Unjustly accused. Beaten in Public. Put in prison – in stocks.
At midnight they prayed. They sang hymns of praise to God. The other prisoners listened.
"Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, which shook the prison to its foundations. At once all the doors opened, and the chains fell off all the prisoners.” (Acts 16:26).
This is the story of Paul and Silas – at least part of it – as told in the book of Acts in the Bible (Acts 16:16-40). They were followers of Jesus Christ. Their experience has a lot to tell us about progress, the kind of progress that cannot be held back.
We usually think of progress in terms of someone moving forward from one place, condition, or circumstance to another – a movement that results in advancement or improvement. Yet the progress that moves us forward in the most significant way is more fundamental. This is where Paul and Silas come in.
Spirituality impelled their progress. Their hearts and minds were wide open to God’s love and to its expression in their lives. They knew from the life and work of Jesus Christ that there is no limit to the power of God of divine Truth and Love. In fact, they were devoting themselves to spreading the Christian gospel of love, regeneration, and healing through their own practice of it and through sharing it with others. And spiritual progress occurred wherever they found receptive hearts. But those who were not receptive to the good they were preaching and practicing tried to stop progress.
Let face it: “Opposition, criticism and antagonism are companions to the truth. Whenever the truth with regard to the purpose and destiny of man is revealed there will always be a force to oppose it. Adam and Eve, Christ, Joseph Smith down to our day, there has always been and will ever be an effort to deceive, derail, oppose, and frustrate the plan of life – Elder Lawrence E. Cornridge – Liahona, May 2014, P.104.
For example, the reason Paul and Silas had been beaten and thrown into prison was that Paul had cast an evil spirit out of a slave girl whose owners had been profiting from her as a fortuneteller. When they saw that she was healed, and would not be making money for them anymore, they became angry. They dragged Paul and Silas through the streets to the Roman officials and publicly accused them of having broken Roman law by their Christian preaching. Spurred on by the excitement of the crowd, the officials beat them and locked them up in jail without so much as a hearing.
To their accusers, the progress of Paul and Silas seemed definitely to have been stopped. But not Paul and Silas. They went right on doing what they had been doing – praising God, with their hearts open to His ever-active, all-powerful goodness. There were no chains and doors intended to hold back their progress could not do it. The chains fell off. The doors opened. Even the jailer opened his heart to God. Asking Paul and Silas how he could be saved, he took them into his house, where he and his family listened to them preach the word of God; then he washed their wounds; and he and his family were baptised. The next morning Paul and Silas were officially released, and continued on with their ministry, which, as we have clearly seen, had never actually been interrupted.
What does all this have to do with our own progress? It illustrates that when we open our hearts to God and expressed His Love in our lives, nothing can hold us back.
Right now, wherever we are, whatever we are doing, whomever we are with, we can let the love of God be expressed in us. There is nothing to prevent us from doing this. And no claim of limitation – be it of heredity, age, health, experience, education, opportunity, or resistance – can stand up to the infinitude of ever-active divine Love. This Love cannot be held in bonds. Nothing can keep it from setting us free to move forward in any right endeavor.
But in this progress there may be new, and sometimes quite unexpected, demands on us each day to love our way out of the supposed restrictions trumped up by the carnal, mortal mind. Day by day we need to prove such restrictions to be false, powerless – through our faithful adherence to Truth and Love. “Every day makes its demands upon us for higher proofs rather than professions of Christian power. These proofs consist solely in the destruction of sin, sickness, and death by the power of Spirit, as Jesus Christ destroyed them. This is an element of progress, and progress is the law of God, whose law demands of us only what we can certainly fulfil”.
The basic lie of mortal mind is that we are encased in and restrained by matter. This is a lie because God makes man in His image, spiritual and without limitations. Man is progressive because God is work, through perfect and complete, never comes to a stop. God is continuously expressing Himself, unfolding His idea of completeness and perfection in man. “God expresses in man the infinite idea forever developing itself, broadening and rising higher and higher from a boundless basis.
There is no end, then, to the new and fresh ways we can express the boundless love, intelligence, and goodness of God in our lives. Only the unjust, restrictive claims of mortal mind can come to an end – because they had no beginning in God, the divine Mind, or in His idea, man. The expression of Truth and Love cannot be, and never has been, held in bonds by false beliefs. Such errors of thought suffer from their own injustice. They are encased in their own limitations. And they break down and fall away from us in proportion as we understand, rejoice in, and unite wholeheartedly with the truth of spiritual being.
So, be just to yourself. Go forward today. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, whomever you are with, fling your heart wide open to God and sing praises to Him. Devote yourself to His service. Let Him express His love in you. You will find yourself breaking free from limitations. Your health will be improved. Latent talents and abilities will be evident. New opportunities will become apparent. Claims of heredity and age will lose their grip on you. Your progress will be unlimited. And no doubt about it, others will find the free love of God through your living of it. (Remember the prisoners, the jailer, and the jailer’s family?)
Nothing can resist the unfolding expression of Truth in man. Every claim of limitation on you and me and everyone must eventually yield to the law of God, the law of progress. As the Bible says, “the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
So shall it be in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
Friday, May 29, 2020
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Threats to your God-given dream
Everybody is a critic, have you noticed? Especially when you are chasing a dream they have deemed an “unrealistic fantasy.” Dealing with that negative input is hard—on you and your goals—but you can choose once and for all to keep moving, regardless of others’ opinions. This is your time, your life, your moment of truth.
Do not let criticism or rejection control you or stop you from getting what you want. It's not what other people say that decides our success; it’s how we respond to their comments, what we think they mean, and whether the challenges trigger the "giving up" reflex in us or motivate us to hang tough and keep fighting.
The scriptures tell us of different types of revelation, such as vision, dreams, and visitations by angels. A covenant person “receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things – that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal” (Doctrine and Covenants, D&C, 42:61).
God has conveyed important messages to people in a variety of ways. In Bible times, He occasionally used dreams. But these were not every day vague, illogical dreams. Dreams from God were vivid and coherent, and they had a definite message. For example, in a dream, the prophet Daniel saw a series of beasts that symbolize political empires from Babylon down to our time. (Daniel 7:1-3, 17) By means of a dream, God told Joseph of Nazareth, the adoptive father of Jesus, to flee to Egypt with his wife and child. As a result, Jesus escaped death at the hands of vicious King Herod. When Herod died, God disclosed his death to Joseph by means of a dream, at the same time instructing him to return with his family to their homeland.—Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23.
What are the factors that can threaten your God-given? They are SELF DOUBT, OPPOSITION FROM SIGNIFICANT OTHERS, STRONG TEMPTATION, UNDESERVED REPROACH, DELAY AND DISAPPOINTMENT
The mind is your battleground. It’s the place where the greatest conflict resides. It’s where half of the things you thought were going to happen, never did happen. But if you allow those thoughts to dwell in your mind, they will succeed in robbing you of peace, joy, God-given and ultimately your life. You will think yourself into a nervous breakdown, into depression, and into defeat. I know because I’ve been there.
What can be done? To start, say this to yourself every morning when you first wake up:
“I’m letting go of all the negative feelings, fears and thoughts from yesterday. I have no room for them! I will focus only on positive thoughts and resolutions today because I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me.”(Read Philippians 4:13, Alma 26:12).
And then practice what you preach. It will gradually make a difference in your life, guaranteed.
Because truthfully, there is so much about your fate that you can’t control, it makes no sense to neglect all the things you CAN control. You can decide how you spend your time, whom you socialize with, whom you share your life, money and energy with. You can pick your words and the tone of voice in which you speak to others. You can select what you will eat, read and study every day. You can choose how you’re going to respond to unfortunate situations when they arise, and whether you will see them as curses or opportunities for growth…
And most importantly, you can choose your thoughts, which dictate pretty much everything else.
Train your mind to see the good in everything. Positivity is a choice. The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
In other words, you are what you think.You cannot change anything if you cannot change your thinking.
Here are twenty thoughts indicating it is time to change:
1. “My dreams and goals can wait.” – Live a life you are proud of. In the end, your greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things that don’t matter to you. We never tell ourselves that we will never live our dreams. Instead we just keep talking about how we will start living our dreams tomorrow.
2. “I don’t have time.” – Bottom line: “I don’t have time,” is really just another, perhaps politer, or perhaps naive, way of saying, “It’s not that important to me.”
3. “I’m not talented enough.” – Learn the value of work and practice – just the repeated concerted effort to get better at things. Forget the notions of talent and genius. I can hear you thinking, “Oh, these other people, they just have something that I don’t have.” When really, they are just people who work and practice more. Understand this. Work and practice are the keys to anything you want to do. If you want to play the guitar – anybody can learn to play the guitar – you can be good at it. Maybe you won’t be Jimi Hendrix, but you could be really good. You can be good enough to write good songs or make music with others or whatever. There’s no such thing as not having enough talent to get to that level. Because persistence is talent, really. Just sticking with it. Talent is not stopping.
4. “This problem is too big to solve.” – The problem is not the problem. The problem is the incredible amount of over-thinking you’re doing with the problem. Let it go and be free.
5. “I’m not ready yet.” – The truth is nobody ever feels ready when an opportunity arises. Because great opportunities in life force us to grow emotionally and intellectually. They force us to stretch ourselves and our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel comfortable at first. And when we don’t feel comfortable, we don’t feel ready. But that doesn’t change the fact that sometimes the course of our lives depends on what we do or don’t do in a few seconds, a heartbeat, when we either seize an opportunity, or just miss it. Miss the moment and you may never get a chance again. So in case you never get a second chance, don’t be afraid! And what if you do get a second chance? Take it! It’s as simple as that.
6. “I knew I wasn’t good enough.” – Your struggle is part of your story. Being rejected from something you want often means you are being directed toward something you need.
7. “I’m a failure.” – Not trying is failing. Everything else is just practice. It’s OK if you mess up, that’s how you get wiser. Give yourself a break. And don’t give up! Good things take time, and you’re getting there, one step at a time.
8. “I just want everything to be easy.” – In every adversity there is a message. Struggles and crises are nature’s way of forcing change – breaking down old structures, shaking loose negative habits so that something new and better can grow in their place. So remember, just because you are struggling does NOT mean you are failing. Every great success requires some kind of struggle to get there.
9. “They have it so much easier than me.” – No one has it easier than you. Every one of us is fighting our own private battles. The strongest among us aren’t those who show strength we can see, but those who have won incredible inner battles we know nothing about.
10. “I have nothing to be thankful for.” – Choose positivity today. If you’re struggling to be thankful for what you have, think for a moment and be thankful for what you’ve escaped. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter if your glass is half empty or half full. Be thankful that you have a glass and that there’s something in it.
11. “I have too many flaws.” – Wrong. When you’re comfortable in your skin, even your flaws look beautiful. And once you’ve embraced your flaws, no one can use them against you.
12. “They don’t have what it takes either.” – We have enough critics. Be an encourager. One sincere word of encouragement after failure is worth more than a day of praise after success. So start cheering for the people around you. Not only will they feel empowered, but also what goes around comes around, and sooner or later the people you’re cheering for will start cheering for you too.
13. “I don’t have time for anyone else.” – One of the most spiritual things you can do is embrace your humanity. Connect with those around you today. Say, “I love you,” “I apologize,” “I appreciate you,” “I’m proud of you”… whatever you’re feeling. Send random emails and texts, write a friendly note, embrace your truth and share it. Create a smile today for someone else… and give plenty of hugs. This connectedness will strengthen you.
14. “My closest relationships can wait.” – If you never stop to enjoy who’s beside you, someday you’ll realize you’ve wasted all your years looking for something, a sort of trophy you think you’ll get only if you really, really do enough to deserve it. But then one day you’ll wake up and not want it anymore; you’ll want something else, something warm and sheltering, something you can turn to, regardless of what you do, regardless of who you have ultimately become. Something that will just be there, always, like tomorrow’s morning sky. And the only way to create this “something” is to nurture the amazing people in your life.
15. “I can break my promise just this once.” – Be committed. Commitment means staying loyal and keeping your promises, long after the time and mood you made the promises in has left you. Doing so is vital to relationships and long-term success in every imaginable walk of life.
16. “One little lie couldn’t hurt.” – Lying is a vicious disease. It spreads quickly. And liars are the only people who expect acknowledgment for being honest. Don’t be one of them. Don’t lie. Do the right thing, even if you are the only one who knows.
17. “They care about me, but they are just too busy to keep their promises.” – It may be hard to accept, but when you are important to another person, they will always find a way to make time for you – no excuses, no lies, and no broken promises.
18. “I refuse to cry.” – We need never be ashamed of our tears. Do not apologize or feel ashamed for crying. Without this emotion, you are only a robot. Crying is one of the highest devotional songs. The ones who know crying, know what it means to be spiritual. If you can cry with a pure heart – through forgiveness and acceptance – nothing else compares to such a prayer. Crying includes all the core principles of humanity.
19. “I refuse to forgive.” – Forgive the past. It’s over. Learn from it and let go. People and situations are constantly growing and changing. Do not cling to a limited, disconnected, negative image of a person or time in the past. See your life now. Your relationships and circumstances are always alive and changing.
20. “My heart has been broken too many times to take new risks.” – Sometimes it takes a heartbreak or a major letdown to shake us awake and help us see we are worth so much more than we are settling for. Will letting go be hard? Sure, but not nearly as hard as holding on to something that wasn’t real. You have to put your heart out there. Because the emotions that can break your heart are oftentimes the very ones that heal it and help it grow.
Truth be told, it is ultimately only our own thoughts that hurt us.
So think about it: What negative thoughts and destructive thinking patterns do you struggle with?
2.OPPOSITION FROM SIGNIFICANT OTHERS
We will use Joseph’s case as recorded in the Bible. Listen to these words of Joseph's brothers; right after he told them about his dream. I'm reading from Genesis 37:8. His brothers said to him, "Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to have dominion over us?" So they hated him yet more for his dreams and for his words.
The first threat to a God-given dream may be rejection and opposition from people close to us. Think of Joseph's brothers. In the dream he had, they were paying him homage, bowing before him. But in the real world, things seemed dramatically different. Jealous of him already for being his father's favorite, they hated Joseph all the more when he had shared his dream. They were filled with jealousy. They had only harsh words for him. Later, out in the fields, they saw him coming from afar and plotted to kill him. "Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; . . . then we shall see what will become of his dreams!" (vv. 19-20). They stripped him of his dress coat and threw him into a cistern. Through the mercy of his brother Reuben and later of Judah, they didn't kill Joseph but they sold their young brother for a slave. They treated him like a thing, a commodity. Joseph, what's becoming of your dream?
Think about Saul, the Pharisee, who became Paul the apostle. Once the Lord had given him a vision of what his ministry was to be, Saul's old friends rejected him. His countrymen plotted to kill him several times. Those with whom he had served on the Sanhedrin wanted to see him executed. When Paul tried to obey the heavenly vision, he was hated and opposed at every point.
Think about The Prophet Joseph Smith who obeyed God and did not join any existing Church. As he told people what he had seen and heard, he began experiencing opposition and persecution.
With most of us, perhaps, it hasn't been that dramatic or extreme. But maybe we've had a taste of something like it. I remember some of my close friends and relations I liked and trusted who seemed at first to like and trusted me but lost interest in me when they realized that I was serious about becoming a Christian member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They wanted no part of that dream.
What about you? Has someone close to you made pursuing the dream difficult?
3.STRONG TEMPTATION
Here's a second threat: strong temptation, attempts of the evil one to undermine character. After being taken down to Egypt, Joseph was bought by a captain of the Egyptian guards, Potiphar. Joseph became his household servant, a post he occupied with great faithfulness. Potiphar's wife, however, made repeated attempts to seduce the young man. Many things would have seemed to make that temptation very difficult to resist. Joseph was young, handsome, strong, single, and vulnerable. Also, the tempter was a woman in authority over him. It was his duty to obey her; it was in his interest to oblige her. She could doubtless have contributed to his advancement. And it would surely be dangerous to slight or antagonize a woman with such power.
Opportunity also favored the temptation. They were together in the house. No one else was around. There was no danger of detection and she would certainly have protected him if they became involved. Her persistence also made resistance difficult. She kept after him day by day, even took hold of his clothes to entrap him.
Joseph was not immune to the desires and drives common to young men or that this woman, the pampered wife of a wealthy and influential court official, was physically undesirable. Would Joseph rationalize that the master would never know? Would he be tempted by the thought of the material advantages that such a liaison might offer?
What helped Joseph to withstand those pressures? The key, it seems to me, was respect. There was respect for his master. Joseph said, "He leaves the management of his whole house to me. He has trusted me with all that he has. How can I do this?" (see Gen. 39:8-9). In other words, "How can I betray a trust? How can I wrong so deeply those who have treated me well?" Caring about and esteeming other people is a great defense against wrong.
There was also self-respect. Fidelity goes right to the heart of who we are. To break our promises, to violate a trust, is to sacrifice integrity, to lose our true selves. "How can I do this?" Joseph asked.
Most of all, there's respect and fear of God. "How can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" (v. 9) Joseph says. He names it as a great wrong. He calls it what God calls it. Perhaps adultery is not so serious in the eyes of many people. In John Grisham's best-selling novel, The Firm, the hero justifies yielding to the lures of a prostitute with this thought: "everyone does things like this," and "no one will ever know."
