So, for your benefit, I'll say, "Show me one time in the Bible where multiple marriages didn't cause conflict."
Saturday, July 14, 2012
I guess I'll have to back up a bit.
Many don't like to hear that marriage is supposed to be 'one man and one woman'.
It is not just supposed to be a man and a woman, but 'one' of each.
It could be arguably said, isn't 'one' enough trouble?
Pastor Myron's insight is that marriage is designed for conflict.
Now this is not a disgruntled pastor speaking. Myron is one of my favorite people to talk with. The wisdom that is associated with that statement, is that development and growth often comes about through struggles. It doesn't always happen that way, but it is supposed to.
That is called maturity.
That is called maturity.
Look at the maturity of a caterpillar. To turn into the beautiful butterfly, it first has to go through a struggle.
And part of the struggle is to move out of our box, and to acknowledge the give-and-take involved. That doesn't mean that you give and I'll take ...that's another story, and involves ideologies argued within government reform.
There is a higher level of maturity involved when a man and woman decide to continue to work on a marriage that may not be either's idea of marital bliss.
God didn't make us like other creatures, to roam about and mate according to whatever whims or reasons. But mating is necessary, as each of us who exist, are a result of the process.
The man and woman are then to bring up those children.
There is a bond that is not only powerful, but of great emotional importance.
Some children may be ungrateful for, and embittered by that union ...and have a different view on life, however pleasant or unpleasant.
But God did design us for a higher level of nurturing, whether we choose to realize it or not. And all factors of God's design come into play. It will be less than what it's supposed to be if we choose to not follow any aspect of that design.
"It's all about relationship!" ...I've often heard that, and it's true. Yet, with maturity we find out that it's not always what we banked for.
But we are not bankers ...where we can deposit and withdraw at our freedom. It's not a resort where we can check-in and check-out. We are to be accountable, and often resort to sacrificial desires to benefit those we love.
Do we believe there are other powers, in the spiritual realm, ruling nations?
Whose rule would you prefer to be under?
The world is full of choices ...so if you don't like one way, don't think the choices are in need of being eliminated, but rather choose where you'd rather be.
A proposed One-World Government just eliminates choices. We would not like it if every restaurant served exactly the same food, with the same size portions (with 30-ounce portions of everything), but at least we would eat.
Consider Stalin ...under his rule, many struggled and died of starvation. Do you know who they targeted the most? It was the successful farmer. The hardest working, and most successful farmer was who they considered the greatest threat ...because they wanted government control, and that couldn't happen with those experiencing individual success. So where was their choice ...did they even have a choice to succeed?
Getting in the way of what, you say? Aren't the things that are being promoted ...good things? Isn't it good and fair to not infringe upon and dictate choices for others?
We hear the rally cry of Pro-choice. Hearing someone say, "Workers unite!" ...appears to be in full support of unions. And if we hear someone trying to recruit the interests of our youth, is that enough caring concern to convince us to join the cause? Adolf Hitler thought so, and he didn't even have programs such as health care to promote and use as leverage.
And he probably didn't realize that not only the young men were easy to influence, if he would've only known, he could have got the support of the young women also, by offering them 3,000 dollars per year for contraceptives. Of course, I only think that is morally wrong and monetarily excessive because I don't understand packaging. It probably includes popcorn, pop, and a 'chick-flick'; or maybe even beer and pizza.
Okay, that's silly stuff ...but when they talk about Pro-choice and contraceptives, there are certain things that have to be missing in our consideration ...such as the words of Jesus.
Clearly stated, Jesus called it sin.
Sin is going against God. He offers forgiveness, but does not lessen the standard of what is wrong.
If we view wrong things as okay, we are disagreeing with God.
It's not just making our bed and having to lie in it ...the wrong is embedded in our minds, and we lie about it.
How exactly does that happen?
By minimizing God's influence upon our lives, and targeting genuine believers. And one way to successfully do this, is to isolate or depict those believers as if they are someone they are not. Or also effective, is to get believers to depart from certain aspects of what they believe ...to water down the expectations; to lower our standards, dismiss His standards, and refuse to stand.
How do we stand?
In standing, be clear of the difference ...we are not trapped within an exploitative dictatorship which allows no choices when it comes to the residence of our afterlife. But we are not in the afterlife. We are here now, and we are to live here the way we are intended to live ...to live for Him.
You may ask, why is Stephen trying to discuss God and politics?
Well, I thought we could keep it separate ...that our nation could be run by those who run for various offices, and we could just live out our faith. After all, our nation has freedoms spelled out in our Constitution, inclusive of freedom of worship. But now, it appears that government wants to ignore that freedom ...and put constraints on what we believe, while at the same time promoting things that we don't believe in, that we strongly feel God is against. Throughout the Bible, we see the failures of those following God, when they cease to follow His ways. God told Solomon that He would give him wisdom, for which he asked for unselfishly ....and God said He would give Solomon a long life too, if he followed His ways. Well, our nation has had a relatively long life ...but there has been a steady departure from His ways. I know that those who disagree with me want their freedoms too ...I just don't want to join the demise that results from opposing God's standards. And I am very surprised how many people knowingly ignore the departure from God's way, simply because it doesn't jive with their way.
God sent His Son, Jesus, to provide a way ...and also make it clear what that way is.
The path is clearly marked ...so who do we fault if we stray from the path, and just convince ourselves that any path will do?
Friday, July 13, 2012
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