The Paradox of Free Will/ Between a Rock and Hard Place

Have you ever heard the old question about God creating a rock so heavy even He can’t lift it?  This was probably spoken as an idea that there are certain things or problems that God himself has created.   

For us, it is the problem of free will.  He has bestowed on us mortals the power of choosing.  With His unlimited power to supply life and knowledge He has chosen this paradox. 

                                  What is that paradox?

 It’s our free will to respect or ignore His authority yet He knows in advance what our choices will be!!

An old Jewish rabbi once said.  “All is foreseen, and permission is given.” Meaning there is a destiny that is known.  It is that way because God wills it to be that way. And yet, He gives you permission to arrive there by your own free will!  Pretty amazing stuff. 

Here’s the key: A paradox is not a blunder of logic.  What appears to us to be an irresolvable conflict of two aspects of our life we are forced to see a higher reality.  It is a discovery of the wonderful power of a paradox.  If everything would make sense to us, then we would not hold to the power of God.

 He alone knows the end from the beginning.  His thoughts are not the same as our thoughts nor His desires for us are often not what we desire.  Therefore, bad things do happen to good people.  We are unknowable about the paradox of good vs evil. It’s a paradox that mankind has been asking through the centuries and yet we know our Creator loves us.

We view life from our limited perspective.  We are created beings attempting to understand the workings of our Creator. But we exist on entirely different planes. We live in a one -dimensional world.

Indeed, our societies, laws and morals are founded on the assumption of free will.  Yet, we also realize how impotent we are before the forces of a virtually infinite universe and the Creator who makes this happen.

Resolving the paradox then, is a matter of making peace between the subjective experiences of our free will and the power of God as an all knowing and all loving Creator.     

As promised, the paradox of divine knowledge and our free will leads us to a more meaningful concept of God. Not only is our ability to choose a reflection of God in this world but the realization of our very sense of self…… as autonomous beings, that too is God!

All this comes from a knowledge of the Divine within us.  How can it be otherwise? 

                                  My “Soul Glasses”

Last week I woke up with a sharp pain in my right eye.  I could barely open it and thought perhaps I had accidentally jabbed it during the night.  It was so painful.  I was able to see the Dr that very day and now after four days of eye drops it has settled down and I’m fine.

However, I realize what a dreadful thing it would be losing one’s sight. Since my cataract surgery I only need my reading glasses.  Without them the words on the page become a blur.  The images lose their shape as well as their meaning.  I’m stuck trying to decipher what I am seeing. 

When reading the words of our Lord and His teachings, I need to put on my “soul glasses.”   I want my glasses to grant me the ability to perceive the world from an inner and deeper perspective.  Through these lenses, I can see the real essence of people, situations, and my relationship to the Divine.

Without these “soul glasses”, we see people consumed by their struggles and their unattractive qualities.  Everything that makes them unappealing.  But Jeshua (Jesus) taught us to look beyond these superficialities and to delve into the core of each person, unearthing their real personhood.   We all are created in His image.  An actual fragment of the Divine! 

This perspective extends to situations as well.  How often do you find yourself entangled in circumstances where everything and everyone seems out of control.  Our situation seems hopeless and bleak.  Yet, by putting on our “soul glasses” we can see His hand working. 

So, when my situation seemed hopeless, I found Hope.  Hope is in the form of a person.  He is our Hope! 

Throughout our lives there are moments of triumph where we succeed to perceive people and circumstances through the lenses of our “soul glasses.”  Of course, there are also times where the veils of concealment are overpowering, and our vision is blurred.  However, even those moments, our vision is one of hope and renewal.  We are inspired toward a future when our vision will be 20/20.  Those “soul glasses” won’t be needed.

“For now, I see through a glass darkly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully……..”  1Cor. 13: 12

                       “When life gives you lemons……. make lemonade! “ 

Ok……I didn’t make that up! It’s always good to remind myself that life has ups and downs and it’s not always easy making lemonade.

