The Book of Ten Sayings 1

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The Book of Ten Sayings 1

Introduction This "book" was intended to be an entire book when first conceived, consisting on an elaboration of the ten most important sayings of all time. But life circumstances have held it back into a very incomplete form. But perhaps there is a kernel of wisdom somewhere here that will resonate with you and help you to grow into a better person and friend. 

 The First Saying 

 1. Put God First .

Some have accused God of being self-centered and even egotistical for wanting to be worshipped and at the center of humans' attention. But the truth is, the fallen creature known as man has been so corrupted by Satan (who IS the egotist) that the only way to get man from being self-centered is to shift his focus onto something more powerfully attractive. Focus on God, knowing him, serving him, loving him, and you will find a better opportunity for happiness than through any other activity. Putting ourselves first results in unhappiness, to ourselves and others. 

Take a look at those who can theoretically buy anything, including happiness. Often they embark on a trajectory that traces the meteoric path across the sky, running on alcohol, sex, drugs, and wild behavior. But even ordinary teenagers can find misery--or death--by putting themselves ahead of everyone and everything else.

 I probably sound preachy, so I will just close with an anecdote. One year my friend Phil and I were driving on the way home from a computer conference in Las Vegas. Suddenly a small red sedan raced up behind us, swerved onto the median to avoid hitting us, and raced out of sight. Perhaps fifteen or twenty minutes later, we drove into a traffic jam. It soon cleared up. It was caused by the little red car, which was lying upside down in the ditch that separated the two sets of lanes. We read later that the car contained four teens. They died either by having their skulls crushed when the the top of the car collapsed on them, or else they drowned in the shallow--but deep enough--ditch water in the median. 

 The most serious and damaging of the "Seven Deadly Sins" is Pride because it not only does harm by its own misguided and misleading attitude, but it also stimulates some of the other of the sins, such as greed (or avarice) and anger (aka wrath). Finally, Pride affects and damages both the prideful person and everyone he comes into contact with. Some of the Seven Deadly Sins can be limited, generally speaking, to their owner. Sloth, for example, harms only the slothful one directly, although the damage done by shirking duty and by a attempting to skate by with shortcuts has negative effects on others, also.

There Is Joy in Hell Tonight: A Teaching Story

 

 

There is Joy in Hell Tonight: A Teaching Stoiy

Every day on her way to work, Edna passed the bakery where a man, whom she thought of as Mister Skin and Bones, sat on the ground near the door and breathed deeply each time the door opened, hoping that the delightful aroma would enter his lungs and provide some molecules of nutrition or if not, at least diminish his hunger pains.

She had wanted to help the starving man, but when she mentioned the need at her church, she was rebuffed with a sneer by the youth pastor, who said, “You should be ashamed even to think about such a so-called good deed. Giving that man something to eat would be a ‘good deed,’ which is prohibited by the church.”

“But why?" Edna asked plaintively. 

"Because helping him would contradict our theology that says people are saved by God's grace and not by any so-called good works." 

"But I’m afraid that man is going to die if I or someone doesn’t help him.”

“Are you trying to buy yourself into heaven my doing a bunch of ‘good works’?”

“No,” said the woman, her voice beginning to tremble. “I believe that God has saved me by his grace because I put my faith in Jesus.”

“Well, then, there you go,” said the youth pastor, brightening up and smiling with triumph. “Be careful not to slip into wanting to do a bunch of worthless good works.”

“But, what about—?”

“You don’t want to diminish the priceless, infinite sacrifice of Jesus, do you?”

“No, of course not. It’s just that there’s so much need.”

“Well, there are food pantries stocked by other churches where the indigent can go to get a warm cup of coffee and a bit of a sandwich. I myself donated an old blanket to one of those charities. And remember that Jesus told us that we would always have the poor with us, so don’t go out trying to cure them.”

After much soul searching and prayer, Edna decided to see if another church had a different view of giving help to the needy. She found a church whose statement of beliefs included, "We are saved by grace through faith and rewarded for the good deeds we do." 

Noticing that the new church supported its theology by quoting the Bible, Edna was impressed to begin a attending the services. She had finally found a place where Scripture made things clear. The passage that impressed  her most about this issue was in the book of Ephesians:

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." --Ephesians 2:8-10

Knowing that we are saved by the gift of God and rewarded for--created for--doing good works made Edna's world make sense.

 "And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward."  --Matthew 10:42

+++

Questions

1. In your experience, do pastors and other teachers of the Word clearly distinguish between doing good works as a means of earning salvation and doing good works to help others?

2. Do you think that this distorted view of Scripture reduces the amount of good that the needy would otherwise receive?

3. Do you think that if you are good enough (or if your good deeds  outweigh your bad deeds) then you will be saved? If so, how did you conclude that? 

   

 

Do You Believe?: A Teaching Story

 

Do You Believe?

You have been selected to serve on an ad hoc jury to help improve the flow of cases through the trial court. Soon the bailiff brings into the courtroom  an accused offender, a lifelong, often-convicted criminal. As he looks down at the list of current charges, the judge can be heard to mutter, “Not you again.” Then the judge looks through some of the summaries of the man’s previous convictions, pausing and sighing more than once. After looking back and forth between the criminal himself and the thick list of his most recent crimes, the judge fixes his eyes on the man for several seconds, seemingly trying to understand. Finally, he breaks the silence.

“Well, what do you have to say for yourself?”

The man remains motionless and continues to look at the floor.

Looking at the list once more, the judge asks, “Do you realize that you have broken every one of the Ten Commandments, some of them several times?”

The man just stands there, remaining silent for a few moments. Then he says, “It’s true, I guess.”

“You guess?” demands the judge, angered by the man’s apparent flippancy.

“Well,” the man replies, “I might have broken all the Commandments, as you say. Ten of them, are there? And maybe I did break several of them more than once.” The man looked up at the judge for just a moment, and then looked down again as he said, “But I want you to know, that, in spite of appearances, I believe in them all.”

“You what?” screamed the judge.

“ So I throw myself on the mercy of the Court.”

+++

Questions

1. If you served on this ad hoc jury, would you vote to increase or decrease or leave the recommended sentence of this seemingly incorrigible criminal? Why would you vote that way?

2. What does the criminal mean by, "I believe in them all"?

3. The obvious analogy from Earthly courtroom to Heavenly courtroom might make us stand back a minute before condemning the criminal. The question here, then, is, "Do you respect God's law and justice system? Do you want harsh justice for everybody else but melting mercies in great supply for yourself?"

4. For a recalibration of God's response to sin and crime, read the sermon by Jonathat Edwards, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," and then read the Gospel of John. God hates sin "big time" as the neighborhood kids used to say, but he loves us. The fact is, God loves  us so much that we often develop a too-easy attitude toward sin. 

 

Satan and the Stolen IFs: A Teaching Story

 

Satan and the Stolen IFs: A Teaching Story

One dull night in hell, an under-demon went up to Satan with an idea.

“We’re getting too much resistance to converting new Christians into new devils—except, of course, in churches that preach the Easy Gospel (those are the ones we call "easy-in, easy-out.")  Research indicates that in those churches where a set of moral and spiritual values (from that book) is not emphasized, the evangelistic message is watered down and presented as not having any universal behavioral application. But it makes it easy to call oneself a Christian. The term Christian is no longer a synonym for ‘deeply spiritual and loving follower of Jesus Christ.’”

“But what about that book? It tells them what to do and what not to do—in quite explicit terms.”

“Oh, Mighty Evil One. Excuse me, but you’re still living in 1950. No one reads that book any more. The new evangelistic come-on is ‘Come as you are and stay as you are.’ Converting those ‘believers’ to the Dark Side is like shooting fish in a barrel. Easy as eating devils’ food cake.”

“But certainly there are those few who have polluted society by using the old evangelistic appeal of ‘Come as you are and now change your world view and behavior to follow Christ and his teachings.’ And they probably read and try (I wish I could laugh at how hard it is for any of them to do this) to build their whole lives on the principles from that book.”

“You are exactly right. And my proposal exploits the principles of lying, darkness, error, mockery, confusion—."

“Yes, yes. Just blurt it out. I certainly hope you have some sort of good news in an idea that will cause damage to His kingdom and take away the pain you have just caused me by telling me your bad news. Tell me now. And the idea had better work or you will be in substantial pain for a long time.”

“My idea is this. We stop discouraging people from reading that book.”

“What? Are you seri—.”

“We just doctor it a little bit by removing all the ifs—.”

“Are you drunk, or just stupid?”

“—and every thing becomes lawful. Many of the new Christians are already running around saying that they are ‘free in Christ,’ ‘followers only of the law of Love’ and ‘the law of Liberty,’ and so on. They haven’t a clue as to what a conditional argument is.”

“For example?”

“Well, take that passage where the Son of the Enemy says that believers are commanded to forgive others. It’s in—.”

“—Remember that it is illegal to quote from that book.”

“Yes, well, ‘If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love’—gone,  zeroed, zippo, outta here! And, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.’ They'll never miss it."

“That’s enough. You’re making me sick.”

“And by eliminating all the ifs, there are no longer any conditions for these careless misreaders to meet. The only criteria they have left for decision making are those drawn from their untaught, unthought, unexamined fallen natures. Already I have a vision of billions and billions of careless misreaders going out of their way to dance themselves into hell.”

“Thinking they are successfully battling us! Ha ha ha—the Sixties are back: If it feels good, do it!—Under the law of love, of course. Oh, you make me feel so much better! I will see to it that your stay in the Chamber is reduced to a half-torture for a week.”

“Thank you so much!”

