Jack LaFountain's Blog, page 28

Lost Crusader #136 What Price Victory

“For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ…because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.

2 Corinthians 1:5,7

What would you give in exchange for your soul? For Christians, there can really be only one answer—their life. That is often understood as being executed or murdered for your faith. That’s not an easy thing to do, but harder still is the decision to live every day in service to Jesus.

Though it is often taught, preached, and believed by some that prosperity is the Christian’s due and anything less signifies a lack of faith, this is nowhere found in the scriptures. That is not to say you cannot prosper or be wealthy and be a Christian. It simply means that this is not guaranteed and earthly suffering or lack is not God’s retaliation for a life ill-spent.

Jesus invited all who labored at living and found that load heavy, to come to him, and he would provide rest. When that rest would come is open-ended. This was not some slick marketing ploy. It was an opportunity to look at the life he lived and the manner in which he lived it and do the same, no matter how imperfectly you performed.

Now, the scriptures describe Jesus as both a man of sorrows acquainted with grief and a man anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. When faced with the excruciating pain of crucifixion, he endured it by seeing the joy that lay beyond.

This is not blind faith. It is seeing the hardships of serving God and choosing to endure them anyway because you believe the reward—everlasting life lived in the Spirit and in the fellowship of God is worth the difficulties.

In most cases, coming to God is not the end of our problems, but the beginning of a struggle that will push you out of your comfort zone at every single turn, while at the same time, giving you the chance to use your natural talents to their fullest.

That alone is worth the price of admission. Tests are not a punishment, as school children believe, they are a challenge that bears a reward. There’s no one I enjoy competing against more than myself. Life continues to be a challenge. I admit that there are times I fuss and fume and am frustrated with myself beyond measure at not meeting the challenge in a triumphant march. Sometimes I crawl into the next challenge.

“In your patience possess ye your souls.”

Maranatha

The Colonel #98 Phantom Rights

The Declaration of Independence expresses the American ideal that government should exist to protect our natural right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As stirring as Jefferson’s (…et al) document may be, it is only a statement of principle. It is not the law of the land. The declaration says, “this is what we are trying to do. The Constitution says, “this is how we will achieve it.”

There is, under the framework of how the government is to operate, no guarantee to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness. Violate the law, and one or all of these may be taken from you. Everyone does not get a trophy.

As a result, “phantom rights” not found in the document, (written in invisible ink?) have sprung up everywhere.

The most recent case to catch my eye is the case of two fathers arrested for causing a disturbance at a school board meeting. Personally, I am in favor of raising a ruckus with school boards, but that is immaterial. I quote from the internet news…

“The fathers alleged that the defendants violated their rights to petition the government for redress and violated their rights to exercise free speech without retaliation.”

The italics are mine, added to emphasize the phantom right to free speech without retaliation. There is no such thing. The First Amendment guards our right to free speech, that’s true, but there is no safeguard from retaliation, and neither must a platform for your speech be provided to you.

When your free speech disturbs the conducting of public business, the governing body has a duty to have you removed. Go peacefully and you can stand on the corner and shout your opinion until doomsday, you can post it on Facebook, or write a letter to the editor of the local paper.

Most of you are too young to remember the Dixie Chicks, popular Country and Western singers. They decided to use their status as celebrities to publicly criticize the President. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, they made fools of themselves by subsequently whining (as snowflakes do) that they were being treated unfairly because fans quit buying their records.

President Coolidge noted that he never got into trouble for things he didn’t say.

Too bad the Chicks weren’t up on Presidential quotes. But then Presidents aren’t always up on the Constitution either.in committed to protecting a

“I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose and this fundamental constitutional right.” Obama, formerly a law professor, obviously must know that this “right” does not actually exist…”

Maybe Obama was absent that day.

That his own second in command, his party, and pro-choice advocates everywhere do not believe the My Body, My Choice slogan Obama espoused was made glaringly evident by Covid.

Slap on that mask, no going outside, no family gatherings, and roll up that sleeve, we have magic serum to inject.

