How I will vote...

The presidential election is about 3 and ½ months away.  I read a survey result that 58% of voters don’t like either choice.  I am in that majority.  I don’t trust either Trump or Clinton to act in the best interests of the country.  I think they are both self-serving and dishonest.

At this point, I don’t think I can vote for either.  I know that voting for a third party candidate is viewed as throwing ones vote away.  However, living in upstate New York and usually voting Republican means that my vote normally doesn’t count anyway.

I believe that ultimately God controls human history and is moving us in the direction of Christ’s eventual coming to straighten out the mess we have made.  We may not like what happens on the short term.  It may seem “wrong,” but historically God has shown Himself capable of using some vile people to accomplish His long-range purposes.

The outcome of the election is not my responsibility.  It is God’s.  My job in the upcoming election is the same as my job every day, and that is to be faithful in doing what I believe He is calling me to do.  I don’t think I should be voting for either candidate in order that the other won’t win.  It is not my job to figure this out.  Human understanding can lead to strategies that backfire.

I am planning to vote my conscience and leave the result to God.

I may wake up the day after the election and be surprised at the results.  This will not happen to God.

If He does not want either of the current candidates, He has multiple ways to handle this without any human intervention.

Eventually God’s judgment falls on nations which turn their backs on Him.  It may be our turn to experience this.  Either Trump or Clinton could be the instrument by which this happens….or not.  I do not know God’s mind.

I will pray for Him to direct my mind today, on November 8, 2016, and every other day He gives me breath.

Thoughts on Perspective

Aging is like standing in an open elevator from which one can see farther and farther as the elevator rises, but the objects in view become smaller and smaller.  Details become less important and overall concept seems more relevant.

I have tried to imagine how different ones perspective would be as he looked at the earth, if he were as small as an atom versus being as large as a galaxy.  I believe God both permeates and encompasses everything.  His perspective is always perfect.

I am fascinated that one can be at the same coordinates in space, but if the time is different surroundings have a totally different appearance and impact…..a sunny summer day versus a snowy total white-out at the same point on a highway.

The same conversation or event can result in opposite opinions as to what happened depending on the prior experiences and inclinations brought to the occasion.  Since others aren’t privy to what is going on inside my mind, my words may be interpreted in a totally different context, and since I don’t know what is going on in their minds, I don’t know how they are interpreting my words.

We acknowledge 3 dimensions in space and one in time, but I suspect there are other dimensions to time, and I wonder if perspective itself is a dimension.

Is it possible during life, to begin seeing things from God’s perspective, an eternal perspective outside of time which sees detail and overall concept simultaneously?

I can’t really wrap my head around the concepts of infinity and eternity…..are they forever or only a blink in God’s eye?  I think the answer is “yes.”

I also think I had better just go have breakfast and accomplish something concrete today lest trying to stretch my brain to comprehend the incomprehensible sends me down the slippery slope and off the edge.

If All Lives Matter....

If all lives matter, we need to get rid of the total disrespect for life exhibited in video games, movies and television shows.

We can’t possibly get rid of all guns, kitchen knives, baseball bats, cars, bare hands and other objects capable of taking a life.  The problem is not the objects.  The problem is the attitude which trivializes life…unless you are the star of the show.  They will never kill off James Bond and probably not Jason Bourne.  We are shocked at the deaths of Han Solo and Will Gardner.

NCIS is one of my favorite shows, but it typically starts with a murder.  I was sad to see Person of Interest go, but when I reflect on that show, I can’t begin to count the number of individuals “offed” by John Reese and Sameen Shaw.  We are expected to be OK with this, because they are all bad.  In True Lies when Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character is asked, while under the influence of truth serum, if he has killed someone, his response is “Yes, but they were all bad.”  The bad guys die, and the grief of their family members is never shown.  The good guys die, and the grief is momentary, and the show goes on.  We don’t get to see the agony still present a year later.  (Exception:  Gibbs on NCIS will never get over the murder of his wife and child.  It is part of his character.)

I have never played a violent video game, but I understand they exist.  I do know that in video games it is possible to earn points that get one an additional life.  Seriously?  An additional life does NOT happen in reality.  What are we allowing children and young minds still in their formative stages to learn?

I guess you might tell me that we can’t change violence in entertainment either.  We have “free speech” which unfortunately protects hate speech and violent images.  Our society apparently has a lust for such, and the entertainment industry is just giving us what we want.

So, we all clamor into the arena and cheer for the gladiators to be eaten by wild beasts or to kill each other.  That attitude did not bode well for the Roman Empire.  What makes us think we will fare any better?

The basic nature of man has not changed or improved since Cain killed his brother Abel.  We are NOT evolving into a more enlightened species.  We have just become more sophisticated and technologically advanced in the way that we kill.