ENLIGHTEND INDIVIDUALISM and EXCEPTIONALISM

“One of the greatest satisfactions one can ever have comes from the knowledge that he can do some one thing superlatively well”

Hortense Odlum, businesswoman

We have a capitalist system in our country that depends on Individualism and Exceptionalism. Individualism is being a strong and productive person. Exceptionalism is being above average and having some level of success.  These two words can have negative connotations – self-centered, selfish, uncaring, and elitist.

We in America have adopted an enlightened form of individualism and exceptionalism. Individualism is a strong and capable person who has enough margins in their life to care for others. Only the strong can help the weak, can pass on their knowledge, can share their successful life experiences with those who have lost their way, and have the money to give to charity. Every day millions of hours are given to charities and caring for others and every day millions of dollars are also given to charities. We are a generous people.

Ben Carson was a black child who grew up in the Detroit ghetto but he also

had a mother that taught him to work hard and set high goals. As an adult he became a world famous neuro-surgeon who with his gifted hands made thousands of patients’ lives better. My father, who was an engineer, discovered at age 50 that he had artistic talent. He created about 100 paintings. Some he sold, many he gave away and the remainder were kept in the family to enjoy and treasure. His beautiful paintings enriched the lives of many.

Our capitalist culture allows us the freedom to choose whatever career path best suits us. This freedom generates the optimum economic productivity that gives us the highest standard of living the world has ever known. Americans have a unique quality “to make things happened” and “to get thing done right”.

We should be grateful that we live in a country that has a capitalist system that fosters Individualism and Exceptionalism. We need to choose our career path carefully, strive for excellence, have some fun, and give generously to help others. This is what has made America the envy of the world.

IS OUR FLAG STILL THERE?

IS OUR FLAG STILL THERE?

It is the war of 1812 and the British once again have an army on American soil. They have invaded Washington DC, placed their flag at our Capitol building, and then burned the capital building to the ground as well as the White House and the treasury building. They have moved on to Baltimore and Fort McHenry. There is a fierce battle at Fort McHenry. Francis Scott Key, on a diplomatic mission, views the battle from a British ship in the harbor. The battle rages into the night but in the morning twilight he can still see the American flag flying over Fort McHenry. From this he knows that America is winning the war. That is when he wrote his famous poem – the words of our national anthem.

        O say can you see by the dawn's early light,
       What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
       Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
       O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
       And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
       Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
       O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
       O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

       O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
       Between their loved home and the war's desolation.
       Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
       Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
      Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
      And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
      And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
      O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Every time we sing the national anthem we should ask “Is our flag still there?” Is the liberty that brave men suffered, bled, and died for still here? Unfortunately, the flag is down to half mast and being lowered every day.

Today all commerce, business and organization is controlled by Federal regulation. The Federal Register has 175,000 pages of regulations and there are 1,900,000 bureaucrats to enforce them. We have dropped to 12^th place in economic freedom.

 The founding fathers knew of this potential problem and in the10^th Amendment provided for this: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution, nor prohibited by the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Over time we have elected Senators whose primary loyalty is to their political party rather than to the people of the state they represent. We are no longer the home of the brave. We have taken the easy bread of government handouts – welfare, food stamps, housing, etc. and lost our sense of self-reliance.

Can we again raise the flag to full mast and remake our country the land of the free and the home of the brave?  Yes, we the people can!

What is a Man? (For men only)

What is a Man?

(For men only)

It takes more than a male anatomy and testosterone to make a man. A real man is:

·      A person of integrity and honesty; his words and actions are consistent.

·      A person who deeply desires to constantly improve himself physically, mentally, spiritually, and relationally.

·      A person who can overcome disappointments in life and not take on a victim mentality of “why me”, “life is unfair”, “if only.”

·      A person who respects women, earns their respect, and loves his wife unconditionally.

·      A person who wants God to direct his life and depends upon Him for guidance.