+++

Questions

1. Some nations, in the past and still today, have outlawed owning the Bible under penalty of death. What is in the Bible that makes it so hated--or feared--that governments put power and resources to keep it and its messsage away from people?

2. Have you ever paid attention to the number of if-clauses in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments?

A Man on the Street: A Teaching Story

 A Man on the Street

On a slow news day, a reporter sees a man walking down the street rather aimlessly, and hurries over to interview him.

“Hello, Sir. I’m Ted G. Biff from station ZRXP TV. We’re doing human interest stories for a TV segment on the 10 o’clock news.”

“Uhh, okay. I’ll watch it. What time is it on?”

“Sir, may I ask you a question?”

“Sure, I guess so. Do I get a reward for answering?”

“I’m sorry, Sir, but No.”

“But it must be worth something to you. Come on, how about a few bucks?”

“All right. Jamie, give the man a ten.”

“Could you make it twenty?”

“Oh, all right. Here. Now, the question is, ‘Would you describe yourself as a Christian?’”

“A Christian? Why, yes, of course. Man, that was easy. I’ll answer another question for the same price. I know about the Trinity, the crown of thorns, Bethlehem—see, I do crossword puzzles. ”

“I see.”

“Yes, sir, I’m a Christian, set free by the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“I’m happy to hear that.”

“Sure. Why not? I have faith in the Lord Jesus, and Jesus said, ‘You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.’”

“You just now used the expression, ‘Faith in the Lord Jesus’ twice. Then Jesus Christ is your Lord?”

“Of course. He is Lord of all.”

“And how would you define ‘Lord’?”

“Hmm. I don’t know. . . . I’ve never been asked that question. Umm, maybe ‘Lord of my life, guide, helper, forgiver of all my sins. Or boss, perhaps?”

“How about, ‘A Lord is someone who has power and authority over servants, who do the will of their master.’”

“Hey, that’s not bad. How many other people have you asked that question? I’ll bet their answers helped you make yours.”

“I’m sure they did. But to keep focused on our question, if Jesus is your Lord, you must observe his rules, right?”

“Well, yeah, I guess so. —Wait. Rules? What are you talking about?”

“Can you tell me some of Jesus’ rules or commandments that he expects you to obey?”

“We don’t have to obey any rules. We are set free in Christ. What are you, some kind of legalist? Or a works-salvation robot?”

“If Jesus has no rules, then why does he say, ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments.—John 14:15 (NASB)’?”

“Well, he—.”

“Or ‘This is how we are sure that we have come to know Him: by keeping His commands. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” yet doesn't keep His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him —1 John 2:3-4 (NASB).’”

“Are you sure he—.”

“And, ‘If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love’ —John 15:10 (NASB).”

“I think I need to go now.”

“But Sir, we have many more questions to ask, and with them your eternal destiny is at stake.”

+++

Questions

Think about and discuss each of the following questions. Are these questions you have never asked before, or are they a regular part of your spiritual refreshing?

V  How do you know that Jesus is the Lord of your life?

V Are you careful and intentional to follow and submit to Jesus as your Lord?  

V  What does it mean to believe in Jesus?  

V  What does it mean to believe Jesus?  

V  What does it mean to obey Jesus?  

V  What does it mean to have faith in Jesus?

 

Living in Christ: A Teaching Story

Introduction

When thinking about moral and ethical values, objective and subjective claims, and the meaning, and understanding of difficult ideas, philosophers have traditionally used teaching stories. More impactful and often more challenging than non-fiction essays, these stories encourage their disciples to analyze and learn the condensed wisdom presented, to make connectioins, see relationships, trace out causes and effects, and go deeper into the implications of what is said and done. Even relatively simple tales about seemingly ordinary events can shed light on the human condition more clearly, immediately, and powerfully than a long, prose exposition.

 Living in Christ: A Teaching Story 

“Hey there, Stan. Good to see you back at church. We missed you the last two or three Sundays. How are things going?”

“Everything’s going great, just great. We had a little setback a few months ago, when the feds took down our main Web site, but now we are roaring forward.”

“What happened? Why did the feds--.”

“Oh, you know, there are still some very uptight types working to stop people from ‘exercising their freedoms,’ as our lawyers put it.”

“But how did that involve your company? Don’t you run an online pet store?”

“Oh, yeah, ha ha! The problem was that CuddleBunnies.com was mistaken for an actual pet store. Ha, ha, ha, ha.  Oh, did we get mail!”

“I don’t understand.”

“So we cleared things up by renaming it to Rent-a-TeenXXX.com and business has exponentiated. In fact, we are talking about removing the kiddie porn pages from our servers just to open up the bandwidth.”

“Kiddie porn? Stan, What are you talking about? I thought you were a Christian.”

“Oh, yeah, I am. I am. Just living my Christian freedom in Christ.”

“But God is very much opposed to what you are doing. And besides, kiddie porn is against the law.”

