Balance
Dave,
I appreciated what you had to say about Greed. I was convicted, and had to re-evaluate my intentions. We really do have to be transformed by making our minds "new" all of the time.
I think Christians should read up on Daoism (and I plan to read more...). We call and spell it "Taoism" in the west, thanks to some confusing translators named Wade and Gyles, but it's pronounced with a "D". And it has a lot to offer. It sings similar notes that the ancient Western philosophers once sung (Aristotle) about virtue being rooted in the avoidance of extremes. In short- BALANCE. Rarely is something itself wrong. It's the abuse, lack or excess of it that is wrong. Nearly everything fits into this category... alcohol, pleasure, eating, sex, rest, work, anger, money...
I wish our culture could learn balance. I wish I could learn it. If I could just be content with enough food, enough work, enough rest, enough free time, enough money...
But America tends to operate on a value system in overdrive. We strive for as much as possible, reaching full potential, being the best you can be, having the biggest-best-newest-fastest. This drive spurs us on toward achievement, but it knows no end. It never says "enough." It is like a metabolism that is so high it begins to eat away the body, until all that is left is a skeleton of what was once a healthy person. Instead of feeding the drive, they should have exchanged it for a better philosophy. Daoism has a few good ideas.
I'm not going to walk all the way up to my room and get the bible of Daoism, the "Dao de Jing" (written by Lao Tzu) to quote right now, but it oozes harmony, simplicity, peace. Be like water, because it takes the shape of its container. And its flexibility causes it to outlast everything. Which lasts longer, the hard teeth or the soft tongue?
Hot and cold are not opposing forces, working against each other. They are complentary parts of a whole system. They bring balance and harmony. Man and woman, light and dark, rest and activity, hard and soft... represented in the yin-yang... as necessary components of harmony. One is not seeking to conquer the other. We need balance, which brings harmony.
And how much our lives need balance. I think that balancing our lives is part of the key to serving God, and being good masters of our life He has given us. Dave, he's given us so much power... we're little gods modeling after the big God... and he wants us to live balanced lives. Not striving after an Ultimate in this world. For He alone is our Ultimate satisfaction, goal, realization, wisdom, peace. And we will never even attain that in this lifetime. But no- I think God wants us to live in balance, a life to the fullest, with peace and joy and love. These are the evidences of a life filled with the Spirit of the great God.
I wish you peace, and look forward to seeing you soon bro.
-Jarod
