Loopholes

           

          There’s the faith and there’s all the other stuff. The theology’s of the Faith. The theology’s of the Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Anglicans, Baptists, all the way over to the “just Christians” and everything in-between. I believe that all these different Christian theologies are one reason why many people don’t join any one particular church, or congregation.

          Stepping back to see the forest for the trees is as necessary as stepping back from our involvement in work or life in general. A need to step back and see things in a simpler light. As I wrote about in, …and we still don’t get it!

          Theologies are complex. Although, oddly enough, they’re often developed to clarify the Faith. So why are theologies so complicated?

          If theologies are so deep, complex, and intricate as to confuse the average followers and create more questions than answers, why bother? The answer is simple, it’s the Human condition. In this case it’s the loophole mindset. We view the loophole as a way to get around the hard things, to change potential sin into something that feels ok.

          This is not a new phenomenon. You can go back, biblically speaking, to Adam and Eve. God didn’t really mean you can’t eat of this tree… God didn’t really mean you’d die… There’s a loophole! God’s lying!! This continues with the Mosaic law. Grossly over-simplified, its 613; what about this situation? Can I do this if that happens? What if, Loophole closures. This continues in Jesus’s time as well.

          The Apostles, disciples and those sent by the Temple Priest’s, were constantly asking Jesus about the issues of the day, The Ten Commandments, divorce, remarriage etc. they were in most instances looking for a loophole as well as for clarification. Today we’re still discussing the merits of these and other loopholes. We’re still looking for more loopholes. Lawyers, both secular and religious, live on the concept of the loophole. We dive in so deep into our theologies we get lost in the beautiful simplicity of the Faith.

          Stepping back to see the forest, to hear the harmony, to read the raw verses that so beautifully state, be kind to one another, take care of one another, be the bringer of good. Evil is easy, ask Adam and Eve. Their perceived loophole was devastating.

         Let us not look at each other through the eyes of the loophole, but instead, through the eyes of kindness. Kindness, the simplest form of love. And love is charity.

 1 Corinthians 13: 13 “So faith, hope, love remain, these three, but the greatest of these is love.

David E. Gonzales

Pro-life and Mortality

           A thought, God gave us our mortality. We, as a World Religious view, look at murder as something sinful. That is to say, it distances us from God, the God who gave us life. 

          These two, Pro-life and mortality, are important companions in our relationship with God. God gave us our mortality so that we may have a life to live. God gave us the “Commandments” to help guide us in a “Pro-life” manner. This gives us the chance to live a life without considerable fear of a
pre-determined death, or, of a random act of violence. 

          Abortion, the killing of a fetus (Latin for baby), is a planned death. The fetus’s life was not given the opportunity to live. And so it is considered a sin, or separation from God. Respect for life, in general, is a given, regardless of how high or low the life form is considered. 

          In Genesis, (chapter 1), God calls all life “good” until the creation of man, then God calls the birth of humanity, “very good.” Humanity is special to God. God blessed all creation, but gave “dominion” to humanity, to “care of Gods’ creations”. (Genesis 2: 15) 

          To CARE for God’s creations. God blessed Humanity and said “Be fertile and multiply”, and take care of God’s creation. The golden rule (Matt 7: 12), the greatest commandment (Matt 22: 37-40) and 1 Corinthians 13, where love is charity and charity is kindness to all. ALL! 

          It’s almost sad that God had to put in writing “shall not kill” and soften revenge with only “an eye for and eye” (Exodus 21: 24) and finally “turn the other one (cheek) to him as well”. (Matt 5: 39) These, however, are for those of us lucky enough to live and apply Gods word. An aborted fetus has no opportunity. 

          No opportunity to live. An innocent’s death should not be chosen out of convenience. Care should be taken by husband and wife to plan for children, not to plan how to rid of children. We should not be so quick to distance ourselves from God. The road back is hard. But not impossible. 

          The hard road is true for men as well as women. In Matt 1, Joseph wanted to divorce her quietly and not expose her to shame. Exposing her to shame would have meant death by stoning for Mary and her fetus, Jesus. Instead he listened to the angel of God, and married her. And cared for them. 

          We are given our mortality to give us a chance to follow a road in life. OUR MORTALITY to experience life. Which road we choose, with its many forks and diversions, is a freedom God has given us. We must first have a life, before we can experience our mortality and our humanity to make these choices. 

May your choices come from a place of care and kindness. 

David E. Gonzales

Hate’s Design

     

Hate was designed to be destructive. 

Hate has no positives, and yet, it will always exist, as will love.

     Hate exists through its acceptance as a normality, as does love.

Hate is a result of choices made, as is love.

     Hate wants your soul, as does love.

Hate wants your death, love wants your life.

     Hate, through segregation, was designed to keep ‘different’ people, apart.

Hate, through abortion, was designed to keep minorities, minorities.

     Hate, through welfare, was designed to keep the poor, poor.

Hate, through victimization, was designed to keep people, dependent.

     Hate, the projects, was designed to keep ‘others’ invisible.

Hate, through oppression, was designed to suppress speech and religion.

     Hate, selfishness, apathy, is preached by Satan, love, hope, fervor, is exhorted by God.

 

Hate was designed to be destructive.

 

May the peace of Christ fill your hearts, and the love of God fill your soul.

 

David E. Gonzales

…and we still don’t get it!