 As I see it contentment is not a matter of what happens to us as much as knowing that this is what our Creator has given to us.  So, what is contentment and how does being content make our lives more interesting as well as leading to being happy?

 A definition might be helpful.  To be content is to feel or show satisfaction with one’s possessions, status, or situation. 

There is a beautiful freedom that accompanies contentment: freedom to be and live the life you were destined to live.

Most people, I believe, desire to be content with what they have.  Many of us, especially older ones like me, are secure in life.  That doesn’t mean that we are complacent. 

Contentment isn’t about giving up or not wanting more.  It’s just that life becomes more meaningful.   Contentment is a powerful force that can provide the inspiration to reach higher than we ever dreamed.  Contentment doesn’t squelch ambition.  Contentment fuels it.    It’s about recognizing what we already have, valuing it, and deciding to make the most out of it. 

When we are content, we better focus our energy on what truly matters.  When we’re no longer pursuing endless material acquisitions, we’re able to redirect our effort toward our passions.  We get to invest our time, our resources, and ourselves in the things that brings real meaning and fulfilment into our lives. 

Contentment leads us to make deliberate choices about how we spend our lives.  No longer are we running the rat race, trying to keep up with everyone else.  We choose our own path, embracing what gives us meaning and letting go of what doesn’t.

A mindset of abundance brings ambition because we are not acting out of scarcity, but out of gratitude for what we already have…..enthusiasm for what we can achieve, and a desire to share our gifts with others.

Contentment sparks perseverance.  We learn to be satisfied with what we have.  We become better equipped to tackle life’s ups and downs.  Contentment isn’t about giving up on our dreams or settling for less.  It’s about appreciating what we have, recognizing our potential and dreaming even bigger dreams for our lives.

                             Contentment can help us make real lemonade.!

                                   Jealousy: Its Toxic!

OK…….I must admit it.  I do get jealous.  Not really what others have; perhaps a bigger and nicer home:  clothes from the most trendy shops…..well, you know.  The list goes on.  I’m more jealous of what is in their repertoire of achievements.  They can do more and accomplish more than I could ever do.  

People use the word jealous as just an expression.  “Oh, you are making a trip to Italy, I’m, so jealous! “Of course, they don’t mean to it to be anymore than expression of interest.  But perhaps there is more.

Remember, in the Hebrew scriptures, Numbers 16: 1-18…Where Korah, who was also of the tribe of Levi, gathered a group of leaders from the 12 tribes and presented themselves to Moses.  They challenged his right to be the only leader of the whole assembly.  After all, they too felt as though Moses should not be the only champion among the people.  God had chosen them all and he, Korah, also should be allowed to lead the people, perhaps even to replace Aaron, as high priest. 

Here we see how jealousy plays a part in people’s lives.  Not only did God choose Moses as leader but He likewise punished those who sought to replace what God had commanded.

Feelings of jealousy are normal, but if those feelings are allowed to evolve, beware!  Excessive jealousy is self-sabotaging and hijacks a person’s clarity and perception. 

God grants each of us resources with which to achieve our specific life purposes.  Saying to yourself, “I deserve this just as much, or even more than someone else.”  Why don’t I have what she/ he has?  Is implying that God’s agenda is flawed.  Thoughts such as these express entitlement and that led to Korah’s downfall.

Our material possessions, talents and circumstances are needed to best play our earthly roles in the script of life that we are given.  That is to say,  we also must live up to our potential. 

What we have or lack is necessary for our role.  It’s not the part we play that matters, what matters is how well we play the part!!  Jealousy distracts a person from accomplishing what she/he has been placed in the world to achieve.

 Our thoughts and actions influence our direction.   Harboring jealousy produces negative ramifications and is harmful to our health and well-being. 

How can we/I avoid falling into the clutches of jealousy?  Recognize that thoughts lead to actions.  Wisely and proactively choose what thoughts you allow to occupy your mind.  Eliminate the phrase, “I’m so jealous” from your vocabulary.  It may be just an expression, but it’s certainly not a positive one worth repeating. 

