Things I've Learned in 25 Years

I ran across my old blog the other day. I haven't blogged since my first year of law school. Basically, I got really busy my last two years of law school and didn't have much time to blog. Now, I'm thinking about starting it up again. Two years ago, when I turned 23, I posted 23 things I'd learned in life up to that point. I am republishing that post, and adding 2 things to that list because I am now 25....

Things I've learned in 25 years:

1. Life without love is pointless....love your friends, neighbors, enemies, and yourself...in that order. Living without love is like living in a silent film when you could be in a modern motion picture.
2. You learn more from those who disagree with you than those who agree.
3. Nothing worthwhile comes without a fight...not relationships, not careers, and not education.
4. Think. I have learned more about my faith and my life in general by questioning...living a life without questions is a shallow existence.
5. It takes a long time to build someone up and a short time to tear someone down..."it only takes one tree to make a thousand matches, and it only takes one match to burn a thousand trees"
6. You can't trust depressed people.
7. Listen more than you speak. I've learned a lot more in life when I listen to others whether it is a friend or a law professor than when I speak myself.
8. Your Word is your greatest commodity...value and protect it and in all circumstances keep it.
9. Those who are easily offended are generally ignorant.
10. You can do anything you put your mind to...therefore be careful what you put your mind to.
11. Don't let others define you...you were given control over youself for a reason. Submit to authority with caution. Pick your Church, political group, and friends wisely.
12. Be genuine. Only then can you love yourself and in turn love others.
13. It is better to be by yourself than to be a part of a group that tries to control you.
14. Emotion and reason must be equally balanced. Sacrifice reason and you are exposed and vulnerable...sacrifice emotion and you live a boring life without passion.
15. Do not be easily swayed by large movements. Bandwagoning generally leaves you blind to truth and full of future regret.
16. When you try to determine whether something is important in your life, view it as if you were on your death bed...is it still important?
17. Put others before yourself...life is not rewarding unless you do.
18. Worrying is worthless...it keeps Tums in business...other than that, worthless.
19. Materialism is the sin of America...always put people above things.
20. Lead by example...never ask those you lead to do something you wouldn't first do yourself. Lead by working closely along with those who are following.
21. I have read Aristotle and Plato, but I find the greatest practical example of the perfect existence in Jesus...that's why I follow him.
22. Learn from the mistakes from others and don't be afraid to make your own. Inaction due to a fear of mistakes is a tragedy.
23. At 23 I still "know" virtually nothing...and when I die, I will probably "know" less.
24. Balance is necessary in life. You were born with a body, mind, and spirit...you must exercise all three to be a survivor in this world.
25. Courage is knowing what you have to do, being afraid, and doing it anyway.

Nothing to write

It's been awhile since my last post...and there's not much to write because not much seems to change.

My life right now is pretty much set up for me for the next 3 years...school has a way of deciding your schedule. I was looking at facebook profiles of friends the other day...some have spent time in Europe, Africa, or the Phillipeans...sounds like a good alternative compared to the law library. It's just another one of those weeks where I feel uninspired...sometimes I feel creative and sometimes I don't. Right now, my head is sort of spinning with school and we're heading into a major writing assignment...which is followed by mid-terms in December. Life's good...just kinda going through the motions right now...

I always though Ecclesiastes was a great book...my pastor at CSF introduced it to me a couple years back. Whether you're a Christian or not...it's good stuff...one of the more philosophical books of the Bible. Anyway, this quote always keeps me in my place.

Ecclesiastes 1:9
9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

I think the writer balks at "new" movements and ideas...things that are "revolutionary". Really, the joke's on us...there is nothing new. Happiness, sadness, wealth, poverty, love, hate, war....it's all a cycle. It's like my property professor said the other day..."men come into life wanting to take over the world, and they leave only owning a 6 foot by 3 foot plot of land." Even if you gain the entire world...what does it matter? It's been done before...and if it didn't matter then, it certainly doesn't matter now. It seems only the faces and names change. Obviously, the material world isn't the point. It's a humbling verse...it puts you in your place.

Anyway, that's all my uninspired mind has been thinking about recently.

23 things I've learned...

