Jonathots Daily Blog
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1. All the traffic is coming at you
2. There are no exits on your side
3. To continue demands that you become defiant instead of intelligent
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Jonathots Daily Blog
(3172)
Woman: Alluring. Yes, I think that’s what she said.
Man: What are you talking about?
Woman: I was listening to this girl on a talk show say that she felt it was very important to her, as a female, to be alluring.
Man: What’s wrong with that? Everyone wants to be attractive.
Woman: You see, it’s not the same word. She said “alluring.” You said “attractive.”
Man: Aren’t they the same thing?
Woman: Not at all. You can be attractive in your own mind’s eye without ever being appealing to anyone else. Alluring is when you visually seduce someone–to want you.
Man: That’s a stretch. I want to be considered handsome.
Woman: But you see, I need to be pretty. Handsome has a thousand definitions. But pretty has two or three representations.
Man: OK. I’ll bite. What are you getting at?
Woman: There are different words used to describe the attributes of a woman than those of a man. For instance, men are considered intelligent. But a woman is smart. Intelligence connotes that you’ve studied, worked on something and have used your ability to become well versed on a subject. Smart is more like a fluke. In other words, most women are not very intelligent–but this particular one–she’s smart.
Man: I think you’re just being over-sensitive.
Woman: How about this? A woman is strong but a man is brave. In other words, here’s a lady who by some miracle has great strength, but this man over here has used his moxy to do some outstanding deed.
Man: I suppose you have others?
Woman: Yeah. Women are faithful but men are loyal. In other words, is it even possible for a man to be faithful? Or can all a woman expect is a certain degree of loyalty? Let me give you another one. Women are hopeful. Men are positive. Hopeful, maybe. because we have less opportunity? Positive because the ball’s always in your court–it’s just a matter of you keeping the right mindset?
Man: Much as I hate to admit it, I do kind of understand what you’re saying. Can I do one? Men are virile. Women are sexy. In other words, as a man, I have a natural animal appeal, whereas a woman has to work really hard to make herself pleasing to the male of the species.
Woman: Even the terms “masculine” and “feminine.” Just by the feel of the words, we’re led to believe that masculine portrays great energy and feminine is a position of being more submissive.
Man: So what is your point?
Woman: My point is that the language works against us. It stacks the deck–making women believe that unless we are alluring we can’t be attractive. In other words, our self-esteem is wrapped up in whether a man has visions of having sex with us. If a woman said that about a man, we’d call her a slut. But men have no problem portraying that a woman needs to be ready to be a lover to be considered viable.
Man: Well, how would you change that?
Woman: I don’t know, but I think we made a giant step here. You’ve listened to my statements about it without becoming infuriated. That’s pretty special.
Man: I understand that. I comprehend the expectations that are placed on me as a male, and also those that are thrust on you as a female.
Woman: It’s just that our male-dominated society needs to realize that until things stop being thrust on women, the world will be a little akilter.
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Jonathots Daily Blog
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Man: I want a woman who’s smart.
Woman: Well, I would suggest that you get smarter. Intelligent people tend to find each other. I want a man who’s confident.
Man: You’ll need to be careful with that one. Confidence isn’t bragging. It’s a delicate balance between accomplishment and humility. I want a woman who’s sexy.
Woman: Well, there are lots of women who need sex–claim to have a yearning for it. But if you’ll allow me to say so, you might look for a woman who wants to have romance solely with you. I, on the other hand, would like a man who’s talented.
Man: Well, there’s talent that’s perceived, and talent that has the proof of performance. It’s easy to find a guy who has a guitar and a whole bucket of songs he’s written and is convinced he might have a future. Let’s be honest. If somebody isn’t giving him money for his talent right now, they probably never will. That’s why I would like to have a woman who’s generous.
Woman: Now, generosity is a tricky thing. Some people are generous to those they know or to their families, or might even spread it to their friends. But the true spirit of generosity is doing something for someone who has no ability to give it back in your direction. I guess that’s why I yearn for a man who’s spiritual.
Man: That can be a trap. There’s a big difference between being religious and being real. True spirituality is realizing there’s nothing in heaven that can’t at least be attempted on Earth. If your man is constantly talking about heaven, faith, prayer and church, he’s letting you know that he has no intention of making God’s will done here on Earth as it is in the sky. Me–I would love to have a woman who’s funny.
Woman: Keep in mind, there’s a fine line between silly and humor. And the trouble is, sometimes women who are silly are also air-headed about everything. Here’s how you know a woman is funny. Is she self-deprecating about her own weaknesses without losing a bit of her self-esteem? For me, finding a man who’s kind would be the greatest thing I could achieve.
