It's Canon Fire!: December 2008

Friday, December 26, 2008

Learning Insights About Human Nature

I mentioned a while ago that I have had puppies to sell. This has been the fifth litter we've sold. Along with a small minority of honest, happy customers, I've experienced many, uh...shall we say, disappointments. Dozens of times, people have called and lied to me: "I'll call you right back to let you know if we'll come," or, "I'll be there in twenty minutes," and they're gone. Even more brazenly, folks have looked me in the eye and lied many times. For example, a few days ago a couple of women asked me where the nearest ATM was (it's less than a mile from my house). They said that they would go get the cash and come right back for the puppy. I never saw or heard from them again. These are all nice-sounding, and when I see them, nice-looking people. Just like you and me. And that's the saddest point.
We are not as good as we think we are. We compare ourselves with others around us, and we can always find people who act worse than us (as I did in the first paragraph). But the Bible says, "All men are liars" ("men" refers to humanity--don't quote that to your husbands, ladies), and, "All have sinned, and all fall short of the glory of God." It also says, "The wages of sin is death," and, "It is appointed for everyone to die, and after this, the judgment."
Now that you've read the bad news, here's the good: Jesus lived the sinless life that each one of us should have lived. Then he suffered the penalty of death that we all deserve. Now he offers forgiveness for our sins when we live by our faith in him.
I don't know if All Dogs Go To Heaven, but I know that I will, by the grace of God.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Follow-Up: The W-o-r-s-t Christmas Songs

Dan Folgelberg trashes the spirit of Christmas with a perennial favorite that glorifies adultery.
The late communist and atheist John Lennon adds irony to goofiness by singing a Christmas song with inaccuracies such as Christmas starts a new year, with his wife Yoko Oh-No contributing backup screeches.
Little Drummer Boy does well in honoring the Lord Jesus Christ, but why does the kid keep saying he has nothing to give to the Lord when he has a drum? And turning it from bad to creepy is Michael Jackson's version (MJ singing about a little boy...eewww).
Feliz Navidad was fine the first time I heard it, but its endless repetition of basically one line--"Merry Christmas, I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas"--is nauseating now.