" There is no deep hurt where there is no deep love."-MLKJ

There is plenty of reason to hurt. Death and pain surround us. There isn't a lack of reason to hurt. Maybe if we're not hurting for others, there is a problem with our love.

And there was a good man, a religious
He was a needy priest of a village,
But rich enough in saintly thought and work.
And educated, too, for he could reak;
Would truly preach the word of Jesus Christ,
Devoutly teach the folk in his parish.
Kind was he, wonderfully diligent;
And in adversity most patient,
As many a time had been put to the test.
For unpaid tithes he’d not excommunicate,
For he would rather give, you may be sure,
From his own pocket to the parish poor;
Few were he needs, so frugally he lived.
Wide was his parish, with houses far asunder,
But he would not neglect, come rain or thunger,
Come sickness or adversity, to call
On the furthest of his parish, great or small;
Going on foot, and in his hand a staff.
This was the good example he set:
He practiced first what later he would teach.
Out of the gospel he took that precept;
And what’s more, he would cite this saying too:
‘ If gold can rust, then what will iron do?’
For if a priest be rotten, whom can we trust,
No wonder if a layman comes to rust.
It’s a shamed to see
A shitten shepard and a cleanly sheep.
It’s the plain duty of priest to give
Example to his sheep; how they should live
He et his benefice for hire
And left his sheep to flounder in the mire
While he ran off to long, to St Paul’s
To seek some chantry and sing mass for souls,
Or to be kept as a chaplain by a guild;
But stayed at home, and took care of his fold,
So that no wolf might do it injury
He wsa a shepherd, not a mercenary
And although he was saintly and virtuous,
He wasn’t haughty or contemptuous
To sinners, speaking to them with disdain,
But in his teaching tacful and humane
To draw up folk to heaven by goodness
And good example was his sole business.
But if a person turned our obstinate,
Whoever he was, high or low estate,
He’s earn a stinging rebuke then and there.
You’ll never find a better priest , I swear
He never looked for pomp or deference,
Not effected an over-nice conscience,
But taught the gospel of Jesus Christ and His twelve
Apostles; but first followed it himself
-The canterbury tales- Prolouge, the Nun's Priest

The pop culture of today, even though it teaches tolerance, i believe it breeds intolerance and disappointment. Believing that person is innately good by birth and tolerance do not go together. they Breed two different thoughts that cannot co-exist. How many times have you heard, " i am just looking for a good man, woman, or role model."? We want to believe we live in a normal world with normal people. Reality is we live in a broken world filled with sinful people. If we believe a person is good by nature, that means either their exterior is a representation of their essence, or their exterior is not a permanent state, rather a stage. Imagine the disappointment when you find that you care about is corrupt in their essence? Also, if we are good by nature, then we are better than a person who lives a corrupt life. On the other side of the spectrum, if you know a person is corrupt by nature, you will be more tolerant to a person who is struggling in life because we expect a person to fail often, due to our sin nature. This makes us more prone to forgive, more lively to love the struggling, and this humbles us because we are no better. To end, with our sin nature, we are in desperate need of Christ's saving work. We are no better than anyone else and we would be as torn as they are without Christ.

the day it became politics job to change a culture is the day politics failed. All politicians can do it pass law to try and restrain a person and give money in hopes that will pacify a person. A person is not driven by need to kill, rape, drugs, or join gangs. That is a theological problem with the person. Something we try to do today is address theological issues without theology. It does not work. Laws and money cannot change a person. We have yet to realize that the welfare state has no decreased poverty, rather the dependents have grown greatly. The economy has grown also along with the standard of living. in 1972 the stock market hit a new high, 1000 points. The stock market in the pass two days has lost 1000 points and we are still able to function. Money cannot change a persons essence, but Christ can. We're control freaks and can't admit it when we realize that it is outside of our power to change a person. But we also drive government to make a dozen differnt laws to govern us by. G.K. Chesterton sums it up well:"If men will not be governed by the Ten Commandments they shall be governed by the ten thousand commandments."

I would argue that the poor and fatherless are going to be, more so than ever, enslaved by the government. There is no reason to leave welfare, there is no reason to leave section 8 housing, there is no logical reason to stop taking government hand outs. There especially isn't any reason when you have been raised in a government educational facility that spoon feeds us the reasons why we should rely on the government. With the poor and downtrodden stuck in a government rut, this is all the more reason for the church to make strides in the worst areas of town. The irony of it all, the worst parts of town are government housing. To end, the need is growing, people are hungry for something more, and we haven't lifted a finger. perhaps we should.

"19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own"
1 Corinthians 6:19

This is a fairly well known verse. Today i noticed another aspect to this verse. This applies to everyone, right? The bitterness you have towards someone else is bitterness towards the temple of the Holy Spirit. Strange to think of.