While a few men are destined to be bachelors, most should marry. Men who live with a woman without marriage are selfish and cowardly. They want the benefits of marriage without the commitment. They are cowards because they are unwilling to make the commitment of marriage for a lifetime.

Beginning back in the 1960’s feminism dominated the culture. Men responded by withdrawing or becoming “a significant other” or getting into pornography. Men need to assert their God given and natural traditional role as protectors, providers, and propagators.

While men no longer need to protect women from the barbarians at the gates or savages attacking their homestead, women still have the need for a feeling of safety and security.

Men should select a career that will provide the income adequate to support him and a family, giving to others, and for their retirement. The man’s earning should be the base income for the family. In today’s culture it is not unusual for a working wife’s income to exceed the man’s income. Both should recognize that society rewards some careers more than others.

Most marriages will produce children. Men prefer that at least one of the children be a boy. This is natural because most men want to teach and model a son into manhood although they love their daughters just as much.

 Are you a real man?

Why the Mighty Fall

Why the Mighty Fall

Adolf Hitler was one of the great and charismatic leaders of the 20^th century. Unfortunately he was an evil man.

He was born on April 20, 1889 in Austria. From 1933 to 1945 he was elected Chancellor of Germany and took over as a dictator in Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945.

Hitler was a charismatic visionary who convinced the people they were a superior race and destined to rule the world. He became their god. His anti-Semitic policies and racially motivated ideology resulted in the death of at least 5.5 million Jews, and millions of other people whom he and his followers deemed geneneticaly inferior. Without God the people lost their moral compass, their morality

He invaded Poland in September 1939 resulting in the of birth of World War II. In Europe under Hitler’s rule in 1941 German forces and their European allies occupied most of Europe and North Africa.

Hitler took personal command of all military forces despite his lack of experience. He made the strategic error of trying to fight the war on three fronts; Russia on the eastern front, the Allied forces on the southern and western fronts. In 1943, Germany was forced onto the defensive and suffered a series of escalating defeats. It is generally believed on April 30, 1945 Hitler committed suicide and his cremated corpse was buried in unmarked grave. Germany was a pile of rubble.

Hitler did not lose the war for lack of military acumen but because his ideology was based on a faulty premise. While Hitler thought he was invincible, God was in control “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, as people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown and, no sooner do they take root in the ground, then he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.” The war simply proved that people cannot worship any god and ignore the true God. As a nation they needed God’s moral compass to flourish.

After losing the war the German people looked for a new god. They found him in materialism. With a strong work ethic they rebuilt their country using the government to establish mortality though laws rather than using a moral compass directed by God. Today under materialism, Germany has the strongest economy in Europe. The German people have learned to love their job security, job benefits, and time off from work. So how long will it be before their culture collapses?

The German nation will not fail because of the economy. It will fall because as a godless country it will not obey the Lord’s command “Be fruitful and increase in number” Genesis 1:28. The birth rate in Germany today is 1.4 children per female. It takes at least a rate of 2.2 to maintain the population. At the present rate demographics will change and there will be comparatively few younger people to support a large aging population. The nation will crumble.

Today Europe is comfortable with its materialism and is one of the most gospel hardened areas of the world. They are comfortable without the God of their history. We know from biblical history that nations will come and nations will go but the Word of God is eternal.

Pray for Europe and for the missionaries who serve there.

FREEDOM AND LIBERITY

One of the factors creating American exceptionalism is the precision in the use of words our founding fathers used in writing the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. They were well of the more than 600 years of history where men sought freedom and liberty from the dictates of kings. With this perspective, a unique understanding of the times and human nature, they wrote about freedom and liberty. 

We think of freedom and liberty as the same thing, synonyms. But the founders defined them differently. Freedom was the right to do whatever you pleased. Liberty was freedom plus morality. Therefore liberty was freedom constrained by doing what is right. They were very intentional in using these terms. John Adams said, “Our Constitution was only made for a moral and religious people.” 

