The View from the West Mesa

An on-going debate within Christianity has to do with what rich folk ought to do with the wealth they have. If you find yourself winning the lottery, would it be appropriate to buy a four thousand square foot house, or a BMW 700 series, or half of your town? Usually, at some point in this discussion, someone will say "it isn't a sin to be wealthy or to have stuff." OK, not by definition perhaps, but don't we have some Scriptural instruction along these lines? What was the point of Micah's and Amos's condemnation of the Jews? Buried in denunciations of perjurous activities, of coniving methods of gaining advantage over each other, of using items of clothing unjustly taken from others in church, there is the denunciation of the Cows of Bashan. These cows are wealthy Jewish women who apparently loll around the house doing not much more than indulging their drink and food urges "...get me another drink!" While we can understand the other behaviors being ...

Fall is great, isn't it? Just came in from the front yard after spending about 30 minutes cleaning up a plant bed. Had to re-dig the borders and put on some mulch to keep the roots from freezing this winter. One of the enjoyable things at this time of year is to gather seeds off the Purple Cone Flowers, Red Yucca, penstimens, and hollyhocks. Then I get to spread them around in other beds or to help fill in their current ones come next Spring. Am reading this fall "The Practice of Spiritual Direction" by Barry and Connolly. Not a bad read, but it seems to bog down from time to time. Learning more about spiritual direction, and spiritual formation has been one of my goals this year. It really is interesting -- and enlightening to read and then to experience some of what so many people before have experienced. This has been a while coming; read Foster's books on prayer and disciplines a few years ago. Fall and reading seem to go hand in hand. The reading sprinkles seeds ...

Marriage is often used as a metaphor in Scripture. From Hosea and Gomer, to the Ephesian letter, God uses marriage as a description of His relationship with us. Spouses are intended to so act as One that we are told a "man is to leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife." God considered Adam incomplete and so made him a helpmeet - from his own rib. Marriage is a melding of two people into one entity. Are we suggesting that the two people lose their identities and become the other? No. And yes. A marriage is not designed so one partner is totally subsumed by the other, but rather both partners maintain their own identities and form a third. They build on one another's strengths and support each other's weaknesses. They are to create a safe place. A place where each can reveal their dreams, their fears, their failings, and expect their partner to accept, challenge, and love them. During the dating game, each partner wears a mask that makes them seem the perfect...