Religion and War

Posted on March 24, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

It’s often claimed that if we could rid the world of religion we’d rid the world of war. Well, the past century has certainly demonstrated the naivety of that idea. The Twentieth Century produced something totally new in human history – it’s first atheistic states, starting with the Soviet Union, and then Nazi Germany, Communist China, North Korea and so on, along with the some of the greatest monsters of all time in leaders like Stalin, Hitler, Mao Tse Tung, Pol Pot and Kim Il-sung. Between them and the states they led they suceeded in murdering and torturing on a scale never previously imagined.
The truth is, oppression and injustice is more than a product of some philosophy, it comes from what is within us. And the only answer is the spiritual renewal that comes from honestly seeking God’s way.

Posted in Atheism, Discernment, Hatred, Injustice, Power over People, Religion, Self Deception, Spiritual discernment, True and False Religion, War, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A little silver changes everything

Posted on March 6, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s an old Jewish story about a rich man who went to see a rabbi because he couldn’t understand why he always felt so unhappy even though he was wealthy. The rabbi took him to a window and asked him what he could see. He said: ‘I see men, women, and children.’ Then the rabbi took him to a mirror and asked him what he saw. ‘I see myself,’ he replied. The rabbi nodded and said, ‘Behold, in the window there is a glass, and in the mirror there is a glass. But the glass of the mirror is covered with a little silver, and no sooner is the silver added than you cease to see others, and you see only yourself. Therein lies your misery.’
It reminds me of those wise words of Jesus. ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for real life and real living are not related to how rich you are.’

Posted in Attitude, Compassion, Discernment, emptiness, Life's journey, Living Life, Money, Riches, Self Deception, Spiritual blindness, Spiritual discernment, Spiritual Insight, Unselfishness, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Perils of Success

Posted on March 6, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

According to ancient legend, the Persian emperor Xerxes, returning home aboard a ship filled with his soldiers, ran into a terrible storm. The ship’s Phoenician captain told Xerxes there was no hope of them surviving unless the ship’s load was lightened. So Xerxes said to his soldiers, “It is on you that my safety depends. Now let some of you show your regard for your king.” And dozens of them threw themselves overboard. Lightened of its load, the ship managed to weather the storm and Xerxes ordered that a golden crown should be given to the captain for having preserved the king’s life. Unfortunately though, he then ordered him beheaded for causing the loss of so many Persian lives!
It reminds me of that great biblical principle that warns about rejoicing too quickly in the favour of evil people

Posted in Good deeds, Good Name, Injustice, Justice, Power, Soldiers, Success, tribulation and trouble, Uncertainty of Life | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Smouldering disobedience

Posted on March 6, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Norman Vincent Peale, author of the Power of Positive Thinking, tells how as a young boy he found a cigar behind his house, lit it up and puffed away, not enjoying it but feeling very grown up. Then, to his horror, he saw his father approaching. So Norman tried to hide the cigar behind his back while diverting his father’s attention to a billboard that advertised a carnival, and asking if he could go to it. His father’s response taught him one of the great lessons concerning prayer. He said, “Norman, never make a petition while you are hiding a smouldering disobedience.”
It brings to mind that great statement from the Bible that says, “Your sins have separated you from your God so that He cannot hear you.” One of the essentials for answered prayer is that we make our requests with single-minded honesty.

Posted in Disobedience, Forbidden Fruit, Prayer, Sin, Spiritual blindness, Spiritual Insight, Truthfulness | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A butterfly called hope

Posted on March 6, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

The ancient Greeks had a story about a beautiful girl named Pandora, who married Epimetheus. One day Mercury, the messenger, sent them a box. It was for them to enjoy but they were not to open it. Well, of course, like Eve in the Bible story of the forbidden fruit, it became the thing Pandora desired most to do. So she did and looked inside. Out flew swarms of insects, and both lovers were stung with the poison of suspicion, hatred, fear and malice. Epimetheus became bitter and Pandora wept with a broken heart. But then they heard a tiny voice that said: “Let me out, to sooth your pain.” So they opened the box again, and out flew a butterfly which touched them and healed their pain. The butterfly was called hope.
It is still hope that sustains us – hope in the eternal love of God that brings forgiveness and healing

