Corruption - not being able to ask the right questions

God's enemies seldom attack Gods people directly. Instead of a frontal attack, the strategy to attack God's people is through deception for the purpose of corruption. What is corruption? Here is a definition:

cor·rup·tion

kəˈrəpSH(ə)n/

noun

1. 1.

   dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery.

   "the journalist who wants to expose corruption in high places"

   synonyms:

   dishonesty, unscrupulousness, double-dealing, fraud, fraudulence, misconduct, crime,criminality, wrongdoing; More
2. 2.

   the process by which something, typically a word or expression, is changed from its original use or meaning to one that is regarded as erroneous or debased.

   synonyms:

   alteration, bastardization, debasement, adulteration "these figures have been subject to corruption"

The second definition is what concerns ideas, principles, etc. Corruption is simply a change from original meaning into a new meaning. This is accomplished mainly through deception, careful minor deception or twisting of things. Nothing obvious, but rather subtle, and usually for a good cause.  Yes, a good cause, some noble goal that Gods people can get behind and push for, not even realizing they are actually fighting against God himself in doing so. 

You see, the principle here is that in matters of righteousness, its not the end that matters, but the means to that end. Principles concern themselves primarily with the means. Not winning or loosing, but rather how the game is played.  How things are done.  Corruption says "accomplish this good deed, whatever means are necessary", but principles says "the principles of how things are done are supreme, and are the goal, not the good deed".  In fact, the best deed we can do, is to do things right by principle. 

So corruption comes in the form of deception to accomplish a good end by ever so slightly compromised principles. 

and then, slowly, the good deed at the end is accepted, the compromise along the path to that end are forgotten and accepted, and evil has a foothold. As time goes by and this process is repeated again and again, the compromises made to accomplish good things build up until the end goal of corruption is accomplished. among all the good deeds is a unnoticed reality that, Gods people can no longer ask the right questions! They have been so deceived along the path to perceived goodness that they do not even have a true foundation any longer. Principle, is lost. The original concepts of good and evil right and wrong, are so corrupted , changed, that good decisions are no longer possible. Decisions are no longer based on the consistent truth of Gods laws, but rather the interpretations of men.

That is corruption through deception, and the church in america is swimming, even drowning in it today. 

What is necessary to correct this corruption is a clear understanding of basic principles. This is difficult, becasue to get there, many related "accepted truths" must be evaluated and often abandoned. ITs like layers of an onion, each revelation of a  new corruption reveals more layers of corruption. Fingers of deception spider out from any issue into related issues, corrupting the whole of Gods truth. 

IT is when you realize that the question being asked is so far off base that it can not be answered by basic laws of God, that we must realize we are so horribly corrupted in our understanding that we must start over. How do we know if we are asking the wrong questions? easy... are we asking hte same questions of those who provided the fundamental truth? If the questions we ask are of a different character and nature than the recorded questions of hte original concepts, then we have drifted from the truth so far that we cant see the central principles anymore.  Principles, truths, do not change. Our questions, should not change.

I plan on a few blog posts to demonstrate where this is the case across a variety of issues. In all cases, the asnwer, the remedy is simple... return the the core principles regardless of how that process exposes doubt in our own pet beliefs. 

 

Ok, knock it down!

You spend minutes to hours building something...  A house of Cards,  string of dominoes,  blocks,  whatever...  And then "knock it down"  times comes with seconds of exhilarating destruction.  

Child's game

Human nature

Most adults still prefer to play this game,  but with real life.  The preference of human nature at all ages is to tear down over build up.  We tend to look for ways of tearing things down,  destroy,  in relationships,  society,  etc.  It's so much easier,  so much more fun to deal a blow and walk away.

I see this in politics....  So often we pass a law mandating a change in people's lives,  but don't follow through with then helping them actually build a new life.

I see this in the church....  Where sinners are scorned,  blamed,  complained about....  But little is done to actually lend a hand,  change lives,  build futures.

I see this in families....  Where members attack,  complain,  put down each other more often than help,  support,  love,  correct.

It's just more fun and easier to watch things fall.

The irony here is....  If we concentrated on building,  so much less destruction would be necessary.  In politics if we helped people see the light,  show them the benefits of a changed life,  teach them why and how,  there would be no need for laws against.  In families if we stopped complaining,  there would be less to complain about.  In church if we spread light instead of condemn the darkness,  there would be fewer sinners.

I say build.  Restore,  create.  That is our God,  our mission.  We are not made for destruction,  we are made to create.

It's not what you know...

In life...  Is not what you know that's important   but who you know. 

If you can find an answer... If you know the source of truth,  you do not need to possess every answer to every question.  Facts are discoverable through many sources....  Do not commit the majority of your time in accumulating them.  Instead...  Concentrate on learning wisdom.

Wisdom is the application of facts to life,  a deep understand of the relationship and actions of facts.  Pursue wisdom ...  And the facts will be found as necessary.

The older you get

The older you get...  The more you realize how little you know.

In life questions accumulate faster than answers. But only time brings that realization.

Work Ethic

My dad always had this sign, or one very similar to it, posted by the water cooler at the office. This is wisdom to remember.  Either be in, or get out.  Being in while wanting out destroys your own peace, and degrades everyone's view of you.  If you are to be in, then be in. Change what you can and accept the rest. If you cant.. leave.

Easy as 1 2 3

A common phrase, "its as easy as 1 2 3"... but is it?

one of my biggest frustrations in life  is that the vast majority of people  we interact with... simply dont think. They have lost, or never had, the ability to reason, to truly understand concepts, to "know" things. Yet, they know many things... as remembered facts.

I was faced with a delimma in me microsoft days. After the acquisition of Datallegro,  the new microsoft owners asked me to embark on a mission, to teach the people at microsoft how to do what I do.  Of course, the first step was to understand how I do what I do so I could know what to try to relay.  Tht launched me on a jounrey of discovery.

This journey led me to a way of thinking about thinking.... Blooms taxonomy. It describd best  both the source of my frustration and the core of mission Microsoft called me to undertake.  This taxonomy providd the foundation. I share it here now as the basis of future posts.

Background:

In 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who developed a classification of levels of intellectual behavior important in learning. During the 1990's a new group of cognitive psychologists, lead by Lorin Anderson (a former student of Bloom), updated the taxonomy to reflect relevance to 21st century work. The two graphics show the revised and original Taxonomy. Note the change from nouns to verbs associated with each level.

I prefer the verbs version, as it is more explanatory in common language, but here are both the original and hte updated:

Booms Taxonomy Original

Blooms taxonomy updated

Here are the official definitions of the layers acording to the updated version:

Remembering: can the student recall or remember the information?	define, duplicate, list, memorize, recall, repeat, reproduce state
Understanding: can the student explain ideas or concepts?	classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, locate, recognize, report, select, translate, paraphrase
Applying: can the student use the information in a new way?	choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write.
Analyzing: can the student distinguish between the different parts?	appraise, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test.
Evaluating: can the student justify a stand or decision?	appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, evaluate
Creating: can the student create new product or point of view?	assemble, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, write.

As you climb from the foundation (remembering or basic knowledge of facts) towards the top (the ability to create anew), you truly "learn' something. Not until you reach the top and can create using the thing known as raw materials that you can claim to "know" it. Before that you only "know about" it   The steps represent the necessary path from one to the other. No levels can be missed!  IF you sipe "create" withut climbinh through true understanding and analyzing... then yu siply create a new appraoch to facts, not a new understanding.

Unfortunately my mission at Microsoft mostly failed. And I understand why.

IT is a simple fact that for the vast majority of people, american education destroys the ability to climb this chart. The ability to learn is squashed through the approaches and methods of modern education. In its place is a full and sole embracing of facts... which is at the bottom of hte learning cycle. The student is recline to a life of remembering insted of understanding. The bible has a name for this... it is called "sheep".

