The Rational Rabbit Hole no. 19

"Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 If you [only] love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. "

Luke 6:31-33 AMP

“For if you love [only] those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers [wishing them God’s blessing and peace], what more [than others] are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles [who do not know the Lord] do that?”

Matthew 5:46-47 AMP

Embrace the Within.

The Golden Rule is one of those things we teach children and ignore as adults. We have less of a problem with loving folks that love us and even that is sometimes a burden for folks that truly do not even love themselves. And there are a whole lot of miserable folks out there that just do not love themselves. And they go out into the world spitting anger and hate wherever they go. They are a devastation of misery and sorrow unleashed daily upon the world around them. And you probably know a few folks that fit that description. And Christ commands us to love them as well.

I have to love the folks that hate me, the folks that want me to fall, the folks that are plotting against me, the folks that are making my life more difficult, the folks that are costing me money, the folks that are testing my patience, the folks that race down the lane that they know is going to end, the folks that camp out in the passing lane, the folks that run stop lights, the folks that have no idea what they are ordering when the reach the register . . . Insert whatever bothers you about people into the mix as well and the result is the same. Love.

I keep talking about how Christianity is the simplest BUT most difficult of teachings. Living like Christ makes you do things that do not make sense to the world. I continue to hear that the teachings are upside-down when compared to the world of men. And when you look at how folks work in human society, I can see that there is a lot that is confusing. If folks aren’t confused by your belief then you might be doing things incorrectly. If you don’t get confused about your actions then you might be doing things incorrectly. I find it takes a lot of trust in God to get totally onboard with being a Christian. It is a lot more than sitting in a pew and doing a Simon-says routine. There is a lot more than just being there.

Take a look at what makes you act like a Gentile, what makes you act like a tax collector, and then see where God can work a change in your heart, a lasting change that will help you more like Christ. That is what I am constantly working towards each day. A little more grace, a little more love, and a lot more Christ.

Peace to your home. Bless your being. The reign of God is now. Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyNepheshMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #EmbracetheWithin

The Rational Rabbit Hole no. 18

6But I am like a worm,

crushed and bleeding crimson,

treated as less than human.

I’ve been despised and scorned by everyone!

7Mocked by their jeers, despised with their sneers,

as all the people poke fun at me, spitting their insults,

8saying, “Is this the one who trusted in God?

Now let’s see if Yahweh will come to your rescue!

Let’s see how much he delights in him!”

9Lord, you delivered me safely from my mother’s womb.

You are the one who cared for me ever since I was a baby.

10Since the day I was born, I’ve been placed in your custody.

You’ve cradled me throughout my days,

and you’ve always been my God.

11So don’t leave me now, for trouble is all around me,

and there’s no one to help me.

Psalms 22:6-11 TPT

Embrace the Within.

I fail all the time. That is a product of being human. I try to emphasize that point a lot when I talk about my journey BUT I want to make certain to draw attention to my failings so that folks do not get an unrealistic idea of what being a Christian entails. I think a lot of us look back to our youth and remember thinking that adults had it all figured out. Now that we are adults, we recognize that was our perception and a lot of smoke and mirrors. None of us have it figured out in the least. The best we can hope is to approach the model presented by Christ during the time Christ walked on earth as one of us.

There is not a day that I don’t pray for forgiveness and for understanding. There are many days when I pray about the spirit of anger and ask for more, “love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 AMP). Not a day goes by that I couldn’t use a little bit more of those fruits. And outside of tomatoes, they are about the only fruit I spend time with daily.

Again, when I started this walk fourteen days ago, it was out of failure. And as my journey began it was filled with failure. As my journey continues, there is still failure. The failures are not there to stop me from moving forward. The failures are there to show what I need to fix, what I need God to help me fix. I think too often we tell ourselves that failure means we should stop. We’re not good enough at this thing so we might as well do something else. We act like nothing in life is a struggle. Like we were born walking and talking and reading and knowing everything we already know. Acting like life is not a process of struggling and failing and then learning.

At work, I see children barely into the second decade of their lives who have already adopted this idea of not struggling, this idea that if things are difficult that they should just give up. Children who have barely lived that are seeing this example and making it part of their identity. And I think that is a failing on each of us. We need to emphasize that we struggle, we fail, we are human BUT in spite and despite those imperfections we still wake up every day and continue. We do not give up and roll over and die because the road is difficult. We don’t stop working because we don’t get the results we want. We don’t stay home and become as children looking for someone to support our wants and needs. We struggle every day to get to our destination. We struggle every day to become that goal.

Are you struggling? Are you failing? If you are then you are on the right path. Keep working on making the change and becoming the better you.

Peace to your home. Bless your being. The reign of God is now. Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyNepheshMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #EmbracetheWithin