Train up a Child

       King Solomon, in Proverbs 22: 6 makes a simple statement: Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.  The inference within is twofold. First, it's assumed that someone of authority must train a child. Though that person may or may not be a parent; it's implied that a child is disciplined by a teacher/mentor and trained in 'the' way he/she 'should' go.  I think of it simply as someone who would trail blaze a course in life - and hopefully a good one.  Also, it's a statement of reasonable assumption that there is an absolute way in which the child 'should' go.  This course is not the teacher/parent's course necessarily - meaning each child has a unique path that leads to their own life.  But oftentimes the legacy of parents isn't just found in the DNA, but also in applied gifts trained into a contemporary occupation in the next generation.  The parent /teacher is to support, train, discipline and guide a child to find their way.


Current societal trends have eroded the authority of parents (or teachers) and thus breaking a viable chain of command.  Granted, sometimes by their own making no doubt, (one loses authority when one doesn't walk the talk).  Divorce also takes its toll, breaking up the family unit and damaging the relationship between parents and children.  And absent fathers, who were once primary protecting agents of the family, are a grave problem. Fathers significantly name children by affirmation (or degradation) and provide necessary discipline for character development.  Most mothers will attest that an involved father makes child rearing far more effective.  Children are very vulnerable in these precarious times. My point here is this: we lose the next generation and a whole society is changed forever - and not for the good of it.  


I was disturbed to learn recently from a teacher friend of mine, as she shared about an event in her classroom just how much this guiding 'authority' has eroded.  She had a female student (registered as female) come to her and request to be addressed as a male.  This teacher explained in loving terms that she couldn't add to her 12yr. old confusion by doing that as she was in fact a girl (the girl was probably influenced by the recent celebration of Chad Bono on 'Dancing with the Stars').  Her administrator admonished this teacher saying that in these times the student's request must respected.  Have things gotten this upside down? Without absolutes to guide, to what end is this helping these who need direction?  The problem with children is that they are just children.  They have little of life experience, which contributes to informed, wise decisions.  When they fail or have missteps of judgment, it's expected because they are simply developing children.  Failure is the very stepping stone that governs consequential maturation.  Mentors, parents, teachers and the like are helpful agents also in that process toward adulthood.  But how do these agents for development provide helpful guidance if all absolutes are in question? When 'critical thinking' became a thread in our school curriculum back in the 80s; I'm sure it didn't mean to question DNA.  So what next? It's a slippery slope when we forgive all standards and twist reality to subjectively suit the politics at hand.  When a child is confused as to their sexual orientation or gender; I question the support system that developed that confusion.   


So sorry folks. Respectfully I don't buy into the notion that one is born with what is pervertedly unnatural (yes, I said unnatural - a better term than 'normal'). Some would say I'm a bigoted homophobe or intolerant.  I'm not and I don't hate anyone.  But when a segment of a community increases in number, progressively permeating a society with greater influence - it's a developing phenomenon not a genetic happening.  And history confirms any society that embraced homosexuality began a decline to its end.  So yeah, I'm not going to tolerate unnatural perversion of any kind, especially when guiding developing children.  


The problem I see with sexual perversion especially is that it's POWERFUL in confusing the natural order for a child's development and self discovery.  The compulsive yearnings of sexual inclinations are next to impossible to change once breached through experience.  Folks, our children are vulnerable to ions of clamoring stimulation for sexual experience at all ages - whether by molestation, the internet, TV or even socializing (indoctrination) at school.  It defiles within and shapes, at the core of a person, behavior thereafter. 


I don't mean to suggest there are gender roles to play, yet we do need to define what it means to be a man or woman because there are definitive virtues to each.  Simply put for example, men are more-less warriors by nature, hence protective - and women are more-less nurturers (helpful since women bear children).  But herein lies the problem - who decided that a quiet man, artistic, musical or tended to dwell in the tents like Jacob (reference Genesis 25:27) had to  be gay, perverting sexual activity?  Jacob would have never enjoyed the posterity of his offspring if he was thus.  Same as with strong athletic women.  Why must we label them as lesbians, perverting what is natural? Was not a Joan of Arc (who wasn't lesbian, though many have tried to label her as such) a gifted servant in her mission? I argue that different gifts and talents don't lay claim to sexual orientation.  To pervert what is natural at the very least, steals a birthright for procreation.  


So yeah, folks, there - I said it.  It's time to draw a line in the sand and step up to protect our kids courageously, unselfishly, offering loving guidance to our youth.  They're being confused and misled to the detriment of our society.  


Somebody had to say it - like when "The Emperor has no Clothes".  It's time to speak the obvious. 

A Tribute to a Capitalist

I must say that I've never seen so many reckless fools than those demonstrating on Wall Street these days (and elsewhere, apparently).  Corporate greed? Tax their fair share? Crony capitalism? The cry for redistribution of wealth? Down with capitalism? When several are asked what's to replace it; none have answers that are coherently lucid. Some may argue for socialism to replace our current government. That's pretty scary (just in time for Halloween). These are graduate students for the most part, except for a few hollywood mouthpieces.  And it looks like they are rightfully angry over being unemployed after graduating from colleges, I suppose, that have enslaved them to student loans, many in excess of $100s of thousands of dollars.  I get the anger.  But if fools rush in; their contention, I believe, rests in the wrong places.  King Solomon would say in Proverbs 14: 15 & 16: "The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps. One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless." 


I wonder if any have done their homework. These demonstrations seem timely with President Obama's recent speeches filled with pot stirring rhetoric about greedy corporate America.  Sounds good to those who are coveting and envious.  Bail outs, greed, social justice, unfair...what does this really mean? I suggest both greed & envy are defiling to a society.  And what is fair? Is life fair?  At least in our capitalist government there is an element of merited reward for hard work and that would seem fair, right? Inspire those greedy successful capitalists to charitably give to the weak and you have America taking care of those in need.  I think it's worked pretty well for some time when our society had unified benevolent beliefs.  


That's just one of many thoughts that begs the question: What do these folks think they're going to achieve?  They seem to be spouting off socialist beliefs for the most part - take from the so called wealthy and give to the have nots.  Eventually (I suggest), the cow that provides the milk dies and there's no more milk to give. Or the cow only has so much milk and can't feed all. So then what? Ration? Who says who's worthy to receive milk? Socialism pretends to be fair but I contend it is not.  And it needs unification for compliance.  What beliefs & values unite Americans today to support it? There seems huge chasms of disunity, divides that cannot be voluntarily agreed upon.  The unification necessary to achieve control for entitlement distribution in a socialist model is bred by oppression & tyranny over the governed.  History has confirmed that where ever it's been tried.


The closest model of socialism I can think of that is successful is that of the family. The breadwinners (parents) bring in the revenue (income) and redistribute it to those who are dependents by virtue of need and being a constituent (member) of the family unit. It works well as long as the breadwinners; (who control the spending of the revenue) have agreement with their constituents (the kids) with unselfish commitment to their welfare.  Arguments arise when breadwinners misappropriate spending perhaps, disaster strikes wiping out funds necessary or the constituents simply don't get what they want. But in the family unit; the values & traditions taught within the family unite them and it works well most of the time.  But not true on a larger scale. Anything bigger than a family unit finds it impossible to have agreement on how to distribute the funds or what is best in the welfare of dependents - as there's no real unselfish, benevolent commitment (sorry to burst your idealistic bubble). So how do we do this on a national level? We don't, we can't - it fails everywhere, every time it's been tried. 


I hope these folks who are demonstrating out there rethink their steps. I hope they use caution while exercising their right to voice complaints.  I hope they don't rush in (as fools do) and become pawns for those who may want to throw down our government and replace it with something worse.  Sometimes 'throwing the baby out with the bathwater' isn't prudent and destroys something of great value.  And I can't think of anything more valuable in our government than the gift of individual freedom.  It's what gave us inventions for prosperity that frankly had/has a global influence.  It allowed one capitalist, who in his pursuit of happiness acting upon that freedom, gave us an apple, which we consumed readily. His name was Steve Jobs.  


So, while these demonstrators are tweeting, social networking, playing those games through the applications on their Iphones and listening on their ipods to music through Itunes...think again, my friends, and rethink your steps. 

God Hates Unjust Scales

When Americans pledge '...one nation under God...' I'm once again reminded that we are a people with standards on which we built our moral laws. Many of our laws are based on a simple skeleton framework of values, universally accepted globally. And yet, the majority of our laws come from a Judea/christian ethic that was influencing during the construction of our beginnings by our founders who believed in those ethics and principles. So, when I suggest that God hates something, generally most folks will understand and trust the ramifications. It's good to have standards that have authority behind them so there's teeth in the bite.  It breeds security and stability to a people who are governed by those values. 
Having stated thus, in the Proverbs 20:23 it says: 'Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord, and false scales are not good'.  Such a standard invites investigation of a current, subtle, sucking out of our nation's wealth and in discovery; do something about it. I speak of our trade with China.
As of yet, little has been talked about our trade with China, but the reports are growing as we feel the pains of unemployment, devaluation of our currency and outsourcing of manufacturing. Much of these problems are connected. America used to be the place to manufacture goods; it was the country that had the most creative freedom allowed for entrepreneurship, coupled with a free market that made successful prosperity happen like no other.  So what's changed?
I'll go to a beginning that's led to our sliding slope of lost affluence on American soil. There's been an apparent shift in ideology that been progressively influencing business in America since the early 1900s.  It's changed our way and thinking over time whereby recently, profound dominance of this ideology has taken a foothold in places of power. In an effort to be protective (understandable in a free enterprise society) and fair to the consumer; we put emphasis on regulating things.  This freedom to regulate, also granted 'by the people, for the people', allowed for government to grow too. Regulatory bureaus (at all levels of government) in their power, created more regulations to feed on, exacting even more power to remain necessary. Along with growing entitlements (which are easily sold to a constituency) have spawned an undisciplined, unmotivated and apathetic worker, dependent on government (which is money tossed into a vacuum of no return). This progressive vicious cycle secures and promotes abuse of power.  And absolute power corrupts absolutely.  
In the meantime, regulatory entities struggle to be fair in the balance of things domestically and yet abroad with China, (who's about China's prospering) trade agreements have given up too much with little in return. And then to make it worse, China undervalues their currency to trump up their profits. Like compounding interest; there's a hidden result that doubles down. These unjust scales are adding to our depletion of assets, making a real economic recovery next to impossible.  And I'm not even discussing the enslavement that's happening due to deficit borrowing from China by our government. (Another atrocity for another post...)
And who made these trade agreements? Mostly politicians; not business folks. No wonder we're in the red!  
Folks, if we're going to do business outside our borders; we invite problems that we may not have ability to control. I suggest we pay close attention and be shrewd to recognize unjust scales and have a reckoning.  Understand that we, the people - the citizens of these United States (who foot the bill) are being sold out! 
Perhaps we should even call upon God, as a nation 'under God', to right the scales justly.  At this point, I do believe we need divine intervention for a miracle because I fear we're in checkmate.