One final phantom right.

One final phantom right.

“Indeed, I’ve come to believe that the Constitution is perfectly willing to allow people a “right to health care,” and it’s in the Ninth Amendment.”

The Ninth Amendment says that “the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” Consequently, liberals say, if you claim a right, and there’s nothing in the Constitution that denies your claim, it’s your right.

Hey, Pandora here’s a box for you.

The Constitution doesn’t expressly deny a right to walk into a bank and demand they hand over the cash. Do I have a right to do that? No, seems not, there is only a right to do that with taxpayers.

I can remember debating the right to healthcare with my nursing colleagues. When they had talked themselves into a corner, as they invariably did when discussing the Constitution, they resorted to—but don’t you think everyone deserves healthcare?”

I thought my kids deserved to go to the college of their choice—unfortunately, I could no more afford that than the government could afford to host a healthcare buffet. (Sorry kids, you were born a generation too soon.)

When you are raised and schooled that you are entitled to whatsoever your heart desires, it soon becomes your right—your due—and any twisting of logic becomes permissible to attain it.

Sic Semper Tyrannis

Know Jack #347 The Unseen Hand

“The Great Oz has spoken…pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!”

From the Wizard of Oz

There is a certain amount of magic and wizardry that goes into writing a novel. The author must be able to transform himself into the people in the story to figure out what they are doing and why they are doing it. Then, he must transform back again (not always as easy as it sounds). The author must be able to project himself through time and space and remotely view the setting his characters are moving around in, all while commanding the weather.

Generally speaking, to be really believable in his role, the author must remain out of sight behind the curtain while letting his voice come through. Of course, there are great stories in which the author is the narrator, but even then, he is usually in disguise.

I have spoken before about selling the lie you are telling by using more truth than falsehood, requiring the writer to research his subject. When the lie doesn’t make sense, the story becomes too outrageous and readers like me will lose interest. There’s a famous author (who, as sales attest, knows more about the game than I do) whose books I stopped reading after the third one because it seemed her protagonist had taken a semester or two of every subject known to man and so was always prepared for every crisis.

I’m a fan of old westerns. Have you ever noticed that John Wayne’s movies tended to have a core of actors that appeared in every movie in some role? Another famous author is well known for pretty much the same thing. He has stock stereotypes that are in every book. The fools, the evil, and the ignorant savages in his books are endowed with the beliefs and politics the writer dislikes. On the other hand, the heroes, and good guys all come from a certain part of the country and share the author’s views.

There’s nothing wrong with that except for some readers (like me) noticing and putting the book down never to buy another. I learned as a young man the television had a Power button that was capable of exiting the screen. Books aren’t much different.

Which, finally, brings me back to my main point—author invisibility. Hide inside the characters, but don’t pull their strings. Use the character’s senses/actions/dialog to let the reader see the scene, not the author standing behind the curtain telling them what’s going on.

Writers have favorite word choices, which is not a bad thing. You want readers to recognize that voice behind the curtain without seeing the face attached to it. Simply be aware of word choices and don’t fall into a rut—your voice will still come through.

My favorite thing about being an author is hiding under the bed and grabbing the reader when they are looking the other way.

Maranatha

Lost Crusader #135 Saul’s Armor

“So Saul clothed David with his armor…And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So he took them off…and he chose for himself five smooth stones…”

1 Samuel 17: 38-40

And the rest, as they say, is history. David goes out to slay the giant with his weapon of choice. David’s refusal of Saul’s armor is not a poor reflection on the quality of the king’s helmet, his coat of mail, or his sword. David, all dressed up like the king, knew that adorned in that armor was not how the Lord taught him to face his enemies.

Most of what people “know” is information taken on authority. All those people admonishing their neighbors to “follow the science” as opposed to what they call faith, or the authority of scripture, are the blindest of the blind.

Christians employ the scriptures based on authority. That is, they believe it to be true based on their acceptance of the trustworthiness of the biblical record. However, Christians admit it whereas all our scientific friends suppose they do differently and that is patently not true (and the subject of a past blog).

