Thoughts on Psalm 33:5 and Carl Jung

The Earth is Filled With the Goodness of the Lord.  Psalm 33:5 KJV

An excerpt from the full chapter.

“I either did not see or gravely doubted that God filled the natural world with [only] His goodness.  This, apparently, was another one of those points which must not be reasoned about but must be believed.”  Carl Jung.

Why did Jung not see the goodness?  Surely he participated in producing good things for our world – through his art, his research and discoveries, his teachings…and his exquisite WISDOM.  Is the good so difficult to see?  Why?

Is “goodness” a perception?  Many people use a common phrase, “perception is reality”.  While I disagree with the popular interpretation of this, the intellectual dilemma now appears: if there is a perception of no goodness, then is it possible that, for that individual or group of individuals, there actually is an absence of goodness?  If goodness is a construct of love, and if, for those people, that love does not exist, then perhaps perception actually is reality, in this case.  So now begs the question:  is the psalmist wrong?  Is the Earth filled with the goodness of the Lord?  Or is David, assuming he is the psalmist, one of many people who experience that goodness, and who sees it everywhere, while others do not?

Or, must we diligently seek goodness, and strive to uncover God’s goodness in our world, so as to engage a deeper level of gratitude, and thus a larger sense of the goodness of God?

…more on this tomorrow.

Pledge to end modern day slavery

Talk to me!  Please!  A few days ago I made a speech at the National Human Trafficking Awareness Day event at Worcester City Hall.  A few people thought I said something offensive.  Perhaps I did.  So I posted the transcript last night and I am wondering why the silence?  Was what I said really offensive?  Slavery is offensive.  Collecting money from somebody so they can feel that they have right to violate another person is offensive.  Shopping in American stores and purchasing items that were made by slaves overseas, so the business owners can get rich…that’s offensive.

So read my words (scroll down my page and you will see them from last night) and tell me what you’re thinking.

And then I want you to think about this.  I am writing a pledge.  Please take this pledge and help me gain commitment from my friends and family that we won’t profit from the exploitation of children, men, or women.  Please promise me you will try to get inside my head, and inside my heart, long enough to realize that, for me, there is no “us” and “them”.  Understand me.

Read the pledge and respond with a simple “Yes” if you’ve been able to see inside my heart, and inside the hearts of these millions of innocent people who are exploited.  The only difference between them and me is that I am free.  That’s it.

“I pledge to do my part to end slavery and human trafficking.  I will listen, reflect, research, and take a stand.  I will NOT profit from slavery in ANY form.  I will be a solution, not a cause, of an atrocious human rights violation that is occurring everywhere in our world, including our own backyards.  I promise to help.”

Assertive Communication Skills

“To know oneself, one should assert oneself.” This is an interesting quote from 20th Century French philosopher and novelist Albert Camus, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature. Camus reportedly would not call himself an existentialist, but his followers labelled him as one, mostly because of ambiguous and deeply abstruse statements and quotes such as that one. Let’s take a closer look at Assertiveness and the concept of assertive communication: what does it mean for professionals, and what do other experts have to say about it?

Dorland’s Medical Dictionary defines assertiveness as a form of behavior characterized by a confident declaration or affirmation of a statement without need of proof; this affirms the person’s rights or point of view without either aggressively threatening the rights of another (assuming a position of dominance) or submissively permitting another to ignore or deny one’s rights or point of view.

According to the Mayo Clinic, a top U.S. hospital located in Rochester Minnesota, Assertiveness can help you control stress and anger, and can also contribute to improved coping skills. An informative article on the Mayo Clinic website makes two sets of important contrasts concerning behaviors: Assertive/Passive Behavior, and Assertive/Aggressive Behavior.

Assertive vs. passive behavior
If your style is passive, you may seem to be shy or overly easygoing. You may routinely say things such as, “I’ll just go with whatever the group decides.” You tend to avoid conflict. Why is that a problem? Because the message you’re sending is that your thoughts and feelings aren’t as important as those of other people. In essence, when you’re too passive, you give others the license to disregard your wants and needs.

