NT: Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, Chapter 4

Philippians 4:1-23

4:1 God truly longs to be reunited with you. He placed you on this earth with complete freedom, hoping that you would find Him and allow Him to be your lifeline.

We are loved and our potential (and fulfillment) for compassionate impacts on this world are the joy of creation. The life inside of us is evidence of creation's crown: its ability to inspire justice and compassion within manifestations of free life. How beautiful a moment it must be for God when one of His children chooses His way of life. It is not enforced, rather we are given the ability to choose our way. It is a beautiful moment not when we conform to His way but when we naturally identify with it, with Him. Not out of fear but out of agreement.

So stay focused in faith, Paul encourages. There is so much more to life than is thought and visible. So much love and life awaits.

4:2-3 Help the children of God and the fellow workers of His spiritual philosophy. We are here as instruments of justice and compassion therefore fulfill your purpose! Strive to match your potential.

4:4 Rejoice in our Creator. Be filled with joy because that is the frequency of all creator. Compared to the life that follows, this life is flimsy: unworthy of worry. From within this temporary classroom, seek faith, seek joy. There are bumps here: lessons, as any self-respecting and instructive classroom does. Your faith is going to guide you over those bumps, around them, through them... rejoice because the universe is awaiting your permission to provide you joy.

4:5 Be gentle in that your reputation becomes one of truth and sincerity. Defend your beliefs, inspire your values in the world with confidence but with tenderness (seeking justice and compassion in all your moments and actions).

4:6 Do not waste away with worry. We cannot see ahead but our God prepares us because He can. Whenever you are unsure or unsteady revert to your faith. Communicate with God; not only is He listening to you, He's providing answers.

4:7 The peace and wisdom of God is going to guard you. He will make your heart strong and your mind wise, no unwanted thing or person will be able to disable your ability to persevere.

4:8-9 Contemplate. Surround your mind and heart with justice, truth, nature... there are lessons within the manifestations of life around us. Think deeply, observe. You will develop an ability perceive. You will grow with understanding and wisdom as you broaden your mind and familiarize yourself with Spirit.

4:10 Paul is thankful to his fellow workers for caring for him. It is a humbling moment to realize that we are loved and care for. It is a transformation moment because we realize our ability to impact here hearts and minds and lives. We confront our presence here.

4:11 "...for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content..." An amazing lesson from Paul: As we develop our spirituality we will reach a stage of stoic serenity. We develop an ability to analyze purpose in the world and can thus understand the unfolding of events, even the adversity and disparity. We grow to understand that our souls, our true life, are independent from this earth. That even in death here we thrive into and with life. We trust in our creator, knowing that what we endure has reason. We accept the position here as human-beings, as willing participants/students of life rather than happenstance manifestations of it.

We realize that no matter how trying the circumstance, where we are is not where we will always be. We find comfort and purpose in the fact that God places His children in the places where they can be most valuable to humanity and to themselves.

4:12 God's children are taught to have a balance: to perceive themselves not as mountains in arrogance but as movers of mountains in humility. To understand themselves as not the creators of justice and compassion but the promoters and defenders of it! The implements through which they reach humanity. Paul has learned to be contented with his circumstances but also hungry to improve the earth for humanity. Paul has learned to find value in adversity because it prods out of him understanding, perseverance, strength.

4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Christ is the manifestation, symbol and characterization of Spirit, spirituality, compassion, justice, truth, wisdom. Through these natural qualities of God we are inspired, guided, defended, encouraged through all things. Through all adversity. Against any adversary.

4:14-15 From the beginning of this epistle, Paul has expressed his gratitude and love for the Philippians consistent and compassionate faith and work in faith. Paul has always been able to trust and lean on the Philippians pillar of generosity and love. This verse not only teaches us to be grateful for the people in our lives who might match this description but also teaches us to BE these people. To be pillars of generosity and love to the people in our lives.

4:16-17 Paul is grateful for the strong, faithful message the Philippians generous work provides to humanity. Paul is saying: thank you for being kind to be, but thank you especially for exhibiting kindness. The world and humanity require such exhibitions in order to learn and grow and find comfort.

Our thoughts, behavior and actions here abound. They travel; they make reverberations around the world. What we do, who we are matters, influences humanity and contributes to the health (or detriment) of the earth.

4:18 Paul is filled. His faith fills him and ensures that he is never in need or deficient of anything. Let faith fill you. So many humans are searching for meaning and are coming up empty handed. We are here to be meaningful and our faith instructs us on how to do so. We are filled by filling others needs.

4:19 "God shall supply all your need..." directs us to Matthew 6:8 "... for your Father (God) knows what you need before you ask Him." Our creators knows what we need, what we will need, when precisely we need it. We are intricately loved and cared for. We need not worry... with your permission, He's going to provide.

4:20 Glory to our creator forever and ever, indeed, for being such a selfless, capable provider for His children. And for so much more!

4:21-23 A goodbye and blessing from Paul to the Philippians. Grace of our Creator be with you all. Amen.

NT: Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, Chapter 3

Philippians 3:1-21

3:1 Paul continues his exhortation knowing that the Philippians (and even us reading now) will need these core concepts built into our faith in order to keep our faith strong and healthy.

3:2 Be careful not to be derailed, directed, influenced or inspired by people whose motives are corrupt. Paul warns that there will always be people who are deceptive in order to gain for themselves. We must recognize these people and institutions.

3:3 We are the metaphorical circumcision; we are edified through the development of our faith.

To have no confidence in the flesh is to understand that the way of the world is backward. The world is within the final stages of globalization. Cultures are almost entirely stripped from regions and with them so are the natural ways of living, eating, building, communicating, reasoning. Instead of being original and inquisitive, thoughtful and creative, people seek to have the latest mass-market commercialized product. Humanity desperately, ceaselessly desires to procure material, power, property or wealth.

The way of the spirit is to revert back to what truly gives us life and happiness and wealth: originality, curiosity, thought and creativity! We must once again become explorers. We must again fall in love and awe with the miracles around us...life in so many manifestations. We take our incredible earth and universe for granted:

“If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

We are here for so much more than to procure. We are here to become authentic, to create and develop our character. To observe the world and absorb its lessons. To be impacted by humanity and subsequently changed, influenced and grown. We are here to contemplate our earth, humanity, our spirit. To know oneself is to understand oneself as a part of the whole.

"Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment." Lao Tzu

3:4 Paul is explaining that he is not exempt from understanding the physical, tangible "flesh" life. This is our reality. We wake up in these bodies but from deeply entrenched in this world, it feels as though we wake up as these bodies. They bear much of the burden we carry here. It is easy to have confidence in what we feel like we are. It is easy to have confidence in this world because we are here and without digging, it feels like we always have been and might always be. And yet... there's more. Paul is relating to us saying: I get it. This life is challenging but although we feel as though this life requires our entire focus, we actually focus in on it better through the focus of our spirituality.

3:5-6 Paul identifies his ancestry and his past as an ardent supported of a faith different than this one. Paul's intention here is to explain to us that his shift into this spirituality was entirely unlikely... and yet when he gave it a chance, it changed his life.

Realize that Paul is not promoting a quick and easy solution to our problems in life. Paul is promoting a philosophy of Spirit which through a lot of work makes navigating the world manageable and logical. This philosophy guides us on how to keep our sanity in a chaotic and seemingly nonsensical world. It is worth the effort to develop and grow your character in spirituality.

3:7 No matter how zealously and tirelessly Paul tried to live another way, it never provided him wisdom or comfort or wisdom. All of the work Paul had done against spirituality was a loss, for himself and for humanity. We want to ensure that our impact on the world contributes to its betterment. When we are unproductive and apathetic we waste our lives, our potential but also we waste away the life and potential of our earth.

3:8 Paul started gaining when we started to divest his life of his corrupt and selfish pursuits. Remember from the gospels, specifically: Matthew 16:25, Luke 9:24, Mark 8:35. To give up our selfish desires in order to enlist in God's army is the way to inherit life. The life we have here is temporary, vulnerable, uncertain... we can spend what time we have here trying to procure for ourselves but inevitably it will all come to nothing and will provide nothing for us. When we devote ourselves and our resources to justice and compassion while we are here, our lives become permanent, invulnerable and certain.

3:9-11 Paul lives with true, solid righteousness: the pursuit of justice, compassion, wisdom, truth. Paul is not focused rigidly on rules and customs. Paul is focused on being and thinking and speaking and doing things based on this philosophy of spirituality. This natural way of life. He knows that this is the true journey not only through but also to life.

3:12 "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on..." Paul's humility reminds us that our spirituality does not qualify us as better or superior in any way to others. Spirituality helps us as a wise guide, a comforter, a home but never as an inciter of arrogance.

Paul is admitting that he is not perfect, but he keeps working to be better than he is. God's children have the potential to be workers of justice and compassion. God's enlightened children are considered workers of justice and compassion and therefore have responsibility, humble work to do. God's workers are privileged in that the have the same love as God gives to all of His children and also that he provides the tools they need to work. On themselves. On the earth. With Humanity. For Humanity. Through God.

3:13-14 Paul told us that he knows he is not perfect, he does not have anything more than anyone else except he does have this philosophy of life and spirit. He does have the ability to reach forward, spiritually, philosophically, beyond this earth and this life. And that has made all the difference.

We have this same ability; the same difference can be made in our lives.

3:15 Our faith allows and invites God to come into our lives as our advocate. Our faith is able to understand and hear His guidance. He assists us through every moment, highlighting lessons we would have missed without His wisdom. Our faith expands and makes flexible our objectivity and curiosity. How? Through our faith we learn to think beyond the confines of self.

3:16 When we have obtained spirituality (through focused, thorough and consistent work), we must live as it has instructed us to live. Once we know better we are required to do and be better. To remain focused, thorough and consistent in justice, truth and compassion.

3:17 Follow the example of God's honest, authentic, hard-working children. At the very least, we have very much: the life example of the prophets, disciples, apostles, Messiah, children of God in this book. Those who have entered and exited this classroom before us have left many lessons.

3:18-19 Follow the just and the compassionate, the humble and selfless because the alternative will lead us astray and inevitable destroy us piece by piece: our happiness, our purpose, our contentment, our curiosity, creativity, our freedom.

3:20-21 Follow the just and compassionate example because it is where we belong and originate from. It is where we return to. We want to return as family rather than foe, familiar with the naturally compassionate way of life in Spirit.

NT: Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, Chapter 2

Philippians 2:1-30

2:1 Paul beseeches every believer of this philosophy of life, this faith, to do 9 things:

2:2 

1) To be like-minded: to have in your mind the same objectives as our purposeful creator 

2) To exhibit the same love: to have in your heart the same compassion as our solicitous creator

3) To be of one accord: to live purposefully in consistent harmony 

4) To be of one mind: to be unwavering in expressions of the mind (thought, speech and action)

2:3

5) To live selflessly: to promote, sustain, inspire, protect, create, defend the well-being of others

6) To live truthfully: to allow clarity, wisdom and objectivity their rightful dominion

7) To be humble: to increase self-value by devoting yourself to others

8) To build others up: to construct self-value, opportunity, happiness and justice for the downtrodden 

2:4

9) To love our (figurative) neighbor as we love ourselves: Mark 12:31, because it is the most simple way to compassionately, symbiotically navigate life.

2:5-7 The Messiah came not as an authoritarian but as a worker. He came not to distinguish Himself from humanity but to unite Himself with humanity. He came in humility with selfless, tireless purpose.

2:8 He came to sojourn on earth in order to gather, inspire and heal despite the threat of adversity. Paul encourages us to set the same directives for ourselves while we sojourn here.

2:9-11 At the culmination of this life on earth, all life will confront the manifestation of truth, wisdom, love and Spirit. All life will in awe discover truth.

2:12-13 In all moments of life we must work on our beliefs, our character, our temperament, our behavior, our words and develop our faith. God is constantly working in and with us; it is essential that we participate in our own edification.

2:14 In order to be productive and progressive work without complaint. Complaining and argument are wasteful, regressive and wholly unproductive. God implores you to stay focused, serene. 

2:15 Be a light in a world filled with darkness. Do not let yourself become rankled by frustration, anger, evil, negativity, or chaos. When we work in every moment to be more compassionate and truthful, we distinguish ourselves from the murky host of expressions and actions which corrupt the world and taunt humanity.

2:16 With a firm grip on your faith, have joy in Creation. Have joy for the souls who have existed and do exist to ensure justice among humanity. In example, our author: Paul. Through Paul's dedicated and impassioned work and words, our lives are changing. Our faith is growing; our souls are lighting up. Yet even sprinkled around us are kindhearted souls. Be so grateful for their work that you cannot help but join them. 

