Workers in the Vineyard

January 31, 2009

Today's Reading: Exodus 11-12 and Matthew 20

There is a terrific story that Jesus tells about workers at a vineyard that I usually don’t see repeated in most sermons. Usually preachers focus on the Parable of the sower, or that whole prodigal son thing.

Perhaps it is the controversial subject matter, as it is about workers in a vineyard. You know, maybe preachers are afraid telling this story will justify wine consumption. Seriously, these guys could be working anywhere, and it wouldn’t matter.

The story is about workers. Some are hired in the morning and do a full day’s work. Some get hired around lunch time and work a half-day. Some get hired around some time before the last break.

The thing is, they all get the same amount of wages. Of course the guys who did most of the work complained that they should be paid more because of it, or the other guys who just worked an hour or two be paid less. There is a certain logic to their reasoning.

Of course, these men are forgetting the pie principle. This is something business CEOs use to justify their gross salaries that are several hundred percents above their workers. This is that the one who makes the pie gets the largest piece. Certainly no one would dispute that in a situation where a granny spends all evening to make a pie for her dinner party. No one would deny her a largest piece if she would ask for it.

In other words, the one who owns the business can do what he or she wants. If the workers don’t like it, then they can work for someone else or take the necessary risks to start their own business.

Yet even that isn’t the point of the story. Personally, I think this story will have more merit in the next life. You see, I believe that heaven will be full of all different kinds of people who will have received salvation at varying times. Some will have accepted Jesus at an early age of five years old, and others would have lived a life of sin and accept Christ on the eleventh hour of their deathbed.

I am willing to bet that in heaven, all of these saved will probably get the same type of mansion. And I’m also willing to bet that those who were saved longer on Earth will complain that they don’t have a better mansion. This is under the assumption that you can complain in heaven.

Let’s try to apply this story to now. If you get a wage, try not to compare it to others. Compare it to that which you need in order to live.

Who’s really in control here?

January 30, 2009

Today's Reading: Exodus 9-10 and Matthew 19

A lot of people, myself included, have a lot of trouble with the section of Scripture that that describes the Pharaoh’s response to the plagues of Egypt. There are times in the Bible where it says that “God hardens Pharaoh’s heart”, and there are times where Pharaoh seems to harden his heart.

Most people have a problem with the former situation, because it seems to imply that we don’t have any freewill. After all, if God can harden Pharaoh’s heart, than he can do that to any other person. This makes it even harder to believe that a person is evil by their own volition. How do know that the Ted Bundys and Charles Mansons of the world were just product of God doing his freezing job on someone’s heart.

No one seems to have a problem with Pharaoh choosing to harden his own heart. After all, most Christians go with the basic assumption that human beings are choosing, volitional beings that essentially choose their own destiny. A person must accept Jesus plan of salvation, or reject it, and accept the consequences of that choice, pleasant or unpleasant. So eternity is your choice, smoking or non-smoking, and all that evangelistic shtick.

So who is really in control of our life? Do we just go about our day with a heart that God hardens and softens that will make us evil or good. Or is it our own choice that determines our heart’s density and therefore destiny.

The issue is, the Bible doesn’t seem to give us a sure answer. It’s kind of like at the end of Forrest Gump, where Forrest begins to think about his friend’s philosophies of life, as he is not wise enough to come up with one of his own. His friend Lieutenant Dan always believed in destiny, but his friend Jenny seemed to drift on the wind like the feather at the beginning of the film. Forrest’s only conclusion is that life can be a bit of both.

So maybe the density of our heart is both God and us working together. After all, do you honestly think that a fallen human nature would choose God by itself? I believe there are verses saying that God will take a heart of stone and turn it into a heart of flesh, which means that God can soften a heart as well as harden it. I mean, look at what happened to Saul. He went from Christian persecutor to Christian in the blink of an eye.

So, who is in control here? Both. Sure, God may have hardened Pharaoh’s heart, but does that mean that Pharaoh could have softened it. Conversely, God may soften our hearts, but we can harden them. I think the point is to soften our hearts as much as we can, and God will do the rest, because he probably helped you get to where you can soften your heart in the first place.

Being Yourself and Humble Yourself

January 29, 2009

Today's Reading Exodus 7 8 and Matthew 18

It is always so interesting that in order to be more godly, you have to be more humble. Personally, if I wanted to be more godly, I would want to be more mighty. This is further proof that the Bible was, in fact, inspired by God.

Still, God seems to be interested in our humility. In fact, he is so interested in it, he will even use people that are way too humble.

Take Moses, for example. God told Moses that he would make him like God to Pharaoh, and he even gave him his own prophet with Aaron. So then Moses and his prophet Aaron go up to the Pharaoh and Aaron does all the talking.

Man, I know I mentioned the Prince of Egypt before, but it’s hard not to when you’re reading Exodus. You remember who they got to play Aaron in that one, Jeff Goldblum for crying out loud. Man, I can’t think of a guy who wouldn’t be a mouthpiece for God than him. You know how he like stammers through every role, like he did in Jurassic Park.

The crazy thing is Moses was the one who was shy. Still, I suppose he was following Jesus advice and changing to become like a little child. After all, I’m sure a lot of little children would be afraid of talking to the Pharaoh. I mean, my five year old daughter is afraid to talk to the cashier at McDonald’s, for crying out loud.

So why is it that God wants us to be more like a child? After all, there is nothing that I can’t stand more than I discover that I did something immature. That seems to happen a lot. Take this blog, for example. Hopefully I am just kidding about that.

So, how do you become more godly, just be humbled. I suppose the best way to be humbled is to do something really stupid. Don’t worry, if you don’t do something stupid now, you will eventually.

In fact, you should start now by being nervous. I’m certain you are nervous about something already. This is why being a Christian is so great, because you can totally be yourself and be godly at the same time. I really had some weird rationale there.

Yeah, I suppose the best way to serve God is to humble yourself, but if you’re human, it’s too late for that.

A Little Snag

January 28, 2009

Today's Reading: Exodus 5-6 and Proverbs 11

I suppose when Moses was given the instructions from God to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt, there were probably some things going through his mind.

“Okay, so I guess I’ll go up to Pharoah and tell him to let the people go, and then he’ll just let them go. What I’m I thinking? There is no frickin’ way it is going to be that easy. Something tells me that he’s probably going to say no, and then he’s probably ask me to leave. Who am I kidding, he’s going to throw me out on my @$$!”

I mean, seriously, what did he think would happen? He certainly didn’t think he could just walk up to Pharaoh and walk out with all the children of Israel. Of course, he probably thought that was his biggest obstacle. If he was lucky, Pharaoh would probably have him killed, and Moses could die knowing that he had done the Lord’s will.

I mean, seriously, most people, when given instruction from the Lord, usually do the minimum, and hope things fall in line. I think I might have said yesterday how when God makes a promise, he will make it easy for you.

Did I say that? Well, I told you God will make a way, but I didn’t say that there wouldn’t be some problems. I’ll bet Moses never saw that a threat would actually come from his own people. Yeah, I’m not certain he expected the “take away the straw card”.

Yeah, for some reason, God tends to put us through stuff that is full of obstacles. What’s worse, the obstacles seem to breed even more obstacles. Then God asks you to do the same thing again. No wonder why Moses told God the whole “I’m weak with my lips” thing.

