Excellence in Mediocrity

Playboy magazine has just recently announced that they will no longer be placing nude photos of women in their periodicals. It seems that the porn industry in America has gotten so pervasive and explicit that the veritable founder of common consumption pornography, has decided that is no longer profitable to produce magazines that include fully nude women. The American public has apparently become bored with the simple nude. Pornography, which used to be offered only on the fringes of society, has become an integral part of our communities. I submit that this is due largely to one issue. The lack of being held to a higher standard. Women seem to be under the impression that men need pornography as a outlet for their sexual energy and that if that outlet is taken away, their boyfriends and husbands will cheat on them. This idea is inherently false. Men are capable of practicing self control to the degree that they can maintain a monogamous relationship without external visual stimuli. This misconception is likely due to one factor. Society is no longer holding its members to a high moral standard of living and men no longer feel pressured to maintain integrity in their entertainment. Mediocrity has become the norm to the point at which we accept previously unacceptable behavior as new societal norms. The members of society, both men and women, should be offended by this. Men should be offended that they are not believed to be capable of practicing self control in the areas of their lives that are most important. Those areas that I’m referring to are their deep, interpersonal relationships with the opposite gender. Women should be offended that they are not holding themselves to the level of importance that they deserve in their relationships. They are allowing the men in their lives to diminish their value in the relationship by looking elsewhere for gratification. And shame on the men of society for taking advantage of this situation. The family unit is breaking down because we have allowed mediocrity to permeate our relationships. This is not a man or a woman problem. This is a societal problem. It's about time that our society holds men and women accountable for their actions and demands a higher standard in family and relationship situations. Strong and well adjusted adults most often come from strong families.

The United States is finding it increasingly hard to compete in a global market on our manufacturing and marketing fronts . Part of this problem is due to the fact that employers are finding it extremely difficult to find employees who will pass the mandatory drug test. The recreational use of controlled substances has become commonplace in America. Controlled substances are controlled for a reason. They are dangerous and cause irreversible damage to the human body. They alter the state of mind of the user and drastically affect the users decision-making paradigm. This causes an unsafe work environment for both the user and his coworkers. Society has allowed this to happen by not holding it's workforce to high standards of moral accountability. This is affecting both our economic situation and our country's physical health.

The weakening of the family unit and the national drug epidemic is creating problems within the workforce. Employees show up late and call off at the last minute. they under perform and expect their coworkers to pick up the slack. When they do complete their tasks, the quality is less than expected which decreases the consumer confidence in domestic products. Employers accept this because that is the nature of the employment pool available to them. When employers demand excellence they are criticized for promoting a hostile work environment and berated as corporate giants with no feelings. To give you an idea of the workplace situation of our country please consider this. GM is moving the production of its Buick line of vehicles to China because their quality of work is just as high in their vehicle production as their American counterparts and their workforce is more reliable. In the interest of full disclosure, I also want to point out that another factor in there decision is that the Buick customer base in China far exceeds its customer base in the States. However, I know that at least a part of that can be attributed to the decrease of consumer confidence in our country.
The leaders of this country are in many ways an accurate representation of their constituents. We have law makers who are unable or unwilling to put forth the effort to pass bills and amendments on the merits of the bills and amendments. As a result, they often try to fold these issues into larger, more important bills that actually have to pass. This has resulted in government shut downs in the past and may very well result in another shut down in the not-to-distant future. We have a rampant inability of our lawmakers to work across party lines to address issues for the common good of the country. We as Citizens are responsible for this situation because we have refused to stand against mediocrity in our society.

The alarming thing is that this training in mediocrity starts at a very early age. Teachers are told not to give out awards unless there is one for every student. They don't want any of the students to teel less valuable than other students. I understand this, but the problem is that in this system, true excellence is not actually rewarded. Why should a student work really hard to achieve a reward if the laziest kid in class gets one too? This trend began when I was in grade school. I distinctly remember being the repeated recipient of the “most improved” award. Even as a young person I knew that this was a consolation prize. If we don't start encouraging our young people to strive for excellence, how can we expect them to become great leaders in our country? We are doing our young people of great disservice by encouraging mediocrity. The only way for a person to achieve his full potential is to be held to a standard of excellence. We should be ashamed of what we are doing to these children by showing them that mediocrity is good enough.

