Change of heart

            Well here we go. Another year is beginning. I want to start this yearly campaign on the right foot. There has to be something positive this year. Is terrorism on the rise or have we begun to defeat them. Is the economy getting better or are we floundering in financial chaos? The Bible said things would get bad before the end. How much worse could it get? Yet, I sit here trying to think positively. I want us to have a better earth. Maybe this year well get it right.

            So how do we turn this thing around? Could we be nice to the bad people and they will like us. Will they stop being bad if were nice? It still might come down to avoiding conflict. Many governments have tried to spend their way out of this economic turmoil, yet avoiding pain. The same can be said of our troops. If we pull them out of bad areas: bad areas seem to come to us. Will consolidating debt fix our spending habits? All these problems have solutions. The problem is we also have hearts and problems seem to begin and end there.

            A terrorist heart wants to gain glory. I don’t think they see us in the west. What they see is something in their way to glory. Bad leaders don’t blow themselves up. They inspire others to take their own life. As a country we spend for social programs with money we don’t have. Someday that will come back to haunt us. I think that someday is here. Were stuck in mountains of debt across North America. I don’t think we see the debt because it’s way too big. Maybe the debt is just a thing in our way to glory.

            What does God have to say about the heart. It’s easy to quote scripture and prove God knows the heart. God said he knows the heart. He says there would be wars, famine, and plagues. Jesus told Judas that we will always have the poor. What does that say about the heart? Well God and Jesus knew our hearts. We want what we want to gain our own glory.  Sure we want to help the poor but at what cost. Sure the terrorist wants peace, but at what cost? Humans have made it hard to lay down our weapons and wallets for others. Gods knows our hearts.

            There are those who say that we are really good humans. If we could just get over the hump. Ok, fair enough, where’s the hump. For thousands of years we have been getting humped by bad things. We have existed for at least 10,000 years or so. Surely a turning point has come by now? Did we turn when Jesus came? Did we turn when the industrial revolution came? Did we turn when WW2 ended. They call Armageddon the war to end all wars. Will peace or death end it?

            We could spend more on debt this year. We could spend less and help others more. We could help more refugees but the terrorists remain. The refugees home is still their home if we took it back from the bad people. All these things are possible if we lean our hearts towards the good in life. It’s weird to say a war is needed to end all wars. That means pain, suffering, and sacrifice is needed to gain what we want. Can we put a price on that?

            The time has come to love more and hate less. Maybe giving God a chance to help our hearts is a good thing. If he is good, then we need more of that. Only a tough road will help us. Apparently there is no easy one. I think idealistically we want the easy road (who doesn’t), but that is not how life works. This glory or utopia we seek is only possible if we change our hearts. Just remember it begins with you. There is no way you can change the hearts of others. It always begins in the mirror. You can bank on that this year.

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