Today was not your ordinary day, but then again, I am not an ordinary person, so it wasn’t all that far out of the ordinary for me. It started last night when my wife called me at work to let me know that she wanted to go antique shopping this morning. No problem under usual circumstances — but I’m working 12 hour midnight shifts this weekend…
Anyway, I made the necessary arrangements to at least get a bit of sleep and had my wife at the antique show only 30 minutes after they opened. When she got done there, we decided to run a few more errands before we returned home. One of those stops was at the local military exchange store (it’s kind of like a department store but without nearly the selection and competition).
I had packed a few bananas and washed some grapes before we left as a part of my transition back to a 100% raw diet. I am utterly unsatisfied with my current cooked diet. I get tired easily, do not have nearly the energy I had this time last year (when I was 100% raw), and can’t wait to get back to an all raw food diet. However, I still like the taste and smell of cooked food (in some cases; I can easily pass on a piece of flesh that has been charred beyond recognition, for example) and at this point in time will generally eat whatever is put in front of me.
As we walked through the mini-mall that leads to the AAFES store, we went past the usual fast food restaurants. They did smell good and I was tempted to go ahead and eat something there, even though I had bananas and grapes in the car (one word about the grapes; they are from Chile, and perhaps due to the long distance they have to travel to get here to Germany, they just don’t taste that good to me — so I wasn’t all that motivated to eat them). But for the first time, something VERY unusual happened that helped me to say “no” to those items and wait until I got back to the car, where my bananas and grapes tasted pretty darn good (OK, I also had a fresh glass of orange-carrot juice… The new Italian ice cream shop in the mini-mall now makes them!).
Before I explain what happened, let me encourage you to read this entire blog post without passing judgment. I’m going to drop a name in a minute that could turn many people off; however, do allow me to explain what it all means to me before you click away to another website.
But as I was walking through that mini-mall, smelling all of those foods — the fried chicken, the pizza, the grilled sandwiches, the German bakery — I was tired and hungry, and as I said above, the prospect of those grapes didn’t sit well with me. It would have been easy, as I’ve done in the past, to simply purchase something that would have helped me feel better temporarily but would have moved me farther from my long-term goal. However, for some reason, this time I thought about how Jesus of Nazareth was tempted in the wilderness — after going without food for 40 days — and did not give in to temptation.
Now comes the explanation: As far as I’m concerned, you can take 99.999% of so-called Christian churches in the world and dump them in the trash. I don’t care for them and I’m of the opinion that they do nothing but steer you away from truly following the example set by Jesus of Nazareth during his few short years on this planet. Give us your money, live by our set of rules, do what we tell you to do when we tell you to do it, and you’ll be a good little Christian (did you know that the term “Christian” — literally “little Christ” — was first used as a derisive term? Yet another example of how a bunch of men who have been dead for centuries continue to steer us wrong).
No, I’m not talking about religion; I’m talking about doing my best to faithfully follow the real teachings and example of a man whom I believe is truly worth following. I encourage each reader to decide these spiritual issues for themselves; however, in my case, I believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the one to follow.
So much bad has been done “in the name of Jesus” over the years. I won’t go into the details here (and yes, there are a lot of consequences of past abuses that need to be dealt with) — but who is to really say what Jesus was truly like? Are we to believe that the Bible we can hold in our hands — a Bible that was “finalized” centuries after Jesus died by a bunch of men with an obvious agenda — is the ONLY God-inspired writings in the whole world? And those dire warnings about adding to it or taking away from it? Who added those? Why? What was their motivation? Were those passages truly “inspired”? Perhaps they were inspired as much as the guy who penned those genealogies in First and Second Chronicles (you know, the ones you always skip over when you do your annual Bible reading — c’mon, admit it! And if that’s not particularly inspired, then what else isn’t “particularly inspired”?)?
Question authority, I say. Question tradition. You are limiting yourself if you confine your life to limits set by men, long dead, of whom we know precious little.
Nevertheless, I learned enough about Jesus of Nazareth during my church-going times to believe that he is somebody special and that his life is worth emulating and following (I’m also finding that I have to un-learn some things, but that’s beyond the scope of this blog post). I could say with 110% certainty at one point that I believed that he is God and all that, but I can’t really say that with conviction at this point in time (although I still remain open to it). I do believe that he was “in tune” with God to the point that he actually did perform miracles and stirred up enough trouble to be crucified on a cross. I’m even inclined to believe the stories about his resurrection. He had power because he was truly in tune with who God really is and lived his life with tremendous conviction — conviction that got the religious establishment of his day ticked off to the point that they wanted him killed. Yes, he had SOMETHING going; he was doing something right that is worth following.
So please put aside all of the religious garbage and baggage that has been placed upon the back of Jesus and simply look at him as I do: somebody who lived a life that is worth studying and trying to emulate. I truly believe that he was, at the very least, extremely special — sent here by God — and that he truly devoted his life to following God and leading others to God. That’s where I’m coming from, and that’s where I draw my strength when I think, “What Would Jesus Do?”. I would never recommend that you run to the nearest church and convert to their religion.
In this case, I suddenly realized that being a bit tired and bit hungry wasn’t enough of a reason to eat some of that stuff. I could last just a bit longer because saying “yes” to proper food this time would make me stronger, just as not giving in to temptation made Jesus stronger so many years ago. It was a powerful thought that is going to help me tremendously.
So I made progress today and plan on making more in the days to come.
One last thought: I’m pretty sure that some will come here and make posts arguing about how God’s Word is infallible. I’ve heard those things before, and to be quite honest, I agree with you: God’s Word is infallible. My question is this: What proof do YOU personally have that the book we call the Bible is indeed God’s only word to us? Forget what others have said; forget the propaganda that religion and church have shoved down your throat, then think about this: If you start to expand your thinking and even consider the concept that there MIGHT be something more to an infinite God than what is written in a finite book, then why should I — or you, for that matter — purposely limit the possibilities? If you truly seek God with all your heart and try to honor him, then you will not be led astray.
One church I attended put it this way: God’s Word was inspired in its original writings. Those writings no longer exist; what we have has been passed down, transcribed, and mutated so many times that we really don’t know what God originally said “way back when”. Use it as a guide, but listen when God speaks (and if you want to hear him, you will). The answer will probably surprise and shock you, as it has me so many times. But had I not listened, I would have missed so many tremendous blessings along the way and would not be where I am today (nor would I be headed towards the blessings that await me in many tomorrows).
I like the way that John T. Reed put it one time (which he said in the context of ethics and real estate “guru” ripoff artists while discussing the late Larry Burkett, whose message was to live within your means and honor God):
Whether the Bible is THE Good Book is something for you to decide. However, I do not think there is any question that it is A good book in many respects as far as ethics are concerned.
I think the “good book” part goes far beyond mere ethics. There are a lot of other good things in the Bible that would make our world a much better place if we simply did as it said (not that I’m the “perfect poster child” for that, mind you!). Growth is a process, and just as I am growing into a 100% 80/10/10 raw foodist, I’m also growing in many other areas, including spiritually.
Let me close with an encouragement to say “no” to the temporary easy choices so that you can enjoy the long term benefits of the right choices. And may God truly bless you as he has blessed me.
(And a special thanks to you, Mr. Reed, for your excellent website. While your site is dedicated to detecting real estate “guru” ripoff artists, it indirectly applies to many other areas, including Internet Marketing — and has had a major influence on how I am now trying to conduct my business.)
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