Crossing Fingers

I listened to  Hilary Clinton assure a crowd of supporters that the whole email debacle was a rightwing conspiracy, drummed up for purely political reasons.  She went on to assure them that she committed no crime, that there were no emails on her private server that were "classified."

Although I am not certain, I lean toward believing her - that there were none legally or technically classified.  But, the FBI is finding quite a few that are deemed classified.  So, while they were not labeled classified, they should have been.  And, if she had ran them through the proper channels, instead of her private server, they would have been.  Regardless, the information is such that it was and is of national interest that it be safeguarded.

It seems to me that Hilary is playing a little loose with the truth and with national security information.  That is is playing a game not to unlike what kids in my day who would say something, knowing that it was not factual, but crossing their fingers behind their backs so that technically it was not a lie.  Some might say she is lying but that would depend on "what the definition of 'is' is."

In the days when Jesus walked the earth, it was common to take oaths, swearing on certain things.  What you swore on, not the validity of the oath, determined whether it was technically a breech of the truth: “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath'" (Matt 23:16).

So, were there classified emails on her private server?  I can't say, the jury is not in just yet.  Were there emails that should have been classified?  Apparently so.  What is without question is that Hilary is losing believability.  Her poor choice as Secretary of State to conduct business through a private server in her home instead of one monitored by our intelligence has caused her to blur the lines between honesty and deception.

So what?  What is that to us?  Well, apart from her potentially having oversight of all national secrets, there is the fact that Hilary is not alone in crossing her fingers.  All of us are tempted to say something that is not technically a lie but it is a misdirection or blurring of the lines.  We need to say no to the temptation to allow the appearance of truth to be more important than the truth.  Why?  Well, for many reasons, but let me offer just one: "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, …" (Pr 6:16-17)  Jus' Say'n.

Running With Horses

You've heard of the Running of The Bulls in Pamplona, which is actually only one of many such runnings but certainly the most noted.  The practice apparently began as a way to encourage the bulls to get from the ranches to the market faster and later became somewhat of a contest in bravado.  What little I have seen of it on the news is more of a jumping in among them, run like crazy and jump out before becoming a hood ornament for a bovine.

In the Book of Jeremiah, there is a somewhat similar occurrence spoken of in prophecy, not as a literal running but rather metaphor, and not as a game to highlight ability but as a gauge to spotlight inability: “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?" (12:5).  If you think life is difficult now, just hold on because it will bet worse.  And, if you are struggling to make it now, what will you do when the going really gets tough?

I remember Dr Jerry Jones at Harding University talking about a student who came into his office to tell him that he was leaving.  He told Dr Jones that he was tired of being told what to do, when to get up, when to go to bed, what to wear, etc.  When Dr Jones asked him what his plans were, he replied, "I'm enlisting in the Marines."  Really?  If Harding was too restrictive, just how was he going to be able to deal with Marine boot camp?  Good luck with that!

I thought it was tough when my then baby son was very sick and in the hospital for several days.  It was hard to watch him suffer and the bill took all the cash money I had to my name.  But it was nothing compared to when his mother and my wife was diagnosed with stage-four bladder cancer, which took her life and everything we ever owned, leaving me a widower in a mountain of debt.

I stumbled when I ran with the foot soldiers of my son's illness but I was trampled on by the horses of my wife's cancer.  I was tested and found wanting.  But thanks be to God that he had already revealed to me what I needed and I wanted the help of my Savior, who delivered me in both instances - not because I was so brave or able but because he is so loving and merciful.  I could not make it on my own, I knew that.  And, even though, my faith took a beating, God was faithful, taking me and my pitiful mustard seed faith in his arms.  What did I do when the horses came?  I ran or more accurately limped to the Savior.

What will you do?  Will you try to tough it out alone?  Will you rage at God?  Will you turn away from the body of Christ?  Will you allow your faith to be trampled?  Or will you turn to God and let him carry you through what you cannot keep up with the foot soldiers, or catch up with the horses or get out of the bulls' way?

May I suggest taking Jesus up on his offer? “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matt 1128-30).  Jus' Say'n.

Body Parts

Planned Parenthood is again  in the news with their practice of selling body parts of aborted babies.  I know that they don't regard or refer to them as such but prefer to label them fetal tissue.  And they don't admit they actually sell them, even though they have been caught on hidden camera arranging to do precisely that.

Despite their denials and their word-crafting, I cannot get past the fact that what winds up in the hands of certain labs for various tests looks an awful lot like arms, legs, hands and feet of tiny infants.  Apart from a legal debate, if you were to come across these parts on the side of the street, you wouldn't just toss the "fetal tissue" into a trash can, you would call 911 to investigate the baby parts you just happened upon.

Something else that I can't get past is the fact that we (human kind) are not the creator of life but rather the procreator.  We go through the act of procreation (sexual intercourse) and God creates the spirit, which makes the flesh more than just pathological  tissue.  Of course, the question is precisely when does that happen.  We can and do debate that fact but until and when we know the mind of God, we can only debate it, not settle it.