Oh, hey, I guess I should probably tie in the Proverbs reading, because there is a lot of stuff in their about how when the righteous is in power, good prevails. Yeah, it always really sucks when stuff you read about in the Word doesn’t come to fruition and the evil are still in power.

Then it’s like “why did God ask me to do this”? Man, the world is as it is, just because I try to change it doesn’t mean that it is going to be changed.

Yeah, it looks like the road to change is always fraught with obstacles. Then again, did we really expect anything different? If so, then you are living in the wrong life.

What do you want from me?

January 27, 2009

Today's Reading: Exodus 3-4 and Proverbs 10

I know I have seen too many movies that are based on the book of Exodus. Every time I read the story of Moses and the burning bush, I can’t help but think of the films I’ve seen on it. The Ten Commandments and The Prince of Egypt didn’t really know how to do the effects on a burning bush, because they looked a little too supernatural.

Still, I love the version in The Prince of Egypt, where Moses approaches the Burning Bush and there is a look of both wonder and horror on his face. As soon as he takes off his shoes, one of the first questions he asks is “what do you want from me”?

It’s not in the Bible, but I can’t help but think that anyone in Moses’s situation would say the same thing. He doesn’t ask the question angrily, as most people would when they say that. He says it like someone who is genuinely scared of the answer.

Clearly, Moses had reason to fear God. Moses had killed a man and then ran away from it. Even though “thou shalt not kill had not been written yet”, he probably had a guilty conscience equal to that of Jacob after he cheated Esau.

In other words that verse in today’s reading in Proverbs has a lot of merit: “The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out”. I suppose Moses always knew that there would be a reckoning, and he would really have to pay for all the sins that he had committed.

Moses was afraid of what God will have to say, and with good reason. What God told Moses to do was clearly no small task, but Moses didn’t go without help. With the great responsibility came the great power.

There comes a time when all of us need to ask God “what do you want from me”, and not be afraid of the answer. Generally, I always discovered that God, even though he asks for something difficult, makes it easy to go through.

For example, if God wants you to have children, he’ll help you become a father or mother. It sort of happens along the way.

Can you resist what God wants? Hell, yeah. I’m sure there are at least six areas that I am resisting God on already. I know that eventually I will realize my error, and commit to God. When that happens, I’ll bite the bullet, but God will make certain that it doesn’t blow up in my mouth.

Valiance of the Hebrew Midwives

January 26, 2009

Today's Reading: Exodus 1-2 and Matthew 17

Now that we have started the Exodus readings, it gets pretty exciting to read about Moses. I guess its because of all the really cool films they have made about him including Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments and The Prince of Egypt.

In fact, I think there are four versions of this. The other versions include Moses, staring Ben Kingsley, and then that CG version of The Ten Commandments that I haven’t seen yet, and honestly, don’t really want to.

However, in watching these versions of the Exodus story, I can’t help but discover the parts that are left out. In fact, what I’d like to talk about today I’ve never noticed until now. Maybe it’s because I know the Exodus story so well that I just brush over it.

The story is one of courage and valiance that is almost as good as Moses himself. It is about how two midwives resisted the command of an evil king. The king of Egypt had commanded them to kill any boy that the Hebrews bore.

Apparently, these women, Shiphrah and Puah, feared God more than the king, who could have easily killed them. Granted, they didn’t exactly stand up and tell off the king saying: “dude, if you want the boys dead, you kill them yourself”.

I believe their cover story was: “they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive”. So I guess the Hebrews had a baby and hid it before any midwife could arrive. I suppose all the Hebrews could have heard about the standing order of the king to kill the new Hebrew boys, but there wasn’t a formal declaration until later. It must have been like living in Nazi Germany.

I often wondered what it would have been like during that time, as evil was taking root in Egypt and can’t help but wonder what I would have done. Would social pressure take precedence over my basic morality, and would I just ignore the lives of other people just to save my own skin?

I would like to think that I wouldn’t, that I would be willing to stand up for the rights of others. I would like to think I would be defiant like Daniel Craig in that film Defiance that I have been hearing so much about. I heard it’s about underground movements of Jews that fought back when the Nazis were taking over.

Chances are, I’d probably be like Oskar Schindler, who did his part to help the Jewish community, but his efforts were subtle. Still, he saved more lives that I have.

Okay, I am going to decide now to be like the Hebrew midwives. Let us hope I live up to it.

Seriously, It’s Cool, Really.

January 25, 2009

Today's Reading: Genesis 49-50 and Matthew 16

There is nothing that I can’t stand any more than aught in a relationship. For those who aren’t familiar with what aught is, it is any type of hindrance for good relations. Sometimes an argument can turn the best of friends into enemies. It’s good when the air is clear and cooler heads prevail and the enmity between people is gone.

Case in point, Joseph and his brothers. It must have been weird when the one man that you left for dead turns out to be the one who is saving you later. Is it any wonder why they were a little on edge? It makes it a little easier to understand what they did when they approached his brother saying: “By the way, when our Dad died, he wanted you to forgive us all for what we did to you.” They even wanted to become Joseph’s slaves in a good faith payment.

So what did Joseph say: “It’s cool. Really. I’m not mad, seriously.” You know what, I actually believe Joseph had no sense of hatred toward his brothers, not even in the slightest. He really saw the big picture.

This is very different picture from what was seen in Matthew 16. Here, we see Peter who has never been cooler in the sight of the Lord. Not only did Jesus tell him he had some serious divine revelation, but Peter was going to have some seriously cool stuff coming his way.

And then, one of the quickest twists in the plot comes around when Peter says to Jesus that “surely you aren’t going to die”. Jesus quickly tells the disciple to “get behind me Satan”.

You can’t tell me that didn’t cause a little bit of a rift in the relationship between Jesus and Peter. I was always wondering why there isn’t any recording of a time between Peter and Jesus, when Jesus said to Peter: “It’s cool, really”.

I’m guessing that there was a time when Peter and Jesus had a time of healing, even if things weren’t cool. After all, Jesus was going to be crucified, and nothing could change that.

Still, that reassurance that everything is okay even though it isn’t is what we all want to hear. And this is what Jesus is telling us right now, even if we have a hard time believing it.

Recently, I have had issues that I’ve still not really gone through. However, I’ve never felt burdened by them, as I can feel God’s grace come over me, even though I don’t deserve it. It’s like God is saying “It’s cool, really”.

Wisdom can be flipped

January 24, 2009

Today's Reading: Genesis 47-48 and Proverbs 9

At the risk of sounding like Andy Rooney, have you ever wondered why the things are the way they are? Why is it that professional athletes make enormous salaries, and teachers do not? Why is it we pay for bottled water that is hardly different from that we can get free from the tap?

In short, we do we do the things we do, especially when they don’t really make sense when we think about them. Comedians have been getting paid for noticing things like this for years.

In some cases, it has just sort of happened like that, and we adapted. For example, do you know why a QWERTY keyboard is not in order? As it turns out, the first typewriters kept jamming when the letters were put in order, so scientist figured out a way to space the letters apart so that a user could type with fewer jams. Now that typewriters are all put history now, we still use this system, because we have all learned to type on QWERTYs.

