Sometimes I shock myself with the smart stuff I say and do. Then, there are the times I try to get out of the car with my seat belt on.
unknown
If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living? Why?
EVIL
Going back to biblical notions of evil. Evil in the bible is very simple. It is transgression. Evil isn’t a prerequisite for sin. Evil is sin. That is the biblical view. Evil is not a noun. It’s a choice.
Richard Beck
Separateness
We go through our lives, our years on this Earth, thinking of ourselves as separate. That sense of separateness basically causes every stupid, sinful, silly thing we ever do. The little, separate self takes offense when people don’t show us proper respect. The separate self lies, steals, and does unkind things to other people. When we’re separate, everything becomes about protecting and defending ourselves. It can consume our lives.
One word for overcoming that false sense of separateness, that illusory self, is heaven; quite frankly, that is what death offers us. It is simply returning to the Source from which we came, where all things are one. The whole gospel message is radical union with God, with neighbor, and even with ourselves. I think that’s why so many people are drawn to church each week—to receive communion and eventually, hopefully, realize that we are? in communion.
Richard Rohr
Belonging
Social group identities and norms, as opposed to theological beliefs, as the primary psychological drivers of religious interpretation and expression.”
Our religion is about what our group defines as sacred. Belonging before believing.
Samuel Perry
Humility
…humility simply means living in the reality of the human condition. The word “humility” comes from the Latin root for “ground” (hum-) which it shares with both “human” and “humus”—that nutrient rich soil that gardeners love. In this way, humility suggests a kind of groundedness or acceptance of our limits as earthbound creatures. Humility puts us in our place, teaching us that for all our ambitions and aspirations, our lives are lived in this moment, in this time, in this place.
Hannah Anderson
WE ARE STUPID!
Prov. 12: 15 Stupid people always think they are right. Wise people listen to advice. (GNT)
Wise people are really aware of how often they are wrong. Even when they are right they feel a sense of wrong.
Stupid people always think they are right. They never have to justify their actions. They never have to justify their choices because they think they’re right. If you are always right you’re not always right, you’re always stupid.
By choosing to listen you begin to attack the stupidity in your life. Wise people listen to counsel. You never get so wise that you do not need advise.
Stupid people think that wise people don’t need advise. And that’s why they are stupid. Wise people need less advice and want it more. Wise people need less advice and seek it more. Stupid people need more advice and seek it less.
Here’s how to know where you fall on the spectrum of stupid or wise. If you are asking people for counsel and input in your life you are wise. If you are looking for people that agree with you, you are being stupid. Ironically, stupid people always pretend they are getting advise.
Irwin McManus
STILL ON THE JOURNEY