Teenagers are no longer being taught that sexual abstinent is a good thing. We don't feel that our youth is capable of practicing that level of self control that is required to maintain virginity until marriage. Instead we try to teach them to be safe when they engage in intercourse. We tell them to use protection and try to keep the number of partners to a minimum. We use catchy phrases like "If the car is going ninety miles an hour all the time, it may not matter whether or not you're wearing a seat belt." Well, one thing we've learned is that teens tend to push boundaries. Why do we make the boundaries so wide? Don't teach them to be safe when they play in the street. Teach them not to play in the street. Maybe then, if they venture into the road, they'll do so with extreme caution.

We have allowed society to throw off the high standards of moral accountability that this country was founded in. This is the reason that our country is in the state of decay that we see today.

Now I want to take a moment to speak to the church in America. Before you take the opportunity to shake your finger at society and say “See? Look at what you have done to this once great nation under God,” I would like to bring up the point that the Church in America is right on par with society in their divorce rate, their consumption of pornography, their consumption of controlled substances, and their declining work ethic. In some cases we exceed the level failure in secular society when it comes to moral issues. This is truly a travesty considering that we are to hold ourselves to the greatest standard of moral excellence that exists. God's standard. We as the Army of God need to address the problems within our ranks. How are we to fight this spiritual battle when we are aiding and abetting the enemy? And make no mistake. Our failures as the church are contributing directly to the Devils arsenal. Pastors need to hold there congregations accountable to the standard of God's Word. Not to their opinions. Not to societal standards. And churches need to remove pastors and church leaders who are not holding them accountable. Only when we stop accepting mediocrity and start demanding excellence can we truly make America great again.

My Arguments Against the Legalization of Marijuana

In a few weeks, those of us who live in Ohio will be voting on a constitutional amendment that will legalize recreational and medicinal marijuana. A yes vote will legalize it and a no vote will leave the laws as they stand. I expect that most Ohioans know where they stand on the issue by now. I don't really expect to change anyone’s mind. My sole goal in this post is to encourage those in my small circle of influence to put some considerable thought into their decision on the issue. It seems to me that there is a tend in our country to make snap judgments based on our first, and often, our only impression. My hope for this post is that it will spur on some discussion in my community so that we can rest assured that we gave it some solid consideration before showing our opinions with our votes.

The laws prohibiting the sale and subsequent use of marijuana are far to difficult to enforce. Far too many people are using it for law enforcement to enforce such a sweeping law.

This is one of the arguments I’ve heard for the passing of this amendment. I find it to be a little weak for my tastes. It sounds a lot like “Everyone else is doing it!” I can practically hear my mother saying “What if everyone else was jumping off a cliff? Would you follow them then?” I would think that we could find a few laws that were just a little harder to enforce than this one. How about speed limits? I am fairly certain that there is a much higher percentage of the population that breaks that law. Why aren't we thinking about abolishing speed limits? Why stop at marijuana? How about all the laws against the sale and use of other illegal substances? Because these laws are all in place for the safety of the general public. Besides, since when do we remove laws because people break them?

It's impossible to overdose on marijuana. Why should it be illegal if it can't hurt you?

First of all, it can hurt you. The long-term use of this 'harmless plant' will cause a serious reduction of the users mental capacity. It will also cause a reduction of the immune systems ability to protect ones body from disease. There are a number of other negative side effects, but I'm not going to go into all those. It is impossible to overdose on this drug when it's being smoked. The theory is that eventually, the smoker will pass out at which point he will no longer be able to inhale the harmful smoke. However, pot for smoking will only constitute a portion of the products that will be available on the projected market. Many of the products that will include marijuana will be edible. Products such as cookies and candies will be available for the general public's unwise consumption. Let me spin a little yarn for you. He's eleven years old. His twenty-two year old brother is home for the hilidays. While the older of the two is out doing some last minute Christmas shopping, the younger is wandering into the older's room. He makes his way around the room until he comes to a drwaer in the night stand. He pulls it open to find a bag of candies each adorned with the likeness of a leaf. He knos what they are and pops one in his mouth, swallowing it whole. He doesn't feel any different so he swallows two more. Not realizing that it would take a while for the drug to be absorbed into his system this way, he consumes several more... I'm sure you can see where this is going. If we legalize marijuana, sooner or later we will know what an overdose of this drug will look like. And it'll be our children who show us. Is that a risk we are willing to take?

