Monday Musings: Are home-based missionaries irrelevant?

Pardon me here, I don’t mean to undermine or question the good work done by those who unselfishly travel overseas, sacrificing themselves and their families in the name of spreading goodwill and the gospel.   Overseas missions are very important in reaching the hard-to-reach places and bringing them hope.  Saying this, I do however, have some questions.

Recently, I was talking to friend about his church and he boasted to me that they had missionaries in 23 countries around the world.  I casually asked him, with no intent to judge, if they had any in Winnipeg, their backyard.  He thought about it and said he doubted it.  I wasn’t about to start a debate on where and how missionaries should answer their calling but I thought to myself,   “Why does it seem that much cooler to do missionary work abroad than in your own backyard?”  The same thing can be said of adopting.  It’s more trendy to adopt say an Ethiopian child than an aboriginal kid from the reservation.  It even sounds cooler too.  Admit it.  It’s gone Hollywood.

So, is sending aid to poor people in Africa worth double or triple that of giving  our local homeless man or woman money to buy food?  I know many of us do so with altruistic purposes while some of us have personal goals and egos to feed.  but again, it’s not for me to judge and that’s not what this blog is about.

We are usually bombarded with photos and televisions broadcasts of the millions of people starving in the Africa but rarely of the guy down the street.  If I step over that guy to reach out the ones that are across the ocean, would that make me a better missionary?  Is it still considered missionary if it’s only practiced in my neighborhood?  If I don’t adopt my cousin’s kid that she abuses and starves, but instead travel to Uganda to adopt the little girl I always wanted, am I still considered an effective missionary?  Also, is it ok if I maintain the outside of my house, keeping it clean and spotless, while inside looks like it was hit by a tornado?

Just my take.

Related articles

• Living as a Missionary in Your Community (christianitymatters.com)
• The Call to be a Missionary (timothymessenger.com)

Don’t mess with my clocks!

I am not a fan of DST.  No, it’s not a sales tax.  I am talking about Daylight Savings Time.  I hate this ‘Spring forward, fall back’ crap that I have to endure every year in the pretext of saving energy.

I did a little digging around to see exactly how and when this silly practice came about and found out it was actually the brainchild of one Benjamin Franklin, ever heard of him? Well damn you, Benny! *Yawn*

So what are the benefits of this?  Other than turning me into a zombie, it helps to keep employees so tired and confused that they fail to recognize when their bosses are screwing them around.  When you are tired, you never argue.  It saves energy because when we uhm…er…ok, forget that one.  It helps us to maintain a healthy lifestyle by spending an extra hour outdoors, enjoying that extra hour of daylight.    In fact, I did see an increase in my outdoor activities. NOT!  I spend that extra hour indoor trying to catch up on my missing hour of sleep.

Ok, the verdict is in.  Daylight savings is useless and a big waste of time and energy.  It messes with our bodies as studies show.  And…and…well…I just don’t like it.

Related Articles:

• Daylight Saving Time Wastes Electricity (blogs.wsj.com)
• Mo. lawmaker proposes to end Daylight Saving time (fox4kc.com)
• Four things you might not know about Daylight Saving Time (which starts this Sunday) (news.nationalpost.com)
• Too tired to come up with a title, or Why I Hate Daylight Savings Time (jenniewho.wordpress.com)
• Viewpoints: Daylight saving messes with all kinds of clocks (sacbee.com)
• How Daylight Savings Is Costing Americans More Than an Hour of Sleep, According to New GoBankingRates.com Report (prweb.com)

 

So Who Is Hoarding All The Luck?

“I have the worst luck”,  is a statement you always hear or even say yourself.  Just about all of us are guilty.  What we don’t say or hear is, “I am so lucky”.

You are running late for an appointment and decide to take a shortcut that crosses a railroad track.  As you raced towards it, the control arms come down, effectively bringing your race to a halt and making you even later.  “Drat it!  This always happen to me!”   What you are forgetting are the times when the arms came down just as you crossed over, blocking the unlucky cars behind you.  You probably didn’t say, “Wow! I am so lucky!” did you? Of course not.  Why not?  Well maybe because we expect our lives to be like that, with everything going our way.

