Do You Want To or Need To?

The problem with having hundreds of channels available on the TV is that I waste too much time sitting in front of my "golden calf", clicker in hand, just running the channels. Last night was one of those nights. I happened upon TLC's "My 600 LB Life" and I could not hit the remote.

It was just like all the other shows about obesity. I'm not going to go into it. It's the same story! At the end of the day, it's about addiction. And it is VERY sad.

Now, let me get this out of the way. If you are reading this and you are slightly overweight, need to lose a few pounds, just plain fat, or grossly obese....I am NOT going to condemn you. I am NOT going to judge you. I do NOT think your weak-minded. I do NOT think you lack will power! At the same time, I am NOT sure that you're a victim! What I've come to learn in the past few years is that generally speaking, there are FEW victims. Mostly, there are volunteers.

The truth is, we all have issues that we NEED to address. Everybody on the planet has things in their lives that they NEED to change. The question is only this.....Do You Want to?

A few weeks ago, in a Tuesday night Bible study, we came across what, at face value, is the stupidest question Jesus ever asked anyone. In John 5, Jesus happened across a paralyzed dude at the Pool of Bethesda, who evidently had been an invalid for 38 years. Jesus walked right up to this cat and had the nerve to ask him "Do you want to get well?" (John 5:6)

What? Are you kidding me? What an incredibly crass and inappropriate thing to say to a guy that's been crippled for 38 years! Come on Jesus! You should be ashamed of yourself!

OR SHOULD HE?

I will leave the answer up to the reader. Think about it. Think real hard about what changes would come about in this guy's life if Jesus healed him. Being dependent upon others was the only life he knew. Being carried around, being fed, begging for money. What would healing mean? Getting a job? Feeding himself? Wiping his own butt?

The dude NEEDED healing. The Carpenter asked him if he WANTED healing!

It's not always an easy question. And the answer is not always YES. Many of you know that my best friend drank himself to death back in 2010. It was absolutely the most horrible thing I've ever witnessed. He really NEEDED to sober up. He did NOT WANT to......even a little. He made it very clear to me. Almost verbatim, he said, "Kevin, I've been to those rooms and I can read. The 'rules' state that the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. Kev, I have NO DESIRE to stop drinking!"

I actually respect that. Once he laid it out like that, the pressure was off. He had set the terms. He was aware of the consequences. And he died at 50 years old. I don't love him any less or miss him any less. At least the dude was honest! And he answered the question.

Last night, a recurring theme for this obese woman was whether or not she REALLY wanted to change.

That's the question we all face daily. Do I NEED to? or Do I WANT to? It may be the toughest question we will ever have to answer!

Clichés Make It So Easy To Lie!

This is Number 50! I can't believe it. Nor can anyone else who really knows me! This silly little thing was not supposed to go past a couple of months, at the most. All in all, it's been fun. I am constantly making mental notes as to potential topics. Some posts have over-lapped with others.  You have pointed that out in your "comments." But I am very pleased that I have stood firm in my resolve to 1) Not beat you down with my insignificant running exploits. 2) Entertain any of your requests for a topic.

Each week, when I link CTT to my Facebook wall, I am hopeful that it will be for the VERY last time. Alas, that never seems to be the case. Without fail, some thought gets into mind, and I am certain that my TENS of readers need to be educated on the topic!

Which brings me to clichés! The truth is....I could get the next 40-50 weeks of posts out of old, tired clichés. It would be a beating. But, I would have fun. Don't worry! I am going to resist that temptation. You're welcome!

This morning, I am simply going to address two....the most IRRITATING and the most DANGEROUS!

I did not watch the Golden Globes last night. I don't get the Awards Show! I am certain, though of one thing. At some point, one of those MORONS, in accepting their award, said the following: "It's been one h*lluva ride!"

NAILS ON A CHALKBOARD! That simple little saying absolutely makes my skin crawl! I promise you this. When I write my final post to CTT (hopefully very soon), I will not insult you by signing off, "It's been one h*lluva ride!" VOMIT!

WHEW! I feel much better now that I've gotten that off my chest!

Now, to the matter at hand, and the real motivation behind this post. During the Phil Robertson/A&E imbroglio, I heard for the brazillionth time, the most dangerous cliché that people throw around.

