Wisdom

Wisdom

Proverbs 19:20- “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.”

Proverbs 12:15- “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.”

Proverbs 18:15 – “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”

Proverbs 17:27-28 – “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.”

There are two main types of wisdom that people think exist: earthly wisdom and spiritual/heavenly wisdom.

Earthly wisdom comes from man, perhaps most notably from ancient philosophers and writers who have passed on what they have learned in life. Stoicism, teachings of Confucius, and existentialism are examples of earthly wisdom. Earthly wisdom does not always come from a spiritual thinker, and earthly wisdom is not always wrong, contrary to what people in the church think. Spiritual wisdom is what comes from spiritual teaching. For Christians, this is the Bible and the writers of the Word.

Both spiritual and earthly wisdom are valuable, contrary to what you hear in the Church.

In fact, if you look deeply into earthly teachings, you will see connections to the spiritual teachings you have heard your whole life. Any real truth we extract from ancient writings, if it is really truth, must be somehow connected to the Word of God if we believe that the Bible is truth. All wisdom is connected.

“If you know the way broadly, you will see it in all things” ~ Miyamoto Musashi

Wisdom can be instruction on how to live, how to conduct yourself while you are among men.

Wisdom is also used to describe another person. They are wise if they behave and think in a certain manner. Wise men know how to use patience, they have cultivated it over a lifetime. These men know to look deeply at a situation, to analyze it before they search for a solution. Wise men understand that problems are temporary situations that lead to the growth of the individual.

Have you noticed that most of the wise men you know are generally quiet men?

They use few words because they need few words. Wise men let their actions speak for them, and they understand that the man who talks much knows little and thinks little.

The stereotype of a wise man is an ancient fellow with a long beard who speaks in vague, ominous  phrases. This image did not appear magically, all stereotypes originate from truth. The wise man is eventually thought to be crazy, until his strange, vague/prophetic sayings turn out to have some truth to them; such is the benefit of speaking vaguely about the future. To be wise, be silent. You must be wise, for there are very few wise men in the Church today.

Mantra

Think much, speak little.

Application

The wise man considers all variables before he makes a decision. If it happens that he makes a decision and something happens that he did not expect, he will remember that situation the next time he needs to contemplate an action.

The man who is wise conducts himself in a way that causes the least amount of unnecessary, unprofitable pain to others. A key trait of a man of wisdom is the ability to use foresight in actions. This is the manifestation of all wisdom. The wise man considers well all of his steps and thinks several moves ahead. A wise man is acutely aware of his surroundings in social situations. He places himself in the shoes of others and sees life through their eyes. By doing this he shapes his actions to the personality of the person he is interacting with.

The wise man fears the Lord and therefore behaves righteously. A wise man thinks before he acts in almost all situations. There are very few instances in which action should be taken before it is thoroughly contemplated.

The wise man conducts himself with character and integrity in all that he does.

He is completely honest and forthright with the truth, but he delivers it in such a way that it does not damage the recipient. If the recipient of the truth needs to be struck on the head with truth, then the wise man knows it must be done. Certain personalities need to be beaten over the head with the truth in order to accept it. Others need to have the truth gently placed upon them, and they will absorb it all the same.

The wise man is masculine to his very core, and he knows never to suppress his masculinity, for in its suppression the darkness of man will rise internally. A wise man considers all variables in life at all times, and remains ever vigil to the assault of evil on his mind and thoughts.

The wise man conducts himself like a man, so you must also conduct yourselves like men.

Rejecting the Weakness of Man

If they are too afraid to teach their sons, then they should have their testicles severed. Because they have no business having sons and passing on their weak genetic information to the new generation.

Weakness

Weakness is rampant in the modern world. Even worse, there is an epidemic of weak men in the Church. Men who embrace their “femininity” to excess and who suppress their masculinity to a point of nonexistence. This is applauded by the modern world, but it must be avoided if we want a stable, functional new generation of men.

These feeble men want to unleash all their emotions and avoid any of the difficult work necessary in order to strengthen their character. They want to avoid the emotional labor of changing their mind and correcting their vices. These men want God to pat them on the back and tell them how they are “good boys”.