Assertive vs. aggressive behavior
Now consider the flip side. If your style is aggressive, you may come across as a bully who disregards the needs, feelings and opinions of others. You may appear self-righteous or superior. Very aggressive people humiliate and intimidate others and may even be physically threatening.

More of this information can be found here, on the Mayo Clinic website.

An assertive personality is something that many people are born with, therefore it is natural for them. However, the good news is that assertiveness is a behavior which can be learned. Naturally assertive people and their approaches can and should be studied, thus enabling those who are naturally aggressive, passive, or some combination of these factors, to learn. When naturally assertive people are modelling the way, here’s what we will find:

• They have a healthy level of self-esteem.
• Assertive people feel empowered.
• They feel free to express their feelings, thoughts, and desires.
• They are also able to initiate and maintain relaxed relationships with others.
• They understand their rights, and the rights of others.
• They have control over their anger, and other strong emotions. This does not mean that they do not experience these emotions, but it means that they are able to effectively manage them, and talk about them in a productive manner.
• Assertive people have been found to be comfortably and reasonably accommodating, and willing to compromise with others.
• They are proactive rather than reactive.
• Are able to resist non-assertive forms of communication that are meant to intimidate or manipulate.

Now let’s talk about Assertive Communication. I'm a big fan of Dr. Jon Warner and his work entitled Assertiveness Style Profile. Once again Warner gives us an interesting analysis, and remarkable labels for four very specific communication styles:

1. Firmly Asserting
2. Passively Observing
3. Warmly Proposing
4. Aggressively Controlling

By utilizing Dr. Warner’s Profile, we learn about a great variety of degrees of assertiveness. The four categories described above are detailed, and also combined with other factors such as level of energy and level of empathy. Assessment results can now be plotted and analyzed according to all of the factors mentioned. And Dr. Warner also provides strategies to move toward enhanced assertive communication. Below is the chart that Warner has created to assess and analyze individual assertiveness styles.

An added bonus that Warner gives us is information about body language, and how it relates to each individual assertiveness style. It’s important to note that Dr. Warner’s Assertiveness Style Profile has no right or wrong answers—it simply analyzes and describes each person’s own unique style based upon their honest responses to a series of statements. Finally, Warner describes assertiveness as “getting what you want from others without infringing upon their rights”. Sounds like a win-win!
Looking at some other viewpoints, we find that assertiveness in business is a critical skill. John Folkman, a contributor for Forbes, lets us know just how important effective assertiveness is for a leader. In his article The 6 Secrets of Successfully Assertive Leaders, Mr. Folkman describes the outcome of a survey where assertiveness was ranked against good judgement. Here are the surprising results:

“Leaders who were rated high (in the 75th percentile) as having good judgment but lower on assertiveness had only a 4.2% chance of being highly rated as an effective leader.

On the other hand, leaders who ranked high on assertiveness but lower on good judgment had a 12.5% chance. However, leaders who ranked high in both characteristics had an actual 71% change of being rated as one of the best leaders.”

The article then takes us through “The 6 Secrets”, which are provided, in brief, below:

1. Connect and Communicate with everyone.
2. Give honest feedback in a helpful way.
3. Use good judgement to make decisions.
4. Walk your talk.
5. Maintain excellent relationships.
6. Look for opportunities to collaborate.

Read the full article for further details about John Folkman’s take on assertiveness and its importance to managers, CEOs and other influential people.

Finally, for further development, Robin Currie recommends the book,Managing Assertively, by Madelyn Burley-Allen. Burley-Allen’s work delves into assertiveness and assertive communication, and also helps the reader to vastly improve his or her “people skills” using her eight building blocks method to become a more effective manager.

There is a plethora of information available on assertiveness, developing assertive communication, and enhancing communication skills. These are invaluable tools for all people, whether in business, family life, volunteering, coaching, teaching, or parenting.

Nehemiah – an inspirational achiever

Here are my first thoughts on Nehemiah as an important character for me, especially at this time.  These first thoughts will be expanded upon over the next several days so check back for updates!

