Sturtz Stuff

           Many of us have heard the saying that “Money is the root of all evil.” Some say that this saying comes from the Bible. 1 Timothy 6:10 reads “ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs ." So it is in the Bible . . . kind of. The saying that we are used to hearing is that “money is the root of all evil.” That is not exactly what the Bible says. It does not say that money is the root of all evil. If it did say that then I suppose we could all simply get rid of our money and thus rid ourselves of evil. Yet, what the Bible says is that love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. As we have explored with the other deadly sins of lust and gluttony the questions we are facing are those of our desires and passions. Remember that the 7 deadly sins are vices or habits in our hearts that drive us. It is our desires that ...

Luke 12:22-34 22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[b]? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows...

In Matthew 5:28 Jesus says “ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” I think that Jesus has just called us all adulterers. Jesus was a very provocative teacher. He challenged the statuesque. Issues of sexuality are typically not enjoyable topics espcially within the Church. Sexually has the potential for trust, life, commitment, sharing, caring and at the same time it has the potential for violence, shame, aggression, hatred and death. Some of the cruelest acts that human beings are capable of doing to other human beings are often sexual in nature. American society struggles with issues of sexuality often because we have come to believe that there is a separation between our physical bodies and our spiritual selves. We are all more Platonist then we realize. I would suggest that sexuality is deeply spiritual just like everything is spiritual. When we attempt to separate body and spirit then we often end livin...

The Seven Deadly Sins   If you don’t know what the seven deadly sins are then here is the list . . . Lust Gluttony Greed Sloth Envy Wrath Pride Turn on the TV.   Watch just about any movie. Pay attention to your own life and you will see Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Wrath and Pride. It can sometimes be difficult to talk about sin in general and it can get a little more complex within a Church setting. Within the Church some have abused others by using the word sin to heap on shame, fear and guilt. The word has even been used to threaten and manipulate people within the Church. Adding to these complexities there is often a silent assumption that when the word sin is used, in Church or elsewhere, everybody has the same understanding as to what that word means. Thus the word sin has been abused by some and is probably confusing for others. So does that mean that we should just throw the word out?   No Yet we need to recognize that talking ...

From WH Vanstone’s Love’s Endeavour, Love’s Expense , a passage that I’m sure any parent will be able to identify with: Love proceeds by no assured programme. In the case of children a parent is peculiarly aware that each step of love is a step of risk; and that each step taken generates the need for another and equally precarious step. In each word of encouragement lies the danger of creating over-confidence; in each restraint the danger of destroying confidence.  A risk is taken when the child is allowed to ride his bicycle on the road: when he returns in pride and confidence, the gain has justified the risk. But now there is a new danger of over-confidence, and the child must be warned – yet not so severely that his new-found confidence is destroyed.  In each expression of love to a child lies the danger that it will be exploited and that the child will be “spoiled” by taking as a right that which should be received as a gift: in each withholding of love’s expression...

            In Acts 12 King Herod starts making trouble for the Christians. Herod is a puppet King in the area of Judea for the Romans. The Romans selected Herod to do their bidding. This is not the same Herod when Jesus was born. That was the first Herod this his grandson. Yet, he is just a problematic for the followers of Jesus. Herod is seeking to get power and maintain power by making sure that the Jews like him. Herod notices that there was this one small group that was going around claiming that Jesus was the King of the Jews. Herod picked up on the fact this small group created a lot of conflict among the Jews. Perhaps Herod figured that if he picked off one of the minor leaders of the small group then maybe that might go over well with the larger Jewish population and their leaders. Herod could be calculating that that this action might gain him the trust and loyalty of the Jewish leaders.      ...

Tony got word that he had done a good thing. Tony's supervisor had noticed that he got to work on time and often stayed late. Tony’s hard work was rewarded and recognized by his supervisor in front of his fellow co-workers. It was pointed out that that ruff and gruff Tony had not had an accident on his crew in over a year. Tony has done a good thing. When the supervisor told these things to Tony in front of his crew he started to cry. He said “Nobody has ever said good things about me.”   Tony was so overcome that he invited the supervisor to his home. When the supervisor arrived Tony introduced him to his wife. She said “It has been like Christmas around here because of what you said.” About 12 years later Tony and his former supervisor met again. Tony was now a supervisor himself and working for a railroad company. They sat down over lunch to talk about old times. Tony said that “The day you told me I did a good job it changed my life. It made a difference in my li...