“Well, I’m just living the law of liberty. No longer a slave to sin, set free indeed. Free to follow my own wishes. Say, do you know any Fentanyl wholesalers near here?”

“Why no, I—that—it’s--."

“Yeah, it’s such a killer drug that I can’t keep it in stock. Hey, see if they have changed the Availability label on Devil’s-Candy.com That’s one of my public service Web sites. The URL is--.”

“Stan, you need to do some real soul searching—and some Bible reading. You’re going to--.”

“Great talking to you, brother. Maybe I’ll see you next week. Excuse me now, but do you see that girl over there, just shaking the pastor’s hand? Maybe I can get her to put a few pictures on Rent-a-Teen. Later, big guy.”

 +++

Questions

1. Is Stan a genuine Christian, an imitation Christian, a self-deluded pagan, an anti-Christian, a plain vanilla con artist, or something else?

2. If Stan dies today, will he go to heaven?

3. Once a person is saved, accepting Jesus as his savior, does it matter whether or not he owns pornographic web sites or traffics girls? Why or why not?

Reading, Discussing, and Thinking 

When you read this story to some Christians, they will quickly hit you with, "The Bible says, 'Judge not, so that you will not be judged.'" Based on your understanding of  the following Scriptures and their surrounding contexts, and any other relevant Scriptures and their contexts, is it right or wrong to answer the first three questions, above? 

Matthew 7:1

Luke 6:37

Luke 12:57-58

Luke 18:2

John  3:17

John 7:24

Romans 14:3

Romans 14:13

1 Corinthians 6:3

James 14:11

James 5:9

John 12:48

 Bob Translation

What  good is it, my brothers, if someone says he is a Christian, but does nothing to show his allegiance to Jesus, by witnessing, worshipping, caring for the sick and needy, striving to improve morally, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually?  --James 2:14: 

Common Sense Wisdom for a Needy Time

 Here are just a few proverbs that, if carefully considered, will bring you some valuable insights. I have deliberately neglected to  discuss them in order to allow your own thinking to unfold them with their multiple truths.

1. The two great disappointments in life are: (1) not getting what you want, and (2) getting it.

2. It's not about you.

3. [more to come]

The Book of Ten Sayings 10

 Concluding the wisdom in the Book of Ten Sayings is a truth that many people know from experience, yet who never mention it in company. The Tenth Saying is to be repeated every morning and every night, as part of your prayers to God to search your soul and tear out all the Pride, for ,

Pride is my self-made supreme enemy

If you, like many of us, want to stay away from sin and evil, then we need to eschew effectively the sin of Pride. In  the old days, a list of sins was made, with Pride as the first sin listed, along with six others, These sins, named The Seven Deadly Sins, were considered especially bad because they could be used to tempt others to sin.

The Seven Deadly Sins are

Pride
Anger
Lust
Greed
Gluttony
Envy
Sloth

Notice how Pride can be the stimulus for each of the other Deadly Sins:

Pride to Anger: "Hey, Anger, that guy called you a chicken for not helping him beat up that guy who took your coffee mug. I mean, who does he think he is?"

Pride to Greed: "Hey, Greedo. I hear Sloth is about to quit. Let's go talk to the boss and see of we can divide Sloth's salary  between us. I figure 70% for me and 30% for you is just right and fair."

Pride to Envy: "Hey there, Envy. It must really be a downer to know that Lust is dating Greed. I mean, my room is all the way down the hall, but I can still feel the floor shaking when those two are enjoying a late night snack."

Pride to Gluttony: "Howdy, there, Glut-man.  Did  Sloth invite you to his party? No? I can't imagine why not. He told me he was ordering 17 Extra Large fully laden pizzas with triple stuff, for only 6 people. Wow. Sloth must not think much of you."

Pride to Lust: "Hey, babe.  You look hot tonight. I wonder why Anger keeps telling everybody that you're just "makeup and mirrors," and that if you ever had a real thought, you wouldn't even  recognize it."

Pride to Sloth: "Hi there, Sloth-skee. I missed you at the party at Lust's room over the weekend. I mean, it was totally wild. I did ask where you were, and Envy said she  hoped you were sick. I said that such a comment was uncalled for, and then Greed said, "It takes time to visit the  whole town."

Here are just some of the words used to apply to Pride. Note that they are not complimentary:

vain, egotistical arrogant, haughty, self-important, boastful, smug, me, me, me, me.

The Book of Ten Sayings 9

Number 9 in the Book of Ten Sayings reminds us that developing, building, and caring for human relationships are our primary responsibilities here on this planet. Several sayings stimulate our memories or touch around the margins, but the one that singularly hits home is,

Always forgive, including yourself.

We have landed in such a bizarre landscape that we don't know how to react to others, especially when the insults and criticism by which they have wronged us seem so arbitrary, ill informed, and exaggerated. The Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," sometimes requires some translating from the 17th Century English of the King James Version; but a plain text translation nearly always puts the postmodern and the simple into an understanding, if not agreeing, frame of mind. But this Saying 9 goes further. 