Joseph couldn't look at it that way. He knew that God knew. The worst thing about sin, what most gives it enormity and ugliness, is its thrust against God, His covenant, His command, His grace, His holiness. Joseph fled, got himself out of harm's way, and didn’t stay to argue.
The surest way for the devil and his agents to block the dream in our lives is to undermine our character, to destroy our integrity. We all get attacked along that line, don't we? Some of the temptations are blatant and obvious, some quite subtle. What would have become of the great dream, we wonder, if Joseph had carried on an affair with his master's wife? Yes and what will happen to yours and mine if we violate our conscience?
4.UNDESERVED REPROACH
Here's a four threat: undeserved reproach. Potiphar's wife, we read, accused Joseph of trying to rape her and then fleeing when she screamed. Potiphar, hearing this, was enraged and had Joseph thrown into the guard house with the king's prisoners. Joseph resisted temptation - and look what happened!
This seems to be one of the real risks in seeking to fulfill the life dream God gives us. Think of what various enemies called our Lord Jesus Christ Himself: an impostor, an agitator, a madman, an enemy of the people, an agent of the devil. Think of what they called His servant Paul: a charlatan, a perverter of crowds, a hater of the law, defiler of the temple, a scoundrel, someone not fit to live. Our Prophet Joseph Smith passed through similar situation. He was eventually killed.
We sometimes feel that if we obey God and keep our noses clean, our good name won't be sullied. But, as they say, "it ain't necessarily so." We see in Joseph's case that being innocent of a wrong doesn't always preserve one's reputation. Not everyone who keeps a good conscience can also keep a good name, at least in the eyes of some.
God let this happen, didn't He? But it didn't frustrate the dream. And no false accusations against us will ever finally defeat us, even though they can make life extremely painful at times. Are you facing something like that?
5.DELAY AND DISAPPOINTMENT
Here's another threat of a different kind: delay and disappointment. As we read Joseph's story, we see him bouncing back again and again. After the bitter trauma of being sold into slavery by his brothers, he makes good in Potiphar's house, works his way up, and has success. Then after he's thrown in prison, he wins the favor of the chief jailor and again is favored. After he becomes the attendant of the king's cupbearer and baker, God's dreamer becomes an interpreter of their dreams. Joseph asks the cupbearer when he's restored to remember him and bring his case to Pharaoh's notice so that Joseph also can be released.
But the cupbearer forgets all about Joseph. He neglects to mention him to the king. Another two years go by. Maybe those were the hardest two years in Joseph's life. He has survived a terrible injustice, a strong temptation, unjust accusation. He's kept on being faithful where he is in spite of all his difficulties. But he's counted on that cupbearer to return the favor and intercede for him. Surely this will be God's way, he thinks, to rescue him from distress so that he can get on with his life.
But no, it doesn't happen. The months drag by. What's becoming of your dream, Joseph? Disappointment and delay can sometimes be harder to deal with than heavy adversities. Nothing happens. Time passes.
I wonder how the apostle Paul felt about all the months he spent in prison when he wanted to be out evangelizing the world. He had hoped to go to Spain, but that wasn't possible. He wanted to visit the young churches he had founded but was hindered from doing that. Disappointment, delay. Delay, disappointment. Are you listening, Lord? Can't you see that I want to finish my course, get my work done, and fulfill your dream?
Can you identify with that mood? You've been waiting a long time, putting up with a lot of disappointments. What For? So much for your hopes and dreams! Time is slipping by and here you sit, frustrated.
There's a fascinating word about all this in Psalm 105, verses 17-19. Listen:
He [that is, God] had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters, his neck was put in a collar of iron; until what he had said [in the dreams, that is] came to pass the word of the Lord tested him.
So that's what it was. In the persecution, the temptation, the reproach, the long waiting, the word of the Lord kept testing Joseph until the dream was fulfilled. None of this was announced, of course. There was no vision from heaven about it, no word of explanation. These things simply kept happening to Joseph or to Paul, just like they keep happening to you and me. They severely challenge the dream. They call it in question. More than that, they test the dreamer. We have to be able to take it. The big test of character is often this: endurance. Can we bear hardship without breaking down, without giving up?
THE TURNAROUND
Then the turnaround: here comes the dramatic turn of events. Amazing things happen and they happen fast. Pharaoh has his dreams and no one can interpret them. The cupbearer remembers his experience with Joseph and tells Pharaoh. Pharaoh sends for Joseph and tells him the dreams. Joseph gives glory to God as the only One who can fathom these mysteries. Then he teaches Pharaoh about the seven fat and seven lean years. Pharaoh appoints Joseph prime minister to establish a food reserve. At the age of 30, this man Joseph has authority under Pharaoh over all Egypt. He marries the daughter of an Egyptian priest and has two children. One he calls Manasseh (God has made me forget all my troubles) and the other Ephraim (God has made me fruitful in the land of my hardships). Joseph is passing the test, isn't he? He's acting like God's man. Now in an amazing way, the dream is about to be fulfilled.
There's a famine in the land of Canaan and Joseph's brothers come to Egypt to buy grain. A lot of intrigue follows. They come to Joseph. He knows who they are but they don't recognize him. Joseph decides to put them to the test. He gives them food and sends them back to bring his younger brother Benjamin with them next time they come. When they return with their younger brother, they're tested again. Finally, Joseph, overcome with emotion, reveals himself to his brothers. The entire family of Jacob then comes to Egypt and settles in the land of Goshen.
Later on, as the patriarch Jacob is about to die, he gives a parting blessing to his sons. The brothers are fearful now that Joseph may finally take revenge. Then as the saga of Genesis concludes, we see these brothers bowing to the ground before Joseph saying, "We are your slaves. We are the servants of your father's God."
In a way beyond all imagination Joseph's impossible dream comes true. It's not a dream world. In fact, it's a world where God-given dreams are bitterly contested. But right here, in this real world, God fulfilled the life dream of His servant Joseph, of His servant Paul. Yes, beyond their wildest dreams. Apparently, the fulfilling of a dream often involves the long and sometimes painful molding of the person. God has to deal with the dreamer before the dream can come true.
On this the scripture admonishes:
“And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. – D&C 122:7.
President Lorenzo Snow advises: “never feel too lofty to be sometimes cut down, squared, scored, and hewed to be fitted into the place we are to occupy in the spiritual building”. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church – Lorenzo Snow, p.218).
Listen to what my friend, Obasesam Okoi, has to say on this: “There are times we encounter challenges that compel us to question the plan of God. There are times when tragedies unfold in our lives and we begin to question the plan of God. There are times we find our boat sinking and wonder if God has forsaken us. The truth is, whatever God has called you to do must be tested against your own life. If you're called to unite people, you'll be a victim of opposition. If you're called to preach peace, you'll be a victim of family conflict. If you're called to liberate people, you'll be a victim of incarceration. If you're called to defend human rights, your rights will be violated. If you're called to preach wisdom, you will make dangerous mistakes in life. If you're called to mend broken hearts, you'll be a victim of heartbreak. If you're called to extend love to others, you will be a victim of hatred. If you're called to ignite hope in others, you'll be a victim of hatred. If you're called to show kindness to others, you will be a victim of wickedness. If you're called to make others happy, you'll be a victim of sorrow. If you're called to speak truth to power, you'll be a victim of calumny. If you're called to be a leader, you'll be a victim of opposition. These tests are meant to teach us important lessons. According to Abraham Lincoln, "only the test of fire makes fine steel."
Where does all of this find you? If you are a believer in Christ, you've been given some kind of dream. What has been happening to it? What kind of opposition have you faced from people? What sort of temptation? What kind of reproach have you had to bear? What disappointments and delays have been discouraging you? Maybe in your case too, the word of the Lord will keep testing you until the time is right and you're ready. Then perhaps in ways you don't expect or can't imagine, the impossible dream can be fulfilled.
I testify that if we are faithful and obedient to our Heavenly Father commandments, remain determined and steadfast in doing what is right in spite of temporal setbacks, He will consecrate our afflictions for our good. I share this with us in sacred name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Do not let criticism or rejection control you or stop you from getting what you want. It's not what other people say that decides our success; it’s how we respond to their comments, what we think they mean, and whether the challenges trigger the "giving up" reflex in us or motivate us to hang tough and keep fighting.
The scriptures tell us of different types of revelation, such as vision, dreams, and visitations by angels. A covenant person “receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things – that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal” (Doctrine and Covenants, D&C, 42:61).