Scriptural authority is much like Saul’s armor. It’s good to have, but until you really test it and prove its worth for yourself, it cannot kill giants. Many Christians are satisfied with that much. I don’t believe God is and that is why trials and tests come our way.

Knowledge based on authority has its place. If you think about the command, thou shalt not steal. You really don’t have to go out and steal a car to know the soundness of the authority behind it. Thinking about it in the context of your life and relationship with God is most often enough experimentation because in doing so you are studying to find out for yourself.

What does the scripture say? Taste and see, the Lord is good. Vicarious eating is so unsatisfying.

Preaching and teaching are good, not as an end-all, but as a springboard for living out your faith.

Jesus is the foundation of the temple that is your body, soul, and spirit, not because someone told you so, not even because you can quote 1 Corinthians 6:19, but because you have become acquainted with the Spirit of God that lives in you. You have tried on the shoes and walked around in them.

“…try me now in this, says the Lord of Hosts.”

And again.

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord.”

Do not try to wear someone else’s Christianity or judge it without experience. Don’t go to battle in Saul’s armor when you may have your own.

Maranatha

The Colonel #97 Unintended Consequences

“Every government intervention (in the marketplace) creates unintended consequences, which lead to calls for further government interventions.”

Ludwig von Mises

I’ve taken many courses in government and history, but an economics class was where I first really encountered this idea. While unintended consequences certainly apply to economics, the idea is as just as valid in most interactions. It doesn’t matter what the fly intended, if it brushes a web, the spider’s coming for it.

When wages were frozen by law during WWII, employers wanting to raise pay to keep the best workers began paying for employees’ health insurance. The increased benefit was not considered a raise in pay and was not only allowed but became the norm. Obamacare and today’s astronomical healthcare costs are unintended consequences of that decision.

But this blog is not about healthcare or the monetary cost of unintended consequences. It’s about something far more important and closer to home—freedom.

The Department of Homeland Security, headed by an unelected Secretary, has determined that misinformation, disinformation, and malicious information are the number one threat to this country. To battle this perceived threat, they have created a Disinformation Governance Board to monitor communications. Like most governmental agencies, they not only write the rules but are also judge and jury.

They say that they intend to guard us from “false” information disseminated by the Russians and the Chinese (implied in this is the notion that common people are too ignorant to detect foreign lies). That may be what they intend to do, but what unintended consequences will the creation of the board spawn?

What if citizens on social media start saying things about the government that the board decides is disinformation? Facebook jail could become a very real place where re-education takes place. What if textbooks are found to contain disinformation? The Department of Education could decide to end the States’ authority to decide curriculum altogether. What if any speech that doesn’t conform to what the President’s staff approves as truth becomes disinformation?

In the wake of the Covid pandemic and the incongruent and even contradictory information dispensed by federal and state governments, it’s easy to imagine that disinformation is anything the government is not promoting at the moment. After the shifting sands of the gospel according to Fauci, there’s no other way to determine “correct” information from one day to the next.

Congresspersons and Senators are calling this board “The Ministry of Truth” in reference to a similar body in Orwell’s 1984. The Attorney Generals of twenty states are calling it a danger to free speech and are preparing a lawsuit to oppose DHS’s decision to create this board, an action which they are calling illegal.

The official White House line is that our representatives are overreacting and spreading hysteria. Nina Jankowicz, who the government calls “nonpartisan” and “apolitical”, has said that Hunter Biden’s laptop was a product of disinformation and that the Covid Chinese lab leak story was misinformation invented to help Trump.

The government intends no harm—the board has passed the President’s sniff test. We should all take their word that their intentions are pure. After all, they only intend to protect us from our natural gullibility and foreign deceit.

Sic Semper Tyrannis

Know Jack #346 On Winning and Success

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Michael Jordan

In preparation for writing this, I slogged through a bunch of supposedly inspirational quotes on winning. Sadly only a few of those people idolized by millions for winning, appear to really know the difference between winning and succeeding. Michael Jordan nailed it.

