Iraq, the Economy, Swine Flu, and Everything Else

The headlines from the world's newspapers would all be alike if they were written in a common language. The fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan held the most column inches for an extended period of time. Our minds were focused on how many troops were being killed each month or each week.

The only thing that moved our thoughts from the loss of human life was the loss of money out of our pockets. Suddenly, people lost jobs, corporations and individuals filed for bankruptcy, and homes went into foreclosure. The economy replaced Iraq as our number one news concern.

I that how we will pay for dinner would still be at the top of our list if a pig hadn't coughed on a bird that flew over a person depositing some virus into the air that was inhaled and the swine flu became a reality. School closings, reported cases, number of states reporting cases, cases world wide, and number of deaths from the swine flu has grabbed the spotlight in the papers, on television, and across the internet.

Makes you wonder what's next! Don't misunderstand me - I am not making light of any of these happenings. Each one is very serious. Each one is greatly affecting human life. Each one increases anxiety. And yet, we have survived them one by one. Just as we have survived countless other headline grabbers.

Does that mean that we will always be survivors? Not necessarily. But I do think that we must keep in mind that life is filled with crises. These come in the forms of war, crime, economic upturns and downturns, disease, accidents, relationship breakups, and countless other subject headings. The focus I must maintain in all of these situations comes together in these three statements for me:

• While the events of life may surprise me and even catch me off-guard, God, the creator of this world and redeemer of it through Jesus Christ, is never surprised by events and is never caught off-guard. I will trust Him.
• While I don't know the answer to every dilemma that I encounter, I know that God does. My job is to work and respond under His leadership in both times of peace and times of confusion. I will obey Him.
• While I have no desire to be killed in war or die of a pandemic disease or become homeless, I will not be afraid and will not go into hiding because such possibilities exist. I will live this life to the full extent that God gives me strength and capacity. I will serve Him.

How we choose to live life is a choice. I have made my choice. Have you thought about how you will choose to live your life?

Given a Chance - People Will Surprise Us

Although I would say that I am opposed to making determinations about individuals based on their appearance, the truth is that I am probably as guilty of this as most of us are. I came across a clip on You Tube yesterday that is from the reality show "Britain's Got Talent." The clip is seven minutes long. But I encourage you to watch it in its entirety before going on with this essay.

The questions are simple - was I in the group that laughed and thought it must be a joke? How often have I chosen friends, employees, or even who to sit by in a doctor's waiting room based on appearance or age? Is is possible that I have missed some of life's greatest gifts and experiences by not taking the time to discover their hidden talent and thus discover the genius?

In the Bible there is a passage in which one of God's prophets is sent by God to annoint a man to be the next king of Israel. The prophet goes to the home of a man who has seven sons. Upon seeing the oldest of the seven, the prophet knows this must be the one who will become king because he is tall, strong, and regal in appearance. But God reminds the prophet that God looks upon the heart of a person, not upon the outward appearance. The one who is eventually annointed or chosed to be the next king is not the eldest son but the youngest. He was not waiting in the house but was out taking care of the sheep.

So how do you think we should look at people now?

Where Is the Please?

Well, there is no doubt; I have to remember to pray differently than I am used to praying - especially if The Lord's Prayer is involved. Why a change? It is all tied to a very interesting insight supplied by my six-year-old granddaughter in Belgium.

At the chapel on the nearby base (our son-in-law is a major in the Air Force), The Lord's Prayer is often recited in unison by the congregation. After a recent service, our daugther commented to our granddaughter that she had heard her reciting the Lord's Prayer and that she had done very well. Our granddaughter replied that the prayer wasn't very nice. When our daughter inquired as to why the prayer wasn't nice, our granddaughter responded: "It says 'give us this day our daily bread,' and you don't even say 'Please!'"

Caught me off guard. But it did start me to thinking. How often do I (or any of us for that matter) pray to God with an attitude that we are deserving and He needs to take care of our needs right now? While I don't believe that was the attitude of the scripture regarding The Lord's Prayer, I do believe that has been my attitude on occasion. What about you?

The truth is that I am not deserving of God's blessings or His provisions. He has chosen to offer those because of His love for all of us. But He is sovereign in the distribution of blessings. He can choose to bless you in a certain way, but He is under no obligation to bless me in the same way. In fact God knows that I am better off if He tells me "No" rather than "Yes" about some things. He also knows that I am not ready to properly receive or use the blessing that I may have requested.

Having taught our children (and now they are teaching their children) to say "Please" when asking for something is part of the process of developing good manners and being polite. While we might all consider the use of the word "please" with God, there are a few basics that are absolutes and not just considerations:

• God does not owe any of us anything.


• God is the giver of every good and perfect gift.


• We are deserving of nothing.


• Every blessing we receive from God is specific to who we are and to what we need.


• We are to approach God remembering always that we are the created; He is the Creator!

I think that I will listen to children more - they catch some things that we adults just overlook. My granddaughter made me think today!