At microsoft, the culture is much like higher education, squashing true understanding of concepts in favor of demonstrable facts.  I fact, within the culture there I clearly noticed that almost exclusively the higher the education of the person, the lower on the chart they lived.  So the microsoft culture went something like this:

the masses, the newcomers, fresh ut of school, little experience, lots of facts, some showed proomise, but few had the capacity to grasp. they became the busy workers for the first few years.

The middle men, after several years in, doing, working, experiencing, they learned... some were achieving true learning. They were the thinkers.. the ones that drove what little innovation there was.... until they either left for greener pastures or were promoted and schooled further...

The managers... higher ups, leaders... usually with more education credentials...  these were usually below the newcomers in ability to reason. They were numbers folks...  in fact the more letters they posessed behind their name, the less they could think.They spent their time mostly doing meaningless things and limiting the middle men who were actually creating.

The outsiders.. acquisitions.. these guys were good, knew how to think, but if so, they didnt fit into the culture and were quickly forced out. the few that stayed became.... managers.

I am not picking on microsoft... this iis the same patter I see in every walk of life, every profession, across america.  IT is rooted in the education system we run our children through. te education syste that was purposefully designed to rceate factory workers (non thinkers) from the american entrepreneur.

So back to the taxonomy... this is the key. facts have little value except to form a foundation. The true value in learning is in climbing the ladder and truly uderstanding relationshpips, the big picture, trenda, patterns, formulating cause and effect, building proposed scenerios, predicting the future.  Facts are only a small almost insignificant starting point. Sure.. important.. but only a sa starting point.

Sad is hte man who aims to build a house, lays a good foundation, but then praises the foundation so much so that... the house is never built. it woul cover his beautiful foundation! the house never appers, just a beautiful useful but useless foundation for all to see.

My point in all this is to express how true learning happens. You follow the levels to the top. You master something, not remember it.  And the amazing thing is... when you do this properly... you wll find that virtually all of life, all that matters, alings with the bible.  There is wisdom and technology within the bible that few find... becsue it is beyond the memorization. It is beyond verse and chapter boundaries. IT is in concepts... large clouds of thught that must be held in the comprehension in entireity to see the picture and grasp the beasuty.

More on this later.. that is the basics of sevral concepts I wish to share...

so for now.... 1 2 3 may be eay, but understanding 1 2 3  is... incredibly hard and immeasurably valuable.

All sin feels good

All sin feels good,  but all that feels good is not sin.

Sin must advertise itself.  Just as when it all started with an innocent girl in a perfect garden,  enticed to make things better than perfect",  sin always advertises itself as positive,  fun,  pleasurable,  beneficial,  admirable,  etc.  Bottom line,  the beginning of all sin feels good.  

But,  it's nothing more than an advertisement,  a bait and switch,  a trap.  How does one bait a trap?  With something irrestible. But it's still a trap.  Soon the irrestible will turn to entrapment in one way or another,  and then devastation.

This is true for all sin.  It is tempting only because the first parts of sin feel good,  feel right,  are desirable.  If sin presented itself as what it is,  there would be no temptation.  Drugs don't come offering a life of lonely misery of addiction and loss.  No,  they come with a very true promise of pleasure,  relief from pain,  escape to the weary.  Pleasure.  Goodness.  A new friend.  They appear to be just what we desire at the time.  But that's the bait. 

Don't fall for it.  Be skeptical of anything that feels good up front.  If it feels good,  explore,  look deeper and beyond.  Where does this lead?  What about tomorrow?   Never trust what feels good at face value.  All sin feels good.

The sin isn't in feeling good,  the sin is in bypassing God.  The sin is in the substitute.  Our creator and father wants us to find peace and pleasure in his presence.  And we will,  but all else that promises peace or pleasure is a lie,  a substitute,  sin.  God is our sole source of goodness.  He is the only source that truly leads to eternal goodness.  All other is a trap, leading to death and despair. 

So be careful,  be most wary of that which appears fun,  pleasurable,  easy,  comforting.  Be skeptical of the good things. 

All sin feels good,  but feeling good is not sin.  Find the true source.  And live.

Formula for the girls... How to rate a man

Here is a simple but reliable way to rate a man's true strength. In a word..  Don't!  Instead..  Look at how he rates himself.  I can guarantee that he does!

