The Allure of Popularity Over Principles

Often, familiarity does not breed contempt---at first---especially when the familiarity is repeatedly backdropped against a good (though fabricated) image. We think what we see is what we get, and this is where deception and manipulation get a good start. Though wrong judgment is, well, wrong, we were dragged by the notion too far so that any critical srcutiny has been deemed being judgemental about things, or people. Legalistic is another favorite term today to ostracize those who think differently and inisist on correct thinking. 

Photo by madeleine craine on Unsplash.

In an age dominated by social media, celebrity culture, and instant gratification, many people find themselves drawn to popular personalities rather than firmly standing by principles. While this phenomenon may seem perplexing at first, it is deeply rooted in psychology, social dynamics, and human nature. Understanding why people are often more inclined to follow charismatic figures than adhere to ethical or logical principles reveals much about societal values and the mechanisms of influence.  

1. The Power of Charisma and Influence

Popular personalities often possess traits that captivate the masses—charm, confidence, and the ability to evoke strong emotions. These qualities create a sense of connection between the individual and their audience. Charisma can make ideas appear more appealing and palatable, even when they contradict logic or ethical principles. Instead of critically evaluating the validity of a person's beliefs or actions, many people feel compelled to support those who inspire them or make them feel understood.  

2. The Herd Mentality and Social Validation

Humans are naturally wired to seek belonging within social groups. The herd mentality, a psychological phenomenon where individuals tend to conform to the majority, plays a significant role in shaping opinions and behaviors. When a popular personality gains widespread support, many people follow them simply because others do. Supporting someone with immense influence provides social validation, making people feel like they are part of a larger movement.  

3. Emotional Appeal vs. Rational Thinking

Principles are often rooted in reason, logic, and ethics, requiring individuals to think critically and make informed decisions. Popular personalities, on the other hand, rely heavily on emotional appeal. Whether through humor, relatability, or stirring speeches, they tap into emotions that override rational thought. Many people are drawn to figures who resonate with their feelings, even if their values or principles are questionable.  

4. The Role of Media and Marketing

Modern media plays a vital role in shaping public opinion. Popular personalities often have well-crafted personas, marketed through viral content, interviews, partisan social surveys and strategic branding. The sheer exposure to these individuals makes them more familiar and trusted, even if their beliefs lack substantive merit. On the other hand, principles, especially those that challenge mainstream narratives, may struggle to gain traction in a heavily curated media landscape.  

5. The Fear of Isolation

Choosing principles over personalities can be a lonely road. Defying widely supported figures may result in backlash, social alienation, or ridicule. Many people prefer to follow the crowd rather than risk being ostracized for standing by their convictions. This fear of being perceived as an outsider compels individuals to align themselves with influential personalities rather than prioritize truth or ethics.  

Breaking the Cycle

Despite the tendency to favor personalities over principles, there is hope for promoting critical thinking and ethical decision-making. Encouraging independent thought, questioning influential figures, and prioritizing truth over popularity can empower individuals to support ideals based on integrity rather than celebrity status.  

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Human Touch Still Beats AI

When the public was made aware of AI, lots of people panicked. They worried about an AI invasion, something like what they saw in Terminator movies and I Robot which starred Will Smith. It reminded me of the Y2K virus scare when they worried about all computers and systems reverting back to 1900 if these systems get confused about the turn of the previous century to the 2000s.

But nothing happened. 

Someone said that about 98 percent of our fears never happen. The same with the AI scare, I believe. But what I really wonder about is so many jobs being turned over from humans to AI, not just due to higher AI efficiency, but split-second productivity. Can you imagine producing a 500-page book in just a few seconds, complete with accurate and prolific details? One non-writer "book author" was proud that he could "author" a book within a few minutes even if his grammar was the pits.

And a lot of non-writer "authors" have popped up lately like mushrooms, producing books and e-books that sell like hotcakes and make a killing. Simply give an AI app the book outline and topic you want and presto! You have a book and you're an "author" in the flick of a finger. And they are well written and researched, not by the "author" who doesn't know the difference between "they're" and "their," but by the AI. 

So what happens now to real writers?

But a few days back I have been browsing the Net for virtual assistance (VA) info to beef up some articles I was writing and hit an insight---multiple companies here and abroad are looking for virtual what-have-you----virtual assistants, virtual artists, virtual editors, virtual administrators, virtual this and that. Why? Because everything highly techie still needs the human touch. Clients and customers still want human interaction and are not comfortable talking to bots and programs and AI stuff. 

How to beat AI in securing a career! 

The same thing with book writing. Nothing beats human touch when it comes to book writing, both fiction and non-fiction. AI cannot share their "personal experience" of things. They can include other authors' personal testimonies or stories in their writeups, but that still isn't what human touch or human interest is all about. It's about the author's own personal life experience of a subject matter. 

AI can write a thousand things about parenting, but it cannot share its own personal experiences of raising up kids. It can tell you the best ways to cook hamburgers and spaghetti but it cannot share an experience of cooking them for one's kids and grandkids. It can write about how to have a relationship with God but it can never tell you how it met God personally and became a new creation in Christ. And you'd know how to easily beat AI authored books if you always write in the first person as many authors do. 

I use AI a lot for research but I carefully review everything, weeding out information and other stuff that I don't think should go in my ebook, and writing styles that do not reflect my person. I edit and re-word if need be. That's how I personalize my AI aided ebooks. And yes, you really need to always personalize your writings, blog or ebooks. Don't ust join what an AI app is doing for you. You're a non-joiner, remember?

You're Arrogant If You Don't Listen to Them

Again, unsolicited lecturers (those who force their advice on you, expecting you to follow it whether you like it or not) will insist that if you don't listen to their lectures and take their advice, you are arrogant. You don't have a teachable heart---as if they know how it is to have a teachable heart---because most of them detest listening or learning from other people, especially you. Their egos cannot take that. 

Photo by KS KYUNG on Unsplash.

They think their experience or education entitles them to be your lecturer or adviser. Worse, they believe they're smarter than you are and have all the right to tell you what to do. Why they believe they're smarter is a big mystery. The mere fact that you give unsolicited advice means you're not smart. You don't know the value of pearls, so how is that being smart? 

The bible says do not give pearls to pigs because they'd just trample on them. And I happen to be a pig when someone gives me pearls I don't want or don't need---because they're plastic pearls. No real value. You dive deep for real pearls, something unsolicited lecturers cannot do. Everything they offer is cheap, especially if they don't know what kind of pearls suit my situation. But if I go to you and ask you for advice, then your advice becomes precious pearls to me. Because I want it. I asked for it.

It's good to be rich in valuable experience and knowledge and be loaded with wise advices to help other people with, but that does not entitle you to lecture to just anybody you like---or you think is stupid and needs your wisdom---and especially not to one who doesn't ask for it. I seek advice from people I know is broadminded and can give me sound advices. 