God has conveyed important messages to people in a variety of ways. In Bible times, He occasionally used dreams. But these were not every day vague, illogical dreams. Dreams from God were vivid and coherent, and they had a definite message. For example, in a dream, the prophet Daniel saw a series of beasts that symbolize political empires from Babylon down to our time. (Daniel 7:1-3, 17) By means of a dream, God told Joseph of Nazareth, the adoptive father of Jesus, to flee to Egypt with his wife and child. As a result, Jesus escaped death at the hands of vicious King Herod. When Herod died, God disclosed his death to Joseph by means of a dream, at the same time instructing him to return with his family to their homeland.—Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23.
What are the factors that can threaten your God-given? They are SELF DOUBT, OPPOSITION FROM SIGNIFICANT OTHERS, STRONG TEMPTATION, UNDESERVED REPROACH, DELAY AND DISAPPOINTMENT
The mind is your battleground. It’s the place where the greatest conflict resides. It’s where half of the things you thought were going to happen, never did happen. But if you allow those thoughts to dwell in your mind, they will succeed in robbing you of peace, joy, God-given and ultimately your life. You will think yourself into a nervous breakdown, into depression, and into defeat. I know because I’ve been there.
What can be done? To start, say this to yourself every morning when you first wake up:
“I’m letting go of all the negative feelings, fears and thoughts from yesterday. I have no room for them! I will focus only on positive thoughts and resolutions today because I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me.”(Read Philippians 4:13, Alma 26:12).
And then practice what you preach. It will gradually make a difference in your life, guaranteed.
Because truthfully, there is so much about your fate that you can’t control, it makes no sense to neglect all the things you CAN control. You can decide how you spend your time, whom you socialize with, whom you share your life, money and energy with. You can pick your words and the tone of voice in which you speak to others. You can select what you will eat, read and study every day. You can choose how you’re going to respond to unfortunate situations when they arise, and whether you will see them as curses or opportunities for growth…
And most importantly, you can choose your thoughts, which dictate pretty much everything else.
Train your mind to see the good in everything. Positivity is a choice. The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
In other words, you are what you think.You cannot change anything if you cannot change your thinking.
Here are twenty thoughts indicating it is time to change:
1. “My dreams and goals can wait.” – Live a life you are proud of. In the end, your greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things that don’t matter to you. We never tell ourselves that we will never live our dreams. Instead we just keep talking about how we will start living our dreams tomorrow.
2. “I don’t have time.” – Bottom line: “I don’t have time,” is really just another, perhaps politer, or perhaps naive, way of saying, “It’s not that important to me.”
3. “I’m not talented enough.” – Learn the value of work and practice – just the repeated concerted effort to get better at things. Forget the notions of talent and genius. I can hear you thinking, “Oh, these other people, they just have something that I don’t have.” When really, they are just people who work and practice more. Understand this. Work and practice are the keys to anything you want to do. If you want to play the guitar – anybody can learn to play the guitar – you can be good at it. Maybe you won’t be Jimi Hendrix, but you could be really good. You can be good enough to write good songs or make music with others or whatever. There’s no such thing as not having enough talent to get to that level. Because persistence is talent, really. Just sticking with it. Talent is not stopping.
4. “This problem is too big to solve.” – The problem is not the problem. The problem is the incredible amount of over-thinking you’re doing with the problem. Let it go and be free.
5. “I’m not ready yet.” – The truth is nobody ever feels ready when an opportunity arises. Because great opportunities in life force us to grow emotionally and intellectually. They force us to stretch ourselves and our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel comfortable at first. And when we don’t feel comfortable, we don’t feel ready. But that doesn’t change the fact that sometimes the course of our lives depends on what we do or don’t do in a few seconds, a heartbeat, when we either seize an opportunity, or just miss it. Miss the moment and you may never get a chance again. So in case you never get a second chance, don’t be afraid! And what if you do get a second chance? Take it! It’s as simple as that.
6. “I knew I wasn’t good enough.” – Your struggle is part of your story. Being rejected from something you want often means you are being directed toward something you need.
7. “I’m a failure.” – Not trying is failing. Everything else is just practice. It’s OK if you mess up, that’s how you get wiser. Give yourself a break. And don’t give up! Good things take time, and you’re getting there, one step at a time.
8. “I just want everything to be easy.” – In every adversity there is a message. Struggles and crises are nature’s way of forcing change – breaking down old structures, shaking loose negative habits so that something new and better can grow in their place. So remember, just because you are struggling does NOT mean you are failing. Every great success requires some kind of struggle to get there.
9. “They have it so much easier than me.” – No one has it easier than you. Every one of us is fighting our own private battles. The strongest among us aren’t those who show strength we can see, but those who have won incredible inner battles we know nothing about.
10. “I have nothing to be thankful for.” – Choose positivity today. If you’re struggling to be thankful for what you have, think for a moment and be thankful for what you’ve escaped. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter if your glass is half empty or half full. Be thankful that you have a glass and that there’s something in it.
11. “I have too many flaws.” – Wrong. When you’re comfortable in your skin, even your flaws look beautiful. And once you’ve embraced your flaws, no one can use them against you.
12. “They don’t have what it takes either.” – We have enough critics. Be an encourager. One sincere word of encouragement after failure is worth more than a day of praise after success. So start cheering for the people around you. Not only will they feel empowered, but also what goes around comes around, and sooner or later the people you’re cheering for will start cheering for you too.
13. “I don’t have time for anyone else.” – One of the most spiritual things you can do is embrace your humanity. Connect with those around you today. Say, “I love you,” “I apologize,” “I appreciate you,” “I’m proud of you”… whatever you’re feeling. Send random emails and texts, write a friendly note, embrace your truth and share it. Create a smile today for someone else… and give plenty of hugs. This connectedness will strengthen you.
14. “My closest relationships can wait.” – If you never stop to enjoy who’s beside you, someday you’ll realize you’ve wasted all your years looking for something, a sort of trophy you think you’ll get only if you really, really do enough to deserve it. But then one day you’ll wake up and not want it anymore; you’ll want something else, something warm and sheltering, something you can turn to, regardless of what you do, regardless of who you have ultimately become. Something that will just be there, always, like tomorrow’s morning sky. And the only way to create this “something” is to nurture the amazing people in your life.
15. “I can break my promise just this once.” – Be committed. Commitment means staying loyal and keeping your promises, long after the time and mood you made the promises in has left you. Doing so is vital to relationships and long-term success in every imaginable walk of life.
16. “One little lie couldn’t hurt.” – Lying is a vicious disease. It spreads quickly. And liars are the only people who expect acknowledgment for being honest. Don’t be one of them. Don’t lie. Do the right thing, even if you are the only one who knows.
17. “They care about me, but they are just too busy to keep their promises.” – It may be hard to accept, but when you are important to another person, they will always find a way to make time for you – no excuses, no lies, and no broken promises.
18. “I refuse to cry.” – We need never be ashamed of our tears. Do not apologize or feel ashamed for crying. Without this emotion, you are only a robot. Crying is one of the highest devotional songs. The ones who know crying, know what it means to be spiritual. If you can cry with a pure heart – through forgiveness and acceptance – nothing else compares to such a prayer. Crying includes all the core principles of humanity.
19. “I refuse to forgive.” – Forgive the past. It’s over. Learn from it and let go. People and situations are constantly growing and changing. Do not cling to a limited, disconnected, negative image of a person or time in the past. See your life now. Your relationships and circumstances are always alive and changing.
20. “My heart has been broken too many times to take new risks.” – Sometimes it takes a heartbreak or a major letdown to shake us awake and help us see we are worth so much more than we are settling for. Will letting go be hard? Sure, but not nearly as hard as holding on to something that wasn’t real. You have to put your heart out there. Because the emotions that can break your heart are oftentimes the very ones that heal it and help it grow.
Truth be told, it is ultimately only our own thoughts that hurt us.
So think about it: What negative thoughts and destructive thinking patterns do you struggle with?
2.OPPOSITION FROM SIGNIFICANT OTHERS
We will use Joseph’s case as recorded in the Bible. Listen to these words of Joseph's brothers; right after he told them about his dream. I'm reading from Genesis 37:8. His brothers said to him, "Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to have dominion over us?" So they hated him yet more for his dreams and for his words.
The first threat to a God-given dream may be rejection and opposition from people close to us. Think of Joseph's brothers. In the dream he had, they were paying him homage, bowing before him. But in the real world, things seemed dramatically different. Jealous of him already for being his father's favorite, they hated Joseph all the more when he had shared his dream. They were filled with jealousy. They had only harsh words for him. Later, out in the fields, they saw him coming from afar and plotted to kill him. "Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; . . . then we shall see what will become of his dreams!" (vv. 19-20). They stripped him of his dress coat and threw him into a cistern. Through the mercy of his brother Reuben and later of Judah, they didn't kill Joseph but they sold their young brother for a slave. They treated him like a thing, a commodity. Joseph, what's becoming of your dream?
