Joel Stiff's Adventure

As a Bible believing Christian, there is a dangerous attitude I witness.

When we are dealing with something as absolute as the Bible, we can begin to behave as though the authority of scripture actually belongs to us.

The authority we find in scripture belongs to God, not me.

It is quite amazing to watch people take hard stands and make concrete requirements based on their own preferences.

There are six billion people on the planet, crossing hundreds of cultures and spanning thousands of years containing billions of other people.

I doubt that every choice I make is the will of God for all those people.

As I read other Christian blogs and forums, I find numbers of areas where the things I am doing are “wrong”.

I preach using the wrong methods. I counsel using the wrong methods. I pastor our church wrong. My devotional life is done wrong.

I just can’t seem to do it right, according to the professionals.

The beauty is that I prefer doing it my wrong way better than I do their right way.

And it in no way violates scripture.

So when I encounter the ones who insist that it is their way or the highway, I hit the road.

I left high school over twenty-five years ago.

This is a saying of the Amish.

They recognize that for relationships to be successful, boundaries must exist.

A fence is different from a wall.

A wall doesn’t allow any communication or influence at all. A fence simply provides a boundary of safety and ownership.

When we erect good boundaries around our lives, it allows us to have strong, close relationships with others while maintaing our independence.

Conflict comes when one doesn’t respect the boundaries of another.

We can spend our time growing grass or killing weeds.

There seem to be plenty of weed killers already.

I believe I will devote my time to growing grass.

It isn’t inconvenient that people need us.

It shouldn’t put us out that people need us.

We should be grateful for the opportunity to serve another.

Many, many, many people have served and invested in me.

I’m glad to be able to help another when I can.

Most of the prisons we find ourselves in were erected by our own hands.

We spent most of Independence Day in Canada, but have made it back home to the United States of America in time to celebrate the remainder of the day.

Yesterday, I mentioned the significant difference in how each country has chosen to utilize the Niagara Falls area.

Today, I will mention another significant difference between the two nations: taxation.

Canadian taxes are beyond reasonable.

I heard on the radio traveling home that a Canadian will work until noon on Wednesday to pay his or her taxes for the week.

That is fifty percent of ones income.

It is interesting to note that originally the Declaration of Independence did not say, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, but rather, “life liberty and the ownership of property”.

The ability to earn an income and spend it as we desire is crucial to our freedom.

Using our talents and abilities to provide for ourselves is crucial to our personal happiness.

Yet, this is an area in which we gladly give away our freedom.

Continuing to elect representatives that are moving toward an increasingly larger government necessitating an increasingly larger tax burden on the individual is a vote against personal freedom.

Secondly, the willingness to incur large sums of debt at astronomical rates of interest so that ones paycheck is already dispersed before it even arrives is a vote against personal freedom.

Whether recognized or not, living a lifestyle of debt and a willingness to vote for anyone promising to take care of your needs it a vote against independence.

Why would any American vote against independence?

With great freedom comes great responsibility and we simply do not want that.

Overall, we are not cut from the same cloth as those that founded our nation two hundred and thirty-eight years ago.

We have spent the last two days in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.
I had never been to the US side of the falls before.
We went today.
I won’t be back.
It was stunning how poorly the United States has made use of one of the most amazing creations of God.
If municipalities are good at anything, it is monetizing natural resources.
Comparatively, Canada has constructed a beautiful and exciting town around the falls.
We just do not hold a candle to their creativity concerning this wonder of the world.
Niagara Falls is the largest system of falls anywhere in the world.
You would think we could come up with something.
It really comes down to stewardship.
Taking the resources God has given you and making the most of it.
I wonder if, in my personal life, I am the US or Canada.

Of course, there are periods where growth is slow or you don’t grow at all.
That’s ok.
Just don’t be content to stay there too long.

In certain Asian countries, men are so insecure about their height that they are forcing growth.

They do this by having their legs surgically broken and the bones separated just far enough that the new growth causes an increase in the bone’s length. 

This is quite a drastic measure to gain a little height.