaining silent for a few moments. Then he says, “It’s true, I guess.”

“You guess?” demands the judge, angered by the man’s apparent flippancy.

“Well,” the man replies, “I might have broken all the Commandments, as you say. Ten of them, are there? And maybe I did break several of them more than once.” The man looked up at the judge for just a moment, and then looked down again as he said, “But I want you to know, that, in spite of appearances, I believe in them all.”

“You what?” screamed the judge.

“ So I throw myself on the mercy of the Court.”

+++

Questions

1. If you served on this ad hoc jury, would you vote to increase or decrease or leave the recommended sentence of this seemingly incorrigible criminal? Why would you vote that way?

2. What does the criminal mean by, "I believe in them all"?

3. The obvious analogy from Earthly courtroom to Heavenly courtroom might make us stand back a minute before condemning the criminal. The question here, then, is, "Do you respect God's law and justice system? Do you want harsh justice for everybody else but melting mercies in great supply for yourself?"

4. For a recalibration of God's response to sin and crime, read the sermon by Jonathat Edwards, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," and then read the Gospel of John. God hates sin "big time" as the neighborhood kids used to say, but he loves us. The fact is, God loves us so much that we often develop a too-easy attitude toward sin.

Satan and the Stolen IFs: A Teaching Story

2022-06-09T16:59:00.001-07:00

Satan and the Stolen IFs: A Teaching Story

One dull night in hell, an under-demon went up to Satan with an idea.

“We’re getting too much resistance to converting new Christians into new devils—except, of course, in churches that preach the Easy Gospel (those are the ones we call "easy-in, easy-out.") Research indicates that in those churches where a set of moral and spiritual values (from that book) is not emphasized, the evangelistic message is watered down and presented as not having any universal behavioral application. But it makes it easy to call oneself a Christian. The term Christian is no longer a synonym for ‘deeply spiritual and loving follower of Jesus Christ.’”

“But what about that book? It tells them what to do and what not to do—in quite explicit terms.”

“Oh, Mighty Evil One. Excuse me, but you’re still living in 1950. No one reads that book any more. The new evangelistic come-on is ‘Come as you are and stay as you are.’ Converting those ‘believers’ to the Dark Side is like shooting fish in a barrel. Easy as eating devils’ food cake.”

“But certainly there are those few who have polluted society by using the old evangelistic appeal of ‘Come as you are and now change your world view and behavior to follow Christ and his teachings.’ And they probably read and try (I wish I could laugh at how hard it is for any of them to do this) to build their whole lives on the principles from that book.”

“You are exactly right. And my proposal exploits the principles of lying, darkness, error, mockery, confusion—."

“Yes, yes. Just blurt it out. I certainly hope you have some sort of good news in an idea that will cause damage to His kingdom and take away the pain you have just caused me by telling me your bad news. Tell me now. And the idea had better work or you will be in substantial pain for a long time.”

“My idea is this. We stop discouraging people from reading that book.”

“What? Are you seri—.”

“We just doctor it a little bit by removing all the ifs—.”

“Are you drunk, or just stupid?”

“—and every thing becomes lawful. Many of the new Christians are already running around saying that they are ‘free in Christ,’ ‘followers only of the law of Love’ and ‘the law of Liberty,’ and so on. They haven’t a clue as to what a conditional argument is.”

“For example?”

“Well, take that passage where the Son of the Enemy says that believers are commanded to forgive others. It’s in—.”

“—Remember that it is illegal to quote from that book.”

“Yes, well, ‘If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love’—gone, zeroed, zippo, outta here! And, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.’ They'll never miss it."

“That’s enough. You’re making me sick.”

“And by eliminating all the ifs, there are no longer any conditions for these careless misreaders to meet. The only criteria they have left for decision making are those drawn from their untaught, unthought, unexamined fallen natures. Already I have a vision of billions and billions of careless misreaders going out of their way to dance themselves into hell.”

“Thinking they are successfully battling us! Ha ha ha—the Sixties are back: If it feels good, do it!—Under the law of love, of course. Oh, you make me feel so much better! I will see to it that your stay in the Chamber is reduced to a half-torture for a week.”

“Thank you so much!”

+++

Questions

1. Some nations, in the past and still today, have outlawed owning the Bible under penalty of death. What is in the Bible that makes it so hated--or feared--that governments put power and resources to keep it and its messsage away from people?

2. Have you ever paid attention to the number of if-clauses in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments?

A Man on the Street: A Teaching Story

2022-06-09T13:26:00.002-07:00

A Man on the Street

On a slow news day, a reporter sees a man walking down the street rather aimlessly, and hurries over to interview him.

“Hello, Sir. I’m Ted G. Biff from station ZRXP TV. We’re doing human interest stories for a TV segment on the 10 o’clock news.”

“Uhh, okay. I’ll watch it. What time is it on?”

“Sir, may I ask you a question?”

“Sure, I guess so. Do I get a reward for answering?”

“I’m sorry, Sir, but No.”

“But it must be worth something to you. Come on, how about a few bucks?”

“All right. Jamie, give the man a ten.”

“Could you make it twenty?”

“Oh, all right. Here. Now, the question is, ‘Would you describe yourself as a Christian?’”

“A Christian? Why, yes, of course. Man, that was easy. I’ll answer another question for the same price. I know about the Trinity, the crown of thorns, Bethlehem—see, I do crossword puzzles. ”

“I see.”

“Yes, sir, I’m a Christian, set free by the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“I’m happy to hear that.”

“Sure. Why not? I have faith in the Lord Jesus, and Jesus said, ‘You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.’”

“You just now used the expression, ‘Faith in the Lord Jesus’ twice. Then Jesus Christ is your Lord?”

“Of course. He is Lord of all.”

“And how would you define ‘Lord’?”

“Hmm. I don’t know. . . . I’ve never been asked that question. Umm, maybe ‘Lord of my life, guide, helper, forgiver of all my sins. Or boss, perhaps?”

“How about, ‘A Lord is someone who has power and authority over servants, who do the will of their master.’”

“Hey, that’s not bad. How many other people have you asked that question? I’ll bet their answers helped you make yours.”

“I’m sure they did. But to keep focused on our question, if Jesus is your Lord, you must observe his rules, right?”

“Well, yeah, I guess so. —Wait. Rules? What are you talking about?”

“Can you tell me some of Jesus’ rules or commandments that he expects you to obey?”

“We don’t have to obey any rules. We are set free in Christ. What are you, some kind of legalist? Or a works-salvation robot?”

“If Jesus has no rules, then why does he say, ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments.—John 14:15 (NASB)’?”

“Well, he—.”

“Or ‘This is how we are sure that we have come to know Him: by keeping His commands. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” yet doesn't keep His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him —1 John 2:3-4 (NASB).’”

“Are you sure he—.”

“And, ‘If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love’ —John 15:10 (NASB).”

“I think I need to go now.”

“But Sir, we have many more questions to ask, and with them your eternal destiny is at stake.”

+++

Questions

Think about and discuss each of the following questions. Are these questions you have never asked before, or are they a regular part of your spiritual refreshing?

V How do you know that Jesus is the Lord of your life?

V Are you careful and intentional to follow and submit to Jesus as your Lord?

V What does it mean to believe in Jesus?

V What does it mean to believe Jesus?

V What does it mean to obey Jesus?

V What does it mean to have faith in Jesus?

Living in Christ: A Teaching Story

2022-06-09T12:55:00.003-07:00

Introduction

When thinking about moral and ethical values, objective and subjective claims, and the meaning, and understanding of difficult ideas, philosophers have traditionally used teaching stories. More impactful and often more challenging than non-fiction essays, these stories encourage their disciples to analyze and learn the condensed wisdom presented, to make connectioins, see relationships, trace out causes and effects, and go deeper into the implications of what is said and done. Even relatively simple tales about seemingly ordinary events can shed light on the human condition more clearly, immediately, and powerfully than a long, prose exposition.

Living in Christ: A Teaching Story

“Hey there, Stan. Good to see you back at church. We missed you the last two or three Sundays. How are things going?”

“Everything’s going great, just great. We had a little setback a few months ago, when the feds took down our main Web site, but now we are roaring forward.”

“What happened? Why did the feds--.”

“Oh, you know, there are still some very uptight types working to stop people from ‘exercising their freedoms,’ as our lawyers put it.”

“But how did that involve your company? Don’t you run an online pet store?”

“Oh, yeah, ha ha! The problem was that CuddleBunnies.com was mistaken for an actual pet store. Ha, ha, ha, ha. Oh, did we get mail!”

“I don’t understand.”

“So we cleared things up by renaming it to Rent-a-TeenXXX.com and business has exponentiated. In fact, we are talking about removing the kiddie porn pages from our servers just to open up the bandwidth.”

“Kiddie porn? Stan, What are you talking about? I thought you were a Christian.”

“Oh, yeah, I am. I am. Just living my Christian freedom in Christ.”

“But God is very much opposed to what you are doing. And besides, kiddie porn is against the law.”

“Well, I’m just living the law of liberty. No longer a slave to sin, set free indeed. Free to follow my own wishes. Say, do you know any Fentanyl wholesalers near here?”

“Why no, I—that—it’s--."

“Yeah, it’s such a killer drug that I can’t keep it in stock. Hey, see if they have changed the Availability label on Devil’s-Candy.com That’s one of my public service Web sites. The URL is--.”

“Stan, you need to do some real soul searching—and some Bible reading. You’re going to--.”

“Great talking to you, brother. Maybe I’ll see you next week. Excuse me now, but do you see that girl over there, just shaking the pastor’s hand? Maybe I can get her to put a few pictures on Rent-a-Teen. Later, big guy.”

+++

Questions

1. Is Stan a genuine Christian, an imitation Christian, a self-deluded pagan, an anti-Christian, a plain vanilla con artist, or something else?

2. If Stan dies today, will he go to heaven?

3. Once a person is saved, accepting Jesus as his savior, does it matter whether or not he owns pornographic web sites or traffics girls? Why or why not?

Reading, Discussing, and Thinking

When you read this story to some Christians, they will quickly hit you with, "The Bible says, 'Judge not, so that you will not be judged.'" Based on your understanding of the following Scriptures and their surrounding contexts, and any other relevant Scriptures and their contexts, is it right or wrong to answer the first three questions, above?

Matthew 7:1

Luke 6:37

Luke 12:57-58

Luke 18:2

John 3:17

John 7:24

Romans 14:3

Romans 14:13

1 Corinthians 6:3

James 14:11

James 5:9

John 12:48

Bob Translation

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he is a Christian, but does nothing to show his allegiance to Jesus, by witnessing, worshipping, caring for the sick and needy, striving to improve morally, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually? --James 2:14:

Common Sense Wisdom for a Needy Time

2022-02-19T21:40:00.001-08:00

Here are just a few proverbs that, if carefully considered, will bring you some valuable insights. I have deliberately neglected to discuss them in order to allow your own thinking to unfold them with their multiple truths.

1. The two great disappointments in life are: (1) not getting what you want, and (2) getting it.

2. It's not about you.

3. [more to come]

The Book of Ten Sayings 10

2022-02-19T21:28:00.001-08:00

Concluding the wisdom in the Book of Ten Sayings is a truth that many people know from experience, yet who never mention it in company. The Tenth Saying is to be repeated every morning and every night, as part of your prayers to God to search your soul and tear out all the Pride, for ,

Pride is my self-made supreme enemy

If you, like many of us, want to stay away from sin and evil, then we need to eschew effectively the sin of Pride. In the old days, a list of sins was made, with Pride as the first sin listed, along with six others, These sins, named The Seven Deadly Sins, were considered especially bad because they could be used to tempt others to sin.

The Seven Deadly Sins are

Pride
Anger
Lust
Greed
Gluttony
Envy
Sloth

Notice how Pride can be the stimulus for each of the other Deadly Sins:

Pride to Anger: "Hey, Anger, that guy called you a chicken for not helping him beat up that guy who took your coffee mug. I mean, who does he think he is?"

Pride to Greed: "Hey, Greedo. I hear Sloth is about to quit. Let's go talk to the boss and see of we can divide Sloth's salary between us. I figure 70% for me and 30% for you is just right and fair."

Pride to Envy: "Hey there, Envy. It must really be a downer to know that Lust is dating Greed. I mean, my room is all the way down the hall, but I can still feel the floor shaking when those two are enjoying a late night snack."

Pride to Gluttony: "Howdy, there, Glut-man. Did Sloth invite you to his party? No? I can't imagine why not. He told me he was ordering 17 Extra Large fully laden pizzas with triple stuff, for only 6 people. Wow. Sloth must not think much of you."

Pride to Lust: "Hey, babe. You look hot tonight. I wonder why Anger keeps telling everybody that you're just "makeup and mirrors," and that if you ever had a real thought, you wouldn't even recognize it."

Pride to Sloth: "Hi there, Sloth-skee. I missed you at the party at Lust's room over the weekend. I mean, it was totally wild. I did ask where you were, and Envy said she hoped you were sick. I said that such a comment was uncalled for, and then Greed said, "It takes time to visit the whole town."

Here are just some of the words used to apply to Pride. Note that they are not complimentary:

vain, egotistical arrogant, haughty, self-important, boastful, smug, me, me, me, me.

The Book of Ten Sayings 9

2022-02-14T14:07:00.003-08:00

Number 9 in the Book of Ten Sayings reminds us that developing, building, and caring for human relationships are our primary responsibilities here on this planet. Several sayings stimulate our memories or touch around the margins, but the one that singularly hits home is,

Always forgive, including yourself.

We have landed in such a bizarre landscape that we don't know how to react to others, especially when the insults and criticism by which they have wronged us seem so arbitrary, ill informed, and exaggerated. The Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," sometimes requires some translating from the 17th Century English of the King James Version; but a plain text translation nearly always puts the postmodern and the simple into an understanding, if not agreeing, frame of mind. But this Saying 9 goes further.

The true and deep reminder implied in this Saying is that we should spend our lives in service to others, enhancing the lives of others and leaving all of them just a little better than we found them. These acts of charity can be small and brief, (pick up a piece of litter and toss it into a trash can, smile warmly and say hello to a stranger, give a cup of cold water to someone who thirsts ("And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward" Matthew 10:42), but though small, they will be significant acts as indicators of character.

How many times have you watched a young person make a face at the prospect of cleaning up a dirty kitchen and protest, "I'm not going to clean up someone else's mess. I didn't leave that dirt pile so I'm not going to clean it up."

Then, just as you are getting ready to take an extra dose of your analgesic medicine so you can bend over enough to pick up the trash without too many shooting pains down your back, shoulders, and legs, another young person grabs a broom and and says, quite energetically, "Hey, let's go for it!"

When Jesus was asked which Commandments he thought were the most important, he said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." Then he added, "The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:30-31). Jesus then clarifies to just whom the word neighbor applies. It's YOU.

In the Book of Ten Sayings, The Ninth Saying,

Always forgive, including yourself.

reveals its critical importance in the philosophy of human happiness.

+If you don't forgive others who wrong you, it is unlikely that you will ever be happy in any free and open sense. You will always have a few grudges to feed. You will be a slave to resentment. Taking the high road often leads to a cliff, and if your self-righteousness puts your nose too high in the air, you might just become airborne with a hard landing.