Think about Saul, the Pharisee, who became Paul the apostle. Once the Lord had given him a vision of what his ministry was to be, Saul's old friends rejected him. His countrymen plotted to kill him several times. Those with whom he had served on the Sanhedrin wanted to see him executed. When Paul tried to obey the heavenly vision, he was hated and opposed at every point.
Think about The Prophet Joseph Smith who obeyed God and did not join any existing Church. As he told people what he had seen and heard, he began experiencing opposition and persecution.
With most of us, perhaps, it hasn't been that dramatic or extreme. But maybe we've had a taste of something like it. I remember some of my close friends and relations I liked and trusted who seemed at first to like and trusted me but lost interest in me when they realized that I was serious about becoming a Christian member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They wanted no part of that dream.
What about you? Has someone close to you made pursuing the dream difficult?
3.STRONG TEMPTATION
Here's a second threat: strong temptation, attempts of the evil one to undermine character. After being taken down to Egypt, Joseph was bought by a captain of the Egyptian guards, Potiphar. Joseph became his household servant, a post he occupied with great faithfulness. Potiphar's wife, however, made repeated attempts to seduce the young man. Many things would have seemed to make that temptation very difficult to resist. Joseph was young, handsome, strong, single, and vulnerable. Also, the tempter was a woman in authority over him. It was his duty to obey her; it was in his interest to oblige her. She could doubtless have contributed to his advancement. And it would surely be dangerous to slight or antagonize a woman with such power.
Opportunity also favored the temptation. They were together in the house. No one else was around. There was no danger of detection and she would certainly have protected him if they became involved. Her persistence also made resistance difficult. She kept after him day by day, even took hold of his clothes to entrap him.
Joseph was not immune to the desires and drives common to young men or that this woman, the pampered wife of a wealthy and influential court official, was physically undesirable. Would Joseph rationalize that the master would never know? Would he be tempted by the thought of the material advantages that such a liaison might offer?
What helped Joseph to withstand those pressures? The key, it seems to me, was respect. There was respect for his master. Joseph said, "He leaves the management of his whole house to me. He has trusted me with all that he has. How can I do this?" (see Gen. 39:8-9). In other words, "How can I betray a trust? How can I wrong so deeply those who have treated me well?" Caring about and esteeming other people is a great defense against wrong.
There was also self-respect. Fidelity goes right to the heart of who we are. To break our promises, to violate a trust, is to sacrifice integrity, to lose our true selves. "How can I do this?" Joseph asked.
Most of all, there's respect and fear of God. "How can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" (v. 9) Joseph says. He names it as a great wrong. He calls it what God calls it. Perhaps adultery is not so serious in the eyes of many people. In John Grisham's best-selling novel, The Firm, the hero justifies yielding to the lures of a prostitute with this thought: "everyone does things like this," and "no one will ever know."
Joseph couldn't look at it that way. He knew that God knew. The worst thing about sin, what most gives it enormity and ugliness, is its thrust against God, His covenant, His command, His grace, His holiness. Joseph fled, got himself out of harm's way, and didn’t stay to argue.
The surest way for the devil and his agents to block the dream in our lives is to undermine our character, to destroy our integrity. We all get attacked along that line, don't we? Some of the temptations are blatant and obvious, some quite subtle. What would have become of the great dream, we wonder, if Joseph had carried on an affair with his master's wife? Yes and what will happen to yours and mine if we violate our conscience?
4.UNDESERVED REPROACH
Here's a four threat: undeserved reproach. Potiphar's wife, we read, accused Joseph of trying to rape her and then fleeing when she screamed. Potiphar, hearing this, was enraged and had Joseph thrown into the guard house with the king's prisoners. Joseph resisted temptation - and look what happened!
This seems to be one of the real risks in seeking to fulfill the life dream God gives us. Think of what various enemies called our Lord Jesus Christ Himself: an impostor, an agitator, a madman, an enemy of the people, an agent of the devil. Think of what they called His servant Paul: a charlatan, a perverter of crowds, a hater of the law, defiler of the temple, a scoundrel, someone not fit to live. Our Prophet Joseph Smith passed through similar situation. He was eventually killed.
We sometimes feel that if we obey God and keep our noses clean, our good name won't be sullied. But, as they say, "it ain't necessarily so." We see in Joseph's case that being innocent of a wrong doesn't always preserve one's reputation. Not everyone who keeps a good conscience can also keep a good name, at least in the eyes of some.
God let this happen, didn't He? But it didn't frustrate the dream. And no false accusations against us will ever finally defeat us, even though they can make life extremely painful at times. Are you facing something like that?
5.DELAY AND DISAPPOINTMENT
Here's another threat of a different kind: delay and disappointment. As we read Joseph's story, we see him bouncing back again and again. After the bitter trauma of being sold into slavery by his brothers, he makes good in Potiphar's house, works his way up, and has success. Then after he's thrown in prison, he wins the favor of the chief jailor and again is favored. After he becomes the attendant of the king's cupbearer and baker, God's dreamer becomes an interpreter of their dreams. Joseph asks the cupbearer when he's restored to remember him and bring his case to Pharaoh's notice so that Joseph also can be released.
But the cupbearer forgets all about Joseph. He neglects to mention him to the king. Another two years go by. Maybe those were the hardest two years in Joseph's life. He has survived a terrible injustice, a strong temptation, unjust accusation. He's kept on being faithful where he is in spite of all his difficulties. But he's counted on that cupbearer to return the favor and intercede for him. Surely this will be God's way, he thinks, to rescue him from distress so that he can get on with his life.
But no, it doesn't happen. The months drag by. What's becoming of your dream, Joseph? Disappointment and delay can sometimes be harder to deal with than heavy adversities. Nothing happens. Time passes.
I wonder how the apostle Paul felt about all the months he spent in prison when he wanted to be out evangelizing the world. He had hoped to go to Spain, but that wasn't possible. He wanted to visit the young churches he had founded but was hindered from doing that. Disappointment, delay. Delay, disappointment. Are you listening, Lord? Can't you see that I want to finish my course, get my work done, and fulfill your dream?
Can you identify with that mood? You've been waiting a long time, putting up with a lot of disappointments. What For? So much for your hopes and dreams! Time is slipping by and here you sit, frustrated.
There's a fascinating word about all this in Psalm 105, verses 17-19. Listen:
He [that is, God] had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters, his neck was put in a collar of iron; until what he had said [in the dreams, that is] came to pass the word of the Lord tested him.
So that's what it was. In the persecution, the temptation, the reproach, the long waiting, the word of the Lord kept testing Joseph until the dream was fulfilled. None of this was announced, of course. There was no vision from heaven about it, no word of explanation. These things simply kept happening to Joseph or to Paul, just like they keep happening to you and me. They severely challenge the dream. They call it in question. More than that, they test the dreamer. We have to be able to take it. The big test of character is often this: endurance. Can we bear hardship without breaking down, without giving up?
THE TURNAROUND
Then the turnaround: here comes the dramatic turn of events. Amazing things happen and they happen fast. Pharaoh has his dreams and no one can interpret them. The cupbearer remembers his experience with Joseph and tells Pharaoh. Pharaoh sends for Joseph and tells him the dreams. Joseph gives glory to God as the only One who can fathom these mysteries. Then he teaches Pharaoh about the seven fat and seven lean years. Pharaoh appoints Joseph prime minister to establish a food reserve. At the age of 30, this man Joseph has authority under Pharaoh over all Egypt. He marries the daughter of an Egyptian priest and has two children. One he calls Manasseh (God has made me forget all my troubles) and the other Ephraim (God has made me fruitful in the land of my hardships). Joseph is passing the test, isn't he? He's acting like God's man. Now in an amazing way, the dream is about to be fulfilled.
There's a famine in the land of Canaan and Joseph's brothers come to Egypt to buy grain. A lot of intrigue follows. They come to Joseph. He knows who they are but they don't recognize him. Joseph decides to put them to the test. He gives them food and sends them back to bring his younger brother Benjamin with them next time they come. When they return with their younger brother, they're tested again. Finally, Joseph, overcome with emotion, reveals himself to his brothers. The entire family of Jacob then comes to Egypt and settles in the land of Goshen.
Later on, as the patriarch Jacob is about to die, he gives a parting blessing to his sons. The brothers are fearful now that Joseph may finally take revenge. Then as the saga of Genesis concludes, we see these brothers bowing to the ground before Joseph saying, "We are your slaves. We are the servants of your father's God."
In a way beyond all imagination Joseph's impossible dream comes true. It's not a dream world. In fact, it's a world where God-given dreams are bitterly contested. But right here, in this real world, God fulfilled the life dream of His servant Joseph, of His servant Paul. Yes, beyond their wildest dreams. Apparently, the fulfilling of a dream often involves the long and sometimes painful molding of the person. God has to deal with the dreamer before the dream can come true.
