I'd say he had a...mountaintop experience...*YEAAAAAAHHHHH*

Aloha, peoples!

Today's blog is going to be about the Sermon on the Mount. Now that I've said that, I'll give you a moment to laugh about the title of this blog. Okay, so now that you're done, I'll get started.

Matthew 6:19-24 deals with treasures in heaven. You've all heard the saying before, but I believe that repetition breeds redundancy. Regardless of this, I will break it down for you: what you have here is not going to last forever. What you have in heaven, however, is. Therefore, you should store up for an eternal life and not your earthly life.

What does this mean, this concept of storing up treasures? How does one accomplish this? Well, by spreading God's Word and following His commandments, of course!

Let me give you a hypothetical scenario: You're a captain in the Air Force Reserves with good pay, a sweet life, an awesome family, and no worries yet. (Yeah, I know it's not likely, but this is hypothetical, remember). One day, your boss comes in and says, "Major What's-his-face just retired, and there's a promotion position open for you. It means better pay, bigger house, and more power in the workplace. Oh, and there's only one downside--you have to move to Washington, you'll see your family about three times a year, excluding holidays, and your children will grow up without a father figure. Whaddaya say?"

So, if you choose the Mo' Money path, you'll be doing a disservice to your family, but getting tons of dough. However, if you chose the Family Life, you'd be choosing to raise your family. The first way, the Mo' Money Path, leads to riches on earth, which will pass away. However, if you make the other choice, the Family Life, you'll be able to train up your children to do what's right, love on your wife, and generally be a good dad. So if Mo' Money leads to riches on earth, then the Family Life leads to riches in heaven.

Now, this isn't a blue pill, red pill moment. What I'm trying to say is that your choices affect how you will be rewarded in heaven. If you choose to be a slob and not work for others, your heavenly rewards will be little. If you work your heart out helping people, then your heavenly rewards will be great. Does this mean that our only motives for helping people should be selfish? No, that's not the point. The point is that unselfish sacrifice is repaid with eternal rewards.

Peace out, Phoenicians.

--JesusFreak

Is Anyone Else as Pump(kin)ed as I Am?

Halloween...a time of rotten teeth and gingivitis, of hyper children and cranky parents. A time when anybody who's masochistic enough to be driving on the night of the 31st deserves a Purple Heart for their trouble, and when every house in the neighborhood has orange, black, and purple adorning its lofty eaves, with a giant rubber spider and a Skeletor doll thrown in for good measure. When tempers are high (and in some cases, teenagers), caution is low, and three-foot-tall Power Rangers roam the streets with plastic jack-o-lanterns saying "trick-or-treat!"

Is it sinful if I'm one of those cynical jerks who would answer their cries with "trick" and douse them with a water hose?

Yeah. Probably.

But what's more "sinful" is when people try to turn little kids eating candy into a legal issue. Next thing you know, we're only going to allow our kids to trick-or-treat for candy that's been blessed by the Pope! (All I can say is that'll certainly get rid of any vampire costumes...)

Yes, I know, Halloween is historically a holiday with pagan backgrounds, and the general gist of it is kind of Satanic. I mean, making kids wear stupid flappy costumes symbolic of TV shows that they're either addicted to or have never seen before? And you tell me that's not evil! Pah! The nerve!

In the article, Mr. Hamm says, "How should Christians think about Halloween? Well...probably the same way we think about Christmas." A good point--of equally pagan backgrounds is the obviously Christian (and by that I intended sarcasm to be implied) holiday of Christmas. If you're celebrating Christmas because you're honoring the Roman god Sol Invictus, then you're missing the point. If, however, you're celebrating it because that's the day you remember Christ's birth on, then you're right on Target.

As an ending note, I think it's disturbing how the church spends so much sermon time and money on why we shouldn't participate in Halloween when in fact we have more important things to worry about. Like preventing Westborough Baptist Church from going to a gay pride parade and burning He-Man pinatas in Army uniforms. And stuff like that.

Peace, love, and Minecraft!

--JesusFreak

P.S. Oh, and by the way...

"Happy" Halloween.