Let's Look for the Good in the World

Please don't believe everything you hear. The world is not "going to hell in a handbasket". (For younger people: that's an old expression.). I mean, there's a whole lot of bad stuff, and some of us have different opinions about who's behind some of the bad stuff, and even what's bad and what isn't.

But here's what I think we need to remember: There are always so many people willing to make sacrifices, small or large, to help others. There are people willing to risk their lives to save others' lives. Right now, there are many, many people willing to leave their families and the comfort of their homes to go help people who are suffering from a widespread natural disaster, Hurricane Helene's drastic damage.

Even in everyday life, there are people of every race, gender, nationality, and age (yes, from very young children - I see it often - to very old people) who will step up in some way to help someone else when they see a need and are able to fill it.

I'm not a Pollyanna. Believe me, I go through life with my eyes wide open. I read the news. I frequently read nonfiction books which show the seamy and sad and even shocking sides of life...in the hopes of finding ways to shine a light on it. But there is way more good in this world than there is bad!

We need to keep the darkness in perspective, and look more at the light than at the darkness. We need to keep the hate that's in the world at bay, and look more for the love. I wish I could remember who the author was who said, "Love means look for good."

Easter Blessing

I didn't post at Easter because I've been very busy, working on a book. But it's still the Easter Season. So I would like to share something I wrote a few years ago. 

Easter Blessing

We are each important to one another but most important is our God.

He made us and we are the work of his Hand.

He does not make us and let us go. He does not love us and let us go.

He made us and loves us…even to sending his Son…even to watching his Son die in agony…for us.

His Son came, suffered, and rose from the dead; that we might have life, and have it more abundantly…that we might know the greatness of His love for us.

He loves us with a tender love which knows our trials, knows what it is to be human.

He loves us with a nurturing love which knows what it is be mothered by the best mother on earth.

He loves us passionately. He who knows what it is to love passionately, both as God and as a human, caring for his family and friends when he was on earth.

He loves us with a faithful love, an everlasting love, preparing for us a place, a place of beauty and joy.

He is risen. Let us rejoice!

It's a Gray Day but Spring Will Come Again

Picture: A patio with large trees behind it and gray sky 

The sky is overcast and gray here in my neck of the woods. It's lightly raining. The forecast predicts more rain and possible coastal flooding. 

The "news and views" we hear in the world sometimes cause us to feel like a gray day inside too and - like the concerns of possible flooding for those on the coast - we sometimes fear many things. 

But all we can do is do our part, pray, and trust that spring will come again. While it's fine to plan (and I'm a big planner), we can still live each day as it comes. Maybe that's why Jesus said to pray: "Give us this day our daily bread." Maybe it was not only a way to pray but maybe also a way to live. 

And here are some bright yellow flowers to signal the coming of spring. 

Picture: Daffodils beginning to bloom in the yard...a sign that spring is coming 

Beware the Errors of the Prosperity Gospel

Just some early morning musings.

Please beware of the errors of the prosperity gospel. These errors, in various forms, have seeped into our society (and in many cases flowed into our society) for nearly a hundred years.

Actually, these or similar errors go back longer than a century, into antiquity, as people watched Job suffer monetary and health losses and they said he must not be right with God. A whole book of the Bible is devoted to refuting this way of thinking. God said that Job was a righteous man.

God is not a puppet master or a marionette master, pulling the strings of our lives and of those around us. He gave us free will...all of us. And each of us can be affected by the sins and even by the very human mistakes of any. Whoa, that's a heavy thought. But let's think about the ripple effect. If someone makes an unjust law that stays on the books for centuries, it reaches across time. If someone ruins the supply of a life-giving commodity, the effects can reach across a country and perhaps even the globe.

We don't know all the reasons bad things happen, but we need only look at Job - and Jesus - to know that sufferings of this life cannot be assumed to be punishments or a lack of blessing. As I heard one good priest say emphatically, "All *good things* come from God!"

So, what are some of the dangers of prosperity gospel thinking? Perhaps a kind of despair (thinking we are not good enough.). Perhaps a lack of compassion (how many times have we seen "the poor" criticized, as if it is all their fault?). Perhaps a lack of charity to those who are not deemed worthy (paying for the drink of the next person waiting in the drive-through line in their SUV, but always avoiding the homeless with averted eye).

Let's remember in all adversity that we can always turn to God. In some cases, he might fix the problem through a miracle or through science or through inspiring us what we can do next. But other times, he might give us comfort, or patience, or joy in the midst of sorrows. Sometimes he might send someone to encourage or comfort us or to help us with our needs. We don't have to be "worthy" to receive God's blessings. He is always with us, always loving us, all of us, rich and poor, healthy and sick, loving us as a good Father.