          It’s unbelievable. 2,000+ years and we still don’t get it. It’s been 2,000+ years since Christ came to teach us, and we still don’t understand the message. 

          Christ came by the power of the Father to teach us there is but one true God, and to be kind to one another. That’s it. He came to teach us that our relationship with God is, as is, our relationship with each other. As we mistreat each other, we separate ourselves from God. 

          And we still don’t get it! 

          As we continue to tear each other apart, regardless of how we self-identify, we drive a larger and larger wedge between us and God. The word used in the New Testament, or Christian Bible, is Love. The “Love” used throughout, is from the Greek meaning “charity” 

          Charity in its simplest form is “kindness”. This is the key to heaven or hell. When we fail in kindness and excel in hate, we fail. We fail completely. There is no room in heaven for hate. As there is no room in hell for love. Christ taught us, “Our Father who art in Heaven hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven”! 

And we still don’t get it! 

          The New Testament may the most nonracial book(s) ever written. It’s about faith. It’s about how to express that faith between we the people, and as a people, with God. This relationship is intertwined. Our interaction with one another is intertwined in our faith without exception. 

       It is without exception, in all functional relationships, there is one foundation. This foundation consists of mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual care and mutual support. This is true regardless if the relationship is with the divine or with each other. For they are the same. 

          Mutual, not equal. I define it this way, “Equal can be written in law, mutual is expressed person to person”. Mutual kindness, it’s that simple. And it’s that hard. It’s been 2,000+ years and we still can’t or won’t do it. 

          We still insist in exalting ourselves one over another. We read the Bible to self-justify, instead of with a willingness to learn. We are indeed a “stiff necked people” [Acts 7:51-53] 

          We have been saved by Christ, but we can still condemn ourselves. We can throw away the sacrifice of Christ and the “place prepared for us”, [John 14- 2] or we can chose to live in our faith. We have the option to choose between good and evil, love and hate, kindness and cruelty.         

          Love nurtures love and hate nurtures hate. To me the options seem obvious.

And yet we still don’t seem to get it. 

May the peace of Christ fill your hearts and the love of God fill your souls. 

David E. Gonzales

Mutually Equal

          

        The law is written in equality, but is not exercised in equality. As imperfect humans, the best we can expect is to exercise the law, mutually.         

          We can be kind to each other. However, it is doubtful that we will be equally kind, but we most certainly can be mutually kind to each other.         

          Equality is a noble goal, mutuality is an obtainable goal. Hate begets hate, love begets love. In the New Testament “Love” is used quite often, and quite poorly. Love in the New Testament is better and more appropriately defined as “charity”. This is, to give without an expectation of a return. Kindness is the simplest form of this “charity” or love.         

          The Golden Rule (Matt 7:12) exemplifies this love. Although this also brings Karma into the equation. Be good, or else. 1 Cor. 13 expands upon The Golden Rule and brings it into better focus. The focus of kindness/charity.

          I think Matt 25:35-45 could be the best example of this kindness, love, charity. It rightly expresses, How you treat others is for the Glory of God, not for your Glory. This is a mutual kindness, not equal. Yet, this is the kind of kindness that can bring about equality. Not lawful equality, but, practiced equality. Real day to day equality.         

          Kindness is the simplest form of love. By being kind to one another we can bring about equality, a different kind of equality. The type of equality only we as a people can create. For equality isn’t a law brought down upon us from a government. It’s a law of God that must come from our hearts and souls and be extended to one another.         

          The laws have been written. And they help, but they don’t and can’t change the hearts of people. Acts of kindness, can and do. These acts of love bring about an internal change and a respect for others. Acts of kindness change an individual’s soul. A community’s soul, a state’s soul, a nation’s soul. 

       Hate is strong, but it has to be fed. Kindness is the fuel that feeds our souls and starves hatred. Hate begets hate, Love begets Love. Charity is the path of our salvation. Hate the path to our demise. 

May the peace of Christ fill you hearts and Love of God fill your soul. 

          David E. Gonzales

9-11 / Covid-19

I’m self-isolated. I’m fine, just doing my part. I have a lot of time to think, good or bad, here is some of it.

            I see few aircraft flying through the sky. I see few cars on the road. I smell fresh air. I sense similarities between now and 19 years ago. After 9-11 air traffic stopped. Cars and trucks slowed to a crawl. The air cleared. There was both a calm and a tension.

            That tension was created by an unknown element. Then it was terrorism. Today it’s a virus. Then as now, both are setting a mood of uncertainty. The stock market doesn’t know how to react. Money’s not being made, but the underlining cause isn’t financial. The uncertainty is time and extent.

            The public, us, are also uncertain how to react. Suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar life style. A few weeks ago we were so busy and the virus was so far away, now it’s here. Today many of us have so much idle time. Time to think about “the virus” and all the effects it’s causing. Even those on the front lines, as busy as they are, are thinking about all the effects of this experience.

            In times of stress we could fall back on our favorite activities to help us relax. But now many of these activities are shut down or severely limited. Now we’re down to the core, or at least our core. Our families, our friends and of course our faith.

            Since most, or many, of the spiritual places we congregate are closed, we need to find options to find solace. The “E” world is filling a void, it’s good, but not the same. In reality it’s our faith, that which is in us, that we need to lean on. Not out of choice, but, instead, necessity.

