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This week, there was a one-hour television special to disclose where LaBron James will play basketball. Why is this such an earth-shaking event? Sure the guy is a great basketball player. Good for him. But how many diseases has he found the cure for? What has he done to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East or anywhere else? Has he found a way to stop the catastrophe in the Gulf? No. He does what my wife describes as "throwing some kind of ball through some kind of apparatus".
When are we going to learn that our idols inevitably let us down? Whether they are entertainers, athletes or politicians, rarely does a week go by that we do not learn of their problems with sex, drugs or other behavior. Here's a crazy idea. Instead of looking for role models, become one. Check out my song "Riding Into the Sun"
MP3 http://opng8.org/ridingintosun.html
MIDI http://opng8.org/ridingintosun1.html
I realize many of you are not old enough to remember the Saturday morning westerns but the idea still applies. Why do people have to look elsewhere for their "idols"? Isn't an idol merely man's feeble attempt to replicate the true spirituality?
Best always
Brother Ron
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
RHIP
Those of you who have served in the military are familiar with the term "rank has its priviledges". This seems to apply to the civilian world as well. I was watching an expose on the governor of Nevada who claims he has not had sex in 15 years and did not go to a recent governor's convention with a female member of his staff. The analyst then showed a picture of the governor with the lady in question posing with South Carolina governor Mark Sanford at the convention. I wondered if they were comparing notes on hiking the Old Appalachian Trail.
This brought back to mind the statement of Tiger Woods explaining that his philandering conduct grew out of his belief that his celebrity entitled him to special rules of conduct. This is the same explanation used by President Clinton to explain his affair with Ms. Lewinski. I'm sure this sentiment is shared by many politicians, entertainers and athletes. I believe it is also shared by many who feel their religious status entitled them to special priviledges.
At the recent trial of the terrorist accused of plotting to bomb the New York subways, he gleefully confessed, believing he was doing God's work. So did the man sho shot a well-known abortion doctor in his church. I'm sure the people who flew the airplanes into the World Trade Center felt the same way. The list goes on and on.
There are many of different faiths who consider themselves God's special chosen people. Being God's "special chosen people", they are entitled to form their own code of conduct, immune to the code of the "unchosen" because they are "special". A famous evangelist has proclaimed that his "saved" status means he
is no longer capable of sinning. I guess that means that anything he does is okay because he is one of God's "special chosen people". I'm sure the pedophile priests and the people who carried out the Inquisition felt the same way.
Here's a hot scoop for you. We have all been chosen by our Father to receive the gift of life and His Spirit within us. Our petty squabbles about who is more "blessed" mean nothing to Him. He does not delight in the death and misery of His choldren. Those who claim otherwise are guilty of the worst kind of blasphemy.
Although I am officially a bishop of the Universal Ministries, I never use that title. To me, it does not confer some special recognition that I am more blessed than others and entitled to special priviledges. On the contrary, it means that I am charged to be a servant to others and offer any assistance they may need. I am blessed by those who have sought my assistance. I believe this is the message Jesus was trying to give us.
John 13:12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? John 13:13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. John 13:14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one
another's feet. John 13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
Whose feet have you washed today?
Best always
Brother Ron
This brought back to mind the statement of Tiger Woods explaining that his philandering conduct grew out of his belief that his celebrity entitled him to special rules of conduct. This is the same explanation used by President Clinton to explain his affair with Ms. Lewinski. I'm sure this sentiment is shared by many politicians, entertainers and athletes. I believe it is also shared by many who feel their religious status entitled them to special priviledges.
At the recent trial of the terrorist accused of plotting to bomb the New York subways, he gleefully confessed, believing he was doing God's work. So did the man sho shot a well-known abortion doctor in his church. I'm sure the people who flew the airplanes into the World Trade Center felt the same way. The list goes on and on.
There are many of different faiths who consider themselves God's special chosen people. Being God's "special chosen people", they are entitled to form their own code of conduct, immune to the code of the "unchosen" because they are "special". A famous evangelist has proclaimed that his "saved" status means he
is no longer capable of sinning. I guess that means that anything he does is okay because he is one of God's "special chosen people". I'm sure the pedophile priests and the people who carried out the Inquisition felt the same way.
Here's a hot scoop for you. We have all been chosen by our Father to receive the gift of life and His Spirit within us. Our petty squabbles about who is more "blessed" mean nothing to Him. He does not delight in the death and misery of His choldren. Those who claim otherwise are guilty of the worst kind of blasphemy.
Although I am officially a bishop of the Universal Ministries, I never use that title. To me, it does not confer some special recognition that I am more blessed than others and entitled to special priviledges. On the contrary, it means that I am charged to be a servant to others and offer any assistance they may need. I am blessed by those who have sought my assistance. I believe this is the message Jesus was trying to give us.
John 13:12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? John 13:13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. John 13:14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one
another's feet. John 13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
Whose feet have you washed today?
Best always
Brother Ron
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