Reviews and Views

…in my opinion.

The Rule of Kings, Presidents, and Others in Power

Haven’t you questioned the leaders of your state or national government at times? What were they thinking when…they decided to do that? I have noticed something interesting.

The Bible has a lot to say about the conduct of kings, which implied any leader or representative of the people. There is a great responsibility that goes with being the leader of a country like the United States. A responsibility that should not be taken lightly.

Proverbs 16:10
All kings and judges of the earth are to be just and rule in the fear of God (Matthew Henry commentary). Seems today that our leaders have no fear of God, nor do they respect Him because they don’t respect the people they govern.

Proverbs 16:11
Fairness in business, not dishonesty, honors the Lord God. This is true of business dealings as well as governmental affairs toward the citizens and other countries. Where is the fairness today?

Proverbs 16:12
All rulers and unelected bureaucrats should love truth and justice. A good king not only does justice, but it is disgusting to him to do otherwise; he will hate the thought of doing wrong and perverting justice (Benson commentary). We see none of this today. But it should be demanded of our elected officials at all levels. And should be a characteristic or quality that we look for in future government leaders.

So ask yourself, do you see this quality in the current occupier of the WH or in the Supreme Court or in your state and local county offices? If not, why not? We are responsible for insuring that the proper men and women of the highest ethical standards serve. God help us!

December 23, 2021 Posted by | Bible, Culture | , , , | Leave a comment

Groupthink

Have you found yourself in a situation of “groupthink” lately? I believe that at one time or another, whether we realized it or not, we were. What is groupthink? The Oxford Dictionary states “it is the practice of thinking or making decisions as a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility.”

More than ever, all of us need to practice the ability to think for ourselves. Making independent and individual decisions can seem like a scary place to be because right or wrong you alone are responsible for the consequences. Going along with the group can seem like a safe place where no one has responsibility and blame can be spread evenly around. It can also present problems that none wish to pursue.

Groupthink can occur when a person has a strong tendency to fall for group decision-making on any issue. People become convinced that the group’s action is best without giving any time to consider other alternatives. There are some folks who may not be able to make decisions on their own. They wait to see where the majority of friends and family thinking is going and just goes along to get along. Otherwise they start to feel isolated or stressed out. Because of their uncertainty, they turn to a hive mentality in decision-making and just go with the group.

The graphic below illustrates what can happen. Always ask the critical questions up front. Ask why and ask for justifications. Present alternative points of view. Watch what happens next. You will surprise many.

December 9, 2021 Posted by | Culture | , , , | Leave a comment

Great Stories! One perspective…

What follows is a conversation that took place many years ago in a far away place. But if we listen carefully to what is being said, we may find ourselves in that same place at this current time.

It is like in the great stories. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?

But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you that meant something.

Even if you were too small to understand why. Folks in those stories had lots of chances of turning back. Only they didn’t. They kept going, because they were holding to something. There is some good in this world and it’s worth fighting for.

By now you have probably guessed that this was part of a conversation between Sam and Frodo in the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. You may not recognize this time of our as a “darkness” that we are fighting our way through. Remember that you who are of the faith and believe in Christ and His Word are a light in this darkness. Let not the evil keep us from telling the truth both loudly and clearly. For many are not seeking the truth and few are uncovering it. But don’t let that be said of you most valiant of warriors!

October 6, 2021 Posted by | Allegory, Culture, Life | , , , | Leave a comment

Once To Every Man and Nation

Once to every man and nation
Comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood,
For the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some new decision,
Offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever
Twixt that darkness and that light.
Though the cause of evil prosper,
Yet ‘tis truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold,
And upon the throne be wrong;
Yet that scaffold sways the future,
And, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow,
Keeping watch above His own.

James Russell Lowell, 1845
Cited by Paul B. Long in Citizen Soldiers of World War II

I saw this posted on The Watchman’s Bagpipes blog of August 14, 2021 Posted by Glenn E. Chatfield at 10:03 AM

August 15, 2021 Posted by | Culture, Poem | , , , | Leave a comment