2:17-18 Paul is perfectly content, thrilled even, to be a vessel for God's compassion. Paul's humility and faith allow him to recognize and revel in the blessed opportunity of dedicating himself to humanity for God. What greater, more productive impact can be made in the world than what God has planned?

2:19-20 Paul informs the Philippians of apostle Timothy's impending arrival. Paul trusts Timothy's faith and his motivations (remember: observe and analyze before trusting anything or anyone).

2:21 Search for sincerity and authenticity in people, institutions and ideas. Do not let corrupt or selfish motives manipulate, distract, derail or deceive you.

2:22-23 Paul informs the Philippians of Timothy's sincerity, having served with him and his father as apostles. Still, you are cautioned and advised to make your own observations about people.

2:24 Paul speaks of his own visit to the Philippians. God's children spread out in order to fulfill their own specific purposes and make the most comprehensive impact on the world. Paul hopes that amid the working, they might be able to join together in faith and joy and friendship.

2:26-27 News from Paul of a beloved of the Philippians, Epaphroditus (a confirmation of his well-being despite ailment). God takes care of His children. We worry about our loved ones because we value them and that is understandable but take comfort in the fact that God protects.

2:28-29 Receive with gladness the kind and hardworking souls of our world. Their work is essential and is given entirely selflessly.

2:30 The metaphor here is directly relation to Matthew 16:25 and Luke 17:33: when you give (devote) your temporary, earthly life to God, you inherit infinite, Spiritual life. Epaphroditus was not obsessed or even concerned with his own life, procuring wealth, power, fame or property. He was determined and concerned with doing God's work and thereby earned the greatest wealth there is: God's love, life and protection. 

NT: Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, Chapter 1

Philippians 1:1-30

1:1-2 Paul and Timothy peacefully begin their greeting to the people of Philippi, present day Greece, as children and workers of God. Imagine if we greeted all of humanity in such a way? To arrive at every circumstance, and every person, with the silent, determined proclamation that we are workers of compassion and justice.

1:3 Just as Paul expresses gratitude for the people in his life, so must we remember to do. We are often taught to be aware of and grateful for the people in our lives on the premise that their existence here on earth with us is finite, uncertain. To exhibit a healthier love and appreciation, we should be grateful for the people in our lives not out of fear for their possible departure but out of joy for their definite presence. Because our God is the God of Life and if we learn that, we have nothing to fear, especially not death which does not exist.

We can be grateful for the LIFE within the people we love because even when they are not with us on earth, they have  not only retained the life inside of them, they have exponentially grown and improved its quality and length. Therefore, thank God for the durable and infinite life inside of the people around you, whom you keep inside your heart, not because they might disappear but because they never will.

A thank you because the hosts of the smiles we love so much to see have been with us, are with us and will always be. 2 Corinthians 5:8, We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

1:4 We are not always as generous as we can be because some of our best generosity is simply requesting (hoping and praying) that the universe provide joy to the humans around us. That is not a problem for Paul who, through his faith, is bursting with generosity and hope born of his faithful joy. Much of the negativity born in the world is born out of the sheer lack of joy within people's souls. Joy solves and heals. Therefore instead of anger and frustration and intolerance, let's give joy. Let's solve and heal our troubles rather than endlessly, fruitlessly swatting at them and refueling them and subsequently, our strife.

1:5 Paul acknowledges and gives gratitude for the people who work justly and compassionately among humanity on the earth. With joy Paul understands that the mission and productive work of God's children creates light in place of darkness, happiness in the place of sorrow, freedom in the place of detainment, justice in the place of injustice, courage in the place of fear, truth in the place of deception, compassion in the place of apathy, hope in the place of despair. Yeah, we are busy (or should be). We have a lot of work to do. Paul is encouraged and inspired because God's children are able and willing and eager in the face of the workload. 

1:6 "He who has begun work in you will complete it..." Until the culmination of this classroom that is earth, the culmination that is Jesus' day to gather His students, His siblings, God is with you. We know that we will be with Him in Spirit; here on earth, He will be with us (in all of our moments). In all of our moments He will be working to grow our courage, character and wisdom. He guides and instructs us through the many lessons within life. He builds us and perfects us but we must join Him in the work.

Remember that Jesus is the manifestation of truth, wisdom, compassion and life. Truth, wisdom, compassion and life will gather its students/siblings/partners. Until that time, God will work to make you strong and He will never abandon the work of your edification.

1:7-8 God's children are Paul's joy and motivation, the reason he remains humble and focused in his work. He cherishes them (and us) because of our potential and because we rise and work to fulfill it.

1:9-11 The sincerity of Paul's words fly on the wings of God to reach you, right now, in this moment:
1) That your love may increasingly abound in knowledge and discernment
2) That you choose absolute justice and sincerity
3) That you be filled with all of the gifts of our glorious, generous God

1:12-13 Paul's adversity consistently served his life's purpose. When Paul tethered himself to faith, faith delivered to Paul absolute freedom. Even when physically chained, Paul was free, unencumbered by his adversity. Every event of Paul's life was guided, allowed, and protected by God: he was placed where he needed to be to do the most good, to send the strongest message of faith and resilience. Even deeply entrenched in adversity, Paul continued to be made free, to be productive and faithful and just and compassionate. Paul's life became a living testimony. Your life's behavior is a living testimony... choose and know the message you are preaching to humanity.

1:14 Soldiers for justice are required to confront injustice. God ensures that we are brave and agile enough to confront and then diminish adversity. Paul's resilience during turbulence emboldens us because he taught us that when we are doing compassionate work, we cannot be thwarted or defeated.

Although we are fellow-workers with God, 1 Corinthians 3:9, Paul often speaks of servitude to God. Why? Because only by giving ourselves to our Creator are we made free: free from confusion, pain, manipulation, evil...etc. Why? Because He teaches us how to free ourselves from the things, emotions and people who try to control us. When we put ourselves in His hands, He molds us toward perfection; He guides us out of captivity.

Remember: God is not going to scoop you up without your permission. He has given and values your freedom. Only by giving ourselves, our permission, to Him is He able to do His work and give His love. Paul's life example teaches us to be brave because he perfectly exemplifies that no enemy has any power over the child who serves their Parent, our creator, our God.

1:15 There are two different motivations of preachers, teachers of God's word: selfless motivations and selfish motivations. Ensure that you can tell the difference between the two! Those with selfish motivations are deceptive and fake...

