Here's why we won't see a cashless society

Everyone seems worried our government, and the rest of the world, is subversively guiding us, forcing us, driving us like cattle to a slaughterhouse, towards a cashless society.  I'm confident this won't happen, and here are the two reasons:

#1. Every government uses slush-funds for covert operations, and they don't want to leave a paper/electronic trail.  Presidents, the CIA, you name it, they need untraceable cash to carry out all of their actions that pay for secrete deals and actions -- far beyond what we dream up with our conspiracy theories.

#2. More importantly, a cashless society will spur people to a better, fairer economic system which would be nearly impossible to tax, that being the barter system.   You will see more and more people bartering and trading in a cashless society, and it's hard for the government to take their share when there is no currency being exchanged.  

Don't worry about the lack of change next time you go through the drive thru, now you have my two cents...  

When did "work" become a four letter word?

This article is in the Timesnews Religion section. 

Click here for article: When did "Work" become a four letter word

Dear Leftists, Quit pretending to care

For all the people who are in a perpetual uproar over the American injustices and inequalities they rage against, please, funnel your energies with a bit more consistency.   You voices are loud, but your actions...?

Studies that research generosity show by region and voting patterns that people who are the most generous people populate certain areas known for, you guessed it, being conservative.  There is no law against opening up your own wallet and addressing areas you are concerned about, that would speak a lot louder than the hate speech that floods the media these days.

You want to open to the borders of our nations and you want sanctuary cities to continue, how about leaving your car unlocked or your home?  Sounds insane, I know.  You do have borders you recognize and expect others to respect, so please stop pretending like your entire world is open and free.  You have lines drawn, they may not be the same as others, but you have them.  

You think contemporary protesters who loot, burn, and vandalize major cities are on the side of truth and justice and that the vast minority of bad police officers represent the majority of police forces, which justifies the behavior of the protesters.  All the while innocent business owners watch their hard work destroyed and demolished by people who apparently are unemployed, after all who has this much free time on their hands to "protest"?  Every economist will tell you, the driving force behind the American economy is small business.  The people who are suffering the brunt end of these "protests" are small businesses who have their storefronts smashed, and their merchandise stolen.  I'm not sure how cheering this on displays care and concern for society.  

If you really care about making a change, do the hard work of building something up, rather than tearing down the structure that enables you to even have the rights and privileges to complain.  Go serve in a soup kitchen instead of vandalizing restaurants or watching/approving of others who vandalize them.  Tutor minorities who need mentors and structure in their lives, instead of endorsing brutality against the police, who by the way have sacrificed a lot to keep rough neighborhoods as as safe as they can.  Help find ways to eliminate illiteracy instead of grinning while people willingly let the libraries burn.  

As it is now, all of your negativity, gratuitous rioting, empty rhetoric and petty diatribes merely show the rest of us how little you really care about improving the world.  Change our minds and show us you really do care.  

What's wrong with this world & how to fix it

Power and authority should not be confused with each other (The corollary to these ideas are submission and obedience).  Power, the ability or resource for action, and authority, having the right to enforce or exercise the power.  Our understanding, or better yet our misunderstanding of these ideas are at the root of much of what's wrong with this world.  This leaves us in perpetual tension.  Why?  Everyone wants to be the one in charge wielding their power while no one seems to appreciate the need to obey or be submissive.  

Families all across the land are divided and they are being ripped apart over arguing about who is to blame for our Nation’s problems and how do we as a people unite and move forward.  We don’t just segregate our communities by skin color, we separate by political affiliations, social status, occupations and economic diversities.  

With a culture that is obsessed with competition, from tee ball to professional Sports, campaigners trying to beat their Political opponents, to your kid’s dance or debate team -- is it any wonder we have such a division at every level in our country?  This isn’t new.  All the way back to Cain & Able we’ve had rivalries.  

The process of College entrance is competitive, applying for a job is competitive, getting your parent’s attention is competitive, keeping your attention here on this page or when you sit in a pew competes with technology and social media/the entertainment industry.  You know who doesn't compete?  God.

It’s clear to nearly everyone we need change.  Whatever it is we’ve been doing, it isn’t working.  Change is incredibly difficult, and we can see this playing out in our culture right now.  Think of how many churches fizzle out by fighting over change.  How can we call people to action?

Maybe we just need a “better pitch” to energize people?  Clever slogans like Nancy Reagan’s “just say no” campaign (drug abuse has risen exponentially since her plea) or the “WWJD” bracelets we wore in the 1990’s seem ineffective to spark real change.  Slogans rarely mobilize people, instead they seemingly initiate fads that fade from memory quickly.  

Perhaps we need stricter criminal & civil laws, ones regulating speech, gatherings, and actions that make people fairer.  If the laws don’t work, let’s break those laws or similar ones and make sure our voices are heard.  Well.  It’s hard to legislate morality.  And fairness & equality are moral issues -- matters of the heart.  

Laws will not change the heart or the attitude of divisive people.  Neither protests nor riots will change the hearts or culture that they infiltrate either.  

