Having much ...and thankful for much, not always the case. I remember having much less and being thankful for more. I guess I regressed to that again, in some respects.    

But perhaps I have more in the way of quite satisfaction, when allowed to.  

Each has to decide for themselves ...what they consider as progress, or what is considered to impress.   

Or rather shall we digress?

I have much to digest.

In the first few Books of the Bible, much is said about offerings and sacrifices.  Adam & Eve’s two sons, Cain and Abel, brought offerings.  We don’t know the details of the offerings, but it is clear that Cain did not put much into his offering.

But, before the births of their sons, Adam & Eve stood alone in the Garden of Eden.  We may ask how much they both put into it, as they stood before God.  Yet, after their sin, they themselves were put into it.  They put their bodies into the skins that God provided as a covering.

Absolutely, God knows how much we put into what we do, and we often don’t put our whole selves into it.  When God points something out, it is true (like He did while conversing with Cain) …but, when people look at things, especially through comparison, it may not be an accurate picture, nor always healthy perspective.

Yet, we do need goals and standards …and we should look to Jesus.  We will inevitably fail or fall way short, but we need to persevere …not to achieve the level of any of the apostles of Jesus, but to mostly offer testimony to what He did, not us.  And Jesus points out our flaws for the purpose of our growth.  And we can often use an attitude adjustment.  In Mark 12:41-44 or Luke 21:1-4, we can see that Jesus was making a point to many in the room when He said the widow’s mite was more than anyone else had given.  It would be my guess that no one else would have seen it that way, until He pointed it out.  How easy or acceptable are our offerings?  How much do we put into what we do?  And how much does it have to do with keeping God foremost in our perspective?

Why was so much detail expected with the offerings and sacrifices that we read about in the Book of Leviticus?   Well, let’s look at our own military services.  We’ve likely heard the stories …or perhaps are among the honored who served and experienced.  Much strictness is upheld with the neatness of their beds …and also the seriousness of how they stand in line for uniform inspection.  One story tells of how the soldiers were asked to dig a hole 10 feet by 10 feet by 10 feet …then for seemingly no logical reason they are asked to then fill the hole back up.

It may seem senseless, but the purpose is discipline.

A farmer may have some mischievous sons.  He may give his sons so much do to …that they couldn’t possibly finish it all in one day, saying to himself, “That will keep them out of trouble!”.

The Book of Leviticus (and following Books) do much to explain detail …mostly the what aspect of it, not always the why.  And as Adam & Eve were not disciplined enough to not eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil …that’s when both the what & why were explained.  Adam clearly knew why …and God explained what would happen after that, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread”.

In the army, someone could die if you are not disciplined enough.  And because each of us are not disciplined enough not to sin, Jesus offered Himself, His sacrifice …by putting Himself out there for us, being crucified for our sake.  

                                                                                                                                          
There are difficult things to understand, and take much thought.  The Bible talks about vows in the 30^th Chapter of Numbers …and we see the dreaded results of mismanagement in the eleventh Chapter of Judges, with Jephthah’s vow.

And especially the 5^th Chapter of Numbers, really threw me …concerning the dealings with jealousy.  It just didn’t seem right, until I realized that the woman was often stoned to death. 

Leviticus 20:10 “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”

Considering that she could likely be judged unjustly, I was able to look at it as not condemnation towards her, but more often it could be freeing her from being wrongly stoned.  Of course, we look to Jesus, as he addressed the situation as “he who is without sin, cast the first stone”.  Clearly, each time a woman is accused in this situation, a man is also at fault.  How anyone could be so detached and insensitive to killing …that is so disturbing.  Many people are tired of hearing the debate about abortion.  Some people say they don’t watch the news on TV because it’s too negative …so they turn the TV off.  Though it may be good to take breaks from watching so much TV, we should not also turn off our minds and our hearts.

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There are always difficult considerations. Do we understand why during World War II, we bombed two Japanese cities?  We can merely say we are against war, but it’s not that easy.  We were already in the war …and in it to stop the war.  I know there will be scoffers.  In our own communities, how easy is it to say we are against crime, while opposing many of the police officers who attempt to curb it?  Crime is not easy to deal with …and it’s worse when it reaches the scale of war. Wish as we may that it not be that way …people do die.  Yet, in view of eternity, which death is worse …the first, or eternal death??

Yes, this does require much thought …all of which we fall short on, yet God has it all thoroughly considered, and precisely carried out.  At times we may wonder why God doesn’t intervene in a way we wish He would.  That we may not quite understand, but what we should foremost understand is that Jesus did intervene in the biggest way, giving His own life, so we can have eternal life.

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When I worked at Fairlawn Center, the children’s division of what was initially called the Mental Institution, they mainly looked at two things: the child, and the child’s environment.

