Why do I do this to myself?

Oh, how much damage is caused by "Christian" TV. I just turned off one of the Christian networks because I didn't know if I was going to vomit or become angry by the false teaching being given. The money-maker I was watching told the audience that when God created Adam, the man was empowered with the same creative force that God himself had. And I learned that the same "spiritual force" (his words, not mine) that caused all matter to exist was breathed into Adam. Therefore, the "perfect will of God" was for man to have power over all of the earth and every creature that was upon it. Another thing that was said is that if Adam had never sinned, the Bible would have ended at Genesis 1:28, there was nothing else that God would have needed to say to Adam. Adam could have tithed the fruit from the tree of life to God, and God would have sat around the tree and communed with Adam.

I am offended in many ways. Possibly the most damaging is that there are Christians who are believing that God has empowered them to rule the world. How ludicrous is this? God has empowered NO ONE to rule the world. He is in control, always has been, and always will be. Granted, people do rule parts of the world through government, but they do not rule the world. And none of those leaders is in power without God's allowing it to be. Many people's faiths are damaged and destroyed because of preachers making promises for God that God will not keep. How many have prayed for someone's recovery from disease, only for those prayers to end with the death of the ill?

And my God created the world through a spiritual force? What is this, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away? Isn't the force Yoda's god?

I go through all of that to say always check out what someone teaches about the Bible. Not only TV preachers, but the pastor of your church, your Sunday school teacher, your parents. No one is infallible. Use the Bible as the basis of your learning, not just what others say. What they say must line up with the CLEAR TEACHING OF SCRIPTURE. And if you don't know what the clear teaching of Scripture is, dive in for yourself. The Bible is not written in code. It is God's letter to us. Since he wants us to understand and follow it, it is not complicated. I know there are parts that may be difficult, but the overall story is quite plain to see.

A truly inspiring man

Last weekend my family traveled to the area around Springfield, Missouri, just to get away from OKC and to do a few fun (and educational, but don't tell the kids) things before the school year gets started. In our whirlwind tour, we visited the Laura Ingalls Wilder house in Mansfield, the Worlds of Wonder Wildlife Museum, Wilson's Creek Battlefield (Civil War battle , August 10, 1861), and finally the George Washington Carver National Monument. I really don't know which I enjoyed more, the battlefield or the GWC Monument.

I had no idea the scope of what GWC did during his life. And, from the displays I saw at his memorial, I would be very hard pressed to find a better example of someone who lived out the Christian faith. I came away from my time learning about Carver wanting to know more. I plan on sharing many of his quotes on this blog, then commenting on how I have been impacted by the quote and the man behind the words.

The quote above makes me really think about the undeserved ways in which I (and still sometimes do) hold bias toward people. There are circumstances in life over which we have no control. And often I am prejudiced against people because of these circumstances.

How many times I have gotten upset at the old man driving slow? That man may not really want to be driving amongst all of the people rushing to make their next dollar, but his ill wife needs him to get a medication for her.

Do we tend to view the successful and strong as just being lucky, without knowing how they toiled to acquire what they have today?

Do we see the weak, whether they be physically ill or debilitated or emotionally distressed, as people in need of love and care, rather than hindrances to the things we want to accomplish?

Are we aiding people who have the courage to dream big and strive for things that are currently out of their reach, or do we deflate their inspirations with what we call "reality?"

I for one am glad that Dr. Carver recognized the need for us to be tender, compassionate, sympathetic and tolerant. Now, if I can only institute the virtue contained within this quote and be what someone else, whether young or old, strong or weak, needs me to be.