What I’m trying to say is that we always remember the hurt but not so much the pleasure.  We remember the bad stuff that happens to us more than we remember the good stuff.  How could you be the unluckiest person because you never win at lottery or you seem to always catch the red light or train when your best friend who already has diabetes, was recently diagnosed with cancer?  I sometimes tell my friends that I have the worst luck or no luck at all because I never win prizes at events.   What I am forgetting is that my mom and  both my grandmothers are still alive and healthy. ( One turns 101 in a few months).  Not too many people my age can say that.

Next time we encounter a small setback,  maybe we should try to not be too quick to play the ‘woe is me’ card.  We could perhaps remember a time when the perceived setback worked for us, like the train track example.  And if you say you are the unluckiest person and I say the same thing, then who is this lucky person hoarding all the luck?

Just my take.

Related articles

• thinking yourself lucky (sageandsilver.com)
• The psychology of luck (mike10613.wordpress.com)
• The Luck Factor [Tina Fotherby] (ecademy.com)

Oscar Falls On His Blades

Last Olympics, I was moved to blog after hearing and watching the exploits of Oscar Pistorius, the amputee who overcame long odds to run with able-bodied athletes.  He was a role model and a hero.  Read blog here.

This hero and role model is now accused of the brutal murder of his girlfriend.  I was shocked and so was everyone who followed this man in the culmination of his dream.  How could he do this?  He seemed so grounded.   But did we know him?  Do we really know the people we make our role models?  Sometimes if we knew what they were capable of, we might be less inclined to make give them that status.

Role models and heroes are humans with the same weaknesses and desires like us.   Just read the papers or watch the news and you will always find stories where a  hero turned into a villain.  Fortunately, not every hero or role model choose to surprise us and end up being charged for heinous crimes or other criminal activity.  There are actually some that we can look up to but we should still never be too surprised when even these show their human sides.

Oscar is no different than the other stories you hear about NFL players or movie stars who kill their girlfriends or their families.  The fact that he is an amputee perhaps lends a ‘feel good’ touch to his story as we see him as ‘different’ but he’s not.  He is capable committing the same crimes as everyone else is.

Oscar is innocent until proven guilty and no matter what the verdict is, he will still be remembered for being the first amputee to compete with the big boys.  If he is found guilty, then he would have basically ‘fallen on his blades’ as far as killing his legacy.

My take.

Thursday Thoughts: William Wilburforce

English: Portrait of a Gentleman (Mr. Wilberforce) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My Thursday thoughts are about a great man, William Wilburforce.  Who is he?   Well William Wilburforce, and Englisman, was a powerful champion in the fight to abolish slavery, not only in his country of England but also worldwide.  He fought hard for the freedom of slaves and was a leader in the campaign.   On a side note, he also created the first Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals.

“Wilberforce has long been viewed as a Christian hero, a statesman-saint held up as a role model for putting his faith into action.  More broadly, he has also been described as a humanitarian reformer who contributed significantly to reshaping the political and social attitudes of the time by promoting concepts of social responsibility and action.”  (Wiki excerpt)

Now as we, or you, celebrate Black History Month, Mr. Wilberforce’s contribution to the advancement of black people should be a part of black history.  I must remind you though of my apathy towards the continued celebrating of Black History Month.  I feel it has no place in this day and age and is anti-progressive.   As a black man, I share the pride of the accomplishments of black people.  Because we are striving to eliminate racial barriers and see each other as just fellow humans,  I see these celebrations as ‘us against them’.  I see them as barriers that serve as speed bumps on the road to the eradication of racism.

Back to Mr. William Wilberforce…Black history would not be complete without the inclusion of people like Wilberforce.  His name should be spoken of in the same breath as Martin Luther King’s.  Granted, he was English but his aim was to secure the freedom of slaves across the oceans.  Because of him and other non-blacks like him, us black were able to get to where we are today.  Without them maybe we wouldn’t have had King or Obama or me.

And that’s my take…

Related articles

• Black History Month Makes Me Uncomfortable (thislifeinphotos.wordpress.com)
• The Problem With Black History Month (theroot.com)
• My Take On Black History Month

Poking Becomes Serious On Facebook

Remember when poking your friends on Facebook was innocent and carried no intent or purpose?  Well that was so last year.   There’s now a new Facebook app that allows users to pick which friend they want to ‘poke’ and if said friend agree to their subtle request, ladies and gentlemen, we have a sex match!    Mama mia!