That's an obscure example. There will be regulations in place to prevent people under the age of twenty-one from obtaining marijuana.

We have regulations just like that in place for alcohol. As it turns out, those regulations are only so effective. According to this page, http://www.udetc.org/factsheets/OH.pdf, somewhere in the ballpark of 353,000 underage individuals managed to get alcohol every year. That's only in Ohio, by the way. Also, forty-one people died because of traffic accidents caused by underage drinking. That's in addition to the 2,476 injuries caused by that same type of accident. Please feel free to check out the other statistics found on the cited page. That is how effective we've been at keeping alcohol out of the hands of our youth. Are we so arrogant as to think we'll do any better with drugs?

Well, that's why we're only going to allow ten dedicated sites to grow it and why residents will only be allowed to have four plants for personal use. It'll be easier to regulate it this way.

This point is exactly the reason that there is another amendment up for vote preventing the forming of monopolies in the future. If the government is unable to regulate the growing and distribution of marijuana as an illegal substance, why would making it legal make it any easier for them to regulate? It's counter intuitive. By granting ten sites exclusive rights to produce marijuana, we will be presenting the opportunity for them to corner the market and drive prices up. This creates the perfect environment for a black market to pop up. Then we're right back to the uncontrollable production and distribution of a controlled substance by persons not subject to government regulations. Also, can you imagine the manpower it would tale to enforce the four plant per person rule? You'll end up the same illegal growers as before except they'll keep four plants in their living room and the rest in their basement growing room. We're basically giving them a legal smokescreen

One more point I'd like to make. What kind of precedent will this amendment make? How many other illegal substances will make there way into polite society? As my pastor said, it's a Pandora's Box. Lets just hope we can close the lid before hoplessness gets out.

These arguments for the legalization of marijuana are the main ones that I've heard this fall. This post basically explains the reasons why I intend to vote no on this issue. I leave you to make you own decisions. Please remember that the outcome of this vote will affect our state's future forever. I don't usually ask people to share my posts, but if you agree with some of my arguments and are invested in Ohio's future, then spread the word.

Testimonial Responsibility

Normally, I avoid writing about issues as politically charged as the Kim Davis situation. The reason for this is that such issues are usually so polarizing and divisive that I rarely find the resulting discussions useful. And the comment wars literally make me sick to my stomach. Let me just say that comment wars should be reserved for teens arguing over the Jacob verses Edward issue... if that's actually still a thing. Anyways, against my better judgment, here we go...

For anyone who is unaware of the situation at hand, let me summarize. Kim Davis is a county clerk in Kentucky who identifies as an apostolic Christian. The position of county clerk is an elected position with duties that range from registering voters to issuing marriage licenses. As most of you are aware, the Supreme Court ruled that homosexual couples are guaranteed the same marital rights as straight couple based on their interpretation of the constitutional amendment which made marriage licenses a thing. Kim Davis ceased the issuing of any marriage licenses following the judges ruling based on her moral opposition to homosexuality. It should be noted that she ceased the issuing of all marriage licenses, both traditional and same-sex, in order to avoid any accusations of discrimination. Mrs. Davis has taken this stand based on her belief that Gods law supercedes that of the governing body under which she serves. She also claims protection under her states religious freedom protection laws. She was recently jailed after being held in contempt of the courts for disregarding the courts ruling against her position. She was subsequently released after her subordinates resumed the issuing of all marriage licenses in her absence.