Jealousy is also negative thinking.  Focus on the blessings that God has given us.  Be positive in what you do and what you say.  Put that into action by telling others what you admire about them or their accomplishments. We will never really know anyone’s real situation in life.  But being a friend, being supportive will not allow jealousy to be part of your life. 

Let’s learn from the mistakes of Korah and his followers.  Aspire to overcome feelings of jealousy. 

“Love your neighbor, as you love yourself.”  That solves the problem of jealousy.

                                                            The Dangers of Vision.

You have heard it said that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”  In other words, what I find beautiful you might find ugly. 

I have been rereading the story of Samson.  He was chosen by God to play his part in Israel’s war against the Philistines.  But he bungled the job.  Well, at first.  He was to be one of the judges of Israel.  These judges didn’t always adjudicate disputes but often were assigned the task of being military commanders. 

Samson was the man God had chosen for a special assignment. To help free Israel from these Philistine invaders that lived on the coast.  He was endowed with Herculean strength.  But his story remains, in the end, a morality tale; he is a man that brought about his own undoing.  He seems like a type of Greek god, but this man brought destruction upon himself though his own willfulness.

As one Jewish theologian wrote, “Samson is brought to destruction through no arbitrary decree of the gods but through his disobedience even though this man is charged with a specific and divine mission.  God gave a choice to Samson, including one whose destiny had been marked out for him.  He must show himself worthy of the trust reposed in him through his free choice of the right path.  Otherwise, the partnership between him and God is broken. “

Samson’s hair was to remain uncut. This was according to his Nazarite vow.   This vow could be a short term vow or to remain for a lifetime.  He knew where his strength lay.  But the problem really wasn’t his hair.  It was his vision!

Most artists depict the Philistines, jumping on Samson after revealing the secret of his strength to Delilah who cut his hair! But the story goes back to an earlier time. 

In Judges 14:1-3, Samson tells his father that he saw a woman in Timnath of the Philistines, and he told his father that she was “pleasing in my eyes.”  It is his sight that draws Samson to the women. So, it eventually draws him to Dalilah.  Samson’s demand to his parents is based on what is pleasing his eyes.   Samson rebelled against God through his eyes, as it was said.  “Get her for me because she is pleasing in my eyes.”  Therefore, the Philistines put out his eyes. 

Moral sight is worth more than physical sight.  Our eyes can dangerously distract us.   We do not deny the value of the aesthetic; the beauty of our surroundings; of design; the skills of great artists.  Sight is important to our life, but “insight” keeps us and directs our path. 

Samson’s greatest virtue lies in his blindness.  It is his “new vision” which brings him to the pillars of the pagan temple and his death brought him the greatest glory. 

To believe without seeing; to have faith without understanding……….………. brings us to our knees. 

As Jeshua (Jesus) told Thomas………”Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
(John 20:29)

                                         How Does God Work?
No one can explain God’s intentions or how He works.  Who are we to explain what He is doing in our world?  However, He has given us proof of loving us and being with us, both through the Bible and our Messiah, Jesus (Jeshua)

Not My Land!

Not My Land!!

Not only are the Chinese producing dangerous and life taking viruses (also known as COVID) but now they are buying up farmland in the Dakotas.  Read where they have already purchased 325,000 acres in 2020 more than 25 times the 14,000 owned in 2010. So, what’s the big deal? 

Well, for one, I don’t want the Chinese, who are sworn enemies of the US, invading our space on the pretense of developing this property for energy use. These parcels just “happen” to be adjacent to sensitive to U.S. military sites!! 

How did this happen?  How did the Chinese get these properties in the first place? 
Who owned the land?  I can imagine the amount paid to the owners who apparently saw nothing wrong in accepting huge sums to have the Chinese owning valuable land in the U.S.   I have had some experience in dealing with foreign entities who are interested in buying up U.S. properties.    

