Prejudices in Society

God created all things. Compared to His glory and the wonder of His creation, we are nothing. Yet, He chose us to have dominion over the earth. We are His stewards, though we do not deserve it. He loves us enough to put all He has made under our hands and feet. We are not biological machines. Psalm 22:9-10 says, “Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God.” God created us for a purpose and we should strive to follow His purpose for our lives. We are uniquely made. He knew us before we were conceived. Psalm 139:13-14 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

The Declaration of Independence says, “all men are created equal.” God created man in His own image. He made every person unique and special and every person equally has the chance to accept His gift of salvation. We should not judge others based on their ethnic or racial background because God created people of various colors, all unique and all equal in His eyes.

Some people tend to base their opinions of ethnic or racial groups on a select few who gave a bad impression. I once assumed that all Mexicans were bad and thought that the United States should not allow them to become such a large part of our society. I thought that if illegal immigrants were inconsiderate of our culture and came to the United States only for the free benefits, then all Mexicans were that way. I’ve caught myself thinking wrong thoughts about African Americans as well. I did not like that they received special benefits because of their race. Also, I grouped many of them as poor people who were too lazy to work their way up in society.

God has slowly brought me to see that my prejudices are wrong. I am too quick to judge and often allow my prejudices to get in my way. Not only do I judge too quickly based on race, ethnicity, and looks, but I also tend to form quick opinions on first sight of a person. I’ve learned that once I get past my judgmental views, I can see more than the outside of a person. John 7:24 says, “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." I still have prejudices, but I try to throw them out and replace them with God’s point of view. Human nature does not allow us to become completely righteous. Because of this, we have no right to judge others. We all have sinned. Romans 2:1 says, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” As Christians, we should reach out to others instead of judging them. The ultimate judgment belongs to the Lord. Romans 14:13 says, “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.”

Genesis 3:16-18 says,

To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." '
To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it.' Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.”
While I believe in equality of the sexes, I also believe that each sex has limitations. Man and woman were created one way, but because of the Fall, woman was placed under man’s authority. Woman has more strength for giving birth and man has more strength for work. Woman desires man and man rules over woman. Many women manage to make their way to the top, but because of the Fall, most have trouble getting there.

Many people tend to judge people based on their sex rather than on their race or ethnicity. God created all men equal, but He also created them unique. No two people are the same. He knows the sex of a child before its birth. He also created males to differ from females. Each has their own characteristics that the other does not possess. Together, the two sexes make a whole. Marriage should be between one man and one woman. Unfortunately, today, many women are seen as sex objects or airheads. Many believe in the survival of the fittest, and to men that means dominion over women.

We live in a selfish world. People focus on self-gratification instead of on the greater good. Because of this, many overeat, spend too much time playing video games, or live sedentary lives as couch potatoes. When people feel restless, they look to the world for fulfillment and entertainment. When stressed, people buy things or overeat. I have three weaknesses: DVD’s, CD’s, and food. I overeat and often buy DVD’s or CD’s I don’t need.

The world cannot fill the holes within people. As Christians, we find fulfillment in Christ. We should spend time with God. The world makes it easy for us to get caught up in what we are doing and to forget to praise God for what He has given us. We need to remember to take time out for God. People are reduced to race, ethnicity, sex, and self. We must remind society that these prejudices and activities are not all that matter in life. We should glorify God in all that we do. This means we should not allow our prejudices and worldly activities to control us.

New Award!

Thanks to http://mumsdadschildren.blogspot.com/2007/11/here-we-go-again.html, who has given me this award! I now pass it on to the following blogs:

http://thewhatifwomen.blogspot.com/

http://holyghostspeaksplainly.blogspot.com/

http://touching-world.blogspot.com/

http://msp31wannabe.blogspot.com/

http://bibledude.net/WordPress/

What's your form of worship?

http://www.sacchurch.org/action-steps/sacred_pathways.htm

Harmony -Based on your responses to the Sacred Pathways Assessment, your temperament favors a Naturalist approach to worship.

Intellectual

23

Contemplative

21

Enthusiast

18

Caregiver

19

Activist

13

Ascetic

24

Traditionalist

14

Sensate

17

Naturalist

28

The information contained in this online assessment has been borrowed from the following book:"Sacred Pathways" by Gary L. Thomas© Copyright Zondervan Publishing, 2002click here to purchase this and other books by Gary Thomas, from Amazon.com
Summary of spiritual temperaments:
Intellectual - Loving God with the Mind:These Christians live in the world of concepts. They may feel closest to God when they first understand something new about Him.

Contemplative - Loving God through Adoration:These Christians seek to love God with the purest, deepest, and brightest love imaginable. They want nothing more than some privacy and quiet to gaze upon the face of their heavenly Lover and give all of themselves to God.

Enthusiast - Loving God with Mystery & Celebration:Excitement and mystery in worship is the spiritual lifeblood of enthusiasts. They are inspired by joyful celebration; cheerleaders for God and the Christian life. They don't want to just know concepts, but to experience them, to feel them, and to be moved by them. They like to let go and experience God on the precipice of excitement and awe.

Caregiver - Loving God by Loving Others:Caregivers serve God by serving others. They often claim to see Christ in the poor and needy, and their faith is built up by interacting with other people. Caring for others recharges a caregiver's batteries.