I choose folks I'd listen to (of course, you listen to your parents and those whose authority you're under, like your boss on office matters). And when I say "sound advice" I mean that which comes from a humble and pure heart. I hate advices from the arrogant and conceited---which all unsolicited lecturers are. 

I listen to people with God's wisdom and who knows the Holy Spirit personally (or at least those who are humble and knowledgeable, though not yet a believer). If you know HIM personally, you'd have the character of Jesus, the mind of Christ. I'll listen to you. Watch Philippians 2.5:

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

They Alone are Correct

We all think we're correct about certain things we're quite familiar with, like things we've been doing for decades. Like my family's Almon Bigas recipe. I can't go wrong with it because I've been cooking it for years. Even decades. We insist on our correctness in things we're absolutely sure of. It's normal. 

Photo by Medienstürmer on Unsplash.

But it's a different thing when we start going around telling everybody else they're wrong and we're right, especially just because they see things differently from our "correct" and "established" thinking, which we learned from some school or seminary or university and which we earned a certificate or diploma on. We think holding some papers or credentials makes us authorities knowing everything there is about a subject matter.

We forget that life and creation is so huge and even real experts have not yet fully explored their possibilities. Even if you live to a hundred or a thousand, you can never fully know everything there is to know.

What is "correct" anyway? They say there's a correct way of doing things, or correct knowledge we all should subscribe to. Really? Says who? Who else but the guy we look up to (we think this person we idolize knows everything). He said it and we allow him or her to decide for us, thinking this guy knows everything about the subject matter and has the authority to tell us what is correct. 

We let him do that because he spent years studying about it, and earned titles and degrees. (In some cases, we idolize him and believe everything he says because he's made a lot of money. We often equate riches with truth, money with success). He who holds the gold holds the scepter--and this rule is often true even in church (or especially in church). 

We believe that years of study make a person a god, especially if he gets titles and degrees out of that. Then everything he says becomes bible truth. We bow to him and his teachings or ideas. These things easily blind us. We believe everything the titled and degreed (and moneyed) say.

The bible does say there's a right time and procedure which the wise heart will know about [Ecclesiastes 8.5-6], but it is quick to remind us, too, that no one really knows the entirety of things.

Since no one knows the future, who can tell someone else what is to come?

Smart guys thought the earth was the center of the universe, and they backed that up with years of studies. In the 1960s, they told us fatty food made us gain weight resulting in heart problems and blood sugar woes. So these health experts urged us to eat more carbs in lieu of fats. And they supported this with years of study. Later, it was found that carbs and sugar were the real culprits, making us obese and susceptible to heart diseases and diabetes--and this, too, was supported with years of study. Old school health experts still stick with carbs as better replacements for fat and meat, and many believe them because of their years of study and titles and degrees.

Another group of experts told us how houses and cars are "assets" and quality education is key to high-paying jobs that lead to riches. They made us believe for years that houses and cars were not liabilities until people started seeing how these things ate away at their income instead of made money for them--and that they often decreased in value. And employment very seldom (if any) brought good returns for the investments people made on quality education. 

But people who believe in jobs will never admit that. They'd insist that they've been happy employees all their lives and have made quite a bit of money from it and back it all up with years of study--even if their retirement pension is not enough for their basics and maintenance meds. They'd still tell the younger generation how a job is better than starting a small business.

Titles, degrees and years of study make us cling to lies all our lives and give us deadly scare if we even think of venturing out of the box they cramp us in to keep us from exploring other possibilities. They liken it to going out of the will of God, or how Adam and Eve bit into the bad fruit, or something like that. So we're kept in their invented paradigms, thinking it's safe and sound doctrine to stay there.

A lot of "correct" things turned out incorrect later. They thought that bread was better than rice. Or, every vegetable gives you nothing but health benefits, until the recent findings about nightshade veggies that cause inflammation. In church, we were told that using Coke or powdered grape juice for communion was more righteous than using real wine, or that wine was downright evil, period.

Even when applying math in real life, we're not always sure if one plus one is always equals two. If we start one more business aside from the one we already have, does it always mean we'd have two businesses? The Covid pandemic taught us otherwise. Lots of new businesses closed during the Covid pandemic, the owners having thought that it was a good idea to open another one since the first one had been a success. But then the pandemic happened and both businesses were hit hard. They saw how one plus one sometimes equaled zero in real life.

Another surprising thing happened in the pandemic. Some folks learned that zero plus one equaled to 5 (0 + 1 = 5). Their dying business picked up 5 times during the pandemic and made them millions when they opted to do it online. Other smart, traditional business folks had advised against it and said pandemic was the wrong time to try experiments. Wait-and-see, or holding on to your cash instead of investing, was the correct thing to do, they added, and backed that up with years of study by titled and degreed business experts.

Correct is always subjective. Only God can be absolutely correct, though this truth changes in the minds of theology "experts" (they want to be seen as experts) who try to be authorities at explaining God's absolutes with their systematic theology backed with years of study. How they see truth is subject to the theological background that molded (or deceived) them. So, in this sense, nothing is really correct, since their idea of correctness depends on a thinking norm they have decided among themselves to be the correct one, and every church group or denomination has a different thinking norm.

Thus, churches have their own correctness norms. The funny thing is, they really believe the correctness they made up or formulated is really correct and there can be no other. Pastors are often trapped into this false thinking pattern, especially with the way their hermeneutics have imprisoned their minds to their formula--or the formula imposed by their idolized theologians. 

Their hermeneutical dos and don'ts (formulas their smart thinkers invented) decide what they can believe and how they'd understand God's Word. And if you see God's Word any other way, you're automatically in grave error (the favorite accusation is you're out of context--because, according to them, context is king 😆, as years of studies show).

GOD has long established the correct thing here, but nobody is listening. He has established that only the Holy Spirit---HIS very own Spirit---has the authority to explain HIS Word, ever---and HIS explanation alone is correct. His Spirit is the final interpreter of any part of Scripture. Nothing is mentioned about some correct hermeneutics or contextualization. 

...no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 

[1 Corinthians 2.11] 

That should be clear enough. But here's more.

12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.

Even Scripture that says we have to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, does NOT mean the use of hermeneutics (there's no indication whatsoever that this refers to human theology). It means getting supernatural guidance and revelation from the Holy Spirit to "divide" or handle God's Word, that is, if we're going to pursue what Jesus says about the Holy Spirit teaching us "all things," and how he alone enables genuine understanding of God's Word. 

Is anybody in church really listening to this? 

But what if you're really correct? I mean, there are times when people are really correct about what they believe, like how Jesus (no doubt) was correct about everything he thought was the truth. Are you going to watch out what everybody says and lecture them about their errors? Does possessing correctness necessarily mean bigotry and dogmatism? 