What an exciting Bible chapter, about this visionary man who, in his obedience to God and his purpose (and here was can also say His purpose).  Nehemiah had all of the characteristics of a successful leader.  His dedication and commitment were intense and unparalleled, and he was a resourceful entrepreneur.  What a great example Nehemiah is for somebody who is embarking on a mission, especially if that mission is one that this person feels is ordained by God himself.  Here’s an outline of the phases, as I see them, which chronicle the holy journey of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem after the occupation had set in.

1. Birth of an idea
2. Internal planning phase
3. External planning phase
4. Support
5. Execution
6. Overcoming obstacles and obstructions
7. Details
8. Sustainability

Nehemiah’s work is fascinating, and his completion of a deeply important project, inspired by his devotion to God is absolutely marvelous.  Let’s now examine his process.  How did he come to understand his purpose?  How did he lay out the plans in his mind, which led to his first steps?  What were his first steps?  How did the phases of the project unfold?  The transformation of an idea from its origin as a single thought, into action steps is critically important.  And to see the fruition of a great victory one must exercise patience, intention, and tenacity.  Nehemiah did all of that, and more.

How did Nehemiah gain the approval of the most important people?  And how did he influence a team of recruits that were otherwise not only uninspired, but oppressed and subjugated?  When facing a goal as enormous as the rebuilding of the wall, and one that will surely be met with a great deal of opposition, find a person who has accomplished a project, something that rivals your own, and examine how it was executed. And remember, this undertaking was not only practical, but it represented something that would forever change the perspective of a nation through its dramatically symbolic nature.

#WALKFREE Remarks January 11, 2017 Worcester MA

As promised, here are the notes and remarks from my speech at Worcester City Hall during the National Human Trafficking Awareness Day event.  What’s notable is that January has been declared by President Obama to be National Human Trafficking Prevention Month.  These remarks came after a review of the Walk Free Project, 500 Miles to End Slavery.

Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.  My thoughts here may be considered out of line by some, or possibly even offensive.  We are a country, much like many, many other countries.  We are a country turning a blind eye to slavery, as it exists, right here in our own backyards.

I’ll tell you what I mean by this.

Our government has declared an awareness day, to remember that modern-day slavery and human trafficking exist, and we were all very happy.  This declaration assisted us in the long, exhausting process of cluing in millions of Americans.  Americans, who are, to this very day, very, very poorly informed.

So let me get back to my point about Awareness Day.  What does that mean?  What does that mean for all of us who are involved in the fight…all of us in this room…and all of us who can not sleep at night, for thinking about the millions of children, men, and women who are enslaved today?  All of us, here today, we are aware.  We are in this fight.  So, the declaration of awareness day, do you want to know what it means to me?  Now?  Today?  After many years working as a volunteer organizer to keep fighting for this cause?  Human Trafficking Awareness Day, to me, has become Human Trafficking Acceptance Day.

Our own government, a government which is charged with the protection of its people, has announced that “yes, we have human trafficking”.  It’s going on right now, right here, in America.  Thousands upon thousands of our own American people, plus those thousands who are brought into our homeland, are sex slaves.  And they are domestic slaves.  And they are providing your manicure, and your massages.  And they are clearing your table and washing up from your visit to a restaurant.

So what’s the point of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day?  Is it to remind us that we continue to import billions of products that are manufactured overseas, by children and by entire families that are enslaved?  Our government is fully aware of this, yet, as a nation, we fail to take a stand and sanction these imports, and those countries.  We live and die by Walmart, and Nestle, and all of these “American” practices that not only accept slavery, because there’s a benefit to us to do so, but we are actually endorsing it through our consumerism.

So my question to you all today is:  where do we go, after 11:30 this morning when we leave here?  Where will we go and what will we do?  Will we go home, go about our day and reinstall our apathy?  The apathy which allows and appreciates the slavery right here in our own nation, in our state, our cities and towns, and in our own backyard?

I ask you:  is this going to continue to be National Human Trafficking Acceptance Day, every January 11?  Or will we press on, and strategize, plan, organize, and let our government know that this is not acceptable.  Slavery and trafficking are the greatest and most despicable human rights violations imaginable.  Yet we accept it.  I plead with all of you, and with our esteemed lawmakers:  let us work together.  We need each other,  We need to take this movement from this room, and bring it, through teamwork, up the chain through our local government, to the state level, and beyond.