I'm not going to go into the legal aspects of this case too deeply as they don't actually relate to my position on the subject.

First, let me say that I do in fact believe that a Christian's religious convictions should govern his or her life over the laws and customs of the country in which he or she lives. We are indeed held to a higher standard by a much higher power in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I certainly hope, should I find myself in a position in which I have to choose between standing behind my religious convictions and bowing to the pressures of my society, that I have the strength of character to stand my ground. That being said, I hope that I have the discernment to choose my battles wisely and set my courses of action in a way that truly glorifies God and subsequently brings people to Him.

We answer to a higher power. We can also claim a higher calling. We are called to be “little Christs.” It is our calling to show people the love and grace of our Savior and do our best to bring them to a saving knowledge of Him through our testimony as well as a clear presentation of the gospel. As I view the Davis situation through the window of secular media outlets, I must come to the conclusion that Mrs. Davis' actions have failed to accomplish this calling in any capacity whatsoever.

Every decision we make should be made only after viewing the situation in question through the lens of testimonial responsibility. In other words, we must ask ourselves which action will bring God the most glory. Which course of action will most effectively show the world God's love? What can we do that will show the world the joys of being in God's family?

Sometimes, we as Christians have to choose whether to defend our government-given rights or to further our God-given cause. On occasion, we have the opportunity to do both, but often we sacrifice our testimony on the alter of self-martyrdom. After-all, is it really our job to change the world or is it simply our job to show the world that change is a possibility through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior?

I'm not going to tell you how you should feel about the situation. All I ask is that you put some thought into your position on the subject before you place yourself one side of the argument or the other. The fact of the matter is this: there are not simply two sides to the issue.

Did Jesus die for the sins of the world?

Let me tell you a story. About two thousand and some odd years ago, a man unlike any other died a horribly painful death as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. This man was Jesus Christ, the Son of God. You see, here's the thing. Everyone on the world is guilty of something serious enough to separate them from God. That thing is sin. God did not want the people of the world to be separated from Him so He sent His Son to pay the debt for the sins of the world. That is the story of salvation. One perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Here's the other thing. Jesus didn't die for the sins of the world. He died for the sins of the individual. He died for your sins just as He died for my sins. My point is this. Jesus did not do a cost-benefit analysis at the foot of the cross to decide whether or not the shedding of His blood would save enough people to be worth the sacrifice. He could have, mind you. He very well could have looked into the future at every person who would potentially accept His gift of salvation and determined at that point, if the number of souls saved from eternal damnation would ultimately be worth the pain and humiliation of His death on cross. But he didn't. In fact, I have recently become convinced that if you or I were the only person left on this earth to save, and no one else would ever accept the love Jesus offered them, He would have gone through all that anyways. Just for you. Just for me.

In case you have a problem with this, allow me another paragraph or two to walk you through my reasoning.

God has been watching out for the individual since he created Adam. When the world became so wicked that God decided to flood it, He noticed one man who still worshiped him. He reached out to Noah and gave him a way to save himself and his family. Noah built an ark using plans directly from God. This ark was something that had never been built before. I would say it was the Titanic of its day except that there had never been a boat of any kind built before the ark and it was designed by God, so it actually was unsinkable. God knew that Noah's descendents would eventually develop such a superiority complex that they would attempt the construction of a tower that they intended to reach heaven. The result of their efforts was basically, the need for the Rosetta Stone. God saved Noah anyways.