Jesus, being my favorite Nonjoiner (he never joins world trends or fads), serves as model here. He held absolute truths and yet never went to the Pharisees and law teachers to check and challenge their beliefs or correct their errors. He never went after people to lecture them or watch out for their errors. Instead, they desperately went to him and asked or begged for the truth. Then he taught them (though a lot of them were just after the blessings that came with the teachings). 

Jesus knew that he alone was correct, but he wasn't an insufferable solipsist. 

Do You See as They See?

Disciplers are disciplers for life. The disciples saw Jesus as their Discipler even when Jesus had already gone to heaven. They didn't look for another discipler after Jesus. They didn't go to the Pharisees or law teachers or elected a new pastor or an elder to replace Jesus. In the same way, our disciplers or pastors should be our disciplers for life. Bible school or seminary professors cannot have this spiritual stature in your life. Once you leave the school or seminary the connection ceases. All you have are recollections of bible school or seminary days--and a diploma.

You know why this is important? It matters from whose eyes you see reality. Who trained you up as a child in the way you should go? It should be the Jesus in your discipler.

Photo by Bud Helisson on Unsplash.

Socially, anyone with the mind health of Christ will speak as Jesus did--speak or preach in church within the supernatural realms of the Spirit and depend solely on what HE tells us, not on the outline we have prepared or formulas we have learned. We should be Spirit-led hourly and even minutely. We should rely on the Holy Spirit for every word we utter, in preaching or in casual conversations. This supernatural mindset makes us see things as they really are.

But sadly, the church has become alien to this. We rely more on what we can prepare with our intellect, skills, knowledge and institutional education, formulas, resources, systems and what-have-you. We believe this is all sound doctrine. We prepare and program things carefully and think this is God. We don't see things as they really are in the Gospel but how the world wants us to see them. And the world is a liar. Explains why so many people (especially in church) still imagine "their" success and "greatness."

Why is this? Because of an unhealthy (or corrupted) mind and social life. 

And this unhealthy condition makes all the 10 symptoms mentioned here manifest in our persons. We either become self-centered or religion-centered (particularly church denomination-centered), or both (because both have become gods). We feel the need to have the glory for either ourselves or our denominational church. I very, very seldom hear ministers (if any) declare God's glory, Kingdom and majesty and attribute every success to the same--I mean, sincerely--and remain absolutely quiet about oneself.

Moreover, all this is happening because their westernized minds and social outlook also created another Jesus--a western Jesus. A Jesus that carries more the culture of the west than the culture of middle eastern Israel which God clearly chose to backdrop his Word---a culture open to the mysterious and supernatural. 

Ancient eastern culture is heavily influenced by the spiritual and supernatural, by quiet patience and submissive discipleship. Western culture has nothing of these. It is all logic, reason, philosophy, debates, arguments, rebuttal, self-assertion, fighting for rights, pride and arrogance (the need to prove oneself supreme over others), and the worship of the intellect, science and technology.

Westernized Christian churches have conquest in mind (not evangelism) when they do missions overseas because they think they are superior than locals. It's more about grabbing territories, properties and resources to further their denominational reach and influence than making disciples loyal to Jesus and His Kingdom. They see ministry this way because of their unhealthy mindset and social orientation. 

Materialistic culture is weak in the spiritual realms. In its ignorance of spiritual truths, it knows nothing but the earthly (and why it cannot see things as they really are). This was why the Holy Spirit redirected Paul to the west instead of Asia minor. The early church was designed for the intellectualism of the west. Armed with awesome supernatural power, the Acts church dealt solid blows against the arrogance of western philosophies, not by facing them on their terms or arena, but by displaying signs and wonders that muted and demolished their smart arguments. 

Paul did engage the west initially in debates but later concluded thus:

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. [2 Corinthians 10.5]

4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. [1 Corinthians 2.4]

The last and fiercest battle in these end-times is in the east---where the 10/40 window is, comprising of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia---a battle between the spiritual forces of darkness against the superior supernatural power of God wielded by his glorious church. Anything that is spiritual and focuses on the unseen knows real power. Even the occult know this. Sadly, the modern church does not. It wastes time in human theology, motivational challenges and whatever earthly lessons their seminars teach to expand their local ministries and increase membership and church income---their human version of "church planting." 

But God reserves his end-time glorious and supernatural church for this final battle. Of course, we know how the story ends. God's supernatural power is supreme and above all. And it involves absolutely no human effort and glory.

We cannot say that of philosophy, smart arguments, reasoning, debates, etc. which the modern church embraces today. Just watch them and see how their main concerns are earning certificates and diplomas, titles and degrees. But God revealed how only his supernatural power and wisdom in Scriptures will prevail and win. The rest he relegated to being earthly, foolish, garbage and demonic. 

The Real Jesus

We see how the real Jesus looks like in the Gospel. Seemingly weak and unimpressive. Quite unassuming and unconcerned about recognition, public perception and status. But the secret here is that God's power is made perfect in this weakness, a weakness despised by the world. Real mind health and a social orientation that sees things as they really are sticks to this "weakness." 

22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. [1 Corinthians 1]

If you don't fully appreciate this "weakness" you're probably not of the elect. A lot of people hate the idea that the least is the greatest in God's eyes. They do everything, work themselves to death, just to prove to all how they're the greatest. Very few have the mind health and social life of Christ to see this clearly, preventing the majority from seeing things as they really are in the spirit realms. Nobody sees the power in being last and least. They want to be the first and greatest on the earthly realm. 

As aforementioned, mind health is "the mental aptitude to balance things in a selfless and mature manner," which Jesus obviously had, balancing God's love and judgment in particular, so that we see how God's love is also his judgment and vice versa (he judges and disciplines us to warn and allow us to repent--because he loves us). We can never understand these things if Jesus had not taught and demonstrated it with his life.

He agreed to meet with Nicodemus one night to entertain his queries, intentionally overlooking the fact that he didn't enjoy the company of the Pharisees. That's balancing love and repugnance. Notice how he answered Nicodemus' questions with a hint of sarcasm? "You are Israel's teacher and you don't understand these things?" Jesus said. He balanced patience and criticism, sincerity and contempt. 

He defied the law by touching the unclean yet balanced it by urging the leper to show himself to the priest and "offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them,” [Luke 5.14]. He warned sinners that unbelief made them "condemned already" and yet enjoyed eating and fellowshipping with them. See the balance?

In all this, Jesus "did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant," [Philippians 2.6-7]. He was selflessly mature and always redirected glory to the Father. He remained low profile and inconspicuous among the crowds so much so that Pilate couldn't believe he was a king. "You're a king, then?" he asked mockingly. Moreover, you could easily lose Jesus in the crowd.

...Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. [John 5.13]

That says a lot about Jesus' self-effacing character, looking simple and ordinary instead of projecting himself artificially as someone great, or being equal with the Father. That conceited self projection as being great is often equal to claiming equality with God, like what Lucifer did. Jesus' claim that he and the Father are one is, of course, another story. It's primarily about him doing his supernatural ministry in the Father's name. Second, he said that with back up from how the Father glorified him. Third, he remained lowly and submitted to the Father (in fact, he was astoundingly meek, considering his real spiritual stature). 

A lot today who imagine themselves great try to prove it with displays of titles and degrees, accomplishments and material grandiosity but lack the Father's endorsement. 

Jesus balanced self-effacement and depreciation with kingly gestures and insinuations. He looked small, poor and inconsequential and yet struck fear into the hearts of the rich and powerful. He didn't look one bit like a king but a thick kingly atmosphere was about him wherever he went. Here are hints:

• ...the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” 40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” [Luke 19]
  
  
• “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” [John 18.36]
  
  
• Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied. [Luke 23.3]

So, what's the point in all this? To make us see how Jesus saw reality as it was in the Father's eyes though people around him, especially his detractors, saw everything differently---but thought they were right. It didn't matter that Jesus looked like a failure in the eyes of the world. It didn't bother him. He didn't think he needed to improve his image to change how people thought of him. He remained looking ordinary. He stuck with reality as his Father saw them, not as men did. 

Why was Jesus able to see? Because Jesus had his mind health and social life intact in the Father. His critics had serious mind and social health problems because they saw as the world did. 

Do You Think Independently?

Don't let them make you think you're thinking independently. 

With easy access to social media today, there's a strong tendency to simply go along with whatever is in trend--gossip, bashing, personal interests or opinion, and even the news--and they tell you how listening to them makes you an independent thinker. News today is usually whatever interest or propaganda a news agency or journalist is supporting. And people just mindlessly take that in. This is where you need to be a non-joiner. 

Photo by Ante Hamersmit on Unsplash.

Just because something is in the news reported by a mainstream or popular news service doesn't necessarily mean it's outright factual. It may be based on facts or reliable information but it's apt to be infested with twists and add-ons to suit a particular partisan interest, like big pharma, politics, religion, big business and the like. 

You Decide What's "Impartial"

So you need to bear this in mind. There's no real "impartial" or "objective" journalism. Even honest ones are apt to have subjective shades to it, because news reporters and writers are human. So are their editors, though they may try to be as objective and impersonal as possible. But it's good that they try.

So what's the lesson here? 

Get all sides and then decide for yourself. Don't just take their word for it. Don't let others decide for you or just ride on the bandwagon. What you conclude in the end should be what you see as truth. Your bias. And then keep that truth to yourself, and possibly your family. Don't go out and broadcast or engage. Just make sure you do your research--get all sides of an argument, as it were. As many sides as possible. 

What History Should You Believe?

Like the so-called Marcos ill-gotten wealth, martial law and EDSA Revolution. Or how the Aquinos performed in office, how Leni fared as VP or the issue on Cory Aquino and the Carmelite sisters. They're all trying to present their own versions today, their own "truths." Read about them, listen to testimonies, and try to dig deeper if you have the time, and then decide open-mindedly. No emotions, not even for the sake of nationalism. 

Truth knows no nationality.

Non-joiners have the ability to make unbiased, intelligent decisions through practice. Learn to weigh things fairly each time, remaining disinterested in any issue to get at truth as much as possible. I sometimes still get tangled emotionally with partisanship, but manage to discipline myself and snap out of it--because it's so vital, to keep your mind clear and healthy. You do it because you love yourself. 

Respect Others' Biases

Most folks are rabidly biased, you can be sure of that 99.99 percent of the time, though they'd insist they're not. It's impossible to be unbiased without being a trained non-joiner like Jesus. Nonetheless, you need to respect others' biases, though they won't yours. Yeah, you have a lil bit of bias in you though you may deny it--but it's true. No matter if you're a non-joiner. We all have it. Even God has bias, for obvious reasons. He's not neutral about sin.

But keep your bias as little and less obvious as possible. Your bias is not important to others. Don't think they're interested to hear about it. Don't insist on them except when people who love to control others start imposing their biases on you. Respecting their bias doesn't mean you approve them or give them space in your mind. It simply means you let them be, hanging on to their biases as much as they want without challenging them. To each his or her own. De gustibus non est disputandum.

How to Think Independently

Here's my take for thinking independently:

1. Research well before you believe something.
2. Keep things to yourself, except when questioned.
3. Ignore those who challenge your bias. No one becomes smarter just because he has a "better" bias. They just think they're smarter. They're not. 
4. Keep reading different stuff, especially the bible.
5. When people begin to wonder about your bias and, of their own accord, ask you about it, be willing to share (but do not insist. Stay disinterested).  It will happen. Your quiet stubborn preference will naturally surface conspicuously and prod some people to ask. It happened to Jesus. It happens to me.

I have a deep bias for Jesus and his teachings. No matter what detractors say, I keep a narrow (or zoom-in) focus on Jesus. Yup, I guess you may say I'm too narrow-minded when it comes to my leaning or bias for Jesus. And nothing can change that, not even those who say they're for Jesus but actually aren't. I'm an independent thinker. Are you?

Thankful That You're Not Like Those Who Suffer? Examining a Social Mindset

Others are in the hospital. Others are hungry. Others never got to wake up this morning. 
You're much better off so just be thankful.

I see FB posters saying we should be thankful we're not among those who suffer. Like, be thankful because other people are so sick and we're not. Or, others are starving and we have enough. Others are jobless and we're salaried. I stopped and asked myself, "Just be thankful?" 

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash.

Well, we should be thankful. Agreed. But I don't think we're spared from suffering just to be thankful about it. Since I was a kid I never felt comfy seeing others suffering and I wasn't. There was this tingling pain inside and a nagging question in my head. "Why?" It only made things worse that I couldn't do anything about it. And why wasn't God doing anything, either?

Much later in life, I saw this mystery about how God actually felt the pain more than we can imagine and had actually sent help. Problem was, the couriers didn't deliver. They spent it on themselves and thanked God for the "blessing." Yeah, we should be thankful, but something's terribly amiss somewhere. And it needs thorough clarification.

The Blessing Isn't Yours

I learned it much later in life. I thought God blessed us to supply our needs, keep us amply provided and live happily ever after. Later I saw that we're all mere couriers. Delivery people. Sad that even in church this truth remains in the shelf gathering dust and cobwebs, sometimes deliberately kept there. We opt not to look at the delivery address and just claim things and thank God for them. We love sharing how blessed we are but don't see how clinging to the blessings cause others to suffer lack.