1:16 ... and deceptive and fake religion is alive and abundant in the world today. Paul and God want you to be able to recognize such people. Observe their actions, analyze their motivations... require them to back up everything they say with scripture and then interpret for yourselves because crooked people manipulate things to get what they want.

The most simple way to identify a fake teacher: notice how precisely they follow the work of Jesus and the apostles. Many religious figures condemn and instill fear, make fanciful shows of themselves and their institutions, SAY a lot but actually DO very little in the service of compassion. Do not be awed by eloquent speeches, our actions define who we truly are. Look for humility within the person. Be weary of hierarchical religions for God has announced the equality of all people and His impartial love.

Some religious figures (and attendants of religions) revel in feelings of superiority or desires for wealth, power, fame and property. Jesus did not require a big, expensive church to teach in. He did not require an edifice at all! He taught in nature because He wanted us to understand that the message is important, not the establishment. For further study: Luke 20:45-47, Mark 12:38-40.

1:17 Other teaches teach out of love. They teach because they have felt the love and comforting presence of God in their lives and they wish to share its truth and existence with others. They teach because they recognize that humanity is in need of justice and compassion and proponents of justice and compassion.

1:18 God's Word is in the world whether we are learning from the good, honest teachers or whether we a learning from the mistakes and consequences of the bad, deceptive teachers. God prods us toward in many ways enlightenment, we just have to open our eyes.

1:19 Paul emphatically knows that his work, supported by God and the prayer and participation of His children, will abound in the earth.

1:20 Paul hopes to continue to courageously fulfill his purpose. We also can identify what hopes we have for ourselves: the details of how we wish to pursue our purpose on the earth. Aware of the fallibility and insecurities of humans, Paul hopes to continually profess his beliefs without trepidation. For the more vigorously we think and act and express in compassion, the more our thoughts, actions and expressions reverberate around our world.

This philosophy of life is magnified by the people who live it and express it, grows and becomes stronger and brighter.

1:21-23 Paul understands that there is no death for God's children. Beyond this experience of earth awaits eternal life. Eternal joy and wisdom and compassion. Paul simultaneously yearns to be in that place as well as remain on earth to accomplish God's work.

1:24 Paul understands that he is needed here. We are needed here. There is so much compassionate work to be done and therefore the earth yearns for workers. Humanity yearns for compassion. Life beyond earth is wonderful, everlasting, but our work here is essential. Therefore, our presence here is essential. Work with heaven in mind and earth in heart; we will have existed in both places, but we are currently conscious here for a reason.

1:25-26 Remain and continue in faith in order to remain and continue to progress in joy. How do we continue in faith? We work compassionately on ourselves and our earth. We establish ourselves and strive for wisdom and patience, perspective and hope. We become a strong tree, bearing fruit for humanity.

1:27 Ensure that what you think, say and do are consistently in agreement. Fulfill purpose by living intentionally, and rising to your potential by exploring yourself and the world with objectivity and compassion.

This philosophy is an amazing and solid example for us to be unwavering in our faith. We must not ever be hypocritical or regressive in our faith, thoughts, words and behavior. Be intentional: let your life express in every moment the message you wish to inspire on the earth.

1:28 Do not fear any adversaries because our Advocate, our God, is defending us. Evil is going to dissolve and become nothing, not even a memory. Evil is brittle and weak in the face of God and our strength against adversaries reminds them of their inherent weakness.

1:29-30 Our work here requires that we confront evil and injustice. We cannot hide from it or we will never defeat it. If we believe in this faith, this philosophy of life, then we must be proponents of it. God's children have empathetic souls and therefore feel much of the emotion around them. Although it can be a weighty task, God ensures that we are strong enough to bear it. Allow Him to be your pillar.

NT: Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, Chapter 6

Ephesians 6:1-24

6:1-2 Something many of us neglect to do is perceive our parents as human beings separate from their children. As having once existed without their children. Whether or not we respect our parents varies between person to person but quite often we forget that just as we are individuals conditioned by our environment and our experiences, so are they.

Considering our parents as beings on their own journeys, we come to realize that their flaws and talents, triumphs and failures together are the unique amalgamation of what and who has been a part of their lives. Some of the conditions of our lives we are responsible for, but other circumstances wedge their way into our lives and the same happens (and has happened) to our parents. They've had to react and express and chose and try and hope all of their lives and they have done all of that with the same fallibility we possess. 

Paul wants us to respect our parents and the lesson in respecting our parents is this: we cannot accurately judge or fully understand even the people closest to us, the people we claim as our own, because so much of their life, soul and thought process is inaccessible to us. When we learn that we cannot possibly, entirely know even the people the closest to us, we develop a natural understand that we cannot possibly, entirely know anyone else either.

Parents are individuals living in this same earth-classroom as we are. Hopefully they have cultivated our well-being but even when they haven't, we learn to employ some of the most basic, philosophical lessons God has highlighted for us. Kindness to the unkind. Forgiveness for the remorseful. Patience for the fallible. Compassion for all.

From within our nuclear family, we have the chance to learn how to interact with other humans... in (what is hopefully a) more comforting and forgiving environment. We then can apply what we have learned from our niche to the external world.

6:3 The code to living well and long is encoded in our interactions with other humans. The more we learn from our mistakes of impatience and unkindness, they better able we are to live among all life. We learn to be contented with ourselves because we have learned how to cultivate and inspire peaceful environments, strong and healthy relationships (platonic and otherwise). It is now a fact that stress inhibits ailment and degeneration. Paul insists that we respect our parents because he knows this profound truth: when we learn to separate people, ideas, and circumstances from ourselves, we broaden our horizon. 

Our parents provide the best opportunity to learn such a lesson because disentangling ourselves from them is perhaps the most difficult. We do not share a bolder physical connection with anyone on the earth. When we learn to recognize them as individuals, it becomes easier to do so for other people, who we frequently grow frustrated with, angry with, sorrowful because of... incorrectly assuming that their actions have anything to do with us at all.

To clarify, "disentangle" and "separate" are used figuratively. Meaning that we have to stop forgetting that they have experiences, thoughts, insecurities that have nothing to do with us... but often feel like they do because they impact their behavior towards us.

6:4 Every member of the family, the spiritual family and the family on earth, is valuable to God. Paul calls us to respect our parents and here calls our parents to respect their children. To respect their children by giving kindness and instruction and faith. 

Although not always recognized or treated as such, the role of a parent is a sacred one. It is the responsibility of not just bringing life into the world (that is fairly straight-forward) but preparing that life, that person for the world. To ensure their survival and ability to thrive, Paul gave three strong pieces of advice: Love them, nurture a calm spirit within them (rather than a "wrathful" one). Guide them, help them to navigate this place. And finally, most importantly, inspire faith. Inspire faith because no matter how adept we are, children (people) are not always able to retain calmness... and this is a complex place to navigate! Faith fills and corrects our inefficiencies. Inspire faith because with faith, a child (person) is never alone (no matter what circumstances unfold).

Three simple bits of advice from Paul but not exactly easy, right? Remember, we do our best and faith fills and corrects our inefficiencies.

6:5 This is Paul's example of the difference between having Spirit as your figurehead and having a human as your figurehead. They organize and run their programs differently: one of them selfishly and one of them selflessly.

Translating this to present day: Paul's advice here instructs us to extend our respect to our work environment. (In Paul's context the message seems rather extreme, to be kind even during enslavement.) It is not surprising however, that Paul's advice to us, even under enslavement, is to be kind and productive... assuredly that is our best way out (productivity in patience and the development of wisdom in order to improve/change our circumstance).

It was a different world when Paul wrote this, and although all of his advice can be applied to our lives... not all aspects of our lives are relatable to his. Slavery still exists in our world, though is less overt than it was in Paul's day. He had to reference it... and as he could not outline the exact exit map for every slave on earth, he encouraged resilience in them. He encouraged them to operate the same way he encouraged the free person because he knows that God's guidance and our cooperation with God, always leads to our inevitable freedom.

6:8 However human society categorizes us (social class, ethnicity, age, gender, religion), God values and respects and loves us equally. Another reminder: whatever we give, sincerely, to humanity and the earth, is giving to us. We fill our own basket by filling others' baskets (figuratively speaking). And only what you do with sincere generosity is counted, anything different is vapid.

6:9 What Paul is preaching about is arrogance, greed, injustice and unkindness. No person should ever feel they have the authority to demand reverence or inflict fear. The authority over humanity, and all creation's lives, does not run His universe that way... and therefore, nobody has permission to.

6:10-11 Develop your faith so that it becomes not only your guide and comforter but also your armor. Your armor made up of sturdily-held values, focus, sense of justice, courage. Your armor against everything that is represented within the world "devil": greed, hatred, injustice. The armor of your faith ensures that you are invulnerable in the face of adversity, distraction, derailment and temptation.

6:12 Paul reminds, or perhaps teaches us, that our enemies are not people. Our enemies are injustice and greed and their many manifestations. We need to wear our armor of faith not to defeat mere humans but to tackle and diminish the monsters they work for... the monsters they are influenced by. Children of God are soldiers in a battle quite unlike the type of battles we see nations and people engaged in. Children of God go against GREED itself. Against INJUSTICE itself. Children of God work to topple all of the pillars which uphold greed and injustice (deceptive people, corrupt institutions, unjust ideas) in order to topple the whole entity.

As we have learned before: we are entrusted with so much opportunity here. We have the tools, materials and support to make a massive impact here. With God we achieve incredible things... moment by moment. Do not be overwhelmed or feel unprepared or unworthy or unable because God ensures that we are able to scale mountains in a realistic and attainable way.

6:13 We build our armor in anticipation of adversity. When a turbulent environment or tumultuous relationship or any difficult circumstance confronts us, we are not caught off guard. We build a defense so that we are not scrambling to find some makeshift ground to stand on while under the pressure of an unforeseen event. We've already built a firm platform when we have built our armor, our faith, the strength of our soul.

We build a defense so that we are at all times prepared. We cannot predict everything but we can be prepared to survive anything... to have the mental, emotional and spiritual capacity to withstand any adversity/adversary. We can build, strengthen and make our resilience flexible and adaptable. We can learn to process change and disruption healthily; with organize and focus we outline and then traverse a path of both a growth plan and an exit plan.

Instead of being victims in the world, tossed around by even the whim of the wind, we are able to consciously make a stand to choose how we are affected by external sources. We are not victims, we are students and until we realize that, we continue to fail the class (which feels a lot like life failing us).

6:14 Be truthful. Be just. Paul has just advised us that our tallest guideposts, visible from anywhere, and brightest lampposts, are truth and justice. Work to discern the truth of yourself, others, ideas and every aspect of life. Progress toward justice in every aspect of life. Truth and justice will help you to explore yourself and your world and to discover all (and more) that you seek to find. 

6:15 Preparation! Preparation is an underutilized and underestimated tool. On every level of life, preparation should be our companion. For even if we fail at something, we can prepare for that possible outcome too. Most importantly, we prepare ourselves against failure (foreseen and unforeseen.) How? Being prompt. Being observant. Being inquisitive (doing our research*). Being productive. 

*Many of us are not thrilled or even comfortable with presenting publicly in school or work environments. Yet we achieve with fluidity when we have worked to understand both our material and our objectives to the best of our ability. Life is the same: work productively to know your material and your objectives. How? By being present and alert and thereby allowing your brain and emotions process, analyze, interpret, define, absorb and utilize all of the material that is being presented by the world. That is the Research of Life.

6:16 Before, during and after the moments of life which are not perfectly packaged, call to action the resource that is your faith. Your faith will adequately equip you with whatever particulars are needed for the situation you need help in. Ecclesiastes 1:9 explains to us that there is nothing new under the sun here on earth. God with humanity across generations has seen, heard and dealt with it all.

Welcome faith to be your shield so that no matter what adversity douses you with, it cannot pass your protective layer. 

6:17 How does this armor become accessible to us? How do we truly seal ourselves? By reading, studying and learning the philosophy of life given to us here in God's word. These are the directions of how to obtain productive and responsive faith and to reap all of faith's benefits.

God reaches people in many different and unique ways. Paul gives us advice here on interpreting one of those ways: by listening to what He has to say (as presented by His prophets, disciples, Messiah and apostles). Yes, this Bible is comprised of words... but the Word of God is spoken to us through nature, through our compassion, through our passion and works of justice. We must keep not this physical or digital copy of the Bible close to us but the meaning of the words within it. And the meaning of the words within this Bible are known and taught and exemplified by nature around us (the selfless, intelligent, symbiotic system of life around us). 

6:18 Earnest, humble prayer is our most direct route toward achievement, contentment, justice and happiness. All relationships are dependent on a strong and viable line of communication. Our physical, emotional and spiritual expressions communicate to the universe. We are known by nature, by divine-creation because it listens to us, observes us and interprets our behavior... but do we listen to, observe and interpret the nature? A healthy and productive line of communication requires both entities to participate.

