Hi
I mean, what the hell? Once you settle on God or Zeus or Chac or Bigfoot or whatever, where do you go from there?
It depends on what it is the who upon whom you settle wants.
If you're one of those (and I am, although none of the
established Ones of Thoses will claim me) my particular Big Sky Daddy wants me love him. It's pretty easy, because, from my point of view, he's pretty lovable.
He also wants me to think about what I do, think about how it effects AND affects others, and how to dovetail what I need into what others need for the greatest good to all involved.
It's encapsulated in that, "Love Big Sky Daddy with all your garbanzos, and love your neighbor in the same way, and about as much as, you love yourself," bit.
What have you accomplished? What can you learn further? What have you explained?
Accomplished: Not much. By settling on my particular Big Sky Daddy, I've enlisted into service to all the people I meet, and all the people THEY meet. I've dedicated myself to expending the time, strength and resources that Big Sky Daddy... drat - that's just too long - I'm just going to say The Boss, Ok? - The Boss has given me to do what He wants.
That means a lot of stuff like pushing stalled cars out of busy streets, jumping battery-dead cars in the snow and rain, buying flowers for someone that looks unhappy at the gas station, or talking to a crying girl on the train.
It also means lending what aid I can to my friends, either with comfort and friendship or with material help like food, money or the loan of my car.
I guess, when you get right down to it, all I've done is to make a
WHOLE LOT more work for myself.
What can I learn further? I can learn, and HAVE to learn, what The Boss wants, and then to remember that it is almost always different from what other people SAY The Boss wants.
Some say, "send your money to God, and He will return it
TWENTY FOLD!" The Boss says that he wants my money to go to the poor, the abandoned and the starving, and what I get back from it will be wonderful. I can find poor, abandoned and starving within driving distance, so that's where MY money goes. Knowing compassion from, "expansion of our ministry," is very close to the first thing.
Some say, "BEHOLD God's
HEALING POWER!" then whack someone unconscious on TV. The Boss sends healing where healing is due and proper, and doesn't knock people out on TV to do it... Oops - breaking one of my own rules: "Never say what The Boss does or doesn't do, for He is a
SLIPPERY Boss and will do
what He wants
in the way He wants." Anyhow - He RARELY knocks people out on TV, and knowing healing from entertainment... and entertainment from advertising... is right up on that list of stuff I can learn.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that The Boss wants me to think critically about what He wants. Along with that, "love with all your garbanzos," bit. It's hard getting ALL my garbanzos together, so that's something else I have to learn - where the garbanzos are, and how best to direct them.
What have I explained? Nothing. I've reported for duty then followed orders to the best of my ability, then when I've been exhausted, I've requisitioned extra strength and determination and ability from The Boss, then kept following orders.
The Boss gives me marching orders and the tools I'll need to follow those orders. I just use the tools. No excuses. No explanations.
Seems to me you're just praying to the ceiling to bless and keep you.
Well - since my ceiling DOES, in fact, keep me, and since before The Boss and I reached our current employment agreement, I frequently didn't HAVE a roof, I'm just saying, "thanks."
As for blessing: He provides tools, and tools are often heavy, so I'm currently carrying quite a load. One
more blessing, and I suspect I'll need a wheelchair to move around at all, so my prayer... my FERVENT prayer... is to be allowed to do the work He wants me to do with the tools currently on hand.
Bottom line, I guess: I believe that The boss has a plan for me, and I believe that plan means buttloadinous amounts of extra work and responsibility. I'm looking forward to the retirement package, but I'm in no rush to get there as long as there's still work to do.
As for the rest... well... I believe in God, and I trust his promises.
EVERYONE ELSE is subject to double-blind, placebo-controlled testing.
....
Hey!
YOU ASKED!! If you don't want the long answers, don't ask the big questions.