On this the scripture admonishes:
“And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. – D&C 122:7.
President Lorenzo Snow advises: “never feel too lofty to be sometimes cut down, squared, scored, and hewed to be fitted into the place we are to occupy in the spiritual building”. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church – Lorenzo Snow, p.218).
Listen to what my friend, Obasesam Okoi, has to say on this: “There are times we encounter challenges that compel us to question the plan of God. There are times when tragedies unfold in our lives and we begin to question the plan of God. There are times we find our boat sinking and wonder if God has forsaken us. The truth is, whatever God has called you to do must be tested against your own life. If you're called to unite people, you'll be a victim of opposition. If you're called to preach peace, you'll be a victim of family conflict. If you're called to liberate people, you'll be a victim of incarceration. If you're called to defend human rights, your rights will be violated. If you're called to preach wisdom, you will make dangerous mistakes in life. If you're called to mend broken hearts, you'll be a victim of heartbreak. If you're called to extend love to others, you will be a victim of hatred. If you're called to ignite hope in others, you'll be a victim of hatred. If you're called to show kindness to others, you will be a victim of wickedness. If you're called to make others happy, you'll be a victim of sorrow. If you're called to speak truth to power, you'll be a victim of calumny. If you're called to be a leader, you'll be a victim of opposition. These tests are meant to teach us important lessons. According to Abraham Lincoln, "only the test of fire makes fine steel."
Where does all of this find you? If you are a believer in Christ, you've been given some kind of dream. What has been happening to it? What kind of opposition have you faced from people? What sort of temptation? What kind of reproach have you had to bear? What disappointments and delays have been discouraging you? Maybe in your case too, the word of the Lord will keep testing you until the time is right and you're ready. Then perhaps in ways you don't expect or can't imagine, the impossible dream can be fulfilled.
I testify that if we are faithful and obedient to our Heavenly Father commandments, remain determined and steadfast in doing what is right in spite of temporal setbacks, He will consecrate our afflictions for our good. I share this with us in sacred name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Parenting Around The World, Through The Eyes Of The WorldPost's Staffers
In Tokyo, a single mother who works as an editor for HuffPost Japan rises at 5 a.m. each workday to pack a lunch for her teenage son before leaving for her office an hour later.
In British Columbia, a news editor for HuffPost Canada nurses her baby, while her husband makes breakfast for their toddler.
In Madrid, a HuffPost Spain editor and father of two school-aged girls says he has "chaotic" mornings. "We have to be relatively organized so that the girls, who must be at school by 9 a.m., are not late, but we don't have a routine."
In London, a blog editor for HuffPost UK is awoken before sunrise by the "a-goooooo" calls of his 5-month-old, who is "bored stiff of being in his cot and ready to start his day." After about 15 minutes, "we buckle and bring him into the bed," his father says.
It is easy to focus on the differences between parents around the world. I write this from the U.S., where we Americans have become obsessed with mining myriad cultures for insights on better parenting. Our reading queues fill with books about how French parents supposedly raise better behaved children and Asian parents, more accomplished ones. We know that American parents are seen by the rest of the world as too indulgent and too hovering.
It was in the spirit of different styles of parenting that The WorldPost surveyed its editors and reporters worldwide. But from Europe to Asia to North America, we raise children more similarly than one might think.
There were differences, sure. At HuffPost Canada, for instance, women get a full year of maternity leave, while in France and Spain they get four months because of different parental leave laws. Grandparents are more likely to be part of the childcare plan in some countries than in others. Working hours away from the children varied, too.
But far more striking were the similarities -- the universal, human, redefining experience of being responsible for someone who depends on you entirely.
"You are no longer the center of your life," the editorial director of HuffPost Spain said in response to the question, "What has most changed about your life since you've had children?"
The UK blog editor agreed, replying, "Not much hasn't changed in some shape or form."
A blog editor for HuffPost Italy, who is the father of a 6-year-old, said: "Scheduling. Everything now needs to be organized. There is little room for improvisation."
Parents everywhere struggle with the desire to do this parenting thing well. "What does it mean to be a successful parent?" we asked. "If when a child grows up he feels he wants to make a contribution to the world, then I think the parents can consider themselves successful," mused the front page editor in Japan.
"A successful parent is one who raises a child to become a happy, healthy, independent, intelligent, empathetic and loving grown-up," said a senior editor in Canada.
Her Canadian co-worker, divorced with an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old, agreed: "To have prepared my kids adequately so that they can feel empowered and ready to take on life's challenges independently, while knowing that help is always going to be there from their parents should they need it."
We all admit to fear that we will screw it up, or that the world will do that for us. "What are your fears?" our questionnaire asked -- eliciting this response from a HuffPost France editor about her infant: "Her father is very afraid of other children, especially the boys, when she's going to be old enough to flirt with them."
From Japan: "The state of the Japanese economy."
From Spain: "That they will end up suffering, that they won't find work. That they won't be happy."
From a lifestyle editor in Canada who is still on maternity leave: "Other than the general worries about his safety (which I assume are completely normal ... right?), I worry about the state of the world in which he'll be growing up. What will further environmental deterioration mean for how much time he gets to spend outside? Will security concerns over everything from peanut allergies to terrorism mean he'll grow up in an absolute bubble?"
And we all carry some kind of guilt. When we asked, "What do you feel most guilty about as a parent, the Canadian lifestyle editor answered: "I love this question, because it speaks to the certainty that you are feeling guilty about something, it just depends on what stage the child is at." For her it was an inability to breastfeed.
For the news editor in British Columbia, it was "not having enough time to spend with" her baby and preschooler. For the Italian blog editor, it was spending too little time at home, and rarely being there for dinner.
"When I didn't know my son had a learning disability," said the editor in Japan, "I used to scold my son when he didn't do his homework and would throw a bucket of water at him ... I wanted him to get into a private junior high school, but I misunderstood him."
But despite the fear and the guilt and the responsibility, we still can't wait to see what lies ahead.
"Introducing [my son] to new things is the most excitement I get," said a father who works for HuffPost Canada. "From the first time he ever saw bubbles at about 6 months and his first concert at 18 months...to his first trip to Disney World where he bounced with Tigger and the first time he saw a vinyl record player just a few weeks ago.
"There's something immeasurably special about seeing or doing something for the very first time, and with young children that happens all the time. Seeing his tiny little mind blown is the greatest of pleasures for me."
A blog editor in France agreed: "For now, I can't wait to show him the world, the little things: play sports with him, listen to music, teach him simple stuff, show him nature, enjoy peaceful moments with him and his mother, and make sure he enjoys a life without stress, some kind of safe cocoon I guess."
And so we end our days as we began them, doing the best we can.
In Tokyo, the teenage boy gets his own dinner, because his mother won't be home from work until 11 p.m. In British Columbia, the toddler's parents give him a bath, read to him and put him to bed. In Madrid, the girls "go to bed later than they should, because we always have dinner late and, inevitably, they always play for a while after they eat." And in London, the 5-month-old "has his bath at 5.30 p.m., which is the highlight of his and his parents' day. After his bath, he is fed ... He then gets burped, gets in his [sleep sack] and (hopefully) goes down for the night. That's the plan."
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Don't Bet on Coal and Oil Growth
By Kumi Naidoo
A mind-boggling sum of about $800 for each person on the planet is invested into fossil fuel companies through the global capital markets alone. That's roughly 10 percent of the total capital invested in listed companies. The amount of money invested into the 200 biggest fossil fuel companies through financial markets is estimated at 5.5 trillion dollars. This should be an impressive amount of money for anyone reading this.
A mind-boggling sum of about $800 for each person on the planet is invested into fossil fuel companies through the global capital markets alone. That's roughly 10 percent of the total capital invested in listed companies. The amount of money invested into the 200 biggest fossil fuel companies through financial markets is estimated at 5.5 trillion dollars. This should be an impressive amount of money for anyone reading this.
By keeping their money in coal and oil companies, investors are betting a vast amount of wealth, including the pensions and savings of millions of people, on high future demand for dirty fuels. The investment has enabled fossil fuel companies to massively raise their spending on expanding extractable reserves, with oil and gas companies alone (state-owned ones included) spending the combined GDP of Netherlands and Belgium a year, in belief that there will be demand for ever more dirty fuel.
This assumption is being challenged by recent developments, which is good news for climate but bad news for anyone who thought investing in fossil fuel industries was a safe bet. Frantic growth in coal consumption seems to be coming to an end much sooner than predicted just a few years ago, with China's aggressive clean air policies, rapidly dropping coal consumption in the U.S. and upcoming closures of many coal plants in Europe. At the same time the oil industry is also facing slowing demand growth and the financial and share performance of oil majors is disappointing for shareholders.