However, what if things were different, and things that we take for granted were suddenly…flipped? Maybe all our laptops, netbooks, and computer keyboards should be changed to ABCDEF keyboards, or what about the way we eat corn on the cob? Sure, we normally hold it horizontally, but why not hold it vertically?

I think we all know who created the immutable laws of God, but things that aren’t under the stone tablet category are really just customs.

Like in today’s reading, when Israel lays hands on Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Apparently, he was supposed to lay his right hand on the oldest, but he didn’t. Joseph didn’t like the crossed arms, and when he tried to fix it, Israel kind of got riled.

So why didn’t Joseph like that? I guess it violates the law of primogeniture, or something. Still, who established that? I don’t think that is even mentioned until later in the Old Testament.

In other words, why not flip some stuff around? Why not make the one who sold his brother’s birthright the man that we cheer for later? Clearly God likes to just screw things up every once in a while, maybe just to keep things interesting.

In the reading of Proverbs, it says that Wisdom calls out saying “leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding”. I can think of no simpler way of living than to cast aside every attitude that says: “we’ve always done it this way”.

Instead, do it some other way, just because it can be done in another way and there is nothing wrong with it! This makes following wisdom not a limiting thing, but a way of opening a world of possibilities.

Wisdom is a Woman

January 23, 2009

Today's Reading: Genesis 45-46 and Proverbs 8

I have found it interesting that of the places of the Bible, there is a personification of many things. What is interesting is wisdom is made female.

For some reason, I’m not certain why, but I could easily imagine the personification of common sense mixed with intuition to be female. You get married, and you can easily understand that.

I like the fact that she seems present at the creation, something that is absent from the Book of Genesis. I suppose I could imagine this angel of wisdom assisting the Almighty with his work, possibility helping out with the placement of things. My wife knows how bad I am at that.

I suppose I could get into how wisdom is supposed to be female because that is God’s design for the sexes. However, I’ve never been big on all that God’s design for the sexes, because they tend to lead into all sorts of arguments on who gets to wear the pants in the marriage, and all of that crap. This might be the last time you hear me talk about gender, because I’m already getting tired of it.

I suppose there isn’t a way for me to tie this to the Old Testament reading, because the cast of Joseph, Jacob and brothers are male. Still, the voice of wisdom prevailed in this story. Joseph shows great mercy to his brothers even though he didn’t have to. The fact that he was in power was the result of following wisdom. After all, it is by her that “kings reign, and rules make laws that are just by me princes govern and all nobles who rule on the earth”.

It would appear that wisdom rules, and she is everything that she says she is. I suppose that mercy is another quality. After all, do I really need to say how pissed I would be if I found my brothers years after they had left me to die. I wouldn’t have pretended to set them up as thieves, I would have really set them up as thieves, and seriously would have punished them.

Still, as soon as Joseph tells his brothers what’s what, the first thing he says is: “do not be afraid”. Not something like: “I’ve come back form the grave so I can take you all out”. Maybe it is because I am a man that I would say the latter, because I know a lot of females who have shown a lot of grace and overall smarts in bad situations. So maybe wisdom is justly a woman, I don’t know.

Joseph Lives on the Edge

January 22, 2009

Today's Reading: Genesis 43-44 and Matthew 15

There's somethin' wrong with the world today
I don't know what it is
Something's wrong with our eyes

We're seeing things in a different way
And God knows it ain't His
It sure ain't no surprise

These are lyrics of a song called “Living On The Edge” by Aerosmith. A song that is about the general state of the world today, and the chorus states: “You can’t help yourself from falling”.

I would be amiss to tell you that the world is a bad place. If you haven’t figured out that yet, then I want to live in your world.

The key is not letting the world get to us. We have to live in it, we have no choice. Sometimes, we can live on the edge. Take Joseph for example, I’m sure there are a lot of Christians who probably think that Joseph was doing something very “un-Christian” when he led his brothers on like that. “Yes, Joseph should have just forgave his brothers the moment he saw them. There was no reason to leave silver in their sacks, making them more nervous”.

I’ve heard that Joseph is the one person in the Bible with no known sin, but I’m surprised he would keep it together with this elaborate “get back at you” prank. Even though it isn’t in the reading, it was clear that Joseph knew when to quit. It was as soon all the brothers realized that they were willing to be slaves forever, Joseph had what he wanted. The brothers paid their debt.

In a way, it reminds me of something that Jesus said when he “what goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean’, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean’.

In other words, we live in a sick world, but that is not what makes us sick. If Joseph had chosen to go along with the whole situation, he could have put all of his brothers to death all at once. But he gives them all mercy.

Sometimes it is difficult to do the right thing in the midst of a wrong world. There are times when we stumble into the world, have bad things happen to us, and we want to blame ourselves. The problem is God doesn’t want us to have this mindset.

We are not responsible for all the crap that happens to us, unless we caused it. Chances are, you probably didn’t cause it. The key is to rise above it, do something about it. Joseph chose a weird way of dealing with the junk in his life. Maybe that’s what we need: a little Godly creative thinking.

So what are we capable of doing?

January 21, 2009

Today's Reading: Genesis 41-42 and Matthew 14

Yesterday I covered why God doesn’t seem to intervene at certain times where we would like Him to. I believe that I came to the conclusion that it is not His job to do so. In other words, it might be necessary for us to do a little bit of legwork on our own. After all, why should God do all the work?

Of course, in living with an omnipotent God who is always over us, we always have to wonder how much power we really do over the grand scheme of things. I always think it is interesting that when Pharaoh asks Joseph to interpret his dreams, his first response is “no”. Now, that could have been a death sentence, because Joseph was already a prisoner, and to refuse a direct request from the Pharaoh might be seen as probable cause for more jail time.

As it was, the refusal was only so Joseph would put it into perspective. He then tells Pharaoh that only God can do the whole “dream interpretation” thing, and justly so. After all, it doesn’t sound like Joseph had it down to a science.

This makes the reading in the New Testament very interesting. It begins when one of the disciples brings up a very real issue. “It’s a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food”.

Apparently, there was no fast-food restaurants around, and Jesus wasn’t into charging high prices for ministry food. What is most notable about this conversation is that Jesus says “they do not need to go away, you give them something to eat”.

Now, could the disciples could have feed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish? Of course, they needed a little sprinkle of Jesus. And I think Jesus knew that.

It just so happens that there are two types of actions: natural and supernatural. Most of us are capable of perfectly natural actions such as walking, dressing and other such mundane things. However, anything in the realm of the supernatural tends to fall under a whole new diction, and we need God to provide for us.

So I suppose that makes life about some dual purpose of doing both natural and supernatural things. What’s interesting is how much we pray for perfectly natural things, and there is nothing wrong with that. I like the idea of needing God in everything, both natural and supernatural. When it comes to the supernatural, I will leave that one totally to God.

No Intervention Zone

January 20, 2009

Today's Reading: Genesis 39-40 and Proverbs 7

It would be easy to make the subject of today’s devotional adultery, but that was so yesterday. Still, you got to admit that the contrast is terrific. In one reading, Joseph resists an adultress, and in Proverbs, a man succumbs to one.

Whenever I read the discussion of adultery in Proverbs 7, I always wonder why the writer, who I can only assume to be Solomon, sits and watches this adulterous affair sprout. I mean, where was he watching this from? Did he have a pair of binoculars, and was somehow able to read lips?