The blessing isn't yours. Clear enough? So we look carefully at the delivery address. We're fond of the cliché, "be a channel of blessings," but seldom understand what it means. We channel blessings only with our favorite recipients--ourselves, our church, our families, friends, and those who love us and give us attention. Such recipients ensure to return the favor. But Jesus warned:

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. [Luke 6]

God Supplying All Our Needs

We love quoting Philippians 4.19 about God supplying all our needs. We love to be blessed. But few see how it all ties up with the Philippians giving Paul what God intended for him. The Philippians received God's blessings but didn't claim it all for themselves. They knew that God intended a big part of the packaged delivered by them to Paul. They were just couriers. 

Other churches thought otherwise. They kept all the blessings to themselves, and I can imagine them proudly sharing their testimonies about how blessed they were. So Paul revealed everything to them, lest they take everything the wrong way. Here's the story:

Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. 17 Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. 18 I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.

19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Suffer with Those Suffering

God blesses us so we can suffer with those who suffer. We suffer when we share a lot more than we can, and in that we find joy and contentment. Thus, when we see how we're not like those who suffer, we bring their plight to the Throne and petition God like we're also suffering their predicament. 

And we don't just petition empathically. We give sacrificially, too. God blesses you to ease the suffering of another, particularly, another person who's the least in your list, the guy you're unlikely to help, people unattractive to our biases and preferences. A lot of folks are "helpful" and "generous" but only to their preferences. To those who pass their standards. 

But often, the delivery address belongs "to the least of these my brethren," says Jesus--people rejected by society.

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

[Matthew 25]

Like Your Own Son or Daughter

Whenever we see how we're better off than others, we should petition God for those others, bring them to the Throne and cry for their needs like we're praying for the very lives of our own sons and daughters. God looks for that quality and intensity in our prayers--as intense as mourning for our only child. Don't stop until they get what God has for them. 

They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. [Zechariah 12]

How God wants Blessings Shared

I saw a glimpse of how God wants his blessings shared with others. It's a 10 to 90 ratio, more or less; 10 parts yours and 90 parts shared with others. You allot an amount enough for your basic expenses and savings (your family is part of God's work) and then share whatever is left of it. Here's how the apostle Paul put it:

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

[2 Corinthians 9]

You first secure "all that you need." Your basic needs and expenses. I believe this includes a little bit of savings, too, just enough to get ready for the next need. And then you can give the rest so you can "abound in every good work." The word "abound" hints at the size of the amount we ought to share (definitely not a mere pittance), and the words "every good work" hint how often. In the verse that follows, Paul states so clearly why God blesses us. The blessing is not for us. It's for God's work:

"You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion," [verse 11]

The blessings are all for God's use, intent and purpose. We're mere couriers. The package is not ours. If we all start thinking this way, no church, pastor, brethren, or people around us would be in lack. So much suffering would be taken away. 

Why the Poverty?

So, you see, poverty is there not just due to inflation, unemployment, overpopulation or corruption in government. First and foremost, it's there because people appropriate every blessing that passes their hands to themselves. The 5,000 would never have been fed and "satisfied" with the broken pieces of bread and fish if the disciples had bagged the blessing for themselves or their families. 

Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. [Matthew 14]

The lesson should be applied by believers first--the church. What's the less likely people the church would bless? Here's a list, but I'm sure there's a lot more:

1. Folks who are unlikely to join their church or entertain the idea.
2. Where their cams are not available for videoing the distribution of blessings and therefore no chance of promoting it on social media. Church should start getting used to giving away blessings anonymously.
3. People from other denominations or other churches or religions.

I'd like to see well off denominations financially helping other denominations that are poor, or moneyed local churches financially helping out poor local churches belonging to another denomination. I want to hear about local churches shouldering the electric or water bill of poor local churches of other denominations. Being thankful your church is blessed while others suffer--and leaving it at that--is a garbage mindset.

Simple but Powerful Way to Prepare for a Big Task

Are you preparing for a big corporate presentation or project undertaking? About to take the board exam? Running for a top position? Deciding to risk big with stocks, forex or cryptocurrency? Are you a mom deciding what to cook for lunch? All these are big, vital tasks that help make the world go round.

Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash.

And it's smart to take on a big task with an equally big preparation. So you'd do everything necessary, even exert and spend extra, to prep yourself up to meet the taxing demand and win. Perhaps pursue your masters and doctorate, earn as many titles and degrees. All these are good and needful. But did you know there's something more powerful to gain success than all these combined? 

And what do you think is the biggest task or venture ever? 

Not Just a Global Task

Saving the whole world. Specifically, saving the lost soul of everyone who ever lived. What could be more daunting and important? And it's not just the whole world, mind you. It's more than just a global challenge like Covid or climate change. It involves saving the entire creation, too. The whole universe. When man fell, all creation fell with him. Jesus Christ died for all these. No doubt it was a gargantuan task, more than anything man (even presidents) ever had to accomplish in all history. 

All creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation itself looks forward to being set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. [Romans 8]

So, how did Jesus prepare for this big task? And how did he also prepare for the role of becoming the Messiah, the coming King of kings? 

Odd Preparation

The queer thing was that, Jesus didn't go to any school or university for these tasks. He didn't think earning titles and degrees was necessary, although he had to conquer the hearts and minds of every individual born on this planet--among them philosophers, scientists, artists, experts, the super rich and powerful, dictators and tyrants, atheists and the religious, and yeah, smart Alecks. 

Here's the picture. Everybody was busy attending school and university during Jesus younger days, getting all the high credentials possible. But Jesus did something else. Everybody was headed towards the city's best learning institutions for the best education while Jesus alone went the opposite direction, heading for mountain sides, lakes and remote places. I can imagine Herod, Pilate, Annas, Caiaphas and the rest of the gang stressing themselves out in the best universities for their topnotch careers, but Jesus never took the route.

Mother Worried about Her Son's Schooling

I can also imagine Mary, Jesus' mother, getting worried about his son's career, prophesied to be the coming King of Israel. It had been foretold in Scriptures that a King will come from Bethlehem (of all places) who'd also be the Messiah, as the prophet Micah (Chap. 5) had announced long before. This was later confirmed by Herod's bible experts:

"When Herod had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 'In Bethlehem in Judea,' they replied, 'for this is what the prophet has written: 

"'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.'" (Matthew 2:4–6).

Moreover, Mary also knew that her child was the Son of God!

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35).

With all these big-time responsibilities, you need to be educated and trained only in the best educational institutions of the world, right? I imagine Mary thought the same. But she looked and there was her son, waking up early in the morning to head for the wilderness, doing what he said was vital to be "about his Father's business." Mary was beginning to worry. Her son was to be king and there he was wasting time in the backwoods, hinterlands and remote places.