The true and deep reminder implied in this Saying is that we should spend our lives in service to others, enhancing the lives of others and leaving all of them just a little better than we found them. These acts of charity can be small and brief, (pick up a piece of litter and toss it into a trash can, smile warmly and say  hello to a stranger,  give a cup of cold water to someone who thirsts ("And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward" Matthew 10:42), but though small, they will be significant acts as indicators of character. 

How many times have you watched a young person make a face at the prospect of cleaning up a dirty kitchen and protest, "I'm not going to clean up someone else's mess. I didn't leave that dirt pile so I'm not going to clean it up." 

Then, just as you are getting ready to take an extra dose of your analgesic medicine so you can bend over enough to pick up the trash without too many shooting pains down your back, shoulders, and legs, another young person grabs a broom and and says, quite energetically, "Hey, let's go for it!"

When Jesus was asked which Commandments he thought were the most important, he said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." Then he added, "The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:30-31). Jesus then clarifies to just whom the word neighbor applies. It's YOU.

In the Book of Ten Sayings, The Ninth Saying, 

Always forgive, including yourself.

reveals its critical importance in the philosophy of human happiness. 

+If you don't forgive others who wrong you, it is unlikely that you will ever be happy in any free and open sense. You will always have a few grudges to feed. You will be a slave to resentment. Taking the high road often leads to a cliff, and if your self-righteousness puts your nose too high in the air, you might just become airborne with a hard landing.

+If you don't forgive others, Jesus says that God won't forgive you for your sins. Note that this warning is made in the the process of teaching the Lord's Prayer, which the Lord gave to the Disciples (and hence, all the world) as a model prayer. In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus says,

Our Father, who is in heaven,
May your name be kept holy.
May your kingdom come
May  your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts
As we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For yours is the kingdom,
And the power and the glory
For ever. Amen..

Jesus clarifies one of the points in the prayer. Commenting on forgiveness, Jesus says, "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." 

+Forgiving yourself is an important concept. Too many people who nurture hostile feelings against others, based on long ago affronts or slights eventually come to think of themselves as guilty--only in part, of course--and much of their peace and quiet is steadily eroded. After all. if  it's worth nursing a lifelong grudge against the kid who wrecked your bike, what kind of guilt is deserved for  someone who stole an expensive camera years ago?

There is a saying among the thoughtful and circumspect, that regarding the offenses people take from and give to each other, the best advice for healing wounds, solving anger, and regaining peace is, "To know all is to forgive all." In other words, we are often incapable of understanding who is the victim and who is the perpetrator, or how much responsibility for the breach of peace belongs to each  person. "If you really knew what went on," these experienced observers say, "you would forgive everyone. For all are guilty."

 

The Book of Ten Sayings 8

Some readers will find this next saying ridiculous. They will say, "Why constrain yourself to an old-fashioned concept such as truth? Limiting you options up front by declaring that you will avoid all non-truths is just not workable in our current era. But we stand by the truth, believing that it provides the optimal choice.

 Always prefer Truth. 

Truth is a shockingly powerful and uniquely dangerous concept, not just in itself and for what it can do, but as a tool of manipulation. As you strengthen your resolve to be a friend of truth and an advocate for her cause, ponder deeply these cautions and ask yourself if you can be sufficiently brave.

A. The truth will set you free, but many are interested in neither truth nor freedom. Truth is too painful and freedom too fearful to accept. 

B. When Jesus says that "the truth will will make you free" (see John 8:31-38) he means that the truth will set us free from slavery to sin. He does not mean that we will be free of all restraints and moral rules. We will be free to obey his commandments and to live a moral, spiritual life serving God.

C. Few people believe something that they want to be false.

D. Among the living, fame and reputation rise from  publicity rather than from excellence.

E. The law may say, "Yes," when righteousness says, "No," for the law is in the hands of men and righteousness belongs to God.  

F. What seems and what is differ often. If you are content to live a life of appearances, why do you care about truth?

In classical art, Truth is often depicted as a naked woman, who bares her beautiful body because she has nothing to hide. Nothing needs to be covered or patched up or hidden. If she dealt in cliches, she would quote, "What you see is what you get." Disguise and painting over flaws are simply not necessary or even desired. Falsehood, on the other hand, is represented with a plenitude of disguises, including enough makeup to cover a bridge, enough clothing to open a discount warehouse, and enough phony airs to fill the curriculum of a school for con artists.

The advice for those who want to build truth into the foundation and walls of their lives is

+ Test the truth claims. In a postmodernist world culture such as ours, many people are  happy to spin their own "narratives," which replace an accurate and objective account of things (formerly known as "truth").