No, he probably was close by, which raises the question. Why didn’t he say: “Hey, man, get away from that b___h!” Okay, he probably shouldn’t say the b___h part, but my point is that he could have intervened and possibly saved two marriages that day.

But he didn’t, and we don’t know why. Maybe it was none of his business. Maybe it’s because he was really supposed to.

Sometimes God is the same way. We wait for him to intervene into some evil in our lives, but it just doesn’t happen. I imagine Joseph was probably thinkin’ that when he gets arrested for a sin he didn’t commit, after a perfect record of servitude. That just had to suck.

I imagine that he sat in his cell, feeling despondent, wondering if he did something wrong, and why God hasn’t stepped in and kicked some major butt on those who seriously have it coming.

Perhaps we are missing the point. God isn’t supposed to intervene every time something bad happens to us. In fact, it would actually be more just of the Lord to just let us go our own way and let us get into even more levels of badness.

Joseph soon saw the hand of God when he interpreted the dreams of those prisoners that eventually led to him being freed. (An event that happens in tomorrow’s reading, and was unfortunately delayed.)

It appears that God had a plan to stop the evil of famine that did not eclipse the evil that was happening at the present moment. This is sometimes how God works, standing back and intervening at His time, and not ours.

Yes, it would be nice to have a God who sends twelve legions of angels whenever we whistle, but is it possible that an army like that would totally ruin the story? Perhaps we need to wait until all the chips our down before we ask for a vacuum cleaner. Maybe it is us who need to suck it up and remember who we serve.

The Steps of Adultery

January 19, 2009

Today's reading: Genesis 37-38 and Proverbs 6

Since today’s readings both dealt with the subject of adultery, I suppose it would be easy to make it the subject matter of today’s devotional. This is assuming that you can call this a devotional.

Do I really need to tell you that adultery is bad, and that you should avoid it? Come on, that’s like going to auto-shop class and having the instructor showing you where the engine is on a car.

We all know this! Here’s something else we already know. Do you honestly think that an adulterer is born in the space of a day? That one day they receive an offer for sex from a pretty woman, and they throw their marital commitment out the window?

Even though that’s what it looks like with Judah, I’m certain that his adultery was just the capstone of a pyramid of sins. He probably had a wandering eye from even before he was married, and never dealt with it. Considering what he did to Joseph in the previous chapter, he probably was quite good at keeping secrets.

Proverbs 6:26 says that a prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread. I’m not certain why that metaphor is used, but if it’s anything like the bread in my house, it is gone before we realize it. In other words, an adulterous affair will remove all that a married man has built.

You know what is really funny are the two verses after it. “Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?” “Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?”

I remember reading those verses and answer both questions with “yes”. After all, if your clothes are made of asbestos, you could easily put fire on your lap without getting burned. As far as the man walking on hot coals without burning your feet, I recently saw an episode of Mythbusters that showed walking on hot coals is quite doable. Even before I saw the episode, I know about the potential of fire-walking.

Of course, the answer to both questions is “no”, but I just had to bring up the exception to those rules, didn’t I? In the same manner, an adulterer learns to rationalize his behavior.

Remember last week, when I happened to mention that I was in Vegas. I remember I talked with a woman who represented a company. I felt like we were getting along, and when I got back to my hotel, I began to understand how adultery works. All I would need to do was ask this woman for a deeper relationship. Not sex right off the bat, but it would eventually lead to that. In other words, I could do it, and supposedly, no one would ever know. “What happens in Vegas…”

The trick to avoiding adultery is to avoid step A before it goes to step B. The best way to do that is to not rationalize certain behaviors that are easy to live with before you do something that you can’t live with.

Speaking in Riddles

January 18, 2009

Today's reading: Genesis 35-36 and Matthew 13

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the movie Kung-Pow: Enter the Fist, but I had a chance to check it out for free on Hulu. I’m not certain I can recommend it, as it is one of those movies that is so satirical that it does not know when to stop.

For example, there is a scene where the main character is talking to a lion in the clouds, which is an homage to The Lion King, complete with James Earl Jones tone. The mystical lion tells the Chosen One “from the stars will your enemies come”. When the Chosen One asks what he means, the lion says: “I’m speaking in riddles. So that when the moment comes, you will say: ‘oh, that’s what he meant’”.

Sometimes you have to wonder if God gives us these riddles just because he loves to watch us chase our tails until we finally discover the answer on our own. Of course, what is interesting is how Jesus doesn’t speak in a riddles without giving the answer. This is sort of a change in pace from how this is normally done, but it happens this way because his audience really couldn’t figure out what seems to us obvious imagery.

There isn’t really an explanation on why sometimes God speaks so cryptically, and other times God just speaks up. Part of it may be in one of these riddles that Jesus talks about with the tares mixed in with the wheat. You will note that there is a section where it is considered the best course of action is to rip out those tares right away.

However, Jesus asks them to bear with the tares, and then rip it all out and separate it all then. I’m sure you can think of a lot of tares in your life right now, like trials or tribulations, that you would rather have removed right away. Instead, God seems to just let these things fester, like a great mystery with no answer.

So why doesn’t God just rip out all of those annoying little tares in our life? Maybe it is because something else will be ripped out if such a violent method of removal is applied. Like it or not, our problems tend to make our lives interesting. Yes, they do grow roots and bloom in places where we may not want them, yet this is exactly what they are supposed to do. They will be removed at their given time.

In the meantime, both God and you are waiting for the moment for when you say: “oh, that’s what He meant by that”.

Questionable Behavior

January 17, 2009

Today's Reading: Genesis 33-34 and Matthew 12

I’ve been noticing a certain theme to my last few entries. I’ve been critical of the actions of Jacob, often noting that they are selfish and cowardly, and I suppose it would have been proven even more valid with today’s reading. However, it wasn’t Jacob doing the action, but his sons.

It was a terrible set-up. Jacob’s daughter Dinah had been raped, and now the rapist has the gaul to ask for her hand in marriage. Apparently, Jacob didn’t see any problem in giving her away, provided all the males of Hamor’s family get circumcised. Then, while they were still in pain, Simeon and Levi have a massacre.

I have to admit, that plan is actually pretty clever, albeit diabolical. Jacob was always a little Machiavellian in his dealings, but this is a new low. I suppose I could blame the father, but personally, I’m rooting for Simeon and Levi.

I mean, Dinah was violated, for crying out loud. Sometimes it is hard to ignore the instinct for revenge in situations like this. I kind of noticed that the story conveniently ends after Jacob’s lecture. What was Jacob’s next line after his sons claimed they were doing the right thing.

I actually hope it was something like: “You’re right. I wish you weren’t, but you are.”

Why do I even bring this up? I’ve noticed that there are a lot of people in the Bible do things that I wouldn’t do. Think of David and all the blood he shed in battle, and all of that. But the weird thing is that even with our questionable behavior, God uses it.

For example, when all the people ask for a sign, Jesus tells them that he will give a sign of Jonah. Yet here’s the deal: if Jonah had actually done what God said, there would be no sign of Jonah. As you may recall, Jonah was in the whale because he wasn’t going in the right direction.

So why does God use people who have questionable behavior? Well, he doesn’t have any other option. I guess he could just leave all the work to angels, but then humanity would have absolutely no control of its own destiny.