Please join me and my team.  We are exhausted, we are spinning our wheels, we are fighting and fighting against a crime for which our government has actually created a national acceptance day for.  What, now, will you do?

Article Review - Can You Measure Leadership

Recommended reading is an article in the MIT Sloan Management Review entitled Can You Measure Leadership? In the article, Robert Gandossy and Robin Guarnieri address the urgency, as well as the accompanying challenges, to measure the effectiveness of the leadership at your organization.  Not only does this piece add more dimension to an area that is front and center for all businesses, it also supports two of the 12 Currie Success Principles©:

Currie Success Principle #5 Continuous Development

Currie Success Principle #9 Results Orientation

Please note on the first page of this article – another stern reminder that the world is about to change.  Paragraph #2 contains mission critical information that Bob and the Currie team have been repeating for the past several years:  “the so-called ‘key leader age’ will drop by 15% over the next decade…”  Now is the time for all distributors to plot the strategic placement of your future leaders.  And this article is in keeping with the theme of talent management that has been assembled this year, beginning with The 2012 Global Workforce Study[i].

The Sloan article takes us through the process of identifying the circumstances when a company has successfully developed leaders.  In other (Currie) words:  “What does [leadership] look like when it’s right”.  Then we learn how talent is analyzed, and finally the author provides some questions and measurements to help all companies create and implement a leadership measurement process.

Pay special attention to the Sample Nine-Block Framework diagram.  This graphic demonstrates “Results Orientation” in action, as it applies to leadership, which has historically been an area that is difficult to assess.  The Framework is a rating tool designed to assist top management in their endeavor to understand exactly how effective their leadership team is.  Notice that accountability is created by the public reporting of the results, and it is likened to McKinsey & Co.’s “team barometer” survey.  Now we understand the vision behind the measurement of leadership effectiveness, just as we understand the evaluation of financial results through the Currie Financial Composite©.

In the quest for “Continuous Improvement”, the authors have developed a series of questions that are critical to the growth of the leadership team.  These questions are geared toward different groups within the organization:  People Managers, Key Talent, Business Leaders, and HR Professionals.  By defining the parameters for a great leadership team, the company can develop a world class talent capture (refer to Currie’s website for Q2 2014’s recommended article:  Building a Game Changing-Talent Strategy[ii]).  The Currie Leadership Development Program and Operational Seminars are continuous development offerings that all distribution companies should be taking advantage of.  Other activities (think of the annual Currie Reading List and the quarterly article reviews) are designed to promote and inspire development initiatives.  At most Best Practices group meetings, Currie Management Consultants, Inc. encourages all Human Resources Departments to invent and implement a continuous development plan for each and every employee of the company.  (And remember, in our Model, we encourage a ratio of one HR executive per 100 employees.)  This is how we build solid, engaged leaders.

Finally, how do we apply the lessons from this article to our equipment distribution companies?

• Utilize a tool such as the Nine-Block Framework or the team barometer survey, create motivation by sharing the results publicly, or create a leader scorecard. All of these methods build a culture of accountability, as well as motivate and engage the leaders.  In other words, this is how we construct a “Results Oriented” leadership team.

• Encourage, inspire, excite, and motivate your leadership team through ongoing educational programs and advanced training. Invite your team to learn and grow.  In the Currie Leadership Development Program, Leadership Practices Inventory[iii] is utilized to help each participant assess their own inner “toolbox” and their capacity for growing from a good leader into a great leader through the following practices:  Encourage the Heart, Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, and Enable Others to Act.

• “Hire for attitude, train for skill” (Herb Kelleher, former Southwest Airlines CEO). Identify your brightest talent and prepare your replacement! Remember Emperor Napoleon’s Military Maxim LIV:  “Assets should always be placed in the most advantageous position”.  Your company’s talent is not only an asset, but a precious resource that contains the power to propel your company into future successes.  Succession planning is an ongoing process that needs to be approached with vision, focus, and purpose.

Favorite quote from Can You Measure Leadership?:  “When a company has a true commitment to leadership, it becomes integrated with business planning and woven into the culture of the organization”.