My father bought 200 acres of wooded land next to the Mississippi River.  He called it the “bottom land.”  It wasn’t good for farming, as in central Illinois, but was a forested area with all sorts of lovely walnut trees, birch trees but mainly Christmas type pine trees.  After my father passed away, he left the “bottom” land to me.  Since I had married and moved away, my good mother had to maintain the property, by making fire breaks every so many feet and keeping up with the undergrowth.  I was compensated for doing this by the state of Illinois.  They paid me a nice sum every year to maintain this property.  This was to be considered an open space by the state.  I was still the owner and had every right to sell it even though they had been paying me to maintain it as a forest reserve.

One summer, when I was visiting my mother back in Illinois, we received a call from some corporation in Chicago.  They offered to buy the property for a goodly sum (at least in those days!).  Who were these people who wanted to buy this land and what were going to do with the property and all the trees which the state of Illinois had paid me to maintain?  Well, after some inquiry I found this cooperation was owned by some Chinese development company. They were going to remove the trees and build a residential area close to the river.  Big plans for making this into a model community! 

I considered their offer but at the same time I respected the fact that the state of Illinois had been paying me to maintain this as a forest reserve.  I  decided to contact the Department of Agriculture first and see if they would buy this property.  Indeed they did and for the same price as the Chinese wanted to pay me.  I could have bargained with the Chinese for more money, but doing that went against my principles of keeping American land in American hands.

 It was my one small contribution and I know now it was the right and moral thing to do.

I don’t know about you but it’s time to set some ground rules. 

No Germans, English, Japanese, Arabs, Chinese buying property in the US. It’s our own prized possession.  There is only so much available and tillable farmland in the America’s heartland.  Let’s keep it for us and not for them! 

                                       “Houston, We Have a Problem”

In 1970, Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert were hurling through space at thousand of miles an hour on their way to the moon.  Lovell had orbited just before Christmas in 1968, and two other crews had already landed on the moon and returned safely to earth. 

When Swigert conducted a routine stir of the liquid oxygen tanks, an electrical short caused an explosion that crippled the space craft and threatened the survival of the crew. 

Quickly assessing the seriousness of the situation, Lovell uttered the words that are as memorable today as they were understated then. 

                                    “Houston, we have a problem!!”

 I am reminded of a movie about the ill-fated Apollo 13 starring Tom Hanks.  I kept thinking, they aren’t going to make it!! It was just a movie, but those scenes brought to everyone the seriousness of the problem.  It was all dreadful and very unlikely these men would return alive.  But thanks to the skill and dedication of a huge team of engineers and mission controllers, Apollo 13 made it back safely, although the crew was not able to walk on the moon as planned. 

So where is this taking us today?  What is the seriousness of our problems as Americans?

For many years our society has been hurling toward a secularized pagan future.  We are “lost in space.”  We have left the fundamentals of our faith and we are hurling toward a destiny that is destroying the foundations of our country.

Like the frog in a pot, we have witnessed and lived through changes so gradual that they were almost imperceptible at first.  Of late, those changes are accelerating rapidly, and a growing number of people are beginning to realize that we are headed toward disaster.

Looking back it is apparent how far we have fallen in just the past 20 to 30 years. But now, the process is accelerating, and we are heading down the slippery slope which will result in the loss of our Republic as we know it.  We are on a dangerous trajectory of losing what is most priceless to us and our children.

Too often , Believers, have sat back with the idea that we should not become involved with worldly affairs.  Really?  Perhaps this mindset has brought us to where we are now, from a Christian nation to one where more than half of the citizens have lost faith in both the ideals of our Founding Fathers and the Faith which shaped our great nation.

So yes, Houston, we do have a problem but its one for the whole of America!  

                                       
Is Everything Racist?

Living in Memphis after moving from El Paso, I have benefitted from living within an African American community.  I have found them to be courteous, friendly, and helpful. 

Last Thanksgiving, I had a fender bender and was given a citation.  All my fault.  The policeperson was very courteous to me.  I expected to be chastised  for being careless but she was extremely friendly and helpful. 

Recently there was a tragic death of Tyre Nichols.  He was brutally beaten by five black officers and they have been charged with murder.  It was a tragic thing and never should have happened.  I’m sure the officers will be charged accordingly and given prison terms.  But there is another cause for alarm.  This too has a racial component.

No sooner was the beating death announced than accusations of “systemic racism’ surfaced.    Despite these being black officers and killing a black man this is still a racist issue.  Now everything that happens becomes a racist issue!

I keep in touch with doings in El Paso.  For the many years I lived there I was very involved with saving the Franklin Mountains from developers who would gladly bulldoze and grade the slopes in to order to build homes with a view!  Since it is dry desert area the natural fauna would rarely come back. 

I received notice that Tom Lea Park was building a permanent shelter for hikers and bikers who wanted to take a rest and enjoy the views of the city.  They are naming the permanent shelter in honor of Tyre Nichols!!  Really? 

I wrote on their Facebook page that Mr. Nichol’s death was indeed a tragedy but that he had never been to El Paso, had not contributed to the city or had done any outstanding deeds that he should be remembered in such a way. 

The response I received made me out to be unsympathetic, cold hearted, uncaring, racist etc etc. I was the bad guy for even suggesting that this shelter should not be named after Tyre who had never contributed to the good of the city of El Paso or even here in Memphis.  He wasn’t on an errand of mercy when he was pulled over and beaten to death. 

As Victor David Hanson wrote in Epoch Times. “Pause to reflect that American is the only successful multiracial constitutional republic in history.”

As the world becomes ever scarier Americans must…..As Benjamin Franklin once warned……”hang together or most certainly they soon will all song hang separately. “

No one wants to suffer.  Older people are particularly aware of this as we face end of life issues.    Not a happy thought for the New Year.  Sorry, but this is an issue that we all face sooner or later. 

As I write this, a famous football star is in recovery from heart issues that suddenly appeared when he was tackled on the playing field. As of this writing, he seems to be on the mend but just suppose he was not to continue in recovery and was placed on life support.  What would you do? 

I am not suggesting that we keep people alive by supplying their body with fluids or machines that will help them continue in this life. That is a personal decision that one must make.  People of faith view all life as sacred.  Although in times past, death was the only option. 

 However, we have come to a point in society that has shifted away from protecting innocent human life to eliminating all suffering.   Let’s start with the transgender moral panic.  In the name of eliminating suffering in children with gender dysphoria, many physicians insist that they will eliminate suffering in children by surgically and medically changing the sex of children.  Only later, these same young adults are now in anguish over their new sex roles and blaming their parents for not protecting them while they were younger.

This isn’t new but the idea of “eliminating suffering” by euthanasia is creeping into the mainstream of American life.  It started years ago by a man called, “Dr Death.”  Look him up.

Now it appears that Canada is ahead of us in promoting assisted suicide or euthanasia, but we aren’t far behind.  Currently, 10 states allow physician assisted suicide.  In my old state of New Mexico, where I went to school, the “End of Life Options Act” goes well beyond legalizing physician assisted suicide.  It also mandates that a doctor take crucial steps to help the patient commit suicide, including referring physicians and providing information about it.

Under this New Mexico law, if medical professionals don’t participate in the assisted suicide process, they could be subjected to civil or criminal penalties and even lose their licenses.  Instead of this, would it not have been more worthy to focus on treatments to help patients by developing  new drugs to ease pain and suffering?  We trust doctors to heal, not harm.  We trust doctors to provide compassionate care and comfort when healing is no longer possible. 

In a nation founded upon the self-evident truth ‘that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” it should follow that life itself is sacred. Ending life by abortion or suicide takes away the sanctity of life and the role of our Creator in making life possible.

A culture that views life as circumstantially disposable instead of as a gift of God has suffered a self-inflicted wound that could prove fatal if not treated.  Ending the practice of both abortions and assisted suicide would be a noble first step towards making a culture which once again promotes a faith based and morally upright society!