Paul prompts us to cultivate:
1) Vigilance: We must make ourselves aware of our surroundings. Whether we give attention or not, life is happening. If we are not present and alert in life, rather than our actions happening to things, things happen to us. Instead of making an impact, we are impacted.
2) Perseverance: Perseverance is the vehicle which moves forward our progressive thoughts and ideas, actions and intentions. Without the courage and persistence we are stunted. Halted. Muted. Obsolete.

When we humbly, earnestly urge justice and compassion to envelope the world, we make a significant contribution to that very outcome. There are energies on the earth produced by our spirit. Spirit is our origin, our destination, our DNA. We produce. We create. Tangible and otherwise, everything we put out into the world has an impact: Our thoughts become our motivations, our motivations become our intentions and our intentions become our actions... our actions become impacts on the earth and humanity.

Paul is working here in this final chapter of Ephesians to teach us how to operate ourselves within this world. The upshot: 1) we have to pay attention and 2) we have to develop the courage to deal with all the we observe 3) our relationship with ourselves, and /faith/divinity/nature are our tools, guides, support-systems and fellow-workers as we progress along this, our journey, earth.

6:19-20 As a grateful and dutiful servant of compassion, justice and faith Paul requests for us to pray for and seek spiritual wisdom, in any of the forms that it comes. Spiritual wisdom edifies, renews, establishes, instructs, guides, comforts, loves, protects... Paul reminds us not to take for granted the source and ways in which it comes.

6:21-22 Paul begins to close his epistle to the Ephesians with a hope that they will keep in contact and with the assurance of the presence of another apostle (spiritual guide) for them, Tychicus. Paul does not preach and work in a region and then leave it; per God's instructs, he sets up a network of support to uphold the established faith.

6:23 Peace, love and faith from God through the apostles. God eagerly hopes to work with and through you in the same manner. We are vessels of life, capable of delivering so much compassion and justice to humanity.

6:24 To those who live and love in faith with sincerity, grace (the refined, abundant love, solemnity, joy and serenity of God) is assuredly, fixedly with you.

NT: Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, Chapter 5

Ephesians 5:1-33

Three lessons from Paul in this fifth chapter of Ephesians: Walk in Love (compassion). Walk in Light (spirituality). Walk in Wisdom. Walk in Unity.

5:1 When you are entrenched in the process of developing yourself in faith, in anything or relationship, you can always follow nature's example. Divine creativity encircles us and lives even within us; if we are ever looking for a guide, we do not have to look far or long to find one. The processes of our bodies and nature are instructive: constantly working with focus and selflessness to maintain and even create life. For that is essentially the objective of compassion: to support and create life. When we are unsure, the option that best supports or protects or creates life is the option we should choose. 

There are many elements of any decision and most certainly there are "grey" areas, but if we intention toward what is just, what is kind, what is productive, what inspires or renews life, we receive some help in making our choices.

Whenever we make a decision we are choosing a change in our lives. Explore the ways certain changes would impact your life and those around you. There will always be risks but if you keep your faith, your trusting channel with God, at the forefront of your life...every risk will journey inevitably toward reward. Why? Not because you blinding believed but because you accepted the work ethic and so God provided you the materials to achieve.

5:2 Love is the cornerstone. If that it hard to understand then here is some advice. When all else fails you: frustration, anger, sorrow, vengeance, regret...choose love. Start letting patience and respect and empathy take the reigns. Analyze the difference of outcome. 

5:3-4 Developing your character is a process we must actively participate in. In every moment we have to be aware of what we are producing and expressing. Everything that comes out of our mind, mouth and hands has to be a representation of focused growth. Anything you want to be you have to well, be. In every moment. That sometimes means we have to stop being other things.

5:5 Darkness cannot exist in pure light. It is not a punishment from God that evil does not survive the spiritual realm. It is a common sense reality. That which sustains evil does not exist in the spirit and therefore, evil spawns its own demise, having chosen not to adapt to the atmosphere of life.

5:6 Do not allow yourself to become distracted by impressive but ultimately "empty words." We have been cautioned against blindly trusting the intentions of others. We must analyze. Analyze the motives of yourself and of others. Are we or they behaving hypocritically? Selfishly? Apathetically? 

5:7 We cannot join in with negativity. We must be too focused to be shadowed and stunted by distractions. What motivations are surrounding us, influencing us? Give your attention to knowing your environment so that you can extricate yourself from that which or whoever contradicts your goals.

5:8 Wisdom and compassion are Light. Once we are awake, we leave the darkness: we gain focus and understanding. We have uncovered our meaning, life's meaning, the purpose here. Walk, live, express as children of wisdom and compassion.

5:9 Here we are given the elements of Spirit: Goodness, Justice and Truth. And so even though we may not be able to tangibly understand the manifestation or capacity of Spirit, we know its components. We understand them in the only way that truly matters.

5:10 God understands that this earth is a classroom; He created it to be what it is. As we live with the best intentions, we learn and subsequently grow. Every day we understand more and more what it means to physically be and produce the elements of spirit: goodness, justice, truth.

5:11-12 More than just reject evil and injustice, we are meant to draw them out of their corners and high places. We are meant to drag them off of their thrones and platforms. We are meant to tear down their power, their disguise. 

5:13 That is our work here within this classroom. To dismember and disable evil and injustice every time and in every capacity that we find it. Wisdom is light because it uncovers. Wisdom is the door to perspective, understanding, knowledge, discernment. Wisdom gives us the tools and abilities to investigate, to explore truth and to identify deception.

5:14 God calls us to stop living in slumber: to stop living without intention and focus. To start living with curiosity and motivation for learning. If you open your eyes, God is going to put a spotlight on so much that was hidden by your slumber.

5:15 Paul advises us to walk "Circumspectly." Let's define that: 

Circumspectly (adjective)

1. Watchful and discreet; cautious; prudent

2. Well-considered

So basically, Paul want us to take studious, constructive control of our lives. To claim responsibility for ourselves and educate and edify ourselves as we carefully navigate the world around us. Paul's advice is more than sensible. It is brilliant. Motivating. It is right. It is fair.

5:16 We are called to devote our lives to building goodness in the ruins of destruction. To make this time on earth mean something. To graduation this classroom having made not just a difference but the difference. It has to have mattered that humanity was here... it cannot just be that we existed and then destroyed ourselves.

5:17 It is wise for us to understand the will of creation. It is wise for us to understand the intention and progression, the reason and origin of creation. It is wise for us to understand because we are meant to join the effort. When we progress with creation, our journey is smooth, productive, supported, guided. It is wise to keep with the current and frequency of nature, of divine creation, because living out of tune is like swimming up-stream. Difficult. Regressive. Fruitless.

5:18 Value your consciousness. Your God-given ability to have and utilize clarity, the amazing, productive, agile intricate network that is your brain. Paul cautioned us above not to let anyone diminish us and here he implores that we never diminish ourselves. Do not deteriorate yourself with toxins. You were born alert and capable, never trade that gift.

On Sobriety

I am awed and infatuated with my own consciousness, of being the keeper of my own mind. I find wonderment in that my thoughts are my own, unencumbered or even exacerbated by any other or thing. How wonderful that what I am is mine, created and coveted by only the one who conceives and sustains it. If patience, comfort, sanity or any other comes not from within me, it is a fraud against my soul. An injustice which disregards the given-ability of having truths. Unrest, disenchanting it may be, is a tangible solid begging the person to respond adequately by making the suggestion that balance is in disorder. Muffling or quieting the natural tendency to observe emotion within oneself is an injustice of grave proportions. The silencing of the soul is the only death. The tender mollification does not enough or at all aggravate the mind to seek or create solace where there is none. 

I have the capacities to experience all extremes of emotions and without the service of any catalysts. If I am not naturally assuaged, riveted, or ecstatic, I already am little at all. The past may have set me in intellectual motion, or perhaps momentarily stunted me from ill-progression but the finality of my belief comes from only present circumstance and maturity of thought, from ever prodding and questing my own faculties. Denying myself its own laboriously earned ability to mend and discover itself would be unkind and if that not enough, a waste of time and labor spent. 

For others, to delight in the pleasures of a faux peace or exhilaration may enough be the requirement to satisfy their starving souls. But for me, I crave the substance born of contempt and restlessness; the elasticity in the scope of raw emotion, and of the placidity that presents itself only to the quiet ones in whose souls rivers run with vigor. My person wishes not to be manipulated and there is the difference between myself and others who try to impress into me the supposed joys of giving oneself over to another thing. What I feel in my conscious state is truth and I crave it, only it, and not to be redirected, even for a temporary "better". 

Atop all of my values is my value of self. This is not a philosophy of the narcissistic; it is a philosophy which recognizes the enormity of self-possession. To be centered, to be and to know oneself at all times is a freedom that cannot be priced. It is the beginning to all answers and the antidote to all pain. I've worked tirelessly to find it and I'll keep it, cherished, forever.

5:19 Make music here, the vibrations of laughter and joy. Do not waste yourself or this opportunity away. Fill and be filled. Give and be given to. What we put into the world the world puts back into us. 

5:20 Gratitude. Gratitude for life. For the impossible yet actual rising sun in the morning. For the breathe with which to laugh. Giving thanks for the will which guides are life when given our permission. 

5:21 In the reverence of God. No child of God should ever fear Him. The original translation of this word is: Phobos. Simultaneously meaning: "fear" and "revere." Submitting to the work of ensuring the health and life of humanity with and under the love of God. We reap what we sow: 2 Corinthians 9:6, Galatians 6:8, Luke 6:38... and in many other places!

5:22-24 Paul encourages the wife to orient herself to ensuring the husband's happiness... and in a few verses, encourages the husband to do the same. From our own current context in time and space this verse seems... outrageous, right? Paul is imploring the husband to protect and cherish the wife. To love her so much that he accepts responsibility for her well-being, for ensuring that she herself is strong and able.

2:25 Although our defenses might be up, Paul speaks of love: for the husband to love his wife with the same devotion and vigor as Jesus loves us. What depth of love he encourages! Paul is not preaching oppression or control; he is preaching about love. Love as it is known and given by God: selflessly, humbly, freely, incorruptibly.  

5:26 Create and sustain the environment for her to develop and thrive in her faith, as a witness of what God's love inspires and produces. Paul encouraged the wife to care for the husband and now he encourages the husband to lay down his life for the wife. He preaches of mutual, respectful love.

5:27 In 1 Corinthians 6:19 we learn (or perhaps are reminded of) this: Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

Jesus's philosophy of life was brought and given to us so that we would find spirit within ourselves. He came so that the spiritual life would be familiar to us and familiar with us. So that upon arrival, we too are manifestations of goodness, of kindness, compassion and love. Spouses, as well as all people, are supposed to cultivate the conditions in which a person can grow and develop in spirit and all that is embodies.

5:28 If we love ourselves, we can ensure the health and well-being of ourselves by ensuring the health and well-being of the people in our lives. If we want to live in a happier, more just world, we must be happy and just... we must inspire happiness and justice in others.

This is not new advice, to give love just as we love ourselves, and it extends even beyond the spousal relationship. Mark 12:31 Love your neighbor as yourself. 

Nevertheless, the advice given here specific to spouses is important and instructive. The foundation of any relationship should be selfless, spirited, earnest love. When we enter a union, we must do so with humility... as it is an acceptance of the responsibility of caring for another. Taking responsibility for their well-being. It is work. Hopefully it is work we enjoy and welcome, but it is work. 

Remember, we are fellow-workers with God (1 Corinthians 3:9) and the above-mentioned is an example of the type of work we have here. Faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26) If you truly have faith, you have an eagerness to do the work which constitutes and validates faith.

5:29 (When in a healthy state of mind), we care about our well-being. We protect ourselves. We eat because we require nutrients. We sleep because we require rest. God takes care of us similarly: providing nourishment and rest.

5:30 We are not separate from Spirit. We are a many-membered body (as we have discussed in this Book of Ephesians). God takes care of the whole...

5:31 ... and encourages us to do the same. To take care of more than just ourselves. For the husband and wife to build another home after leaving their respective homes. Adding rooms to this giant mansion of which we are all a part. Live as a unit. 

5:32 Paul uncovers the intention of Spirit, the purpose of humanity and earth. It is a mystery to those in slumber; with frustration they howl for answers amid darkness and chaos. For the student of God, wisdom and revelation respond readily, zealously to our questions.

5:33 Love each other. Care for each other. Devote yourself each other's the health and well-being in humility in love and in respect.