There is a phenomenon in the animal kingdom that I, as a farmer,  deal with constantly....  We call it the "pecking order".  In every little "society" of animals there is a natural order of top to bottom.  The top is the most dominant   strongest,  most capable,  boldest  ones.  They get to eat first, best spots to sleep,  and mate most.  Natural leaders and followers emerge. It always happens,  100%of the time in every society. 

The same thing happens with men.  We as men naturally find our order in society,  or place.  We are pushed down from above and still dominate what is below.  Every man's natural ways establish this quickly in life.  In fact,  at every stage from toddler hood onward, men fall into and fight for their place. 

Want to rate a man?  Simple...  Look at who he dominates and submits to.  Not so much individuals,  but classes of other men.  What type in man dies he identify with..  His  comfort zone?  Who does he complain about?  Those are above him.  Who does he feel compassion for?  Those are below him.  Who does he relax with?  Those are peers. Who does he stand up to?  Challenge?  Those are just above him.

This is reality and it works.  She,  through their lives men climb up the pecking order gradually...  But their starting point and therefore their reasonable end point week be set at an early age. 

It works for any man,  anywhere. You can both tell what kind of man he is,  and what kind of life he will lead.

Don't rate a man.....  Instead perceive how he has already rated himself.

What is love

Love is at the heart of all human experience. But what is true love?

True love is not what the common notion says it is.  True love had nothing to do with romance,  nothing to do with words or feelings.  It is not an emotion at all.

True love is simply a commitment to do what is best for the other person regardless of the pain it might cause us,  and expect nothing in return.

Read that again.  Let it sink in.

Love is an action.  It hurts the lover to help the one loved,  but the lover rejoices in being able to provide for the loved.  It is a sacrifice.

Love is measured not by feelings nor words,  it is measured by the level of sacrifice a lover is willing to provide to the one loved, expecting nothing in return.

Love creates feelings of love in the one loved.  Feelings of gratitude,  trust,  comfort,  and a desire to commit to the one loving. The acts of love a lover does is what creates feelings of love. 

Cheap love,  fake love,  is when one person matters the art of creating those feelings in another with no sacrifice,  no commitment.  That is just a lie.  It is not love,  it is self centered manipulation.  And it happens all the time. It seems in the one that falsely feels loved being hurt deeply.

Feelings can never be trusted.  Look beneath the feelings and see the sacrifice,  the attitude of gifting that sacrifice freely,  to see love.  Without sacrifice there is no love. 

null

Christmas 2014

Life is not found in a box wrapped with bows,
Life is found in a feeding trough of hay in a barn.

Peace is not found in a bottle or a pill,
Pease is found in the touch of one's creator.

Joy  is not found in a game or toy,
Joy is found in the face of a child who adores you.

Prosperity is not found in a bank account nor investment,
Prosperity is found by trusting in the king of all creation.

Live my friends,  feel life at its core, find the peace of a reality beyond the 5 senses,  find prosperity of the universe. This Christmas find the truth of life,  in a manger.  Only through his life can we live.  Only through his death can we be free,  only in his victory can we find prosperity.

Christmas is where life begins.
Easter is where peace is fulfilled.
Pentecost is where the fire of life ignites.

There is no other name,  no other truth,  no other way,  than through the simplicity of the manger and the one who lay there.  All else is but dirt by comparison.  It's through Jesus that none will fail.  He knocks at your heart tonight.  Will you open the door?

How to live

Grandma moody would say:

"Plan like you will live forever,  but live like you will die tomorrow."

Solid advice.  Too often we get those backwards.

We are managers, not owners

When God created everything that is,  he made man in His image,  uniquely different from every other living thing.  Man is the only thing made this way,  like Him. Why did he do this?  There are perhaps many reasons,  but one is in our purpose.  We are made to manage.

Good designed the earth with many forms of life that follow natural laws.  He defined the laws,  the way things follow through generations,  the way everything interacts.