Lessons

I'm not telling you to quit school or stop pursuing your career. These are all good. But one thing is markedly obvious here. Jesus pursued success a different way and we should all follow his example. In the Father's eyes, no one's more successful than Jesus, completing the cosmic work of redemption, among many others, with high flying colors. And he did it, not through the usual channels, but solely in God's ways:

1. He spent quality time with the Father.
   "He grew up before Him as a tender shoot." [Isaiah 53.2] This was how Jesus spent his childhood, teenage and young adulthood. He prepare for his Messiahship and Kingship by soaking himself in the Father's Presence.
   
   
2. He valued prayer. 
   It was his habit to spend quiet times alone with his Father.
   "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." [Luke 5.16]
   
   
3. He lived the Word of God.
   "I have not come to abolish them (Law and Prophets) but to fulfill them." [Matthew 5.17]

Aside from the usual preparation, never neglect the three above.

When People Read Less

If most people are not into reading, nonjoiners would do the exact opposite. They'd start reading more. 

Most people prefer watching videos to reading write-ups, especially when videos are made more available today. Some experts say watching is less work for the brain (especially passive watching) because words are "served" you and "explained" through the animated images seen on the screen. All you have to do is sit back and receive. Not much brain work involved. If I were you I won't join this fad. Be a nonjoiner.

Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash.

And "receive" here is often passive, add the experts. You just take in or "swallow" everything that is fed you without question or critical thinking. Thus, there are folks who think that an actor playing a villainous role in a movie is bad in real life and the protagonist is a real hero. Worse, that they really did "kill" the characters they killed in a movie. 

Reality Check

Passive watching lessens (sometimes even destroys) mind creativity when people let what they watch define their reality and just passively accept it. Unlike when you read, your mind works extra to create the scenes you read in books or news items. However, both watching and reading can create a false world for you if you just take in everything that is shown or said without critical thinking and exposure to the real life out there.

But with active watching and critical reading--plus a healthy exposure to real, everyday life--both activities can help sharpen your mind and make it healthy. Whether your mind is fed via reading or watching, three things are vital to screen out ideas harmful to the mind and take in that which is beneficial to mental growth.

1. Critical thinking
2. Exposure to real life
3. Focus

Focus is vital in today's easy access to a lot of media and videos online. We can easily switch channel or site if our minds are not entertained. This lessens our ability to focus, says one article on SoundAndVision.Com. Before the advent of the Net, we focused on what we watched because we didn't enjoy instant replay or had any quick-switch site or channel option unless we got up from the couch and turned the channel knob. Or until the remote got into the picture. Says Sound and Vision:

Today, with so many other technologies competing for our entertainment time and focus—and with so many chances to time-shift and place-shift programming—TV viewing is often done in a passive, near-ADD manner. In fact, most of us do practically everything but watch TV when we are watching TV.

But more experts are agreed on having a good reading foundation at an early age to build up the three screening-out factors above. If a child gets his basics properly on reading, all three targets are hit. This is why kids in kindergarten are taught how to read, first and foremost, than how to watch videos. It won't do him or her any good to watch videos so well if reading is neglected--especially how letters connect to form a word and how words connect to form ideas. 

An article on TopperLearning.Com about a poet's observation says this:

The poet also feels that due to watching TV (or we can say "videos") continuously, children cannot use their imagination to understand how a fantasy or fairytale functions. Their minds get used to virtual images or virtual reality. The poet believes that children only believes (sic) what they watch for hours on TV. Their thought processes get blurred and they cannot form their own opinions. The child is not able to analyse or interpret a thing. He really loves to watch what is shown on TV without doing much of thinking. There is no brain activity, resulting in the darkness of the mind and a decrease (or compromise) in brain sharpness. [Roald Dahl]

Reading for Teens

Less teens read books today, especially when the lure of online games (which they soak their minds in for hours daily) train them to get more satisfaction from videos and enjoy the ease and entertainment. It also translates them to the make-believe world they can partly control and be heroes in. Reading doesn't offer them that. The authors and writers control everything there and create the scenes and decide the entire story. All they can do is flow with it.

Videos are generally good and aid kids and teens in their studies, particularly in research. But what we're talking of here is wrong use or over use of videos or worse, addiction to them. Students can simply copy-paste write-ups and submit that as their "research." Too much reliance on this can eventually lead to hating reading to get answers from. And if teens get used to copy-paste training, think of what they'd become when they graduate. 

Furthermore, this method encourages headline reading which makes them merely read titles and subtitles and copy-paste the article without reading it thoroughly. Headline reading is also what turns many into instant "experts" on Facebook--confidently stating things they do not really understand. But reading can help them delve into things and get that habit while they're still young. Improves their grammar, too.

The site, Family Education, says this about teens that have good reading habits:

Reading as a teen leads to success. When teens read more than just their classroom assignments, research clearly shows that they generally do well in school. First of all, the extra reading expands their vocabularies. It also shows them how different writers put down their thoughts leading to better writing skills. And teens who read more serious literary works gain skills in handling complex ideas.

Reading for Adults

Number one benefit for adults is a safeguard against dementia. Says an article on BeingPatient.Com:

Reading every day may reduce dementia risk, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry in July 2018.

Researchers at Hong Kong’s Elderly Health Centres tracked more than 15,000 people ages 65 and older for five years. All of the participants were dementia-free at the study’s conception.

When adults stop reading, dementia cases can soar, especially when they rely on what they watch on TV or movies. If you've not been trained to read as a kid or teenager, reading may become painful as you grow older. The brain cannot stand or appreciate reading and analyzing what is being read and just retreat to what is fed it from passive watching.

Conclusion

Watching videos is not bad, as aforementioned here. Both watching and reading can be beneficial if done properly and with the right balance. I enjoy a lot of movies and videos, but I do so always with a critical and analytical mind. The problem is that, today, there is a serious imbalance in favor of passive watching, which is alarming. And it often leads to poor understanding and judgment. 

So develop the habit of reading regardless of what age you're in. Help your kids and teens develop it. Buy books and read. E-books are more convenient when downloaded to your smartphone so you can easily access them anywhere and anytime as long as you have your phone with you. Consider what Harappa.Education says:

One of the advantages of reading is that it engages various parts of your brain. When you read, you exercise your comprehension abilities and your analytical abilities. It fires up your imagination and stimulates the memory centers of your mind. It helps recall information as well as stabilize your emotions.

The importance of a reading habit is that it strengthens mental muscles. Reading is one of the best mental workouts there is. It’s been found that regular mental stimulation can slow down and possibly even prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia. Reading keeps the mind agile and young.

Reported Number of Covid Cases: Fact or Hoax?

As of this writing, the reported number of cases has skyrocketed to 7,990 on March 20, 2021, with a 7-day average of 5,635, according to the JHU CSSE COVID-19 data. There was even a time reported when cases were said to have reached 8K plus in a day. Photo above by Bruno Kelzer on Unsplash.