So, not knowing just when God transforms the fetal tissue into a developing baby, we would have to take the place of God in making that determination.  Do you see my problem with abortion?  I recognize there can be extreme cases, such as the life of the mother, which is almost never the case due to advances in medical science.  And I recognize that there are cases of rape and incest, although those are a very small minority.  The vast majority of abortions are matters of convenience.  Let's get real and admit that we abort because we want to, with few exceptions.

I said earlier that we cannot know when fetal tissue becomes a living soul as it is God, not man, that creates the spirit.  Unless, of course, we knew the mind of God.  However, I did not say we couldn't know His mind on this subject.  In fact, He has spoken to it: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations" (Jer 1:5).

So, what do you think?  Apart from our desire to dispose of babies which we find to be inconvenient, how would one interpret Jeremiah's revelation from God?  God knew him and appointed him before he exited the birth canal.  There are more passages but one word from God is enough for me.  The fetus that is ripped apart in the womb is the baby that comes out of the womb.

Planned Parenthood is not selling fetal tissue but rather body parts - parts of the baby they first killed in the womb or partially delivered and whose head they crushed outside the womb.  Partial delivery?  Sounds a bit like partial pregnancy, doesn't it.  Regardless of what it is called, it is God, not man, who decides when life begins.  Unless, of course, you can take the place of God.  Jus' Say'n.

Heart and Soul

Jesus said that we are to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind .’" This is the first and greatest commandment" (Mt 22:37-38).  So, what does this mean?  Do we fulfill this commandment by going to church once a week, making a contribution to the Sunday offering, and reading our Bibles every now and then?

What if we used this kind of thinking when we are trying to court someone?  Would we have won the heart of our spouse if we had expended the same amount of time and energy on him/her as we do with the Lord?  When you were falling in love, did you find it impossible  to carve out time for her/him?

When we are falling head over heels  in  love with someone, finding time is not a problem. coming up with the energy to stay up past your bedtime is not that difficult, coming up with extra money to spend on her/him is not all that tough either.  When someone becomes the object of your affection, time and money and effort are no problem.

But when it comes to God, we have difficulty finding time to commune with him.  Making a sigficant weekly offering seems a lot to ask.  Daily devotion and prayer just seems like too much, we simply don't have the time.

So how did you find all that time, money and energy when you were  dating?  You were falling in lover, heart and soul.  What else could you do?  She was the object of your affection and was first in your heart, on your mind and in your soul.  What else could you do?

The Lord is to be our first and foremost love, what ought we to be doing?  If God is our first and greatest love, if we have committed our heart and soul, what will be the level of our dedication and the depth of our affection?  What would our days look like?  What would be the subject of our conversations?  How would our lives change?  Jus' Ask'n?

King of The Mountain

Children can be very competitive as they seek to find  their place in society.  It is amazing how incentivizing a simple gold star on a homework paper can be.  Getting an "A" on a test provides a feeling of worth and affords bragging rights.  Little League trophies, getting the lead in a play, being chosen first when when teams are being formed.  All these are ways in which children gain a sense of their position in society.

In my youthful world of boys striving to assert themselves into an advanced position in our micro-society, there was one defining opportunity: Playing King of The Mountain.  If you could pesevere, holding your place on top of a mound of earth from which everyone was trying to dethrone everyone else by pushing them off the top, you were proclaimed king of the mountain.  The bragging rights were awesome, the self-esteem building was emmence and your position was inconvertable.

However, there was nothing real about it.  It was just a matter of being able to dislodge more kids from a mound than others.  Strength, center of gravity, weight and tenacity were all factors in the test; but one's leadership ability, vision, character, moral strength - all the things that truly measure one's kingly or regal aptitude were not measured.  It was a childish farce, but it was a bunch of little boys trying hard to feel big.  What would one expect?

Surely when it comes to full-grown, mature adults the method of determining one's worth or position in society or a given group of individuals would be based in reality and measurable truth about a particular person.  One would think.

The truth of the matter, however, is that adults tend to be overgrown children in this respect.  Determining one's societal worth generally depends on things like looks, shape, height, ability to make money, celebrity status (regardless of how it is obtained), street address, car driven, ability to spin facts and truth in their favor, etc.  Essentially, adults play an adult but not grown-up version of King of The Mountain.  We don't generally get it.

The truth of being valuable or obtaining a position of importance in society is really very opposite of what we then to chase in our attempt to gain value or determine value.  The truth of value of the self is to become self-less, it is to seek the best for others instead of claiming the best for self.  Jesus put it this way: “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all" (Mk 9:35).

The greatest among us are not the ones who seek to be lifted up but those who seek to lift others up.  Consider first of all, Jesus "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matt 20:28).  Consider also Ghandi, Mother Teresa and Jaden Hayes.  Jaden Hayes?

