Is late better than never? Time is of the essence.

Punctuality.

An important note of respect toward another.

Toward one another.

Irrevocable?

Like over sleeping in, over sleeping, missing the train, missing the bus, The snow balling problems feed on the ramifications of others sometimes. Who gets to “say” whose time is more valuable than another?

Time is of the essence.

To respond is to answer.

To be responsible is to be answerable.

One of our founders, James Madison came to the realization when he delimited the parameters of responsibility (wjb). “Responsibility, in order to be reasonable, must be limited to objects within the power of the responsible party, and in order to be effectual, must relate to operations of that power.”

Huh?

Further. “Our share of the responsibility for what we do individually or in concert with others varies with the social and political structures within which we operate, but it characteristically increases with maturity.

Hopefully☺️.

Right?

(Spoken like a true temper tantrum-er and foot stomper)

Let’s ask Adam and Eve in the beautiful garden about temptation(s). The ones that come along minute by minute, like creepy, slimey snakes. Every day. Adam blames Eve. Eve blames Adam By all historical accounts Eve was being a temptress of all things,

”fruit”.

And guess what.

Adam took a bite.

Bite me?

Perhaps. But first.

First things first.

(Answer to follow later)

For many humans, immaturity commonly continues into adulthood.(wjb).

Often there is little or no rush to take responsibility. Yet. “There is no end to the good you can do if you don’t care who gets credit for it.”

In the end. While taking our last breath, we alone are answerable for the kinds of persons we have made of ourselves. (wjb)

Philosopher Mary Midgley, in “Beast and Man” that the really excellent and central point of Existentialism is the acceptance of responsibility for being as we have made ourselves, the refusal to make bogus excuses.”

What is your personal “bogus excuse.”?

St. Augustine had a thing or two to say about peer pressure. And its relationship to maturity.

Personal Responsibility.

”A weakened sense of responsibility does not weaken the fact of responsibility.” (wjb)

Like Adam and Eve and the pointing of fingers back and forth. Taking a bite out of an apple seems rather soft and squishy compared to what Cain did, in Cain and Abel’s story.

Original sin.

Divine Reconciliation.

Denial of our own and the age-old struggle for failure to accept responsibility for our own trespasses is

Age-old.

Cain and Abel brought offerings of fruit (there is that fruit 🍌🍉🍎🍓) as well as sheep. 🐑 For some reason, Abel’s offering of sheep was more acceptable, so Cain killed him. Killed his brother. Just like that.

A bad case of sibling rivalry?

(Just seeing if you are still paying attention)

Although God condemned Cain for his desperation and weakness, he was left with a deadened life lived under a long life cursed of God’s will and was free to go.

Away.

The Lord God had placed a mark on Cain. Destined to live with this mark the rest of his life, the rest of his existence. Running away does not make the problem go away. The memories and insidiousness of his actions and the problem of Cain’s weakness followed him the rest of his days.

Why?

Did God “excuse” the behavior. Did not Cain admit wrongdoing?

Where to start?

What to do?

First?

First things first.

If You Were

”If you were busy being kind,

Before you knew it, you would find

You’d soon forget to think ‘twas true

That someone was unkind to you.

If you were busy being glad,

And cheering people who are sad,

Although your heart might ache a bit,

You’d soon forget to notice it.

If you were busy being good,

And doing just the best you could,

You’d not have time to blame some man

Who’s doing just the best he can.

If you were busy being right,

You’d find yourself too busy quite

To criticize your neighbor long

Because he’s busy being wrong.

First things first.

Seek His will.

(Hint: answer from before)

Take it from there.

Happenstance causes us to get so caught up in the minutiae of being right, we forget we were wrong.

The Beast? Mary Midgley might have been talking about….

Provocation.

Constant provocation.

To prove rightness.

To prove wrongness.

As Adam and Eve must have found out, the darn apple rotted while they were still figuring out who was in the

wrong. Or who was “right”.

No way to live.

Definitely,

No way to die.

He awaits with open arms for us. Always. Everyday.

His mercies are new everyday.

We scoff at them in our never ending marathon of “rightness.”

Here is a secret for you.

It does not feel all that great.

To be right.

Being wrong?

Is how we learn the value of another.

It is in our wrongness wherein were learn our most valuable lessons and learn the very most at times.

Really.

No joke.

No kidding.

What is the “rub”, what is the secret sauce?

The narrow path.

Yes.

Stagger all you may along it, and some may. Incoherently deciphering its request of our strengths. Proving we are His and His alone. The gloriously good path is a little wider than walking the flimsy plank.

Which would you choose?

The plank

Or.

The narrow path.

HIS. Narrow path offers so much more. So much more unison, unification, acceptance, love, hope, and all things impossibly obtained by hopping on the plank.. toward out own self-induced drowning. Where death is most assured by tumbling into the wave of doubt and faith destruction. Washed away into oblivion.

We have a responsibility to and of one another. Some take this current time of 40 days of reflection, denial, humble and trite yes’s and no’s, as a time to “improve.”

Although noble, most make it to the forty days, eat the chocolate eggs and peeps. Move on to the next thing without a thought of where they had just walked. Or how. Wiping the dusty peeps off their hands and say, “I am good.”

Not quite, yet. We may have failed to ask ourselves what we did to prove our mettle in His eyes.

Or.

Why.

To walk the walk is to walk the walk.

Sounds so elementary, yet even adults fail miserably while pointing the finger at who ate the last cookie.🍪☺️ or apple.🍎

Taking accountability is so passé. So….You.

But not me.

Nope.

Uh Uh.

I AM all that and your bag of chips.

Ok.

Off the narrow path you fell.

He, with His new mercies everyday, will be there.

To pick you up.

HOWEVER.You may now be at the back of the line. Behind someone whose destiny was encouraged and the self changed allowed the change to following His narrow path— when doubt continually reared its ugly as snake-y heads.

”Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

Don’t fake it though.

Why?……

You my ask,

Answer: Back of the line time.

Time is of the essence.

His essence.

Not yours..

His essence.

As time passes on, the question becomes not: Did you seek His will for you in His life? Walk His narrow path of “Good.”

Or did you foolishy decided to walk the plank.