Author: Rev. Charles Pugh

In a digital age of electronic information, it is important to stay connected! How much do you depend on your computer and being connected to the Internet? What about your cell phone or what ever other communication device you have? How much of your life would be thrown into turmoil if you lost the information on your device or worse lost the device with which you are now communicating and doing much of your other daily work and interaction? Yes, it would be wise to consider some way of backing up the information you have in your devices, yet there is an even greater consideration I want to discuss today. What is it that you really value? If someone wanted to learn more about you and even what you value, how would the electronic information out there about you be seen? Are you being E-valuated?

Whether we like it or not, much information about us is out there for others to see and evaluate. Please do not live ignorantly! Much can be discovered by e-lectronically searching, but remember that those around you also watch you and judge you and perhaps even seek to imitate you. Children certainly do imitate and learn from their parents and their teachers and all the other influences in their lives! Adults also learn as they settle into some sort of work or education environment. You can put on a front before some people, but eventually, your actions will betray you. The fruit of your life serves to evaluate you!

Unfortunately, we are all often too quick to judge. Improper judgment and the pride underpinning it is a problem I have often addressed. If we are going to be able to properly discern and judge any person or situation, we must be certain to continually evaluate our own thoughts and actions. Whenever we fail to evaluate and take personal inventory, we most certainly will miss things and we will likely even mess up in our decision making and negatively impact the relationships we do have. Scripture clearly teaches that “if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:31). The context of that is how we understand and remember our communion with GOD and thus our relationship with other people and how GOD Himself is involved in judging us. Principally, this is also true in regards to any judgment or evaluation by any other person. When you are regularly evaluating yourself, then the judgments and evaluations by others will not harm you and if proper, they will only validate your own judgments. Seeing your own frailty and failings will also help you be more careful in how you judge and evaluate!

Another important point to focus on here is how you evaluate yourself and others. Is your evaluation based on the collective thinking of others around you? Is it based solely on your upbringing? Perhaps your education is what you use to evaluate? Maybe your evaluations are based on the current thinking in the culture as expressed through television, movies, music and other media influences? The question to ask yourself there is whether or not GOD sees it the same way! Will HE evaluate you the way you are seeing yourself or the way that others do? How has HE already revealed the answer to that?!

Friend, the Bible teaches throughout that we all will one day stand before a Holy GOD and give an account for our lives! We will receive a proper, thorough evaluation then! We will then be evaluated by HIS perfect knowledge of every thing we have ever thought and every action we have ever done in accordance with every opportunity we have ever had. Oh, that you and I would live our lives in light of that perfect and righteous evaluation! When we do, it straightens up our lives and nothing else really matters! It is only then that we are able to really help others to better evaluate and even help them be ready for that Evaluation!

So, in this important time when many in America are beginning to evaluate more of the political direction we are to take and when we have so many obstacles to face, we must seriously consider this whole matter of being evaluated! How does our electronic information reveal us? How do our words? How does our work? What about our entertainment? What we value will become evident and one day HE will make it all (even the secret things) evident in HIS perfect Evaluation (Ecclesiastes 12:14)!

Following up on my last article, I’m using my will today to think more about Grace (not the wildly popular sitcom show “Will and Grace,” which would indeed serve as a good diving board to jump into the current pool of national buzz related to gay marriage and lifestyles 😐 ). In this article, I want to address what is really an even more important subject that we all face and need to come to understand in order to properly apply in our lives. What I am discussing today is Law and Grace.

Law and Grace are two opposite things that serve as counter weights to each other. Whatever rule or law we follow at any given moment becomes a pole on one side that is then balanced out in our life by some type of grace pole on the other side, grace being proved necessary seeing we are living in an imperfect, fallen world. Law and structure allows us to plan and strive for goals. Grace puts up with failures to live up to that law and allows growth toward it to continue. If you get out of balance on one side or the other here, your life will be out of order and you will either become very discouraged or very angry. The degree to which you are balanced here is the degree to which you will overcome the many trials and troubles in life.