I think of this much like a computer program.  It runs,  following the logic built in. It does predetermined things,  according to its own logic.  Each aspect of the program fulfils is purpose following the "rules"  of logic.  This is just like all forms of life having a purpose and being bound by natural laws of logic.  Animals,  plants,  insects,  bacteria,  all these things follow the logic of earth's "program ".

And then there is man.  Uniquely designed to manage all that is in his world.  We are the manager,  the zookeeper,  the gardener,  the supervisor.  God made everything and put us in charge of it all.  We have a free will,  the ability to reason,  the drive to be more than our own tiny person,  and the proper to manage His things.

He didn't give us this planet as our own,  no...  He put is in charge of his things.  They belong to God,  not man.  We are tasked with keeping things in order and prospering.  Remember the parable of the talents?  Look it up.  To him is given much will much be required....  We,  man,  have been given the earth.

Every man,  in his natural god given frame of mind,  had a drive to own land.  (own in the sense of having the ability to freely control).  They is a deep instinct inside man.  The size of land that we own,  control,  is part off the responsibility fulfilment of our commission.  Whatever land each of us owns,  it is our responsibility to see that it prospers during our life.  They is our watch,  or chance to show our father and creator what we will do with his stuff when left in charge. It is the original calling of man.

I give you no direction on  HOW To succeed at this highest calling,  but rather to impress upon you the gravity of the calling.  This,  all that we have,  is HIS  stuff and some day he is returning to reclaim it.  What will He find with the portion that we had control over?  That is the question!  Each of us must answer individually.

The "stuff"  I refer to its things like :

The land itself in an ecological sense.
The animals and plants under our control
The children he granted us
The time he grants us
The influence we enjoy
The capabilities we experience

On and on.  Everything about life is temporary,  a job,  a calling.  We don't own this for our own personal enjoyment,  life isn't about being happy and finding as much pleasure or recreation possible,  no....  Life is a job.  We are created to watch over his things while he is "away".

What will you do with your day?

There is always, and rarely, a conspiracy

Conspiracy theories....  Everywhere.  Any major event and many minor ones are quickly attributed to a conspiracy theory.  Often the fact seem convincing,  even TV documentaries are made to sway your thinking.  Some people always assume there is a conspiracy behind everything,  other assume that is all silliness.  How can you know the truth?

Look deeper.  Both are true.  Is there a conspiracy of people secretly working together to bring about a secret agenda?  Rarely,  but maybe,  but no matter.  The deeper truth is this,  there is always a conspiracy of unseen forces working to deceive and destroy us.  Always.

The Bible is clear,  we do not need to fear man.  No man,  no collection of men,  no government,  no king,  nothing.  No conspiracy of men can hurt us.  This is because the true enemy is not our fellow man,  but the unseen forces and entities of the air.  There is a devil,  he has a band of fallen angels,  and they are constantly out seeking to deceive and destroy.  That is the conspiracy.  It is an unseen army constantly and wisely fighting against us.

But,  they have no authority over us,  except to deceive us first.  It is only through our falling to their deception that we one the door to problems.  They bring lies wrapped in half truths,  they bring darkness disguised as light,  they bring evil wrapped in a thin vel of good.  Just like eve and the apple,  they use craftiness to test us,  tempt us,  try us.

Our job is to stand firm on the absolute truth of scripture and God's own words.  Resist the devil and his conspiracy of temptation and he will flee.  That is the promise,  he will flee.  But oooo his craftiness.  He brings what our flesh most wants.  He brings promise of comfort,  success,  pleasure,  ease,  power,  all the things that he can make good on!  All the things our fleshly nature craves.  He brings us what we most want.

The conspiracy is that he promises the desires of the flesh,  knowing that if we fall for the bait,  we will live for the flesh,  consumed with world passions, desires,  and dreams,  and in the process find ultimate misery and pain,  and separation from god.  Living for self,  for pleasure,  for things of this world separate us from god and his mercy,  grace,  and goodness...  Separate us from his love and protection.  That is our choice today,  everyday.  Obedience or the "apple",  that forbidden fruit of promise and pain.  