Let me weight in on this as you expect me to.  When I first heard about this, I thought it was a joke.  No way!  How could they?  Well way.  And they not only could, they did.  Remember when things were sacred?  Not saying that I’ve never had meaningless sex, yes I have. So sue me.  Just kidding, don’t sue me.  But seriously, an app to set up sexual encounters with your Facebook friends?

I can imagine this conversation between a couple.  ”Honey, what are you doing?”  ”Oh nothing, just on Facebook.”  The wife comes running up.  ”Why are you going through your friends’ list?  Think I don’t know about that new app called ‘Bang with  friends’ that you can hook up with your friends with?”  ”Babes, I am just deleting some friends.  Cleaning house.  I don’t have that app and never will.  You are all the woman I need. I love you.”   “Honey, I think it’s time we cancel our Facebook accounts.”

Yes, Bang With Friends app is here.  A user, from the comfort of his bedroom, can let Jessica know he has harbored sexual thoughts and pent-up lusts over her.   Should she decide that she shares his feelings somewhat, they can get together and see if the sparks fly.

Why am I not vehement in my objection to this?  Well maybe because nothing like this surprises me anymore.   Love, marriage and sex are not what they used to be.  Self respect is fast disappearing.  It’s appalling to say the least.  It’s degrading but I am so desensitized that I can see the humor in it.   I am sorry if I say it’s funny but it’s my take, remember?  Must I always remind you of that?

Anyways, to each his own.  If consulting adults feel like poking their friends, knock  yourselves out.  It’s happening with or without the app.  The app just puts in more in our faces but it’s been happening while we snooze.

 

Related articles

• Facebook’s Poke app becomes unpopular in a hurry (tuaw.com)
• Banging My Facebook Friends or FILF
• http://ibnlive.in.com/news/new-facebook-sex-app-lets-you-bang-with-friends/369747-11.html

My Friday Take – Is It A Catholic Thing?

I know there are some hard-core Catholics out there and because of this, I apologize if this post rubs you the wrong way.  I too was once a catholic and my family, especially my dear old granny, eats ,breathes and sleeps the Catholic religion.

Today, I read a disturbing article in which a cardinal, Roger Mahony, was relieved of his duties.  That wasn’t disturbing but apparently, he had a long and tainted career of protecting the integrity, (what integrity?) of the church.  He did this by protecting (aiding and abetting?) suspected pedophiles.  One such suspect, a Mexican priest, is alleged to have molested 26 boys in a 10-month span!  Mahony refused to turn over the list of the boys to police.  Other accusations involved priests drugging the kids.  These were the ‘men of God’ that the well-meaning Roger Mahony was protecting.  As long as the church came up smelling like roses, who cares if a few kids were harmed right?

Let me lay it down for you, I know some good non-pedophile practicing Catholic Christians and I don’t want to paint them all with the same brush.  What I do want to say is that I don’t think I would feel comfortable being a part of religion that has so much history of child sexual abuse.  I know all religions and faiths have bad people who kill, rape, etc. but I don’t know of any other religion that has such a rampant and well documented history of criminal behavior against children. It’s almost like an organized crime for goodness sake!  It’s like an embarrassment.  Scratch that, it is an embarrassment to well-meaning Catholic Christians.

I have a question though.  Why is the Catholic church plagued with so many allegations of child abuse world-wide?  I have been in discussions where some think that it is because they are not allowed to marry.  Well if this is true, shouldn’t they be out there molesting grown women?  How does a child take the place of a missing wife?  If I wasn’t allowed to marry, I think there are other legal and acceptable alternatives that I would engage in, not turn to little boys to fill my void.

And that’s it for my Friday’s take.  Remember, it’s my opinion.

Related articles

• Retired cardinal stripped of duties as child abuse files are released (guardian.co.uk)
• Retired Los Angeles cardinal punished over abuse revelations (religionnews.com)
• Los Angeles Catholic archdiocese releases priest abuse files (independent.ie)
• Cardinal Roger M Mahony removed from public life by LA Archbishop Gomez (irishcentral.com)

Repentant Pastor Made Me Eat Humble Pie

Logo used from 1980–2007, still in use at some Applebee’s locations. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s not too often that I go back on my take or eat humble pie so to speak.  This is one of those not-too-often occasions.  My last blog was harshly critical of the pastor, Alois Bell and her Applebee’s adventure.   If you have no clue what I’m talking about, read my blog here.