When Sodom and Gomorrah reach the height of their depravity, God decided it was time for them to go. Fire and Brimstone was the fate that awaited them. Abraham, on having heard Gods plan for these wicked cities, plead with God for the life of his nephew, Lot. God still carried out his plans for Sodom and Gomorrah, but He created an escape for Lot and his family. He sent a couple angels directly to Lots door. These angels told Lot and his family to leave the city and they did. This family of individuals left the city and reached safety in the caves with the exception of Lots wife. God knew that Lot's daughters would eventually get their father drunk and commit incest with him for fear of having no offspring. The results of these acts were Moab and Ben-ammi. Moab was the father of the Moabites. This group of people was more or less at constant odds with the Israelites. The nation spawned by the Ben-ammi wasn't much better. Their relationships were so strained that the Israelites chose to go into the wilderness after escaping slavery in Egypt rather than go through the land of the Moabites or the Ammonites. God very well could have listened to Abraham's pleas for his nephews life and said, “Look, Abraham. I could save Lot. But if I do, two nations will be born that will cause trouble for Your descendents for centuries. I've done a cost-benefit analysis of the situation and it's really better in the long run if I allow Lot to perish with the rest of the city.” Instead, he saved Lot and his family anyways. He also used the Moabites in the lineage of Jesus through Ruth.

All throughout history, God has directly intervened in the lives of individuals. He saved these people before they had a chance to earn His help and despite their sinful natures. Many of these people went on to be used greatly by God. Consider David, Peter, and Paul. Some went on to disappoint. Consider Saul of the Old Testament who, despite repeatedly being given opportunity after opportunity to repent, died an enemy of God. Consider also Judas Iscariot. He spent three and a half years walking with Jesus and ended up betraying his Lord to the Romans and Jewish leaders.

My point is this. Jesus, being the Son of God, died that horrible death on that cross all those years ago, because God is interested in saving you.

The lenses for Sin

Lets take a moment to talk about sin. Sin is defined as an immoral act specifically against divine law. We can argue about the divine law part, but that's not really the direction I'm going here. I am writing from the position that God is the divine being to whom we are accountable. Period. Now that I have that established we can move on to the point of this post.

I believe that most people would agree that we are all guilty of sinning in some way, shape, or form. If there is any doubt, we can look to the ten commandments for confirmation of our lacking in perfection. There is not a person alive who hasn't coveted, lied, or stolen.

There are two general ways that sin is viewed. The first is through a societal lens and the second is through a divine lens. It would probably be more appropriate to switch the order of these since God, being responsible for the divine lens has existed for ever. However, this is the order in which I will be discussing them.

The societal lens refers to the way we as humans view sin. We look at various sins and rate the severity of a sin based on the effect it has on the society as a whole. For instance, infidelity is not illegal in America because it doesn't have a direct effect on the society as a whole. In this case, the cheater, the mistress and the spouse are theoretically the only ones affected by this sin. Therefore, there are no laws against it.

However, theft has an effect on the local economy. If someone steals a car, the dollar amount of that car has been removed from the local economy. The car lot must suffer the loss of the value of the car from their inventory. This affects their ability to pay their employees and may possibly cause their insurance rates to go up. The insurance company may seek to recover their losses by increasing the rates of all the car lots in the area, burdening the local economy in a broader sense. Because of the effect of this sin, the perpetrator will be fined over $1000 and imprisoned in a federal facility for at least one year.

Murder removes a person from a society forever and effectively squelches any potential that person had for contributing to society. By killing someone, one destroys anything that person might have become whether it be good or bad. Society takes this very seriously. Murder is considered one of the worst sins by societal standards and is punishable by life in prison or the death penalty.

The societal lens is very useful. It allows us to provide second chances for those guilty of “lessor” crimes and give them a chance to contribute to society.

The divine lens gives us an entirely different view of sin. God looks at all sin as being the same. Where society arranges sin by severity based on the effect it has on the community, God sees all sin as the same. This is something the we as humans struggle with. The average citizen is probably guilty of speeding, lying on occasion and coveting his neighbors boat. This citizen would cringe at being placed in the same category as a murderer or rapist. But to God, we are in the same category.

Let me explain. God places us in two categories. Those with Him and those separated from Him. It doesn't take much to separate us from God. All it takes is sin. One sin. Any one sin. God is perfect and does not tolerate imperfection in his presence. It doesn't matter how close to perfect you think you are, you're not close enough.

Think of two glasses of water. One of them has one single solitary pellet of rat poison in it. You can look into the glass and see the pellet sitting conspicuously on the bottom. The other glass has five pellets of rat poison in it. Which glass are you going to drink? I'm guessing you said neither because one pellet of rat poison is enough to separate you from that water. That is how I view sin. One single solitary sin is enough to make me unworthy of stepping into Gods presence.