+If you don't forgive others, Jesus says that God won't forgive you for your sins. Note that this warning is made in the the process of teaching the Lord's Prayer, which the Lord gave to the Disciples (and hence, all the world) as a model prayer. In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus says,

Our Father, who is in heaven,
May your name be kept holy.
May your kingdom come
May your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts
As we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For yours is the kingdom,
And the power and the glory
For ever. Amen..

Jesus clarifies one of the points in the prayer. Commenting on forgiveness, Jesus says, "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions."

+Forgiving yourself is an important concept. Too many people who nurture hostile feelings against others, based on long ago affronts or slights eventually come to think of themselves as guilty--only in part, of course--and much of their peace and quiet is steadily eroded. After all. if it's worth nursing a lifelong grudge against the kid who wrecked your bike, what kind of guilt is deserved for someone who stole an expensive camera years ago?

There is a saying among the thoughtful and circumspect, that regarding the offenses people take from and give to each other, the best advice for healing wounds, solving anger, and regaining peace is, "To know all is to forgive all." In other words, we are often incapable of understanding who is the victim and who is the perpetrator, or how much responsibility for the breach of peace belongs to each person. "If you really knew what went on," these experienced observers say, "you would forgive everyone. For all are guilty."

The Book of Ten Sayings 8

2022-02-12T15:35:00.002-08:00

Some readers will find this next saying ridiculous. They will say, "Why constrain yourself to an old-fashioned concept such as truth? Limiting you options up front by declaring that you will avoid all non-truths is just not workable in our current era. But we stand by the truth, believing that it provides the optimal choice.

Always prefer Truth.

Truth is a shockingly powerful and uniquely dangerous concept, not just in itself and for what it can do, but as a tool of manipulation. As you strengthen your resolve to be a friend of truth and an advocate for her cause, ponder deeply these cautions and ask yourself if you can be sufficiently brave.

A. The truth will set you free, but many are interested in neither truth nor freedom. Truth is too painful and freedom too fearful to accept.

B. When Jesus says that "the truth will will make you free" (see John 8:31-38) he means that the truth will set us free from slavery to sin. He does not mean that we will be free of all restraints and moral rules. We will be free to obey his commandments and to live a moral, spiritual life serving God.

C. Few people believe something that they want to be false.

D. Among the living, fame and reputation rise from publicity rather than from excellence.

E. The law may say, "Yes," when righteousness says, "No," for the law is in the hands of men and righteousness belongs to God.

F. What seems and what is differ often. If you are content to live a life of appearances, why do you care about truth?

In classical art, Truth is often depicted as a naked woman, who bares her beautiful body because she has nothing to hide. Nothing needs to be covered or patched up or hidden. If she dealt in cliches, she would quote, "What you see is what you get." Disguise and painting over flaws are simply not necessary or even desired. Falsehood, on the other hand, is represented with a plenitude of disguises, including enough makeup to cover a bridge, enough clothing to open a discount warehouse, and enough phony airs to fill the curriculum of a school for con artists.

The advice for those who want to build truth into the foundation and walls of their lives is

+ Test the truth claims. In a postmodernist world culture such as ours, many people are happy to spin their own "narratives," which replace an accurate and objective account of things (formerly known as "truth").

+If you weaken and give up on truth, what you'll have left is a set of absurd ideas forced upon a culture adrift morally, economically, politically, and spiritually.

The Book of Ten Sayings 7

2022-02-09T22:32:00.003-08:00

The seventh entry in the Book of Ten Sayings might appear to be simple, but it actually counsels us to deep and ongoing thought, thorough and penetrating analysis. The saying is,

Look to the end.

1. "Look to the end" is a reminder that whenever we have a decision to make, we must look to the overall goal or purpose. Asking, "Why are we doing this?" can save money, reputation, health, and even life. Asking, "Why should I want to do this?"--that is, asking the question before you engage in the action, can be even more valuable.

2. "Look to the end" reminds us that our lives here on this planet have expiration dates, and considering the sum total of our input and output should help us organize all of the major (and many of the minor) tasks of life.

3. "Look to the end" encourages us to think about the effects the idea or plan or activity will have on other people.

4. "Look to the end" stimulates us to ask, "And then what?" What will happen after the idea or activity is first acted on? And then what? Just what are the consequences? This saying is one of the most powerful because we notice that many people draw conclusions or make decisions based on the single effect deriving from the chosen solution. Cause, effect. But a little investigation often reveals that what we would really have is Cause, Effect, Effect, Effect, Effect, Effect. Many of these effects were not foreseen after only a shallow analysis was given to idea or decision.

5. "Look to the end" is fundamentally a call to think about the long term consequences of decisions or proposed actions. Short term effects, even when not filtered by hopeful thinking, nearly always look great. But what about next year or next decade?

6. And of course, "Look to the end" is whispered in our minds as we are encouraged to contemplate not only our life plan but our death plan. It is said that your view of death determines how you live. If you think that your life or earthly existence ends with your death, you will likely live for yourself, but if you think that your life, your soul or spirit, continues after you check out of Motel Earth, then you will likely learn to live and choose with the benefit of others in mind.

And here is the cosmic irony: Selfish people tend to be much less happy than unselfish people. Selfish people spend their time trying to maximize their own happiness. As a consequence, they see others as means to that end. They exploit and use others to get what they think will benefit them most. And when they recognize that they are not happy, they soon they embark on the spiral down to misery. "Being selfish hasn't made me happy, " they they think, "so what I need is to be a lot more selfish." As the teenagers say, "Yeah, like that's gonna work."

Being circumspect (circum=around, spect=looking) means that we should examine our position and know where we stand--that is, how and why we include the values in our personal set of beliefs. "What do I stand for, what do I truly value, and do my words and behavior reflect that?"

Implied in this saying is the Christian virtue of Hope, one of the seven Christian virtues, and the classical virtue of Prudence (also known as Wisdom).

Posted by Robert Harris at 8:27 PM

The Book of Ten Sayings 6

2022-02-09T22:31:00.000-08:00

The sixth entry in the Book of Ten Sayings reminds us what an amazing amount of control we have over our reactions to and feelings about the events of our lives. The Sixth Saying is

"Not the event, but the attitude."

Let's begin the discussion with a short story I wrote a while back. THE STRANGE ADVENTURE Once upon a time, so long ago that it seems like yesterday, circumstances so occurred that two youths found themselves lost together in the desert and forced to spend the night without the services of modern technology.

“What a terrible thing,” said the first one. “We’re stuck out here all alone among who knows what frightening stuff.”

“This is great,” said the other. “What an adventure. I can’t wait to see what happens.” As the light began to fade, the youths happened upon a snake, sitting on a rock to get the last warmth it could find before the cold night set in.

“Oh, no!” said the first youth. “Out here it’s just one problem after another. Now we’ll have to worry about that snake crawling all over us as we sleep.”

“What a great opportunity,” said the second youth. “Now we can have some dinner.” Soon the snake was roasting on an impromptu fire, and in a little while, the two youths began to eat.

“This is horrible,” said the first youth, spitting out the meat and nearly vomiting. “I can’t imagine a worse thing.”

“Actually, it tastes rather mild,” said the second youth, eating with relish.

When the next day came and the youths were rescued, they were asked about their adventure. “It was the most awful, horrible experience I’ve ever had,” said the first youth, trembling from the memory. “I’ll be mentally scarred by it for the rest of my life.”

“It was great!” said the second youth. “I think it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. What a fun time. I’m so glad I was there.”

z The events we experience are less important than the meaning we give to them, for life is about meaning, not experience.

Suppose you are at a friend's house and you bump your head on an open door of a kitchen cabinet. Are more likely to minimize the event and tell your friends that you are okay or are you more likely to launch into a long complaint, in a tone of voice that makes your physical suffering very clear, and emphasizing how much it hurts and hoping it won't need stitches or leave a permanent scar? If you were in the market, which of those two people would you rather marry? If you are one of those highly emotive people, what do you accomplish in each case? If you bring the focus onto yourself and claim to be important enough for everyone to focus on and sympathize with, what does that tell others about yourself?