Modern thought has that it’s not about winning or losing but playing the game and taking home the participation trophy. I understand writers who count it a win just to write a book. Until you’ve done it, you cannot know how difficult that is to do. Getting it published by someone else takes the achievement to another level.

However, that is not really success as a writer because the object of the game is not to write a book but to have others read your book. The book’s success is judged by the number of readers. That is not how writers measure success. I think we all have different scales for that. Most of those scales are dependent upon expectation.

Aiming high is important. Unrealistic expectations are the fast lane on the superhighway to disappointment and failure. A Little Leaguer should dream about playing in the Bigs. There should also come a time when he/she takes an honest inventory of their chances and says, “I may not be big league, but I love playing the game”. They then need to take that and enjoy every minute of the ride doing the best they can do—that may not be winning, but it is definitely success.

Success is meeting and exceeding your expectations. I consider myself a successful writer, not because I made the New York Times Bestseller List, but because nearly two years after Bayou Moon’s release, I’m still selling 15-20 a month. I never expected that. In fact, it still amazes me, but not as much as knowing Blood Moon is doing even better.

Numbers-wise, I’ve written more flops than hits, but I still have those people who buy and read everything I write and that’s success. Do I still dream about my books being #1 or movie studios calling to buy the movie rights? You bet I do and I’m not about to stop now. However, neither of those things will make me a winner or a success—I already am one.

There’s a story Jesus told about a woman who had a grievance. She took her case to the judge and was denied the justice she sought. So, every day thereafter she showed up at the judge’s seat pleading for justice. Finally, she wore him down and he granted her petition. Success is about showing up every single day and giving it your best for that day.

If you must choose between being a winner and being a success—be a success, and you’ll be much happier.

Maranatha

Lost Crusader #134 Pursuing Peace

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 5:1

The Bible is filled with stories of faith and fear, success and ruin, miracles and commonplace. The scriptures contain the commands of God written on stone, the teachings of God delivered in person, and the exhortations of his ministers on the divine will. There are do’s and there are do not’s. These are all done and delivered to us for a single purpose—to restore peace with God according to the divine design. You see, humanity was meant to live at peace with God.

So, what’s the problem?

Peace with God has always, and at all times, been by personal choice. It is a peace built upon a mutual desire for love and fellowship. The scriptures are the terms and conditions that God, as the offended party, has offered as a treaty of peace and sworn by his own holiness to accept.

These conditions, like the God who offers them, have not changed since Creation. They are summed up by Jesus in simple terms, love God with your entire being, and your fellow human beings as yourself.

So, why all the pages of text?

In a word—examples. All those stories tell about the ways in which people have tried to live at peace with God. Living by conscience, by law, and by faith, in all of this, humanity on its own, has failed. Like Peter walking on water, we see the monumental impossibility of what we are trying to do and how it flies in the face of what we believe about our world.

We complicate what God has made simple because we cannot accept it is as simple as laying down our weapons and surrendering. Humanity’s war of rebellion against God began with a simple choice. I’m paraphrasing but delivering to you the Gospel, nonetheless.

God said, “If you love me, then leave that tree right there alone.” Our ancestors didn’t leave the tree alone. As a result, humanity was cursed, passing along the inbred rebellion we all know so well.

God proposed a remedy. He said, “If you love me, come unto me without reservation and love me.” The result of asking in obedience to the call is peace with God.

But…

Mouthing the words won’t do, pretending won’t make it so, even believing and positive thinking is not enough. You must admit the defeat and futility of your own efforts in heartfelt surrender to God.

At that point, God steps in. You still have to face life and everything that entails. The difference is that God is there inside you providing direction, strength, and patient forgiveness as you grow up in His kingdom.

We all are everlasting beings. After physical death, we will live beyond time, space, and matter as we know it. However, like life here and now, we will live with God or without Him—the choice is always ours.

One last note. Where does a person find God so that they might go to Him? I will let the writer of Psalm 107 tell you. (The book really does have the answers.)