The Declaration of Independence uses the word liberty rather than freedom. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The creator intended us to be free but subject to morality that is founded in the 10 Commandments and the teaching of Jesus and the apostles. 

The First Amendment to the Constitution, The Bill of Rights, gives us five rights. They were probably grouped together, rather than listed separately, because they’re linked together so closely. Three are listed as specific freedoms. They are freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of religion. The use of the word freedom means these rights are not encumbered in a way. We have the freedom to say whatever we want, to print whatever we want, and to worship God in any way we want. Note that it does not give us the freedom to do whatever we want. They did believe that each man was accountable to God and therefore it was safe to use the word freedom in these three areas.

Liberty was the paramount consideration. Patrick Henry expressed it well: “Give me liberty or give me death.” The founding fathers knew from history that government by its nature always wants to control with laws and regulations and therefore needs to be constrained.

In our time when the lessons of history are so soon forgotten or ignored, it is critical to our lives, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that we and the leaders we elect take careful note and heed the intent of the founding fathers who laid the base for our form of government sound in principle and of, by, and for the people.

GOOD and EVIL - INSIGHT MEANS SEEING INTO THE FUNDAMENTAL NATURE OF REALTY

God is goodness and Truth. Satan is evil and the father of lies. Evil is anything contrary to the nature or will of God. These two forces are in conflict, in a struggle, a battle, a war.

These forces are in conflict in three different realms: in nature, in the natural world, and in our hearts (soul).

An Apple has two kinds of worms. When eggs are laid on the tree’s branches they produce worms that attack the Apple from the outside into the inside. When eggs are laid inside the apple they produce worms that attack the Apple from the inside out. Because they are out of view it is more difficult to see how much damage is being done. Just as there are two types of worms there are two types of evil.

Evil from the Outside in - Nature   

The good in nature came about at the time of creation when God pronounced each step “good.” When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, God cursed the earth. Thus we have both good and bad. The same plot of ground has both beautiful flowers and noxious weeds. Some days are sunny and peaceful but the next day may bring earthquakes, tornadoes, floods and drought. These events are indiscriminate in that they affect some people but not others. This randomness of peace and chaos seems unfair. “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Matthew 5:45. God does not always protect us from these things but he does give us the courage, hope, and ingenuity to deal with them.

Evil from the Outside in the Natural World   

The evil in the world affects us from the outside. Hitler in Nazi Germany had his gas chambers, Stalin had his gulag, Mao had his re-education program, Kim ll-sung had his work camps, Sadam Hussein had is torture cells. Together they killed tens of millions of innocent people. Today we have murderers, rapists, kidnappers, drug addicts, drug dealers and Islamic terrorists who occupy our neighborhoods and invade our homes. We have 27 million people held in slavery. We have millions of people living refugee camps under hopeless conditions.  We have 2 billion people trapped in poverty living on less than $2.00 per day. The world is an evil place that affects lots of innocent people.

God is a God of peace, but war was declared when Lucifer and his angels rebelled against God. The war is both celestial and earthly. Celestial war is described in Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Earthly wars can be just or unjust. Just wars can be used if they are to crush evil and establish good. God uses war to accomplish his will. Unjust wars are evil wars where an aggressive nation wants control over another nation.

During World War II, General Eisenhower and General MacArthur ordered that cities of the enemy bombed and invaded. They were honorable men and knew that thousands of innocent people would die. But they calculated by ending the war sooner they could save many more lives and go on to promote goodness. Thus the evil of war was used to serve God’s purposes and to make peace.

These things are like worms the go from the outside to the inside.

Good from The Outside

There is lots of good in this world. Every day billions of people produce goods and services for themselves and others. The hungry are fed, sick are healed, the homeless are given shelter, and people hear the good news of the gospel for the first time. People gather to have fun and be entertained. People care for each other. The world can be a good place.

Thus, the world is both a good place and bad place and there is conflict between them.

Evil from the Inside Out

God made man in his own image and everything went fine until Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan. Not only were their souls corrupted, every human being inherited a corrupt soul.