Man: That does sound good, doesn’t it? Except for the fact that some people are kind because they’re afraid of being honest. Kindness has to be borne from a knowledge of the truth, with the addition of mercy. Otherwise you start insisting that everybody in the world is okay, and slam the door on those who might have decided to get better. Let me guess–you’d like a strong man.
Woman: Strong worries me. He may be able to lift a box and carry it up to the third floor, but those same muscles could be attached to a bad temper and used against me. I think I would prefer a man who pursues being fearless and uses the strength he’s got to tackle his problems instead of attacking the people he loves.
Man: You know what I’m hearing?
Woman: What’s that?
Man: We’re looking for the same thing in each other.
Woman: I guess it’s safe to say, we’re looking for people who realize they’re human beings instead of a penis and a vagina.
Man: A little blunt, but I think I agree.
Woman: I wasn’t blunt. I was just being strong.
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Jonathots Daily Blog
(2943)
When I was twelve years old, a school buddy invited me to his church for a night of revival, with the tease of a delicious pot luck dinner preceding the event.
I was thrilled.
Of course, I was interested in the pot luck dinner, but much more excited over the chance to see my friend far away from school books and blackboards.
The revival was held at his home church–a Pentecostal Baptist.
I didn’t know much of anything at that point in my life, so I can’t tell you a lot about the evening’s activities, except that at one point during the sermon by the guest evangelist, he paused, staring at the audience with bulging eyes, sweat dripping from his brow, and proclaimed, “God’s grace cannot be earned, nor can it ever be lost.”
The reason I remember this statement is that it evoked an explosion of cheers, applause and “hallelujahs.” The folks really liked it.
Of course they did.
We all deeply enjoy free stuff.
The idea that none of us had to work on our salvation or had any chance of losing it just because we went on a “lying spree” was certainly intoxicating to the spirit.
But unfortunately, when you put no expectations on human beings, generally speaking, you get no production.
When I visited Fishersville United Methodist Church yesterday, I was struck by two outstanding realizations:
I will tell you that no Creator with the intelligence to make a kidney which enables us to pee would ever let human beings think they did not need to be involved in their own lives, or even their own salvation.
We certainly wouldn’t do that with our children: “I love you, Johnny, so you don’t need to do any chores or clean your room because my affection is enough.”
If we did that we would be in danger of raising a criminal or a politician.
It is important to realize that God loves us.
But He’s also provided a purpose for life, where we learn to take responsibility for ourselves and save some extra time to assist others.
I refer to it as “sanity saves.”
If you do not stay involved in your own life, with an awareness of what you need to work on, your brain will deteriorate to the point that learning ceases to be possible. Then you’re stuck with what you know and nothing else.
God gives me a “sanity save” every day.
My mind is renewed by the celebration of knowing that the Gospel that Jesus preached is not only a message to make me Heaven-worthy, but also Earth-friendly.
It gives me sanity and it saves me from becoming an emotional and spiritual bum.
Without these sanity saves, we start relying too much on chance, fear or a presumptuous faith to carry us through difficulties, instead of using principle, prayer and the power of learning to grant us the wisdom to overcome.
As the folks came to my table yesterday, I found myself conversing with an 89-year-old World War II veteran. He was standing next to a nine-year-old boy.
They both came to chat with me. I looked into their eyes and saw the same thing. There was a sparkle of enthusiasm with the moisture of repentance.
It is what makes us powerful human beings–that which excites us should make us repent. And the repentance stimulates more excitement.
Sanity saves: when we take the salvation provided and turn it into a lifestyle that considers others.
That’s the good news.
The better news is that God’s grace is never deserved, but does offer us lives of sanity.
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Jonathots Daily Blog
(2491)
All human beings possess a heart, soul, mind and strength. Nothing of any true significance can be achieved unless this is understood.
Normally these words are used synonymously with each other. Would you please allow me to assign different meanings to these words, and in the process of doing so, inflame them with purpose?
Let’s begin with a little piece of prose:
We gather information
To study knowledge
Then learn what’s smart
So we can experiment by being intelligent
To acquire insight
Which promotes wisdom.
Stuck right there in the middle of the verses, is the word “intelligent.” Intelligent is the status we achieve when after gathering information, gaining knowledge and discerning what is really smart, we decide to experiment with these ideas to improve our quality.
As you can imagine, it is possible to stop off at any stage along the way and declare yourself to be intellectual.
For instance, someone can just go on the Internet, dig up the latest gossip, and tout themselves “informed.”