Here's some things I think I've learned in my past 23 years. Some are chliche...sorry for those...but they still ring true in my life.
1. Life without love is pointless....love your friends, neighbors, enemies, and yourself...in that order. Living without love is like living in a silent film when you could be in a modern motion picture.
2. You learn more from those who disagree with you than those who agree.
3. Nothing worthwhile comes without a fight...not relationships, not careers, and not education.
4. Think. I have learned more about my faith and my life in general by questioning...living a life without questions is a shallow existence.
5. It takes a long time to build someone up and a short time to tear someone down..."it only takes one tree to make a thousand matches, and it only takes one match to burn a thousand trees"
6. You can't trust depressed people.
7. Listen more than you speak. I've learned a lot more in life when I listen to others whether it is a friend or a law professor than when I speak myself.
8. Your Word is your greatest commodity...value and protect it and in all circumstances keep it.
9. Those who are easily offended are generally ignorant.
10. You can do anything you put your mind to...therefore be careful what you put your mind to.
11. Don't let others define you...you were given control over youself for a reason. Submit to authority with caution. Pick your Church, political group, and friends wisely.
12. Be genuine. Only then can you love yourself and in turn love others.
13. It is better to be by yourself than to be a part of a group that tries to control you.
14. Emotion and ration must be equally balanced. Sacrafice ration and you are exposed and vulnerable...sacrafice emotion and you live a boring life without passion.
15. Do not be easily swayed by large movements. Bandwagoning generally leaves you blind to truth and full of future regret.
16. When you try to determine whether something is important in your life, view it as if you were on your death bed...is it still important?
17. Put others before yourself...life is not rewarding unless you do.
18. Worrying is worthless...it keeps Tums in business...other than that...worthless.
19. Materialism is the sin of America...always put people above things.
20. Lead by example...never ask those you lead to do something you wouldn't first do yourself. Lead by working closely along with those who are following.
21. I have read Aristotle and Plato, but I find the greatest practical example of the perfect existence in Jesus...that's why I follow him.
22. Learn from the mistakes from others and don't be afraid to make your own. Inaction due to a fear of mistakes is a tragedy.
23. At 23 I still "know" virtually nothing...and when I die, I will probably "know" less.

Awkward encounters with Christians...

I've been thinking a lot lately about what make it awkward for some, including me, to go to Church sometimes. In Church this past week, our pastor read an interesting quote...it said that the bar is an artificial church...the community found there where people can let their hair down, be themselves, and share with friends is what should be in church....at bars, however, alcohol is served instead of grace.

Interesting thought...I wish I had the full quote...hope that makes sense...the idea is that Churches often don't have the community that even bars have, and that's tragic. We are supposed to be "brothers and sisters in Christ" yet we barely know each other.

This comes to one of the things that makes Church awkward for me. For a long time, I've struggled with the idea of accountability groups. First of all, as I have mentioned before, I have a decent will power and group pressure really does little to motivate me. For me, it doesn't make sense. Furthermore, I found today that "accountability group" is found nowhere in the Bible. The Bible says that if a brother sins, you must keep him from harming himself...but first remove the sin from your life so you can adequately help him. Nowhere does it say you need a group of 5 other guys to put pressure on you every week to read your Bible. Those who are the strongest advocates of these "accountability groups" are also those who contend that the Bible interprets itself and that nothing is left up to human interpretation.....these same people make it seem as though if you don't join an accounatbility group to keep you on the straight and narrow, your spiritual life will shrivel up and die.

hmm...

Did Jesus, Moses, Noah, or Paul.....Peter, John, or James have a group of guys they sat around with, explaining their deepest darkest secrets and asking for group pressure to refrain from doing certain acts? Maybe they did...maybe not...but it's nowhere in scripture. Now, I do believe there is a practical use for such groups...such groups work for AA and NA and I have heard people kick their porn and lustful habits from being in such groups. There seems to be an important distinction here...in these groups, everyone involved struggles with exactly the same thing. That makes sense to me because then the group really can't become a slimy gossip den...drug users rarely point the finger at other drug users, etc.

I guess what I am saying is I think there is a use for accountability groups for some people. For others, accoutability to God is all it requires for them to stay on the right path. Therefore, I don't feel as if a group is necessary for me...I stay accountable to God...for on Judgment Day I'll be accountable to him and not some accountability group.

I think these types of groups...or just the mindset of some Christians makes going to Church awkward. They say we are all "brothers and sisters in Christ"...but there is a schism between this ideal and reality. In truth, we are brothers and sisters...but it takes time to actually feel like you are someone's brother or sister. Some believe that because you come to Church, you should share everything that has ever happened or will happen to you. "Super Christians" that I don't even know walk up and ask "so, how's your 'walk'"...or "is there anything I can pray for you about"...or...."I see you're in a relationship...is it a 'God-honoring' relationship". Whoa, whoa, whoa....dude, I don't even know you.

Unfortunately, I think those who struggle with Gossip in the Church love to be involved in accountability groups and prayer chains (not to say all those involved in such groups are into Gossip) so they can know everything about everyone in the church. These busy-bodies misuse such ministries to fuel their Gossip....unfortunate but true.

I don't feel anyone should feel compelled to share anything they don't want to for the purpose of building a false community. Sharing comes with time...community comes from sharing. It would be neat if we could all let our guard down right away...but we're humans and it just doesn't seem natural. If you want to know about me...try the conventional way by first introducing yourself.