I suppose this would be a good time to lecture you on avoiding “questionable behavior”. The problem is, it is hard to tell people to stop doing things that could be a part of God’s plan. I guess I don’t have much of case for that, so I would probably say this: Do what you can to make certain your behavior is right, but if it isn’t, it might (emphasis on might) play a small part in God’s plan.

The Back-Up Plan

January 16, 2009

Today's Reading: Genesis 31-32 and Matthew 11

Yesterday, I believe that I went so far as to call Jacob selfish, today, I’m going to take a step further and call him a coward. I’m not saying that Jacob would not fight if there was a noble cause, but when he learns that his brother is coming to see him, he does something that he probably did not need to do.

He splits his group up into two camps, hoping that if Esau destroys that one, the other would have a chance at escape. I don’t think that the Bible says how he wanted to implement his plan. I mean, did he want one group to meet up with Esau, and then the other group to flee the other way? If so, which group did Jacob mean to be a part of?

Once again, I can’t be the pot who is calling the kettle black here, as I’m sure I would be the first to come up with a back-up plan. As we discussed earlier, Jacob was a fugitive, and it is only a matter of time before the authorities that are after him catch up to him. I’m sure he realized by now what a terrible thing he had done to his brother, but he knew there was nothing to be gained by turning himself in. After all, he had a family of twelve children, and who would look after them? Worst case scenario, Esau might have killed his entire family.

So I guess he decides to come up with a plan to save as much as he could. Clearly the sign of a man at the end of his rope; a last ditch of cowardice that could end up looking like valor.

How different is Jacob’s life from that of Jesus. If you look at the life of Jesus, he didn’t seem to have any “split up into two groups” plan. In fact, he would say things that would easily take him on a one-way path to the cross.

However things like “Woe to you” and other calls to repentance had to be said, and Jesus knew that he was the only one who could say it. I think Jacob knew what had to be done, but was a little scared to do it.

All of that changed for Jacob when he was wrestling with the angel. It was never really said why these guys were wrestling. I don’t think the WWE was paying them for it, but what has always scared me about this verse is that Jacob wrestles with the Angel of the Lord and stands a good chance of winning. God has to use some sort of paralyzing strike in order to get rid of him. The man just would not let go.

Why did Jacob stay on, because he wanted to get blessed. Is that selfish? Of course. However, Jacob is selfish because he is human, and he really screwed things up. If that doesn’t sound familiar, then you’re probably not human. We need to be blessed.

If we wrestle with angels, let them win. You’ll never be the same afterward.

The Fugitive

January 15, 2009

Today's Reading: Genesis 29-30 and Proverbs 5

Today’s Proverbs reading is about how “a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths”. In other words, what a person does, and why they do it is in complete full view of the Lord.

That is pretty scary. It means that everything we do and the motives thereof are all revealed to God. So if we do a good thing, it might not be a good thing if our motives are selfish. So yeah, we might give our money to the church, but if we’re only doing it because the Pastor’s watching, then our motives are entirely misplaced.

It is interesting in the light of today’s reading, which is about Jacob. In case you aren’t really following it, Jacob is left home on account of what he did to his brother Esau. He quickly becomes, for lack of a better word, a fugitive. On the road, trying to get away from his past.

Of course, like all the fugitives that we know from movies, like Richard Kimble from The Fugitive or even David Banner from the The Incredible Hulk, the fugitive is imprisoned to life on the road and compelled to do good things.

Yeah, that is one thing I like about the whole Jacob and Esau story: it sounds like it was taken from some soap opera and movie. It even has twins, for crying out loud!

In this part of story, Jacob has finally found a home with Laban. Sure, he is trying to do something good by working, but he is always doing something for himself in the process. I wonder if Laban saw that, which is why he gave him Leah instead of Rachel.

Later on, we find that Jacob learns a way to make the system work for him with the spotted and speckled flocks. In no time at all, he’s got quite a haul of the herd!

He also has a family, and children, and he does all he can to take care of them. I suppose we can call that unselfish. Still, for all of Jacob’s goodness, he’s always got that heavy burden of guilt hanging over him for what he did to Esau.

Did all of those good things that he did ever make up for the big old bad thing that he did. Ha! Not a fricking chance. In a way, Jacob reminds me of me. I don’t think I’ve ever cheating a brother out of a birthright, but man, only Jesus can help me out of this one.

Really Seeking Wisdom

January 14, 2009

Today's Reading: Genesis 27-28 and Proverbs 4

There is an old story about a man on a boat with a wise teacher. The man asks: “Good teacher, what can I do to obtain wisdom?”

The mentor then takes the other man and sticks his head in the water. The man thinks that his mentor is trying to teach him a lesson, so he allows himself to stay submerged. Sadly, the mentor does not lift his student’s head out of the water, and the man drowns.

The mentor then dumps the body and heads back to shore, saying: “Now I will always be the wisest of them all!”

Okay, I changed the ending for that story. The way I heard it, the mentor guy eventually lets up his student from drowning and says: “When you desire wisdom like the air that you breathe, then you shall have it.”

The only reason why I changed it is because I’ve heard this story several times in sermons, and I’m kind of sick of it. Still, just because something is a cliché doesn’t mean that it isn’t true.

Proverbs 4 tells us that we must seek wisdom, but the truth is that most of us to not. Truth be told, we are usually trying to fill out heads with nothing but distracting trash whenever we have free time. I know in my case, you usually don’t find me reading the classics like Lord Jim, but vegging out in front of the television or whatever cool videos that I can find on the Internet these days.

In all honesty, I don’t think that I have the right to complain about my problems when I can clearly see that I could easily obtain the wisdom necessary to take them all out. If I truly sought wisdom like air, then I would be the one who strides for righteousness out of heart that is desperate to do good. Not some guy who wants wisdom whenever it is convenient.

So, the clichéd story has some merit. Some of you might like my version better, so I thought of another Christian story for a unique “irreverently reverent” twist.

This man was walking down a beach, and he sees a man picking up throwing starfishes back into the ocean. He walks up to this man and says: “I see that you’re trying to throw starfishes back into the ocean to save them from dying, but there are thousands of starfishes here, you will never save them all.”

The man then picks up a starfish, and throws it at the other man, lodging it in his eye like a shuriken. He then says: “Shut up”.

Like that one? Know the original ending of that story? Let me know what other dried-up Christian cliché metaphors that you want me to mess with.

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree

January 13, 2009

Today's Reading: Genesis 25-26 and Matthew 10

I find it amazing that the Bible often tells stories that it just really should leave out. I spoke yesterday about how the Word seems full of repetition, and today’s reading also had some repetition.

However, this wasn’t about the retelling of the same story. This is about a character in the Bible doing something that another person has already done. In fact, it is about when a character has done something he really shouldn’t have done, and proven a huge failure!

Case in point, Isaac. He is about to enter the land of the Philistines, which is ruled over by king Abimelech. I can only assume that the “lech” in his last name must have meant he was a real lech, because Isaac feared that his wife Rebekah would be taken away from him.

So what does he do? He tells a lie, saying that his wife is his sister. You can imagine how Rebekah probably felt about that one. So then Abimelech takes Issac’s wife, and then the Lord curses him, and then he has to go back to Isaac, and blah, blah, blah.

