I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area where the Bucs play.
Out of all the things I forgot while in school, sometimes I wonder what it was that made me remember the things that I do. I remember sitting in my 7th (or 8th?) grade English class at Tulsa Adventist Academy. The teacher, Miss Childers, asked if the word “crowd” was plural or singular. Since a crowd is a lot of people, I answered “plural”. Miss Childers told me she understood why I said that, but she went on to explain that while there may be many people in the crowd, it is still just one crowd, and therefore is singular.
That was over thirty years ago, and if I posted all my memories from all my English classes onto Google, it may use up 1KB. So why do I still remember such a mundane conversation that took place over thirty years ago? Maybe because that simple explanation by Miss Childers helps me understand the Trinity. While I go to a football game with over 70,000 people (Okay a Tampa Bay Bucs game with only 56,000 people) we are still just one crowd. That helped me understand how God can be singular while still being three Beings. Just like over 500 members make up one congress, likewise the Father, Son and Holy Spirit make up One Godhead.
Gospel Workers, page 315, tells us that every truth from Genesis to Revelation needs to be presented in the light of the cross and God’s love. So how does the Trinity help us understand the cross and God’s love? 1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love. At the cross we see that love is putting other people first, when we think of their needs and wants instead of our own. Now I don’t know when it was or how long ago it was, but logic tells me there had to be a time when nothing else existed except God. Now if God had only been one Being, at that point in time, He could not have been love, because love is thinking of others instead of yourself, and if God had only been One Being, He would have had nobody else to think about besides Himself. God has always been love, because even before anything else existed at all, God was three beings, each One always thinking about the needs and wants of the Other.
By the way, the Godhead is the First Family of the universe. They are an example of what our families are to be. One family, with several members, each one always thinking about the needs and how to please the others in the family. Likewise, our families can be love just like the First Family is love.
To study this week’s SS lesson click here. To download the SS lesson app to your phone click here.
Blogging Etiquette
I am writing from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.
Bloggers love to receive feedback on what we share with the world. In a humble attempt to make the blogging world a more pleasant place, here are some thoughts I have on blogging etiquette.
Okay, there is no better way to say this, so I am just going to come right out and say it. If a blogger does not allow your rebuttal to be posted on their blog for the whole world to read, it may not be that you are right, and they just don’t want to admit it. It may be that your argument is so absurd, that the blogger is saving you public embarrassment by just not publishing your argument. A while back someone made a comment on my blog, arguing with what I was saying. I know I am not always right. I will say I am one of the quickest people to admit when I see I am wrong. More than a few times I have told my Bible marking class of 5th and 6th graders, “I was wrong.” They found it refreshing for a teacher to admit their errors. I make many. However, in this case, I was right and the person rebutting my blog was being unreasonable. I knew this person, and that they hated Adventists and just liked to argue. I prayed and decided not to post their comment or respond. Later, while reading another blogger’s blog, I ran across the same person arguing with them too and even writing, “I bet you won’t post my comments because nobody does since I am right and they are wrong.” How sad this person doesn’t realize the true issue.
One time I posted the comments of a man arguing with me about my post. I then replied to his comment, sharing why I believed the way I did. He then responded with another post that must have been three pages long. Sorry, if you are going to write that long of a comment you need to get your own blog! I did not post his thesis.
Another time, a man posted a comment on my blog, once again with a different point of view. I posted his comment and then posted my reply. He replied once again with a rebuttal. After several exchanges I told him we need to agree to disagree. He still sent more comments trying to argue. My policy is, that if you continue contacting me to argue, after I have already said, “let’s agree to disagree” you are now considered a psychopath! I started deleting his comments and personal e-mails without even reading them. Several weeks later they finally stopped coming.
Sure, I enjoy those comments commending my posts and confirming my point of view. However, I need to be challenged in my thinking, and I need to quickly admit when I am wrong. I will “come to my senses” a lot quicker when comments are polite and reasonable. Thanks to all of you who post polite and reasonable comments commending AND criticizing my blog. I post ALL comments that are politely and reasonably written, regardless if I agree or not.
Posted by In Light Of The Cross on December 5, 2011 in Uncategorized
Tags: Adventist, blog comments, blog etiquiette, blogging etiquette, commenting on blogs, etiquette in writing, haters, pyschopaths, rules when commenting on blogs, tampa bay, tampa florida, William Earnhardt