[i] http://www.curriemanagement.com/2014/03/2012-global-workforce-study/

[ii] http://www.curriemanagement.com/2014/04/2014-q2-currie-article-review-building-game-changing-talent-strategy/

[iii] James M. Kouzes and Barry Z Posner

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San Paolo and his first letter to the Corinthians

Here’s a summary of another idea for a chapter in my book about Bible What-Ifs.

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he gives us some insights that I respectfully would like to challenge.  Yes, I have my issues with Saint Paul, as do many women, but I’d like to learn as much as I possibly can from him.

When we look at the King James Version, in Chapter 11, Verse 1, we are told to be followers of Christ.  We have all heard this many, many times.  We try our best every single day to do so.  But when we look at other Bible versions and other translations, we see a different command.  The Amplified Bible, and others, tell us that Paul said: “imitate me, just as I imitate Christ”.  Same thing?  No way!

Babies learn to walk and to talk through the process of imitation.  When interacting with infants, we find that they study their adult subject’s facial expressions, sounds, and other movements.  They are observing reactiveness, tone, and other mannerisms.  Then they do their very best to imitate, through a purely instinctive process.

As children we played “pretend”.  We were free and could decide who we wanted to imitate at that moment…superhero, police officer, teacher, parent, actor, magician, etc.  There was no limit to the choices we could make.   We learned, as infants do, by imitating and role-playing.  When did we stop doing this?  Why?

Later on in this exact same letter, Paul writes:  “…but when I became a man, I put away childish things”.  What childish things did he mean by this….specifically…at the moment he was writing this.? Was he thinking back to a time when he was a carefree child, playing outdoors, role-playing with friends, pretending?  Had he forgotten the joy of learning through imitation?  Had he ever been allowed to play freely, and experience learning by experimentation?  These are the questions I will address over the next few days, and then post the full paper.  Final thoughts:  Matthew 18:4, in the red letters.  “Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”  You’ll see more about that.

Stay tuned…and think about it!

Question IS431

I have redeemed thee and I call thee by thy name. Isaiah 43:1 KJV

What does it mean to be redeemed?  And why would God redeem us?  Is this verse even directed at us?  Has He called you, and by what name?  Let’s dive into this prophetic statement by discussing the accepted interpretation.

“I have redeemed thee” – here the prophet Isaiah is preparing us for the purpose of the coming Messiah.  He will come to deliver us from our sinful nature and set us upon the true righteous path.  He will ransom us from the clutches of evil and draw us to him.  What does it mean to be redeemed?

“And I call thee” – we are all called by God.  But do we hear His call?  Many of us hear, but the next step is, do we answer the call?  While in the service of Eli, Samuel heard God calling him, yet three times he did not recognize His voice.  Based upon this verse, and the sequence it was written in, once we have been redeemed, we can now fully expect God to call us.

“By thy name” – what name does God call us by? As we study the people that God has directly interacted with, we see that He calls them by their earthly names at first.  But then we see God give people new names, Godly names.  He chooses the name according to their purpose, and that Godly name becomes the identity of the “new” person from that moment on.  2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.  Here are a few examples of the way God has called some of us by name, or by purpose:

God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means “Father of Many”

God changed Sarai’s name to Sarah, meaning “Princess”

Mary was given instructions by Gabriel to name her son Jesus, a name which originally was Yehoshu’a and was derived from Joshua.  The name mean which means “Yaweh is Salvation”, or “God Saves”.

Jesus called God “Abba”, or Daddy.

The Commander of God’s Army called Gideon by the name “Mighty Warrior”.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were commanded to name their son John, or “Yahweh is Gracious”.

Jesus renamed his disciples, for example Simon became Peter, “The Rock”.