There are many responses to the trials and tragedies people face. I have seen the various responses from law enforcement officers I have met throughout my trials and personal tragedy. I remember one law officer coming down very hard on me and wanting to handcuff me (he did) while on the way to my third involuntary commitment, even though I was not resisting and was supposed to have the right to not be handcuffed, as I pointed out to him. He didn’t talk much, but I did find out he was one of the first responders on the scene on 04-16-07—the day of the Virginia Tech Tragedy. His response was to come down hard and try to enforce the full extent of the law that he could. He was not willing to show any grace. I feel for this man, even though I was the one being handcuffed, as he has set himself up for much disappointment, until he learns to extend more grace. Another law officer I met was so loose in his interaction with me, that his means of extended grace could have been dangerous, were I a person to take advantage of that grace. Do you see through these examples more of what I am talking about with law and grace?

Law is what it is. Law does not have feelings. You are either in compliance or you are not. There is no room to redefine law, though people do try. Law is usually written or at least communicated as a rule in a matter of fact way. The authority that lays down the law expects those listening or accountable to that authority to comply. Grace gives room. Grace considers circumstances that make obedience to the law difficult or impossible and even withholds any penalty for not keeping the law. Grace allows for imperfection or noncompliance to whatever law is being promoted. Do you see how these two things play against each other? Do you see the importance of having both?

There are natural laws that govern the way things work that each of us must learn to comply with. If you try to deny the force of gravity, you will pay a price for that. If you touch something that is hot, without some barrier to protect you, you will get burned. Reality is defined by the natural laws that govern how we learn to live. There are also spiritual laws that govern the way we live or most certainly will when we die. There is a spiritual reality or law that must also be obeyed. The stark consequences for the noncompliance with spiritual law are eternal death and separation from GOD.

Fortunately for us, GOD is not only a GOD of Law, but also of Grace. There is nothing wrong with GOD’s Law, but there is a problem with us always obeying it. None of us is perfect there, so that means we are guilty before GOD (c.f. James 2:10). The solution to not obeying GOD’s Law and still avoiding the consequences (eternal separation and punishment in hell) is to find the Grace of GOD through the Person of Jesus Christ. Forgiveness is possible through His Sacrifice, but is only applied individually when the guilty person accepts His Grace.

So, you have Law and Grace; how are they playing out in your life?

Have you thought very much about the will? You have one. So do I. 😉 So does HE! So will We! Human will is on display every day. It started from early on when you, as a child, fresh from the safety and development of your mother’s womb, exerted your will as you were born out into this amazing world. Likely, your voice was even heard then! 🙂 Sure, you were more helpless then, yet you grew into what your parents probably said was a strong willed child. Your will likely led you to at least a brief time in which you chose to rebel against authorities in your life. Perhaps that is still where your will is now? Maybe your will is even now under the control of another’s will? Playing off my last article, where I discussed that “Titanic Secrecy” that we dare not ignore, I am writing again today to think further on this matter of the will.

“I will” are words that define who you are, whether consciously or not. They serve to reveal your choices and decisions. They indicate whether you are then foolish or wise. In time, they prove whether you can be trusted or not; whether you are a person of your word (you may wish to review my 06-06-09 article, “WORD!”). When you say, “I will,” you are making a statement that you do have a choice and that you have a desire to do a particular thing or see that something is done. The more commitment you have to do something and the more endurance you prove to have over time to see that something is done reveals the strength of your will. If you are simply demanding other people to do things that you want them to do or don’t want to do yourself, then you are not really strong in your will, you are just self-focused and self-willed. Your will does interact with other wills all the time and certain wills (strong or self-focused) do tend to dominate all that happens.

There is a Will that can always be trusted, and that when exerted, cannot be overcome! The Will of The CREATOR is One that none of us can control, though we can move or impact this Will! 😉 As The CREATOR, HE reserves the right to do with any of our wills and our bodies, whatever HE wants to do with them. Just as you have the say in whatever you may create, so your CREATOR has the say in what HE has made in you and who you are. Unlike the weaker “I will,” “HE WILL” is a certainty that can always be trusted, whenever HE communicates what HE WILL do. Often, we assume HE will do things that HE has not actually said or guaranteed that HE would. When HE has spoken and has had written down that “I WILL” in HIS Word (The Holy Bible), then we can rest assured that HE WILL and it will happen! Everything HE has said would happen in the past has happened as HE has said and there are still things HE has revealed that are yet to happen. We can rest assured that HE WILL be faithful to HIS Word and it will be as HE has revealed.

When any of us will to agree with what HE WILL do as HE has revealed, and not simply proclaim the “I will” we are naturally inclined to do, then “We will” be in a much better place personally (because HE has promised to be with us then) and collectively we can better see HIM work in this world and through our lives. This is essentially the submission that we all need to will to come to. The problem for Adam and Eve, as well as for each of us human beings, is that we often choose the “I will” over the “HE WILL” and so even any “we will” is not very effective because it goes against HIS will (c.f. Proverbs 11:21), which HE cannot support. We then lose the blessings we could have had and instead reap the reward we then deserve and the bleak place of being against and apart from HIS WILL! There are many who have acknowledged the CREATOR and what HE has done in entering HIS Creation in the Person of Jesus Christ. HE willed to sacrifice HIMSELF for our sinful wills to be able to be redeemed. Many having accepted HIM are still proclaiming their own wills and thus can find no true fellowship with their CREATOR, even though they have a relationship with HIM. Oh, friend, if you submit your “I will” to what “HE WILL” do and has done, then you can join the “We Will” that will truly prevail and even be victorious over death!

There’s a dirty, little secret that will be the end of us…a secret that, if not exposed, will ruin us! This is a secret of such titanic importance that it led to the Titanic tragedy some 100 years ago when around 1,500 souls passed into eternity. This is a secret that led to the 04-16-07 tragedy, where 33 (not only 32) souls passed into eternity. Having just spent another day in special remembrance of that tragic event that has turned my own life upside down, and thinking of the centennial remembrance of the Titanic sinking, and learning of the growing scandal raging in relation to sins among the U.S. Secret service, I am led to writing today of this Titanic Secrecy!

Why do we so often deny the evil nature within each of us? It is there. You know it and I know it. This is not a secret! No matter how much good you seek to do, if you are honest with yourself, you will find this evil nature lurking within: a nature that is separated from GOD and self-focused; a nature, that if not controlled, will act out in hatred and even violence toward others; a nature, that if not defeated by a new nature, will lead to eternal death (a fate far worse than physical death). If we deny this sin and evil within, we deceive ourselves: “If we say that we have no sin [nature], we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Indeed, this is a titanic issue!

I suppose that the greatest thought coming from my time of reflection on the Virginia Tech campus this past Monday (on the five year anniversary of that horrible tragedy), is how University officials and so many others in our tragedy torn community are still failing to completely heal and thus truly prevail. Complete healing (which doesn’t mean you won’t still know the pain) will be impossible until this secret is revealed; until there is an acknowledgement or admittance that human nature is indeed flawed. This is of titanic importance! Seung Hui-Cho was a flawed human being; so are we all. He was one of us and must be acknowledged! We may not allow ourselves to go so far down the wrong path as he did, yet we know that there is something evil within that could potentially take us there. It is the opposite of love. It is often expressed through anger. It is the secrecy that blinds us and breaks up our relationships. It is the bain of human nature. It is titanic in its influence. It is humanism—that belief system and life stance that denies the supernatural or religious thought and looks to human nature as ultimately good and of supreme importance. It permeates this community and education institutions around the world, supported through the foundational theory of evolution! It is an influence of titanic proportions, whispered about in secrecy.