Jaden is a 6 year-old boy whose father died when he was four and his mother died last month.  Jaden, instead of allowing self-pity to rule his life, asked his aunt Barbara to get him a bunch of little toys, which he takes to downtown Savannah and gives to people who aren't smiling.  Jaden is still sad about his mother but feels better each time he helps someone to smile.  Jaden is getting national attention for trying to help others who he feels is sad like him.

Just now, I'm thinking that, apart from Jesus himself, Jaden is The King of The Mountain.  Jus' Say'n.

Coming and Going

The grandkids came up from Texas last Thursday night.  We could hardly wait for them to arrive.  Few things are as welcomed as the sight of their headlights coming up the street.  A very close second, however, would be seeing the taillights going down the street.  If you are a grandparent, you already know what I'm talking about.  If not, read on and I'll "splain it to you Lucy."

The grandkids live six hours away.  As there are five of them and the fact that our son-in-law is a preacher, there are only a couple of weekends a year, which are allowed for the trip to Grammy's and Pops'.  We always look forward to their visits.  And, the kids are always excited to see us, which sets up the "dance" we have with them that leads to the "drain" we experience as our middle-aged bodies begin to feel the wear of non-stop action.

Lest you think it is a case of the young and exuberant invading and overpowering the old and exhausted, I hasten to add the fact that we spend the first half of the visit winding them up with kisses, hugs, tickles and such.  But unlike Grammy and Pops, who wind down just as fast as we wind up, they have a perpetual winding mechanism that never does quite unwind.

We actually love all the hiking, boating. swimming, wrestling, hugging, coloring, playing and all the rest of the non-stop activity.  The problem is, however, we don't have an unending source of energy or an endless appetite for activity.  Our batteries don't recharged to 100% after each nap or night's sleep and they aren't good for an entire day at any rate.  Our batteries have to slow charge and, as old batteries are wont to do, ours run out well before the day is over.

But, stubborn as gray-haired people so often tend to be, we aren't willing to go to bed early or stay in bed late.  We stay up way past when we put the grandkids down so we can visit with the adult kids and get up early so we can have a cup of  coffee and visit before the games begin again.

So why, why do we do it?  Grandparents never ask this question and those who are won't need to hear my answer, you already know.  For the rest of you, let me first direct you to the Word of God: "Children’s children are a crown to the aged" (Prov 17:6).   Grandchildren are God's reward for having allowed your teenage children to reach marrying age.

Do you remember how proud you were as a new parent?  Grandchildren are children squared.  Being blessed to have children is amazing but to be doubly blessed to enjoy your children's children - that is amazing plus.  To enjoy your adult children, spoil your grandchildren and then to send them all home so you can rest up for the next visit - that's really living!  We like it so much that we make trips to there home in-between their visits to ours.

To see the headlights coming is thrilling.  To see the tailights going is peaceful.  Both the coming and the going are part of the God-ordained blessing of grand-parenting.  Their coming provides an excitement that helps keep us young and able to better enjoy these middle yea5rs.  Their going provides the rest that allows us to reach our Golden Years.  Yes, we need our grandchildren both coming and going.  Jus' Say'n.

The Walk

Yesterday was, as we say in the South, "dog hot!"  So hot that a dog won't leave the shade to retrieve a bone.  It was the day we decided was perfect to make a trip to Cedar Falls.  Cool water cascading over a towering cliff into a deep pool of equally cool water.  It was very refreshing, very refreshing indeed.

It was a good thing it was refreshing because the falls entailed a two-mile, strenuous hike - a two-mile strenuous hike in weather so hot that a dog wouldn't walk two feet to retrieve his favorite bone.  Yes, it was the perfect day for a dip in the water under the falls.  I was also a perfect day for heat stroke.

Nobody actually succumbed to heat stroke, but out of the nine of us who went, aging fro under one year to over 60, several were ready to be carried out before we actually made it back to the van with A/C, which turned out to be second only to the falls themselves as an attracttion.

Two of the crew, myself and my son-in-law, were not to experience the benefits of the mini-van's refreshing ventilation.  As it turned out, due to the fact the van only held seven people, we were riding motorcycles, following the crisp fall-like weathered induced mini-van.

We both love riding bikes, but our ride back home was akin to riding in an oven.  The wind we felt blowing across our bodies as the bikes roared beneath our seats was very close to the breeze produced by a a heater vent.  The refreshing dip in the fall fed pool was all but forgotten.

Was it worth the walk?  Yes!  It was hot, dog hot, but it was a memory that will long rest in our hearts and the vision of the falls enjoyed with grandchildren will not soon be forgotten.  The walk was the price of the memory.  What are lifelong memories worth?  More, much more.

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you: (Lk 6:38).  What we gave in a hot, tiring walk to the falls and back, will be returned over and over again in fond memories, memories that will last for a lifetime, and even beyond my lifetime.  Jus' Say'n.