Happy Boy Scout

I remembered the things I thought of when reading Matthew yesterday! I'm glad, too, since it gives me the opportunity to record them for future amusement.

First, let me start by recording an hypothesis I got from listening to one of 311's songs. The lyrics went something like, "Six electrons, six protons, six neutrons are encoded on this plane we live on." It got me thinking. That is the atomic structure of carbon, the building block of everything in this life. It followed that if the dread Mark of the Beast was indeed 666 and it is to be branded on some people's foreheads, perhaps it really meant that anyone whose primary focus was this world and all things therein with no thought given to things of another, more spiritual world, they have branded themselves with the building blocks of this world alone: 666.

Some people take the Mark to be literal, that we will be forced to have a tattoo or a chip or something that causes our enslavement to the Beast. While my hypothesis does not contradict this, it does take into consideration Jesus' intent of fulfilling the law, transforming it into something spiritual. He turned our minds from exclusively living and considering the laws as a physical act only and introduced the idea of spirituality regarding it. Perhaps we are not meant to worry so much about getting a tattoo so much as being concerned about losing focus of what is more important: our immortal souls--something just outside--and not trapped by--six electrons, six protons and six neutrons.

So, with all that in mind, let us consider what our current obsession is during these trying times: food storage and preparedness. Let me first just state that I am a rabid enthusiast of being prepared. But when it consumes our every thought, are we not focusing just a bit too much on things of this world? Worse (or "also") are we not ignoring what our Savior said in Matthew about the flowers and birds and how God takes care of them? Remember when he said we should relax and let God do His holy job of taking care of us? (I'm paraphrasing, of course.)  I think we should let Him.

Please understand I believe we should always do everything we can before we bother Him with our Wish Lists--I mean "prayers." Yet I wonder if we are spending so much time and money to the detriment of our families and loved ones; if we are making ourselves unhappy in the pursuit of all things survival, are we then forgetting yet another ideal: "man is that he might have joy?"

I know what you're thinking. But you would be wrong. The measurements of doughnuts in space really are not fleeting monkeys. But that aside, I am not advocating "eat drink and be merry" (though sometimes that sure sounds appealing!). I am advocating a healthy respect for the Love of God (His Love for us) and our trust in Him. In short, do everything you can do within the constraints of His commandments. And remember that most of His commandments are about love and happiness, not obsession with survival when the Big One hits.