Tag: Law

Christians for Trump

Jesus was asked by an expert on the law, “What is the greatest commandment in the Law?” He responded, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. The second is like it: ‘Love Your Neighbor as Yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The sign planted at the exit of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi

Advance thousands of years from this declaration of Christ himself and we find ourselves hopelessly confused. As a free nation we test our own laws based on a constitution…or so we did. In this one response, Jesus gave us a test. All the Law and the Prophets hang or come under these two.

This is the account from the book of Matthew and I wonder if Christians actually give this a second thought. In Luke, there is further clarification when the expert in the law wanted “clarification” as to “who is my neighbor.” I won’t insult your intelligence any further by rewriting the parable of The Good Samaritan here, but given it’s specific references to a “hated foreign enemy” the context for my concern lies here.

Our country may have been established by Christians but we are not a Christian nation. We are a free nation. We have our rights outlined in our constitution but we are not a theocracy and this comes not just from our constitution but from Christ. When he was once again being tested by the Pharisees tried to trap him again with the question of is it right to pay taxes to Caesar. Jesus said, “…give Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.

We, as Christians are separate from the world, in the world but not of the world and we should not seek to rule the world. When we align politically as a group, we call into question our own spiritual health. Politicians are imperfect. Leaders will fail. We may be disappointed.

But when we are faced with a leader or a potential leader who claims to love God but preaches hate, violence and bigotry, lies to the point of recklessly killing hundreds of thousands of people, announces that he is God’s chosen one, all while stealing from the poor and lining the pockets of the rich and mocking every decent acceptable behavioral norm in modern day society, and “Christians” plant signs at the entrance of their church emblazoned “Christians for Trump”…they have identified with the very antithesis of Christ.

Christians who are offended by my stance would do well to prayerfully read Matthew 23 and reflect upon their own beliefs and actions and how it may affect believers yet to find salvation. As for me, I am deeply saddened by the fact that people I believed were true believers in Christ have traded truth for lies, love for hate, and integrity for arrogance.

Respectfully,

Michael
A sinner saved by grace

The Law of Large Numbers

How many more people would I have to expose my value to, to make that 1% put me in the top 1%?  It is a good question.  Why isn’t it asked more often?

At one time, for reasons that are too long to explain here, I acquired my NJ Insurance License for Health and Life.  As part of the course we had to learn what it is that keeps insurance companies in business particularly because we see large settlements paid out in the news and many of us know people that are insurance agents that make a fortune…or so we have been told.

The reason for this is the Law of Large Numbers.  Yes, compulsory insurance like auto and medical are requiring everyone to pay a premium regardless of their risk.  There are still far fewer claims that are paid than money collected.  Insurance profits.

In high school, when I went on my senior trip to Florida, it was my first experience with this concept although I didn’t know that I was actually learning what should be a valuable lesson.  I was told by my parents that they had exhausted their funds paying for my trip and that any money that I wanted to spend, I would have to supply for myself.  I had nothing of value to sell, and at the time, no job.  I did have a face full of facial hair (as high school males tend to get).  I had no desire to go to the Florida sun with all this hair and the day before Florida was usually Senior Crazy Day.  My craziness was to shave my face, but only half of it.  Most people didn’t believe me and since I needed money, I tried to bet people $100 that I would go through with it.

Now, the fact that no single person would bet $100 was clear, but I could get 100 people to bet me a dollar.  Although I never got to approach 100 people, I did get 30 people. There were 1600 people in my school and 30 of them paid me to do something that didn’t cost me a thing.  That was less than 2% of the population.  I didn’t even get the word out to most of them.

Today, we have access to a larger population and social media is the key.  Marketers for major companies are exploiting this through ads on these sites.  So, let’s think.  What do I have?  What can I do?  What would be valuable enough so that someone would pay me a buck for something.  If only one person in 100 would pay for something, then we need to find way more than 100.  How many more people would I have to expose my value to, to make that 1% put me in the top 1%?  It is a good question.  Why isn’t it asked more often?

Law of Large Numbers in it’s simplest form–If you take a very small percentage from a very large number, you get another very large number.

Is it possible to teach an old dog new tricks?  It is possible to make this concept pay?  I’ll get back to you on that.

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