Many Thoughts

As globalization slowly sweeps the earth, I feel like having a firm grip to what I consider "truth" is becoming more and more disdainful. Backward thinker, they say. Close-minded and set in her ways.

Why should I be considered close-minded if I listen with an earnest and willing ear to another's point of view, yet after juxtaposing it to my own, decide that I cannot agree? And yet, how often do I attempt to explain my understanding and I see a vague, glossy look sweep my "listener's" face? Are you not refusing the possibility that maybe, just maybe, the "new" way is not the best way? Of course not. That would be close-minded.

Other people, cultures and customs are not wrong, they are just different. I wonder. Is it wrong to buy an expensive suit so that you look more presentable at work, rather than using that money to...feed the poor? Is it wrong to sew or remove parts of a woman so that she will remain a virgin until marriage? On the other hand, is it wrong to circumcise a boy? Is it wrong to believe another human being has the right (note the word I just used) to demean another simply because they are of a lower caste? Is it wrong to give less than 100% of earnings to a worker so that someone halfway across the world can buy the product at a cheaper price, all the while allowing the company to reap the benefits? Is it wrong to spit gum on the sidewalk?

You may have read some of those questions and given your own answers of "yes" or "no". Before my next, answer this: is it wrong to have your answer and say nothing when someone goes against your conviction? If you really thought it was wrong to spit gum on the floor, would you not say so to the individual doing it?

Is it wrong to have a set standard of moral values and to try to implement them?

My take on it? I believe that when you strip away a foundational set of principles for human living, you cause the edifice of humanity to totter and eventually crumble. I am not saying the government should take over every aspect of our lives. The freedom to choose is priceless (by the way, the first entity to ever give this freedom was God!). I am speaking of morality. I am so sick of the whole "what's right for you is right for you, what's right for me is right for me" bit. There must be an absolute truth. Life just doesn't make sense if there isn't! If everyone did as they chose, chaos would erupt. Chaos has already broken out because of it.

I've stepped back and considered if my strong belief that I should make a difference in the world by sharing my beliefs is just an "American" reaction to difference (Americans have a stereotype of swooping in and forcing others to become like them). I do not believe my view has anything to do with American upbringing.

If we were all the same, that is, if we had no uniqueness, life would be boring, unprogressive and pointless. I don't think that people should look the same, dress the same, speak the same or dance, eat, work or play the same. But I do believe there should be standards. Who makes the standards? Well, if you've been reading my blogs, it's no surprise my answer is: God.

People think Heaven will be boring, that we'll all be in white robes on streets of gold, encompassed by blinding light and monotonously repeating "God is good. God is good."

Reading Revelation, I cannot say what Heaven will be, exactly. But I know for certain it will not be boring. Think of it like this...when you were a baby, you thought the best thing in the world was to have a bottle of warm milk. When you grew older, you thought it was Mom's food (well, some of us). Older still, and you discover high-end cuisine. Or another illustration: as a child, a best friend is someone who you agree with on...anything! High school, a confidant. College? A supporter. Adult? Someone you know would do absolutely anything for you.

How much better will be the things of Heaven? I remember thinking as a child that Heaven would be boring because I wouldn't get to have a Nintendo. Ha. Now that I'm grown, I know that there are things in life far more pleasurable than a Nintendo. "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a [wo]man, I gave up childish ways." 1 Cor. 13:11

How silly to think that God's way is not better. Will the pot say to the potter, you don't know what you're doing here? Only if it thinks it's greater than what it really is.