Weak men are one of the reasons why the new generations of men are leaving the Church. There are no masculine role models in the church. There are no men who are willing and able to mentor the young. And the young, having no role models, establish their own ways which naturally lend themselves to evil.

In an attempt to combat this, A new age of men rises that rejects the weaknesses of the fathers.

Men who actually want to be masculine must learn to be masculine through YouTube. They find role models online because very few exist in the Church. Young men learn to work hard and believe in themselves from motivational speeches online. Men learn to find their “passion” and chase it effectively. Men learn all the technical skills they never learned from their fathers. They learn to think, build and create through these men of the world. The young men learn to repair their cars, build furniture, make a resume`, pay bills and taxes, date, dress, tie a tie, shave, comb their hair, interview for jobs effectively, do their math homework and cook foods.

All these things they should have learned from their fathers, but did not because their fathers were feminine beta males. Their fathers were riddled with weakness.

New men have no choice but to learn from men in the world because men in the Church teach them nothing. Men in the Church think that bringing their kids to Church for a couple hours is sufficient to infuse a Christian spirit within them. This alleged spirit will fade within the first weeks of beginning a college career. Passive education in the Church will never outweigh the free sex available at college.

Men must be taught actively, not passively, and most men are learning through worldly men online.

There are also negative effects to allowing young men to learn from other men of the world through online outlets.

New “men” learn how to be “lovers” through pornography, because no one in the Church has the nuts to instruct the youth about sex. Men learn that love equals sex from men of the world. Young men learn that career is the most important part of the life of man, rather than family and relationship. Men learn to be “rational” and may end up rejecting the faith for a more “scientific” view.

Boys in the church need to do more than merely warm the pews they inhabit for 3-4 hours per week. Men have a heavy obligation to teach the young generations and especially their own sons.

If they are too afraid to teach their sons, then they should have their testicles severed. Because they have no business having sons and passing on their weak genetic information to the new generation.

We must reject this weakness of man. As men have a duty to instruct the new generation, and that does not apply to merely our own sons. We must take the time to instruct and be role models for the sons of other men in the Church. Because those kids have weak fathers who are teaching them nothing.

We can observe the barbaric state of most kids in the church and come to the conclusion that a father is not present in the home. (And I don’t mean the good type of barbarian) Just because a male is in the house does not mean that there is a father in the home.

We cannot simply observe and complain about the state of man like bitter old people who watch the news every night. We have a responsibility to take action and conduct ourselves like men. Reject the weakness of man and instruct the new generation of men. There is still time to correct the mistakes of the idler generations.

Focus

No time to read? Listen to “Focus” on Youtube:

Proverbs 4:25 –  “Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.”

Colossians 3:2 – “Set your focus on things above, not on things of the earth.”

Focus

You are already second guessing that new year’s resolution you made, or are going to make, even if it isn’t the new year. Why? Because you assumed that after years of eating like a pig, or having a rubbish marriage, being lazy, or avoiding any work outside your soul-crushing 9-5 that suddenly the sky would open up and God Himself would deliver unto thee the willpower to change unsatisfactory habits you have cultivated for years. That is a recipe for failure.

Whether you start this book on January 1st or the middle of the year, either way this is day one, and it’s time to resolve yourself to change. To make a resolution is to decide to be resolute, meaning set in purpose, firm in determination. Having purpose and firmness and being grounded in why you want to change.

You must lay before yourself the ideal of whom you wish to be and contemplate it fully, every day. This focused vision creates the drive to endure the pain of change and fix your problems. Fix your weaknesses. Fix the inconsistencies that make you less of the man that you know you can be.

Mantra

I am focused. I will focus. I am the embodiment of focus. 

Application

 Choose one task that you will solely and completely focus on for two minutes. Pure focus, no distractions. Repeat this daily until you can manage the two minutes with relative ease, then increase it to three minutes. Adding focus to your skillset will increase your workplace market value by ten dollars per hour instantly, and it will give the the firm and most fundamental skill you will need to become a better man.

The Problem of Profanity

This is the Thesis of the problem of cursing: The problem with cursing is NOT THE WORDS THEMSELVES, it is the hatred behind the words. Curse words are the verbal manifestation of hatred towards our fellow humans.

