THE PLASTIC SALESMAN

Most American salespersons are not the pushy articulate persons we think they are. They're the millions of quiet, attractive, successful and underpaid salespersons who stand motionless in stores on display day and night. The plastic mannequin is an interesting study, a human form that sells day and night and that's wearing the latest in fashion and demonstrating the male and female ideal? The smug and confident plastic Mannequin.

For years I've looked at mannequins wondering just how representative of Americans they really are. One thing we can count on, the mannequin has to reflect political correctness and the correct mannequin has to be content with being the background committed to the role of enhancing ... never the star!

Simply a lifelike yet unknowable plastic object

The male mannequin has to project the image of being virile, tough and masculine while the female must be pale, thin, petite and above all sexy! Built into the display is a subtle body language that finds itself as part of the sale. While we focus on the garment the mannequin is quietly endorsing the product.

Isn't it interesting how we can be subtly influenced by a piece of skin colored plastic?

In one sense mannequins have no expression . .yet they really do. Every mannequin I have ever seen has the body language and facial expression of cool, sexy and confident. Ever see a smiling mannequin? It's rare indeed ... and of course you have never seen a happy mannequin.

Mannequins are there to project and endorse status quo. A happy people we aren't.

Every cool mannequin I see makes a statement to me about the real American dream, at least for the young ... to be someone who is seen as confident and cool.

Or maybe to be someone who is really not someone at all ... just a hunk of meaningless cold plastic looking for the nearest mall.

WHEN SLING TRUMPS SWORD

In re-reading the story of David and Goliath I discovered an obvious lesson I'd missed before. Young David winning over a giant almost ten feet tall was certainly a miracle of God. David attested to that, but there was more.

The lesson I had missed was the important part common sense played in the outcome of this drama, and David's courage in the political arena.

Young David was pressured on every side to engage Goliath in the traditional method of fighting. Sword and spear, this was just the way it was always done. Military training, skill and tactics. The usual sterile and mindless approach of tradition ... the always present politically correct pressure of the king and his people. A suffocating environment.

David tried hard to oblige the traditionalists. He put on the fighting equipment of the day only to find it didn't help him, it actually limited him.

Small David faced impossible odds ... or did he?

David actually leveled the playing field and tilted it a bit in his favor. David, unlike his experienced counselors, knew himself and what he could do. His counselors were on a different frequency.

In a Divine burst of brilliant 'common sense' he threw down the kings armor and sword, rejected the counsel of the day and became himself. This took courage!

Indeed, it was God's battle but David did the battle within his own unique strength. David was a simple shepherd with a good head and some common sense. He was skilled with the humble sling, not the impressive sword. He was fast, accurate, and confident ... the giant didn't stand a chance.

It was Goliath who faced the impossible odds.

Perhaps David's greatest demonstration of courage that day was not in tackling the giant but in rejecting the political wisdom of the day. In standing against the King and his people.

As in so many Biblical examples, God uses His servants in their unique strengths. There is a time to turn away from well meaning but misguided counsel.

There is a time when your own common sense will pit you against the intellectual methods of the day.

Lesson: Know yourself and your strengths and have confidence in them. Let God use you in His own unique way to accomplish His will. Stay the course!

THERE IS MY HERO!

Where is your father, I asked the young boy. He smiled and replied "He's in prison ... I'm going to be like my dad!"

Where have all the heroes gone? ... to the prison one by one. Ask a street boy or a cool kid the following questions and if he's honest he'll give you the following answers.

Where do you find real men? In prison.

Where do you find real men? In a gang.

Today more and more boys are celebrating the criminal, the tough clever criminal. The key word here is "tough!" Evil is what you want to be. Cool, hard, evil. If your too chicken to be a criminal, you can at least dress like one. You can talk like one. You can act like one.

When the men in society are seen as feminine wimps, boys look elsewhere for their role models. When it comes to young guys, nice guys finish last! Hard, cold and evil is cool. Tough men are their winners ... in the movies, in the prison or in a gang.

Where real masculine men are no longer the norm in a society, the boys pervert ... they have nowhere to look for a masculine standard.

Fact: Boys were created to imprint on a real man. But, where are the real men that a young boy can imprint on?

Thanks moms for bringing up your pampered unisex boy! Good luck!

THE ANATOMY OF CHANGE!

If there is one word that signifies this past political campaign, it's the word CHANGE! It seems by all the rhetoric, we want change and we all need change. No more status-quo. We all want better and we all want more and we want it now! (What a price we'll pay!) 

One constant in any society is change ... an ever growing paradox.

There is the gradual more evolutionary change common in any society and then there are the abrupt changes for any number of reasons.

Change is an interesting word as it is in constant battle with normal; ultimately to be absorbed in normal.

Changes demanded by a short-sighted minority are often dangerous; especially when they are intended to affect the majority. Changes promoted by agenda. Caution here.

Whether it's a political minority, a religious minority or even an academic minority, short-sighted changes are dangerous. The key here is short sighted. Change produces consequences, good or bad.

There are healthy changes, made for an apparent reason and then there are the dangerous changes that are made as a result of an unhealthy agenda. In the game of change It always pays to watch the agenda ... the who and why!

Tampering with normal can be dangerous. Changing the norm can have dire consequences! When will we as a nation learn this? 

Woven into our Country's founding were several critical "Norm's". Belief in God and His Bible was normal, freedom to be who we are was normal, the family was normal, a true man that was head of the family was normal, and marriage between a man and woman was normal. Our fledgling country with it's Judeo-Christian foundation became a great nation ... and most of us believe that we became a great nation because of these very norms. 

Our foundation is being ripped apart by thousands of liberal jackhammers, but we can't seem to hear them.

One by one the vocal minorities got into the act. (Change!) The Atheists and intellectuals kicked out the Bible and justified putting God into the museum of man as another of history's ancient artifacts. By God! (Change!) The politicians and intelligentsia convinced us that corporate government was more important than our individual freedom. (Change!) Divorce trumped marriage so the liberals included single in the norm. (Change!) The feminist can't have man the head of anything so we are all happily equal in their gender bending agenda. (Change!) The Feminist and Homosexual communities are pushing for marriage between same sex individuals to be normal just as marriage between man and woman is normal.

NOTE: All of these changes were made by a minority of people with an agenda to affect the majority of us ... and like the hapless fools we are, we let them do it!

Note the ugly and growing consequences since these changes have come to fruition.

More criminals and violence. Jails and prisons packed and growing. More homosexuals and pedophiles walking the streets. Entertainment built on sex and violence. Pornography has become a thriving business. Confused kids shooting each other at school ... and, unfortunately we could go on.

YEAH! Ill be one to lay the blame. The blame falls on each of us that let these diseased minorities, along with their perverted agenda, have their way! What happened to common sense? What happened to normal? 

Lesson. Change isn't always good ... short sighted change is even worse!

LIVING IN THE LAND OF NO!

As I was taking my walk the other day and thoroughly enjoying the bay, the clean air, and the beautiful open park, the sense of beauty and freedom overwhelmed me. Then I looked down at the sidewalk and read a painted list of things I couldn't do. Each of these very serious violations by the park department began with the word "NO!" No speeding, NO alcohol, NO dogs, and on it went ... legislative graffiti!

That list of NO's got me to thinking of how many NO's have crept into my life living here in sunny San Diego. And as I thought about it, it seems that the number of NO's placed upon me are quietly increasing every year.

Have you ever considered how many NO's there are in your life?

No touching, NO left turn. NO U turn. NO right turn. NO cameras. NO running. NO trespassing. NO parking. NO riding bikes. NO pets. NO skateboards. NO entrance. NO fireworks. NO swimming. NO hunting. NO drinking. NO smoking. NO fires ... NO. NO. NO No!

Does it seem to you like it does to me, that even though I was born free, my personal cube of freedom is getting smaller every day. It's getting so I can almost touch the transparent walls of regulations on all sides ... and I must confess, I'm getting a bit claustrophobic! 

How long can I stay in this shrinking cube before I suffocate? 

I long for the freedom I was promised.

NO, can ruin a beautiful day! Legislators, how much more freedom are you going to take from us in the form of another NO? 

WELCOME THE TROJAN HORSE!

The Trojan Horse of "everything for everybody" has millions cheering today as they bring it into the camp ... and Uncle Sam is leading the parade. Indeed a new day for America. World take notice!

Think again!

This impressive Trojan monster will soon discharge it's huge cargo of yelling progressives, Feminists and perverts! Their agenda, like it's always been, is radical change.

And we won't like it!

It's true that the occupants of this giant horse intend to bring change; unfortunately, not for the improvement of our country but of changing the entire concept of this country from it's original foundation up.

The old conservative, God fearing and patriotic America has to go to make way for the new America!

Feminists and perverts rejoice, for this is your time! 

The masses have turned believers, believing what they wanted to hear; the promise of everything for everyone! The eloquent narcotic of promise has done it's job. But at what price?

Too soon the myopic masses will realize the awful truth ... that they have sold their country out for the unreal promise of prosperity for all.

We have been willingly duped!

THE DIABETIC EPIDEMIC

Some of the medical pundits are becoming concerned about the growing problem of diabetes in the United States. The US population it seems is getting too fat! Way to fat. The experts have finally pinpointed the cause of this epidemic. A rich diet with little or no exercise. A nation of growing couch-potatoes is a sick nation.

And the United States evangelical Church for the most part seems to follow this pattern in a spiritual parallel. This same problem is producing today's fat "diabetic" Christians. Many are not just fat, they are obese! Not the best testimony for the true Church.

These fat evangelicals waddle to and from their Church to get their Sunday's share of spiritual food. They sit and eat and eat and then get up and waddle home. A deadly cycle!

Today's Church has quite a variety of foods to offer! From delicious colorful candy, Twinkies and ice cream, to hamburgers and hot dogs while other Churches pile into the deeper food of Spiritual meat. Some of the heavier Christians go to classes and read rich spiritual books during the week, learning even more. Ah, yes, learning ever learning. Rich food indeed.

Is this the calling of true Christians?

Do pastors actually feed junk food?

So much for the diet ... Where is the exercise? What are today's Christians doing for God's sake?? The answer is very evident, little to nothing. Have you noticed that most everything us evangelicals do is inside the building ... evangelism, baptism, discipleship, singing, entertaining, eating, worshipping, learning.

Anything outside the building? Not much.

Some more creative Churches have sensed the problem and built a large squirrel wheel of activities to get their members some exercise. Is this the solution for spiritual health? I think not.

Could this be the solution? Pastors getting serious about getting their members in shape and changing their diet and putting them to work. Doing the Word.

There is plenty to do. The great commission is still the great commission. Go make disciples still applies. And if you prefer the Matthew 25 spin, there are still the poor, the aged, the sick, the hungry, the prisoner.

The two key words here are GO and DO.

For some mysterious reason the true Church's in China, Africa and India ... haven't the problem of spiritual "diabetes."

I wonder why?