Prevention is Better Than Cure.

The best way to grow up with the littlest amount of pains is to learn from the experiences of those who have “been there, done that" in life. Being ahead of you, some of them have once fallen into “pits” of ignorance, wrong choices and despairs. Learning from their experiences will save you from falling into the same "pits".

A Gift of Trust and Negative Impressions.

How many times have some of us received a wrapped gift on which is boldly written, “Fragile—Handle with Care”? This is precisely the impression that comes with the issue of trust. Trust is like a fragile gift. When reposed in a person, it can either be nourished or destroyed by the type of impression generated by the beneficiary to the folks around them.

Once upon a time, people could trust certain individuals in positions of trusts. Now for example, the impression is that only foolish parents will entrust their kids with Catholic priests. With many “Pentecostal” pastors owning private jets and living extravagantly, only naive Christians make a big deal about paying tithes. And these days, teachers, counselors and sports coaches are viewed with suspicions lest they abuse kids in their care. These trust issues were preceded by negative impressions on the part of the perpetrators but the impressions were branded as mere rumors and ignored.

Professionally, some of us have fallen victims of colleagues who betrayed our trusts in the past. And it wasn’t as if we didn’t see the problems coming. At one time or the other, we were presented with certain negative impressions about them but we ignored the warnings. Sadly, there have been other forms of breached trusts in friendships, marriages, relationships and other human endeavors all because the warning signs were ignored.

The Ten Commandments Brouhaha in Oklahoma.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma ruled in a 7-2 decision that the Ten Commandments statue on Capitol grounds violated the state’s constitution and therefore, must be removed. Since this ruling, Christians across the United States have been expressing self-righteous disgust, disappointment and anger over the court’s decision. 

As a Christian though, I refuse to be concerned or outraged by the legally-ordered removal of a mere object of decoration when several pressing issues are calling for attention. Isn’t this the United States where popular religions have largely been bastardized and turned into one big joke? This is a country where a guy (well-known in his community as a Muslim cleric) and who, actually was observing the current Islamic fasting season, went on a drive-by shooting of his rivals in the drug-dealing business. This is a nation where the most vocal Christians are the most racist, prejudiced and hateful of people different from their race. And this is God’s own country where a lot of the so-called religious people are closet gays, on-the-down low, pedophiles, sexual perverts and serial hypocrites. They preach one thing in public but practice something else in private.

By the way, George Carlin (American social critic, actor, and author) had the following reaction to the issue: "Here is the real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a courthouse: You cannot post 'Thou shalt not steal,' 'Thou shalt not commit adultery,' and 'Thou shalt not lie' in a building full of lawyers, judges, and politicians."