            We have arrived at a time where it’s necessary to draw on the faith we profess. Whatever your faith, it’s time to trust in the promise. It’s time to understand what “living your faith” really means. Take a look at some of your favorite religious texts and see if you find new meaning in them. Or perhaps the solace you/we are looking for and need. I fill my need with ‘1 Corinthians 13’.

            As I read these verses I replace the word love with charity. I understand this is the root word used in the original texts. It reminds me that love and my faith are one of giving. To you it will most likely be a different verse, and it most likely it will just as personal, just as meaningful.

            We trust in the professionals to do their jobs. Now let’s trust in our faith and do our jobs, as well as we can. We are all different as to how we can contribute, some simple and some grand, all are meaningful and all are needed. So stop, breath, read, recite and bring your faith to a higher level of understanding. Bring your faith to a higher level of practice.

God’s peace be with you. God’s blessings, always.

David E. Gonzales

There Is No Power...

There is no white power, nor black power. No brown, no yellow. No Christian, no Jew, no Muslim, nor any other division created by humanity. 

There are but three divisions, those are of love, hate and apathy. The last one listed is perhaps the most dangerous and insidious. I can understand where some apathy comes from. It's hard to openly care about something, anything, these days. And even harder to voice your concern. Take a look at your social media and read the vile comments, some on the most benign posts.

Those vile comments usually come from a place of hurt, which has festered into hate. Their hate turns into our apathy. Many slowly lose their ability to love/care, thus allowing apathy to creep into their daily routine. These same people become increasingly self-concerned and defensive.

As they/we become increasingly "self" orientated, we lose the ability to extend ourselves outside of our comfort zone. This allows the hate to grow, to manifest into a controlling entity. Only then do we see a push back from the masses. Sometimes, that happens too late to constrain.

           

Usually, hate can be pushed back into the shadows of existence. Unfortunately, it can’t be eliminated. Understanding this helps us to be conscious and resilient.

           

As love will find those of a similar persuasion, so will hate. Apathy is safe, and it too will find those of a similar ilk. Love and hate will always go head to head in the battle for dominance. Because love can be passive, and hate aggressive, hate will slither into those shadows and await its next opportunity, its next excuse to try and take control.

           

Love, hate and apathy, these three levels of being dominate our lives, our time here on Earth. Let us take our stance for love. Let us never fall to the lies of hate. And never let us fall into the false comfort of apathy.

Many Faiths have as their core a belief of compassion toward each other. How we treat each other embodies our relationship with our God, Higher Power or Positive Energy. When we live with kindness and charity, we live our Faith and we are in harmony with our Faith. We understand our Faith and we are exercising that understanding.

Hate is easy to understand, while apathy is easily overlooked. In Faith, apathy is condemned. In the Christian Bible, Luke 16:19-31, tells the story and effects of apathy. And it’s not pretty. At the same time hate should never be met with more hate, as this will only fuel the fire of hate. There is no simple or easy solution.

Earlier I stated that hate can’t be eliminated. It can, however, be minimized, but not with more hate.

May you always have to strength to LOVE!

by David E. Gonzales

The New Silent Minority.

So, the vitriol of this post-election is starting to quiet just a bit. I’m going take this moment to express a thought. The stats coming from the real vote are showing that it wasn’t the white vote that put Trump over the top, it was the minority vote. Trump received a lesser white vote than Romney. This is the Black and Hispanic vote, primarily. Where did these votes come from? And why were they not considered by anyone?

Traditionally these votes weren’t cast. They weren’t cast out to the the fear of being chastised by their peers. They were expected to stand in line and heed the elites. Oddly enough, this should have been expected. As an example, in ’08, the conservative black vote in California was the difference for voting in a State Constitutional amendment defining marriage between a man and a woman. There is no doubting the fact it was the conservative black vote that put this proposition into law. The fact that this was the largest minority turn-out ever and having it overturned and thrown back at them as a disgraceful action, only added to the minority frustration.

This turn of events, and others, seems to have brought to light for many conservative minorities that this expected behavior was upon them. And they felt the weight of this newly realized expectation. They again came out, still in the shadows, to vote their conscience and their faith, not their race. They came out and voted against the status quo.

Where this trend goes from here is an unknown. These are indeed uncharted waters we/they are exploring. It will be interesting to watch this new silent conservative minority develop. If it develops at all. Perhaps a new effort will be made bring these voters back into line. Perhaps, it’s too late for this type of action. The minority vote has been considered a “giving” by the Democrats for some time. It is conceivable there was enough time, for some, to breathe the air of a new freedom.

I believe this is a lesson re-learned. Any group of people that perceives themselves to be suppressed, will eventually revolt against the elite class, their perceived suppressors. Conservatives have increasingly felt as if they have been chastised into a corner. And it appears to be oozing out in some very unusual places. The most dangerous thing to any elitist class, is a free thinker.

Certainly, this new President will have an impact on what is to follow, at least in this respect. If he can truly bring forth a message of “WE” instead of “division”, we could be in for some very interesting future elections. The predictability of the race vote could be gone forever. And I kind of like the sound of that.

May our diversity always be a blessing.

by David E. Gonzales

The Root of God

You do not have to believe in God to follow God or to do God’s work. The root of doing the things of God are kindness and charity. If you are being kind to those around you, whether you like them or not, you are following the call of the Holy Spirit. If you are giving to those less fortunate than yourself, either with a monetary donation or with your personal time and talent, then you are following the teaching of God and Church. Doing something good, is in part, the call of God.

