Attention Seekers

When some people walk into a room all eyes turn to them. They make sure they do! Is this an act of confidence, a need for attention, pride or insecurity? Of course it depends on the individual, but the most stable people seem to be those who have the least fuss made in their presence!

Hollywood, at it's Oscars, has a red carpet on which stars march and preen for their admirers. That's to be expected. They're paid to titillate and pose. However, it seems that public places where average people tread have translucent "red carpets". They're there, but only those making the grande entrance see it! Some people just live for attention and their personality is geared to get it! I call this behavior the "Jesus Complex". Let me explain for I'm neither belittling our Savior nor making him proud in what he did!

John 12:12 "On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord."

The Jewish people expected a King and a warrior who would restore the kingdom of Israel. They came out to honor the king. They laid the palm tree branches out making an invisible "red carpet" (figuratively speaking) as they waved palm branches for Jesus!  In all ancient middle eastern societies "palms" stood for "victory"!  Victors walk the red carpet. It's not a carpet for losers! Jesus is the Victor, but those who walk the red carpet for attention are losers! They walk in unworthily and for the wrong reasons.

Here's the rest of the story:

John 12:14 "And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, 15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt."

First off, where is it written?

Zechariah 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Zechariah saw the "red carpet" about 500 years before Jesus Christ walked on the carpet lined with palms! Where attention-seekers on the red carpet are pretenders to royalty, Jesus IS royalty! However,  as I said before "...the most stable people seem to be those who have the least fuss made in their presence!" Jesus didn't want a fuss because he is a King, but because he came to serve!

Can you imagine servants walking down the red carpet. They stop occasionally while people ignore them and turn slowly around so their plainness can be seen by all!  Servile people ride symbolic asses!

Asses are donkeys and they have been used for work for 5000 years! They are pack animals who carry the burdens of people. They are the epitome of servitude! Jesus rode down his  "red carpet" on this lowly animal. It was symbolic of his not coming to be served, but to serve!

Matthew 20:28 "Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."

Now back to people: Whereas Jesus traveled the red carpet, so to speak, because he was humble, attention-seeking people travel their own red carpet, well, for attention and self-aggrandizement!  I see this even in public places and church! Look at those who dress extravagantly then tread the aisle back and forth, turning to and fro, posing for the human cameras.  They get their satisfaction from those who adore them! This is in opposition to the King riding a lowly ass! Rather than riding the ass, they become the ass!

I went to a church some time ago. Many men there dressed in the finest suits and the women looked much like runway models in their latest attire. People would tell each other how great they looked today in their finest!  It seemed to me, and a few others, that church was not to be a show place, but a place to magnify God. It's he that's King, not us, but it appeared that the people were the center of attention.

People who put value on clothes gamble on where value really is!

Mark 15:24 "And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take."

Here was the most profoundly significant time in history: God dying on the cross for the sins of all mankind. Pride was dying there, but for the men who crucified him, it was his clothes they wanted! They gambled for his garments and even those who "won", "lost". Their priorities were wrong!

Likewise, those who stroll the aisle in public, displaying their finery, are getting their reward right there. Just like Hollywood, they are glorifying in their moment of fame, but they gamble! Being awed isn't being meek! It's being an ass!

I wear a cheap suit to church on occasion just for variety. Most of the time I am dressed nicely, but plainly. Much of the time I am in blue jeans! I dress commonly for several reasons.

When I was a child I was ashamed. I had to go to church in everyday clothes. That wouldn't be bad now, but then even middle class people wore suits! Not only were my clothes everyday, but holey (as in torn) everyday... and they were too big for me and stained because they were hand-me-downs. I felt out of place in church because I was poor! Now I desire that all who enter feel as if their dress is proper. My contribution to that is common clothes.

Another reason is that I want God to be the focus of people in church. I don't care whether people like my suit or not! I do care that people praise Jesus. If they're looking at my clothes, they're not praising Jesus. I would then have become a distraction!