Language Warning

Some modern curse words/profanity will be written. This is in order to examine them in context.

Curse

Words are words. Why are certain arrangements of syllables and sound frequencies sinful while others are fine?

Break it down to the most simple elements. Are some elements of sound sinful and if so, who gets to decide which ones are evil?

This is the Thesis of the problem of cursing: The problem with cursing is NOT THE WORDS THEMSELVES, it is the hatred behind the words.

Curse words are the verbal manifestation of hatred towards our fellow humans. If love is concern for the well-being of someone else, then hate is indifference or the desire for evil to befall another person.

Curse words are simply that, words that manifests our desire for a curse to befall someone else. Seems obvious.

“F*** That guy” – Manifestation of negative emotion targeted at another human being. That’s all these words are, and they are good for nothing.

That is cursing with regards to mankind, but what about swearing out of frustration?

Most Christian arguments on curse words are weak. Which is why I’m not fully convinced of the sinful nature of words alone or what makes them sinful based on those arguments.

“Don’t say bad words sonny, they are bad” is the way most arguments go. That is a stupid argument. Christians, especially right-leaning conservatives, tend to focus on the words alone, rather than what is behind the words. They are always worried about the symptoms of sin, rarely ever do they track sin to the root.

Yes, taking heroine is bad, but what takes a person so deep into the abyss that they need heroine to begin with? Those are the questions conservatives miss out on. Yes, we are told to not use coarse jesting or language, but who decides what is sinful?

Yes we are not supposed to let any curse come out of our mouth. But how do we know what a curse is? Unfortunately, I don’t see where the Bible explicitly defines that for us. Besides some Old Testament examples where prophets were literally asked to curse people, such as in the case of Balaam.

Yes, we are not supposed to speak idle words, but what in the world is an idle word?

All these questions are difficult to answer, and I am not convinced they can be answered. At least without some level of personal opinion being injected into them. So I will not try to answer them for you.

You can’t say some curses are sinful, and then use some other unknown curse or euphemism that society has not decided is bad and say, “I have not sinned!”. If you are speaking hateful words to a brother then you are manifesting the same hatred towards him that you would if you were using a socially deemed curse word.

You do not have to use curse words to express hatred towards someone else. Speaking in an ungodly way towards a brother, that is the problem. You are manifesting hatred towards the mankind that God wants to be saved, that is the problem. When you use a word or euphemism or alternate curse word, it’s all the same as cursing if the intent behind the word is hatred.

Societal implication

The Christian argument against cursing that claims we align ourselves with the world when we use profanity. When we use profanity, we are in the world and of the world. Instead of in the world but NOT of the world. There is no distinction between us and the world when we curse. This is a problem. We are meant to be odd. Avoiding profanity is exceedingly odd in a modern day society.

Not to mention that profanity is simply socially unsavory. No one wants to be around the guy that swears like a sailor all day. It’s annoying. Don’t give me that nonsense of “Oh I’m a passionate person, I have to curse”. So what? I’m passionate. That doesn’t mean I go around having sex with with every woman I can find to express that “passion”.

When Peter was denying Christ, one of the things he did to show he could not possibly have been a disciple was to curse.

What better way to separate oneself from righteousness in the eyes of others than to use profanity. Cursing is verbal worldliness.

If some words are bad when used in frustration, then all are bad if used in surprise or frustration. It does not matter whether or not society deems them profane. Exclaiming “Rats” upon hearing bad news is just as sinful as exclaiming “Shit”. Maybe these are what constitute “idle words”. Words that are a waste of time. Ones that don’t serve any purpose. Words that are empty and fill nothing are as good as curse words and we will be held accountable for them.

Context Matters

How are words used? What are their context? This seems to be the defining characteristic between a curse word and just a regular word. A preacher states from the pulpit that, “Sin will damn you to hell”. To say that is fine, but to say to an actual person “damn you to hell” is wrong. The logic comes across as shaky. But it seems that the difference here is targeting curse words at another individual rather than making a statement.

