When Is Enough, Enough

"(11) Not that I am saying this to call attention to any need of mine; since, as far as I am concerned, I have learned to be content regardless of circumstances. (12) I know what it is to be in want, and I know what it is to have more than enough — in everything and in every way I have learned the secret of being full and being hungry, of having abundance and being in need. (13) I can do all things through him who gives me power."  Philippians 4:11-13 (CJB)

Courtesy of WikiMedia.com

Today, we live in a world where we are inundated by commercials to entice us to purchase the latest and greatest things.  We are prompted to look at our old ______ (fill in the blank) and feel the need to replace it with the latest and greatest version.

The trigger for this topic was due to my commute this morning.  As I drove into work, I went past a car lot which showcased several new BMW's in the front.  In that brief moment, I saw a guy looking at one of the new one's on display, while at the same time he had just stepped out of a fairly new looking BMW of his own.  Now, I don't know what this guy's intentions were.  As far as I know he could have been looking to buy a car for his kid, looking for a friend, or maybe looking to upgrade.  I do not know his motives.

My thoughts started to turn to how we as people tend to get into the habit of just buying stuff.  We buy stuff and we hold on to stuff....wash rinse repeat.  It almost seems that nothing can satisfy people for any length of time any more.  If you cannot keep their attention, then it's on to the next newest and latest and greatest  ______ (fill in the blank).  I am a gadgets guy and as such, gadget geeks have an inclination to get the latest and greatest stuff.  However, I am usually reluctant to drop the cash necessary to "stay current".  I find myself asking myself, "Do I really need this?"  Really, this is a question that we all can ask ourselves but typically we are driven to make purchases based off emotions and the spur of the moment.

When you look at your closet full of shoes, can you feel that you have enough?  When you look at your closet full of cloths, (with stored away seasonal cloths) can you say that you have enough?  Can you look at your small house size and say this is all that I need?   Can you enjoy the moments when you want things that you do not have the means to purchase at the moment?  We need to get to a point where Paul was in Philippians.  We have to learn to know what it feels like to want and know what it feels like to have an abundance.  In both cases, the important part is to learn to be content in both cases under the comfort and strength of Christ.

Be Blessed Folks.

Antoine E. Hall

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Be Open to Godly Advice

(2) To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; (3) To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; (4) To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. (5) A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: (6) To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. (7) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. - Proverbs 1:2-7

In a nation where individualism and independence is pushed, it is sometimes difficult to see outside of our own thoughts and seek the advice of others.  A lot of the times, we think we know everything, so it's difficult to realize when we are wrong.  Thinking like this can be foolish and not wise at all.

I have the great honor of being married to a woman who is my best friend, and know that she is grounded in the Lord and open to the move of the Holy Spirit.  It is great because there are times when I can get set on a path and formulate my own scenarios and get lost in my own outcomes as opposed to the will of the Lord.  I am pretty sure I am not the only one who does this.  In those times, God will use those to get your attention when He cannot.  He will use those to relay messages, wisdom, understanding, reassurances, reminders, etc.  It is this that I cherish and it is those moments we realize that we may need to change our way of thinking and be more open to His will.

Now, I am not saying go and take the advice of every Tom, Dick, and Harry on the street.  That is not what I am saying.  The world is not lacking in an abundance of people with an opinion.  For example, you can find an abundance of books, studies, articles, etc. written by people on how to best raise children.  The problem with this is when you have an author who has no kids of their own.  Unless you have stayed up late nights, changed the many diapers, and have or actively raise a child on a daily basis, their opinion is nothing more than an observation.  It is not based on any of their person experience as fact.

It is those opinions who you know share the same values, experiences and relationships that you value the most. In 2 Corinthians 6:14, it says to "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?".  However, it doesn't stop there.  Just because everyone claims to know Jesus Christ and is a Christian does not mean they are still equally yoked as you.  You must be keen on testing them by the fruit they produce.  Jesus tells us to "(15) Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (16) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? (17) Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit." (Matthew 7:15-17).