When you boil it all down and reduce it to a concentrated teaching/philosophy, God wants us to reach out to each other with kindness and charity. If it’s not good, then it’s not of God. Goodness is understanding the beliefs of another, and not burning their books. Good is understanding the

humanity of another, and not condemning them, and certainly not harming them, because of their lifestyle choice. How a person dresses is as much a cultural standard as it is a practical necessity. Their clothing choices may tell you something about the person, but it does not give you reason to judge or denounce them.

We understand that not all people are good people, and that forces us to be aware of our surroundings. We usually extend to most people some degree of trust at the outset. And most people will either build or dispose of that trust rather quickly. Their “good” or “wickedness” will be fairly easy to see, especially if you listen carefully to what they are saying. As I’ve talked about in previous journal entries.

Usually we make conscience decisions. We decide what we will believe based on any number of things. Sometimes these decisions are firm, and sometimes they are more haphazard in nature. We also make subconscious decisions. These decisions are based increasingly on an inner awareness. That “gut” feeling we get on the occasion. That “right” thing to do, even if you really don’t know why. In either case I believe this is the Holy Spirit that moves us to do the “right” thing.

The “right thing” centers on kindness and charity. This is the root of God. This what the concentrated teaching of God is. Kindness and charity are two basic moral institutions that most have instilled in us from a young age. Simply by practicing kindness and charity you are following the call of God, whether you know it or not, as guided by the Holy Spirit.

Let us all be guided into kindness and charity.

by David E. Gonzales

Control, It's all about you.

There's only one thing you can control, and that is yourself. Once you understand that concept, you will be much more at peace in and with the world around you. Life is perceived as a peripheral experience; our emotions make life a personal experience. By understanding ourselves and learning to work with our natural emotions, we can and do become increasingly understanding and empathetic to the people and events around us. We are better able to handle ourselves within situations with a sense of peace by knowing we are in control of ourselves. And by allowing others to be themselves, it becomes easier to identify what kind of person they really are.

To listen to someone speak, without your personal filters glazing over their words, will allow anyone to see the reality the speaker lives in. Our preconceived ideas of another person will never even show up. We can take them as they present themselves. Listening without prejudice, is the dominant element.

The act of listening without thinking about a response is the prejudice to which referring to. Listening to the words spoken and thinking about the meaning of those words, both individually and as a whole, will help you understand the person speaking and the subject being addressed.

Many of us are more interested in responding than comprehending to what has been said. It is because of this, many of us miss the essence of the subject or idea being expressed. As we teach ourselves to listen we will also learn how to better express our personal ideas on any subject. Listening (and reading) are two of the best ways we can learn to express ourselves in a superior fashion. But listening is the only way to really learn about the person, any person.

Understanding a person will help you decide how you wish to proceed. Or if you want to proceed at all. You only have control over one thing, you. Make your decisions with all the tools you have; the ear being one of the most powerful.

Peace be with you always.

by David E. Gonzales

I Express-

I write to express my feelings, thoughts, faith. I write as a matter of need, not want. I don’t write to become a master of the “like” button. I write to help myself and I hope to help others in my expressions. I believe that writing is one of the better ways to help me understand life. The true reality of my perceptions that surround me. It is through writing that I help to heal my damaged ego. It is through writing that I heal emotionally and psychologically, this is where I stabilize my mental state.

Writing isn’t for everyone. But for those who do write, even a little, it can be a big piece of keeping oneself in state of “being happy.” Being happy, getting happy, desiring to be happy, staying happy, for some its easy, for other it takes a little more effort.

Perhaps effort is really the key here. For nothing happens if you don’t try. Without putting yourself forth, nothing is going to happen. It’s a daily exercise of communicating with others and yourself. Understanding yourself is absolutely necessary to living in harmony with others. Writing is a wonderful way of clearing out the clutter and focusing your thoughts into complete lucidity.

This is not a one step or one day process. It’s also not an agonizing one. Or at least it shouldn’t be. And while writing down one’s personal thoughts isn’t easy, clarity can be shocking, responding to yourself can be most rewarding.

The response you have to your writings can and should be gaged on how positive the effects will be. And the effects should be, must be, positive in nature. Our faith, our relationship with God is, as is, our relationship with each other. This must always be positive! Our relationship with our faith and our relationship with everyone in our lives should be one and the same. If God is love, (expressed as charity), then our relationships should reflect that ideal as much as possible. Writing can bring to light the imbalance in our lives.

As we increase the balance in our lives, that “happy” feeling becomes increasingly consistent. Our personal lives and faith should and need to be, as much as possible, in harmony with each other. Writing allows me an outlet for my thoughts to be expressed in an ever clarifying manner. I’ve only been writing for a few years now, but I find writing an increasingly valuable tool in my life. Note: Not all my thoughts are published.

Writing is self-care. It is necessary to take care of yourself in order to care for others. You must be good to yourself in order to be good to others in a consistent manner. Otherwise you may find yourself in a state of emotional flux. Self-care is a necessary element in life. Everyone I know has this element in their lives.  

I hope that this expression, written from the heart, will help you in attaining balance you are looking for.

by David E. Gonzales

The Gift of Mortality

If we were all immortal, then there would be no reason to live. There would be no one to take care for. There would be no one to nourish. There would be no births, no deaths, no babies, no aged and no disease. There would be no one; new. We would be as we are. We would have no desire to learn, for we would know all things necessary to know.

