ChurchApplied

I Am Thankful For...

Thanksgiving is that time of year we intentionally express our gratitude for life's blessings and joys. There are certainly more blessings than I can innumerate here, but I will focus on a couple that stand out.

1. I am thankful that God doesn't treat me the way I deserve to be treated. I don't deserve all the kindness and patience that people demonstrate toward me. These are gifts that I pray I will never take for granted.

2. In a similar vein, I am thankful for second chances. More than once I have made poor decisions and blown wonderful opportunities. Praise God for new days and repeat shots!

Now, if I can only treat others in the same way---if I can only be as gracious and forgiving with those around me who fail and need second chances, then I will know that I am becoming more like Him.

I am thankful for the desire to be like God.

Happy Thanksgiving --Rich

Photo by Yuri Arcurs

Warren Jeffs and Marriage

According to Reuters, U.S. polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs was convicted on Tuesday, September 25, 2007, of being an accomplice to rape for arranging a marriage between an unwilling 14 year-old girl and her 19-year-old first cousin. What's interesting is that the law in the state of Utah does allow a person 14 years or older to consent to sexual intercourse. So, Jeff's conviction hinged on the prosecution's ability to demonstrate that the 14 year-old girl did not consent.

The idea of arranged marriages is totally foreign to western thinking. Supposedly this is still done in some developing countries, but we have very little exposure to it. The idea that a man needs to ask his girlfriend's father "permission" to marry his daughter does still linger in some western cultures. Yet in many cases if the father were to say no, the marriage would probably still occur.

Consider this: Does Christian teaching support the idea of women and men choosing a marriage partner for themselves? If a person is forced to marry someone they don't wish to marry, are they truly married in God's sight? 

Read Reuters article