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

MBA

Posted on March 6, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s a fast food chain in America called Wendy’s. Its founder was Dave Thomas, a self-made millionaire who worked for Kentucky Fried Chicken before going off on his own and starting Wendy’s. Dave said the secret of his success was his MBA: but he wasn’t talking about a Master of Business Administration. He was referring to what he called his “Mop Bucket Attitude.” He used to like turning up dressed as one of his employees, doing the sort of jobs they do – like mopping out the toilets. One year he appeared on the cover of the company’s annual report dressed in a work apron holding a mop and a plastic bucket. That picture was built on the fact Dave Thomas liked to teach his employees – the great lesson he had learned from the life and teachings of Jesus – that service comes before success.

Posted in Attitude, Generous spirit, Grace, Inspirational, Jesus, Life's journey, Living Life, Servant leadership, Spiritual Insight, Success, Unselfishness | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

True Greatness

Posted on March 2, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

One of the few American Presidents I, as a non-American, instantly warmed to was Jimmy Carter. History seems to have written him off as a bit of a failure, yet for years after we’d hear about him, quietly popping up in world trouble spots, using his influence with other world leaders to try to bring peace. Some years ago a magazine compared his life style with those of his contemporaries. Richard Nixon was writing his memoirs to prove that he really was a great statesman; Gerald Ford was spending his time on the golf course improving his handicap; Ronald Regan was making millions on the celebrity speaker circuit; and Jimmy Carter was working as a carpenter, building houses for poor people.
That’s when I realized why I liked him so much. He was following in the footsteps of that other carpenter, Jesus, who taught that the mark of greatness in his kingdom is serving others

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Signs of civilization

Posted on March 2, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

The famous anthropologist Margaret Mead was once asked: what was the earliest sign of civilization in any given culture? Her answer was: “a healed femur.” The femur, of course, is the leg bone below the knee. Mead explained that no healed femurs are found where the law of the jungle – or survival of the fittest – reigns. A healed femur shows that someone cared. Someone had to do that injured person’s hunting and gathering until the leg healed. The evidence of compassion, she said, is the first sign of civilization.
The Bible tells us that it is also the first sign of true spirituality. It says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep from being polluted by the world.” Belief without compassion is empty. But where love is, God is

Posted in Acts of Kindness, Civilization, Compassion, Generous spirit, God, Healing, Inspirational, Law of Jungle, Life's journey, Loneliness, Mercy, relationships, Spiritual Insight, Spirituality, supportive community, Survival of Fittest, Sympathy and Support, tribulation and trouble, Uncertainty of Life, Unselfishness | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The wonder that never goes away

Posted on March 2, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

When the first astronauts landed on the Moon, people all over the world people stopped work to witness one of the greatest achievements in human history. But not too many stayed home to watch the second time it happened. And the third time astronauts landed, NASA had to get them to play a simulated game of golf just to get the TV channels to cover the event. The greatest technological achievement in history, yet by the third time we had become bored with it!
But how many times do you have to watch a sunset before you find it boring? How long can you sit and watch the waves rolling in at the beach without feeling calm and inwardly renewed. We may become bored with human achievement but what God has done never ceases to fill us with wonder; because God is the ground and source of our being, and for whom we were made.

Posted in Attitude, Awareness, God, Inspiration, Knowing God, Life's journey, Living Life, satisfaction, Senses, Spiritual Insight, supreme being, Wisdom, Wonder | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The weakness of God

Posted on March 2, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Propagandist, used to refer to Mahatma Gandhi as a fool and a fanatic, because he didn’t have the sense to build a military organization. Goebbels was certain that Gandhi, who was deeply influenced by Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, couldn’t succeed following a path of non-resistance and peaceful revolution. Yet as history played itself out, India peacefully won her independence while the Nazi military machine was destroyed. What Goebbels regarded as weakness actually turned out to be strength. What he thought of as strength turned out to be weakness.
It reminds me of those words of Scripture that say “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
Life’s real winners ultimately are those who abandon the discredited philosophies of this world and follow the teaching and example of Jesus.

Posted in Atheism, Awareness, Foolishness, God, Hatred, hope and love, Jesus, Life's journey, Power, Power over People, Respect, Spiritual blindness, Spiritual Darkness, Spiritual Insight, Strength, Weakness, Winning | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment