Commentarii et Sententiae

“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” – Thomas Jefferson

 

Over the past couple of years I’ve shared my thoughts about various subjects under the heading of “My Two Cents Worth”.   Several readers have commented that the term “My Two Cents Worth” sounds really old and dated.  Considering that I am old and dated, I figured I might as well go all in.  Thus “My Two Cents Worth” is now “Commentarii et Sententiae”.

 

_I. That recent job numbers were massively revised downward comes as no surprise to those of us who are close to the front lines. I didn’t believe the numbers when they initially came out.  And the GDP numbers are just about as misleading considering that the major factor in the recent quarter’s GDP was the “favorable” trade balance as the result of tariffs.  We’ll see how this works out over the next few quarters, but I’m not seeing much good news on the horizon.  Trump’s Tariff Wars will benefit the few at the expense of the many.

 _II. Gerrymandering is just one more shady trick politicians have been using for decades to boost their careers.  Both parties have used it to gain the advantage and it has only served to divide us even more.

 _III. My Texas Tech Red Raiders are the poster boys for the new “money ball” and now everybody hates us.  We all know the money game has been played for years under the table.  Back in the good old days the “blue-blood” programs could stack up talent by offering pathways to championships and professional careers.  But start throwing million dollar deals out there and we see that “pay me now for real” beats “pay me later maybe”.

 _IV. I recently joined the Creatine craze and the results have been positive. Even though I’m old, I still workout and I can tell the difference in recovery and energy levels. It also seems to help a bit with mental sharpness and focus. The only downside is that it tends make your body hold water and you’re likely to carry a few extra pounds.  

 _V. North Texas’ infrastructure has forever failed to keep pace with population growth, and it seems to be getting worse.  I suppose our politicians are so intent on increasing their tax base in the short run that it doesn’t matter much what it’s doing to the quality of life for those taxpayers in the long run.

Cheap Grace and a Bowl of Soup

 

"And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me, cannot be my disciple."- Luke 14:27

I grew up in a mostly Baptist family.  I also got a good dose of Methodism and a few warning shots from Church of Christ relatives.  But the message I heard loud and clear was to believe that Jesus was the only begotten Son of God, that He died for my sins and rose on the third day…confess that or spend eternity in the fires of Hell.  So, at the ripe old age of ten, after hearing a sermon about a selfish Rich Man and a poor beggar named Lazarus, I walked down the aisle and “accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior”.  I was as sincere and as a frightened as a ten year-old boy could be; therefore I did what was necessary to avoid punishment.  I accepted Christ and He accepted me.  What a relief.  If only I had known what it really meant to be a Christ-follower.

As I grew older and discovered things like beer and girls, I grabbed the wheel of my life and proceeded to systematically move Jesus to the passenger side, then to the backseat and finally put him in the trunk.  I was still a “believer”, went to church occasionally; and might even read the Bible and pray when times got hard.  But my priorities were not God’s priorities; and in the end, as it says in The Book, you cannot serve two masters.

I ran in circles where most people didn’t talk much about God other than in profanities.  The few who admitted to being believers were mostly like me, content to stay on “the front porch” of the faith enjoying the blessed assurance of salvation and counting on their fire insurance.  Some still gave time and money to their church.  Those who were serious about their faith did more.  The Baptists were all about witnessing.  Do you know Jesus?  Say you believe, get baptized and go bring some more folks to church.  Cheap grace.  The Methodists and most of the other “mainline” denominations seemed to be more interested in charitable activities and just being respectable citizens who could check the right boxes.  Show we are Christians by our love… and give them a bowl of soup.

Witnessing, sharing your faith and being a good neighbor are foundational to being Christ-followers.  These are surely good things. But something was missing. When the covers were pulled back most believers’ lives weren’t much different from the non-believers.  Certainly mine was not. We clung to our “belief”, to our “faith”; but our actions betrayed us.  We might say the right things and even do some of the right things; but most of us were just Christ fans, not followers.  We were hypocrites at best, heretics at worst.

Now late in life, I realize that one can waste their life doing the wrong things while still believing the right things.  Cheap grace is not what God is offering.  The grace He offers costs Him everything.  While we can do nothing to earn God’s grace and mercy; if we are to accept it, we must accept it on His terms…and that is not cheap.

 

If A Man....

 

Once upon a time when it was acceptable to use He/Him/His pronouns, I had an old uncle who liked to introduce his thoughts and observations with this conjunctive phrase: “If a man….”.   My uncle would say things like “If a man wanted some fresh tomatoes, I’ve got a bunch of them out there ready to be picked”.  Or “If a man wanted to make some money, I could us a little help with…”.  Or “If a man was honest, he wouldn’t go into politics.”

Most of the time an “If a man” comment opened the door to a longer conversation that might end up with an unexpected conclusion such as “I just think air conditioning is making people soft.”  Or “sometimes people can get too much education”.  An “If a man” conversation might end up with a conclusion that there was no such thing as too much salt in your diet or the Dallas Cowboys would never win another Super Bowl so long as Jerry Jones owned the team.  Sometimes my uncle was right.

Political correctness was not a priority in those days, but some things were off limits.  Don’t discuss religion or how much money someone was making or even how much they paid for something.  And stay away from sex-related subject matter.  “If a man” chose to tread into those deep waters, he would soon find himself alone on the porch.

These days my uncle would be an anachronism, a man from a time and place that has all but disappeared.  But he was one of the good ones.  “If a man is honest and works hard, color don’t matter.”  “If a man lays a hand a woman he needs a butt-kickin’.“ “If a man lies about a little thing, he’ll lie to you about a big thing.” “If a man thinks he’s better than you, just leave him alone. It don’t matter.” “If a man is willing to learn, you ought to be willing to teach him.”

And I would add, “If a man is raised right, he needs act like it.”  My uncle would have agreed.