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commands, and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves. They (the sailors riding the waves) mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro like a drunken man and are at their wit’s end.

Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distresses.

When you are tossed around by life and are at your wit’s end…there is God and His offer of peace. Wise men still seek Him.

Maranatha

The Colonel #96 Counting the Cost

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it?”

Jesus Christ

Much is being made on both sides of the current administration’s lunatic idea of forgiving student debt. (Guess which side I’m on.) A recent opinion piece in the Washington Examiner, as with so many in the media and government outlets is quick to place blame anywhere but upon the students.

“However, student loan forgiveness doesn't address the root of the problem — colleges charging ridiculous tuition prices.

“In the student loan debt crisis, colleges and universities have escaped the blame they deserve. These institutions charge gargantuan, predatory prices with little justification, mostly just because students have access to the loan money.”

Excuse me but charging gargantuan prices is neither predatory nor without justification. In a free-market economy charging what the market will bear is a sound practice. Have you purchased gasoline lately? As long as customers are willing to pay a premium price there is no rational reason to charge less.

Colleges and universities charge what they will because no one really asks what it costs—they just pay up—because junior’s education can’t be compromised. Well, it can, but parents today don’t have the guts to be seen skimping on education.

But this is not an issue restricted to tuition. It is endemic in much of American life. As long as insurance or Medicare/Medicaid will pay for medication and services, no one really cares what they cost—like a huge buffet they take what they want. So why should Big Pharma or hospitals charge less?

I don’t know much about economics, but I do know that decreased demand results in lower prices. The government has it in its power to dry up the sea of ready cash flowing into American colleges and universities—a sure cure to astronomical prices as attendance falls.

A simple, required co-pay for Medicare would drive recipients from using the Emergency Room for routine healthcare. Equitable charges for doctor’s visits for the insured and uninsured could be had if the insured only asked about the disparity between the two.

Not every high school graduate needs to go to college, or even should go to college. It’s not easy to change, to give up cherished notions, and weigh cost and benefits—count the cost. Jesus’ comment above was part of his explanation about what it took to be his disciple. The cost was high. It was not a decision to be made lightly.

I believe America could use more debt-free twenty-somethings with four years of experience as plumbers, welders, or diesel mechanics than debt-laden graduates with advanced degrees in Gender/Ethnic Studies, Political Science, and Art History. The experience, and sense of achievement, derived from working to make your own way in the world without participation trophies is an education in itself. Merit versus entitlement is a lesson in life to which the Woke generation needs to awaken.

When my service days were over, and even with the GI Bill I still couldn’t afford college, at forty I worked a full-time job and attended nursing school while raising four kids. Somehow, I survived. A fellow student once asked how I did it. One of my instructors overheard and answered for me, “You do what you have to do.” Or as a character in Jurassic Park was fond of saying, “life finds a way”.

A government bailout is not the way. You’re not GM or Chrysler, you know.

Sic Semper Tyrannis

Know Jack #345 Don’t Shoot the Messenger

Your patience please with my paraphrase of an old story.

God was taking a stroll one day and not finding his son Adam where he should be called out, “Where are you?” Of course, being God, He already knew the answer, but He was interested in what the boy had to say.

Adam stepped out of the bushes, head bowed, kind of dug his toe around in the dirt and blushed with shame. He knew he was in trouble and decided his best bet might be to employ his natural cuteness. He looked up with huge, puppy dog eyes and guilt written all over his face. (You know the look.) “I heard you coming and hid because I was naked.”

God raised a divine eyebrow in an is-that-so look. “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?”

Adam’s eyes lit up the way only a child’s can when he thinks he has found a way out of the trouble he’s gotten into. “That woman, he said pointing a finger Eve’s way. The one that you gave to be with me, she did it, she gave it to me.”

For you see, to err is human and to blame it on someone else is even more human.

In a time when it is the accepted response to be offended by opposing opinions and indignant about every perceived slight, it is especially difficult for some writers to deal with criticism. One bit of well-known advice is to grow a thick skin.