Let’s look for a moment in the Book of Ruth.  Na’omi changed her own name from one meaning “pleasantness”, to Mara, which means “bitter”.  Was this authorized by God?  Na’omi’s words are recorded in the King James Version as saying that God testified against her.  Did she decide that this was true based upon her circumstances?  Or did God somehow communicate this to her in a tangible way?  What we call ourselves is critically important.  Even after the restoration by Cyrus, Ezra still referred to his people as exiles.  It is reasonable to assert that the names God gives us become who we are.  Do our own self-imposed names also become who we are?  Sadly, the latter appears to be true.  I say sadly here because when we see people name themselves, they oftentimes use negative words and names, which then become their permanent personas.  In sharp contrast to this practice, when God names someone, at least in most of the references we have learned about, it is often a sacred, as well as an empowering name.  At times, the new  name and the ensuing new persona were intended to be punitive, but in most cases the opposite seems to be true.  So we see that the new, Godly name is often a launching point into a deeper relationship with God, and it sets the recipient on an honorable path, serving God wholly.

The What If

How do we determine by what God is calling us?  What if, for those who have not yet discerned their true name, there is no way to hear God’s call?  How do we learn our Godly name?  After many years of prayer and bible study, I still cry out to God:  “what is my name?”  I want to know for sure, with that solid confidence, like the heroes of the Old Testament surely knew that God had called them by name.

What if we can only fully serve God and our purpose after we have shed our earthly names and become renamed by God?  All the people that we have learned God named them personally, used their Godly name for the rest of their lives on this earth.  It would take an incredible amount of courage to publicly announce that God has changed your name.  What a bold statement would be the adoption of your Godly name, for the purpose of giving glory to God.  In the Catholic faith, young men and women take their confirmation vows and choose the name of a saint to become their new name.  Those receiving Holy Orders also assume a new name, and thus a new identity. What if we all did that?

Not only does God use different, and very specific names to call us by, he uses very different ways of communicating to us.  How do believers learn the name that God calls them by?  Some have experienced the calling through dreams and visions.  Others learned of it directly from the very mouth of God.

So, first we can expect God to redeem us, and then to call us by name, a new name, an ambitious, overwhelmingly powerful name.  A name to change everything!

Another What If

What if we first need to be called, in order to be redeemed?  The transposition of two groups of words in this verse would greatly change the interpretation.  What if the verse actually could read: I have called thee by thy name and I redeem thee.  Wouldn’t this now mean that we cannot be redeemed unless God personally calls us, by name?  I know that a great many people already believe this.

#WALKFREE Rally Opening Remarks October 2016 Portland ME

I decided to post my October speech.  Portland Maine, October 15, 2016

I’m walking 500 miles.

I’m walking 500 miles because I have a message.  I have a message for everybody.  It’s for everybody in Portland, and in Maine, and in New England, and beyond.

And my message is this:  slavery is alive and well.

Slavery is alive and well.  Slavery of the most heinous kind, and the most vile kind.  Slavery so nefarious, it’s something that “regular” people, you know, people like us, don’t want to know about.

Slavery is alive and well, and it’s highly, highly profitable, for those who are controlling it.

It’s alive and well all over the world, in nearly every single country, and right here on the East Coast, right here in Maine, and in Massachusetts where I live.  And it’s alive and well right here in our own back yard.

That nefarious form of slavery, the one I mentioned, it’s human trafficking, and we don’t want to know about it.  We don’t want to see it on the news, hear it on the radio, or read about it.  We don’t want to know about it because it shatters our belief that slavery is something that happens over there, somewhere else, and not here.  Human trafficking cannot possibly be happening here, in our country.  But it is, and like I said before, it’s happening right here in our back yard.

You see, once we learn about it, now we have to acknowledge it, we have to think about it, we have to talk about it, and we must take action to stop it.

We can never “unlearn” what we have learned about human trafficking.  As the great British abolitionist William Wilberforce said, around the turn of the 19th century: “You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know”.

So here’s the next part of my message.

American women, men, boys, and girls are trafficked right here in our own backyard.  They are bought, sold, traded, and brutalized.  They are treated as if they are not human.  These are our sisters, and our brothers.  These are our cousins, and our neighbors.  These are our children.  The number is in the tens of thousands, possibly greater, of our American brothers and sisters, and our American children, who are living in slavery.

So what can we do?  Remember all of the things I just said that we didn’t want to do?  Well those are the things we need to do to make a greater effort to combat slavery and human trafficking.  We need to acknowledge it, believe it, reflect, and process it.  And we each need to understand it to the best of our ability.  We need to see it on the news, we need to listen to it on the radio, we need to read about it, and we need to talk about it.