Life would not be worth living. Oh, sure, there would still be buildings to build and re-build, clothing to make, food to grow. But those things would simply be the status quo. Impressing your neighbors would be a moot point. All things that could be done would already have been done.

Truly living is to be engaged. Engaged in life, in people and in creating things new and better. Immortality takes away any incentive to engage anything. This make our mortality a gift. The gift of desire. To be engaged. To give birth, to aid the aged, and the inflicted. Even grief, as painful as it is, is a gift. For we can’t grieve without first having loved. And love [charity] is our greatest calling. Charity is what brings us the most gratification.

Charity is born from our mortality. Charity houses and clothes the poor and feeds the hungry. Charity brings light to injustice and justice to the most vulnerable. Our mortality brings out our humanity in us. Our mortality is a gift, not a scourge, from God. For without our mortality, complacency would be the rule. Immortality would allow us to live forever, but our mortality allows us to be alive!

May you always be alive in life!

David E. Gonzales

Dad (Words of Remembrance)

Dad. As kids that’s all we really called dad, just dad. No fancy or clever nicknames. Dad, born April 1st, 1930, had an interesting sense of humor. Perhaps being born on April Fool’s Day had something to do with it? Or perhaps it was being born the seventh of ten children. Then again it could have been growing up with six sisters. But for me, I have to think it was more in line with having only one bathroom to share with the entire family. And this, with only cold water. I think this helped develop his unique sense of humor. And more often than not, it had just a little sarcasm built into the punch line.

            There’re a couple of little ditties that dad would recite with some regularity. One was based on food. The verse he would sing, reads like this:

“There’s Spam and wham and deviled ham,
And somethin' new called Zoom
Just take it home and heat it to the temperature of the room
And you can bake it, flake it, Shake it, make it, take it,

Any way you choose.
And that's the situation, when you got those, Duration Blues”

I had always thought this was some cute ditty dad had learned as a youth and just never forgot. Then about a year or so ago I did a search and found out it was a song from WWII. This song was really about rationing. Rationing was of course, a reality in his day, and so it makes sense that this would stick with him. But to me it’s more about his sense of humor, and his notion of life.

            The second ditty is a little more obscure. This one is about attitude. And it goes like this:

Your troubles will vanish like a bubble,

If you only take the trouble, just to smile.

Dad’s sense humor and his sense of life were uniquely inter-tangled. A positive attitude can make all the difference in the world.

            Dad was also a builder. Dad built a business, he built the building for the business. Dad built a second building so he could sell the business and retire. He tiled the walkway leading up to the house. Dad laid the tiles throughout the downstairs of the house. He, along with mom and I, installed the wood flooring upstairs and the stair case. Dad built the basin for the fountain. He laid the block for the planters, and designed the landscaping. And of course dad designed and built the St. Francis mission on the side of house. He then proudly named it, Mission impossible.

Dad was dad, a unique personality. He had a glow about him, a glow that made you feel like he knew something you didn’t. Dad was a provider. Work hard, play hard, play for fun, play to win, because there’s no fun in losing. Do it right the first time, because it takes even longer to do it twice. No one is going to give you anything, you have to earn it.

Goodbye dad 

Dad, family man. Dedicated and loving husband to mom for 62 years, father of three, grandfather to six.

I’ve tried to express not the physical exploits of dad, but instead the essence of dad. Each of us has a different idea or feel of what constitutes dad. Today we say goodbye to the physical dad. And I believe that God has lovingly accepted dad’s soul in to his kingdom. But the essence of dad will be with us as long as we tell our stories, and remember that “feel” that we had around, dad.

Thank you so much for being here this morning. You are all greatly appreciated, and loved.

David E. Gonzales, son

God and Tragedy

It’s always the darkest before the dawn. It’s in the lull before the storm that my fears are heightened. It’s after the storm has passed that I feel the calm of normality. It’s also here the love of God is most visible. After the danger has passed, after evil has shown its face, I feel relieved.

This event is over, they are dead, it can’t happen again. Not exactly like this anyway, and not in the same place. Awareness is heightened, and everyone’s head is on a swivel. Reacting to every noise, car out of place, backpack set aside. Evil recedes into the darkness waiting for another opportunity. It will not return until it feels safe, this when we drop our guard.

God becomes most visible in these tragic times. You see God in the mass outpouring of people helping people. They do not cower in their homes, or seek safety in a shelter. They venture out in the open, allowing themselves to be vulnerable for the greater good of humanity. This is true love, this is the Grace of God which is always present, devouring hurt to help others who have been hurt.

We, as children of God, put aside our differences to everyone, regardless of our faith, skin color, age, gender, language, in order to reach out to give aid, comfort, and spiritual healing. God does not create tragedy, nor does God cure the injured. At least not directly, that’s our job. God gives us the power, through the Spirit, for us to aid each other. The power to not cower after a tragedy

happens.

This gift of God is always there. We as a people take it for granted until something happens. Then we look to God and ask, why? Why did you allow this to happen to so many innocent people? Unfortunately to real question is, “Why did we allow this to happen to ourselves and to each other?”

We get comfortable in our everyday lives and turn a blind eye to our surroundings. We get comfortable with our faith, we forget that God has challenged us to be involved in the world through the work of charity. It is through this work that God is most prevalent. Unfortunately, it takes a tragedy for us to extend a hand outside of our comfort zone.

It’s difficult to reach out a helping hand where conflict may arise. But this is our challenge. This is the command that God has given to us, a command of unbridled charity. Yes, it’s hard to reach across the lines we have drawn for ourselves. I believe that if we, as a society, work towards this goal, this command, then we can limit these man made tragedies and live in an increasingly peaceful world.

Love is charity! Read 1 Cor. 13, and replace the word “love” with the word “charity” and you’ll get a better understanding of what kind of love (agape) is being defined in this most beautiful passage.

May God's love and peace be with you always!

David E. Gonzales

“No” is Gender Irrelevant

That’s right. “No” is gender irrelevant. It doesn’t matter if you’re straight, or LGBT. It doesn’t matter if you’re approaching a guy as a guy, a girl as a girl, or in a more traditional manner. If the other party isn’t interested, stop. The rules don’t change just because you’re living an alternative or a traditional life-style. And you’re not exempt for any reason! Respect, politeness, and kindness doesn’t change with your sexuality.

Respect is a vital aspect for any society. And respect begins one on one. Respect then grows from there to up to country to country. Respect, of course, works both ways. If you’re a straight guy/gal, and you’re approached by another guy/gal, just polity state you’re not interested or you’re straight, or whatever, just be polite about it.

If he/she becomes aggressive, that of course changes the narrative, but there’s still plenty of room for politeness. I’ve been approached many times over the years, and by and large the guys have been very civil in their behavior. A simple and polite, “I’m not gay,” usually is enough. But, as they say, “There’s always one in every crowd.” Each circumstance should be handled accordingly. With that said, I’ve never had to resort to any kind of violence.

Respect, politeness, and kindness, in my opinion, should be everyone’s first life-style choice. Beyond that, people will always congregate with people that are like minded. It may take a while to find each other, but eventually life sorts itself out.

May you be filled with the blessings of respect, politeness and kindness.

David E. Gonzales

Us, The Third Person

I will always be me. My persona that is me will change over the years as I grow, mature, educate and learn from my mistakes. Hopefully I will improve as a person as a result of my life experiences. You will always be you. Your life experiences will be unique to you, and hopefully you will improve as a person also. When a relationship begins a new entity is born. This third entity is called “us.”

Relationships, they don’t just happen. They, like children, are created then nurtured to maturity. When you and I meet, even casually, there is a third person born. This person is young, immature, and unsure of itself. As you and I spend time together this third person grows, adapts, matures and becomes increasingly self-evident. Whether this third person grows into a positive, mature and productive adult depends entirely on how you and I respect each other, the more there is disrespect toward one or the other the increasingly dysfunctional this third person will become.

If we never see each other again then this third person becomes dormant. This third person doesn’t disappear, as if it never happened, it does remain in its undeveloped state. It is a part of our development as a person, and so it remains with us. Since this third person is a part of who we are it changes the way we interact with the next person we meet. We may react with increased zeal or with trepidation.

Two main parts of growing a positive third person is trust and respect. The third part is mutual care and support. All three are important in a relationship. These are the foundations of any relationship, therefore, removing any one of them will evolve into a dysfunctional relationship. Sometimes these relationships fall apart with each person carrying that third person with them, each with their unique interpretation of the reality of the relationship. And sometimes the couple will remain with each other for a lifetime. Always struggling to find some normalcy in their relationship.

            There is no doubt that relationships take a lot of hard work. In other articles I have used the word “arduous.” I think this true in many relationships. For many more couples or even families, it is something less then arduous. This could be anywhere from just continually adjusting to one another to professional family counseling.

            A strong foundation begins at the very creation of any relationship. More generally speaking, treating everyone at the outset with respect will create opportunities for healthy relationships. Without respect and trust along with mutual care and support relationships are impossible to create. As in any relationship, trust is given as a precept to respect. But as a relationship develops, trust must be earned. When trust is abused in a relationship it is very difficult, and in many cases impossible, to regain or restore it to its previous level.

            From the earning and giving of trust and respect, mutual care and support naturally develops. It becomes something of a desire. Each couple decides how, how much, and what kind of care and support the other needs or requires. Much of this comes through trial and error. The constant adjusting mentioned earlier.

            Relationships are complicated. Mostly because we are raised as individuals. As children it’s all about me, me and me. As we grow older we are taught to share. We are taught to be independent in thought as well as to be able to work and play with others. But a relationship goes well beyond these simple teachings. A relationship bears a responsibility to constantly develop, in love, this third person. This creation called “us.” Each person is responsible to give of themselves and enhance this third person while never letting the persona that is them get away. This “us” becomes the love that binds each couple together, for all the days of their lives.

May your life be blessed with the unique love that only “us” can bring to life.

By David E. Gonzales

God Has No Plan

This post will undoubtedly upset some of you reading this. If you are, I will apologize in advance. With that said, I think this post has some merit that should be considered.

I’ve heard it said that “God has a plan for you”, or something to that extent. I think this is an incorrect, albeit, easy and common way to explain the hardships, we as his children experience during our lifetimes. It is difficult to answer questions as to the “why” in life. As in “He or she is such a good person, how or why did this horrible thing happen to them.” It is here I hear the answer, “it’s all in God’s plan.” I must disagree.

