Can we thank God for getting blinded?

Getting blinded--this trap is everywhere.
When do we get blinded?
I think we are easy to get blinded especially when we get defensive.
In other words, when we try to defend someone or something including myself, we will be representing the interest of one particular party (or particular "side") --with embedded emotion at times... Then we do have a tendency to fail to see the whole picture, thus we get blinded.
Korean drama would say, "When you get angry, you lose the ability to make a right judgment of right and wrong."

Then why do we get defensive at times? Our righteousness would want to defend someone? But we do have such thing as called "self-righteous", or, "self-satisfaction". Hmm... Yes, we all need to seek God's righteousness.

It is a challenge to try to see the whole picture all the time. But I think it is, in a way, a good training to see things closer to what "God's perspective" (or, maybe parents' perspective) might be. So it's not a bad thing but it's a chance given to me.

Thank God for the CALLING!

It's not my business...
Somebody's going to do something about it...
I am not so significant...
You have right to say all these, but consider...

In fact, it is you who God is calling
In other words, it is you who God is challenging
He is challenging you to see which choice you are going to make out of this...
Don't think that he is calling someone else
Of course there are many people around you who may be doing significant things, but so what?
They are there just to set a stage for you, so that you can make the most meaningful choice
Therefore, do not lose this opportunity
to make the most meaningful choice in your life!

Remember, God is calling YOU! not someone else
You may mobilize all kinds of reasons to deny this but...try to be honest to yourself
The most foolish thing is vaguely knowing the chance and deeply regret later
And I believe I don't need to tell you anymore that you are .... of ....; and your audience is ....!
I'm not kidding; you are such an important person

Just... don't act out of guilty conscience, but find your motivation in love

What are you so afraid of?

If someone is so desperately trying to stop someone (or some voices) from speaking, even by using all kinds of power--peer pressure, physical violence, big noise, legal authority, political threatening, etc.--, usually the case is that he (she) is afraid of something to be known or exposed. In other words, he is hiding something intentionally for some purpose or reason, knowing what he is doing. Or, sometimes the case is that he somehow managed to deceive himself by using some justification so that he can feel he is doing the right thing even though he is not.

If he has confidence of being not guilty, and has faith in God, then he will not need to be afraid of anything to be exposed. He will be so happy to practice transparency, and peacefully listen to what the person has to say.

Therefore, lying will not work, it will surely not work in the long term. It will not give any benefit to anybody including the liar himself. No matter how great he may appear to be for now, whoever holds on to lying will end; it is just a question of time. So, don't try to lose the eternal benefit by holding on to the temporal glory.

Thank God for women!

You may have heard that today is the age of women.
What does that mean, though?

I admit that women's role and power of influence did become larger today in many ways.
Anyway, if that's the case, our future (not to mention our present ) depends on women.
We do need to offer a lot of support to women around us starting from offering a lot of prayer for them so that they could steer the wheel to the right direction.

Is it really ok to thank God for the bathroom?

It is easy to say, "Thank you, God, for the bathroom!"
What a hypocrite, though...

Think about this: How many people have luxury enough to have access to the bathroom? especially the nice ones?
Maybe majority might not have such access to the bathroom.

What if it's minority?
Doesn't matter, whether majority or minority, as long as there are people who do not have such luxury, how can I just thank for something given to me, while that is not given to others?
I am thanking God just from my own viewpoint, or my self-centered interest.
forgetting about how God might feel as the parent of all mankind.
I think this is really terrible, and I am such a hypocrite!

Life is learning anyway, and it is OK to be greedy for learning, I believe.
Thus, I cannot help thanking God anyway...

What would justify you to exclude your brother from the family?

For any reason, is it a right thing to support a campaign to exclude one child out of the whole family? For any reason, would you support a campaign to isolate one child from the whole family? Shouldn't there be any different way to deal with the situation?

Of course, confusion will end eventually, but the question is what will I be saying that day when things have changed. What is my contribution at this moment? Twenty years later, imagine you are talking about what happened today, "At that time, I was doing this and that..." That's why, whatever you are doing, it is not someone who judges you, but the only person who would judge you will be your own conscience. This is the amazing value of who we are!

Parents and the elder son

Parents are there to love all the children equally. Thus, parents will be embracing all of them.
In order to support parents, the elder son is there to help his younger siblings. Thus, what parents would do and what the elder son would do will not be the same. Even though they might share the same heart, how they would express it may be different.

In other words, God's expectation upon the parents and God's expectation upon the elder son is not the same. So, we cannot say, "If they share the same heart, why do they act different?" For example, parents cannot scold or chastise his child in a certain way that the child would leave the family. Elder son representing parents has the role to educate his younger siblings even through scolding and chastising, which parents could not do. Thus, sometimes the elder son could not be as nice as their parents to his younger siblings. He will grow by doing that role.

Love or anger?

In other words, am I motivated by love, or motivated by anger? Also, am I expecting others to be motivated by love, or motivated by anger?

There is such a thing as "righteous anger" or "indignation". We might be confused by this but just sit down and ask my conscience to see what he would say...

Demand justice or practice justice?

When God looks at his child demanding justice from the devil, how would he feel?

Has God ever sought justice from the devil?

When you feel passionate, just check why are you so passionate. Which part of you are stimulated? ---your genuine heart to give to others? ---your part of heart to demand justice?

We cannot be deceived by superficial look of things.

Anyway, our conscience knows clearly about this.

Thank God for my fingers!

"Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5: 17-20)

Thus, when you are about to point finger at someone, remember the three fingers are pointing at you! (I forgot who said it...) Does my righteousness exceed the one who you are about to point finger at? --your conscience has the answer. We all just need to work harder looking forward.

Thank God for hypocrisy!

When you see hypocrisy (according to your viewpoint), don't judge but thank God
for his teaching you what you should not do

If you judge, then most likely you will one day be put in the situation that you might be strongly tempted to do things which is exactly what you judged today. So it is said that the measure you give will be the measure you get (or, with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged).
You will never know that one day you might be doing hypocrite without your being aware of it.
Therefore, it is always good to be humble, grateful and learning.

I wish that the day will come soon when we don't need to see any hypocrisy, any lying and cheating. I believe this day will surely come.

Thank God for my teacher

Someone said that there is a secret in raising children. Here it is:

Make sure that your child is the teacher and you are the student, not the other way around.

Learning includes repentance and changing of your habits. When you see any problem in your child, you consider it as yours and repent and change yourself.
And as you change yourself, you will be growing and that would make you happy and grateful.
So, as you grow through this process, your child will also receive good influence and will naturally change and grow.
If you see any problem in your child, think who gave that problem to him/her. Yes, it's so obvious, but it's you. Therefore, this should be the right way--your child is the teacher and you are the student.

Thank God for my ability to choose

You have a right and freedom to expect certain thing to be certain way.

However, sometimes the thing becomes certain way which you don't want it to be for any reason, then you may be disappointed as an initial reaction.

Now you have some options:
1. be angry, be disappointed, be frustrated, blaming someone/something, etc. [unhappy]
2. be grateful, try to learn something out of it, and grow, and appreciate your growth [happy]
3. even from an initial reaction, you do the option 2 [happy]

The bottom line is:
You may not have a control on whether things happen according to your expectation or not, but
To become happy or not--nobody can control but YOU!

That's the amazing value of "your choice"

Thank God for something I cannot control

There are certain things you cannot control.
Do NOT waste your time worrying about those things.

There are certain things that ONLY you can control.
That's what you need to focus
And that's where you can move your audience
In a way which nobody else could do.

Don't cry and say, "Where is hope?"
I am the one to decide if I make one or not
If hope doesn't seem to be there, then I decide to create one, what else can I do anyway?
Then I will know that I am the son of "the Creator"

Thank God for unexpected loss

Things happen...
Anyway, whatever happens, you are still here.
You have your present moment--a chance to learn something, and grow
Some people, no, many people do not have this luxury
Some are gone to the place which they didn't wish in spite of there will
Look! You have so much.
Now is the chance to think what you have, instead of think what you lost
Life is short, but in fact, it is pretty long
You can have a long term plan
Anyway, whatever the situation is, one thing is always the same, that is
You are the main character of the drama
And you audience is?
GOD!

Thank God for the Mother!

Everybody has a mother. But you have The Special One!

Once in every year a chance is given to us to remind ourselves that we have many mothers to appreciate.

Happy Mother's Day!

Now you're lookin' for trouble

Once you said it, though, now you are looking for trouble!
Now expect a challenge, which you asked for. But the trouble is basically just yourself:

"Why can't I do such and such...?!"
"Maybe I'm not worthy for this..."
"I don't have confidence to fulfill my responsibility (even though I received so much from God)."
"I can't believe that I can make a miracle."
"Maybe I may disappoint him again." (better not do it at all...)

Of course these things come because you are the one who declared the war!
Therefore, you just need to win.
Just go one step at a time.
Remember what you said--I am going to "give" not "give me..."
And enjoy each step; enjoy what you do; enjoy what you can do--as he enjoys
As long as you don't change, then things will change eventually...
"Now you're talking (with him)"
And you won't regret if you die today making such step
Yes, life is learning; need to learn to enjoy your life
And enjoying is always accompanied by gratitude and humility
And because you are "the main character of the drama"!
And your best audience--God ("Okyakusamawa Kamisamadesu."お客様は神様です。)

It is my turn to give to you...

When you have to make some decision, you may say, "Oh, God, if you could give me some powerful experience, then I could/might be able to have a strong commitment," thinking that you are willing to make the decision but you need something to strongly encourage you...

Well, sounds good, since you are "willing to" make the decision. Not bad.

But, think again. Haven't you already receive so many encouragement from God? Didn't you have quite a few experiences through which you have been inspired, uplifted, convinced of God's presence...that's why you are still here, isn't that right? Think about how you could survive up to this moment while you have been through so much. Can you deny God's existence?

Then why are you asking him to give you another? "Only if you give me another something, then I will be firmly committed to go this way." Isn't it like demanding if not threatening?

Shouldn't you say to God, "God, you already have given me so much. Now this is my turn. Please don't worry about me. Now it's my turn to give to you." Should I not change my life from "give me, give me..." to "let me give, let me give..."? How would my conscience respond to this? Is it not my God-given right to be able to choose what my conscience would be satisfied?

As long as my conscience agrees, I will be with God closely. And he is the source of my life. And he is the God of suffering--as the parent of all his poor children. Now it is good for us to say to him, "I will give to you. Please don't worry about me..."

Japan-shaped water

When I posted the Korea-shaped beef, I received a response from my friend, saying that the water which her child spilled on the floor became Japan!





Oh, look at a whale on the Pacific Ocean! She is looking downward with her mouth open...