Think about this.  Human trafficking is a criminal enterprise, an illegal industry making billions of dollars, through the abuse of our people.  Think about that.  Try to imagine what these tens of thousands of victims are experiencing, especially the children.  We can’t even imagine it.  Picture a child of 11, or 12, or 13, an American little girl.  And think about what’s happening to her.

Let’s talk about that.  Start a conversation with your family, and your friends, and co-workers.  Get involved in conversations.  It’s the first step.  Talk to people like police and detectives, listen to survivors, like we did today.  Listen to people like me when I walk through 22 cities in less than a month to bring this message.  We all came here today to talk about human trafficking, as it is occurring, right here in our own backyard.

So, take action!  Join the fight!  Donate your time, treasure, and talent.  Contact your elected officials and advocate for better programs and services, and to make improved human trafficking legislation a priority.  Fight back, with us, and help this great country put an end to human trafficking and other forms of slavery, right here in our own backyard.

I didn’t come here to give you an enormous amount of facts or statistics.  All of that information is available and it’s easy to find.  I’m here because I have a message for you.

Slavery is alive and well right here in our own back yards.  Our brothers and our sisters and our children are not for sale.

Tengo un mensaje. Nuestros hermanos y hermanas, y nuestros hijos, ellos no están a la venta.

J’ai un message. Nos frères et sœurs, et nos enfants, ils ne sont pas à vendre.

Ho un messaggio. I nostri fratelli e sorelle, ei nostri figli, che non sono in vendita.

I have a message, our brothers, and our sisters, and our children, THEY ARE NOT FOR SALE!

Question PS2911

The Lord will bless his people with peace, Psalm 29:11 KJV

It is interesting here that the King James Version, The Amplified Bible and The American Standard Version state this verse in future tense, while the New International Version, The Message and The New Living Translation state it in present tense:  The Lord blesses his people with peace (NIV).

The popular translation of this section of Verse 11 is that God is offering us a promise.  But we need to investigate further exactly who is meant by “us” and what, exactly, is peace?

“His people” – Who are “His people”?  Traditionally, early Israelites were The Chosen people.  There are no recorded occurrences of God speaking, either directly or indirectly, to any person, or any group of people, belonging to any other race or nationality.  In fact, the Israelites, upon reaching the Promised Land after the Exodus, were sternly commanded by God not to mix with the Canaanites, or any other foreign civilization. God was interested in one particular group, and He clearly was interested in maintaining the unique purity of the group, in its original created form. This fact alone leads to the introduction of an enormous “what if” question – what if God spoke to other races of people, yet it was never recorded?  What if His instructions to other nations included the command to never write down the words of God.  In fact, when you really think about it, how presumptuous would be the person, or more accurately the male, who believed that he understood God well enough to record His very words, which would then become law for all mankind, forever?  How audacious for a man to believe that he could actually quote the Almighty Creator in such exact detail as to proscribe such punishments as severe as executions.

“With peace” – Peace is the great gift that, according to this verse we can expect God to bestow upon all of us.  In many versions, as mentioned in the opening paragraph, He has already given it to us.  It can even be otherwise interpreted that we are constantly in a receptive state of peace, as if it exists in a continuous flow into and throughout our lives.  For many, this is true.  But we must further define peace.  Thousands of inferences can be deduced from the word “peace”:  quietness, stillness, silence, not at war, harmonious, friendly and the like are the first synonyms that come to mind.  Given what the gift of peace could mean for us both individually and collectively, wouldn’t we rejoice and give tremendous thanks to God for this most valuable, and unearned, gift?  I say unearned because all that is necessary to receive this gift, according to David’s description, is to be a people, either individually or collectively, belonging to God.

The What If

God will (or currently does) bless the people that have attained peace, or are living in a state of peace.  The words “with peace” could certainly be construed as meaning “having peace”.  Just think of the process of categorizing – “all people with red hair stand to the left”, or “everyone with….”  Thus having peace, or being peaceful, could quite possibly be the prerequisite needed to obtain God’s blessing.   In that case, we are now facing the enormous quest to define and achieve (or obtain) peace in order to receive God’s blessing.   This is an overwhelming task to say the least.

