Volume 1 Issue 2

Give a hand to your neighbor fighting the good fight with something more valuable than money, your time and love.

No. No. No. No. How does that sound? Negative, obviously, and unrealistic. Life is a positive experience despite its darkness at times, with constant changes around us. We can put our hands up to the ocean, but we won’t stop its waves.

When I think of myself as a “conservative,” as I sometimes do, I find myself saying “no” to many things. I reflexively say “no” to whatever the mainstream media touts. I say “no” to the garbage being taught to my child at school. I say “no” to the government’s onerous plans. I could quickly list a hundred reasons to say “no” right now, and most of you reading this would be cheering and agreeing with me.

But after I say “no,” what do I offer as an alternative? What am I doing to solve problems, whether it is mine or my neighbors? I have come to believe this is a handicap most of us share: we don’t have a plan.

There are think-tanks, conventions, corporate weekends, appointed boards and all sorts of functions where people gather to make plans that effect you and me. Increasingly we find that we are the losers in their plans. At best we appear in their plans as a human resource, at worst a pesky nuisance to be dispatched. But we are neither. We are children of God and caretakers of His Earth.

This fact makes “no” problematic. God has imbued us with creativity and capability, but all too often we lazily sit around and just say “no” to the Adversary’s plans. What happens? It just comes up with another plan, and another, and another each worse than the last until we get tired and give up.

The Adversary pulls the understandably dissatisfied into its plans. It gives visions of future riches to “stakeholders” if they only follow its plans. Once emboldened, the Adversary threatens and even kills to achieve its plans. But we only say “no” and think that is sufficient as we continue to incrementally lose more of what is precious.

Perhaps it is time for us to make a plan, or two, or even three. Let’s take a break from reacting to the Adversary’s plans and prods to action, sit down and write down our own plans. We always react to the Adversary’s plans, and it gets to catalog our behavior to perfect its plans upon plans upon plans. Nothing would mess up its plans more, than if we independently take the time to make and follow our own plans, and our neighbors’ plans, and our friends plans. It’s time to stop reacting and start acting on our own plans. The Adversary can have its think-tanks, conferences, and seminars, but even its super-computers would strain at calculating all our independent plans.

Initially, our plans might not be so fabulous, but as time goes on and we inch our way out of the mental constrictions of the Adversary’s world of illusion, our creativity and our plans will get better and more fruitful so long as we strive for the greater good.

Albert Einstein is often credited for saying, “in the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.” Well, it’s our opportunity too. Take the initiative to solve the problems of the understandably dissatisfied so the Adversary cannot twist their suffering and good intentions into bad. Give a hand to your neighbor fighting the good fight with something more valuable than money, your time and love. The first step to stopping the insane machinations of the Adversary filling us with fear may just be a few steps away: your kitchen table where you, your friends and family can sit down with some paper and write up your plans.