+If you weaken and give up on truth, what you'll have left is a set of absurd ideas forced upon a culture adrift morally, economically, politically, and spiritually.

The Book of Ten Sayings 7

 The seventh entry in the Book of Ten Sayings might appear to be simple, but it actually counsels us to deep and ongoing thought, thorough and penetrating analysis. The saying is, 

Look to the end. 

 1. "Look to the end" is a reminder that whenever we have a decision to make, we must look to the overall goal or purpose. Asking, "Why are we doing this?" can save money, reputation, health, and even life. Asking, "Why should I want to do this?"--that is, asking the question before you engage in the action, can be even more valuable. 

 2. "Look to the end" reminds us that our lives here on this planet have expiration dates, and considering the sum total of our input and output should help us organize all of the major (and many of the minor) tasks of life. 

  3. "Look to the end" encourages us to think about the effects the idea or plan or activity will have on other people. 

 4. "Look to the end" stimulates us to ask, "And then what?" What will happen after the idea or activity is first acted on? And then what? Just what are the consequences? This saying is one of the most powerful because we notice that many people draw conclusions or make decisions based on the single effect deriving from the chosen solution. Cause, effect. But a little investigation often reveals that what we would really have is Cause, Effect, Effect, Effect, Effect, Effect. Many of these effects were not foreseen after only a shallow analysis was given to idea or decision. 

 5. "Look to the end" is fundamentally a call to think about the long term consequences of decisions or proposed actions. Short term effects, even when not filtered by hopeful thinking, nearly always look great. But what about next year or next decade?

 6. And of course, "Look to the end" is whispered in our minds as we are encouraged to contemplate not only our life plan but our death plan. It is said that your view of death determines how you live. If you think that your life or earthly existence ends with your death, you will likely live for yourself, but if you think that your life, your soul or spirit, continues after you check out of  Motel Earth, then you will likely learn to live and choose with the benefit of others in mind. 

  And here is the cosmic irony: Selfish people tend to be much less happy than unselfish people. Selfish people spend their time trying to maximize their own happiness. As a consequence, they see others as means to that end. They exploit and use others to get what they think will benefit them most. And when they recognize that they are not happy, they soon they embark on the spiral down to misery. "Being selfish hasn't made me happy, " they they think, "so what I need is to be a lot more selfish." As the teenagers say, "Yeah, like that's gonna work."

 Being circumspect (circum=around, spect=looking) means that we should examine our position and know where we stand--that is, how and why we include the values in our personal set of beliefs. "What do I stand for, what do I truly value, and do my words and behavior reflect that?" 

 Implied in this saying is the Christian virtue of Hope, one of the seven Christian virtues, and the classical virtue of Prudence (also known as Wisdom). 

Posted by Robert Harris at 8:27 PM 

The Book of Ten Sayings 6

 

The sixth entry in the Book of Ten Sayings reminds us what an amazing amount of control we have over our reactions to and feelings about the events of our lives. The Sixth Saying is 

"Not the event, but the attitude."

 

 Let's begin the discussion with a short story I wrote a while back. THE STRANGE ADVENTURE Once upon a time, so long ago that it seems like yesterday, circumstances so occurred that two youths found themselves lost together in the desert and forced to spend the night without the services of modern technology.

 

 “What a terrible thing,” said the first one. “We’re stuck out here all alone among who knows what frightening stuff.” 

 

 “This is great,” said the other. “What an adventure. I can’t wait to see what happens.” As the light began to fade, the youths happened upon a snake, sitting on a rock to get the last warmth it could find before the cold night set in. 

 

 “Oh, no!” said the first youth. “Out here it’s just one problem after another. Now we’ll have to worry about that snake crawling all over us as we sleep.” 

 

 “What a great opportunity,” said the second youth. “Now we can have some dinner.” Soon the snake was roasting on an impromptu fire, and in a little while, the two youths began to eat. 

 

 “This is horrible,” said the first youth, spitting out the meat and nearly vomiting. “I can’t imagine a worse thing.”

 

 “Actually, it tastes rather mild,” said the second youth, eating with relish. 

 

 When the next day came and the youths were rescued, they were asked about their adventure. “It was the most awful, horrible experience I’ve ever had,” said the first youth, trembling from the memory. “I’ll be mentally scarred by it for the rest of my life.” 

 

 “It was great!” said the second youth. “I think it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. What a fun time. I’m so glad I was there.” 

 

 z The events we experience are less important than the meaning we give to them, for life is about meaning, not experience.

 

 Suppose you are at a friend's house and you bump your head on an open door of a kitchen cabinet. Are more likely to minimize the event and tell your friends that you are okay or are you more likely to launch into a long complaint, in a tone of voice that makes your physical suffering very clear, and emphasizing how much it hurts and hoping it won't need stitches or leave a permanent scar? If you were in the market, which of those two people would you rather marry? If you are one of those highly emotive people, what do you accomplish in each case? If you bring the focus onto yourself and claim to be important enough for everyone to focus on and sympathize with, what does that tell others about yourself?

