G-Poppers … November 6th, 2015

 Jonathots Daily Blog

(2744)

G-Pop is somewhat concerned that his children are falling under the spell of the presumptive conclusion of, “Well, of course…”

Society is always in a hurry to come to the conclusion which seems to be most comfortable for the majority of those who have gathered to deliberate possibilities.

We love to take votes.

We love to find out what the plurality of the electorate feel, and then declare that notion to be holy by the sheer brute force of numbers.

For instance, at one time in our nation, we felt:

• “Well, of course black people are not humans.”
• “Well, of course man can’t fly.”
• “Well, of course the Union can be split into two countries.”
• “Well, of course homosexuals are mentally ill.”
• “Well, of course we can spread democracy to the battling countries in the Middle East.”

All of these assertions had great popular appeal, and if you dared to stand against them, you were ridiculed, if not completely ostracized.

Matter of fact, G-Pop is very nervous when he hears people begin any speech with, “Well, of course…”

Three of these are particularly dubious and need another good inspection.

1. “Well, of course people should have freedom.”

Who says? Freedom is a fuel. It isn’t an engine. There has to be a good engine for the fuel of freedom to generate power.

A very wise man once said, “It is the truth that makes us free.”

So the fuel of freedom needs to stoke the engine of truth. Without truth, freedom becomes the abstract pursuit of those who avoid taking their proper place as human souls. And what is truth? Truth is always what includes the most people while giving respect to how the world works.

2. “Well, of course men and women are different.”

We’ve practically turned this concept into a religion. Half the comedians would lose their living wage if they didn’t pad their monologues with jokes about the gender wars.

But here’s the problem–men aren’t going away, nor are women. Men aren’t going to be dominant–likewise, neither are women.

The sexes have many similarities and a few differences–and the differences exist to teach us the responsibility of adjusting to one another. We are not going to be able to ignore the feelings of other people and come out righteous.

We have a responsibility to find common ground.

3. “Well, of course each one of us has a destiny.”

It’s part of the “snowflake theorem” which maintains that every snowflake is different. Likewise, every human being is carved with specific points of interest. But if a snowflake is different, by the time it gets to earth it gets the “drift,” loses its “flake” and becomes just snow.

We do not have a destiny.

We have free will.

We can use our free will to be obnoxious, waiting for the world to take care of us, or we can use those choices to step in and take care of our world.

These are the latest “Well, of courses…” that currently taunt us with false ideas. In a short time, they will be mocked as utter foolishness.

What will always remain, says G-Pop to his children, is the truth which teaches us the responsibility to use our free will wisely.

 

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Middlin’ … September 14, 2013

Jonathots Daily Blog

(2005)

I was sitting in the left lane on my drive over to Chesterfield, Michigan last night to share at Grace United Methodist Church, backed up behind a bunch of cars, wondering why someone had created a light that only stayed green to give enough time for three cars to turn. It was a curiosity.

I also watched carefully as some cars passed me, trying to get further up in line and stick their noses in to make greater progress. I felt my human ire rise over their presumption. And then I realized that I had departed in plenty of time, that I wasn’t any better than anybody else and that everyone was having to wait their turn–and though I saw a number of cars in front of me, when I looked behind me, I saw there were even more cars to my rear.

I was in the middle.

That’s where we spend most of our time. Usually we don’t win the race; we’re not first place. Fortunately, we’re usually not in last place, either.

We spend most of our lives … middlin’.

If we would learn to enjoy that, deal with it and find great comfort in being surrounded by fellow “middlers,” we might just end up becoming more pleasant and easier to get along with. But we live in a society that pushes us to be first place and tells us to cover up our mistakes if we end up being the caboose.

So we never enjoy where we are.

I’ve had a fantastic week, meeting amazing people. It’s been my great excitement to write jonathots to you everyday.

Yet yesterday a friend of mine asked what I planned to do to expand my work. You see, friends are not always friendly. They think they’re being ingenious when they pipe out the sentiments of our culture, which basically tells us that “we’re all good” while simultaneously applauding only those who gain notoriety. Here are the two things I know to do:

1. Find a place where you can do what you’ve been called to do, perform it excellently, don’t hurt anybody else and relish the people around you.

2. Don’t be afraid to try something new if it comes your way–but don’t be frustrated if beautiful things continue to happen, yet they don’t seem to be terribly expansive.

There you go.

Tomorrow I go to First United Methodist Church in Mount Clemens. It isn’t, by the way–I mean it isn’t the first United Methodist Church ever, and it certainly won’t be the last. The truth of the matter is, it’s the Middlin’ United Methodist Church, filled with middlin’ people, who will have great lives if they learn to enjoy their surroundings and the folks standing next to them … as they wait for their turn in the road.

The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity

Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about personal appearances or scheduling an event

Five Moments … May 10, 2013

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In my not-always-so-humble opinion, there are five moments necessary to experience in order to generate a human life that is valuable and not detrimental to others. Without this quintet of encounters, certain levels of presumption, insecurity, arrogance and frustration overtake us, rendering us ineffective and at times, even nasty.

1. “I am not God.”
2. “I am not saved.”
3. “I am not better.”
4. “I am not guaranteed.”
5. “I am not right.”

My particular disasters which instilled these important truths deep within my internal organs were terrifying and even life-threatening. Yet without them I would be a self-reliant egotist, determined to push my will to the forefront, even when it was of lesser quality than my peers.

I found out I wasn’t God when I was a nineteen year old kid. I wrote a series of bad checks, thinking that the Almighty would bless them, covering them at the bank because I was pursuing His will. Fortunately for me, before they bounced and turned me into a felon, I came to my senses, slapped myself around a bit and decided it was better to have money IN the bank when you promised someone he could retrieve it.

I found out I needed to be saved when I was in my early twenties. At the time I was constantly hurting people’s feelings, wondering “what the hell was wrong with them.” I was convinced I was talented and that this was all that was necessary, requiring no common decency or gentleness towards humanity. Fortunately again, God and His friends–people–gave me a very quick lesson in humility.

It became clear to me that I was not better than anyone else when I started to compete in the marketplace and realized there were many people just as good as me, and some even more accomplished. At first I was in denial, making excuses or even attacking my competitors to find holes in their abilities. But eventually I realized that the purpose for having those around you who are equivalent to you is to have collaborators, and the reason for having individuals who are more established than yourself is to have angels, promoting more heavenly results.

Likewise, my concept of feeling guaranteed that God’s grace was always sufficient for me was challenged one night in Mobile, Alabama, when I looked down at the body of my son, the victim of a hit-and-run accident. I realized that misery does not “passover” those who are called to minister, but instead, teaches us to minister more effectively.

And finally, every day of my life I find out that I am not right when my ideas are quickly shown to be errant, weak, outdated or ill-timed. At that point I have a choice. Do I persevere in stupidity, acting like I’m a resilient fellow? Or do I evolve and learn from my mistakes, discovering the beauty of transition?

If you haven’t experienced these five moments in your life, do not despair. Yet you should understand that each one of them is essential in forming a human being from the dust of the earth who truly is in the image of God instead of  one who merely munches on the knowledge of good and evil.

The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity

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Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about personal appearances or scheduling an event