Don't get me wrong, God can use anyone at any time to achieve His purpose, ie, some random homeless person on the street.  While you may know them, they still can be used.  More than likely, it is the people who are closest to you and who we surround ourselves with that we tend to listen to the most.  The catch is making sure you separate fact from fiction and can identify from where their motive comes.  For that, we have to know Christ's Word for ourselves so that we can test the spirit from which counsel comes.

Be Blessed Folks.

Antoine E. Hall

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Can't Is Not An Option

In my household, our daughter knows that the words "can't" or "cannot" are not options for use.  Now, we are teaching our younger son the same concept. It dawned on me that my wife and I are in such the habit of correcting it, that we do not realize when we do it.  This is actually a good thing!

This morning while on the way to dropping the kids off at school, I told my son that he should to learn how to whistle, so we all can whistle together.  His next statement was, "I can't."  Immediately, I found myself correcting him.  I am a stickler about this subject because many people will quickly say that they "cannot".  Unless there is some sort of disability affecting that person, most people can do just about anything if they put forth the effort.  It may take them a little longer to learn due to the individual, but they can get there.

So, adults, I encourage you as well to stop saying that you cannot do certain things.  Instead change your statement to "I do not know how" to do _________.  By saying this, you give yourself room to learn and and grow.

Be Blessed.

Antoine E. Hall

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Christians, You Misunderstand The Marriage Debate

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.org

Right now as I write this entry, there is a debate going on somewhere in the United States.  The debate?  Well if you have not turned on a television in the past few hours, it is about same-sex marriage.  At this moment the US Supreme Court is discussing a case where a lady has sued to have a same-sex relationship recognized like a traditional marriage.  It is not just about the marriage, but all the full rights of a traditional marriage where the spouses receive benefits, insurance, tax breaks, etc.  However, at a time where the United States is in turmoil over who has the right to be married the debate is mostly misunderstood.

I am a follower of Christ and I believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman. The Bible says in Genesis 2:24: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”  This is my belief and I do not back down from it.  At the same time, those who do not believe the Bible as absolute truth will ignore this verse as they feel it does not pertain to them.  I get it.  I understand it.  Our starting point of understanding is totally different and as such there will not be an agreement.  My basis is in what God says.  Their bases is from their set of beliefs and values.  

In another camp, you have those who wish to have same-sex marriages recognized by the state and/or federal government.  They believe that they should be afforded the same rights as a married man and wife.  They believe they should have the same tax breaks, insurance coverage and benefits, as well as any other benefits afforded to a traditional married couple.  They desire to have the nation to accept them for who they are and give them the civil rights they deserve (although, I do not believe that this is a civil rights debate, but that is for another entry).  

What you end up having is this huge debate of different camps arguing about what’s right and what’s wrong - they are arguing about what the federal and state governments should allow and what should be sanctioned.  Christians are worried that, if laws change, many churches will be force to perform same-sex marriages which goes totally against the Word of God.  Those who are proponents of same-sex marriages feel that they are at the cusp of opportunity to be recognized with the same equal rights as others.  Everything is in a pure conundrum in this country.  However, let’s sit back for a minute. Let’s look at marriage for what it is today in the United States.

If you’ve noticed, everything that has been discussed is about the equal rights that are legally allowed by the government.  Looking at it for what it is, today’s marriage is an institution which is regulated by the government.  When I got married, I obtained a Marriage License.  Until recently it never dawned on me why I needed one other than it was apart of the process.  However, if you look at what has happened over history, you realize that something that was once a family only affair has turned into a permissioned based union by the government.