God doesn’t have a plan for our lives. This time between our birth and our death. God may very well know what is in store for us here. But that’s not the same as making a plan. One reason I don’t believe that God plans out our lives is that our lives are filled with hardship. God, and as our parents, don’t wish hardships on us. Also, I do not believe that God tests our faith through our hardships, although through our hardships our faith is lessened or strengthened.

There is something important about having us go through the process of life. There is something important about making the decisions, big and small, that make our lives what they are. I do not believe that God micro-manages our lives. God is not controlling our every step along the way. If this were true then we would be little more than robots, with no free will. God does not have a plan for us, but God didn’t leave us completely to our own accord either. God did give us a guide. Three in fact.

God gave us this guide to support us as we make our decisions, big and small, every day in our lives. This guide is the root of our faith. It is the root of almost every faith. This guide is called Faith, Hope, and Love.

Love, especially in the New Testament, is translated from the Latin word “agape” and this is where we get our word for “charity.” I have written in some of my other posts that our relationship with God is, as is, our relationship with each other. That every sin against humanity is a sin against God. And the simplest form of charity is kindness.

Faith, each of us understand our Faith in our unique way. Simply, Faith is offered to us by the Grace God to accept or reject, freely. It is through study, prayer and our life experiences we make our decisions. Our Faith may vary in depth, becoming weaker or stronger as we grow and mature.

Hope. It is Hope, in my opinion, that gives us the driving force to face tomorrow. It is persons without Hope that have no will to continue. All those with the gift of hope can face all the tomorrow’s that are in our time of life.

Whether your Hope is rooted on a Faith or is just something you feel welling up inside, it is Hope that that gets us through each day. No matter if it’s the best or worst of times. It is Hope that keeps us moving forward. It is Hope that gives us courage. It is Hope that allows us to expand our world beyond the confides of our physical and intellectual present.

It is Hope, not a plan, which God gives us. Faith and Love complete the balance in our lives. And it is truly our lives to live. And it is by the gifts of God that we are able to live it.

May God’s gift of Hope be with you always.

David E. Gonzales

I’m Not Attached-

I’m not attached to things, physical things. I hear people say, “I love my car, phone, or other things.” Or, “I don’t know what I would do without this or that thing.” I have a truck I’ve been driving for 14 years; I am no more fond of it than I am of the chair I’m sitting on or the door to this room. These are inanimate objects. They have no life. They give no love. Yet many people do give of themselves to these “things.”

Why do so many give of themselves to things that cannot give in return? It never ceases to befuddle me when I see people have so much emotion over a car. Perhaps it’s because so many people are lonely? Or do they lack in having a Faith? We, as a society seem obsessed with the things we create. Things that give us moments of pleasure, or wonderment, but not a lasting relationship. In fact, not a relationship at all, for a healthy relationship is a two-way engagement.

A healthy relationship is between two human beings. I’m speaking here in regards to personal relationships. There are relationships in families, groups and societies. I wish to keep this within the personal relationship. I believe that personal relationships are both physical and spiritual. Both of these types of relationships have the same foundation of trust, charity, mutual care and support.

I believe many, if not most people, are missing part of this foundation in their lives. One of these parts is trust, and I believe this is why so many of us cling to “things” with an emotional attachment. We don’t have to give much trust to a car or a cell-phone. If these things fail us we can get another one. We can discard them at a whim. Or if they are reasonably reliable we can cling to them as if they are a trusted friend.

Charity brings about another dimension altogether. Let’s bring charity down to its fundamental core, kindness. It doesn’t take much to see that ‘things” don’t bring or offer kindness. Not in any way, whatsoever. So when I hear people say, “Its been so good to me,” I would like to believe they’re speaking metaphorically. Except many are not. They have developed an imaginary relationship with an object. A relationship where they believe this object “cares” about them. This belief can allow people to disengage with others and become increasingly recluse. The attraction is that it’s safer than a personal relationship. However, there’s also no mutual care and support.

Mutual care and support can only be between two people. Again I’m speaking in the context of a personal relationship. Mutual care and support is, really, just two people paying attention to one another. Paying attention with the desire to help one another be as real, productive, and serving as possible. I mean to say, as human as possible. When we put all this together, we call it; being in love, sharing love and being loved.

To be loved is what we desire the most. But I don’t think most of us understand just what that means. To love is to extend to yourself outside of yourself and to take risk with one other. To be loved is to allow yourself to be cared for physically, emotionally, intellectually, and psychologically. A healthy relationship is some combination of all these aspects, each combination becoming unique to each couple. A couple, two people.

Two people, not things, stuff, objects, or toys. A relationship, not something to be discarded and replaced because it’s not working as well as one dreamed it should be working. A relationship takes work, some requiring more care than others. Few relationships, if any, are free of flaws. None of them are attached to “things” more than they are attached to each other. If they were, they would be considered a business relationship and not personal one.

I’m not attached…

I’m not attached to what I have. I have what I need to function in today’s society, both in business and personally. I don’t need things, or want things to replace human interaction and certainly not to mimic a relationship. I think we as a society need to prioritize our emotions regarding “things” and people. I think we need to treat each other with the foundation of charity and kindness.

If we treat each other with this foundation of trust, charity, mutual care and support, we will find a shift in the way we look at the “things” in our lives. Putting our attachments in the human context, first and foremost. We need to pull our heads out of the electronic sand and reinsert our body, and minds back into personal relationships and society as whole. The relationship we have with each other is the same relationship we have with our God, Spirit, or Higher Power.

