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

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

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