Now things are starting to come together.  The world is not blessed because God is waiting.  He is patiently and ceaselessly waiting for us to be with peace, so He can fulfill the promise made in the verse.  He is waiting for us to attain peace so He can bless us.  Now it is up to us, His beloved creation, His people, to complete the work that was demonstrated by Jesus Christ, The Prince of Peace, so we can fully receive the intended manifestation of God’s love for us.

One final assumption that is that the promised blessing is available to individuals that meet the requirements of being His, and being with peace.  Nowhere does it say that this is an all or nothing promise, and that all people must be His, and that all people must have peace in order for the promise to be fulfilled.  Therefore, if there is one among us, or 1,000 among us, or 1Billion among us who fall into the two qualifying categories, then it is appropriate for those people to fully expect the promised blessing.

Question PS4610

Be still, and know that I am God Psalm 46:10

The commonly accepted interpretation of this verse is that it serves as a reminder to us how necessary it is to slow down.  The constant rushing of today creates such distraction in our lives, that the opportunity to rest and develop an intimate relationship with God may be lost.  Ratcheting down into a lower gear; taking the time to pray and study the Bible; and resting in deep prayer and meditation are absurdly difficult for many people today.  Instead we are enmeshed in a lifestyle of schedules, electronics demanding our attention, work responsibilities, family expectations and our own personal events.  Where does God fit into all of this?  Are we engaging with God using the same intensity that we are using when we engage with our children’s sports and dance activities?  According to the verse, we are commanded to “be still.”  But what exactly does that mean?  Those two words alone are open to an enormous number of diverse interpretations.  Let’s explore those possibilities by breaking Psalm 46:10 into smaller bites.

“Be still”.  These two words are packed with a commanding voice.  This is not an option.  There is very specific tone implied here in words spoken by God in such a clear and concise form.  We must be still.  But here are the questions that, for us mere humans, quite naturally follow:  Why?  How?  When?  Where? For how long?  Does it mean that whenever we hear or see these words, we must immediately become motionless and silent for some specified period of time? The questions go on and on.   The answer to those and the hundreds of other questions that arise when we hear those two words is something that can only be delivered to us individually, and directly by the Holy Spirit.  The bottom line is that true obedience is never fully achieved until God Himself is satisfied.  How do we know when we have “complied”, when we have sufficiently obeyed the command?  How can we possibly know when He is satisfied?

“and know” – how many times in Leviticus and other early books of the bible did God remind the Israelites “I am The Lord your God”?  And how many times did they forget God?  As time went on and new generations of people came of age, they rediscovered God and his tremendous blessings, and then they, or a subsequent generation, would lapse into a period of forgetfulness.  This cycle occurred over and over throughout the Old Testament.  Generations were lured away from devotion to God because of sinfulness.

“that I am God”  –  Wow! This concept is so simple, and yet so profound.  “I am God.”  We know who God is, don’t we?  Or maybe we just think we know who God is.

What if? – what if the translator originally should have said Be, and still know that I am God.  A simple transposition of two words, and the strategic placement of the modern day comma, immerses us into a whole new world of meaning.  What would God mean if he told us to “be”?

Human Be-ings

This reminds me of the great freedom that I believe God has so generously bestowed on every single one of us.  He wants us to live out the plans and intentions he has for each of us.  To “Be” would mean to laugh, sleep, play, eat, learn, work, love…….Isn’t that we why are called Human Be-ings?

Yet there needs to be a caveat – a reminder, because as humans we are also weak at times, forgetful and ungrateful.  During all of this being, we need to remember who He is and subsequently who we are.  He is God, and we are His beings.  We would not even be if it wasn’t for Him.

At first glance the message appears to be similar in both sequences.  Yet, upon further examination, we see a distinct difference emerge.  The verse, as is commonly accepted, and recorded as such in the beginning of this chapter suggests an opportunity to deepen your relationship with God through restfulness and silent reflection.  In other words, knowing comes through inactivity But what becomes evident in the “what if?” scenario is the exact opposite.  To “be”, especially when commanded by God, is everything but restful and silent.  In this case, activity is actually commanded by God, and the second command follows.