Do you see what I am saying? Do you understand the titanic nature of this thing that we all seek to deny: this dirty, little secret that all honest people know is true—this thing we know as pride? If you doubt me here, just ask yourself where the ceremonies at Virginia Tech acknowledge GOD or acknowledge the evil that was embodied in what this shooter did. Is either being remembered, as we seek to heal? Why must we keep this a secret? Let your thoughts here come to The Light! It is the ONLY WAY to find true peace and healing! The only time the memorial services mention any supernatural thing is when the testimonials of those killed are read, where they speak about their love of GOD and even of Jesus. Do you see this? It is really not a secret; it only hovers about as if in secrecy. Why? People who seek to deny GOD His proper place and deny the evil within each of us are destined to NOT be healed. These people really do not think they are sick. They need no Great Physician (see Mark 2:16-17). These humanists (even if posing as religious leaders, such as the Scribes and Pharisees) will only look to their own physicians and psychologists for the healing, which reality teaches we all need. They will not fully look to their CREATOR—JESUS CHRIST.

Oh, friend, you cannot be healed and saved until you realize you are broken and lost! Do not let this truth live out as secrecy in your life. If you do, it will be a Titanic mistake!

Recent events in society, such as the conflict surrounding the Trayvon Martin case, along with the events in my own life, culminating in a 04-21-12 deadline where I am looking for some resolution and what is set to be yet another trial of my life on 05-02-12, lead me to write this blog today. Considering what many around the world have just finished celebrating (and should, by the way, continue to celebrate every day), where the greatest enemy of all was defeated nearly 2,000 years ago, I am writing about this subject today. What am I talking about here? Well, this is a VERY IMPORTANT subject for you to consider and learn to be better at as best you can: Conflict Resolution!

Do you ever have conflict? Well, unless you are a hermit or simply have little to no human interaction (aside from any self conflict), you are going to have problems; you are going to have conflict that needs resolution! That is just the way life goes. We all cannot be in charge of everything. We all have our own ideas and opinions and when we interact with others, there will be disagreements; there will be conflict. So, what do you do when you find yourself at odds with another? How do you resolve what is happening in a way that brings peace? Oh, if we only learned how to resolve conflict in a peaceful and helpful manner, we could prevent so many more tragedies and heal so many broken relationships!

What do you do when you disagree with someone? Are you civil in your conversation? Do you find that you tend to increase your tone and volume to insist on a particular thing? Perhaps, instead, you just clam up or whisper under your breath in your mind and heart or even to others around you? Maybe you resort to subtle sarcasm and name calling or other such forms of condemnation? What is going on? Conflict is knocking at your door and how you answer will reveal so much more! You may choose to simply ignore the person, but you must realize that the disagreement will not magically go away. Ignoring still has a real impact (often anger and even bitterness stewing in the heart and mind of the one being ignored)! You may also choose to resort to attacking the person, but remember that attacking does not build friendship or work toward resolution. Attacking simply forces your will or way!

The goal of all of our human interactions should be to work through any conflict toward some amiable resolution or sense of mutual agreement. Working to resolve conflict makes it easier on everyone, leading to more positive relationships and greater productivity. Peaceful living is normally the desired state. Peacemaking should be our goal in all human interaction! Ignoring any differences is essentially peace-faking. Attacking when there are differences is peace-breaking. Do you see how important all of this is? When we are not actively involved in resolving conflict, problems will most certainly follow.

What do you think most of these shootings are all about?! What happened in the life of One Goh, who just sent seven lives into eternity, hurting many more? What happened in the life of Seung-Hui Cho (still largely being ignored by many, especially in my own tragedy torn community :-{ ), who acted out with such rage and violence to take 33 souls (32 and then his own)? Was there not unresolved conflict in the lives of these shooters? Is that not a common theme in all such tragedies? Where do you see the resolution? Where are the examples of people who were peacemaking or themselves trying to help resolve conflict (not merely passing the responsibility on) in and around the lives of these and others who have acted out in such violence? Do you not see just how important resolving conflict is?

Friend, there is a problem in your own life if you are not working toward resolution of any conflict. If you are in some position of authority, should you not be the first in setting the example here? Perhaps you need to resolve the conflict in your own soul? Perhaps you need to turn to the ONE Who resolved that greatest conflict between life and death? If you are a religious leader, you have an even greater responsibility to be living out and working toward conflict resolution! How far are you willing to go to help others resolve conflict? How much are you willing to suffer personal injustices and love people enough to help them see their faults? Indeed, we all must learn to practice conflict resolution!