a virtue...

Watch this video then consider what I am saying.  I have had some things bothering me.  In fact I should not say things, I should say people.  In fact I was more than bothered, probably if the truth be told I was angry at their behaviour.  But having watched this video, things have changed.  Well how can a video change one?  Well a video can change one, when one considers the following quote by Chuck Colson, "When a blind man steps on your foot don't get angry..."  The point is that they don't know any better, or cant see what they are doing, just like color.  Such is sometimes the case with people we are angry with.  Sometimes, they do not know any better, than to do what they do.    So I need to remember what the good book says in Romans 2:4 as it tells us that God's kindness leads to repentance.  In the midst of anger, at least some of the time, the true emotion (at least Aristotle considers it an emotion) that one should emit is perhaps kindness.  No wonder it is considered a virtue. 

shamed in silence...

Ok now I know why all the hype about the movie, "Lincoln".  I was blown away at how incredibly it not only portrayed that era, but my era.  For it wisely portrayed human behaviour at its very best and very worst.  At one point Lincoln says, "Euclid's first common notion is this: Things which are equal to the same thing are equal to each other...  That is essentially the premise of the movie, equality for all.  Of course on this side of the13th amendment to the proclamation of emancipation, abolishing slavery for all the states, we all heartily agree.  But what rang so clear to me in the movie was human behaviour.   Not just Lincoln, but men who were willing to stand and do the right thing in the face of great opposition from their fellow man.  The vote was 119 for, and 56 against.  119 men stood for what was right.  In the movie one who had been in opposition, stood for what was right and loudly proclaimed I vote yes.  I love the "guts" to be able to do that even though it was counterintuitive in the face of his colleagues and party to do so, but it was right.  Others said no and did it with fervency even though wrong.  56 men in fact went down in history as standing for what was and is wrong.  But what stood out to me was those who abstained.  One man stood and said, "shoot me dead but I vote yes, but then said no I change that to an abstaining vote.  Then he laid his head on his desk, and put his hands over his head and hid his face... ashamed.  Why because even though he knew what was right, he did not have the "guts" to stand for what was right and he knew it.  Paul the apostle said, " Pray.. for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.  He is saying pray I will have the "guts" to stand for the good news of Jesus, who came to proclaim freedom for the oppressed.  English philosopher Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing".   Far to many sit in silence when one is maligned/oppressed.  Human behaviour is the same in Lincoln's era, Paul's era, Burke's era, and my era, as it was then, it is now! Will we stand for right, or for what is wrong, or be silent which is equally wrong or worse...

to you I would trust my life...

 

I just spent time with my friend who was my co-worker in Banff and also Kelowna at two different work environments.  He got talking about how he had not taken a lot of time off in our time of working together.  That was true, but the other side of that was that he fulfilled these biblical references as follows.  First of all Colossians 3:22-25 that says, “Slaves or employees, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord… since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving”.   I believe this says that you can tell a lot about a person's relationship to Christ by their work ethic.  This is something that many who claim to follow Christ omit.  Further since biblical passages on ‘work” say we are to work as hard whether or not eyes are on us, Luke 16:10 also applies.  Luke 16:10 says, whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.  My friend you maybe did not take a lot of time off but I saw your character and your work ethic no matter if eyes were on you or not and that is in part why to you I would trust my life.  I say that about few…     

 

drink deep...

I just found out the other day that a friend of mine, a former mentor lost his son in a car accident.  From my perspective a tragedy.  This is not the first time that I have had friends who lost their dear son just as they are entering adulthood.  It grabs me when I hear that, and even though I have been around death as a profession and am very comfortable with death, it causes me to think deeply, to drink in life.   It reminds me of the wisdom literature from the book of Ecclesiastes 7:2 whereby it is said, "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart".  I guess that is what I mean, I take it to heart, I drink it in, and the water is sweet to my lips, savoring each drop.  It causes me to think about life, in that way, and wonder as I reflect as to whether or not I am wasting my life or impacting with my life.  Perhaps why I am drinking this in so deeply right now is also because I have just recently experienced a great life transition.  When you transition from something, from someone's, it is cause for reflection.  And like a mother who thinks the world is thoughtless when it carries on, as she stands over the grave of her son, when one is drinking in life deeply and reflecting hard it can seem like the unreflective world is thoughtless too.  For when one is in the midst of deep reflection, it does seems unholy almost, when others do not reflect or seem to acknowledge life and the impact or potential impact therein.  Reflection is necessary, to carry on, for it is in the reflection whereby one can evaluate as to whether or not one has left or is going to leave a legacy at all, whether one is having or has had impact, whether one will have impact in the future.  Perhaps why this song causes me to drink deep as to what life is all about, because I am sure most of us if not each of us would choose to have the words of this song to be, in part, our legacy at least that portion that says, "you were always there, for everybody, you brought your bright rays of light to those cloudy days, you were an inspiration for everybody...  we miss you so much, we are all at a loss, we are here just thinking about you".  Is that our legacy... drink deep... let the song pour over your lips and caress your taste buds... for life.