A great way to improve your attitude toward all the events in you life is to humble yourself and realize that there are more significant events than your broken fingernail or stained shirt occurring every day and night all over the world. Get serious and stop thinking, "What about me?" every time you talk or listen. Yes, your life, heart, and soul are important to God (which is why he has created a way through Jesus for those who love him to live with him in eternity), but to the world itself, you are just not that important.

What makes some people so cheerful all the time (or at least positive), while others are always glum and suspicious? For some, if not many, they have decided to serve God in everything. Their attitude changes from, "Get someone else to do that," or "I'm not going to help," "Don't expect me to clean that up," to "I'll be glad to do that," "It's only mud, and skin is washable," "Looks as if we will be on this job for a while." You can see the difference in their faces and behavior. The "will do" people are happy--yes, happy--washing dishes, cleaning the floor, changing the oil, chopping the firewood, or whatever. The "that's too much work" folks are grumpy and negative, suspicious that you are trying to get them to do extra work.

Back in the old, old days, before beginning work or a new project, people would always say, "To the glory of God," dedicating their hard and honest work to the Lord. Did that make their projects or tasks easier? Their labors needed the same number of buckets of floor mop and the same number of two-by-fours for the barn, but the tasks were indeed easier because their attitude was entirely different. They cheerfully labored to please God rather than to just get through the hateful task. If you already know God, adjust your attitude to that of a joyful servant. If you don't known God, you have an important first task.

Blaise Pascal says, "Let them recognize that there are only two kinds of person whom we can describe as reasonable: those who serve God with all their heart because they have found him, and those who seek him with all their heart because they have not found him."

Posted by Robert Harris at 12:08 PM No comments:

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The Book of Ten Sayings 5

2022-02-09T22:29:00.002-08:00

The fifth of the ten deepest statements of wisdom, that, if followed as a set of life guiding principles, will bring both joy and courage, strength and justice, circumspection and maturity to whoever strives to live by them. As with many principles for finding wisdom, this fifth saying involves decision making, for life is all about making decisions, and the better the decisions the more successful and happier the life. The fifth saying is,

The more you get, the more you have; the more you give, the more you are.

It seems to be a fundamental principle of human nature that we are born selfish, greedy, and avaricious. Even as toddlers (or maybe earlier?) we want to grasp everything dangled in front of our eyes. We can never get enough of the possessions of life. Often, we don't even bother to play with each new toy, because, after all, "He who dies with the most toys wins." The mantra says nothing about actually playing with the toys. The goal is acquisition. So, long before Johnny could buy a shiny new pick up truck and paste a bumper sticker on it saying, "He who dies with the most toys wins," Johnny had been dipped in the materialist cultural tea that was floating everywhere around him and he was easily converted into a committed consumer.

As we grow up, we fill increasingly large toy chests with increasingly costly toys, now often referred to as "tools" and every year our "need" grows for larger booty. The first apartment squeezed into by the couple with the kid and the dog, soon gives way to the two bedroom house, then the three, four, and five bedroom house, still with one kid and a dog because the couple are too tired from working long and hard enough to have another kid. Then one day they see this saying and think about it. Their first reaction is to mock the saying, claiming that it must have been written by an envious person of lower economic status than they. However, they both awaken the next morning with the thought that the saying is true: "Our houses are full, but our lives are empty." Everywhere they could find stuff, but nowhere could they find meaning.

This saying is also connected with the concept of generosity and with the fourth traditional Christian virtue of charity, which in the old days meant love.

The Book of Ten Sayings 4

2022-02-09T22:27:00.009-08:00

The fourth timeless truth in the Book of Ten Sayings is one that our impatient and fearful age needs to meditate on. The fourth saying:

This too shall pass.

The traditional story is that an ancient Persian king once ordered his wise men to invent a saying that would be true and applicable to every time and in every season, a saying that would comfort him in times of sorrow and temper him in times of joy, a saying upon which he could meditate profitably regardless of his situation, or what he faced, or how he felt. The saying they brought him was, "This too shall pass."

Sometimes quoted as, "This, too, shall pass away," the meaning is the same: We live a life of fixed, limited duration. The only things of permanence are the lasting effects we have on those around us. We die and pass away, and move to another realm where our attention is exclusive, giving us no time to look back to earthly life to give warning or direction. But if instead we seized our hours and minutes while here and employed them to help others live better lives, enjoy their time here, find meaning in life, come to know God, and for the ultimate benefit, find the Savior to take them with the rest of us into the heavenly realms, then we will have led a life that sneers in the face of evil and transitoriness. It would be a life worth living, however long or short.

So, "This too shall pass" is both a warning and a promise. Understanding this truth allows us to see it as the match that can light the candle of hope, set ablaze the torch of endurance, and illuminate the beacon of patience. If only people would pay attention and remind themselves of this bit of wisdom and allow themselves to be cautioned by it and show a little patience, how many ships would have been spared from sinking among the rocks of haste, the insistent pinch-in-the-shoe of eagerness, the and out-of-fuel crash of going for broke (or rather, going for self-termination) by accident?

This is another one of those two-edged proverbs that can cut both ways, possessing meaning in multiple directions. As focused on and explicated in the notes above, the saying is indeed an encouragement to persevere in the face of challenge. But sometimes extended physical suffering or psychological trauma or chronic painful physical suffering or emotional rejection can force a person to call upon this wise summary of humanity and be reinvigorated.

Finally, "This too shall pass" serves us just as well when, in the middle of joy and celebration and love and adventure, we remember that the experience will soon be over and we will return to our previous lives. No, it does no good to yell at he conductor, "Make it stop!" when we feel the ride slowing down when we want it to go on forever. Are you winning? Are you losing? Are you happy? Are you sad? This too shall pass. Implied in this saying is the Christian virtue of Hope, one of the Seven Classical Virtues.

Posted by Robert Harris at 5:40 PM No comments:

The Book of Ten Sayings 3

2022-02-09T22:26:00.000-08:00

What is the third most important saying of all time, one that will encourage wisdom and happiness, justice and equity? The saying is,

"It is not right to do evil in order to bring about good."

This saying is, first, a warning against moral short cuts, against choosing expediency over morality; for such is the great temptation of man, whether the temptation presents itself as covetousness, lust, greed, a handy lie, the imitation of justice, or any other dash around the right way. Secondly, this saying entails another classical guide to wisdom: "Truth is always best." Whatever you suffer from telling the truth or doing the right thing, you will never have to add to your punishment the mental and physical tortures of guilt when your devious plan explodes in your face. The pain of knowing that you tried to fool, deceive, lie, cheat, steal, con another person only to see it shatter other people's lives as well as your own--that pain will not be there if you always told the truth. This Third Saying also embraces the Bible's commandment, "You shall not bear false witness."

Some shrewd but sad person once noted that if you tell the truth, the supporting (true) explanations come automatically; whereas if you tell a lie, you must think of two other lies to support, excuse, and explain every other lie that brings credibility the other lies. The exponentiation cannot be long sustained: The main lie needs two lies to make it believable. Each of those two lies needs two lies to explain them. Each of those requires two lies to keep the falsehood afloat.

If civilization were honest and clear thinking, this saying could be summed up by, "Do only good." But since men are crafty and would soon claim that some expedient horror would actually be the "moral equivalent of a greater good," we must take care to avoid any ambiguity.

Implied by this saying is the classical virtue of Justice. If you sit back and do some deep contemplation of this Third Saying, you will soon discover that it is a clearer and more straightforward way of saying, "The means cannot be justified by the ends," or, as more commonly phrased, "The ends do not justify the means."

The Book of Ten Sayings 2

2022-02-09T22:09:00.000-08:00

The Second Saying in the Book of Ten Sayings

2. Know Yourself

How much misery and discontent and needless expense are created by people who don't know who they are or what they believe. At the basic level of rational survival, everyone needs a moral structure to make decision making easier. Of course, knowing that many or most people have no such moral code, the predators and exploiters are at the elbows of the naive and foolish, who let a stranger or a Hollywood film suggest proper and improper behavior--based on their own desire to shape decisions of their victims. And, of course, the religious cults and the professional predators have a field day harvesting the thoughtless, whose only value is "fun" or "excitement." These folks are always falling back on, "Why not?" because they have not the depth to imagine a negative outcome. "Here, Binkie, have some pills and booze. You'll feel great." "Uh, Okay, I guess, why not?"

If you are a young person, say under 30, you probably think that reading is a waste of time, because you can "always catch the movie." Or maybe you do read--the financial paper, the gossip mags, restaurant menus, romance novels--but don't spend a lot of time on them. Read to settle your brains and to develop a foundation of values and ideas on which you can build a life of meaning. In addition to reading, you need to live a life and to analyze your adventures to see what they mean to you and what kind of person you are and what kind you're becoming. Do you like roller coasters or art galleries? Hot chocolate in a ski lodge or umbrella drinks at the beach? Can you stand yourself? People who can't stand their own company are quite unfortunate because they are with themselves 24/7. Seek to gain understanding--of yourself and others.

Answer some of these questions after giving them some extended thought.

A. If you could be independently wealthy and not need to work, what would you choose to fill you life? Is there a particular type of career that appeals to you, but now, realistically, it doesn't pay enough to pursue?

B. If you were put in charge of a charity with $100 million dollars to give away to anyone you chose, how would you divide it out?

C. What is your view of human nature? Are people basically good or bad? What makes good people good? What makes bad people bad?

D. What single proverb sums up your life's philosophy?

E. How does your belief about death affect your belief about life?

The Book of Ten Sayings 1

2022-02-09T22:05:00.000-08:00

Introduction This "book" was intended to be an entire book when first conceived, consisting on an elaboration of the ten most important sayings of all time. But life circumstances have held it back into a very incomplete form. In spite of that, perhaps there is a kernel of wisdom somewhere here that will resonate with you and help you to grow into a better person and friend.

The First Saying

1. Put God First .

A Commentary on the Lord's Prayer

2021-11-11T10:09:00.004-08:00

A Commentary on the LORD’s Prayer Matthew 6:5-13 and Luke 11:1-4 version 2 Probably no prayer, in English or any other language, is prayed more often than the one Jesus taught his disciples to pray and use for modeling. Unfortunately, the prayer is too often recited mechanically, without the person saying it or those hearing it fully understanding what is being said. These notes on the LORD’s Prayer should give Bible readers some useful insights into the stylistic and literary aspects of the prayer. Preliminary Notes Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. And Jesus gave them this model, with some context and elaboration. Note that technically, the “LORD’s Prayer” is an incorrect description, because it is not a prayer that Jesus made to the Father; it is an example prayer for the disciples. Maybe it should be called, “The Disciples’ Prayer,” or even, “The Christian’s Prayer.” Jesus’ Background Commentary Jesus introduces his discussion of the LORD’s Payer with some general comments on prayer. 1. Pray in secret. Don’t pray just to let others know you are praying. Praying ostentatiously in front of others will create the appearance of showing off just to be seen by others or just to brag about how spiritual you are (Matthew 6:5). Close the door of your prayer room and talk to the Father, “who sees in secret” (Matthew 6:6). However, the fact that this prayer itself begins with “Our father,” rather than “My father,” shows that the model assumes corporate or group prayer will take place. Jesus wants us not to show off when praying during our personal time with God, but to take part humbly and simply with others of faith in addressing our Father in heaven. 2. Do not use meaningless repetition. God can hear even the shortest prayers, and he does not pay more attention to those who use many words or fancier words over those whose prayers are brief and simple. God hears the prayers of those who love him and obey his commandments. 3. Remember that “your Father [God] knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8). This is one of the most comforting thoughts Jesus tells us. Text of the Prayer Mat 6:9: “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Mat 6:10: ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Mat 6:11: ‘Give us this day our daily bread, Mat 6:12: ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.* Mat 6:13: ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Mat 6:[‘For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’”] Text Notes Bible translation: New American Standard Bible (NASB) 6.9.1 Pray, then, in this way. The words, “in this way,” show that Jesus is offering a model, not a mantra. The idea of saying a hundred “Our Fathers” as some kind of penance or blessing price is just not Scriptural. Christians are encouraged to create their own prayers, following the model. As noted above, because the prayer begins with, “Our” instead of “My,” Jesus clearly intended that the prayer (and the public prayers modeled on it) should be prayed aloud in groups of Christians. 6.9.2 Our Father. The being who made us likes to use the metaphor of parent-child relationship. A Father loves his child, disciplines his child, rewards his child, protects his child, directs his child. He is Father to all of us, so no one can say he is only, “My Father.” The father-son relationship enjoys a higher position among human relationships than others because it includes relational, emotional, personal, intellectual, and spiritual aspects. Other relationships are connected by only one or a few of these aspects. Employer-Employee, King-Subject, Teacher-Student, Pastor-Church Member, Friend-Friend, Mentor-Mentee all have different aspects, some more than one aspect, but none have the dynamics of a Father-Son relationship. Note, however, that women can enjoy this Father-Son relationship also, because it is a spiritual relationship. And the relationship is not “just” metaphorical. Every human being can participate in this closely parental affiliation, but none as close as those who share DNA with each other.. 6.9.3 Our Father Who is in Heaven, The opening words of the prayer address God directly, forming an apostrophe (uh POSS troh fee) to God. (An apostrophe is a direct address to someone, whether present or absent.) The apostrophe focuses attention. The fact that someone is being addressed directly in the narrative provides evidence that the addressee is an important person. Here Jesus shows that the disciples (and we, too) can address God directly without fear or hesitation and without an intermediary to do the praying either for them or for us. That we address a God “in Heaven” rather than on earth reminds us that God is in a higher realm than we are, and we should be deferential and humble before him. 6.9.4 Our Father Who is in Heaven. The opening apostrophe of the prayer embodies the trope (figure of language) of a pleonasm (PLEE oh naze um), a type of amplification. Pleonasms are used to slow down the pace of a sentence and increase the gravity and seriousness, thus strengthening the focus and emphasis. The words used to create the pleonasm could all be eliminated if Jesus had elected to. Some of the “word for word” translations render this opening with “who is” as well as the remaining words. Our Father who is in heaven Note, then, that Jesus’ words could have been only “Our Father in heaven.” The words “in heaven” are not required for a full meaning, so they could be eliminated also. Our Father Finally, “Our” could have been omitted: Father, The prayer would then have begun, “Father. . . .” But then, notice how the pacing, dignity, and connection would have been weakened without the extra words. 6.9.4 Who is in Heaven. Which God do you worship? Where does he live? What is his name? When discussing theology, it is crucial to know what others are thinking when they mention God. A hundred years ago, you could have asked someone, “Do you believe in God?” and you would likely get only either a “Yes” or a “No” answer. Today you would get the question thrown back at you, in the form of, “Which god?” Traditionally, God has been identified by the Tetragrammaton as the being “Who Is,” (YHWH, or Yahweh). In many places in the Old Testament, God is referred to as the creator of the heavens and the earth: May you be blessed of the LORD, Maker of heaven and earth —Psalm 115:15. How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, Who made heaven and earth, The sea and all that is in them; Who keeps faith forever. . . .” —Psalm 146:5-6 (NASB) For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. —Psalm 96:4-5. “Maker of the heavens and the earth” is actually a powerful and distinctive epithet, for it reminds us of the size and power and strength and creativity of the person we worship—the person who made 300 billion trillion stars and gave each a name. 6.9.5 Hallowed be Your name. Hallowed (hagiazo) in the New Testament means consecrate, venerate, make holy, to sanctify, revere, or deeply respect. When we pray for God’s name to be hallowed, then, we are asking that God be worshipped, revered, reverenced, adored, blessed. In a culture like ours that has essentially returned to paganism, these adjectives are especially important to remember and practice. We need to worship, revere, adore him. We want God to be recognized as holy. 6.9.6 Hallowed be Your name. The expression “hallowed be your name,” is another pleonasm, used in place of “May you be hallowed.” In other words, by including the word name, the expression becomes an intensifier which adds some solemnity to the phrase. There are many other passages in the Bible that use this same trope: “Blessed be the name of the Lord” means “blessed be the Lord himself.” The new formulation also continues to clarify “which God” we are thinking of. For I proclaim the name of the LORD; Ascribe greatness to our God. —Deuteronomy 32:3 (NASB) "Now the LORD has fulfilled His word which He spoke; for I have risen in place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. —1 Kings 8:17 Because of this, having girded up the loins of your mind, being sober, perfectly hope on the grace being brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves to your former lusts in your ignorance, but according to the Holy One who has called you, you also become holy in all conduct; because it has been written, "Be holy, because I am holy." —1 Peter 1:13-16 (from Lev. 19:2 And remember that holy means, “set apart for a specific purpose, dedicated to.” It is the Hebrew word Qodesh. When we think of holiness and that we will never be able to achieve it, we need to remember this definition. “Be holy, because I am holy” means “set yourself apart from the emptiness and wickedness of the world and come grow in relationship with God.” 6:10.1 Your kingdom come. God’s kingdom power is emergent, and we are to pray that its full realization will be hastened. God’s true purpose is to rule the entire realm he created. So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. —Luke 21:31 (NASB) So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." —Acts 1:6-8 (NASB) 6.10.2 Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. God already has sovereignty over all of heaven. But thanks to a couple of Edenites awhile back, his will is not always done on earth. So he has sent us a remedy. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. —John 3:17 (NASB) 6:11.1 Give us this day our daily bread. This petition is a deep metonymy. A metonymy (meh TAWN uh mee) is a type of metaphor which substitutes a closely associated thing in place of the thing meant. In this case, bread is metonymy for food, since bread is closely associated with food. So the metaphorical meaning of the sentence is “Give us this day our daily food.” But, food can function as a metonymy for needs of every kind, so the meaning of the sentence is, “Give us this day all of our needs.” And among our daily needs are spiritual and emotional needs. So this petition reminds us of the need to communicate with God, by praying and reading his word, and to joining in fellowship and worship with other believers. Mat 6:12.1 And forgive us our debts. Debts is a metaphor for sins. It is much more vivid and immediate to remind us that we have various kinds of debt—various kinds of sin—we need to ask God to forgive us for. And we need forgiveness from other people whom we have sinned against (we owe an apology for calling a neighbor kid “a fool,” we need to forgive the kids who broke the window, we need to seek forgiveness from our spouse for misbehaving, etc.). The fact that this petition remains a standard part of the LORD’s Prayer, for all believers at all times, recognizes that all Christians will still commit sins and need forgiving for them. 6.12.2 as we also have forgiven our debtors. The grammatical tenses in this petition make it clear that our forgiveness of others must take place before God’s forgiveness for our sins will take place. A little clearer translation would be: “And forgive us for our sins, as we have already forgiven those who have sinned against us.” So, if we want to be forgiven for our sins, we cannot pretend to forgive others while still holding guilty grudges or resentments or bitterness any longer. (Why is this instruction so easily and so often ignored?) 6.13.1 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Rescue us from even the smallest temptation to sin, but save us from Satan taking advantage of our weakness. 6.13+ [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. ] Amen.’ Some manuscripts omit the closing acknowledgement of God’s greatness. Such an omission is unfortunate because it exemplifies a beautiful rhetorical trope called hendiatris. The sentence, before the trope, was, “For Yours is the kingdom—and the powerful and glorious kingdom too, forever.” Hendiatris changes the two adjectives (powerful and glorious) to nouns (power and glory), resulting in a remarkable increase in emphasis. Jesus uses a similar hendiatris when he and the disciples are discussing “the way” Jesus is going next. His response is to say that he is the way: “I am the true and living way: the way, and the truth, and the life. By raising the two adjectives to nouns, he emphasizes the way with more powerful language. The solemnity of the truth is also enhanced by the slow and rhythmic quality given through the use of anaphora (the repetition of “and the” (John 14:6). _______________________ *"Forf if you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions (Matthew 6:14-15) --Robert Harris ###

