Talk is Cheap?

People used to say that talk is cheap. I used to believe that until I heard Tuesday's speech by the President. Evidently talk just got a lot more expensive! Like 3.6 trillion dollars expensive… I understand and appreciate the president's desire to be vigilant and compassionate. Yet there is something to be said about the virtues of prudence and stewardship. My fear is that the devil of these various spending bills will be in the details. President Obama may have good intentions for this money, but once this money gets to the local level, I can be fairly certain that the projects that will be funded will be politically motivated. In other words, the "infrastructure" and "investment" projects will happen to go to the people who are Obama cronies or who are powerful Democratic political players. Unfortunately, there are more Rod Blagojovichs out there that are eagerly anticipating the reception of this money. As for stewardship, let me gently and respectfully remind President Obama that the money he is spending belongs to other people. Spending it willy-nilly on projects and programs he approves of is not a wise use of this money. I personally would rather see more incentives for investment and the rest of the money go not to propping up failing businesses, but for unemployment benefits to the people who will fall through the cracks. But that's just a thought…

A Great Life

    Today I went to the funeral of a friend of mine named Willie. Willie wasn't a great man, at least by the standards that men are often considered great. He attended a public high school here in St. Louis, although I'm not sure if he graduated. Willie didn't possess a large house. In fact, he lived in a nursing home, although he was only in his forties. Willie, for the last several years, battled a failing body, a body assaulted weekly by dialysis and other medical procedures. He didn't have a mastery of grammatical diction. (One time he told me he was going to dialysis, I thought he said he was going to Dallas!) He didn't possess a ton of charisma. Many at our church didn't even know who he was when his death was announced although he attended church frequently enough. Yet Willie's greatness came from his implicit understanding that greatness in the kingdom came from simplicity, the simplicity that Jesus associated with children. Willie simply loved Jesus and loved people. He always had a smile for everyone he met. He always said kind words about others, even those who were hateful toward him at his nursing home. The last words he shared with me were words of encouragement. He said he enjoyed my teaching and that he learned a lot from my class. Sometimes greatness comes in packages we don't expect. Jesus said something about the rules in his kingdom would be inverted; the first would be last and the last first. Willie wasn't a great man, at least by the standards that men are considered great. But he was great by God's standards and he will be missed.

I’m here…again

 

 

Ok, So I published a blog about a year ago..and never came back..Oh well…Call it technical difficulties…Call it laziness..Call it life…But hopefully as I try to rededicate (as if I was dedicated in the first place) to a disciplined life, I hope to be more frequent in my blogging. Well, I've heard some news has happened in the past year…The economy is shot, we elected a black president, and the Arizona Cardinals went to the Super Bowl. At least two of those three things I thought would never happen…But who cares about the past? What am I doing now? Well, I'm looking to serve as a minister full time…Anyone looking for a misfit preacher??? I've lost 15 pounds so now I can finally fit into that suit that my wife bought me…(How vain is that? Losing weight just to fit into a suit…) I also have been reading some interesting stuff, listening to great music, and thinking random thoughts that I hope to share with you. Call this my reintroduction to the blogosphere…I'm BAAAACK!!!!! HELLO??? CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME????