NICE VS. COMPETENT

When my mother fell and was injured, she was sent to St Luke's hospital here in Houston (2007). She had turned 90 a month earlier, and seemed to be suffering from dementia, unable to communicate much with others. The injury was causing her much pain.
In the hospital there was a nurse from one of the countries of Asia who was very business-like and brusk. I thought of her initially as less caring than some other nurses because of her manner.
However, in the few days that my mom was in her care, I saw how this excellent nurse did several things, and tweaked things to make mom's care the best it could be. I was sad to leave the acquaintance of this woman, even as I was mourning the looming death of my mom.
That was a real eye opener about the difference between niceness and competence,
appearance and substance.

FULL DISCLOSURE

Last post was on the painful subject of the championing of "abortion rights" in the US.
I don't WANT to hurt others, especially friends, by discussing my view that abortion is really and definitely wrong. But I believe we all must be true to God as best we can at any one time, speaking the truth in love.
I see that I must also make full disclosure (approximately) before some "hearers" could be open to what I have to say.
Plus I need to be honest. I'm still working on full honesty.

I have not gone to doctor's office, abortion clinic or illegal abortionist to have a child growing within me destroyed, killed and expelled. have not.

However, I did "conspire (with myself) to commit abortion"- that is, kill my unknown unborn child.
(Specifically, I tried to induce  "natural " miscarriage by ingesting a natural substance known to constrict blood vessels which would cause the uterus to shed or expel a very early fertilized egg.  I did that. It was a really private matter. No one but me and God (and the baby, if there was one) knew about this thing I did.)
I tell this to you because I must.
I want you to know that I empathize with those who have chosen abortion and chosen to fight for abortion rights.
Also I must confess that I have NOT been an active vocal and self-sacrificing "choose life" person. I made a few feeble attempts to work for the cause, to help. That was years ago, before my children were born (Was there another that I denied the opportunity to live?)
So my inaction about the cause of protecting the unborn was also responsible for the so many children lost and so many women desensitized to what their hearts were trying to tell them -harmed in that way.

I remember when Bush Junior was running against Gore in 2000, I maybe heard a "still, small voice" saying to me (something like) the way to help the unborn is NOT to vote for your champion, and put on his shoulders the responsibility to take care of the little ones. That's not going to do it. Plus that is too big burden to put on one man. It is wrong of the pro life voters of the country to think our responsibility ends with voting for the most pro life candidate.
It's not enough.
I think that our corporate, if unspoken, choice to put all the responsibility for righting the wrong of state-endorsed abortion on President , Presidential candidates and other politicians is one of the forces that warped the Republican party causing jingoism and slogans and buzz words to push out thoughtful answers, discussion and other slow loving forces from the public discussion arena of Republican party.

A SHOUT OUT TO DEMOCRATS

I often think about the division of the parties in the U S, and how I am STUCK voting Republican or independent mainly, because I cannot agree to vote for a party member who does not believe that a fetus inside its mother's body is alive and human.
Yesterday I realized that the Dems don't have to have as a plank in their party platform what amounts to the condoning of abortion as a legitimate thing.
Even if "abortion rights" IS the "law of the land",  the Dems don't have to make their party odious to persons such as me by explicitly siding with abortion rights people. (Who is brave enough to tackle again the reasoning that US Supreme Court put forth in Roe vs. Wade decision. Science and technology have ripped the original "boundary" of thought that the fetus is not " alive" or "human" because it cannot live outside mother and is therefore only a possession of mom.)

Recently, I've wondered what JFK and Martin Luther King, whom the Dems point to as the heritage of their party, would have said about abortion rights being the"law of the land" and their party being the champion of abortion rights.

ONE LITTLE PREPOSITION

IN CHRIST
those words are used in the new testament more than once. One scripture is "in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, male nor female."
That particular scripture is used by some Christian denominations to validate having women in the same leadership positions as men in the Church and elsewhere in society.
So the Church leaders are saying that those of us who have become followers of Christ need to leave behind those fallen attitudes such as that women are different from (and less than) men.
Let me point out that the Bible new Testament gives instructions for "bosses" and for those in the employ of or enslaved (according to the world's system) by another; also , Paul, in fine tuning instructions for Christians as he continued the Church, distinguished between Jewish Christians and gentiles who became followers of Christ. Furthermore, some of Paul's rather specific instruction (such as in 1st Corinthians) could be interpreted as giving guidelines to people (individuals, congregations and leaders of congregations) to avoid trouble that would occur when followers act in imperfect (fallen) ways.

So my interpretation of "in Christ there is neither . . ." is that in God's eyes there is no difference between these people; and at our best, we , as godly,  Spirit filled followers of Christ interact with one another in this godly way; and the verses that seem to contradict the verses such as this in fact rather give guidelines addressing the reality that we imperfect people do not always maintain that most godly attitude towards one another.

So the passages in the new testament that limit the roles of women are loving limits that protect men and women from going in the ditch by flying too close to the sun.

(To Be  Continued)

GOD'S HELP FOR 13 COLONIES

I am listening to Andrew Wommack's teaching of June 8, 2016 on humility. A story from his son's childhood included God telling Andrew that just as daddy Andrew couldn't help little 3 and 1/2 year old son open the heavy door because son had his hands on the handle and knob and dad would have squeezed and hurt son's hands if he had tried to pull on knob with son.  So, too, our God has to wait for us to take our hands off of something before He can help.
I think of this as another indication that our Lord desired us to pray for our enemies and ourselves when we were down and oppressed under the British law in 1700's  colonies.

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY

These maybe days of sadness for U S citizens , with both the Republican and Democrat parties not very good.
I lost faith in the Dem party when they made abortion rights a permanent part of their mission and identity.
My faith in the Rep party is dwindling in response to their having been overwhelmed by the secret and not-so-secret influence of the Koch brothers. (the "citizens united" decision of the US Supreme Court paved the way for their humongous power in election s.)

What this time in our political history CAN be is a parable, an analogy, a way for us all to understand what the dynamics of the Jewish religion may have been at the time of Jesus' rejection by the Jewish establishment.

This is important, because Jews who will not considered Jesus' claims have made that decision- not to consider . . .- based on their belief that the Jewish leaders that were on the scene and made the decision to reject Jesus, made their decision in good faith , and "to the best of their ability. "

We can all see that during this time, campaign 2016 and the 1 or 2 years leading up to it, there has been a chokepoint , pinchpoint, a layer of leaders who have held too much power and have not had the best interests of the many in their heart s.

Can anyone other than me see a parallel here? Please say yes.

Can this be a way to encourage our precious neighbors, the Jews, to consider Jesus, that Jew? I pray so.

So I ask that Christian leaders and other leaders  use this present political situation in US to encourage individuals to consider that some decisions that were made in the past by past community leaders were not the best.

LET'S TRY THIRD PARTY AGAIN, PART 2

Continuing about the aberrant dynamics of the current 2016 presidential contest, I believe that :
1) the Citizens United decision of the US Supreme Court was ruinous because of allowing mega rich people to make decisions that never should be theirs to make, and that we need to not let that truth fade out- that the Citizens United decision is evil- by continued public speaking against it and by legislation to correct.
and
2) the primary system of the Republican party, at least needs drastic change.