 

 A great way to improve your attitude toward all the events in you life is to humble yourself and realize that there are more significant events than your broken fingernail or stained shirt occurring every day and night all over the world. Get serious and stop thinking, "What about me?" every time you talk or listen. Yes, your life, heart, and soul are important to God (which is why he has created a way through Jesus for those who love him to live with him in eternity), but to the world itself, you are just not that important. 

 

 What makes some people so cheerful all the time (or at least positive), while others are always glum and suspicious? For some, if not many, they have decided to serve God in everything. Their attitude changes from, "Get someone else to do that," or "I'm not going to help," "Don't expect me to clean that up," to "I'll be glad to do that," "It's only mud, and skin is washable," "Looks as if we will be on this job for a while." You can see the difference in their faces and behavior. The "will do" people are happy--yes, happy--washing dishes, cleaning the floor, changing the oil, chopping the firewood, or whatever. The "that's too much work" folks are grumpy and negative, suspicious that you are trying to get them to do extra work.

 

 Back in the old, old days, before beginning work or a new project, people would always say, "To the glory of God," dedicating their hard and honest work to the Lord. Did that make their projects or tasks easier? Their labors needed the same number of buckets of floor mop and the same number of two-by-fours for the barn, but the tasks were indeed easier because their attitude was entirely different. They cheerfully labored to please God rather than to just get through the hateful task. If you already know God, adjust your attitude to that of a joyful servant. If you don't known God, you have an important first task.

 

 Blaise Pascal says, "Let them recognize that there are only two kinds of person whom we can describe as reasonable: those who serve God with all their heart because they have found him, and those who seek him with all their heart because they have not found him."

Posted by Robert Harris at 12:08 PM No comments: 

The Book of Ten Sayings 5

 

The fifth of the ten deepest statements of wisdom, that, if followed as a set of life guiding principles, will bring both joy and courage, strength and justice, circumspection and maturity to whoever strives to live by them. As with many principles for finding wisdom, this fifth saying involves decision making, for life is all about making decisions, and the better the decisions the more successful and happier the life. The fifth saying is, 

The more you get, the more you have; the more you give, the more you are.

  It seems to be a fundamental principle of human nature that we are born selfish, greedy, and avaricious. Even as toddlers (or maybe earlier?) we want to grasp everything dangled in front of our eyes. We can never get enough of the possessions of life. Often, we don't even bother to play with each new toy, because, after all, "He who dies with the most toys wins." The mantra says nothing about actually playing with the toys. The goal is acquisition. So, long before Johnny could buy a shiny new pick up truck and paste a bumper sticker on it saying, "He who dies with the most toys wins," Johnny had been dipped in the materialist cultural tea that was floating everywhere around him and he was easily converted into a committed consumer. 

  As we grow up, we fill increasingly large toy chests with increasingly costly toys, now often referred to as "tools" and every year our "need" grows for larger booty. The first apartment squeezed into by the couple with the kid and the dog, soon gives way to the two bedroom house, then the three, four, and five bedroom house, still with one kid and a dog because the couple are too tired from working long and hard enough to have another kid. Then one day they see this saying and think about it. Their first reaction is to mock the saying, claiming that it must have been written by an envious person of lower economic status than they. However, they both awaken the next morning with the thought that the saying is true: "Our houses are full, but our lives are empty." Everywhere they could find stuff, but nowhere could they find meaning. 

  This saying is also connected with the concept of generosity and with the fourth traditional Christian virtue of charity, which in the old days meant love.

The Book of Ten Sayings 4

The fourth timeless truth in the Book of Ten Sayings is one that our impatient and fearful age needs to meditate on. The fourth saying:

This too shall pass. 

 

 The traditional story is that an ancient Persian king once ordered his wise men to invent a saying that would be true and applicable to every time and in every season, a saying that would comfort him in times of sorrow and temper him in times of joy, a saying upon which he could meditate profitably regardless of his situation, or what he faced, or how he felt. The saying they brought him was, "This too shall pass."

 

Sometimes quoted as, "This, too, shall pass away," the meaning is the same: We live a life of fixed, limited duration. The only things of permanence are the lasting effects we have on those around us. We die and pass away, and move to another realm where our attention is exclusive, giving us no time to look back to earthly life to give warning or direction. But if instead we seized our hours and minutes while here and employed them to help others live better lives, enjoy their time here, find meaning in life, come to know God, and for the ultimate benefit, find the Savior to take them with the rest of us into the heavenly realms, then we will have led a life that sneers in the face of evil and transitoriness. It would be a life worth living, however long or short. 