Nevertheless, even faced with weakening demand prospects, outdated investment patterns are driving fossil fuel companies to waste trillions of dollars in developing reserves and infrastructure that will be stranded as the world moves beyond 20th century energy.
A good example is coal export developments. The large recent investment in coal export capacity in all key exporter countries was based on the assumption of unlimited growth of Chinese demand. When public outrage over air pollution reached a new level in 2012-2013, the Chinese leadership moved swiftly to mandate absolute reductions in coal consumption, and banned new coal-fired power plants in key economic regions. A growing chorus of financial analysts is now projecting a peak in Chinese coal demand in the near future, which seemed unimaginable just a couple of years ago. This new reality has alreadyreduced market capitalization of export focused coal companies. Even in China itself, investment in coal-fired power plants has now outpaced demand growth, leading to drops in capacity utilization.
Another example of potentially stranded assets is found in Europe, where large utilities ignoredignored the writing on the wall about EU moves to price carbon and boost renewable energy. Betting on old business models and the fossil-fuel generation, they built a massive 80 gigawatts of new fossil power generation capacity in the last 10 years, much of which is already generating losses and now risk becoming stranded assets.
Arctic oil drilling is possibly the ultimate example of fossil companies' unfounded confidence in high future demand. Any significant production and revenue is unlikely until 2030, and in the meanwhile Arctic drilling faces high and uncertain costs, extremely demanding andrisky operations, as well as the prospect of heavy regulation and liabilities when (not if) the first major blowout happens in the region. No wonder the International Energy Agency isskeptical about Arctic oil, assuming hardly any production in the next 20 years. Regardless, Shell has already burnt $5 billion of shareholders' money on their Arctic gamble.
Those investing in coal and oil have perhaps felt secure seeing the global climate negotiations proceed at a disappointing pace. However, the initial carbon crunch is being delivered by increasingly market-driven renewable energy development, and by national level clean energy and energy efficiency policies -- such as renewable energy support schemes and emission regulation in Europe, or clean air policies in the U.S. and in China. Global coal demand, and possibly even oil demand, could peak even before a strong climate treaty is agreed.
Investors often underestimate their exposure to fossil fuels, particularly indirect exposure through e.g. passively managed pension funds and sovereign debt of strongly fossil fuel dependent states. Assessing exposure, requiring fossil energy companies to disclose and reduce carbon risks, and reducing investments in sunset energy technologies will lead to profitable investment in a world that moves to cleaner and smarter energy systems.
Improving competitiveness of renewable energy, growing opposition to destructive fossil fuel projects, concerns on water shortage and the imperative of cutting global CO2CO2 emissions all point in the same direction: Governments, companies and investors should all be planning for a world with declining fossil fuel consumption -- not only because it's the right thing to do, but also because it makes economic sense. It is the direction the world will be moving to -- faster than many yet anticipate.
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Sunday, January 12, 2014
Five pressing health priorities in 2014
By
As head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Thomas Frieden oversees an agency with the sprawling mission of reining in diseases in the United States and across the globe. From fighting food-borne illness outbreaks and influenza epidemics to educating people about the risks of obesity and smoking, the CDC’s work touches every corner of public health.
Given that broad range of responsibilities, we asked Frieden about what he considers the top public health priorities for 2014. Below are five areas he said deserve special attention, and why each is important. His comments have been edited for length:
1. Increasing human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccinations.
The bottom line here — this is an anti-cancer vaccine. Usually, when we introduce a new vaccine, we expect the uptake will be gradual and will increase by about 10 percent per year. HPV has stalled. We’re at 30 percent, and it didn’t increase at all last year. The country of Rwanda is at 85 percent. If we were at 85 percent, then 4,400 girls alive today would not get cervical cancer in their lifetimes. But because we’re not, they will.
2. Fighting the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, which kills an estimated 23,000 Americans each year.
We talk about the antibiotic era and the pre-antibiotic era. But if we’re not careful, we’re soon going to be in a post-antibiotic era. There are now organisms out there that are resistant, potentially, to all the drugs that we have. And they’re spreading. We need to scale up the work that we’re doing at CDC to support doctors and hospitals to have more rational and more effective strategies for treating patients, so that we can treat infections that could be fatal but don’t waste the antibiotics that we need to preserve for ourselves, our kids and grandkids.
There’s a series of things we have to do. One is, we have to track things better so we know what’s happening when, where and why. The second is to do a better job of responding when there are outbreaks. So, if we have a cluster of cases, we swoop in with the state, with the hospital, with the local in coordination and stop it. The third is to prevent it better, so we figure out how it’s spreading and prevent that in the future.
3. Reducing deaths attributable to prescription painkiller abuse and overdose.
This has been one of the very few things in health that has gotten substantially worse over the past decade. There’s no reason it has to. This is a problem that is, to a very great extent, caused by the health-care system. I believe we can do a great deal to reverse this problem through public health action and coordination with law enforcement. There’s really good, bipartisan agreement on what needs to happen. But we need to make it happen. We need to support states, support localities and reduce the risks to people by improving the management of people with chronic pain.
We want to make sure people with pain get effective treatment, but we know that all too often, the path of least resistance for a physician may be to prescribe long-acting opiates. But the risk-
benefit ratio of those opiates isn’t adequately recognized. There are a lot of risks and pretty uncertain benefits. Someone who’s got cancer and is likely not to survive the cancer — we want to absolutely make sure they get every bit of palliation they need. But that’s very different from someone who’s got back pain and comes in and asks for a prescription and may end up addicted for life.
benefit ratio of those opiates isn’t adequately recognized. There are a lot of risks and pretty uncertain benefits. Someone who’s got cancer and is likely not to survive the cancer — we want to absolutely make sure they get every bit of palliation they need. But that’s very different from someone who’s got back pain and comes in and asks for a prescription and may end up addicted for life.
4. Ending polio once and for all.
Polio eradication is something that CDC has been working on since 1988. We’re closer than we’ve ever been, but that last mile is always the hardest.
Fundamentally, it’s about Nigeria and Pakistan. In both countries, you have insecurity and violence. In Pakistan, you have assassination of health workers who are protecting children from paralysis. It’s almost inconceivable. In Nigeria, you have some violence in some areas; that was the big setback last year. But you also have a health system that doesn’t always reach where it’s most needed.
When we began this [effort] in 1988, there were about 1,000 kids per day who were paralyzed by polio. Last year, there were just a couple hundred. So we’ve made a lot of progress. But until we get over the finish line, every kid everywhere in the world is at risk, because polio anywhere is a risk everywhere.
5. Defending against health threats that originate elsewhere in the world.
We are all connected by the air we breathe, by the water we drink, by the food we eat. What we’re seeing is that it’s part of our self-interest to ensure that countries all over the world are better able to find, stop and prevent health risks. It will help them be safer, more productive, more stable. And it will help us protect Americans from threats that could end up making us sick or killing us.
Ten years ago, after the SARS epidemic, the Chinese government began working with the CDC and said, “We want to create something like a CDC for China.” And they did. When it came to the flu, we helped them learn how to grow the flu virus in the lab, how to do tracking to see where flu is spreading. We helped them to become a World Health Organization collaborating center for influenza. We helped them learn how to sequence the entire genome of the flu virus.
Because of that, when the H7N9 [virus] hit, they found out about it promptly, they rapidly responded and they informed the world openly about it. In fact, they posted on the Internet the genome of the H7N9 within hours of identifying it. That allowed us to make a diagnostic test so we could find out if people have flu, and to begin making a vaccine.
This is a long-winded way of saying that it was a harvest of 10 years of collaboration with the Chinese, that they were able to find this faster, stop it faster and share information faster. We need to do that with many countries and many diseases, all over the world, or we won’t be safe.
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Saturday, January 4, 2014
'If Nigeria Falls to Islamic Extremists, All of Africa Will Be at Risk'
By Joop Koopman
Bishop Hyacinth Egbebo is the administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Bomadi, in Nigeria's Niger Delta, in the heart of the country's oil-rich but economically-deprived south. Nigerian Christians are confronted with the growing threat of radical Islam in the form of the extremely violent anti-Christian Boko Haram sect, which was declared a terrorist organization by the U.S.
With 160 million people, Nigeria is Africa's most populous country. Just over 50 percent of the people are Christians, who form the majority in southern Nigeria; Muslims account for another 45 percent of the population, largely living in northern Nigeria. There are 30 million Catholics in the country. In 2012, close to 1,000 Christians died because of their faith in Nigeria, according to reports, and Boka Haram is responsible for the deaths of at least 700 Christians in 2013.
