So Much To Think About

Judgement
I remember when I was jail chaplain in Albuquerque, I would read in the newspaper the stories of criminals in our city and I would form an opinion about how terrible they were. Years ago, a young woman committed murder to steal a baby. Everybody in the city hated her, I think. I went to the jail the very next day, and they told me that she wanted to see a priest.  
I didn’t want to go in the cell because I knew I wouldn’t like her. I knew I would judge her because I’d already judged her. I can’t tell the whole story, but I will share this much: when I left that cell, I had nothing but tears and sympathy for the suffering of that young woman.  
You see, the One who knows all can forgive all. But all we know is a little piece—the part that has offended us. Only God knows all, and so God is the One who can forgive all. 
Richard Rohr

Honor the King
Where men are forbidden to honor a king, they honor millionaires, athletes, or film stars instead; even famous prostitutes or gangsters. For spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served; deny it food and it will gobble poison.
C S Lewis

Opinion
Opinion is a flitting thing,
But Truth outlasts the Sun –
If then we cannot own them both –
Possess the oldest one-
Emily Dickinson

Autobiography is not advice.
“Just do these three things I did.” Autobiography is not advice. Given how poorly most people understand themselves, it’s barely even autobiography.
Derek Thompson

My faith journey
I believe our lives are a journey. A healthy life is characterized by growth and change. Each day holds the prospect of adventure and discovery. Life is not defined by seeking a safe place and hunkering down insulated and protected from the world around us. Each of us possesses a deep longing to go home. To find our way to that place that we were created for. The pathway we take is not always pleasant and there are dangers to be dealt with. But, there are many beautiful experiences along the way. Wonderful relationships with people. Beautiful sights and sounds and smells.
We do not travel alone. Our creator leads us and watches over us. He gives all that we need for our journey. We meet many people along the way. Some of them join us our journey. Some we encounter briefly. Some encourage us and offer provision of our journey. Others do not understand and become enemies bent on disrupting our pilgrimage. No matter what happens to us along the way, we continue to travel toward our destination because we trust our creator who loves us and will not abandon us on our journey. He has promised us life.
George

Misconceptions
Weekly feature entitled Misconceptions. An idea which comes from reading Factuals: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World–and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling. Learning that things are better in this world than we think they are is a much needed but generally resisted message because of deeply held misconceptions. Using reliable data, Rosling addresses and refutes ten major misconceptions that shape our view of the world in negative ways. Each week, I will include a misconception and a reality that refutes it.

What’s Really Important?
Recently, a city bus company evaluated its training program for bus drivers. Someone asked the embarrassingly basic question,
“Why do we have bus drivers in the first place?”
Of course, everyone already knows why we have bus drivers–to get people from one place to another as efficiently as possible. 
Yet when a survey actually asked the public what qualities they most valued in a bus driver, efficiency and punctuality were not at the top of the list.
The top virtues? Cordiality and politeness. 
Evidently, driving a bus was a more humane, engaging occupationthan even the bus company knew. 
In selecting drivers on the basis of efficiency, and training them to be even more efficient, the bus company was actually destroying thesequalities required (by the public) of a “good” bus driver.
The company was forced to rework its driver training program in accordance with the public’s description ofwhat a bus company was expected to be.
Resident Aliens

STILL ON THE JOURNEY