As we shift from the “things” of this world, we will be more willing to embrace our natural longing toward faith and our humanity. We are all physical and spiritual beings in need of physical and spiritual relationships.

May we all be blessed in our physical and spiritual relationships.

David E. Gonzales

The Golden Rule / Karma

Is this life in a nutshell? Is The Golden Rule/Karma the simplest manner to explain nearly all the World’s faiths? Is this the reason why the “me first” way of life is generally looked down upon in nearly every society today. And not only today but throughout history? This simple “rule” is really quite expansive, as it covers the basics of human interaction.

Not only is the Golden rule/Karma between me and anyone I meet, it also extends to how I treat someone, anyone, in need and as to how I am treated when I am in need. The return on my kindness may not be immediate, it may not even happen in this life. It may not come until I have become debilitated, incapacitated, and/or feeble, but it will come. I believe in The Golden Rule/Karma.

Karma will pat you on the back or kick you in the rear. And it’s all dependent on you. How you treat others is Karma’s motivation. I think it is because of my belief in The Golden Rule/Karma that I’m not a vindictive person. I don’t feel the motivation to “get” someone, or to “get back at” anyone. And yes I’ve had the occasion to feel I should or could do just that. It’ll happen, even if I don’t see it happen, or know it happened. Or, speaking eternally, that it may happen in the next life.

This doesn’t mean that I haven’t had The Golden Rule/Karma kick me a few times. I’ve been on the not so nice end of life. I’m not proud of it, but it’s a fact of life, and I acknowledge it and live with it. I do my best to live The Golden Rule, and I admit, I’m still learning. Yes, I believe in The Golden Rule and Karma. They are one and the same. Different traditions, but very much the same.

There’s the Golden Rule, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” And then there’s the evil twin, “Do unto others before they do unto you.” We all have our choices to make, and the freedom to accept or reject the good or pernicious. And yes, they both can be accepted and/or rejected. Each with its rewards or penalties.

To accept the good is to move forward, looking ahead with a positive attitude, kindness, graciousness, charity, respect, forgiveness, acceptance, and tolerance. The Golden Rule/Karma will follow this trail. To reject the good is to move forward taking advantage of the less wily, knowledgeable, the weak, old and ill. The Golden Rule/Karma will follow this trail also. This is to live a life while looking over your shoulder. Always wondering when Karma’s steel-toed boot is going to leave its mark. Sounds like a tough way to live, certainly not a peaceful way.

So, take your pick, make your choice. Lend a helping hand or slap one away. Just remember, this is your hand you are offering, or your hand you are slapping. This is your future, perhaps soon or perhaps in eternity,…….. Your eternity.

 The Golden Rule/Karma, pay it forward

Scripture is from the NABRE:

Mat. 7; 12a. Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.

Also Luke 6:31. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

by David E. Gonzales

Racism; A Cure?

I’ve heard people say that racism is taught, which it is. However I don’t believe that’s the only dynamic involved with this issue. What I’m bringing into the conversation is that racism is also a decision made. What I’ve been hearing and reading are individuals making the popular statement about racism being taught and following it up with a pointed example. This seems ok, except they usually follow-up their point with something like “THE END, OR THAT IS ALL” This of course is meant to end the conversation. Ah, if it were only that simple.

            President Obama recently stated in a speech that racism hasn’t been cured. And I have to agree with that statement. What I don’t agree with is the idea that there is a cure.

There is not now, nor will there ever be a cure for racism. Racism can be taught, yes, but that is not the only way people become racists. Another method could be that a person sees another person, and that other person looks different. The human mind immediately goes into motion and tries to understand what it’s seeing. The mind can come to many different conclusions. One of those conclusions could be, “if it’s different than me it must be less than me, or flawed in some way”. Once the mind comes to define something in this manner, it may at this time become a sub-conscience truth. It may be very hard, if not impossible, to change the mindset of that

conclusion.

            The mindset of racism is a motivation for people to gather. People tend to congregate with those of similar qualities. Other more common qualities are skin color, language, cultural traditions, and/or religious practices. These commonalities have been around since the earliest of times.

In the Bible racism is largely absent from mindset of its writers. Religious bigotry is a very different matter. There’s also the very prevalent matter of birthright written in the pages of the Bible. You were either Jewish or not Jewish, a Roman citizen or not a Roman citizen, wealthy or poor, and of course later, a Christian or not a Christian. Each one came with its specific rights and privileges. Thankfully, the Bible also tells us how to deal with racism and bigotry.

The Bible states throughout, especially in the New Testament, that love is the answer. It teaches us that love is lived through charity, kindness, respect, forgiveness, acceptance, and tolerance. Living life through love, and teaching through example can no doubt reduce racism throughout our society.

We are predominantly a society of religions. If we truly live our lives as our faiths teach, we can minimalize and delegitimize the idea of racism and bigotry. We will never be able to eliminate racism or bigotry, but we can diminish it to the point that it becomes a scourge on those who practice this belief, and not worn as a badge of honor.

There is no honor in hatred. Hatred begets hatred, love begets love, and love always triumphs. (1 Cor. 13)

May you always practice what you preach, and may you always preach love!

by David E. Gonzales

Related link: God Hates The--- 

Definitions via the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary:

rac·ism

: a belief that race is the primary determinate of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

: racial prejudice or discrimination

big·ot

: a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices ; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance