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Introduction
Most regions in the world have their favorite source for starches, that complex carbohydrate that supplies nutrition and needed calories. Leading favorites include potatoes, rice and yams; there are many more, but we’ll use these examples. They can be served up in a variety of ways. Potatoes can be fried, baked, and mashed, with each variation having many offshoots. Rice can be steamed or fried, and can show up on your plate as anything from risotto to sushi. Which starch is the predominant one for most people is pretty much due to geography rather than having been a studied choice.
The same is true for religion. Most regions in the world have their favorite religion. Leading favorites are Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. There are more, but we will use these examples in today’s podcast. As with starches, each religion is served up in a variety of ways. And the predominant religion for most people is pretty much due to geography rather than having been a studied choice.
That’s the subject of today’s 10-minute podcast.
Continuing
I am a potato guy. More importantly, I am a Christ-following Christian. I was born into both. I worked to reinforce the early exposure and training that set me on those paths, but I did not start with a complete review of all the available starches and the major religions of the world in order to make a studied choice. Nor will I now. I will work a little to make better potatoes at home, and try to find the best restaurant fries and hash browns. I will work much harder to be more Christlike. I will never get there, but the game is in the working at it.
It is not important to find the perfect starch. It is important to find healthy sources and take in, use if you will, the right amounts at the right times. It is also important to share the starches you have with those who have needs and wants. And share them in a way that shows that you care for those with whom you are sharing. Yes, love can be expressed in the proper preparation, presentation and sharing of lowly starches.
It is not important to find the perfect religion. It is important to learn about your religion and practice it, use it if you will, at all the right times. Which will be a whole lot more often than you do with starches. Like as close to 24/7 as we can get. It is also important to share the religion you have with those who have needs and wants. And share your heart, including your religion, in a way that shows that you care for those with whom you are sharing. Yes, love can be expressed in the proper expression and sharing of your heart and your faith.
It is good for you to familiarize yourself with a variety of starches. If the only starch you will eat are potatoes, you will be stuck with the chicken teriyaki at a sushi restaurant. And no hummus or sandwiches for you.
It is good for the soul to familiarize yourself with other religions. Let’s take a few quick peeks via quotes. “When you walk, walk; when you eat, eat.” -Buddha. What I get out of that is to stay calm, and focus. Multitasking is overrated. “Every act of kindness is charity.” and “Give to those who have never given anything to you.” -Mohammad. “Man is made by his beliefs. As he believes, so is he.” –Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Bible).
Pause for two important questions: 1. Did you do a thorough job of researching all of the world’s starches before you settled on a favorite? 2. Did you do a thorough job of researching all of the world’s religions, doing an in-depth comparative study, before you settled on where to put your faith and trust? Just about everyone answers these two questions in the negative. And that’s just fine–as long as you don’t get carried away, even a bit superior, about your decision to adopt the faith you were born into. More specifically, don’t tell people that they are going to Hell if they don’t accept Christ as their Saviour, and don’t treat people as Infidels, worthy of scorn or worse, if they don’t accept the word of Mohammad and believe that Allah is the one true God.
Today’s Key Point: It is not the choice of the starch that matters, it is how you use it in your life and how you share it that is important. In the same way, it is not the choice of your religion that matters, it is how you work it into your life and how you share it with others that makes all the difference. The key is not in researching and experimenting to find the “best” religion, but in finding the best ways to incorporate our religion in our lives, and the best ways to share it, in love, with others. Let’s hear from Christ, Mohammad and Krishna (The main deity in Hinduism.) about love. “Love your enemies.” -Christ. “You will never enter paradise until you have faith, and you will not have faith until you love one another.” -Mohammad. “He who has no attachments can really love others, for his love is pure and divine.” -Krishna.
Revolution 2.0™ readers and listeners will recognize the Moral Compass topic. We must all have a moral compass, a true north if you will. Religion, having a faith, can be that for many; it certainly is for me.
Segueing from the specifics of today’s topic to overall principles, the core, driving principles at Revolution 2.0, are:
And do it all in love; without love, these are empty gestures, destined to go nowhere and mean nothing.
If we apply those two core principles, personal responsibility and brother’s keepers, simultaneously, never only one or the other, we will always be on the right path. Depending upon what we face, one principle or the other may appropriately be given more emphasis, but they are always acted upon together.
The Founders, Revolution 1.0, were declared traitors by the British Crown, and their lives were forfeit if caught. We risk very little by stepping up and participating in Revolution 2.0™. In fact, we risk our futures if we don’t. I am inviting you, recruiting you, to join Revolution 2.0™ today. Join with me in using what we know how to do–what we know we must do–to everyone’s advantage. Let’s practice thinking well of others as we seek common goals, research the facts that apply to those goals, and use non agenda-based reasoning to achieve those goals together. Practice personal responsibility and be your brother’s keeper.
Let’s continue to build on the revolutionary vision that we inherited. Read the blog, listen to the podcast, subscribe, recruit, act. Here’s what I mean by “acting.”
Revolution 1.0 in 1776 was built by people talking to other people, agreeing and disagreeing, but always finding ways to stay united and go forward. Revolution 2.0 will be built the same way.
Join me. Join the others. Think about what we are talking about and share these thoughts and principles with others. Subscribe, encourage others to subscribe. Act. Let’s grow this together.
And visit the store. Fun stuff, including hats, mugs and t-shirts. Recommend other items that you’d like to see.
Links and References
Contact
As we get ready to wrap up, please do respond in the blog with comments or questions about this podcast or anything that comes to mind, or connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. And you can subscribe to the podcast on your favorite device through Apple Podcasts, Google, or Stitcher.
Now it is time for our usual parting thought. It is not enough to be informed. It is not enough to be a well informed voter. We need to act. And if we, you and I, don’t do something, then the others who are doing something, will continue to run the show.
Know your stuff, then act on it. Knowing your stuff without acting is empty; acting without knowing is dangerous.
Will Luden, writing to you from my home office at 7,200’ in Colorado Springs.