There is a conspiracy,  behind every turn,  but not of man,  of our true enemy,  Satan and his cohorts.  Sometimes men are involved,  sometimes not.  No matter,  the enemy is within them,  in their hearts,  not their manhood.  Find Paul Harveys discourse on what he would do if he was the devil.  It is brilliant,  and so true.

The devil,  Satan,  the servant,  is your enemy and mine.  He will use everything in his crafty wit to tempt us with the desires of our flesh.  He has zero power over us except given him by god or ourselves,  but he has deep knowledge of how to tempt and deceive you.  Resist with the unchanging wisdom of God.  Stand on the truth of the ages.  Resist his notions of pleasure,  self worship,  self seeking life,  and he will flee...  Leaving you peaceful and close to our creator....  Until the next time.

Conspiracies are nothing.....  We are children of the most high.  It is only our own nature that will lead us into destruction....  And Satan knows that well

It's my life

Common phrase from the young "it's my life,  I have a right to live it as I want".

Really?  What a selfish lie!  Nothing of the sort is true.

Certainly we each have free will to make our choices.  In fact,  we have a responsibility to decide the course of our life.  But the notion that" I can do whatever I want with MY life" is horribly wrong.  No man is an island.  No one life is independent.  Every one of us make decisions that affect many people around us significantly.

What parent has not suffered greatly due to the teenagers "demand to lead their own life"?  Parents care.  They are always there to pick up the pieces of failure.  Parents often invest their hard earned retirement to cover their children's refusal to listen to wisdom.

Children often suffer at the hands of parents.  Job change,  career,  personal ambition,  all these have dramatic affects on children.  It is incredibly selfish for a parent to "follow their own dream"  at the expense of their children.

A young person takes up smoking.  30 years later gets cancer.  He turns to government assistance,  or family resources to cure it.  The need to have insurance itself is due to constant selfish actions of a few.   The nation as a whole suffers at the hand of the one saying "it's my life,  I can do what I want".

Well no you can't.  You would only have that right IF you never returned to society when things go bad.  You would have to live with no friends,  no coworkers,  no family,  no outside reliance on healthcare or funds.  Be an island and sure...  Its your life.  Live in society and no,  it's not only your life.

Everything you do affects all those around you,  even those you don't think would be affected.  They care.  You are loved,  so you have a responsibility to those who love you.  It's not your life,  it's theirs also.

No man is an island. 

Happiness vs joy

Many today seek happiness. Many say the ultimate goal of life is happiness.  Many say that only you can make yourself happy.  Many say that all they want is to be happy.  People say a lot of things....  But saying does not make it so.  All these are lies,  compromises from God's best. 

Happiness is based on happenings.  What happens to you makes you happy or sad.  Happiness is a feeling,  based on the body and soul.  Trouble is,  you are not in Control of happiness because you can not control happenings.  You can not control your own happiness,  because that would require controlling the world and how it treats you.  You can't.  Even if you could,  happiness is fleeting,  undependable,  and unsatisfying.  It is a feeling and feelings do not last.

Joy,  now that's different.  Joy is in the heart,  the spirit.  It is a state of being,  not a feeling.  It is deep,  lasting,  dependable,  solid.  Joy comes from knowing truth,  from walking in the right path.  Happenings make no difference,  they can not shake joy because joy is not based on the world,  but on your relationship to God.

Man was made for God.  Our purpose in being is to please him.  Our design is to be connected to our creator and thereby find meaning and joy.  We are complete only when walking with god on a daily basis,  and only then are we at peace. There is a hole,  an emptiness inside each of us,  deep in our hearts,  that can only be filed by God's spirit and only by invitation. We must invite him in.

Then the hole is filled,  we are complete,  we are at peace,  we find joy,  and nothing in the world can change that. Period.

Money,  sex,  popularity,  recreation,  friends,  spouse,  children,  things,  all these bring happiness for a time,  a short time,  but they can not fill that hole in our heart.  They are things of this world and can make our body and soul happy for a time.  They can not touch our heart that is reserved for our creator.