News Media

2021-01-21T22:21:00.000-08:00

News Media

nce upon a time, a man named John Doe decided to enter the political arena and run for office. He ran for city council and won. Unfortunately, his ideas ran contrary to the views of the local news media.

At one meeting, Mr. Doe proposed some infrastructure work. “For example, we might pave the sidewalks in town,” he suggested. “That would result in safer, easier walking, and it would upgrade our town’s image. After all, no more tracking mud into our homes and stores would be a significant positive for everyone.”

The next day, the local paper, the Clarion, ran this article:

Doe Proposes Wasting Taxpayer Money

In a poorly thought-through idea and demonstrating an astonishing lack of fiscal responsibility, first-term Councilman John Doe shocked yesterday’s council meeting by proposing out of thin air that an unspecified—but likely very large—amount of money be spent to improve Pleasantville’s already perfectly good infrastructure, making the suggested expenditure a waste.

And as if that weren’t enough foolishness, Doe added insult to injury by claiming that throwing money away on infrastructure would “upgrade the town’s image,” implying that Pleasantville suffers from a negative image. If so, it’s people like Doe who are contributing to it.

This sort of scurrilous attack on the good people of this city is intolerable. Just who does Doe think he is that he can feel free to cast disrespectful calumnies on this nationally well-respected town? Such an insufferable insult should be . . . [Etc.].

The next day, a reporter from the Clarion interviewed his colleague sitting next to him in the news room.

“Hey Tom, why do you think this Doe character proposed putting in sidewalks?” the reporter asked.

“Who knows? Maybe he’s just a do-gooder. Or maybe he owns stock in the paving company. Or maybe he took a bribe from the concrete plant. Anything’s possible these days.”

The next day, the Clarion ran this story:

Councilman Might Have Taken A Bribe

Sources speculated yesterday that Councilman John Doe might have taken a bribe from a company potentially involved in completing the infrastructure project Doe proposed at a recent council meeting. The fact that observers could identify no other reason for the proposed “improvements” lends weight to the bribery possibility.

Not only is taking a bribe reprehensible in itself, but it is inexcusable in the context of local government, where small municipalities have limited resources. To think that Doe is willing to cash in on his friends and neighbors is just despicable and tells us that he does not understand even the basic principles of local government. How such a self-serving, seemingly dishonest person could ever get elected . . . [Etc.].

Mr. Doe was understandably upset by this charge, so he called the Clarion to protest.

“I have never taken a bribe for any purpose, nor would I,” he said.

The next day the Clarion ran the following news:

Councilman Doe Denies Taking A Bribe

Yesterday, Councilman John Doe, already embroiled in a pay-for-play controversy over accusations that he has taken one or more bribes in exchange for proposing unneeded make-work projects in the city, collapsed under public pressure amid the whispering campaign that had concluded not only was he guilty of the extortion attempts, but was actively pursuing other payola schemes of a similar kind but with potentially greater payoffs.

Of course, Doe denied, a little bit too artfully, that he had ever taken one or several bribes in order to propose ridiculously expensive and wasteful infrastructure projects around town.

