God's Right Side

This morning, while watching the Morning News, I listened to a Christian minister who proclaimed that he was on “God’s right side!” But what he was really saying was; either you agreed with his interpretation of that religion or you were wrong! He repeatedly referred to himself as “a man of God”, I thought of him as more of a bigot. In the country that I live in, the country I love, my United States I have learned that at this time only four people out of five now claims membership in an organized religion. That means that twenty out of each one hundred people holds no organized religious faith! I believe that most believe in God, but they just don’t walk through organized religion’s doors. Could it be that ministers and religious leaders like him are making many think twice before claiming membership in any organized faith? For many years I had religious questions, I would go to an authority with my questions, I received answers, but many times those answers just didn’t feel right. So, often I would take my question to a different authority, many times I found myself receiving an entirely different answer! That really confused me! As I became more confused by those different answers from people reading from the same book, but giving me the impression that each answer was right, those troubles grew. About that time I started directing some of my questions to My Father in Heaven. To my surprise He would answer those questions for me in a manner that I could easily understand! Since I started asking questions of Him, I have been taken places and shown things along with those answers. I have found that my faith in organized religion has weakened, but my faith in my God has become rock solid. That part of my faith is without question! Now if I am ask my religion, I can state that I belong to God, I don’t feel that any middleman is needed. Please tell me how anyone can truly determine God’s right side? This man stated that he was a “man of God”. Aren’t we all? Don’t we believe that all of us are God’s will? I do not believe that a certificate on the wall or a different manner of dress would cause our God to listen more carefully to them anymore than He would to you or me. I don’t think God ever checks to see which side we’re on before He listens to us. I often wonder if many of our religious leaders and teachers are more interested in themselves than the ones they are talking to. At times I also wonder if God speaks to them like He does to me. My God told me “I give you My word for you, others may hear those same words differently.” I will never tell you that I am on God’s right side, but I will often tell you that I know that God is always at my side.

Birthdays

For many, birthdays are something to be dreaded. But, for all, it means that each of us has used up twelve months of our life that God has granted us. Some have used that irreplaceable time wisely, while others find they have wasted most of it. I’m sure most of us can find a few “I wish I hads” or a few “I should haves” and maybe one or two “I’ll know better the next times”. I like that last one the best because that means possibly we have learned something. Yes, we were granted the use of that year, but it also means that we find ourselves twelve months closer to our ending! Tell me this; did my body have this many hurts my last birthday? I guess it’s all a part of our God given right called “ageing!” That year is now gone, it’s now past history, it’s all used up. It died when we stepped into our new year! How much of it did we waste? How much did we use wisely? Wouldn’t it be interesting to sit down and write an obituary for those past twelve months of our life? That way we could see the things we feel needed improvement, and isn’t that an excellent place to start? With the start of a new calendar the world starts its new year, but everyone’s birthday comes before the worlds new years. But, all mortals have their birthdays before the world celebrates its new years. I don’t think it’s fair to make us all wait for the world to catch up. Many try not to admit it, but what we gained or lost in our past year was entirely our fault. Most of us hate to admit our mistakes and try hard to lay the blame on others if our life hasn’t worked out, aren’t those birthdays a good place to take more responsibility for ourselves? We never are sure just how much more time our God has granted us, but one thing is for sure; that time granted is our time. It is important time, but also time to use as we see fit! But, we must realize that however we use each second, it can never be reused after we use it once. Happy birthday and may this next year be the best year of your life. My last birthday was one of the best days of my life and I hope yours will be too.

Impressions

Or maybe, I should say first impressions! The first fifteen seconds of the first meeting with someone new can give them an opinion of you that may last a lifetime. Just last night I overheard someone say that they didn’t like a person because of that person’s type! I did not understand what that “type” thing was, but it had to make a strong impression on the one that spoke those words. I did not understand how one person could be that opinionated of a person before that other person could say one word. Some could call impressions a form of segregation. Sadly some of the impressions and opinions we create are brought on by us. We bring them on ourselves by not looking at ourself before others do and as others do! Many have expressed to me that they could not understand why other people treated them the way they do. Could it be that they cause that impression of you to be negative? Other times we can create those bad impressions by the way they dress or our manner of speech. A person that uses a lot of “street talk” will be judged as one with a lesser education or one with a lower opinion of themselves. They have allowed themselves to be placed in the “those people” category by others. I feel extra sorry for Black People, for they have been segregated and held down for centuries. The thing that hurts me the most is that so many of the black kids, the ones we worked so hard to give equality and opportunities to, now think it is their thing to dress differently and to speak differently. And, many of our younger black kids think that their education is something to be played with or even tossed away. They must realize that many sweated blood and many were beaten so that those same kids could have a good education and many who helped them get to where they are today are heart- broken to see that education disrupted and dropped out of. Freedom is not to drop out of, it’s to work with, and it’s learning and making use of that learning! It’s being a part of! As most know, I ask questions of many. A few weeks ago I asked a young kid what he wanted to be when he grew up. His answer shook me all the way to my shoe-soles. His answer was; “why should I plan anything after I grow up? By that time I will either be dead or in prison”! Sadly, there was no emotion in his answer, he was just stating fact! I ask myself how could it be possible for a nice looking young kid like that to think there was no future. He acted as if his life was a throw away. He acted as if he had no future and no place to go if he had one! It seemed to me that he had the impression of himself that he was lost and no willingness to change that impression! Looking back today, I realize how much my impression of me has changed. Then as I look around, I notice that the impression of me, reflected in the eyes and attitude of my friends and family has also changed. Maybe all of those impressions, the snap, the changing, and even those we think are lasting are nothing more than how we live our lives. That life that’s ever-changing. Could all those impressions be nothing more than our judging others as well as ourselves?