We’re now seeing a different competition for the direction or the focus of our national conversation.  As long as we compete and see this as an “Us versus them” issue, we will lose ground.  We need to mutually support each other as much as possible.  Support has to be authentic and genuine.  Not everyone will feel the same as you or share your approach to bridging the gaps that exist in our nation, and instead of resisting or resenting, we need to learn to cooperate.  

How do we cooperate towards a common good?  We must see others as allies instead of demonizing them as enemies and we must obediently submit to the right authority, yes, we need to yield to God’s will -- especially in how we treat each other.

Consider what Paul wrote in Romans 13:8-10, “8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”  And ultimately, it’s time for us to take the words of Jesus seriously, especially what He says in Matthew 7:12, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

 

Facts matter when history is inconvenient

(Hopefully we can...)

Upset over racism, riots, police brutality, and the current crisis America is facing?
Here are some facts that seemingly are being overlooked:

Before we became the United States, we were part of the British Colonies.  We inherited the evil practice of slavery from the Brits.  Yes slavery is in our horrible heritage, just like the way we decimated the American Indians.  We are also the same nation that ended our practice of slavery and then one day, we rebuilt Europe after defeating Hitler, so yes we are a mixed-bag of imperfections and amazing potential.

What no one is asking is, what perpetuated slavery and what are the implications for us today.  Before I get to that, lets rewind the tape even further. 

Can we hold the Mongolians responsible for Genghis Khan's savagery?  He had the largest empire territory-wise of anyone, and he amassed his land-mass by brutally murdering civilians in ever tribe and village he came across.  Of course we can't expect the Mongolians to repay anyone for this. 

Should we call for the destruction of the Egyptian Pyramids?  Boycott tourism there too?  The great pyramids were built on the backs of slaves, slaves that were treated as property, and discarded after they were worn out.  Doubtful anyone cares anywhere on the planet about the enslavement that allowed building the pyramids. 

You say -- Ancient history, probably no longer applies.  When will American slavery no longer apply?  I have no idea, but I do have an idea why slavery survived so long in America.  Greed, and greed is about more than money, it's about power. 

BTW: You can't go back in time, we can only, hopefully, move forward.  We can't erase our history by removing monuments, and if we ignore our history, we remain ignorant to its lessons. 

Do you know who has the highest rates of drug addiction, is the weakest, most illiterate, impoverished, oppressed group of people in America?  Appalachia is.   White, redneck, hillbilly folk are.  Where are their riots?  Do yourself a huge favor and research how bleak, desperate & depressing this region is and then go read Night comes to the Cumberlands

What we are facing currently isn't merely racism, oppression, or police brutality.  Most of us are asking the wrong questions and we are looking in the wrong places.   Ask yourself, who is leveraging this crisis for political gain, for monetary gain, and for a stronger hold over others.  And ask, why would anyone call for abolishing the police in America?  Talk about ushering in anarchy and inviting the biggest thugs to rule... 

The issue of racism is a smokescreen, distracting most people who think this is about racism.   Black looters have destroyed black business in these riots, does this mean they are racists?  If you haven't read or seen the story of the angry elderly black woman in NY, watch this!

Where were the riots for the white woman recently (2017) killed by police in Minnesota?  click here for the story most people have no clue about  "Say her name" never became a hashtag, you have to ask why not?  Or don't ask. 

Our problems aren't as black & white as they seem.  There are people who are stirring up division for their own gain and to ensure their own interests, and sadly the people being hurt the most are being re-victimized all over again. 

Ask better questions, look deeper into this, and don't simply settle for the answers that enrage you or agree with your political leanings.   Go beyond the emotions.  Our nation is possibly on the brink, and I can tell you, the people most dependent on technology, who've given up their guns, freedoms and most of their rights to the government already, they will have a harder time in any upcoming revolution, whatever form it takes. 

This all might pass over, or might get even uglier.  If we unite we stand, if whoever is behind this can continue to divide us, we fall.  All of us, we are all better than this.  See the good in everyone and be the Good Samaritans you are called to be, and reject any pointless strife that will not bring healing. 

Talking about the taboo topic the church is silent on: Suicide

I didn’t sulk under my own broom tree until my late-30’s, the idea of taking my own life hadn’t ever occurred to me before then -- life gets hard when some of the people you minister to work against you. It wasn’t that I was ignorant regarding the topic, when I was in the 5th grade a neighbor-dad left his car running in the garage with the door closed, a casualty of a painful divorce.

I think suicide is like the Covid-19, in that we are tired of hearing about both; we’ve become callous and numb to the topics. I felt led to address suicide here, earlier this month, the day I heard about the news of  Darrin Patrick's suicide -- I cried and spent the rest of that day in a funk, emotionally drained. Even though we are victors in Christ and God will ultimately win the war, we don’t win every battle. Darrin is another tragic example of pastors who end their own life.

There are countless celebrities who have done so too, and don’t forget our military veterans either. We have numerous suicide attempts daily -- the next time you scour the obits, read between the lines, you’ll see local people who succeed as well. By the way, the patriarch of Kingsport George Eastman himself ended his own life.