Such projects would, of course, need to be paid for by stealing taxpayer money from other accounts in the city’s already very tight budget. Perhaps school bus service and school lunches would be eliminated, forcing our youngsters to walk to school, often in dangerous neighborhoods. Even those who weren’t victimized by crime would be unable to concentrate because of the distracting discomfort that an empty stomach and lack of essential food intake would cause. But then, Councilman Doe apparently does not care about. . . [Etc.].

Once again, Mr. Doe could not let such remarks pass without comment, so he went downtown to the Clarion offices and talked to the editors.

“My proposal,” he told them, “would be paid for by long-term municipal bonds, repaid over thirty years through a few dollars a year increase in property tax. There would be no impact on the current city budget.”

The next day, the Clarion featured this article:

Councilman Proposes Huge Tax Increase

In an interview at the Clarion yesterday, inexperienced councilman John Doe revealed himself as just another tax-and-spend politician when he proposed a ruinous debt to pay for his foolish and unnecessary infrastructure idea by imposing a needless, heavy, thirty-year tax burden on city taxpayers, their children, and their grand children. When concerned citizen Ernie Mellick was asked what he thought about the councilman’s ridiculous proposal, he replied, “I don’t think we want no crooked bribers rising our taxes. They is just too much [expletive deleted] corruption around here, anyway.”

Ten other citizens were asked, and they all rejected Doe’s preposterous proposal scornfully. Molly Beartree commented, “I heard that Doe wants to pay for his plan by stealing food from the mouths of babes and children. No more school lunch. That means that if Doe gets his way, kids will starve. Sick children will die. He’s an evil man.”

Another citizen added, “Doe is a murderer.”

Nearby on the first page, was another article.

Protest Planned

Over Crazy Doe Proposal

Molly Beartree, a long-time, well respected resident of Pleasantville, told the Clarion today that she is fed up with the “idiocy,” as she puts it, of Councilman John Doe’s proposal to slap a ruinous thirty-year tax on residents to pay for what some have said is a project born of bribery. “I’m sick and tired of all the underhanded crookedness going on in this town,” she said. “It’s time we made our voices heard.”

Asked if she planned to get together with angry friends to protest against the councilman, Mrs. Beartree said that was a possibility. “We just might do that tonight. We’re meeting in Smith Park at 8:00 pm. We have signs already made.”

That night a few dozen protesters met at the park where Mrs. Beartree spoke to them. She informed the crowd about Councilman Doe’s character: “Doe is a slimy, bribe-taking crook who wants our children to die in the agony of terminal hunger pains while he lives off the fancy food he can afford because of the bribes and kickbacks he takes.” She then said, “Are we going to take this? Are we going to sit by while Doe rapes our city and kills our children?”

The crowd screamed, “No!”

Mrs. Beartree then yelled, “Then let’s march to Doe’s house and tell him we aren’t going to take it anymore!”

The anger of the crowd increased as the citizens marched toward Councilman Doe’s house and began to chant, “Doe, Doe, got to go! Doe, Doe, got to go!” When the crowd arrived at Doe’s house, it wasn’t long before his windows were smashed and his front yard destroyed. Protesters ran through Mr. Doe’s house, spilling paint on the floors and walls. Mr. Doe called the police, but by the time they arrived, his house was in ruins.

The next day, the Clarion ran the following story.

Hundreds Protest Doe’s Underhanded and Self-Serving Proposal

Last night hundreds of Pleasantville citizens exercised their free speech rights and, in a mostly peaceful demonstration, protested Councilman Doe’s plot to empty the city treasury in order, as some have speculated, to pay back his cronies for the bribes they gave him.

There were some reports of damage to Doe’s front lawn and an unconfirmed claim that a window had been broken, whether as a stunt by Doe to gain sympathy or by some other means was not clear.

A fire department spokesman, speaking on the scene, said that none of his men had broken the window. Similar disclaimers were offered by the police department, ambulance service, sheriff, and bomb squad. Mr. Manny Jonson, of Manny’s Towing, said that neither of the cars he was hauling away was still on fire when he arrived, and he saw no signs of violent protest.

The Clarion concluded its story by saying that Mr. Doe was unavailable for comment.

Truth is the foundation of civilization, society, relationship, prosperity, and progress. Those who lie or distort the truth for their own ends are worse than selfish. They are destroyers.

Your Reputation Has Folowed You

2021-01-20T21:28:00.002-08:00

Your Reputation

Has Followed You

armer Hugh was lounging around the potbelly stove in the general store when one of his workers burst in the door, more animated than the farmer had ever seen him. “Mr. Hugh,” he said excitedly, “Mr. Carpenter’s son has just been caught stealing your oranges, right off the tree in broad daylight.”

“What?” demanded farmer Hugh, growing quickly angry. “This time he’s going to jail, since he has a reputation for stealing people’s crops.”

“Speaking of the devil,” said Mr. Steele, the store proprietor, “here he comes now.” Everyone looked as the young man entered the store, oblivious to the stares because he was caught up in a conversation with young Emily Pratt, considered by many to be the town beauty. After an irresistible glance at the girl, the men turned their attention to the boy.

“Just look at that,” said Mr. Hugh’s worker. “He walks just like a thief.”

“He looks like a thief, too,” added Mr. Hugh.

“And listen to him,” said Mr. Steele. “He even talks like a thief.”

By now the young man had stopped talking to Emily and exchanged his look of infatuation for one of bewilderment, in response to the scowls of the three men. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

“Wrong? Wrong?” said Mr. Hugh, sarcastically. “No, nothing’s wrong—that some extended time in jail won’t make better.” There was a heavy emphasis on the words “extended time in jail.”

“I don’t understand,” the young man said.

“Oh, come off it,” said the worker, almost snarling. “Your reputation has followed you.”

Just then, Mr. Carpenter, the boy’s father, entered the store. “Come, Henry,” Mr. Carpenter said, sharply.

“What is it, Dad?” Henry asked.

“Your brother Jeremy was just caught stealing oranges from Mr. Hugh here.” Mr. Carpenter tipped his hat to Mr. Hugh. “I’m so sorry about this. We’ll make it right. Now, we’ve got to go to the courthouse.”

The three men looked as if they had been slapped in the face. None spoke until after Mr. Carpenter and Henry left.

“Actually,” said Mr. Steele, “he doesn’t really talk like a thief after all.”

“And he doesn’t walk like a thief, either. He doesn’t have that slinky gait,” added Mr. Hugh’s worker.

“And on second look, he looks pretty normal, not really like a thief,” admitted Mr. Hugh.

Too often, the path to knowledge is blocked by the prideful assumptions we ourselves place in front of us.

A Boring Story

2021-01-14T22:23:00.000-08:00

A Boring Story

nce upon a time, a literature class was studying Shakespeare. “The next play we’ll read,” said the teacher, “is Hamlet. As with Shakespeare’s other tragedies, we’ll find a mix of serious drama, comedy, philosophy, psychology, and more.”

“I just love these plays,” said a student, taking notes on her laptop.

“He really knows how to explore human nature,” said another student, cleaning his glasses.

“Shakespeare is boring,” said a red-haired girl.

In a few days, the class discussed the play. “What stood out to you about the play?” asked the teacher.

“The gravedigger scene was hilarious,” said one student.

“I liked the ‘to-be-or-not-to-be’ soliloquy,” said another.

“The play was boring,” said the red-haired girl.

“Okay, class,” the teacher continued. “In order to get some deeper insights into the play, you’re going to give me a five-page paper responding to one of these six topics. It’s due in two weeks.” The teacher handed out a sheet with the topics on it.

After looking over the topics, one student said to those around her, “I like all of these. How am I going to choose? I wonder if we can write on more than one?”

Another student raised his hand and asked, “Is it okay if we write more than five pages? It seems to me that there’s a lot to say on several of these topics.”

“All these topics are boring,” said the red-haired girl.

“You can’t find any of them at all of interest?” asked the teacher.