You’ve heard this one before. In fact, Abraham did the same thing, with the same person involved…Abimelech!

You would think that Isaac would have known better. Sadly, that just doesn’t seem to be happening. Isn’t it funny how characters who should know better still do stupid things. I guess we can’t relate, because we always do smart things, right?

Perhaps we’ve got a little Lord Jim syndrome going on. Some of you might not know what I am referring to, and to tell you the truth, I don’t really either. I tried to read Lord Jim, but couldn’t make it past the first chapter.

My Lord Jim experience come from a ninth grade class when I saw a film about this guy. I think it was David Soul (Hutch from TV’s Starsky and Hutch) who played Jim. Anyway, Jim is this guy who dreams of adventure, and he receives the mantle of captain on a ship.

One day, the ship goes through bad waters, and the crew has to abandon ship. Not all can make it to the lifeboats, and Jim is given a choice of being left behind and going down with the ship, or escape with his own life. Sadly, he chooses to save his own skin.

Lord Jim shows us that we all think that we would make the right choice when it comes to us in a nice package, but the opportunity seldom comes that nicely. Instead, it involves biting the bullet, and like Isaac, we might take the coward’s way out, even though we know better.

Okay, we get it!

January 12, 2009

Today's reading: Genesis 23-24 and Matthew 9

Have you ever noticed that there are sections of the Bible that are really repetitive? Take the reading in the Old Testament, with the story of Abraham’s servant. I have always liked this story, because it shows how praying specifically for things will cause them to come to pass.

The problem is that it teaches this lesson a little too well. After all, the Bible already shows us the part where Abraham’s servant prays the “yes, and I’ll water your camels too” prayer. And yet, there is a scene later where he has to tell Laban everything that we already know.

I’ve always noticed that in film, where someone tells a character about something is not as effective as showing the actual scene itself. There is a cinematic rule that says “show, not tell”, and I wish it was applied here.

Let’s put it this way: in the movie version of Genesis 24, we would seen Laban say: “So how did you meet Rebekah?” Then the servant would say: “well…”, and after a quick cut, we the audience would just assume that all main characters were up to speed.

And yet, the Bible sees a need to repeat it to the point where it is almost tedious. This makes it somewhat hard to read, as the mind just wants to skim over the seemingly unimportant parts and “cut to the chase”.

In a similar way, the miracles of Jesus start to become repetitive. I realize this may sound as a complaint about Scripture, but I ask you to hear me out. (This is called “Irreverent Reverence” remember?) I challenge any of you to list all the miracles Jesus performed in our New Testament reading, in order.

Chances are you can’t, so what happens? Our mind just skims over and goes yadda yadda yadda, Jesus does miracles. In this manner, we takes something that is supernatural, and make it natural by repetition.

So you could read these passages and say, “Okay, we get it”. However, aren’t we missing something? God has done a wonderful work. We should not let the retelling of it weaken what a wonderful work it is.

Instead, we should cherish every time something good from the Lord comes to us. Let us not be afraid to repeat it, either. The more we keep repeating all the good things that the Lord does, the more real they truly become. Sure, there will be those who will be sick of hearing it, but you know what I have to say to that? You don’t want to know. (I’m not about to get too irreverent.)

God Changes His Mind

January 11, 2009

Today's reading: Genesis 21-22 and Matthew 8

I believe that I have previously spoken about how sometimes the Lord is Late. In the case of Abraham, it had to do with the birth of his son, Isaac. It was probably decades before God kept his promise to Abraham before bringing a son, but it finally happened, despite Sarai’s old age.

So then what happens? God changes his mind. He then tells Abraham, “Yo, Abe, I’ve decided that I don’t want your descendents to be as numerous as the sand on the seashore anymore. In fact, I don’t even want you to have the speck you have now. Why don’t you just go kill him?”

“Excuse me,” said Abraham, “child of promise Isaac here. Child of promise. You can’t go back on your word now.”

“Uh, have you forgotten? I am the one who says the word.”

Okay, those last two lines never happened. Or, at least, there isn’t anything in the Bible saying that it happened that way. I suppose that we can infer from previous chapters that Abraham would have preferred not to have sacrificed his firstborn and only son.

You can’t tell me that you’ve been in a work situation like this. Say your boss asks you to do something, and you do it. And then, because he didn’t like it or you did it wrong he says: “I want you to do it again, but differently.”

There is just something inside of you that wants to defend your actions. Something that says: “you should have told me, and I would have done it right the first time”. Most of the time, this is the wrong course of action.

However, I think we all would agree that sometimes it is better to have things done over. It is often here when we discover that there is much room for improvement, and how we can truly improve. After all, most of the books that you read have been edited, edited again, and sometimes as much as eight more times. You probably don’t want to read some of first drafts of classic works.

I honestly don’t think that anyone can say that we would sacrifice our firstborn for God. In all honesty, I don’t think God is wanting that. What he wants is our time, talents, and everything else that is hard to give up, I guarantee it.

So if God ever asks you to change something in your life, try to think about how it will make your life better overall.

Narrow Escape

January 10, 2009

Reading: Matthew 19-20 and Matthew 7

In the reading today in Matthew, it talks about how we must enter through the narrow gate, because the way to evil is generally this wide open path that is pretty easy to follow. In fact, I can be evil without evil trying. It’s like my place. If I want it to get dirty, all I have to do is nothing. Just go about my day and not clean it.

To clean it is laborious, and therefore is one that I often don’t do. This is my narrow road. Oddly enough, the narrow road ties into the Old Testament reading. It is kind of interesting that when Sodom and Gomorrah is about to be destroyed, the angels tell Lot exactly where to go. In other words, they were telling him what narrow path to take.

I guess Lot wasn’t too big on the escape plan, so what did Lot say? “No, I want to go here. You are like strangling me here with this whole ‘go this way’ trip. I want to broaden my options.”

It would be like at the end of a spy movie, when the villain’s headquarters gets destroyed, and the heroes have to make it out before the gigantic explosion kills everything. Usually there is always that convenient way of escape that the good guys have to take in order to make it out alive.

Imagine that ending, but then the hero says: “No, I don’t want to go that way. You know, there might be a safer way. Let’s figure out where it is and take it.”

“Would you just hurry up! This place is exploding.”

How often has this happened to us, we want salvation and help, but we want it on our terms. However, if I knew that the city I was in was going to be destroyed, I would take the only way out I could. Shoot, you couldn’t get me not to leave.

Or so I say. There have been times that I have sought help, only to find that it did not come in the convenient pill form that I expected it to. Usually it involves a lot of jumping through hoops, and going to areas that I would have preferred to avoid.

Yeah, sometimes that happens when you live the life of a Christian. The only way out of our prison is through a sewer pipe, like Andy DeFrane in Shawshank Redemption. However, you usually end up crawling through “s__t-smelling foulness and come out cleaner on the other side”.

Keep Good and Evil Secret

January 9th, 2009

Reading: Matthew 17-18 and Matthew 6

I think I have done a lot of talking about my time in Las Vegas, and I’ve pretty much used it as this like domain of evil illustration. I remember the first time I visited this town, I described it as “a Sodom and Gomorrah sequel just waiting to be made”.

