We Are What We Are

We all are the sum total of the raw material from which we began, and the ingredients; the shocks and stress of our experiences -- good and bad -- and the consequences of our choices; mixed together over our lifetime.

All beings begin life with certain traits in various measure. We all have a drive to eat. We all may not have that drive in the same degree. Some sharks are more voracious than their siblings. Some of our traits can be changed by experience or decision. Most dogs begin their life as friendly pets. But by abuse or training any dog can become a 'bad' dog. The same is true of people. Some traits can not be changed. Some of us have red hair, some have green eyes, and none of us can change the color of our hair or eyes by concentrating on the desired change.

That part of ourselves which we can change is our attitudes and beliefs. We are born with personality. However, that personality is not set in stone. Our parents are the first influence in our lives which shape us, and give direction to the rest of our lives. Yet, we all know, or know of, children who are strong willed at a young age and cause their parents difficulty. While our parents are the first influence, they are not the last. We are. At some early point in our life we begin to make decisions. As we grow, as we learn and experience success at this decision making process, we make more choices, more decisions. We are, to a degree, our own creator--in that we change ourselves into what we become.

In this collection of ingredients and experiences which make us what we are, there is a random seed. That is, there is no perfect human being. Each and every one of us is flawed. I am not talking about the physical, but of the soul, spirit or mind, that which is at the depths of our character and personality and is, in fact, the foundation of self.

The experience of living with this flaw is no less important or any less formative than our experiences with outside influences. It makes no difference if we recognize this inner influence, or not. We may struggle with it, or not. We may deny it, or embrace it. However we react to it, or ignore it, nonetheless it is there and contributes to the sum total of who we become.

All of the ingredients which determine who we are also determine how we interact with those near us, as well as the world around us. A family becomes a concatenation of the individuals within it. A city is a sum total of the families and individuals who live in it. Every nation is a sum of its cities, families and the individuals who occupy it. France has a character which is different from Greece, which is different from Turkey, which differs from Norway. Every nation has a character or personality which is the essence of the sum total of its residents.

Just as experience shapes us as individuals, so experience shapes Nations. The characters of Germany, Russia and France were shaped by their mutual experience of war. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are different from other cities in Japan, and indeed from every city.

The world, in fact, has a Personality which is the concatenation of all national experience and character, and is the sum of every personality living on it.

External cause, and our internal reaction to it, can result in stress so extreme that the consequence is insanity. I am not talking about a type of insanity which results from structural or bio-chemical flaw in the brain. I am talking about the mind, about the result of Fear and Hate and the choice we make which then shape our character. Fear, Hate and embracing a lie lead inevitably (if not treated with courage, love and truth) to insanity.

Over the last one hundred twenty-five years, following the introduction of Evolution, Relativity and Situation Ethics, the World's Personality has become unstable, and has been growing insane. In the next several years, as nations tumble into nuclear war, as the world's ecology and health deteriorates, as stress from natural and human events bring terror, hate and instability, the world will become completely insane.

When the world becomes so blind to Truth that it accepts a being who proclaims himself to be a "God," as its "God," it will be fully and fatally insane. In about three years the world's population will be so insane that they will begin to murder Christians who reject their false "God" and cling to the God of Abraham.

Within seven years of the re-unification of the Roman Empire by force--and three European capitol cities destroyed by nuclear weapons--this world will come to its end.

I will give you the names of those three cities if you would like to have that information.

All who live must die.
We learn this when we are young, and how we face or reject this truth determines (as mentioned above) who we are, who we become. At first, while we are young, the fact that 'other people' sometimes die may have little effect on the decisions we make, since they died of accident, war or stupidity. Then, later, we begin to notice that people our age are beginning to die. Perhaps we begin to think of a 'last will and testament.' or about plans for retirement which will enable us to go, see and do the things and places we have put off for a long while. Still, as we begin to contemplate our own mortality, it is a vague possibility and not an absolute certainty. So we still entertain hopes for tomorrows even as we acknowledge our approaching death.

Then, as we begin to reach the limits of our abilities, more and more of these hopes and expectations become short term, and we must face the end of our life. The aged and frail have few hopes beyond tomorrow, fewer still beyond the limits of their front door. Our last hopes are that we can feed and clothe ourselves, and make it to the bathroom without embarrassment. When these hopes too begin to fade, then death becomes a friend we welcome rather than turn away.

All human beings are the same, within those wide limits and parameters which determine what it is to be human. We are all warm blooded, with two legs, two eyes and the breath of life in our lungs. We are all self motivated to some degree, make our own choices when possible, and each of us decides what we will believe, even if we keep it secret. To a degree some may deny, what we believe determines what we do and how we do it, and how we treat those around us. Every one of us is flawed in some way, and to some degree; and, regardless of our attempt to deny it or hide it, our flaw shapes us. We all make mistakes: we lie, cheat or steal, and miss-treat our spouse, children or pets. A person who does not suffer from visible flaws will become arrogant or self-righteous, or is just a better liar than average. A human who claims to be "Christian" is still human, and not different, in any way, from other humans. We are all flawed.

Of all the things which describe us as individuals, the question "of the hope that is within us" may best describe the only difference between the People of God and all other people.

It is in the consequences of the long list of events which plague humanity - crime and loss of property or financial security, betrayal and loss of honor and respect, injury or illness due to disease or accident, or flood, earthquake, famine, war and death - that the difference between God's People and others may be seen. That is, Others react with anger or the lust for revenge. Others hate, and seek to destroy. Others question Fate, and curse God. Others know death to be their enemy, and have no hope beyond the reach of their mortal flesh.

Those People who know God do try to forgive those who have wronged them, as they have received forgiveness. Those who acknowledge the God of Abraham know their security is not in silver or gold, nor in bricks and lands, but is in God and His promise. They do not choose their enemies, knowing their enemies made that choice; and are able, then, to love them. These know that death is a door which leads, not to the grave, but to life beyond that grave. Those who know Him know His Word is Truth, and come to love all truth. It is this, the love of Truth and the Hope of eternal life, which separates His People from this world.

In these last days, what we have chosen to believe will be displayed and proven by our conduct in our everyday lives. Those who love Truth will stand out in stark contrast to those who reject Truth. Having decided to believe the Lie--and, that those who love Truth must be their enemy--those who love the Lie will hate those who love Truth. While those who are confident of life beyond death will not fear death, those who deny the Eternal God must fear death.

In these last days, when the powers of this world will attempt to eradicate the Word of God, it will become more difficult to witness to others about Truth and the Hope of Life. Still, some will question us about "the hope that is within us," and we will have some opportunity to witness. Such chances will become rare: then there will be none.

It Is Done