I write this on the 4th of July 2017. Personally, I'm not one for fireworks or excessive drinking. I don't mind a couple of beers though. Regardless of how we use our Christian freedom, it must never be something to cause our neighbor to stumble. To that end, I do think it best that we consider carefully that some have made great and terrible sacrifices for our freedom. Whether they served in the military or as member of the local police or sheriff department, they have made sacrifices that the protected can never truly understand.
Some might dare to ask "What sacrifices?" I would be quick to respond with loss of life, loss of limbs, loss of family, and lost of friends. Freedom has always had a very high cost, a cost every veteran, whether military, police, or firefighter understands all too well. Priests also understand this loss, having heard the struggles, and shared the tears of families who've lost loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. Freedom has a cost. That cost is very high.
Just how high is the cost of freedom? Think of it this way, would you want to spend $4.9 million dollars on a private jet, just to crash it into the ground? Probably not. Yet, that is how freedom is treated. Rather than considering the awful cost of freedom, and accepting the responsibility it brings, it is trashed by those who do not care. Much like throwing pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6 RSV).
Please enjoy your freedom this day. Please also take care that you consider well the responsibility that freedom entails.
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Demons Abound
For an introductory posting, I would like to discuss one of the most common misconceptions among humans. It is the idea that demons and angels don't exist. Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, demons would like nothing more than for you to believe that they don't exist. It fits the narrative. Namely, if you don't believe they exist, you are less likely to believe in God, who will hold you accountable for your sins. If you don't believe in God, and thus go about doing what you want to do, regardless of how it affects others, it is easier for demons to drag to Hell, as misery loves company.
It is not uncommon to hear the phrase "The Devil Made Me Do It". This is not necessarily true. He may have influenced your thinking, but it was really your own sinfulness that caused you to take a particular action. Blaming the devil is just a way of trying to excuse our poor decisions and sinful actions. It also gives Satan more credit than he rightly deserves.
What does this have to do with demons not wanting us to believe they exist?
Simple. If you lampoon something long enough, people will stop taking it seriously. This is why sin has become so prevalent in our modern era. For the last four decades, we've laughed at and marginalized sin to a point where very few things are still considered sin, and even those few items are constantly being marginalized and rationalized. Likewise, so it is with demons.
Spend enough time blaming demons for your bad behavior, or marginalizing what they truly are (created beings), and you will eventually stop believing in them. Satan is not some being in a red suit with a pitchfork and a pointy tail. If anything, he probably loves that charicature, as it helps to obfuscate his true nature, that of a fallen angel. This is part and partial to his nature, as lies and half-truths are all a part of his game.
Be not deceived. Demon and angels do exist. Recognizing that fact is one of the first steps towards recognizing why our world is in the state that it is in. Recognizing, also, that we are sinful by nature and in need of repentance is the first step in overcoming that self-same sinful nature.
It is not uncommon to hear the phrase "The Devil Made Me Do It". This is not necessarily true. He may have influenced your thinking, but it was really your own sinfulness that caused you to take a particular action. Blaming the devil is just a way of trying to excuse our poor decisions and sinful actions. It also gives Satan more credit than he rightly deserves.
What does this have to do with demons not wanting us to believe they exist?
Simple. If you lampoon something long enough, people will stop taking it seriously. This is why sin has become so prevalent in our modern era. For the last four decades, we've laughed at and marginalized sin to a point where very few things are still considered sin, and even those few items are constantly being marginalized and rationalized. Likewise, so it is with demons.
Spend enough time blaming demons for your bad behavior, or marginalizing what they truly are (created beings), and you will eventually stop believing in them. Satan is not some being in a red suit with a pitchfork and a pointy tail. If anything, he probably loves that charicature, as it helps to obfuscate his true nature, that of a fallen angel. This is part and partial to his nature, as lies and half-truths are all a part of his game.
Be not deceived. Demon and angels do exist. Recognizing that fact is one of the first steps towards recognizing why our world is in the state that it is in. Recognizing, also, that we are sinful by nature and in need of repentance is the first step in overcoming that self-same sinful nature.
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