When Abraham talked with God about Sodom and Gomorrah in Chapter 18:20-21, he says: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

When I read that verse, I was thinking: “I’m sorry, but is God saying that he’s heard so much about Sodom and Gomorrah, that he is thinking about destroying it? I mean, doesn’t God know how bad Sodom and Gomorrah is?”

That would be like God not knowing how bad Vegas is. The posters of scantily clad women not enough for you? Yeah, God knows, and the whole delay on Sodom was actually more for Abram and Lot’s benefit and not his.

Well, the truth is, most of evil things we do we do in secret. More than likely, a secret place is where most sinful acts occur. After all, doing evil in public will insure that you get caught. Unless people are complete idiots, most evil things usually don’t happen in public.

This is one thing that good and evil things have in common: both of their actions usually don’t occur in public. In fact, Jesus seems to frown on public acts of goodness. His advice in today’s New Testament reading is simply: “If you are going to do good, just do it, don’t expect any good things to happen to you because of it.”

You know that really annoying comparison that I keep making between Vegas and Sodom? Well, I think the reason why God is not destroying Las Vegas. It is because there are quite a few righteous people here. The issue is, they are doing their good needs in secret, probably saving one soul at a time. They don’t have their piety lit up on neon signs.

I remember thinking that there were no churches in Vegas, but I was wrong. I found one today while I was in a bus going down the Boulevard, or the Strip. Near the gargantuan hotel/casinos of the Wynn and the Encore was a church.

I can’t help but wonder what this church has to deal with on a daily basis. I wonder who are the people who come back and repent weekly over their gambling and other problems. Nice to know good things happen, even in supposedly bad places.

When the Lord is Late

January 8th, 2008

Reading: Genesis 15-16 and Proverbs 3

Sometimes it feels like there is nothing worse than someone who shows up late. Especially when you show up early, and there is that interim period where you wonder: "Did they forget? Did something happen to them".

Remember back in the days before cellular phones, where if someone was late, they had no way of contacting you? Then there was nothing to do but wait until you got home and find out what went wrong.

Today's reading is about a promise that God made. You see, God had told Abram that he was going to have a son, and took it a step further by saying that his descendents would be like the sand on the seashore. Okay, I am assuming we are talking about every grain of sand, which would probably be some number that hasn’t even been reached in the current population of Earth.

So, here is Abram, sitting around with his wife Sarai, probably having sex every night and wondering why no baby was happening. Suddenly, they wake up to find that they are senior citizens, and, as said by Steve Carrel in Get Smart: “your ovaries will dry up and fall out”.

Can you imagine the decades of wondering what’s up? “Hey, did God forget to send the baby? Can’t have all that sand on the seashore if I don’t even have a speck, here.”

So what did they do? They had a back-up plan. “Here, I am obviously too old to have a kid, so, why don’t you have sex with my hot maid Hagar.”

“Well, if I absolutely have to, but I promise that I won’t like it.”

I can’t help but wonder how many times Abram had to “have sexual relations with that woman” before she got pregnant, but I’m pretty sure that the more it happened, the more spiteful Sarai became. No wonder she continued to hate on Hagar after Ishmael was born. I often found that Sarai’s abusive behavior toward Hagar should is really underplayed by most Bible scholars.

Yeah, Abram and Sarai screwed up, and it wasn’t the first time. If only they had obeyed the precepts obeyed in Proverbs 3:5. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understading.” (Actually, he probably couldn’t have followed that, because it hadn’t been written yet, but I think the concept existed back then.)

You see, God doesn’t operate on timetables and deadlines, because he’s got all the time in the universe because he fricking invented it. So if God doesn’t keep his promise, he’s got the whole eternity thing to make it come to pass.

Isn’t it great that these two Scriptures actually worked together, for once?

Seduction vs. Strength

January 7th, 2009

Reading: Genesis 13-14 and Proverbs 2

As I mentioned yesterday, I am still playing catch-up on this devotional because I am attending this convention in Las Vegas. There is nothing like Vegas to put the issues of folly and wisdom into perspective like Proverbs 2.

I read Proverbs 2 last night, and couldn't think of anything to write about it. I honestly felt that God was going to show me what the scriptures meant the next day, about choosing between wisdom and folly. You see, I was slightly worried about a party that I was invited to by a certain business. I saw that the Party was at a place called the Tao, which is located in a hotel/casino called the Venetian.

I was actually at the Venetian yesterday, and I saw posters for the Tao. They showed a woman naked from the back, and it looked like the Tao was a strip club of some kind. I was slightly nervous about going to a party if there was going to be some sort of adult entertainment in mind.

Of course, I had nothing to worry about, and the Tao is more of an "Asian Bistro" than a nude review. Perhaps it becomes an X-rated place after a certain hour, but I'm not really that curious. My point is why the Tao chose its method of advertising, and why this entire city seems to want to seduce you.

Today, when I was at the Paris Hotel, I saw a shop that said "Ah Sin". Honestly, I probably wasn't reading this neon sign right, and it could have easily "An Sin", but I don't think that translates to anything. I read the sign like someone who follows the Proverbs 2:14: "Who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil". So the sign would read like someone in the middle of debauchery saying "Ah, sin". Given that interpretation, Las Vegas is aptly named "sin city".

Of course, I can't say that the entire city of Las Vegas is folly, and all of Christianity is wisdom. I'm sure there are more than one exception to each of those statements, and it would be nothing more than arrogant presumption to make such a generalization.

My point is that life is full of wisdom and foolishness, and it is far too easy to stray from the right path. So, for the party at the Tao tonight, I had a plan, and made certain that my wife knew what I was getting into.

Of course, I had nothing to worry about, but I have attended that party if there were strippers there. Let's just put it this way, I would have avoided looking at scantily clad women and focused on my business goals. Assuming I could accomplish my business in such an atmosphere, I would have done what I needed to do and promptly left, because I literally would have had no business being there. This is what I felt God was calling me to do in that situation.

You want to hear something funny? I felt that God was telling me that I was somehow going to see naked ladies today. I'm not saying that I would be seeking them out, but that I would unintentionally see something lewd, and I was going to need to turn away. I thought he was referring to the TAO, but then something actually funny happened on the way to the party. Apparently, there is some sort of Adult Expo here in Vegas at the Sands, and one of the attendees was wearing a skirt with no underwear, so I could see her...tushie. In all honesty, there was nothing really seductive about that butt, because it was fat, really. Still, I did not walk behind this woman very long, and if I really wanted to be seduced, there are other places that I could go.

That's if I wanted to be seduced. In this town that I am visiting, folly has seduced many. It really is very sad. It's like another sign I saw at the Venetian, and ad for The Phantom of the Opera show with a tagline of "Be seduced".

This is really how folly works, by falling for seduction, while wisdom works by standing strong. The problem is it's too easy to say yes, and that is why we can't give in. There is a strength that comes from saying no to self-gratification, if we would only do it.

I suppose it isn't too late for all of them. I makes me want to pray. For all those who are seduced, and keep me from making decisions that could cause me to be seduced.

Building up Babel

January 6th, 2009

Reading: Genesis 11-12 and Matthew 5

Yes, I am late in today's posting, and I'm now playing catch-up instead of being a few days ahead. All I can say is that I am on a business trip in Las Vegas, in town for CES 2009. In the last two days, I have been traveling and going to conferences.