And while it’s not healthy to obsess over suicide, it’s not healthy to ignore it either. Worst of all, churches are mostly silent on the topic -- when was the last time your church offered a sermon or seminar about it? It’s sad that shows on Netflix like “13 Reasons” or “After Life” can be more open about a disturbing subject than we are.

Suicide might seem strange to you, it’s counter-intuitive to most people, I think about doing it myself from time to time. At times life can feel pointless, the pressure to succeed in ministry is always there, and sadness and despair can descend like a stormcloud -- but there are a thousand tentacles and webs that keep me from the brink of oblivion. I think about how it would affect my wife, children and grandchildren, and the handful of reasons I have for ending this life seem different then.

People who think about killing themselves aren’t being morbid or romanticizing the great beyond, they simply find it hard to go on living, whether it is pain, pressure, feelings of failure, regrets, chemical imbalances, debt, or conflict. My mom was rather melancholy, and we have a loved one who battles depression, so perhaps the darkness I periodically struggle with is genetic. No matter what the reasons may be, if suicide is foreign to you, you probably don’t understand the shame and guilt people who consider suicide carry with them either.

When it comes to finding help in our region, it is a hell-hole for people who struggle with opioid addiction, meth, or mental health. For all that is good here, we have pitiful resources in our region for people who are overwhelmed and stressed out. You’ll wait several months for an evaluation or to get in to see a qualified professional here. That needs to change!

Nationwide suicide rates have been rising dramatically for years now, and with the massive unemployment our country is presently experiencing decimating our economy, experts tell us we can expect a spike in suicide. Maybe you’ll never understand something that seems so irrational, but hopefully you’ll be empathetic and thoughtful, considerate of those who do struggle with this. I believe Jesus would want us to restrict our judgment and release a little more grace when it comes to a taboo topic, because really, people who think about killing themselves need a safe place and safe people to talk to.

When you or a loved one is hospitalized:

A couple of days ago I was in the driveway talking “over the fence” with our next door neighbor. He’s trained as a medical professional, and myself being in ministry, we naturally discussed the current state of hospitalizations. We were talking about the complexity of navigating the medical world when a loved one is hospitalized -- we agreed, it isn’t easy for the average person who has no real experience in the otherworldly space of organized hospitals.

Presently, most everyone is thinking about their health or the well-being of their families. There's a good possibility you or yours will need to visit a hospital in your lifetime. Are you prepared?

After decades of being in ministry, my wife and I have made countless visits to the bedside of hospital patients. Our family has learned a few valuable lessons over the years about interacting in the strange world of hospitals. I’d like to pass on a few ideas that might be helpful as you or your loved ones face the intimidating prospect of staying in the hospital.

Discover the names of those in charge like the head nurse at the nurse’s station, the hospitalist, and any attending physicians. Any of their phone numbers you can acquire, add them to your phone’s contacts ASAP. Also, find out which pharmacy your medical staff has the best working relationship with. I find that our “mom & pop’s” pharmacies work harder for local people than anyone else, and perhaps your doctors share this belief.

Keep a notebook by the hospital bedside. Have family members take turns keeping notes so that there’s always someone in the room. Ask the names of nurses and doctors who check in, ask the medicines that they administer and the amounts, then record the time & dates. It doesn’t matter whether you recognize the medicines or if you can even pronounce the words. This small step helps the medical professionals stay on their toes, they will double check their work, and it reminds them you care too.

You’d be surprised at how many people who need a knee replacement wake up to find out the wrong knee was operated on. Don’t be bashful, remind your medical team what you are in need of or why. You have to advocate for your loved ones, or in some cases yourself. Most nurses and doctors are caring people, otherwise they wouldn’t be the medical field in the first place. But. There is a lot of “compassion fatigue” they have to overcome and deal with. Never forget they are by and large on your side, but they are overwhelmed with too many cases and they work long hours. A little reminder or some extra gentle nudging on your part might go further than you realize.

Ask for prayers. Yes our health is personal, but the prayers of the righteous are effective. When you are sick it feels natural to pull away, but this is a time when you need your faith community more than ever.

Most people have no idea how long it takes to be processed, to get a room, or even what it means to be discharged when your time is over -- it often takes a few hours to be released once you are discharged. Being patient as a patient is extremely difficult. Bring books, magazines, crosswords, or other items to help pass the time. I’ve found some people enjoy listening to music while they recuperate but most hospital rooms aren’t equipped with radios, so download an app on your phone.

There are times when you or a loved one simply will not recover, and the next move is hospice. As fatal as this sounds, this is a time when you really need someone to talk to. There are hospice chaplains as well as nurses, ask them how hospice works, what your role is, and what you should expect. No, things won’t just fall into place and it often won’t make sense, this is why you need to ask how it works from those who have dedicated their lives to hospice.

In the end, when it comes to navigating the medical world, having a good attitude is one of your best tools. Yes this crisis might be the biggest challenge you or your family has ever faced, and yes we have incredible technology and advanced medicines, but nothing can compete with matters of the heart. Write this verse on a sticky note and post in your room next time you or a loved one is in need, and reflect on it often, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Prov 17:22)

May God renew your hope and may He bless you with healing whenever dark days descend on you or your loved ones. May God bless you with peace of mind, and may His Spirit bring you comfort always.