Seek joy,  enjoy happiness.  Know that happiness comes and goes over time.  Joy is constant.  Enjoy happiness when it is present,  but don't depend on it,  don't base your life on it.  Find the joy that God is waiting to bring you as a free gift from him.  Depend on that to carry you through this life and the next.  Joy...  Is the goal of life.

The older you get

Another Grandpa saying...

"The older you get, the more you realize how little you know"

I agree with this 100%!  It is only age and experience that brings a heartfelt appreciation for the vast array of of the unknown. Young people can say they "understand" that we don't know everything, but thats not what this refers to. This saying refers to the realization that we don't really know ANYTHING. Life is not a process of learning as much as a realization of how little we CAN learn.  There just isnt enough time in the human experience to truly "get smart".

Now, before the flood, when man lived close to 1000 years, didn't have children till almost 100,  this may not have applied.  Back then, "maturity" was defined totally differently.  No one was "old enough" to have children, start a family, live on their own, until they were close to 100 years old. That means by today's standards... only the elderly are wise enough to START out in life.  They are at the point of wisdom that allows them to understand enough, to start learning.

Wow, what a difference.  To think that those people started life where we end it! That's a comparison to the amount of knowledge and wisdom amassed. Even if you argue that things "moved slower then", the rate of learning, of life, is constant. They absorbed wisdom for 100 years, then began a family, then lived their lives for 700 to 900 years more, constantly learning and maturing.  Today, we start our families at the equivalent of  their "child" stage, and our life is over just at the point where we are old enough to begin truly learning.

So... yes, the older you get, the more you realize how little we know.

Based on this.. be cautious. "Experts" do not usually know nearly as much as they make out. Science itself just knows enough collectively to get us into real trouble. We have some knowledge, but almost no wisdom, speaking as a society.

Desire wisdom? Seek the elderly. Seek those who have seen a few more sunrises than yourself. The most dangerous source for advice of any kind is from those the same age or younger than yourself.  Age brings wisdom.  Period. There are no shortcuts short of a miracle from above.

This too, will make sense when you are older.

To be better, be different

A fact of life...  You can not be "the same" and "be better" at the same time. 

You can not do whatever everyone else does and have a better outcome.

You can not follow the crowd and lead at the same time.

You can not blend in and avoid normality at the same time.

Being different is the secret of success.  While not every difference brings success,  the lack of difference always brings failure to excel.   This is a truth destroyed by the mindset controlling education.  They teach in general that the optimum is to follow the rules,  fit in,  follow the prescribed path,  do what they say,  etc.   But it is a lie.  That is the route to normalcy,  or slavery. 

If all you wish is to be one of the masses,  in descript,  unaccomplished,  work for a living and enjoy the weekend on your own pleasures,  then yes,  follow their example.   Modern education builds a working class,  individuals intent on living for others happily (slaves).  

If you wish anything more than that,  the first step is to be different  being different is not a problem,  it is a requirement.  It is the first step.  Embrace it,  enjoy it.  Being different is what opens the world for new possibilities.  It is the escape from servitude.  Being different is liberty.

Jesus even spoke of this,  he stressed how we must "come out of the world"  "be transformed not conformed"   " be in the world but not of the world"  "be the salt of the earth" ...  Etc.   Much of the new testament Bible speaks of being different as a requirement for peace,  for success.

I wise man once said,  "if you have to tell someone your a Christian,  don't bother".  If we are not different enough in our everyday  life so that a cursory look shows "oh wow,  they must be christian" ,  then we are not.   It is being different that is the measuring stick.

Not all differences are good of course,  but only difference is good.  That is the key.  Only difference is good.

Function over Form

As you browse through these posts, you will notice something.. there are "problems" here and there. Misspellings, phrases not grammatically correct, layout issues, etc.. I'd like to take a moment to explain... because yes, there is a lesson here also.

Function Over Form.  A principle you would do well to adopt.   That functionality of something is much more valuable than the physical characteristics of it.  In writing... that means that the technicalities of writing are lees important then the content of the writing. If you as the reader, can grasp the meaning, if light hits your soul and understanding hits your thoughts... then  the delivery method is really not that important.