According to TheFreeDictionary.com, a marriage license is “a license authorizing two people to marry”.  If you go a step further, let’s look at the word license.  After doing a Google search, I found that a license is “[a] permit from an authority to own or use something, do a particular thing, or carry on a trade”.  In essence you have the government acting as the authority who is authorizing two people to legally enter into a union.  Theoretically, you would be breaking the law if you married someone without getting the authorization of a governing authority!  In addition, you would be breaking the law if you attempted to violate numerous marriage acts that were passed (some prohibiting the marriage of siblings, under aged, etc.).  How in the world did this happen?  How did the government become wrapped up in the legalities of marriage when men and women have been doing so since the beginning of time?

“For most of Western history, marriage was a private contract between two families. Until the 16th-century, Christian churches accepted the validity of a marriage on the basis of a couple’s declarations.”1  Prior to the 16th-century, a lot of marriages were arranged.  The families arranged the bride and groom and a ceremony process took place befitting for that culture.  In historical Jewish Marriage, it would start by the arrangement of the two to be married.  Next, the groom would have to pay money to the bride’s family for her and then the groom would go back to his father’s house to build a room for he and the new bride.  Once the room was completed, he would go back to get her, bring her home to the new room where they’d later consummate the marriage.  Pretty much that was it (I gave the abridged version, but I would encourage you to read my wife’s, The Bride of Christ and the Historical Jewish Marriage Significance).  

If you look at it for what it is, today’s form of “legalized marriage” is nothing more than a taxation and in returned you get “xyz” benefits from the license.  In a nutshell, that’s what you have.  Contrary to popular belief, the Supreme Court does not care what God says.  The Federal, state, and local governments do not care what church folk or conservatives believe is immoral or wrong.  When you marry, you receive a license that can be nullified at any moment because while you married your spouse, you were also given legal permission to do so by a third party.  As such, laws change and at the drop of the dime so can the definition of marriage according to man’s law and not God’s law.  Just because you go to a church and get married, you still are reminded by a Reverend to not forget to sign the marriage certificate, so it can be returned to the State.

People of God, you are pretty much approaching a debate with the wrong set of class notes.  Once man started to decide what was legal and illegal in regards to marriage, God was thrown out of the mix.  The laws are such that instead of paying a family for the bride, you pay the government for your bride.  We have lived this way for so many decades that we do not know anything different.  No one has ever asked why you need permission from someone other than parents to marry your spouse.  Satan is so clever that in the end you find yourself trying to defend the institution of marriage as defined by man and not God without even knowing it.

In conclusion, I encourage you to do your own research on the history of marriage. You might be amazed at what you find and you may realize that this battle is not yours to fight.

Be Blessed.

Antoine E. Hall

1. Wikipedia.com. “Marriage License”.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_license.

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Doing Wrong To Do Right

This morning as I drove in to work, I listened to David Jeremiah and he talked about Daniel in his sermon.  As, I listened he said something that really stood out to me.

"It is not right, to do wrong, in order to do what is right."

Now, this may not be the exact quote, but I am sure it is just about right.  The lesson that I learned is that we as people sometimes justify things that go against the will of God in order that we may get to a position to do what is right....or at least we think.  Let me give you an example.

When it comes to the 9-11, this is a hot topic of discussion about who caused it and whether or not it was an inside.  Regardless of what happened the claim was put out that this was the work of Osama Bin Laden.  The US, felt that the "right" thing to do was to track down and kill (at any cost) the people who were responsible for knocking those buildings down (paraphrasing President George W. Bush).  In the end, during President Obama's presidency, Osama Bin Laden was killed.

Now, first and for most, it is wrong to kill any one.  It was wrong for the people to die in those buildings.  However, it was also wrong to hunt someone down and kill them in order to "right the wrong" that was done to the nation.  This example is at a national scope, but think about how in the past you may have wished ill-will on someone so that you can "do what was right".  Even if you are at church and people are doing things wrong, it is not your position to do what will violate God's Word in order to get into a position to "right the ship" for God.  If God wants to right a ship, he can do so without you or any one else causing sin to themselves.

Noodle on that for a while....

Antoine E. Hall

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