NT: Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, Chapter 4

Ephesians 4:1-32

4:1 The immensity of this imploration is almost stunning. God has entrusted is with so freedom and purpose. We must represent Him well while we are here, ensuring that our actions and expressions are kind and just. Under His patient and perfect love, it should make us wriggle in our seats a little bit when we consider how much we want to be worthy of all the love we have never had (or have) to earn.

And for some people, perhaps God's love has not yet been realized in your life. The most assured fact I know is that when we wholeheartedly seek God's love, we find it. If you are developing your faith, you will soon be overcome with its luminosity. It's not just written in scripture, Jeremiah 29:13, Matthew 7:7, Luke 11:9... it is a personally experienced and constantly reinforced truth.

4:2 Paul outlines the way we can accurately represent our faith: thinking, saying and behaving with humility, tenderness, perseverance and love, appreciating the life inside of the people and planet around us.

4:3 Paul's advice continued: to promote and ensure the cohesion of humanity. With peaceful and just actions, we are meant to unite in all situations rather than divide, if we have the opportunity.

4:4-6 For clarity and reassuring, Paul unites us all as the children of One, focused entity. We do not belong to different gods from various places with diverging views, plans and creations (although miscommunication and intolerance in the globe today might suggest otherwise). We have the same origin and destination. 

4:7-8 Psalm 68:18, as well as the book of Corinthians speaks to us of the gifts God gives to us individually. Remember: we are given to in order that we may give. God analyzes our lives and the character of our souls and determines in us a way for our passion to impact the world. Our gifts are tailored to each of us, individually. He knows our potential and then measures his gifts to match, prod and inspire it.

4:9-10 As miraculous as it is that Jesus ascended, Paul prompts us to discover and celebrate the equally miraculous descent Jesus made. Having come to earth, the manifestation of compassion, wisdom, justice, truth and love, He devoted His whole being to humanity... knowing that His arduous work would not (by many) be appreciated or remembered. He because even if only one person benefited from His tribulation here on earth, His confrontation against evil, He believed His life worth the sacrifice.

4:11 While here, Jesus delegated. No matter who you are, as a child of God, you are welcomed to shoulder the responsibility of upholding justice. To be representatives of the faith.

4:12 Love and justice are so much more valuable knowing that we contributed to them. We have the ability to give life to laughter, joy, justice in places where there existed sorrow and injustice. We each contribute to the edification, the strengthening and improvement of humanity and compassion. 

4:13 We work toward edification of ourselves and our faith in order that we construct the steps which elevate us to our spiritual home. In order that we recognize the door to knock on.

4:14 We work in faith for the purpose of establishing security within us. In a turbulent world, among humanity's competing greed and selfish agendas, we do not easily find our footing. When our foundation is our faith, we no longer rely on an unreliable, shifting platform.

4:15 Instead of that fluctuation, through the expression of our truth and love, we grow in God's steady love. We do not degrade ourselves with deceptive actions or selfish desires because we know that the wealth of true love and life do not require manipulative, self-seeking acts.

4:16 This a metaphor of our kinship. Each part is an essential part. We are parts of a strong and many-membered body and when we work cohesively, we thrive. Recall 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 for affirmation and a more detailed reiteration of this point, our kinship.

4:17-19 Rise to meet your potential. Let your thoughts, words and actions represent the best and most pure of your values and faith. Reinforce your beliefs with your temperament and interaction. Much of the world "walks" or lives, dejected and unfocused. The spark of their curiosity gone out, the potential openness of their heart closed. Do not let the apathetic, lethargic frustrations of others impact you or your life. Spiritually awakened, you cannot make exchanges between yourself to those who are still asleep. Yes, we must interact with and respect all people, but we do not let them influence, deter or negatively impact our lives. 

4:20-22 It is essential that we are consistent with our thoughts, words and actions. Paul explains a very neglected yet common-sense logic: we cannot claim to be or believe something and simultaneously negate it with our behavior. If you've heard the message, you carry the responsibility of knowing it, of knowing better, 2 Peter 2:21.

4:23-24 Even more than awakening, personal alignment with faith newly creates us. Our restoration and edification is so complete that we become more and different than we were before. Inside-out, top-bottom, body-soul, God reforms us in strength and compassion.

4:25 Be truthful with all people, yourself included in order to accomplish and ensure sincerity and simplicity in your life.

4:26 Out of respect for our kinship, realize each person's worthiness of our truth. Do not taint and entangle your life with deceit. 

4:27 We are not always going to be even-tempered but Paul encourages us to take control over our anger and to work to dissolve it before it festers and deepens. Take control over your anger so that it does not tempt you to commit cruelty because of it. Fighting injustice with injustice is both fruitless and regressive.

4:28 Paul advises us to be wise in our forgiveness. To never be haughty, but to create fair and constructive circumstances for those who have wronged us to redeem themselves. To better themselves. They may not always or often appreciate or even accept the chance, but we still grow from our wisdom and justice.

Moreover, hard work edifies our character. Work done in faith, work done with our hands, work done with our brains. Allow the opportunities for growth. Mere punishment is rarely an effective way to reverse flawed behavior. Keep this in mind for yourself and for others. Oftentimes, people who make mistakes, even grave mistakes, need or once needed opportunity to learn, the freedom or space to learn, the teacher or encouragement necessary to learn and did not have it. It is not an excuse or attempt to absolve the behavior but it is still a reality. In my experience, close-minded people often had their brains bound by limitations during essential character-growth periods. Again, not an excuse, but a truth we must acknowledge in order to bring change to the world.

4:29 Let your every word intention toward goodness. You create the energy you put out into the world. You impact the atmosphere around you. You influence the behavior and thoughts of others so be aware and careful of what comes from you.

4:30-31 Divest yourself of negativity. It impacts your health, your circumstances, your journey, your destination, your environment...it taints and suffocates every aspect of your life. It's unnecessary. It accomplishes nothing! So grow your patience and be guided out of tribulation with strength and order.

4:32 Be kind and forgiving. All people deserve your kindness, and for the ones who are a bit questionable (we've all met a few of those) be kind anyway because you represent yourself and you don't like their unkindness so why emulate it? Do not let someone provoke you or tear down your calm and kind nature.Teach them the kind way through your behavior and stoicism and even if it doesn't immediately register in them, you put that energy out into the world. If they are rankled to the point of negatively impacting another person's day, they probably desperately need your kindness.

Assuredly your kindness is seen and appreciated by our God, but don't do it for that reason. Do it because it's right and because it is ultimately the best thing for YOU, that person and the world.