 

 So, "This too shall pass" is both a warning and a promise. Understanding this truth allows us to see it as the match that can light the candle of hope, set ablaze the torch of endurance, and illuminate the beacon of patience. If only people would pay attention and remind themselves of this bit of wisdom and allow themselves to be cautioned by it and show a little patience, how many ships would have been spared from sinking among the rocks of haste, the insistent pinch-in-the-shoe of eagerness, the and out-of-fuel crash of going for broke (or rather, going for self-termination) by accident? 

 

 This is another one of those two-edged proverbs that can cut both ways, possessing meaning in multiple directions. As focused on and explicated in the notes above, the saying is indeed an encouragement to persevere in the face of challenge. But sometimes extended physical suffering or psychological trauma or chronic painful physical suffering or emotional rejection can force a person to call upon this wise summary of humanity and be reinvigorated.

 

 Finally, "This too shall pass" serves us just as well when, in the middle of joy and celebration and love and adventure, we remember that the experience will soon be over and we will return to our previous lives. No, it does no good to yell at he conductor, "Make it stop!" when we feel the ride slowing down when we want it to go on forever. Are you winning? Are you losing? Are you happy? Are you sad? This too shall pass. Implied in this saying is the Christian virtue of Hope, one of the Seven Classical Virtues.

Posted by Robert Harris at 5:40 PM No comments: 

The Book of Ten Sayings 3

 

What is the third most important saying of all time, one that will encourage wisdom and happiness, justice and equity? The saying is, 

 "It is not right to do evil in order to bring about good."

 

 This saying is, first, a warning against moral short cuts, against choosing expediency over morality; for such is the great temptation of man, whether the temptation presents itself as covetousness, lust, greed, a handy lie, the imitation of justice, or any other dash around the right way. Secondly, this saying entails another classical guide to wisdom: "Truth is always best." Whatever you suffer from telling the truth or doing the right thing, you will never have to add to your punishment the mental and physical tortures of guilt when your devious plan explodes in your face. The pain of knowing that you tried to fool, deceive, lie, cheat, steal, con another person only to see it shatter other people's lives as well as your own--that pain will not be there if you always told the truth. This Third Saying also embraces the Bible's commandment, "You shall not bear false witness." 

 

Some shrewd but sad person once noted that if you tell the truth, the supporting (true) explanations come automatically; whereas if you tell a lie, you must think of two other lies to support, excuse, and explain every other lie that brings credibility the other lies. The exponentiation cannot be long sustained: The main lie needs two lies to make it believable. Each of those two lies needs two lies to explain them. Each of those requires two lies to keep the falsehood afloat. 

 

 If civilization were honest and clear thinking, this saying could be summed up by, "Do only good." But since men are crafty and would soon claim that some expedient horror would actually be the "moral equivalent of a greater good," we must take care to avoid any ambiguity. 

 

 Implied by this saying is the classical virtue of Justice. If you sit back and do some deep contemplation of this Third Saying, you will soon discover that it is a clearer and more straightforward way of saying, "The means cannot be justified by the ends," or, as more commonly phrased, "The ends do not justify the means."

The Book of Ten Sayings 2

 The Second Saying in the Book of Ten Sayings 

 2. Know Yourself

 How much misery and discontent and needless expense are created by people who don't know who they are or what they believe. At the basic level of rational survival, everyone needs a moral structure to make decision making easier. Of course, knowing that many or most people have no such moral code, the predators and exploiters are at the elbows of the naive and foolish, who let a stranger or a Hollywood film suggest proper and improper behavior--based on their own desire to shape decisions of their victims. And, of course, the religious cults and the professional predators have a field day harvesting the thoughtless, whose only value is "fun" or "excitement." These folks are always falling back on, "Why not?" because they have not the depth to imagine a negative outcome. "Here, Binkie, have some pills and booze. You'll feel great." "Uh, Okay, I guess, why not?" 

 If you are a young person, say under 30, you probably think that reading is a waste of time, because you can "always catch the movie." Or maybe you do read--the financial paper, the gossip mags, restaurant menus, romance novels--but don't spend a lot of time on them. Read to settle your brains and to develop a foundation of values and ideas on which you can build a life of meaning. In addition to reading, you need to live a life and to analyze your adventures to see what they mean to you and what kind of person you are and what kind you're becoming. Do you like roller coasters or art galleries? Hot chocolate in a ski lodge or umbrella drinks at the beach? Can you stand yourself? People who can't stand their own company are quite unfortunate because they are with themselves 24/7. Seek to gain understanding--of yourself and others. 

Answer some of these questions after giving them some extended thought.

 A. If you could be independently wealthy and not need to work, what would you choose to fill you life? Is there a particular type of career that appeals to you, but now, realistically, it doesn't pay enough to pursue?

 B. If you were put in charge of a charity with $100 million dollars to give away to anyone you chose, how would you divide it out? 

C. What is your view of human nature? Are people basically good or bad? What makes good people good? What makes bad people bad? 

D. What single proverb sums up your life's philosophy? 

E. How does your belief about death affect your belief about life?