The day before I left for Vegas, TCM was showing Vegas Vacation. I don't know what it is about TCM, but they are always showing some Vegas-themed movie before I leave for CES. Last year, it was Ocean's 11. It's always weird when the world of television intersects with my reality.

Anyway, in Vegas Vacation, there is a scene where a hotel clerk tells Chevy Chase where his room is. Her directions are quite complicated with "go down the hall, past the casino, right by the blackjack tables, ignore the first set of elevators, then continue on to your elevators". I laughed out loud when I saw that, because I know it is very easy to get lost inside a Vegas hotel/casino.

That is exactly what happened to me yesterday. I lost a half-hour's worth of time getting from the parking lot to the hotel. What seemed like it would be a straight path to my room ended up being a complete waste of time. I finally just had to leave the building and walk outside until I found the lobby.

Today's reading in Genesis about the tower of Babel reminded me of Vegas. As you might have seen from my past entries, I tend to use my imagination a lot and create hypotheticals, and here is today's: "What if God never tried to stop the building of the tower of Babel?"

I suppose mankind would have continued work on this tower to the heavens. However, a tower that is too high would never stand, so the foundation would have to spread out. The end result would be a city that is one gigantic building.

If you can't imagine that, try pulling from science fiction dystopian worlds like Blade Runner, where there isn't a green piece of Earth to be found. Better yet, think The Fifth Element, where buildings are so high that they block out the sky.

In short, all of humanity would be squashed together inside a labyrinth of a building that would probably be a lot like living inside of a Las Vegas casino. We weren't meant to live this way, but to be fruitful, and go forth into new lands and have dominion over the entire earth. Babel was a way of saying, "let us unite against God". I believe this is the only time in history this has ever occurred.

No wonder why God had to curse everyone with languages. I suppose it was his way of saying: "if you're going to go against me, then you had better be prepared to go against each other". Can you imagine what it would be like to be working on the tower of Babel and suddenly speak some other language?

"Hey, brother, can you hand me that...schmehay."

"What the mookalah did you just dekah-yay?"

"I don't juko my kopob!"

"May kooska hookah wooka!"

Even today, we have to always deal with the language barrier, and we could certainly communicate a whole lot better with anyone in the world if we all spoke the same language. However, like Adam and Eve's sin, some consequences are unintended, and last until the end.

If we don't have God, we will never get along with each other. This is why we can't get along even though we are spread apart over the Earth. This is why peace is so unattainable.

So where does that leave us? In a place where all of humanity must turn to God, all at once. I can't help but wonder if this is even possible. I think it starts with us all following the precepts of Matthew 5.

Ham Really Got a Cruddy Deal

January 5th, 2009

Reading: Genesis 9-10 and Matthew 4

I'm sure that I'm probably not reading the 9th Chapter of the book of Genesis correctly, but it appears that Noah got himself drunk. Apparently, he got so stinking plastered that he didn't have time to put on his clothes. Apparently, Noah's wife Joan (kidding!) was no where to be found in this part of the story (for some reason, not kidding about that).

So here's Ham, minding his own business, trying not to get into trouble, and bam! He sees his father naked. Apparently, some sin was done here, but the Bible doesn't exactly say what. Since there were naked men involved, I'm sure it was something bad. It can't be just seeing someone's nakedness, because they probably saw each other naked many times on that cramped Noah's Ark. I'm sure they had a Men's Locker rooms with showers, or they could have just taken their clothes off and went dancing in the rain. (That's a Ricky Martin allusion for those without ears to hear.)

Yes, it sounds like I am rooting for Ham. However, I'll go on a little faith and assume that whatever Ham did that was worth a curse was justly bestowed. I guess what bothers me was how the story of Noah ends.

Noah had done the will of God, built an Ark, and used it to save the world. God puts a rainbow in the sky, all the animals depart, and it was the perfect happy ending. Considering that Noah and his family were the only ones on planet Earth to have any problem of any kind, it absolutely sucks that he didn't use this new start.

Yes, Noah shouldn't have got drunk in the first place. Why did he get drunk? Most alcoholics turn to the demon in the bottle because they are disappointed with what the world had given them, but I just don't see how Noah, who was given a whole new world, could be so despondent. Maybe he had the "survivor's remorse" that you hear about. It affects people from war-torn countries who saw everyone but themselves die. I suppose that Noah probably had the ultimate survivor's remorse, as he was the only human left besides his family.

Still, after that deluge, where man gets a fresh chance to try again at Eden, Noah's first act as leader of the new world is to establish a curse. Just think what a world it would be now if Noah's first act was to forgive his son for...whatever the hell he did.

Then again, I think we all know that humanity is pretty much incapable of making decisions for the good of the planet, as demonstrated by Adam. The flood may have taken away the evil, but it was still there even with its lone survivor.

This is why Jesus had to be tested in Matthew 4. If Jesus had failed any one of those tests that satan threw at him out in the wilderness, it would have been Adam and Noah's aftermath all over again. A failed test would have proven that Jesus was just as fallen as any of us, and unworthy of taking a curse worse than the one bestowed on Ham.

I can't imagine how bad it was for Jesus. The Bible only records three tests, but if he was out in the wilderness for 40 days and nights without food, I'm sure it felt like three hundred. All this was done so there would be a great light, and all curses, even the ones uttered by drunken men, will be completely vanquished.

So, yeah, I think Ham really got a cruddy deal, but all of us are under a curse until Jesus breaks it.

Only Time Will Tell

January 4th, 2009

Reading: Genesis 7-8 and Matthew 3

You have to admire people like Noah and John the Baptist. These men devoted their lives to something, and were not promised any real results.

I always felt it probably would have been easier on Noah when he was building the Ark. After all, an Ark is a construction project where you can see measurable results every day. Maybe not noticeable, but it is there. The Bible doesn't really say if Noah was on some sort of timecrunch to finish his little project, or if God would have held off the rain until the boat was done.

And once the boat was done, it doesn't say that the Lord told Noah how long he would have to wait on it. So there he was, not knowing how long he would have to stay on the big smelly boat. Man, he probably got impatient.

I wonder if John the Baptist ever got impatient with his mission, I mean, he felt led by God to go out and baptize people, but he was not told why. I'm pretty certain he would have felt more led if he knew he was going to be baptizing Jesus, but the Bible doesn't say that this is the case.

Sure, we all know how the story ends, but for these characters, they had no idea. In the same way, there are times where God tells us to do something, and it doesn't look like it is going anywhere. Sometimes, there is a temptation of quitting, especially in the face of opposition.

I would imagine there were tons of Jewish people who were calling John the Baptist a heretic, and he probably wanted to quit. Can you imagine the opposition Noah faced? I mean, if the world really was as evil as the Bible says, then I have no doubt that construction on the Ark was constantly delayed by Vandals and other various evildoers who wanted to stir up trouble.

So, if you are feeling led to do something, and not certain whether you should do it, perhaps you have not considered the possibilities of your actions. Sure, it is easy to do something when you feel that it is going somewhere, but the real test is when you are doing something that appears, on the surface, not to be amounting to anything.

Clearly, we don't know the big picture behind our actions, and sometimes it is necessary to quit something that really is, at its heart, meaningless. However, you might find that the dead-end job that you think you're doing turns out to be slowly building a road over time. Only time will tell.