Having Peace in Troubling Times!

I would like to share with you a poem written by Rudyard Kipling sometime in the 1800"s:

 

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you

but make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not tired of waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

An treat those two impostors the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,

and stop stoop and build 'em up with worn out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginning

and never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on where there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold On!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings-nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth o distant run-

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - You'll be a Man my son!

GOD BLESS YOU THIS DAY!

WALKING THE TALK!

This post is meant to be a reminder to myself and my friends how our behavior confirms the things we verbalize and write.  James tells us in James 1:22-27 that we must add some action to what we say and hear. He says if we don't, we are just fooling ourselves, because we aren't fooling God.  Then he goes on to add that it is very important that we control our tongues, and if we can't we are also fooling ourselves.

We really have to be careful, mindful and on guard as we interact daily with our family, friends, co-workers, employees, customers, as well as strangers we encounter.  If we are completely honest, with ourselves, we would admit that we are not in that "Sunday Church Spiritual Mood", every minute of every day.  I would dare say that the majority of our daily thoughts focus on our jobs, family, and other distractions of daily life, with periodic prayers and conservations with God.

 My Christian brothers and sisters it's so important how we respond to potentially condemning  daily situations.  How do we respond when a store clerk is rude to us!  How do we deal with people we supervise?  Would we tell the truth, if we were facing  unpleasant consequences?  Would it be easier to rationalize to ourselves and not be honest to save face?  If you were confronted with a potentially embarrassing situation would you admit the truth or lie?  It has been a very difficult time for you $$$ wise, and one day you find a wallet with $200 dollar.  Do you say thank you Jesus for providing me with this blessing, or do you try to return it to its rightful owner? You have a business, are you honest with your billings, and do provide the best services as you can.  How do your employees or people you supervise view you?  What are they saying about you in private?  You are selling a car and you know that there is significant unseen problem with it, would you disclose it to the perspective buyer?  How do you treat people who are less educated and less affluent than you?  When was the last time you gave not expecting a tax write off?  When was the last time you checked on the senior citizen who lives several houses from you?  How many of us participate in foolish gossip?  This is a problem for both males and females alike, and so easy to get caught up in.

The scriptures tells us that we must slay daily impure thoughts,eagerness for lustful pleasures, hostility,quarreling, jealousy, outburst of anger, selfishness, divisiveness, envy, etc. The scriptures gives us norm by which to check our spirituality, and they are called " Fruits of the Spirit".  You can always tell a tree by the fruit it bears!  If we are Spiritual then our fruits will be love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  I am reminded that Paul did not say that if we exhibit 50% of these we are in good shape, no God does not grade on a curve!  Jesus told us the great New Commandments was love, and on this commandment hang all the laws and the prophets.  The scriptures tells us that love covers a multitude of sins.  It not by accident that love is listed as the first fruit of  the spirit.  How can we say we love the Lord, who we never met, and not love the people we interact with daily?

We who speak openly about our faith, we who preach, and teach have to be especially cautious of our behavior.  The old saying that "people who live in glass houses should not throw stones." Our teachings and professions may be considered by some as, "holier than thou", and offensive.  So if we stumble and fall those with these feeling will be the first to say,"I know they were just fake " they are just a bunch of hypocrites."