1667 : THE PAPER BOY : Part XXIII
• I’m offended that you’re offended
In this age of offense we all need to make some better choices in how we react to things. The often cited phrase to be of good or strong courage in Joshua comes to mind, as a way to live and a way to overcome throughout our lives.
It follows that we all must choose whom we will serve. Are we serving the creature or the creator? It’s much more common today to be singularly focused on our own wills and agenda’s than on God’s will. Isn’t it a sign of narcissism when we are more worried about offending men than offending God? VANITY.
• The Lord’s Prayer Is The Best Way •
To Understand & Avoid This Pitfall When Put Into Practice.
In this age of unbelief many have embraced the idea that being offended is more important than the truth and more important than offending God. When truth becomes and offense activists (spoiled brats or bullies) demand your silence and your confidence as they censor you. A proper response will be required.
• As it is written: if you answer a fool’s argument, you may become a fool unless your response is wise. A central focus on the way the truth and the life will unify us all on our life’s journey and inoculate us from the temptation of fools. I remain optimistic that if we hold fast to the truth through our faith, as individuals, we will overcome the pessimism of this age of offense.
• Virtue signaling is not virtue and leads to fake everything because it removes individual responsibility and erodes truth in the name of justice. We all used to know that seeking truth was seeking justice and there were no qualifiers. Justice is never social. Mercy is greater than justice because it requires humility, grace and repentance. Social justice is unjust and misleading as are all the modern vernacular’s seeking to redefine things for a political cause.
~ VIRTUE SIGNALING is CHEAP or FAKE GRACE ~
Loving thy neighbor is dependent on the first part of the greatest commandment asking that we love God with all of our Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength as individuals. It’s conditional, an A PRORI, a self-evident truth that we must embrace the first part of the commandment first. We can all unify under this, as this is common sense. It may not be as common anymore so we must restore it. Individual salvation is the underlying premise of freedom and the founding of America.
• “E PLURIBUS UNUM” America’s original motto expresses this quite succinctly. The Declaration of Independence reflects our Christian heritage and the great commandment. Unity is a choice and freedom comes when we make righteous choices.
Playing the “don’t pass” line in craps. Shorting stocks to gain financially at the expense of others. Marching against America in the cult of antiracism destroys American culture. Claiming you are offended to manipulate others is an elitist trope. Demanding to be addressed with your proper pronouns to control and manipulate others is condescending and arrogant. Why are we focusing on ourselves more than our souls? These things breed conflict, division and disunity.
• The question we might want to start asking is simply this: “What does this lead to?” The culture has embraced vice and tries to claim its virtue but thinking people clearly see this inversion and will not accept the false premise. Are we really offended or are we just saying we’re offended? See also the parable of the vineyard in Isaiah 5.
Are we sacrificing the future for the present or the present for the future? Is all this focus on ourselves and offense leading to success or failure? Where your treasure is laid up there your heart will be also. Lay your treasures up in heaven as the good book says and stay focused on the right things.
• We need to help each other refocus on whether or not we are offending God in our actions. In this day and age the best reaction many times is in doing the opposite of popular culture or not reacting at all. That requires courage. Don’t be offended. Don’t react to lies or bullying just move on.
~ The Paper Boys Who Thrived ~
Were the ones that did not react to unfair or unfounded criticism or bullying
The Paper Boys who thrived were the ones that did not react to unfair or unfounded criticism or bullying. Because to react to a lie is to accept it as a truth. To react was to waste time and effort. Not reacting and just getting the job done served the paper boys well. This is one of the most important lessons I learned from strong leaders of all ages. Focus on doing the right thing and don’t be distracted by the nonsense. I have learned a great deal from paper boys and this may be one of the most important lessons from years past now looking back fondly.
Laisseze-faire was the de-facto goal of kids in my generation being offended was for elitists and white gloved pomposity. When I was growing up kids were encouraged to go out into the world and explore. Kids were trusted to stay out of trouble because there were consequences if you didn’t. Parents worked together to protect kids and work with other parents when kids misbehaved.
• Behavior in a civil society was taught & learned through responsibility at an early age. Contrast that with today to glean perspective. Because we have walked away from the shared values of Christianity we can easily see how uncivilized we have become. When we are responsible we are less resentful. Paper boys learned responsibility at an early age.
• Kids actually read books back then there were no cell phones or internet and only limited television. Parents knew to put limits on things and the kids learned that the limits were important and these boundaries kept us grounded in reality. We were not coddled, we were encouraged to grow up and be self-reliant. Tantrums were not rewarded and safe spaces were for babies that could not look out for themselves. The social contract encouraged kids to overcome and grow up despite the challenges.
• The social contract today has destroyed the innocence of children by positing that a child can make grown up decisions without growing up, complete nonsense. Protecting the innocence of children must be made the highest priority again. If we don’t protect our children we don’t have a future. The paper boys had strong parents and while there was risk in early responsibility it enabled growth and maturity while it built trust and competence.
~ We Were Optimistic & Learned From Our Failures ~
We were optimistic and learned from our failures. We did not succumb to the weak and wilted pessimism that is immaturity. Wearing your emotions on your sleeve was discouraged and for good reason. Emotionalism leads to socialism and lowers your emotional intelligence or quotient (EQ). EQ we are finding out is more important than intelligence quotient (IQ).
• The grown-ups advised the kids not to wear their emotions on their sleeves because this was an outward sign of immaturity. We didn’t spend time being or thinking about being offended. Adults in my generation knew that putting away childish things was the goal not re-enforcing them like we see today in the “woke” culture.
Reading for pleasure was a thing but access was limited to books, we had no internet. Not unlike today reading was mostly about fantasy, adventure and escape but much more limited. Using your imagination was encouraged and it was cathartic. It helped develop the theater of the mind required for deep thinking. People in the past were smarter in many ways because they had a higher EQ and they had to be more resourceful. Kids knew better how to distinguish between fantasy and reality.
Performing An Internet Search Does Not Make You Smart
The internet is just the modern day library at your fingertips. A library accessed by search engines, which are completely biased and controlled, profiting from deceiving you, as they treat you like the product. It’s always about how you use the information not about how much information you have. A discerning mind instinctively knows it’s about quality not quantity. The paper boys were always skeptical as we grew up in a trust but verify generation.
Enter technology and the access to information exploded and is now accelerating. You can get lost in the internet and find yourself binging on information. In past generations binge watching was a vice as was binge anything. How is it that we even have time to binge on anything? In fact the addiction to carbs and phones shows how enslaved we have become to our own temptations when we have no boundaries. Since when is binging on anything considered good? What does this lead to?
• As paper boys we did not have time to be offended. Being offended might just be an indicator of an emotional health problem. We had more humility and a sense of sacrifice as time was precious and idle hands were fewer then.
Have you ever found yourself competing for attention when someone shows you something you automatically show them something in return and stop listening? Stop and catch yourself when someone shows you something and be present in the conversation. When you let people know you are listening and engage in real relationships it builds trust and optimism.
~ BEING OFFENDED TODAY ~
May Just Be A Cry For Help ~ So Work To Discover & Resolve Real Issues
Being offended today may just be a cry for help so work to discover and resolve real issues. Sometimes it means ignoring things that are said and allow the stupid wallow in their own stupidity. Being offended leads to isolation and despair because it is self-centered. We need to stop being so self-centered and offended about trivial and made up things or we risk becoming narcissists. Is the proclaimed offense real or just a virtue signal? Do we really care or are we just saying we care? You be the judge and call out virtue signaling for what it is, vice.
Truth Is Not An Offense ~ Nor Is It Relative.