Lately, I’ve read some writers interpreting this as a call to indifference or to “reject” the rejecters. Follow this line of thought at your own peril.

Accepting honest criticism can be a catalyst for growth as a writer. In order for that to happen, you must first admit to the possibility that it might be true. That’s not to say it must be true, only that you are open to the possibility and are willing to listen.

If criticism of the writing has merit, there is only one place to lay the blame—atop the writer’s desk. Yes, there were editors, proofreaders, and publishers involved and they are not infallible. Lord of the Flies was rejected 20 times, one editor wrote it was “an absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull”. (Just one of many great novels panned by editors and publishers.)

But, fellow scribes, we are ultimately responsible for our work’s success. When no one wanted his book, Herman Melville self-published. Perhaps you’ve heard of his novel—Moby Dick. “Adapt, improvise, overcome,” to quote a line from a favorite movie of mine. Rejection and criticism are a stone upon which to hone your skills, don’t let the opportunity to use them pass you by. All criticism is not mean-spirited, bigoted, and pointless oppression of you as a writer. Don’t get offended, get even—use it to better yourself and your craft.

Maranatha

Lost Crusader #133 The Problem of Morality

“Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

James 4:17

If the word “sin” offends you, substitute “wrong” for it and you have the inescapable problem of morality—the human internalization of the notion that nobody’s perfect, that people do “wrong”. There is in us a sense of right and wrong that is not a product of culture. Not only do we judge ourselves thereby, but we expect others to know, and abide by, the rules as well.

The immediate argument with this thought is that there are too many diverse cultures, religions, beliefs, and opinions to settle on one “right” idea. The problem with that argument is that the differences are fewer than proponents would have us believe and agreement across all these lines is greater than we acknowledge.

The atheist may not believe in a god, but purposely trip him as he passes by, and you will discover he has a very keen sense of right and wrong that agrees with that of Jesus.

My friends into quantum mechanics or reincarnation rely on people vibrating at a higher vs lower frequency or being reborn as a higher of lower life form. Though they may deny it, they get the idea of “higher and lower” from their personal idea of morality. If they behave according to their standard (which like the atheist’s view mirrors Christianity) they will vibrate at a higher, more universe pleasing frequency. If they don’t, if in a moment of weakness they lie, cheat, or deceive, well… they don’t really talk about that. Somehow it gets erased or is balanced out if they give alms.

Even the sociopath has a sense of right and wrong—unfortunately he only applies it to “real” people and there’s a good chance he’s the only real person in the world. What he does to others doesn’t count because they are not real in the same way he is.

Contrary to the general opinion of Christians, they are among the few who face up to their sins. They do not deny they sin, but their disciple allows for a means of dealing with it other than indifference or willful ignorance. I am not saying that they don’t try to hide their sins. I just mean that they, like most folks, discover this just doesn’t work well.

Absolution of sin within Christianity means more than, “Oops, I’ll do better next time”. Sin cannot be “made right.” However, it can be atoned for by Godly sorrow for the sin, repentance (turning away from that behavior), restitution or atonement with the injured party, and behaving differently the next time they face the same temptation—and believe me, face it they will—until they do get it right.

The problem with morality is that it hinders people from acting guilt-free and behaving in any manner they choose. Which is a real downer when you really want to do something a bit shady, and you know in your heart it isn’t the right thing to do. Morality binds us to responsibility for our actions and bars the way to escaping guilt and shame for our wrongs.

The heathen rage and in vain people imagine that they can break the bonds and cast away the cords of the law of right and wrong. God, having a sense of humor, laughs at their efforts. (Psalm 2)

Speaking only for myself, I’d like to see the sane, rational soul living free of all morality. That would be the most unique human being in the world. Of course, I would test the tenacity of his belief knowing he cannot call me (nor even think me) unfair, cheater, hater, bigot, racist or apply any other tag to my “wrong behavior”. Wrong does not exist except in conjunction with right—ah, the problem of morality—again.

Maranatha