*Most popular words society uses:

Fuck – Adj. To have sexual intercourse with

Shit – excrement

Ass – buttocks

Hell – home of the devil and his angels

Damn – to suggest that someone/something be sent to hell

Cunt/twat/Pussy – Vagina

Dick – Penis

Definitely not an exhaustive list, but what do these have in common?

Society has deemed them bad.

People use them to curse each other with.

Why are these words bad? Because society or the Church says so? It’s circular logic. You could argue that some of those are bad based on definition alone, but the others are only bad because of societal implications. I really think that it doesn’t matter what words you use. If you are using them with the intention to curse another man or manifest hate towards him, then you are cursing. Otherwise we can just change letters in these words and they are “okay”, as we have done with euphemisms.

This is the restated point: the problem with curse words is not the words themselves, but the hatred behind the words.

Hateful words targeted towards fellow humans are curse words. The secondary reason is that curse words cause us to be associated with the world, which we are not to be apart of.

At the end of the day, it’s safer to just avoid using these words all together. They are a waste of time, and using them reflects our lack of discipline over our mouth.

“The tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil, filled with deadly poison” – James 3:8

Crush Anxiety

Some Christians like to tell you “It’s all in your head, you can think yourself out of it”. People who say that are so stupid that you would have to go out several decimal places just to numerically represent their microscopic IQ.

Anxiety

Anxiety. This is one of those feelings that some Christians think it’s wrong to have. “If my faith is strong enough, I won’t feel anxiety”. “If I’m a good Christian, I won’t be anxious”. “Faithful people aren’t anxious”.

Dead wrong.
Biochemically wrong.
Insipid mentality.

1 – Anxiety can be chemical.

There are different types of anxiety, and some of them can come through a chemical imbalance in the brain. Depression can also be the result of a similar imbalance.

I think chemical imbalances are the minority of anxiety and depression cases, but that does not mean they do not exist. Consider that your problem may be chemical, save up money and get tested by a doctor. Take the guesswork out of life and have a doctor check you out.

2 – Anxiety can be mental.

If it’s not a chemical thing, it could very easily be a mental thing. We give ourselves feedback loops by taking actions that lead to other actions. Those actions eventually lead back to the original behavior. This is represented best in the cycle of how habits are made.

Cue-> Craving -> Behavior->reward-> cue

We do this with our minds as well. One anxious thought leads to other thoughts which increase anxiety. Then we notice our increased anxiety which in turn increases our anxiety. This goes on forever.

3 – Anxiety is irrational, but that doesn’t make it any less real.

Some Christians like to tell you, “It’s all in your head, you can think yourself out of it”. People who say that are so stupid that you would have to move several decimal places just to numerically represent their microscopic IQ.

Whether or not it’s “just in your head” does not make anxiety any less real.

You can look at anxiety in a test tube, it’s called epinephrine and cortisol, among other things.

Can you think yourself out of it? Maybe. I think it varies case to case. I don’t think we should elevate ourselves to god-status by thinking we can override biochemistry. Not many people have the indomitable will necessary to break the anxiety cycle by themselves. Even fewer can override their own biochemistry.

Anxiety is real, and it’s more real depending on your personality. People pleasers have greater problems with anxiety because they are always worried about others. This makes it more difficult for them to break out of anxiety by themselves.

4 – Anxiety can cripple a faith.

Mom-bloggers may tell you otherwise, but there is nothing emotional about faith itself. However, faith can be affected by various emotions. Anxiety is one of those, and it is not a constructive emotion. Anxiety can chew up your faith and spit it out. Anxiety gives birth to the dark existential questions about life and about the nature of God Himself.

Anxiety stays awake through the night wondering why God would go through with creation knowing most of it would burn.

Anxiety wonders whether or not God’s grace is real.

“Does it cover my sin?
Is it enough for even me?
Did God mean it when He said that He was not willing that any should perish? He is obviously okay with some perishing, otherwise we wouldn’t have made us to begin with. Who is the God I worship?”

Anxiety causes these questions to never be answered.

How to deal with anxiety.

