Stephen Bleile

The Bible is not fair.  It says,

¹²Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. Matt 13:12

Doesn’t this make the Bible some sort of Fat-Cat-Empowering Manifesto? -cementing the fate of the poor, the widow, the orphan? -while turning a blind eye to-, or even condoning the-, steady and seemingly endless accumulation of “having” demonstrated by the rich?

What about these two pastors who got busted for jacking US$3.1M from their congregation?

Truthfully, I’ve been wondering about this verse for years.  The dang problem is that it seems to be true.

The Haves do seem to continue having more and the Have Nots… well, in the venerable words of Midnight Oil “The rich get richer and the poor get the picture.”

There are two principles at work here: the first is a basic matter of capital and the second is a matter of perspective.

If I’m not mistaken it is not uncommon for pro athletes to sign US $100M and up contracts.  Tiger Woods reportedly earned just shy of US $12M in the 2007 season from his salary and winnings.  But the kicker is, he made US$ 100M in endorsements.  The point being, of course, he made a fair bit of coin, but hot on the heals of that money he made even more money in endorsements.  He had, and then he had some more.

Since I have yet to sign that million dollar golf deal I have a relatively small amount to invest.  When my intuition is right and my stock goes up 300% (Thanks Painted Pony) my thousand dollars becomes three thousand.  Of course, my friend who put in 10 thousand saw his money zoom up to 30 thousand.  He had and then he had some more.

These are both examples of capital growing.

The second principle in play here is about what we can see about ourselves.  When I read The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz I become aware that I have a lot to offer the world.  Ideas, creativity, my intuition etc.  As I see these strengths and act on them -low and behold what I have multiplies.  Sometimes in money, sometimes in more ideas, and sometimes in really good adventures.

It is when I can’t see them, lose site of the strengths in a sea of my own weakness and depression that I become inert and incapable of creating change. I watch TV for Jesus and that’s about it. The little good I can see in me becomes nothing as I stew on how wretched I am.  I lose even the little I had.

So is the Bible unfair, or is it just calling a spade a spade?

Near as I can tell Jesus said Christians ought to love the poor so I think it might be the latter.

It IS horribly unfair that ministers use the good book to build a church and then siphon the funds for gain.  Let God judge them, I’ve buried a few too many treasures to think I won’t be judged myself.

Fat Cats

Here’s the excuse you’ve been waiting for to have some fun, live an adventure, tackle that little idea in the back of your head, take some quiet time for yourself, get people interested in your life, get interested in other people’s lives, make some money or perhaps get out of the pews and into the streets.

From June 14-20th I will be attempting to execute one idea per day that will stimulate my sense of adventure, impact at least one other person’s life, and hopefully create a few stories.

I invite you to join me here as I document the results.  I also invite you to try the same and share your stories with me.

Here are a few principles from my book (Before Your First Steps:  A Cure for Manic Boredom) that might help you get started:

1. Slow down.  Take 5 minutes to be still.  This will likely kill you; proceed to step 2 to get thinking about something.

2. Think about something you’d like someone else to do for you this very moment, or yesterday, or tomorrow.

>”Geez, I wish someone would mow the lawn.”

>”I would like an ice cream sandwich.”

>”I wish someone would invite me to do something.”

3. Think about something you could do to make someone else smile that wouldn’t take too long and would likely result in a smile.

>Pick up trash blown onto neighbors lawn

>Invite someone for dinner

>Comment on someone’s blog

4. Think about how you could impliment your ideas in number 2 for someone else.

5. Take one ideas from 3 or 4 and go try it! (Or use one from this list.)

6. Bring along a camera or notepad and document the results.

7. Post them on facebook or on this site.

8. Check out how my adventures are going.