To refresh you, Pastor Alois went to dine at Applebee’s with some friends and when it came time to pay the bill, she was charged 18% gratuity.  She was not  impressed and showed it by writing, “I give God 10% why do you get 18%?”  A waitress finding it  insulting and comical felt that it was internet worthy and posted it online where it went viral.   She, the waitress, was promptly fired when the Pastor called the restaurant voicing her objection to the alleged invasion of privacy and breach of customer trust.  Well me being my opinionated self, jumped all over it and berated the pastor for being a cheapskate for trying to shortchange the poor waitress.

Later, I saw an interview that Pastor Alois Bell did on the Fox network.  I watched it in its entirety and within the first couple of minutes, I realized that I had been too quick to crucify the pastor.  She was very open and apologetic and being a good reader of people, I knew she was legit.  She did not show up to the interview wearing a brand name suit with hair and nails done.  She looked like your regular woman in the next pew.   She was down-to-earth and real.  Alois saw the lesson that her action presented.  She admitted her human frailty that led her to do what she did.  We all make mistakes.  Even I do.  And did.

Alois, you keep on doing your thing.  You seem like a nice person.  You erred but we all err but not all of us say sorry.  I am sorry for being so quick to judge and sentence you.  After all, who the heck am I to cast the first stone?

 

Watch the pastor’s apologize on Fox:

Pastor apologizes

Related:

Cheapskate pastor

Casting the first stone

He Said What?

This morning I was listening to 92 CITI FM when I heard the dj say, “Son of a b###h!”    Now I’m not a prude or nor am I perfect, even though some may think I am, but it sure caught me off guard.  Does everything goes on radio and tv now?

I have three young kids and I censor what they hear and see on radio, tv and computer.  I  know most kids these days hardly know what a radio is much less to listen to one early in the morning but I still think colorful language and conversation has no place on radio.  That fine line that separates the acceptable from the not-so-acceptable is getting blurrier and blurrier.

 

 

Amazing Grace

Music of Grace: Amazing Grace (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A few days ago, while listening to a Christian Radio, (chvn 95.1 fm),  the song Amazing Grace started playing.  For some reason, I found myself pondering the song and  the origin.  This is one of the most recognizable of all songs,  religious or otherwise.  I think even the devil sings it.  It is so popular that I’m sure many if not all of us,  sing it from memory without really paying much attention to the lyrics.  Here’s a little blog about the man behind the song and its origin.

English man John Newton,  was the songwriter of this historic song.  For such a deep and soul baring song, one would think that he must have been a deeply devout christian, testifying to the saving grace of God.  Well sort of.

John was forced into military service and later, on his own volition, became a slave trader.  Apparently, he had one of the worst sailors’ vocabulary that his captain had ever heard.  (He was the most profane man the captain had ever met). In other words, he cursed like a sailor and more than a sailor.

John Newton was not always religious, even though his mother tried to instill it in him.  In fact, he denounced God at one part in his life.  It took a near-death experience for him to return to the fold.  (He cried out for God’s intervention when the ship he was on was caught in a storm).  That incident marked a turning point in his life and one that he would remember for the rest of his life.

Contrary to claims, Newton did not write the song in a moment of clarity while on a slave ship.  In fact, after his conversion he continued to dabble in slave trading and only gave it up after being ill.  He wrote Amazing Grace some years after his last voyage.

Amazing Grace is a strong song.  It speaks volumes about God’s love and his forgiveness.  This blog is not to take anything away from John Newton or to judge him in any way for his participation in one of the darkest era of humanity, (Although I think he should have given it up after he found God but maybe his conviction and conversion was not fully completed).  He left us with a great song.

Years after hanging up his slave trader hat, Newton joined forces with abolitionist William Wilberforce in his fight against slavery.  For such a person like John Newton, it would have taken an amount of saving grace to redeem him from what he was.  A bad boy, a slave trader and a man who turned his back on God.  It must have really been an Amazing Grace that saved a wretch like him.  And me.  And you.

Amazing grace, how sweet thou art…

Related reads:

http://www.texasfasola.org/biographies/johnnewton.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Newton