The Contrasts Got my Attention

By Rick Blumenberg @rickblumenberg

A few moments ago I sat in my office and watched a LoveShriners.org advertisement. I leaned back in my chair, propped my feet on the desk pull-out and gave that advertisement my full attention.

I really watched a commercial!

One after another, beautiful, articulate and photogenic youngsters showed off their progress in spite of their handicaps. They gave video examples of how they had overcome those handicaps to live joy-filled, active lives and they said “Thank you!” Over and over and over again they said “Thank You for helping people like me”. They were so effective that I was ready to whip out my checkbook and write a million dollar check. Fortunately reason prevailed and I remembered I couldn’t possibly do that. (I knew it would bounce up and hit me in the face).

The point is their joy-filled gratitude put me in a joy-filled giving mood. I really wanted to give!

And then reality hit.

The commercial ended and Senator Chuck Schumer came on to talk about the agreement reached by Democrats and Republicans over providing security on our southern border. Then he launched into a tirade of criticism of President Trump and threatened him with all sorts of bitterness and angry words if he didn’t sign their bill. He described how utterly awful the president had been in the past and threatened him with dire consequences if he didn't sign. By the time he was finished I was hoping President Trump would spit in his face and refuse to sign anything he wanted. Fortunately reason prevailed and I remembered he really should not do anything like that. (And I hoped he wouldn’t).

The point is Senator Schumer’s hate-filled tirade caused the exact opposite of what he seemed to want.

The old adage is “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” These two contrasting approaches were perfect examples that old saying. Their contrasting approaches were miles apart in attitude and example. My guess is they were also miles apart in accomplishing their goals.

I hope the President shows more restraint than I felt.

If Senator Schumer is interested, here is how I suggest he should have conducted his news conference.

What Schumer should have said....

As in any negotiation, no one gets everything they want. (The first sentence is pretty much his words but what follows is what I suggest he should have said.) I didn’t get everything I wanted (he should say) and I’m sure my Republican friends feel the same way. We all know this agreement is also not exactly what any of us wanted, nor what President Trump wants. However, believing, as I do, that the president wants what is best for the nation, (Okay this probably wouldn’t be totally honest but I still think it would be good if he had said it. Then Sen. Schumer should continue…) I hope he will choose to accept our efforts so we can keep the government working and so we can all serve the people of our great nation to the very best of our ability. A goal I think we all have.

Back to my thoughts 

From what I have seen of our president, I know he sometimes responds in ways that may not be what he would do if he thought it through more carefully. I can imagine he might have the same initial response that I first had. But in spite of what Senator Schumer said, I hope President Trump will refrain from my own worst impulses.

We could all use less sour and more kindness.

President Trump has done a lot of good things since he took office. The Democrats and contrary Republicans alike would do well to use the “LoveShriners” approach instead of the negativity and criticism that runs rampant in our nation’s capital. If they would, I’m guessing the President would be a lot nicer too.

What if each one did what was best for the nation?

If that was always the goal of every one, in the long run, all of them would do a better job for all of us— their constituents.

I’m Rick Blumenberg and that’s My View from Tanner Creek.

    

The Human Folly about God

By Rick Blumenberg @rickblumenberg

The Israelites of the Old Testament thought God was their God—like God belonged to them. Paul writes in Ephesians 3:6 that when Jesus came his good news (Gospel) was that we all belong to God because he is the God of all creation. God is not a Jewish God, nor a Christian God. He is not a Muslim God. He is just God. One of a kind. Even though he reveals himself to us in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit he is still One God and there is no other.

The Israelites were sometimes polytheists. They thought their God was the greatest God of all but they really believed the other people had gods too—just not as powerful as theirs and maybe even subject to theirs.

​They didn’t realize God was their God not because he belonged to them, but because they belonged to him. When they realized they belonged to him and related to him as such they were in a good place, but when they forgot and got the relationship backwards—thinking God belonged to them in a possessive sense—their lives got complicated and they propagated a false image of the God of all creation.

We are all children of the One True God

Because they were (children of the one true God) and they knew who God was (Creator of everything that is) they had a responsibility to share that knowledge with the rest of the world. But instead of sharing their knowledge, they clung possessively to that relationship and refused to even believe gentiles could have such a relationship, much less try to teach them about the true God, who loved them all.

A Human Folly

It would be easy to be critical of the Israelites because of their folly, but we must be careful about that. It is more helpful if we look critically at ourselves to see if we are not much like them in that respect. Perhaps it is a human folly. We find it easy to think God belongs to us rather than think we belong to God. When we do so, the fallacy expands so we think our view of God is the only correct view. We then refuse to consider and respect how others see God so we might learn something from them.

Different views are not necessarily wrong

Looking at God is a lot like looking at the world. Your view depends greatly on your point of view. People with different views see the world (and God) very differently. As an example, if we come to know God during a time of great loss and grief we may think of God primarily as the Comforter because that is how we experienced him in our time of need.

The warrior who has a foxhole conversion may see God as the Protector because he saved him or her from the enemy. Or perhaps we see God as the Supreme Warrior because we feel he helped us win the battle. In other words, our view of God may have more to do with how God revealed himself to us in our time of need rather than the totality of God’s Being.

An Incomplete View

None of these images of God are incorrect. They are merely incomplete. He is all those when needed and more. To really know God is to realize we can never know him fully and completely because God is so far more than we can even comprehend. Our glimpses of his glory when he reveals himself are only wrong, however, if we try to limit him to just our understanding.

An Incorrect View

Sometimes we have an incorrect view of God perhaps because of a misunderstanding or because we try to create him in our own image. We give him attributes that are really ours and not necessarily the good part of us. So we can have a totally false view of God. That thought is not new and could be developed to create an entirely new and different blog post.

Meanwhile, on this first day of the New Year and the last teen year of this century I share these thoughts for your consideration…reminding you that these thoughts are not necessarily gospel.

I’m Rick Blumenberg and these thoughts at this time are simply My View from here on Tanner Creek.