When I write, the words and thoughts flow. Usually much faster than I am physically capable of committing them to paper.  Therefore.. mistakes happen.  I write as I think. It is not the formal process of "outline, rough draft, editing, final copy"... no.. its "write about this", and as the thoughts flow the fingers type.  If I was to pause to correct each and every mistake, or even most of them, the flow of ideas dwindles and the clarity wanes.

That said, I do often go back and correct obvious mistakes, sometimes (depending on the nature of the writing and the audience) I will re-read, edit, and correct things.  But rarely.  WHY? time. Time is the most precious commodity under our control, and I choose to not spend my correcting small mishaps in life that dont matter so much anyway.  My goal is to convey as much thought to you as possible with the time I have left here on this earth... I am not concerned with the mechanics of how that happens.

So my advice is.. endure. complain if you like, but learn to look for the truth and value in the noise. That in itself is a valuable skill. There is value everywhere, but you have to look for it.  Think of this blog as practice.

Don't marry the one you can live with

One of my dad's sayings:

Don't marry the one that you can live with,  marry the one you can't live without.

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The nature of vacuum

A vacuum is a very dangerous thing! Nature at every level hats to fill a vacuum,  with anything it can.  What it is filled with does not matter,  whether good or evil. 

Dig a hole in the ground,  leave it alone,  and it will eventually fill in.  First with water and then with whatever the water can carry in.

Strip a plot of land of all vegetation,  and it will slowly become a weed bed.  Opportunistic weeds taking their chance to fill the vacuum.

Move air by any means,  and the space is quickly filed with whatever gas,  liquid ,  or solid is available to rush in.

This principle works outside of nature also,  nature being the visible evidence of truth unseen.  For instance,  any vacuum created in human relations is filed,  with availble available something.  Needs are a vacuum,  a home,  that will be filled by the nearest available entity.

In the realm of government,  vacuums are filled with laws,  control.  A need is perceived,  everyone rushes to fill that need.  The long term consequences are usually ignored in the haste to fill the need.  Most of the laws that remove freedom were originally intended to be good,  too fill an immediate need,  like water rushing into a hole.  But just as that water carries dirt,  trash,  contaminants,  whatever....  The law of together to fill only an immediate need will carry in garbage,  control,  loss of freedom,  oppression.

Create a void,  a vacuum,  in a child's heart and they will fill it.  It must be filled at all cost.  If not filed with good,  then with compromise of with evil. But it will be filled.

Create a vacuum in society and it will be filled...  Remove a proper purpose,  motivation,  reason,  and society will fill the void with whatever it can.  Remove the creator and other gods rush in.  Remove the Bible and other writings rush in.  The void will be filled.

This is why nutreaulity is a myth.  American society today seems to eliminate any reference to God.  It seems to be neutral.  Not just neutral but silent.  This is impossible because silent is vacuum and vacuum will be filled. 

Take the scopes "monkey trial"  as example.  Creationism won that trial overt evolution.  Officially the judicial system upheld that teaching of creation instead of evolution could be mandated at a local level.  But..  Unofficially the teaching,  even the belief of Creationism lost in the public eye.  Bible believers poverty fledgling science theories are ridiculed and scoffed at.  People pulled back.  It became a "private matter"  to believe one way or another.  A vacuum was created...  And as always it was filled.  Because believers stipped talking
,  living their belief in the Bible,  schools slowly transformed to teaching evolution.  The vacuumed created by winning the trial but losing the desire to be public,  was filled with the opposing view.

Vacuums in our heart are also filled . Being empty inside is not a natural state,  and we will fill it,  either with good or evil.  We will either invite the presence of our creator or can that hole with other things.  The problem is,  nothing else lasts.  The vacuum inside us will constantly empty of all else ornery than our creator.  Addictions,  recreation,  happiness,  pleasure,  money,  friends,  all that stuff we try to fill the hole with never lasts.  The vacuum persists,  drawing more and more in to fill itself.  But only one thing fits and lasts....  Our creator. 

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