I truly cringe and sometimes feel the need to seek shelter from lightning strikes when my fellow Christians are brazen enough to utter, "Love the sinner! Hate the sin!"

A word of caution, be very CAREFUL if you find it necessary to to let this pass through your lips. They KNOW! They REALLY do know! And they really DON'T like being LIED to!

And yes, they have been lied to. It's interesting to note that the Carpenter issued the litmus test in John 13:35, when he said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

I mean this is EASY, right. Jesus wasn't talking about loving the sinner. He was talking about His followers loving each other. The good guys! Right? If you, the good guys, will simply love each other, then ALL men will know that you are my disciples! Easy, peasy! Right?

WRONG! Step into almost ANY congregation and see what kind of vibe you get. And before you BLOW up my comments section, be very careful! Because I might just show up next Sunday. And just by walking into the place, I will obviously look for things that are no where mentioned in the Bible, but I will be on a mission to look for evidence that will make me conclude that, "Man, oh man, this bunch sure does love each other!"

Time after time, our places of Worship reflect a general dislike of the preacher, leadership that is disconnected, kids who hate the old folks, senior members that despise the kids, and everyone is mad at the Hispanic members, because they are typically the most active Christians and use the facility every day, but won't pay their fair share of the rent!

In general, we have failed at loving each other. How in the world are we going to convince the Sinner that REALLY love him? It's a VERY tired cliché! And it is so VERY dangerous! They know. Trust me, they know!

Outrage Seems To Be the Modus Operandi

Even after espousing the greatness of satellite radio, I found myself back on "free radio" briefly this week. The Musers, of Ticket fame,  were coming off vacation and the Cowboys had just lost the day before. Curiosity got the best of me and I thought I would see what was on their mind.

It was during "Gordo's Corner" that the great mind of Gordon Keith expressed an opinion that I have thought about all week. The lads were catching up on the whole A&E/Phil Robertson imbroglio, because they had not been on the air when that news broke. It was almost as though Dunham had read CTT, because he just kept repeating, "Why does anyone care what Phil Robertson has to say about anything?"

Gordon Keith's response was short, concise, and probably the most interesting comment he has ever made. He said:

"Because we are a nation that runs on OUTRAGE!"

Wow! Is he right? Could this be true? In one short statement, did a goofball on Sports Talk Radio sum up the current human condition?

I can only come up with two possible responses. 1) YES! and 2) GUILTY!

I don't have to do a lot of serious reflecting before the reality sets in that OUTRAGE pretty much runs my life! I go about my day just trying to find something to be pissed off about! Sadly, it's starting to hit me just how EXHAUSTING this modus operandi truly is!

Most recently, I have been watching the Global Warming Nuts who are stuck in the ice and it's making me insane! In 2007, the ice was disappearing because of global warming. In 2013, there is too much ice because of global warming! This year, they recorded more ice in the ice caps than they have ever recorded in the history of ever! But the global warming studies indicate that the situation is much worse than they first feared.

What does an aneurysm feel like? Cause I'm pretty sure this kind of stuff makes me feel like I'm having one!

Outrage! About global warming, of all things! Seems kind of insignificant, huh? Especially to those of you who can't sleep at night because our current POTUS can't produce a valid birth certificate!

Let's be clear. I am not a fan of our current POTUS. But if Gordon Keith is right, we've got the perfect guy up there to enable us to continue under this modus operandi!

A few weeks ago, I pointed out on someone else's FB page that a college ID of the POTUS was a fake. I got 100% pure outrage in response. It was something like this:

"He lies to us. Why can't we lie about him? He is trying to kill me by taking away my health insurance! How slowly do you have to kill someone before it is not deemed premeditated murder?"

I saw no need to respond because this person needs much more help than I am capable of offering. I don't really blame the guy, though. I actually love him very dearly. I have come to understand that he's operating on outrage! And since the cliche is true that "if you spot it, you got it,"  I realize that I'm operating on outrage, too. We are really not that different and have much more in common than I would like to confess to.

The problem is clear. So, is the solution. It was addressed in CTT very early on when I tackled the "wisdom to know the difference." If so inspired, look in the archives. I'm not going to rehash it.

But I am going to do one thing. I am going to try as hard as I can to remember the comment of a goofy sports talk radio host. I am going to continually ask, "Kev, why are you running on outrage?

Because at the end of the day, this running on outrage leaves me running on empty!