LIVING BY THE NUMBER TEN

LIVING BY THE NUMBER TEN

1.       Ten guidelines for living a better life are not near enough. There should be 2,345, most having to do with the rich taking advantage of the poor. And maybe a few about sex. At least one about not being a jerk. 

         

      2.    In the beginning, there were no humans. And it was good. Then God got this brilliant idea:              Why not ruin everything?

                
              3.  I have met an angel. She was a waitress at The Waffle House. Those bright eyes and that infectious smile. She must have been about 23. I heard her tell someone she had two children. I didn’t hear her say anything about a husband. She wants to go to college. Pre-med. I think she can do it. An angel can do anything.

            4. You got to have faith. The question would be: In what? There are plenty of people selling faith nowadays. Faith requires a leap into the unknown, the unprovable. Taking that leap is scary. I take it hesitantly, like when I bunge jumped: I'm worried about the cord, the distance, the bounce, the wind, will insurance pay. Generally speaking, I could use a shove.Faith is a hard thing to keep a grip on.  I find it and lose it, find it and lose it, find it…..

                           5.   Don't believe everything you think. There are 6 billion people in the world, many of whom also think. The path's are many.

6.     Love comes in a variety of flavors, none of them violent.
  
           7. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is not an armchair slogan meant for the faint of heart. If someone is hungry, she doesn’t need a lecture, she needs food. The homeless don’t need a copy of your ideology, or what religion you subscribe to. They need a place to live.

          8.  Being saved is a whole other number. I could have used saving about 10 times over the years, which may be a conservative estimate. rather than being saved in a hands on kind of way, I thought it wold be enough to just change my behavior. No need for a public display.

9.      I would not recommend getting religion unless you mean to do something good with it.

         10. No one should fear God. I don't think God would want us to fear him or her. There are plenty of things to fear: spiders, snakes, tornadoes, heights, ingrown toe-nails, the IRS, senators who wear sheets, lightening, The dark, maniacs, religious or otherwise. God should not be one of them.

                     11.  No, ten are not near enough. This life is way too complex for such a small number. Too many wrong turns to be had. Have you ever walked down a road where you can’t stand the pain? I should be a better husband or wife. What holds me back? Am I as devoted to being a good father or mother as I am to my career? A better daughter or son. Or is the distance safer. My community needs me. How about next month? When the road gets painful, am I willing to keep stepping forward? Or will it burn holes in my shoes?