Most of us would agree that the primary influence in a child’s environment is both the parents of the child.  Though too many false conclusions can be drawn (often are), based upon assumptions …and there is also much emotional investment, sadly with unpleasant confrontation too often steeped within blame-shifting and deflecting guilt.  Instead of helping either parent or child, the risk is always present that they could withdraw from the program.  It is very difficult to both support and redirect.  So, instead of treating the assumed source of the problem, the result is addressed, mostly by prescribing medication and/or legal drugs.  And the problem is often diagnosed as a chemical imbalance.

This 2020 presidential campaign is filled with the politics of how best to solve our problems.  Whether sincere or not, at least some mention is made as to the need to improve our educational system, health care, and our neighborhoods.  [I’ve never been to New York City …no, I’m not a big city person.  But, I don’t understand how those who want guns taken away, are against ‘Stop & Frisk’ which took guns away. Maybe to avoid a bias, large cities could set up checkpoints like at the airport …which stops and frisks everyone.]  Though I doubt that would encourage business.

I digress …so, back to our countries biggest problems.  Climate Change is not even in the top ten.  It may be #1 for some people …but, let’s look at this with facts.  In 1988, testimony was given before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to the effect that global warming was a real threat.  That was over 30 years ago, but the real boost in interest seemed to come after Vice-President Al Gore’s failed attempt at the presidency.  A half dozen years after that, a movie documentary, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ was released along with many speaking engagements by Al Gore …continuing to promote fear of global warming.  But, soon afterwards we had a quite cold winter …and the summer wasn’t that warm either. Initially, those facts were explained away by stating there would be intermittent spikes in temperature in the opposite direction, but no one seemed to mention that just a decade before that, there were those in the scientific community who were exploring the possibility that our earth was going through a period of global cooling. The current alarm over how we are at a near point of extinction comes to us by the name of Climate Change. 

If you read how Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos have been investing, you may want to jump on board the concept of traveling to Mars.  The late great Stephen Hawking made it sound inevitable that we would have to colonize Mars.  Without a doubt that would affect my and your children …but, our teenage and young adult sons don’t believe in this.  Our oldest said that if we ruined Earth’s atmosphere (which by the way, he does not believe will happen), then Earth would still be more feasible to build the domes, with the resources here and no interplanetary shipping charges.

Yes, at Fairlawn Center most every person was on medication …and we treat the planet the same way, as if its chemical imbalance is the most significant problem. And the panic narrows the confrontation to mostly large businesses.  And yes, they should be monitored to guarantee they are abiding by clean water and clean air standards, but Flint, Michigan’s water fiasco had nothing to do with Climate Change.  In that case it was a chemical imbalance of sorts in the water supply due to negligence.

How about the air?  Well, some have said for years that cow gas is destroying the environment …others even saying that vegetarian would be the way to go. Well, I’ve turned 65 at the beginning of this year. And health experts say that a change in diet helps longevity of life.  So, eating more fruits and vegetables while minimizing my intake of meat may work towards fewer cows and less cow gas.  And conveniently, I also like goat’s milk.  The problem is, eating more fruits and vegetables gives me more gas.  And that would be me affecting my immediate environment, and anyone unfortunate to be within close proximity to me.

I digress again, and again …but, the climate change that disturbs me the most is the moral climate affecting the fabric of our society.  There is never a lack of ideas …only of good ideas.  And today a disturbingly large number of us think that what we think, our ideas and values, should reside upon the throne of acceptance, whether detrimental or not.  We can have (and should have) polite and respectful dialogue …but, we should also consider that within our Constitution is the freedom of speech, yet, implied should also be the responsibility to listen.  And foremost, I believe we should listen to the Word of God.  Yes, we should also listen to the point of views of others …but, in our best spirit of loving one another. 

I saw on Facebook, a photo of a woman (yes, she's there because we 'friended' each other) ...a photo of her at a woman's rights rally, which usually heavily focuses on the right to abortion.  A couple years before that her son's wife was pregnant and they posted the ultrasound.  Comments were inclusive of: "Can't wait to see him ...feel like he's already a part of the family!"  It seems very clear that he was considered a human because they wanted him in the family.  Would he be less human if they had not wanted him??   And this thing of Climate Change with a very honorable claim that they are concerned for future generations.  Are they saving the planet for future generations without saving the future generations for the planet??

The 21^st Chapter of the Book of Revelation begins with: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.  And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and women, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

We don’t destroy the earth …it ends when God wants it to.  And who would not celebrate with no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain??   There are people who don’t believe this.  Because I do believe the Bible, I don’t believe I need to concern myself with Climate Change.  God created this place for us, and it will sustain us for as long as it’s supposed to …and no, our next residence is not going to be Mars, it will be the new Jerusalem, with Him …or someplace without Him.

Yes, it would be best to live with Him now.   If we want to be with Him later, why wouldn’t we want to be with Him now??