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

“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

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