“No. They are just boring.”

“Then why don’t you write a five-page essay on ‘What is interesting’?”

“Sounds boring,” muttered the red-haired girl under her breath.

X Those who are easily bored expect the world to offer constant excitements to them on a platter.

X Those who are seldom bored use their curiosity to find their own excitement.

X Those who are easily bored are not necessarily lazy, proud, and unintelligent, but that is what others often think.

Questions for Thought and Discussion

1. Discuss with others what things, subjects. or entertainments you find interesting and which you find boring. For each one, can you explain why?

2. If you had to write a five-page essay on “What is interesting?” what would you say?

3. Over time, have you changed your mind or your interests so that some things you used to find boring you now find interesting, and some things you used to find interesting you now find boring? How do you account for the changes?

Picture This

2021-01-14T21:52:00.003-08:00

Picture This

n a city far away, both in time and location, there lived a police captain who used figures of speech to improve the impact of his statements. One morning when his sergeant arrived, the captain turned to him and declared, “Sergeant, there’s an infestation of drug dealing rodents paving the innocent streets of Langomere with a poisonous buffet of criminal agendas.”

“I hear you, sir,” said Sergeant Smith. “Let’s go down to that neighborhood and arrest those drug dealers.”

“Yes,” the Captain said. “It’s about time that the strong arm of the law shined as a beacon that dances through the beehive of criminal sewers like a wrecking ball sweeping the floors of a pig sty.”

“But we really need to find the guys at the top, added Sergeant Smith.”

“Of course,” the Captain agreed. “We will dismember those running snakes whose octopus arms stretch over this great city and pollute it with the poisonous tea of broken dreams. But a hundred sharks rolling through their balance sheets will slap them in the bank account of egotism as if a helicopter attacking the cesspools of evil put out those wicked fires all the way down to the bottom of the ocean.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Let’s roll.”

Remember that the primary function of language is to communicate. All the other functions, including persuasion, entertainment, information, warning, exposing, punishing, amusing--are subordinate. Therefore, writing that fails to transfer the author's intention to the hearer or reader, fails.

Figurative language can heighten nearly any communication, by making it more visual, imaginative, interesting, lively, and understandable. But of course, figurative language uses words in ways that are out of the ordinary compared with straight prose. Readers who mistake this are communicated with less well. Reading figurative language literally creates confusion and misunderstanding.

One sign of poor communication occurs when the reader discovers that the writer is using mixed metaphors without knowing it. For example, "Approving this plan to pave the sidewalks will put this city on a fast train to the future where every school child can fly safely from home to classroom without fear of a flat tire."

Questions for Thought and Discussion

1. Point out the mixed metaphors in the story.

2 Discuss the effect the mixed metaphors have on the reader.

3. The author obviously intended the story to be funny. What is funny about it and why?

The Butterfly and the Shotgun

2021-01-13T22:26:00.000-08:00

The Butterfly

And the Shotgun

butterfly had just emerged from its chrysalis and was flexing its wings in the warming sun. “I’m not sure, but I think I can fly,” the butterfly said, hopefully. But it sat on the branch for some time, continuing to warm its wings while it remained in some doubt about making an attempt to fly.

Finally, the creature summoned enough courage to flap its wings. Surprised by its success, the little butterfly at first flitted around awkwardly, barely in control of its motions. After a while, though, it got its bearings and managed to fly happily, if not with complete assurance, around the meadow.

Just then, a man with a large, double-barreled shotgun saw the butterfly flitting around not far away. “Hmmph,” he sneered. “Another uppity caterpillar who thought he could fly all over the place and not have to crawl anymore.. I’ll show it.” Then he raised his gun and blasted the butterfly into many unrecognizable pieces.

“That’ll teach him and his insect pals that it takes a lot more than they’ve got to rule the sky, especially when Jeb and his trusty pal, the Blaster, are here.”

This story reminds us that new thoughts are often delicate and tentative and should be treated gently in their tentative, early forms. To react to a new thought with energetic condemnation is to use a shotgun to kill a butterfly.

Questions for Thought and Discussion

1. Why is an early, tentative thought compared to a butterfly just learning to fly?

2. What, do you think makes some people so eager to “shoot down” the ideas of others?

vvv

Clarification

2021-01-10T22:39:00.000-08:00

Clarification

ere’s my lawn mower. See if you can find the problem.”

“The problem? What makes you think it has only one problem?”

“It doesn’t work.”

“That’s a symptom. That’s not a problem.”

“Okay then, you mow the lawn with it.”

“Look, I’ll fix it. It’ll be ready in five days.”

“Five days!”

“Yeah. What’s the problem?”

“My wife.”

“Has she been using the mower?”

“No. She’s been using her mouth.”

“To cut the grass?”

“Look, can’t you fix it any faster than five days?”

“I dunno. Now that I look at it, I think it’ll take at least a week.”

“I’ll be back in five days. It had better be ready or my wife will kill me.”

“Hey, if it’s that bad, why don’t you get a new one?”

“Do you have any idea how much a divorce costs these days?”

“Naw, all I carry is Toro. Here’s a sexy red baby for only one twenty nine and change. You can’t beat that.”

“Yeah, they tell you you’re getting a good deal when you buy it, and it hums and purrs quietly and does the work diligently and satisfactorily at first.”

“That’s right. So you are interested in a new one?”

“But after too short a time, the purring turns into clanking and growling and barking. And it’s all you can do to keep it going straight.”

“So. . . .”

“And as they get older, it seems that as the performance diminishes, the maintenance goes up.”

“Shall I wrap up the Toro, then?”

“I guess not. Just fix this one. No use spending extra money on a new one that will just break down like all the others.”

“Okay, sir.”

“Besides, I’ve kind of grown fond of old Gertrude. Been with me these eighteen years.”

“Right. I’ll fix the problem with the build-up and maybe add some paint and body work, and she’ll look like new.”

“That would be great. And say, could you put back some of that lively zip—if you know what I mean—that she had when I first brought her home?”

“Well, buddy, I’m sorry. I just fix lawnmowers. I don’t work miracles.”

X Too many talkers don’t know what they are talking about because they are not paying attention to the conversation they are in.

Questions for Thought and Discussion

1. How does this story use humor to give an example of the problem created when two people do not seem to be discussing the same subject?

2. Define the idea of “talking past each other.”

3. How does the use of pronouns with unclear referents contribute to the success of the story?

vvv

Perspective

2021-01-08T22:23:00.001-08:00

Perspective

el and Jim were driving down the road to town when they reached a turn that headed them into the low afternoon sun.

“This is terrible,” exclaimed Mel. “The sun is right in my eyes.”

“Mine, too,” said Jim, “but it’s not so bad.”

“What do you mean?” demanded Mel. “I can barely see. And the light hurts my eyes.”

“Yes, but that means you have eyes. Eyes that can see. Aren’t you happy that you aren’t blind?”

“Well, I guess so. But why does this road have to go right in the direction of the sun?”

“Because it’s going to town and we are fortunate enough to have a reliable vehicle, time, money, and purpose for going along this road into town. We have homes to leave and to return to.”

“But the sun—“

“Brings us a new day each day and a new night each night, in a country where we are free to drive around without having to show our travel papers every five miles, or be questioned about our business.”

X Whenever you experience a loss, have an accident or injury, or just grow irritated over heavy traffic, think of how many blessings you have that render your discomfort comparatively meaningless.

X Light—such as light from the sun—provides a metaphor for revealing truth. The truth is there, but our prejudices suppress it. We put the light under a basket because we are afraid of what we might see if we hold it up high.

To light a candle is the supreme act of courage.

vvv

Questions for Thought and Discussion

1. Think of the way many people lived even just a hundred years ago and how many appliances, tools, and other luxuries they lacked. Do you think we complain more or less than they did about how “difficult” life is?