Weighing on my mind

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It's early in the morning and there are already a lot of things weighing on my mind. Sometimes I find myself thinking about illegal immigrants because I just took a survey concerning them yesterday and today's reading talks about not oppressing them. I think illegal immigrants should be treated fairly, but I don't think that means giving them a free ride. I can only imagine what it must be like to be an illegal alien, but I feel I would want a sense of respect. I would want to feel I earned what I got. I wouldn't want hand-outs, but I would be open to a hand-up. Show me how I can earn the handouts others offer.

Now without a proper transition because my thoughts don't transition properly, my friend is seriously making a movie of MacBeth for the big screen. I want to help him, but I don't know if spamming my other friends is best. I'd much rather front an amount of money that I think spamming my other friends would generate to help him out since the donation is tax-deductible. On the other hand, I have never donated money to the arts because I always felt that if I had money to donate it should feed the hungry and teach them how to escape poverty, so they aren't hungry again. Of course, I invest money instead of giving it away sometimes, so I'll have more money to give later, but I don't think donating to the arts will have as great a return to the needy as direct donations or investing in my education would have because I don't think those benefiting from the movie would contribute as much as I do, but I have nothing to support that claim. I don't know if these are generous people or not. I just know that my friend is a good friend, so I think I've talked myself into praying for his efforts, of course. I am also going to pray for guidance for myself, so that I continue to be the best steward of the gifts God has given me as I can be.

The Real Deal

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So my principal is talking to someone else and refers to me saying, "He's probably laughing at us because he's the real deal. He's probably read the Bible a couple of times and understood it." If I had been prepared, I probably could have added something to that conversation besides smiling politely and continuing on to where I was headed. My thoughts were along the lines of, well, I have read the Bible few times, but each time I read it, I understand it more. I understand it enough to not laugh at someone who is trying to understand it better even if they have never opened a Bible before.

I can't tell how this will come off in print, so I feel the need to clarify that the comment was good-natured. I have spoken with my principal about faith on several occasions. I found out he even used to go to weekday mass even though he was a Protestant because "it was a nice way to start the day." He's a good guy.

Patient and Persistent

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You are never too young to do what's right. In today's reading, Jeremiah tries to make the excuse that he is too young to do what God wants him to do, but God God naturally convinces him that he can do it because God will be at his side. That is true for us as well. I am still hesitant to speak up at times because I am so much younger than some of my collegues at work. I have gained the trust of some and occasionally share my ideas with them, so that they can share the idea with others who may not consider it if it came from me. It's an effective strategy for me. I always get credit for it in the end. It's just a way around an obstacle that God provided for me. There probably isn't the same way around the obstacles facing you, but God is a way around the obstacles facing you that God is providing somehow. That way may be to wait it out, so be patient while being persistent in looking for the solution God wants you to find. God bless you.

Time-Outs

Of course, you should do what's right because it is the right thing to do, whether you could get away with doing the wrong thing or not. It's easier for us as parents to do that than it is to make our kids do that. My girls, who are 6 and 4 often do what they are supposed to because they will get a time-out if they don't. Time-outs will used with our one-year-old when she turns two. Nevertheless, it's important for parents to instill what's right in our children, using punishment when necessary, because the rewards that come from doing good usually gets them doing the right thing for the right reasons as they get older.

It seems like God treated earlier generations like children, relying on punishments much worse than time-outs because that's what they could understand. As civilization got supposedly more sophisticated, he gave us Jesus to encourage us to do what's right out of love for him. Today's reading from the old testament reflects that truth.

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Continued

The same theme of taunting continues in today's reading from Isaiah 37:21-35. Naturally, the first thing that came to my mind yesterday was personal attacks. Today, with Open House tonight, I am thinking about professional attacks. I teach 7th-8th grade math to students that struggle, whether it be because of a learning disability, mental retardation, autism, or some other reason. I have worked with a lot of great teachers over the years. Not every special education teacher is so lucky, nor is every student for that matter. Education comes under attack from some parents, some politicians, and others. Whether it is calculated or just out of ignorance, it is still upsetting that most of the accusations are unfounded, yet take time away from teaching because they still have to be addressed, especially when they come from the Governor of the state. I feel like saying, "I don't know what else to do, but pray," but I should say, "At least I know what to do: pray."

Taunting

Today, in 2 Kings 19, those who taunted are discussed. They couldn't see a way to be saved from the taunter, but had faith that they would. That's hard to do, especially for kids. I used to get upset a lot, but I don't have to any more because I have an inner confidence that doesn't rely on what peers think. I've also come to consider people that are rude enough to taunt beneath me and not worthy of the term "peer" whether they are my age or not. That inner confidence again isn't mine, but it comes from God and is available to anyone who seeks it from him...even you if you are reading this and don't think you have what it takes. I don't have what it takes either, but God gave me the strength that it takes and can do the same for you.

This confidence of yours

"On what do you base this confidence of yours?"
-2 Kings 17:19

There's a fine line between arrogance and confidence that the confident walk and that the arrogant fall across. At my last confession, the priest asked me if I struggled with pride. Without much thought, I answered, "I am good at a lot of things, but I know all good things come from God, so he deserves all the credit for it." I usually regret speaking before thinking. Fortunately, this must have been divinely inspired.