I’m not gonna sit here and tell you to “pray about it” and then all your problems will go away magically. That’s not how prayer works. God is not a vending machine for inserting your prayers into so blessings will pop out. That’s an irreverent and selfish mindset. God already answered a lot of prayers by giving you a working brain so you can think and figure out your own problems. So here are some practical things you can implement instantly for anxiety.

1 – Medicine.

I know this opposes most Christian agendas, especially traditionalist/conservative ones. But the first thing you should do is see a doctor and find out if you have a biochemical problem. No amount of prayer, faith or Bible study is going to change your brain’s chemistry. While only a small percentage of people suffering from anxiety can actually chalk it up to a chemical problem, that doesn’t mean you aren’t one of them. Get it checked out by a doctor before you do anything.

2 – Cold Showers:

Cold showers, or at least bursts of cold water, can do wonders for your anxiety. Some research suggests that it releases a natural anti-anxiety and anti-depression hormones. Whether that is true or not is up to you when you test it out. When you get hit with the cold water, you are forced to breathe faster. This hyper-oxygenates the blood and makes you feel alive. You may feel slightly light-headed, but not in the nauseous sense. The good feeling after that shower lasts a good while.

3 – Hard weight training or sprinting.

Jogging, aerobics and circuit training are not what you need. You need something intense. Training intensely releases beta-endorphins, which are the body’s natural painkillers.

Beta-Es are the most powerful of all endorphins, and we can access them through self-imposed pain. Don’t waste your time jogging or doing something light. It will take you forever to get to the point where you have released enough endorphins to make a difference. You have to pass a pain threshold before the body decides to shut down the pain.

Intense training also increases blood flow to the brain, you can literally feel this one when you are done. The problems that were in your head an hour ago? Now you are thinking up solutions to them. You’ve earned the God-designed natural high from working at something. Train every day. Perform some kind of physical activity every day.

4 – Meditation

Note: this may not instantly make you feel better, especially if you try to do it by yourself. Go to YouTube and find a video on “Guided Meditation”. That way someone will walk you through the thoughts you need to have. The video will also give you an idea of what meditation is about. You don’t have to start with much time, two minutes is good. Learn to control your breath, for in breath is the power of life.

5 – Reduce your caffeine.

It’s like asking you to sell a child, but cutting down slightly on soda, coffee or tea will help you. Even if we aren’t anxious, caffeine gives anxiety “symptoms” like increased heart rate, increased blood pressure. And it thins our blood and dehydrates us. If you can’t reduce your caffeine, take it in along with a meal of slow digesting foods like good fats and fiber, no simple sugars. Caffeine will then be released more slowly in the bloodstream, instead of a bursting onto the scene and giving us a heart attack.

6 – Amp your prayers.

Here it is, the typical emotionalistic point of “Oh just pray about it”. That’s not how prayer is treated in the Bible. We approach God with reverence always, not how people approach Him nowadays as a “buddy” or “Daddy”. No, absolutely not. That is highly disrespectful. “For our God is a consuming Fire” – Hebrews 12:29.

Approach God in humility, letting your requests be made known to Him so the peace that passes understanding will guard your mind. That verse is misunderstood. Because it’s not like you are gonna pray and then “POOF”, your anxiety is gone. Prayer doesn’t magically change the molecular structure of cortisol. But consistent prayer every day, that adds up to make the difference over time.

One workout doesn’t automatically give you abs.
Playing the guitar one time doesn’t make you a virtuoso.
Add consistent prayer to your arsenal, and it will start to shift your thoughts over time.

7 – Stop beating yourself up about it.

I’m strongly anti-constant guilt. I think guilt is a good catalyst to make us want to change, but it shouldn’t be the prime motivator, nor the sustainer of change. Because then we wouldn’t really care about doing right, we would only care about relieving our guilt. So don’t beat yourself up about feeling anxious.

Does the Bible tell us not to be anxious? Yes it does. But it also tells us to avoid a lot of things. They aren’t going to go away instantly on the first day we start trying to change. They can only go away through continual work over long periods of time. Understand you are trying to because less anxious over the long term, and it’s not going to change overnight. That attitude will put you in a Better position to be effective in your quest for change.

Page 73 of 76
1 … 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76