Activist - Loving God Through Confrontation:These Christians define worship as standing against evil and calling sinners to repentance. They are energized more by interaction with others, even in conflict, than by being alone or in small groups. Activists are spiritually nourished through the battle.

Ascetic - Loving God in Solitude and Simplicity:Ascetics want nothing more than to be left alone in prayer. Let there be nothing to distract them--no pictures, no loud music--and leave them alone to pray in silence and simplicity.

Traditionalist - Loving God Through Ritual and Symbol:Traditionalists are fed by what are often termed the historic dimensions of faith: rituals, symbols, sacraments, and sacrifice. They tend to have a disciplined life of faith and have a need for ritual and structure.

Sensate - Loving God with the Senses:Sensate Christians want to be lost in the awe, beauty, and splendor of God. They are drawn particularly to the liturgical, the majestic, the grand. They want to be filled with sights, sounds, and smells that overwhelm them. The five senses are God's most effective inroad to their hearts.

Naturalist - Loving God Out of Doors:The naturalist seeks to leave the formal architecture and the padded pews to enter an entirely new "cathedral", a place that God himself has built: the out-of-doors.

The Struggle Between Pen and Pride

“This girl at school loves the Lord and is awesome at writing,” Shanna Cirka had written. My pulse quickened.

The questionnaire had said, “Choose one friend and write a paragraph about him or her.” The yearbook staff had distributed questionnaires to students, and we were using quotes from them throughout the yearbook. I wondered whether anyone had written about me. I had no friends. Flipping through several questionnaires, Shanna’s had caught my attention.

Was she talking about me? No. I barely knew her, and I wasn’t the best writer at my school.

Shanna continued, “When you read her stories they come alive. They sweep you away. This girl may not be the most popular girl there is, but she’s very strong.”
I’m not that strong.

“I pray that one day people may see the beauty in Harmony Wheeler’s heart.”
How could she write this about me? Could she really know how I felt? I hated that I had no friends and was not popular; but here she was, a friend I didn’t know I had, writing such things about me. I knew then that I wanted to become a writer. I wanted to touch people such as Shanna, and I wanted people to touch me the way Shanna had touched me.

As time went on doubts entered my mind. My freshman year in college I attended a school in New York City. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write or whether I wanted to write at all. I told myself that the city had many opportunities and that I would learn what to write about, even if I didn’t learn how to write.

Living in the city, I attended many Broadway shows and operas. As my love for music grew, I wondered why God hadn’t gifted me in performance. Finally, I realized that God had given me a love of theatre so I could write about acting and singing. I devoured reviews and read about opera and musical theatre. I saw that sexual humor and bad language helped to sell many shows, so I knew that the world needed greater Christian influences.

Every time I stray from writing, God brings me back. I run, but He pulls. I argue, but He wins. God used Shanna’s note to shove my talent right into my face, but I still doubted my abilities. When I realized I would never sing for a living, I resisted God. In New York, God showed me that I could write about things I love.

I often doubt my abilities as a writer, but then I remember the ways God has used writing in my life. Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” God started something good in my writing and will continue to develop my talents. I am a writer. Music is my passion, but writing is my life, and God is my everything.

God forgives!!!

I'm so glad God forgives.

Luke 17:4

"And if he sins against you seven times a day, and seven times in a day returns to you saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."

Jesus Loves Me

Just For Fun

You Are a Conservative Chick

Like Elizabeth Hasselbeck and Ann Coulter, you're conservative and proud of it. You speak your mind, even if everyone else around you disagrees. As you see it, you have to stand up for traditional values and what's right.

Are You a Liberal Lady or a Conservative Chick?

In the Mood for the Holidays

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/grinch-cast-at-macys-parade/763847161

Pumping Air and Playing with Bubbles

Today I used soapy water to try to finde the leaks in my segway wheels. Then I pumped it up with air using the pump my dad bought for me that I got in the mail today. I found no leaks and the air left the wheel as quickly as it entered the wheel. Plus, my tire gauge doesn't work. Then I call my dad and he tells me that I need to use soapy water while pumping the air in! Wish he had told me that before, lol! So later I'm going to try that and if nothing works I'll have to try using slime. Meanwhile, I have community service to do (10 hour requirement for my college).

Warranty

In answer to a question about warranty:

Tired are not covered under the warranty (yours goes through March of 2008 per Alan) unless they are flat when you take them out of the box to assemble the i2. Nice thought, though. That was the first thing I asked Alan. Oh well...back to the drawing board.

The Dead Terrorist

CURSE YOU FLAT TIRES!!!

So I called a number of places and most said they probably couldn't do anything. One guy actually hung up on me. So my mom made some calls for me and today I went to the place she found. They said they didn't want to risk fixing my segway because they'd never worked on one before. Then I went to a Yamaha dealership and they said to fix a tire you have to replace the tube inside the tire. They don't have tubes as small as needed and called the segway people who said you have to buy brand new tires because they don't sell just the tubes. You have to buy a new tire through your local dealership (which for me is two hours away) and that it would cost around $200 per tire. What should I do? I would try the slime stuff and air it up myself, but I have no idea how to use a tire gauge.