I don't want to have pride. Clothes are a reflection on how we feel about ourselves. Lack of pride is not a problem of mankind. Excessive and displaced pride is a curse!

Lastly, dress is a distraction to me (and to others). I visited a church one Sunday and sat behind an entire row of women in short dresses, low-cut tops and tight jeans. To be honest, I did little worship of Jesus that day. I pleasured my own little "god". These may have been fine Christian women, but they were a stumbling-block for me. In my mind I, and wrongly so, referred to this as "the hooker row".

Several months later a humble Christian man came to me crying. That same church was his! I asked, "What's the problem?" He said "I'm having a problem with lust, even in church!" Knowing where he attended I asked (wrongly so again) "Is it the 'hooker row' which bothers you?" He gave me a knowing look. I had guessed right.

Romans 14:13 "Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way."

Yes, I judged and did so wrongly, but it's best that others not be a stumblingblock to me, and that I not be one to others! We all need to be careful how we appear to each other because Satan uses US to distract OTHERS from the worship of Jesus.

Let's all get off that red carpet. That's for Hollywood starlets. They are getting their only reward right there. Our carpet is more durable and  more plain. It's a narrow path which is entered through a narrow gate. It's lined with palm branches because victory is just over the horizon. We need to trod that carpet in meekness and servitude. We're to be asses in the sense that we carry the burdens of others. Rather than displaying our own clothes, jewelry and other apparel; victory is as if we are in sack cloth! Victory is in meekness, not extravagance!

Truly "the meek shall inherit the earth"; the advent of kingdom of God, but it won't be on a red carpet!

On Personhood

"Personhood", according to most people, is the state of being a "person". If that's the case, then we need to know what is entailed in being a "person"! It is said by progressives that a "person" is a "being SUCH AS a human". What other being could even be considered a person? Many progressives at the present are attempting to assign personhood to other intelligent animals such as the porpoise.

From a Judeo-Christian standpoint we know that two "persons" were created by God. We call them "man" and "woman", and they are referred to as  "people".  The male of the species has dominion over everything. Also, his assigned role is to tend to the Garden. Hers is to beget children and nourish them. Together these "persons" were to procreate to propagate their kind.

What mostly sets people apart as "persons" is that they wee created in the image of God. Not only do they have a flesh, but they have a container for spirit called "the soul" and a "mind" to reason and choose. Although people have instincts, their minds go through complicated thought processes. They just don't react to stimuli! We don't know of any other animal which feels the emotion of guilt and takes measures to rid themselves of depressed feelings caused by doing wrong to the standards of those around them or to a deity.

The mind is "the part of a person that thinks, reasons, feels, and remembers." according to Meriam-Webster Dictionary. Since the definition includes only "a person", then having a "mind" defines personhood. That's different than having a brain. Most animals have some type of central control system, but only man can use it for all the uses of thinking, reasoning, being emotional and remembering.

Although Judeo-Christians assign emotions, reason, a mind. and mental choices to God's creation, that does not preclude that these characteristics are scientific as well! Philosophy and theology can share theories, and yet those theories are not discreet from each either. The biggest difference is that Christians believe in the "soul" as a spiritual entity as do Jews, but philosophers believe it to be no more than a "moral compass" for guiding the emotions! Either way, "persons" have a soul; other animals do not!

With a spiritual soul people have hope in eternal life. With a mere moral soul, people can only have hope in this existence. Hence, the philosophical concept of soul is deterministic. "Persons" can have hope or fatalism, animals cannot!

Being a "person" and consequently holding the status of "personhood" implies a person has a personality! "Personality" is all the traits that make individuals unique. There are no two people alike, not even identical twins! Let me ask you a question: "Is personality bestowed at birth or did it develop?"

Monitoring of the unborn indicates that personality develops over time in the womb. Nobody knows when it starts because it's hard to operationalize, but babies respond differently to stimuli in the womb and have shown different degrees of emotion. For normal development for all systems to support each other, they grow in proportion to each other in the womb. It is logical that the personality is a system and that it develops at the same rate as the other systems since they all complement each other!

"Gessel's Growth Gradients" indicate that "personality" is a system which is there at conception and develops along with the other systems. Hence, the embryo is human. It must have a personality since it's a system. The fetus has a personality. It can be seen in the womb! Embryos and fetuses are not some other being; they are persons! It would take a fool to deny that babies are born with very developed "personalities". As such those animals with "personalities" are "persons" and the status of them are "personhood". Hence, not only do full-term babies have personhood, but so do fetuses and embryos. Those premature babies which survive preterm births are born with personalities and with "personhood"!

I normally have much respect for Charles Krauthammer, but on The Factor the other evening, he argued with Bill "O'Reilly that fetuses are not persons because personhood wasn't there until birth. Charles, you have your psychobabble training showing through! Such shallow logic shows little regard to life! Those who make this argument violate the value of a person. Somehow it seems that a magic wand is waved while the fetus crawls through the birth canal and breaths air. That wand, according to them, changes them from a "thing" into a "person"! Houdini would be proud of Krauthammer. His magic is stronger than his!

Krauthammer, being a psychiatrist, should know what Gesell knew. I believe he did and ignores facts in favor of his own bias. Yes, scientists always have a bias. Their bias is concealed in their theories and never mentioned! My bias is that to be the most humane and civilized, fetuses need to be given the benefit of the doubt: they are persons and must be protected because with personhood comes the "right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". Destroyed persons never enjoy these rights as promulgated not only in natural law, but in our Constitution!

Three Minutes to Midnight

Doomsday!  What in the world is that? For the secular world it is the time when all life ceases to exist. In Christian theology, it's the "Great White Throne Judgment".  There is a big difference! However, this commentary will be on the former. We'll pretend, just for a moment, that when the earth is destroyed "that's it, folks!" There's not much hope in that thought, but doomsday isn't a time for hope for most!

Doomsday must have a cause. The clock right this moment is set at three-minutes to midnight. Midnight is "Doomsday", "The End!".  However, there was a day earlier in time which the people dreaded! There exists a Domesday Book, antiquated English for Doomsday Book. It is a census conceived in 1085 A.D. by William the Conqueror of all the lands and livestock values in England and parts of Wales.  It was "Doomsday" for many because the assessor's evaluations was unalterable and the taxes due were deadly!

We jokingly refer to taxes as death:

"Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." (Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, 1789; paraphrasing Daniel Defoe).

Defoe and Franklin equivocated taxes and death. The Doomsday Book was about dreaded taxes.  Life is about dreaded death! Most people don't fear the end of time, but the end of "self". It's when their first love, our "god" dies!  However, let's take a look at the living and do a "what if".

Three minutes to midnight is now. It's the condition of the world. It's when the peoples of the world using powerful weapons destroy everything for selfish reasons. There's that word again "self"-ish! The world is made up of billions of  "self's" who place their own interests first.

As an example, let's consider ISIS at the moment: Their desire is for the world to be Islamic, venerate the prophet Muhammad, have a world-wide caliphate with Sharia Law and that no other religions even exist. They don't want this merely for themselves, but everybody. It's their motive to create a society where all these billions of "selves" want the same thing. They want everybody to be like them! It's not that Allah is their God, but that they have a composite god made up of the totality of the Islamic faithful. All those little "gods" in unity are the one god, Allah!

Allah wants his way. Billions of Muslims want their way! That faith is one reason that we're at three minutes to midnight. Because people who fear and loathe Islam stand in the way of Sharia Law, the world is in danger. What's more, billions of Muslims don't care, because death for their faith makes them all martyrs. Each Muslim sacrifices their own little "god", the "self" for the good of the one god, Allah. They are willing to do that for "selfish" reasons: they get rewarded at the expense of others!

This is in eerie contrast to Christians who get their reward at the expense of themselves. Whereas Islam presents us as their sacrifice, Christians present ourselves:

Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

This sacrifice is service to God and to our fellow men. Because Christians are to "love", even the enemy, it puts us at a disadvantage (for the present) because we don't terrorize our fellow men. Muslims do that! It's in their holy book, the Koran. In order to gain favor with Allah, orthodox Muslims are willing to sacrifice ME and YOU as living sacrifices. That's selfish on their part to the extent that to gain favor with Allah, many are willing to die for that cause.

(Let me digress for a moment since this commentary is not about Islam, but it's expedient to mention that although "Allah" has the same definition in English as our "God", the Islamic "Allah" is much different than the Christian "Allah".  Because our deities are called the same does not make them identical. That concept is universalism and is heretical!)

Likewise, we have the Russian Confederation which takes time off the Doomsday Clock. Mr. Putin is endeavoring to revive Russian Colonialism. Russia has always had as a prime motivation to expand the already huge Russian Empire. It's necessary for them to increase the number of their ice-free ports in order to remain strong and to grow their economy. As such, Russia is a dire to civilization and has always been!

Furthermore, China offers a massive affront to civilization. Their dense population requires much capital and land to support. Their desire, as is Russia's, is to expand their empire and control the world.

The west for the most part, wants to remain free, although Mr. Obama's objectives seem inclined toward a worldwide Muslim Caliphate. Therefore, within this world we have numerous world's made up of ideologies dangerous to life as we know it. America has most always been on the side of the oppressed and seek freedom for all nations. Most people,  it is believed, if free to choose, would choose something other than the oppression they have. The exception to this is insane Islamic thought. That is a religion of crazies!

All these little worlds in this world are on a collision course. I call this course "World's Colliding"! It's when peoples are brought together who are devoted to their own perceptions of reality to the extent that they will harm to preserve their truths and fictions. The collision of these little worlds will result in the destruction of the entire world: Doomsday!

However, the destruction of the world in this manner isn't biblical. There will be a collision of worlds at the Battle of Armageddon. Jesus Christ will defeat the evil empires from all  over who will gather to destroy Israel, and that event will usher in the 1000-year reign of Jesus Christ where Satan will be bound for a millennium! Worlds will quit colliding for a 1000 years and peace will reign on earth.  The Doomsday Clock will be set back to a safer time.

From Got Questions?org:

Question: "What does the Bible say about the end of the world?"

Answer: The event usually referred to as “the end of the world” is described in 2 Peter 3:10: “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” This is the culmination of a series of events called “the day of the Lord,” the time when God will intervene in human history for the purpose of judgment. At that time, all that God has created, “the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), He will destroy. 

Yes, the earth will be destroyed! However, we have hope!

 Isaiah 65:17 "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

Revelation 21:1 "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."

What once was will be create anew (for Christians). That's our hope!  All my life I have feared the end of time, but now look forward to the new earth. I want a room in a mansion in New Jerusalem in Paradise. There will be a place where worlds no longer collide and all these little "gods", these selfish people, are no longer there. Our focus will be on the Almighty God and his will rather than ours, the "self's".

Even twelve minutes to midnight scared me as a child in this nuclear age, but now it seems that no one trembles at three minutes 'til!

Psalm 119:120 "My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments."

If this is you with your little "god" that you love too much to topple, judgment day is a time of woe! It's decision time before the clock runs out... the Doomsday Clock, that is:

Philippians 2:12 "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

One thing happens before Doomsday. While Doomsday is the day that all evil men die, before that day, all will die. We will return from the dust from which we came. We don't have the liberty of waiting until Judgement Day. Today is the day. It's got to be done before our personal doomsday!

2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

We are to decide our fate right now. Later is too late. We don't wait until Doomsday to beg, but "now is the day of salvation"! We plan for our eternal destination and now the time is ripe! Only fools would wait until those atomic bombs are dropped. Only fools would wait until that Day of Judgement!

The Modern Woman is Ancient

As I watch television, as I watch movies, as I look at popular media and the internet, I see that we're bombarded by lascivious behavior and looks. Beauty has been distorted from one of wholesomeness to whatever goes. Lady Gaga, who certainly is no lady, and the likes of Miley Cyrus are representative of who many teen girls emulate. I'm thankful that my own daughters and granddaughters are not of that ilk, but we all need to see what the gods of the world are offering to our generation!

1 Kings 16:31b "...he (King Ahab) took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him."

Jezebel is the standard to which sinful women are compared. King Ahab did worse than his father, taking this foreign woman as his wife. As a result Ahab, along with the Hebrew people, served Baal, rather than God.   Who is Baal? He was "any other god besides God" because there were many gods called baal. Later on baal was narrowed down to the "weather god", but many other gods were still called Baal. "Baal" simply means "Lord". It's who or whatever takes precedence over the LORD GOD.  One form of baal used quite often is Ba‘al Zebub. That means "Lord of the Flies". If you recall there is a popular book with that same name whose theme is on the conflicts within human nature. It's about good and evil.

In the New Testamament Beelzebub is what Satan is called:

Mark 3:22 "And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He (Jesus) hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils."

The biggest insult to Jesus ever is subscribing his miracles to Satan! Therefore, Jezebel is the epitome of evil. Her religion was one against God, yet King Ahab, who was a Jew, accepted her religion for his peoples. When you think "Jezebel" think pagan religions and their practices!

As one who worshiped Baal, at the time of Jezebel, that god was the female goddess of fertility, sexuality and of war, called Astarte or Asheroth. Pagan worship included all types of sexual activities and rituals. Baal is whoredom, what all  pagan religions are in God's eyes!

On top of that, Jezebel was a whore. Because Asheroth was a female god, then Jezebel's role would be magnified in the temple worship. It's likely that she would be the priestess who engaged in all these sexual and fertility rites!

1 Kings 21:25  "But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up."

Jezebel instigated sinful behavior in Israel. She stirred up religious and power conflicts like never before and used sexual wiles to get what she wanted!

2 Kings 9:7 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel.

2 Kings 9:30 And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.

Jezebel wreaked havoc among the Israelites, causing the death of many servants of the Lord. She was a whore, a prostitute, and as such painted her face and put on an air of confidence up-righting her head in dissidence. Whores throughout history have come to be known as Jezebels and we envision them with excessive makeup and a haughty disposition.

The wise man warns us of Jezebels!

 Proverbs 6:24:24 (ESV) "To preserve you from the evil woman,
    from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
    and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;
26 for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,
    but a married woman hunts down a precious life."

The adulterous woman is described much like Jezebel. As Ahab was captured by the beauty and manipulation of Jezebel, every man is prone to titillation by women wily as she was! Just as Jezebel was planted by Satan in the midst of those who were called to be holy, don't be surprised if that same type of woman is in the midst of wherever good men go!

America, indeed the west, is what Jezebel was the epitome. No wonder Islam sees Christian women as harlots and the western world as demons. Indeed the ideal woman in media are of the Jezebel prototype. Furthermore, it's more than beauty and seduction, but control as well. Feminism is an offshoot of Astarte the female deity. As Jezebel was the priestess of Baal, the leaders of organizations such as the " National Organization of Women" (NOW) are priestesses of Satan. Yes, "You've come a long way, baby!" describes the journey for Jezebel to Queen Victoria and back to modern feminists! Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, fits the description of Jezebel to a "T".

Christian women must avoid mimicking the actions of Jezebel just as Christian men are not to be Ahab's! God's will is that we're to have no other "Lords", and serving Baal is hurtful to the LORD GOD, even if it's done unintentionally!

On Self-Actualization

"Self-actualization" is a psychological term meaning that a person's full human potential in all aspects is fulfilled. These aspects range from knowledge, creativity, the social and the spiritual. Wow! Who has attained their full human potential? The narcissist who promulgate such tripe, of course, would say they are pursuing self-actualization, which may be a modest way of a self-actualized person of putting their self on a pedestal without being obvious that they are magnifying themselves!

Who would psychologists suggest are self-actualized? Abraham Maslow appoints Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Aldous Huxley, Eleanor Roosevelt and Albert Einstein as self-actualized, among others. Some would add Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama!  The criteria used are things such as perception, the ability to resolve conflicting perspectives, who is respected and humble, one who is problem-focused, and one who accepts human nature. (Five Reasons Why Obama Is Mr. Self-Actualized; Caroline Presno; 2008).

It must be noted that Ms. Presno recognized the self-actualization in Obama before he was exposed to the world. That's similar to Mr. Obama winning the "Nobel Peace Prize" before he achieved any peaceful solutions and before he waged war in the middle east! Since his election, it's obvious to even the middle-school student, that Obama has little perception, can't resolve even perfunctory problems, is totally unfocused, who dictatorially attempts to change human nature and who is as narcissistic as any human can be! As such he is not self-actualized, but seethed in self-worship!

It would seem that the "progressive" wing of the world has different standards for excellence than does "normal" people. Progressives are of the mentality and character as is Obama, so whereas the world sees Obama as a loser to success, progressives see him as a deity for social justice. Self-actualization, as beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Seldom would normal Joe's even consider a concept as prideful as self-actualization. That's the venue of people who value their left-wing ideology to the extreme. Christians should look a self-actualization and reject it in totality!

Even Lincoln, who the entire nation venerates, was responsible for the deaths of 70,000 people by provoking an unnecessary and illegal war of the American peoples. If progressives had enough analytic machismo to even look at this issue, they would never deify Lincoln. He had a good heart and was outwardly humble, it appears, but his methods were inhumane as can be in trying to make society humane. His ability of "resolving dichotomies" was eliminating one of them by mass destruction and without negotiation for peaceful means! If I sound anti-Lincoln, I don't want to be, but that's where the facts lead!

In short, people with little discernment accept the tripe promulgated by the most liberal in society. Inquiring people should test what others disperse as some type of superlative human wisdom:

1 Thessalonians 5:21 (ESV) "But test everything; hold fast what is good."

Romans 12:2 (ESV) "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

So let us test "self-actualization".Let me take the liberty in calling this "the human potential movement". First off the "self" is the promotion of what humans are capable of being. The most prominent aspect of being human is our propensity of being selfish!

Philippians 2:21 (ESV) "For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ."

Ironically those who are self-actualized are perceived to be focused on the good of others. However, scripture says THEY ALL seek their own interests. Even Abraham Lincoln sought what was best for him and his causes.  Obama doesn't seek what's best for the people, but what HE has DETERMINED is best that fits his moral standard.  Although, Lincoln and Obama quote scripture often, their focus was/is not on Jesus Christ!

Let me point out that Jesus came to earth. He walked among the poor and saw slavery first hand. Jesus could have abolished slavery and eliminated poverty with one swift miracle, but both of those were part of the penalty for original sin. He came not for social justice, but that all men be saved. That's the ultimate "social justice", but Jesus made it voluntary. He never used force nor government dictates to make men love each other! He only asked that those who love him, also love others. That's true self-actualization and only one person was: Jesus Christ.

A person can never be self-actualized. Those aspects which personify that are not of the self!

1 John 3:17 (ESV)  "But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?

Not being "charitable" to those in need is not showing love for them. "Charity" and "love" in the Bible are synonymous!  We show love by caring for others and that demonstrates that we love Jesus. If Jesus had ended poverty, by what method would men have shown love for God?

Therefore, being Christlike is how men are "Christ-actualized".  The focus can never be on the "self" because that same "self" is "the flesh". What the flesh desires is not good:

Matthew 26:41b "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

 That of God (the Spirit) is opposed to that not of God (the flesh).  When men do things which edify the self, God is not edified. God fails to get the credit he's due, and he's a jealous God. Of whom is he jealous? Our God; our "Self".

The second word of "human potential movement" is "potential". We are only capable of God's plan. We are to do God's will.

Matthew 6:9 (ESV) Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.

This prayer, and it's how we're told to pray, is God focused! The only suggestion that we have "potential" is "as we have forgiven".   Look at who has the potential or power here! Look at who we are to magnify! If we are Christians, we look toward heaven, we revere God's name, we desire his coming, we ask him for things, we seek his forgiveness, and we desire that he deliver us from evil!

These points do not point toward our potential, but God's! By grace we are what he wills us to be. We depend on the power of God for our needs, our protection and our hope. The only "potential" we have is to beg God! Yes, we're no more than beggars. That's our true potential!

How can a person who is a beggar and dependent on God for everything be self-actualized, having for human potential? That would be easy! We would be beggars and be self-actualized. In fact, God may see our potential as actualized when these beggars return the favor by being servants!

Mark 10:44  (ESV) "...and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

To be Christ-actualized we're to be as Christ! He was a servant and like him we should serve as well! When we reach our human potential we become slaves to others. That's the ultimate love.

Being a mere slave to others is "meekness". It's by that trait that we actualize Christ in ourselves.

 Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

This is when we turn to Christ for "actualization" and become servants. Our "meekness" is a peculiarity of Christ-actualized people. As such our reward is much! We will be blessed!

Was Einstein self-actualized? Is Obama? Society might recognize them as such because the world is not right now obedient to God! However, they may be of the "self", but that's not what's important. It's being of Christ! Was Einstein? Is Obama? Let's let God do the judging.

On Sexual Temptation

Self explanatory:

Proverbs 6:24-29 (ESV)  "To preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life."

What Is Marriage?

What is marriage? It's the relationship which exists between a man and his wife, according to Meriam_Webster Dictionary. We know what a man is. They are born that way. However, what is a wife? The wife is no more than the woman he marries. Hence, this dictionary definition is weak.

Since marriage is an institution ordained by God we need to look at what God calls marriage!

Genesis 2:18 "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 22  And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Genesis 3:16b "...thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Genesis 4:24  "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived..." 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed."

Within the previous passages lies the definition of what marriage is:

1. Marriage is an institution of God (Gen 2:18)
2. Companionship (Gen 2:18).
3. Helper (Gen 2:18)
4. The wife is for the man (Gen 2:22)
5. The husband shall be loyal to the wife (Gen 2:24)
6. Marriage is a union of two into one (Gen 2:24).
7. The woman shall desire the husband (Gen 3:16)
8. The husband shall be the head (Gen 3:16)
9. They shall bear children together (Gen 3:20)
10. They shall have sex (Gen 4:24)
11. They shall multiply and make a family (Gen 4:24).
12. And they can be intimate without shame.(Gen 4:25)

It may be implied within the above scripture, but the New Testament adds much to what marriage is all about. 

1. The woman's body is not her own, but her husband's and his body is not his own, but his wife's (2 Cor 7)
2. Marriage is to control sexual appetites (2 Cor 7)
3. Marriage is a picture of the church's relationship to Jesus (Ephes 5)
4. Husbands are to love their wives (Ephes 5).
5. God favors marriage (Prov 18).
6. The marriage bed should be exclusive of any others (Heb 13)
7. Marriage is not to be undone by anyone (Matt 19).
8. Marriage is for a lifetime (1 Cor 7).
9. Divorce is an expression of violence (Mal 2).
10. A man is to love his wife as himself (Ephes 5)
11. Infidelity is the only valid reason for divorce (Matt 5) with the exception of unbelief of the spouse (next).
12. An unbelieving spouse is cause for divorce as a last resort (1 Cor 7).
13. The husband and wife are dependent on each other (2 Cor 11).
14. Marriage is to be based on Godly love (1 Cor 13)
15. Copulation with a prostitute is a mock of marriage (1 Cor 6)
16. Monogamy was God's plan for marriage (Mark 10).
17. Husbands and wives are to be of the same faith (1 Kings 11).
18. Christ is the head of the man and the man the wife (2 Cor 11).

Wow! A marriage is so much in the eyes of God! As such it needs to be taken seriously and ended only according to scripture, if at all, because marriage is meant to be forever!

What then is marriage NOT:

1. A ceremony nor ritual.
2. A legal document.
3. Having sex with a person.
4. Just living together even if celibate.
5. Based on lust.
6. Any thing other than a man and a woman.

Marriage is an institution ordained of God between one man and one woman forever based on righteous love, unity, fidelity and cooperation. The document doesn't make the marriage nor does the ceremony. Adam and Eve had a plain marriage without ritual nor certification. It wasn't registered with the government, but registered with God as he commanded husband and wife to procreate to expand the race.

For some reason Jesus said to the woman at the well:

 John 4:18 "For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly."

It would appear that she likely had had five husbands and divorced because she was ashamed to speak of them. The man with who she lived was likely the husband of another wife. Hence, they weren't married, but cohabitating.  It is unknown what made the first five men her husbands, but not the latter one. It's likely that she had a residence with those men and surely had children by one or all of them. At any rate, Jesus defined her previous men as her former husbands, recognizing that they were in fact divorced.

Of course Jesus didn't favor divorce, but scripture shows that he recognized it because he defined it as adultery when one had a sexual relationship with another during marriage or even after the divorce.

When we look at the qualifications for bishop and deacons, on divorce, it's the same: "husband(s) of one wife".  Given the statement "let these also first be proved" and "of good behavior", those not faithful to one wife would not be "proved" and "of good behavior". However, those divorced and forgiven would be "proved" with time!

1 John 3:9 (ESV) "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God."

 To "prove" a candidate for deacon, the church would examine him. His life would not be a life of sin, but one emulating Jesus Christ. Sure, the divorced person MAY HAVE sinned, but it may be a secondary one.

Matthew 5:32 (ESV) "But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."

Since the same would be the case for a woman, then any remarried man, even though innocent of infidelity, is guilty of adultery. As such any remarried candidate for whatever reason would be an adulterer. However, adultery is pardonable! Just as Paul was pardoned for being a murderer, a deacon candidate can be pardoned for adultery.

Note that the requirements for being  a deacon makes no  mention of prohibiting adulterers. That seems to be a pardonable sin, and divorce is a form of adultery:

Matthew 19:9 (ESV) "And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

A "husband of one wife" is present tense. As such, in the past, he may have been married before. If so, he is an adulterer, but the requirements are lenient enough to allow former adulterers to be deacons. They sinned when they committed adultery, just as a man sins when he divorces.

However, the church doesn't ask "Have you ever committed adultery?" I'm not sure they even ask "Are you in adultery? because adultery is a mental sin.

Matthew 5:28 (ESV) "But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

 You may have a bishop or deacon who not only committed adultery, but are still adulterers because "How would you know if you don't ask?"

It is to be expected that for any behavior a candidate for deacon (or bishop) be proved. The proof is in forgiveness:

Revelation 2:22b (ESV)  "...and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works..."

Repentance is proof. God wipes the slate clean and if the church believes it's a sincere behavior modification, then that is the proof. Of course any person can have a secret sin, and those should be exposed through an interview process. The big difference is that divorce is easily identified. It's hard to keep second wives a secret. However, a candidate can conceal adultery with ease!

Because of a laxity in discerning differences between fornication, adultery and divorce; especially when no documentation was required, marriage in those times would be as hard to identify as would adultery. The proof required would be "What is the situation right now?" The candidate would answer "This is my wife and only wife. I was married before, but we separated (no legal document required again). However, I am forgiven and in a committed marriage with my wife."

On the issue of "the husband of one wife" I have to take scripture for what it says!  It doesn't base it on past history, but present conditions. Divorce, although a sin, is recognized by Jesus. If it had meant "Never divorced" it would say that. It doesn't!

Better wording would be "Are you in an exclusive committed  relationship in unity with each other and under the leadership of Jesus Christ?" Perhaps that's what it should have said because that is a summary of what marriage is?