Now some folks don't believe this. They say it's blown out of proportion. They say reports are exaggerated to scare people to:

1. Make them take the vaccine pronto.
2. Enable some sectors to get more Covid funds than they need (election time is near).
3. Force people to stay home.

Such stories are unfounded and unconfirmed, how the number of cases is supposed to be manipulated and all that. But I don't discard them easily. I listen and try to weigh things. But in the end I opt for confirmed news reports than humors. Sometimes I try to come up with my own conclusions after an analysis of facts and stories, and keep it to myself.

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Stories like first-hand experiences of friends of friends. My sister, for instance, had a college classmate who died of Covid recently. It was so fast that it seemed the classmate died just after a day or two of contracting the illness. Her symptoms were a bit different--LBM, severe back aches, flu-like weakness, fever and breathing difficulty--but her sense of smell and appetite remained intact.

My sister was still texting her one evening and she was still responding, though precariously in short replies--like she was really having a hard time. But come early morning, no replies came in. My sister learned that her classmate went to the hospital but was not admitted because the hospital was filled to capacity. So she was given oxygen at the reception area. Hours later she died.

And then after just a short while, my sister started receiving several other urgent prayer requests for the same thing--friends and their families having the same symptoms. I saw the same things on my FB wall--friends and their families suddenly catching Covid and they couldn't figure out why or how.

I mean, all of a sudden, a lot of people around me were catching it. They pop up one after another on my wall. It was not like this last year. The virus is hitting closer to home so I had to meet my clan on Zoom for re-orientation on health protocols and prayer. It's become so alarming. 

It's silly to insist at this point that there's no pandemic, that it's fake news, that the statistics are designed to scare people and get more funds, that's it's just a panic tactic or some other reasons some smart-Alecks try to come up with. I'm not also saying that we believe everything. 

What I'm saying is that Covid is real and it's a deadly killer. This much is clear. I don't care if some unscrupulous people are trying to get rich out of the pandemic or using it for strategic positioning in the coming election. Or if the media is blowing things out of proportion to keep a high rating. The true-to-life stories of real people around me are enough to see that this thing is for real and we must all be doubly careful at all cost not to catch the virus.

Will Life Revert to a Maskless Society?

After a year of community quarantines and pandemic I terribly miss the good old days when I just wore my natural face in public, and that was it. Not even a makeup or foundation needed, even though I don't really look that good with my natural. But at least I could freely breathe air and talk and be clearly heard when mask-free.

Will life revert to masklessness? The urban dictionary says masklessness refers to "reckless macho (machismo) in public" when one defies the norm or rule to wear face mask in public. Today it's reckless but come one day when this pandemic is over, it will be a welcome sight again. But will that day ever come? I think so. I want it to. But it also may not.

All the pandemics in world history stopped eventually. What makes us think this won't? It will, if the virus is forced into a deadlock, if it is deprived of transmission, like in herd immunization. Speaking of which, some folks (not all) who refuse vaccination think they've outsmart the rest of us because we  allowed the virus inside our bodies and they didn't. And look at them, they've never contracted Covid ever since. 

But truth is, without the majority of us taking the jab, herd immunity with lessened death incidence wouldn't be possible at all. So we, the vaccinated, saved them. Of course, it's by God's grace and mercy.

But this still depends on how disciplined we are to take all health protocols seriously to the letter, and I'm talking worldwide. In spite of the vaccines, the virus won't stop until we finally take the health precautions seriously. 

Remember, the virus can mutate. 

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And if we remain lacking in discipline and just relying on the vaccines, total and safe masklessness may never happen again. All of us may even have to wear PPE as a public new-norm outfit. Imagine that hassle. How can I enjoy my Botejyu Ramen noodles in PPE overalls and head gear? At least face masks and shields are easier to take off.

Actually, we have other things to worry about. Looking at the broader picture--will things in general get any better? I mean, the fragile situation in the Middle East (specifically the growing conflict between Israel and Iran (which has the potential of escalating into a nuclear confrontation), China's arbitrary claims in the West Philippine Sea (which equally has a nuclear likelihood), world inflation, worsening natural calamities, climate change, hunger, unemployment, illiteracy, illegal drugs, human trafficking, terrorism, depression and suicides, etc.

It's easy to decide things are going to get better in the future. To remain positive. Being realistic is becoming more unrealistic and impractical today because it invites the ire of those who deem it a negative thing and who love mongering doomsday scenarios. But that's realistic--seeing both the positive and negative sides of things, the good and the bad news. Imagine if all your doctor tells you is the good news just to keep you from feeling negative about your true condition.

The prophetic books in the bible paint even drearier scenarios, at least as far as what this world is coming to in these last days. Nothing will get better. In the words of Jesus Christ, one passage summarizes it:

For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again...Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold..

In another passage, Jesus warns:

There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. 

 Then Peter adds:

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.

So, with a broader picture of things to come, will life ever revert to masklessness?  Possibly yes. But the dreary scenarios prophesied by Jesus will stay. They will surely come to pass. What he says is always final. I remember some guys on the Net commenting how they really believe in these prophecies, especially of the evil world ruler to come, the Anti-Christ. So they conclude that someone must kill the Anti-Christ before he rules and wreaks havoc 😝. 

And then we can all live happily ever after.

But that's not the case. God has predestined (decided beforehand with finality) that the Anti-Christ will not die any other way but to be thrown with the False Prophet and Satan into the Lake of Fire. No bullet or even nuclear warhead can harm him.

Well, relax and get ready to take off your face masks and shields for good one day soon. Who knows, God may take pity on us all and lift the pandemic once and for all. He may cause Covid to just suddenly go away and never come back, or command it to scram and go to Mars or into the Bottomless Pit. Anything can happen with God. He may even enable us to recover all that we lost in the pandemic as he deletes the virus completely. 

Or he may not.

When They Say It Works This Way, It Won't

I'm not a negative person, but I can't help noticing how things are often the exact opposite of what people say they are. Like when some doctors tell you the procedure is simple and wouldn't cost you that much, you're often in for the biggest surprise of your life. Wait till you see the other fees inserted plus the PPE. Aren't hospitals supposed to shoulder them? 

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash.

Anyway, we were at this posh café famous for its pastries and good food dishes and the waiter told us our orders would take 20 minutes to prepare. I thought 20 minutes was okay. No big deal. But almost an hour had passed and our orders weren't served yet--and to think that customers were limited to a few numbers due to social distancing. What took them so long to prepare a mango salad?

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Another is how the MMDA explained that closing U-turn slots along EDSA would help ease traffic. They closed the slots to give way to bus stop isles placed in the middle of EDSA. Yet, the exact opposite is happening. The buses are relieved but the rest of  the commuters and other public vehicles are suffering hell. 