To summarize, God looks at all sin the same because every sin has the same effect on our relationship with Him.

Now, here is my point. We as Christians have the inside scoop. We know better than to categorize our sins based on severity. This should make it easier for us to relate to unbelievers. It should make it easier for us to leave our judgmental tendencies behind when we're reaching out to non-believers. The problem is that we forget that we were once every bit as separated from God as the murderers on death row. We forget that we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We forget that Jesus Came not to call the righteous but the sinners. We forget that we are all in the same boat without God and that boat is sinking straight to Hell. We as the followers of Christ need to stop looking at sin through the societal lens and view it as God does. Only then can we reach out to minister to those around us where they are.

Comprehending the incomprehensible

I have recently been struck by the amount of people struggling to understand God. I have read several articles written by people in religious circles, each revolving around a particular issue pertaining to our Lord and Savior which has been particularly difficult for each respective author to understand. (An example of a topic of an article could be the eternal nature of God) Typically, the authors will work through the problem using every form of logic and several historical references and arrive at a conclusion. Unfortunately, I feel that many of these conclusions fall short or attempt to limit God in some way.

These discussions are good. They spur us into productive lines of reasoning and get us thinking deeply on subjects of spirituality. It's important to think about our God and how He relates to us.  Here's the problem as I see it. We have this idea that we must come to a conclusion regardless of whether or not we are capable of coming to the correct conclusion.

Our God is infinite in nature. Has always existed and always will. God created the entire universe, a universe that scientists have yet to find the edge of, in six days. And He created it out of nothing. As a carpenter, I build things all the time. Projects such as bookcases, toy chests, amioures, and end tables have all come out of my small shop. However, I wouldn't even think of starting a project without lumber. I'm not talking about a tree. I need boards cut to a regular thickness and width. I need fasteners, glue and tools. And more often than not, I need a lot more than six days. This is all for something that can be built in my twenty by twenty foot shop. God created a universe out of nothing. And what he made is beautiful beyond compare. Romans 1:20 says For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.


Gods love is unbelievable. Thousands of people go to hell every week because they don't believe it. God loves the worst of us so much that He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for us. Jesus died for the worst rapist and murderer who has ever walked this earth. His love is so infinite that He loves that guy. He loves that guy so much, He wants to spend eternity with him in heaven. I'm not sure I would care to spend a half hour in the same building with him let alone eternity. I most certainly would not give my son as a sacrifice for his sins. I wouldn't sacrifice my son for the best of us. But God did. And His love will be a constant for eternity. 1Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. 2Give thanks to the God of gods, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Psalms 136:1-2

We are far from infinite. I don't know a single person who would argue with me on this point. In the scope of this universe, we're tiny. For centuries, humankind has struggled to build empires to define themselves and set themselves apart in history. The Egyptians and the Mayans built pyramids. The Greeks built the Parthenon and the Romans, the Colosseum. America is responsible for the Mount Rushmore National Monument. The French, the Eiffel Tower. Every one of these structures is a man made marvel. every one of these is already showing signs of decay, some more than others. No matter how hard we try we can't begin to match Gods creation.

The only conclusion i can come to is this. God is infinite in everything. We are finite in everything. Job 36:26 tells us this. "Look, God is greater than we can understand. His years cannot be counted." For me to try to fully understand God in his infinite nature is live trying to park a Panzer tank in a single car garage. Something is going to break and it's not going to be the tank. Ephesians 2:8 tells us "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God." God calls us to have faith because He knows that He is beyond our comprehension. We don't need to have the answers for everything. 2 Timothy 3:16 says All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. If the Bible doesn't specifically address an issue, there's a good chance I don't need to understand it. This is not to say that we shouldn't seek the answers to the big spiritual questions. We should just be prepared for the possibility that they might be beyond our understanding.

Personally, I would rather follow a God I cannot fully understand. It makes it harder for me to co-occupy His throne.