While the dictators listed above had evil in their minds they also had evil in their heart. Each one of us has the potential of not controlling our minds and committing the same kind of evil acts. The human heart is desperately wicked but because of the grace of God (Common Grace) we are still capable of good.

We have a worm inside of us.

When we invite Christ into our heart he gives us power over evil but there is still a tension between good and evil. “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Romans 7:15

*  *  *

Why do we need to understand good? Because we need to practice it every day in our personal lives, in our culture, and in our world. Why do we need to understand evil? Because we encounter it every day and we need to know how to deal with it. During World War II in North Africa there was an armored tank battle led by the American General George Patton against German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel. The Americans were winning when Patton declared “I read your book.” Because he had read Rommel’s book he knew his tactics and was able to position the American tanks to outgun the Germans. Just as Patton won the battle because he knew the tactics of the enemy, we must understand the tactics of The Great Deceiver.

While we can win the battles we cannot win the war. Only when Christ returns and he casts the devil, his angels and his spirits into the abyss can we declare victory in the war with evil.

UNDERSTANDING YOURSELF - UNDERSTANDING OTHERS

... INSIGHT ... means seeing clearly into the fundamental nature of reality

Have you ever thought about how you live your life and how you make decisions? While we’re all unique individuals we tend to fall into one of four general categories -- leaders, builders, actors, and artisans. While more sophisticated classifications of personality are available today, this more classic categorization will do for our purposes.

If life is like a grid, how does each personality category view it?

Builders

The builder sees the grid as a matrix with an unlimited number of rows and columns like an Excel spreadsheet. Data is entered into each square and then analyzed. There is no problem that cannot be solved with this method. These are the people who design and build things. . As students, because of the way their brain processes information, they frequently excel in math and science and find courses that require a lot of reading boring. These people typically have occupations like accountants, engineers, actuaries, cooks, construction and industrial workers. They are problem solvers and builders of things. They deliver goods and services.

Leaders

The leader sees the grid as a chessboard with all the pieces in place. The game is played by strategic moves to checkmate the competition. The object of the game is to win. These are people who build organizations. They are strong willed and independent thinkers. These people are typically entrepreneurs and have occupations like: business executives, government officials, military officers, athletes, or attorneys. They are the builders of the culture.

Actors

The actor sees the grid as a stage where they are the only character. They will sing, dance, and speak their part to influence the audience. They are communicators. These people have occupations like: actors, salesman, marketers, magicians, pastors, evangelists or music directors. They are change agents of the culture that make things happen and make life fun.

Artisans

The artisan sees the grid as a patchwork quilt with each square an array of contrasting or blended colors. The alignment of the patches creates lines that are pleasing to the eye. This arrangement makes the piece interesting. These are the creative ones who can think outside the box but lack organizational skills. These people care about others. They love animals. As students, because of the way their brain processes information, they frequently excel in English, the arts, and social studies courses but struggle with math and science. These people typically have occupations like: artists, musicians, architects, interior designers, councilors, chefs, nurses, and teachers. They are the people who enrich our lives.

*   *   *

Leaders and actors are self-centered.
Artisans and builders are more concerned about others.

Leaders and actors are more assertive.

Builders and artisans are more passive.

Leaders and builders are fact-and-reason decision-makers.

Actors and artisans are intuitive and emotion decision-makers.

Leaders and builders are oriented toward things and ideas.

Actors and artisans are people-and-relationship oriented.

Leaders and builders are planners.

Actors and artisans take one day at a time.

Leaders and builders are more time orientated.

Actors and artisans are more events-orientated.

Leaders and builders want the world to be more prosperous.

Actors and artisans want to make the world a better place to live.

God has made us different for a reason. Each personality type sees the world differently just as each type saw the grid differently. Each personality type makes its own contribution to our life, our culture, and our world. No type is better. They are each different. Understanding how you think and how others think is a valuable life skill.