And how about the recent water crisis after typhoon Ulysses hit Luzon? Maynilad said water would be rationed according to schedule but in many places no water came even during said schedules. 

Gary told me how he found some portions of Scriptures hard to understand. It said such and such but it seemed like he got the exact opposite. Like how all things are supposed to work together for his good, but it seemed it was the exact opposite--everything seemed to work toward a bad end for him. Like a conspiracy or something.

Well, I said it really depended on how we saw things. How do we define "good things" and "bad things"? Do we define them as God does? Because to God, a "good thing" often has a different meaning. Jesus was crucified and it was a "good" thing to God. Job suffered a lot and it was a "good thing" as well. 

For all we know, what we see as "good things" may really be "bad things" as far as God's concerned. Like how the Pharisee prayed because he thought everything was going good for him, compared to the tax collector who beat his breast and would not even look at heaven [Luke 18.9-14]. Or how the rich man got a lifetime of good things and Lazarus got nothing but a life of misery. But look who ended up in God's favor. 

Yup, the world says this or that is the way to success, but don't count on it. It isn't. The world may say this is how you become a failure, but expect the exact opposite. The truth is not always obvious. Often, it is wrapped up in tatters and rags or buried in trash heaps, disguised as filth. 

Look at how Jesus came to the world--disguised as a poor baby in a grimy manger (it's where barn animals eat and poop, right?) born in the poor town of Bethlehem and raised up in ragged Nazareth. And look at how Herod lived.

You Forget Things But Your Memory is Sharp. Sound Familiar?

You forget things but your memory is actually sharp. It's crazy but it's true, at least of me. Sometimes I tend to forget about certain things but I often have a photographic memory of events, to the detail. I amaze my pre-school classmates when I tell them events in our school days so vividly and accurately which they have forgotten and slowly remember only with the help of my stories. [Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash].

"You remember all that?" they ask me astonished. 

Because I tell them what they wore, what exactly they said, their facial expressions, who were present, what the occasion was and what they we holding in their hand at the time. Things like that. Then slowly the pieces come together in their minds and they get a picture of it, though still a bit hazy. "Yeah, I think I remember that!" they exclaim. 

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But I sometimes easily forget what I'm told. And I smile and shake my head in wonder. 

Finally, one day I figured it out. I tend to forget what's not important to me and remember in detail what my mind considers as dear and vital. Like how my girlfriend (now my wife) smiled at me when I invited her for pizza after her lab duty then. Or how my dad drank coffee on his rocking chair by the window when I was 6. Or how my childhood buddies on the street where we lived in La Loma looked like. 

Once, I met on FB a childhood neighbor I played with some 50 plus years ago. I asked her if she remembered me and how her siblings were doing. She was fascinated that I still remembered their names and faces. "How could you remember us all?" she asked.

And I remember the stories my dad told me in detail, especially stories of his childhood and career as a young professional. I remember how he worded them, his face as he said them, his excitement and how his eyes moved while he searched his data bank in his head for details. I'm so good at noting such details. But I often easily forget where I placed my pen I was using just a second ago.

And finally, Holy Scriptures. When I read the bible, I feel I'm taken away back to the time the story in the bible had happened and I see every detail--like I'm watching a movie, or I'm right there in the midst of it all. Sometimes, I even become part of it. I remember the details. But often, I'm poor at memorizing verses, though at times I can manage fairly well. Sometimes.

I remember seeing somewhere (see?) that the mind chooses what it remembers. What it thinks is important it stores in an apt, easily accessible compartment in your brain, but what it sees as unimportant it stashes away in some remote corner of the brain, making them hard to retrieve. 

God is wonderful, making the brain work like that. It helps you arrange data in the brain from most relevant to just relevant, from mildly relevant to mildly irrelevant, from simply irrelevant to very irrelevant. It relaxes your mind this way. You conveniently forget what causes stress and suitably remember what causes happiness--if you let it do its job.

But once you interfere with the brain so that you reverse its operation--you insist on remembering the unimportant--the things that cause you pain or unhappiness--then you reverse the process. Then you get overstressed.

Not many people really respect your opinion or life principle. They want you to agree with their say or join them. You have to like their posts but they never like yours. Well, long ago I decided to be a NonJoiner. I don't care what they think.

If You Can't Beat them, Don't

They say we need to win. Life is a battle and we always have to emerge the victors in each episode. Well, that is if you're a joiner. Joiners join anything and everything under the sun. They can't imagine life without joining. They say no man is an island. But Johnny the Castaway managed to survive well for years alone in an island and managed to rejoin society without becoming a joiner. [Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay].

But learning a lot as I grew up, I discovered none of what they say are true. You don't have to be a winner and losing battles is not that bad, actually. Some losses are wins, in fact, if you have lived long enough as a Nonjoiner or a Cracked Pot. You realize that there's nothing more important in life than laughing and finding a lot of things ridiculous.

Cracked Pot is my new Facebook page. It's Nonjoiner's long lost brother. He knew he had a lost brother somewhere on the planet and recently found him and they were reunited at last. Not joined together but reunited. Now they can live happily ever after. One is independent minded, the other weird minded. But they sound similar. They're one spirit.

And there's no need to "beat" anybody unless someone's really asking for it or seriously threatening your freedom to be your unique self. And by "beating," I mean being a nonjoiner and cracked pot at the same time. If you don't know what that means, regularly checkout Cracked Pot and Nonjoiner posts. It's the only way you can fathom the deep insight.

In case you lose good judgment and are tempted to beat somebody or some folks and cannot, then don't. It's not true that you should join them if you can't beat them. Competition is a big lie. It's GOD alone who decides victory and defeat, not our efforts. If you compete and think you have bested someone else, you're a pity. You don't understand life one bit. 

You simply do what you need to do and do it well. Period. Tomorrow, try to do better, not because you're competing with yourself or anyone (or proving your worth), but because you need to do better. Period. Never compare yourself with anyone because we each are given different life missions, as Peter learned when he asked Jesus about what would happen to John. Just do what you're told. Period.

They say we need to belong. We need to fellowship. Well, I have no argument against that. But it doesn't mean we need to join. If you think you need to, suit yourself. I won't stand in your way. But don't force me to. I don't need to join to belong.

Like the body. A finger or toe doesn't need to "join" the body to be part of it. It already is. Yet, every part of the body knows that a toe cannot be a finger, or an eye cannot be an ear. The body knows that. It's a given. But "joining," in many people's minds, means we need to be the same and follow the same pattern. Joining means being a robot.

But cracked pots are not like that. They understand how every pot is unique (though they may look alike), often made possible by their cracks. No two cracks are the same. Each crack has a different story to tell. And you cannot "join" a membership to get a uniform crack. Churches should know this, and yet church people are often the last to know about it.