Other folks go to the university and cram for exams, to repeat back knowledge which has been determined as acceptable for acquiring a diploma. (Some of those brave souls actually go out, put their knowledge into application in the business world and get smart.
But intelligent is when we personally experiment, challenging what has come our way and what has been taught to us, in order to unearth validity.
I call it the “Rit dye test.”
I’m probably dating myself a bit by talking about Rit dye. When I was a teenager I had a lovely shirt, but it was white. I wanted it to be gold.
So I bought a box of Rit dye, which was labeled “yellow.” Fortunately for me, on that day I was in an astute mode, so I read the directions. They cautioned me to take a small spot on the bottom of the shirt and dye it first, to make sure I had the color I desired.
I did that, and lo and behold, it was anemic.
It took me about eight boxes of Rit dye, blending yellow, red, some blue–well, I forget all the combinations I tried–to end up with the perfect gold for my shirt.
Having run all the tests, I dunked my shirt into the concocted dye and pulled out a magnificent masterpiece.
That’s what it means to be intelligent.
Just because its been said, proclaimed, preached, called holy or scientific, take a moment and test it in your own life.
It is the only way we get to the point where we gain the insight which leads to wisdom.
If you’re not willing to challenge the status quo and test it, be prepared to land in the discarded pile of all those who trusted conventional thinking and fell short.
It’s the Rit dye philosophy: if you know what color you’re looking for, be intelligent enough to seek it out until you get just the right hue.
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Jonathots Daily Blog
(2451)
All human beings possess a heart, soul, mind and strength. Nothing of any true significance can be achieved unless this is understood.
Three pushy forces bully us to conform to the pattern of what is now considered, in this short-sighted season, to be normal.
Human beings were never meant to be consistent. It is within the spectrum of our unpredictability that we create our learning curve and our charm. When we deny this vulnerability, we place ourselves in a position where we must defend our “better,” our “popular” and our “smarter.”
Unfortunately, this leads to lying. And even worse than lying is the misconception that we can actually pull it off. This is cunning.
Cunning is the contention that “because I am better, very popular and smarter, I can trick you into believing whatever I desire.” It is ugly, selfish–and worst of all, it is doomed.
To escape cunning you have to counteract the three pushy bullies and speak the truth about your own inconsistent journey.
1. I am not better. I need to fail. I need to admit I fail. Failure is my only hope for escaping the disaster at the end of repeated stupidity.
2. Although I love human beings, I don’t need to be popular if such notoriety comes along with sacrificing my character and my soul.
3. The only way to become smarter is to learn from people who know more. This requires that I admit that I am less intelligent.
At the root of every drama which ends in defeat is a character who contends that he or she is better than others, popular for a time and smarter, which enables them to use cunning to produce the backdrop for their demise.
You will never be destroyed by being weak.
You will be destroyed by acting strong and ending up weak.
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Jonathots Daily Blog
(2413)
That pretty much concludes everything. At least for now.
Every intelligent creature willing to move toward wisdom is learning. And all learning requires both a willingness to make mistakes and a desire to repent.
After billions of years, the process continues.
It’s not so much that we search for knowledge as that knowledge is waiting for true searchers. And what makes a true searcher?
That’s easy.
Not being afraid to be wrong–or at least mistaken.
Good will come. Evil will challenge. Kingdom will rise against kingdom and nation against nation.
Those who get caught up in the temporary conflict of the moment will soon be forgotten.
The earth is stronger than any of its occupants. The universe has more purpose than any poet can imagine.
But when all has been said and done–and that is unlikely to happen soon–the desire of the heart of the Creator is to bring us back to the Garden.
So how can you make sure that you’re moving toward the Garden instead of glorifying the arid desert?
1. Find enjoyable work.
Stop hanging on the cross, trying to suffer for being a grownup. Once and for all, a crucified man set us all free. Anything you do that avoids joy is wasted breath and exhausting effort.
2. Be equal partners.
Avoid those who make distinctions between men and women, colors and races, religions, sexuality and just general preferences. Equality is the only form of humility that has everlasting power.
3. Honor nature.
The Earth brings forth fruit of itself. Stand back in awe. You are not absent from the process, but rather, included. Don’t abuse your Mother and expect your Father to stand idly by, approving.
4. Meet your Creator at the end of the day and enjoy the cool of the evening.
Life is not a perpetual prayer session nor is it a fit of anger, shaking a fist at the heavens. It is understanding that there is a time for work and a time for commiserating.
5. And finally, choose life over knowledge.
As beautiful as knowledge can be, and as essential as it is to your well-being, it is life that brings you abundance.
So I speak to you:
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A voice writing in the wilderness
Jonathots Daily Blog 