According to the bishop, Nigeria's well-being holds the key to fate of the African content. "If Nigeria falls to Islamic extremists," he says, "all of Africa will be at risk." Bishop Egbebo spoke with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need Jan. 1, 2014.
Fulani tribesman in conjunction with Boko Haram militants massacred 70 Christians late last year in northern Nigeria and there are reports practically every week of new attacks. The group is said to charge the government with not responding to Christian attacks on Muslims. Is there any validity to that claim?
Revenge killings did take place in Jos, two years ago, and in Kaduna last winter, both of which are Christian strongholds. But the bishops strongly condemned the murder of Muslims at the hand of Christians, and such revenge attacks are very few now. Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos, president of the Nigerian bishops' conference, has also called attention to what he calls Islamic propaganda -- exaggerations of the number of Muslims killed -- and he also pointed to instances where Muslims included the bodies of Christian victims among their own dead. The bishops have prevailed however, in the face of Boko Haram's effort to provoke Christians into acts of retaliation and create chaos in the country. Of course, some Christians fight back if they are attacked.
What is the appeal of radical Islam? Why this hatred of Christians?
Boko Haram wants an Islamic state in the North, imposing shariah law on everyone. Hence, everything that is an obstacle to implementing that goal becomes a target for violence. Those obstacles include the government itself, the constitution, as well as the police and the army. Christians, moreover, are associated with the West, with the values of freedom and democracy and the promotion of education. That's why Boko Haram is even attacking schools and killing children. These radicals believe that Western education should be forbidden -- anything that builds up the Christian ethos.
Then, should they succeed in the North, they would set their sights on the South. If they should overrun Nigeria, it will be a steppingstone to conquering smaller countries. There is a lot of support for Boko Haram from outside the country -- otherwise the fact that they are so professionally trained and supplied cannot be explained. If they had simply been a homegrown organization, they would have been defeated by now.
What outside forces could be behind it?
I am not sure. There was speculation that Muamar Gadaffi played a major role. He is the only figure we have been able to identify, thus far. The former president of Nigeria, General Muhammadu Buhari, at one point made a not so veiled threat that should he not be re-elected, he would make the country ungovernable. Now a man from the South, a Christian leader, Goodluck Jonathan, has been elected president of Nigeria and attacks by Islamic radicals have definitely increased. Since the killing of the electoral officers on the day the results were announced, the momentum of Boko Haram attacks has picked up sharply.
Are there enough moderate Muslims in Nigeria who could serve as a counterweight to the radicals?
Yes, prominent Muslim leaders have spoken out against Boko Haram, provoking assassination attempts. Some have already perished. There are also Muslims who are guarding Christian churches during services. By no means are all Nigerian Muslims on board with this radicalization. Particularly in the south, there are very moderate Muslims, who accept Christians within their own families.
Unfortunately, some political leaders are supportive of Boko Haram, which the government itself has acknowledged. In the wake of the presidential election of a Christian from the south, there is palpable fear in Nigeria about political power shifting to the south, threatening the privileges of Muslim elites in the North, some of whom ascended to positions of power without being qualified whatsoever -- simply because they were Muslim. Take, for example, the oil industry, whose rich bounty was until recently given to people in the North.
Yet, the oil comes from the South.
Yes, but just come and see for yourself -- we have no electricity, and there are so many potholes in our road that driving is a real hazard; plus, for the vast majority of the people here there aren't any roads at all. The wealth produced by our natural resources literally and figuratively flows north. The oil is piped northward for more than 700 miles to be refined. Within the Apostolic Vicariate of Bomadi there are no reliable schools or hospitals; there is no drinking water. Change will come very slowly. Real reform will require very courageous and charismatic leadership.
There are also reports of Christians becoming Muslims for the sake of economic advancement. Is that true?
That was certainly the case under the military regimes, when presidents came from the north and the oil wealth was mainly controlled by them in a very, say personal way. You could become a Muslim, marry a Muslim girl, and partake in the oil wealth. Those converts, once their fortune changes again, are likely to return to the Christian faith -- but doing so in the north could cost you your life. They have to relocate to the south if they really want to revert to their former Christian faith. The constitution allows for such conversions, but the law is ignored in the north.
You also have to cope with aggressive proselytizing from fundamentalist Christians.
They accuse us of worshipping the Virgin Mary; they claim lots of miracles. They often preach a Gospel of wealth -- 'if you are not rich, God has not really blessed you,' they charge. Pastors flaunt their personal wealth, and that holds appeal for people, including Catholics, who long for material possessions.
What is the greatest gift of the Church for Nigeria?
Christians have a great contribution to make by speaking truth and emphasizing the need for peace. The Nigerian bishops regularly call on the government and urge reform. Boko Haram would fade out if people had the prospects of a decent life. There is a lot of lawlessness, rampant crime. The Catholic Church also seeks to provide quality healthcare and education, as best we can. This is why quite few Muslims in high places send their children to our schools.
You have spoken about corruption as a particular plague for Nigerians.
If our government leaders had not been corrupt, Nigerians would have had a reason to live very different lives. Corruption is one of our worst evils. There is no hope to make a decent living, so many are easily drawn into a life of violence. Young people, in particular, offered very little money, are hired to fight to protect the political interest of some of those in government during elections; many young people have died as a result. That is why Nigerian bishops and priests preach against corruption at almost every Mass. We have composed a prayer against corruption which is said every day by Catholics.
What's more, young people who have responsibility of protecting the oil pipelines, are often suspected of the theft of crude oil; in some cases, they deliberately cause leakages because the government fails to pay their salaries; pipes also burst due to delays in repairing or replacing them. The spillage pollutes the water that people rely on for drinking water and hygiene.
Are you disappointed in the lack of action on the part of Western governments, even Church leaders?
The Western nations could have done more. But oil is the problem, I suppose. They are benefitting from it and they do not want to challenge those that are in power. Chevron; Shell; Ajip; all those companies are exploiting our oil and not doing enough to confront the fundamental injustice of the situation. International practice or standards are usually not maintained by these oil companies. Let me also acknowledge that the leaders of Nigeria and local communities have not helped matters as they are more interested in seeking their personal benefits rather than the general good of the community.
What is your message to the West?
Don't sit by while Nigeria disintegrates! Make sure Boko Haram is defeated. If Islam overruns Nigeria, the rest of Africa might easily fall prey to them. That would be an unimaginable humanitarian disaster. Also, please keep in mind that we have more pressing problems here than what is bothering the West, and which you tend to dump on us -- like same-sex marriage or abortion. We have been told that in order to access Western aid, we have to accept the modern way of doing things. We don't want any of that. But we are dying of lack of food, for lack of very basic things.
Don't try to impose your way of life on Africa. The West is far too interested in what it can get out of Africa -- like our oil or diamonds in the Democratic Republic of Congo -- while only giving us some paltry gifts or selling us weapons we don't need. Instead please, help us to stand on our feet and become mature enough so that we could positively contribute to life and the world in general. Africa is a gift to humanity. But Africa needs to stand up -- we are dying.
Aid to the Church in Need is an international Catholic charity under the guidance of the Holy See, providing assistance to the suffering and persecuted Church in more than 140 countries.
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American Capital Energy & Infrastructure Commits $130M to Nigerian Power Sector
The infrastructure arm of publicly traded private equity firm American Capital has committed to invest up to $130 million in an African power project developer, Azura Power Holdings Ltd.
The construction of Azura Power's planned 450 megawatt Azura-Edo power project in Edo State, Nigeria, is the first phase in the development of a roughly $1.4 billion, 1,000 megawatt power facility, Mr. Hanrahan.
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Through its American Capital Energy & Infrastructure subsidiary, American Capital will invest the cash to help finance Nigeria's first new power plant built under the nation's privatization plan, enacted by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.
"This is the first project that's coming on under this program to provide additional capacity to the new privatized electricity sector," said American Capital Energy & Infrastructure co-founder and chief executive, Paul Hanrahan.
The construction of Azura Power's planned 450 megawatt Azura-Edo power project in Edo State, Nigeria, is the first phase in the development of a roughly $1.4 billion, 1,000 megawatt power facility, Mr. Hanrahan.
With its investment, the U.S. investor will take a stake alongside Azura's initial investor, Amaya Capital Partners.
Azura has reached a power purchase agreement with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading PLC, Nigeria's national power trading company, which was created as part of the government's plan to privatize the power industry in Nigeria.
Investors expect financing for the first phase of the power project to close in 2014 and that the plant will begin producing power by 2016 or 2017, according to a statement.
Annapolis, Md.-based American Capital Energy & Infrastructure is making the investment as part of its commitment to Power Africa, an initiative launched by President Barack Obama to support growth and development in Africa by increasing access to electrical power.
In the next four years, the power and infrastructure investment firm said it could invest as much as $800 million in sub-Saharan Africa.
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