Jury Duty on Judgment Day

Wow...I just finished one of my final revisions for my first legal memo...I'll do my final final revision tomorrow morning. The law is pretty complicated...it's really more of an artistic use of words. See, in law words could mean 100 different things...when our legislators write statutes, our courts define the words of the statutes through lawsuits/trials. (If the above paragraph were a statute, someone would have to define "morning" for example. Something you think is obvious, but can be complicated. I said I would finish in the morning...well, technically morning starts at 12:00 a.m....though most people don't wake up until 7 or so. Morning lasts until 12:00 p.m....so what did I mean by morning???....the technical definition of the word or what is customarily referred to in our society as morning?).

Anyway, with all this legal stuff in my mind, I haven't been able to stop thinking about the parallels between the courtroom and judgment day. In the Bible, Satan is often referred to as "The accuser" whereas Jesus is referred to as "Wonderful Counselor" and God is the "Judge." The Old Testament established the Law...but much of it was "overturned" by Jesus' sacrifice.

Anyway, in the "courtroom" on Judgment day, it looks like Satan will be the prosecutor and Jesus will be our defender. Satan really has a good case, doesn't he? He will base his case on us upon the Old law before Jesus' sacrifice. He'll argue that the sacrifice of one person cannot reasonably wipe away the sins of mankind. Jesus, as our counsel (I was also thinking....people always point out how unethical it is to defend someone you know is guilty...hmmm...I guess maybe we won't have any problems with that when we're sitting before the Judge on Judgment day?) also has a good case. After all, he has practical experience in the world...he knows what it's like to be human, and he died for the defendant. As Christians, we have what is called an affirmative defense.

An affirmative defense in the law basically tells the plaintiff or prosecutor "yeah, we admit everything you are alleging is true...but [insert defense here]." An example... if you intentionally hit someone and cause them harm, you have committed a battery. Even though you have committed a battery, your affirmative defense could be self-defense if the one you hit was trying to attack you. So, you said...yeah, I committed the battery but it was in self-defense. Case closed if you prove self-defense.

So, when we're up in Heaven and Satan is bringing his claim, we can do nothing but admit what he is saying is true. We've sinned...we've been terrible people...and we don't deserve what the Kingdom offers. We also don't deserve the sacrifice of Jesus...a claim that Jesus would probably even admit. Our affirmative defense, however, is Grace and Jesus' sacrifice. I guess the part that strikes me is that Satan doesn't need to lie to create a case against us...he's more persuasive with the truth.

Also...I wonder who Satan will call as witnesses. I got to thinking about why judging people is so wrong. See, we call it "judging" people...but we don't have that true authority. We aren't the Judge. But I think when we tear down the character of those around us, we actually become Satan's witnesses. We implicate our fellow man and Christian...it's as if when we judge others, we are called to the stand to verify everything Satan is trying to prove against mankind.

I don't know about you...but I'd rather be on the other side of the aisle.

I was listening to a Natalie Merchant CD the other day (The House Carpenter's Daughter...good folk CD)...and the lyrics are all about drawing a line in the sand...picking a side in a conflict.

come all you good workers
good news to you I'll tell
of how the good old union
has come in here to dwell
which side are you on boys? which side are you on?

my daddy was a miner
he’s now in the air and sun
he’ll be with you fellow workers
until the battle's won
which side are you on boys? which side are you on?

they say in Harlan County
there are no neutrals there
you'll either be a union manor a thug for J. H. Claire
which side are you on boys? which side are you on?

oh workers can you stand it? oh tell me how you can
will you be a lousy scabor will you be a man?
which side are you on boys? which side are you on?

don't scab for the bosses
don't listen to their lies
poor folks ain't got a chance
unless they organize
which side are you on boys? which side are you on

We don't have a chance unless we organize. The lines couldn't be clearer. Jesus said "You're either for us our you're against us." There is no in between. On Judgment day will you be a witness against your fellow man or a witness for Jesus now, sharing the Affirmative Defense with others?

"Which side are you on boys? Which side are you on?"

Defending the faith

My last post dealt with "radicals" who pose as Christians. On "O" street yesterday, I drove past a Church whose marquee read "If you want to defend Christianity, live it." That made me happy...

I also read the Pope's comments about Muslims and Christians...a lot of truth. He said that the Western Christians have a lot of ration, but little faith. He said that Muslims in the Middle East have a lot of faith, but no ration. Makes sense to me...and I guess that was proven by Muslims shooting a defenseless nun.

I have somewhat been amazed by Muslims and their faith. Though I think it is completely contradictory to morality and ration...they really really believe in what they are fighting for. What else would possess someone to strap a bomb to themself? In the same light, Christians have failed to live out their faith...they have lost their willingness to go to a foreign country and die as a martyr (not as a soldier...but as a mission worker). The harvest is great, but the laborers are few. Christians have used their ration to pick apart each other's arguments and divide into even more religious denominations...while losing any scrap of faith.

The Pope seems like a smart guy...I'm looking forward to hearing more from him...

Christian 'Radicals' like Terrorists?

I checked my hotmail account this morning before church and read:

O'Donnell on ABC: 'Radical Christians' no different than murderous radical Muslims.

My first response was to disagree. I've never seen a Christian strap a bomb to him/herself for their cause (I've heard about bombings in Northern Ireland...don't know much about the conflict though...I think it may have more to do with politics than religion...maybe it's the same in the Middle East). Anyway, I guess Rosie O'Donnell says that Radical Christians here in the U.S. are the same as Muslim Terrorists in the Middle East. These are her comments...

"Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America where we have separation of church and state," O'Donnell said. She had been saying that America was attacked "not by a nation." She continued: "And as a result of the attack and the killing of 3,000 innocent people, we invaded two countries and killed innocent people." Even her liberal co-hosts were shocked by her comments (check it out at...http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701728/posts).

As an American, I would say that O'Donnell has a right to voice her opinion...more specifically...as a person she has the right to voice her opinion. And I, as a person also have the right not to listen...just like you have the right not to read this (whoever you are). I think O'Donnell's comments draw a strange parrallel politically....I think it's a bit of a stretch. But her comments did get me to thinking (I think her comments are a bit rash and irrational [I believe she is trying to say Christians are the cause for war in the Middle East...that's unfounded]...though this helped me to think of something more deep and rational...therefore, I'm glad she brought it up.)

I think there are 2 types of radical Christians. On the one hand, you have "Jesus Freaks"...people who are willing to give their lives...their entire property to Jesus to serve the needy, hungry, and poor. They do so out of love for others and out of Love for Jesus. These Radical Christians are far from terrorists...I wouldn't call them "Radical Christians"....but rather these people are "Christians." Mother Theresa...a radical or someone who read the Bible and followed what it said? Is helping someone in need radical or extreme? I think it's amazing...radical? Not hardly.

On the otherhand, there is a branch of the "Christian" church that is radical. These are the folks who stand outside and picket...shoot abortion doctors in the name of Jesus...scream condemnation from fountains on campus...these people are radical. Why? Well, they don't follow Christ's example. When was the last time Jesus gained a follower by shouting at them or throwing a stone at them (....no, the Jesus I follow actually kept others from involving themselves in such action). Jesus, the only blameless human ever to live did not reign down the fire of God on sinners...he ate with them. He did tell them to change their ways out of a deep love for them...but when was the last time anyone felt loved by a picket sign? Jesus also didn't advocate changing the world politically. When do you see Jesus speaking to Caesar about politics? You see Paul on his way to talk to Caesar about Jesus...but not about "religious" issues. So, I would say...there are "Radical Christians"...but I would call them "Radicals" (purposely leaving off the sacred name of Christ).

On the message board underneath O'Donnell's comments, I read some comments by some such "Radicals"....here's what I found.

---"it took this fat obnoxious sicko dyke less than a week to start in on her anti- Christian Tirade. I sincerely hope the state of Florida takes "her" children away from her. This woman is mentally unstable and has no business even being near children."

Wow...and what did Jesus say?

John 13:35--
35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

hmm...

I actually sort of agree with O'Donnell's parallel to these "Radical Christians" being like terrorists...but I would venture to say that they are worse than terrorists. Islamic extremists kill the body...but I think this breed of "Christianity" kills the soul. Now I don't agree with O'Donnell's lifestyle, but I am a sinner saved by Grace....far be it from me to throw the first stone. "Christians" who preach their Gospel of Hate turn people away from the religion that I believe is true...in doing so, they destroy souls instead of lifting them up in truth and love. A destructive comment from a person posing as a Christian is far more dangerous than a terrorist's bomb which merely kills the body because those comments are an assault on a person's soul...and the soul is eternal.

I hope that I never have to face Jesus and tell him that my conduct and actions pushed others away from knowing him. I don't want to be a wolf dressed as a Christian sheep...bareing the name of Jesus but acting like Satan the Accuser...and pushing the lost farther away from the flock.

We are all in this together...and a Gospel of Hate is contrary to the Bible's true Gospel of Love written by the author of Love and it is pushing away those from the love of Christ who need it the most.

So, those who pose as Christians and spread hate with their words and conduct are not like terrorists who kill and destroy the body. They are worse. Terrorists of the body are terrible...but such a terrorist could never touch my soul. A terrorist who preaches the wrong message and keeps people from the truth, however, touches the soul....the greatest crime known to man....