A Study on Love - Edition #3

Wednesday, January 4th, 2006

A Study on Love – Edition #3

The three things:

• Is there a fact to believe here?


• Is there a promise to trust?


• Is there a command to obey?

Wow, today I don’t want to have a quiet time. I just want to sleep. I have realized I am more depressed than I previous thought. I seem to be getting little accomplished. And what I do accomplish, it seems to be taking magnificent effort (even to make even a soda).

Love (noun):

• A temporary insanity curable by marriage or by removal of the patient from the influences under which he incurred the disorder. This disease, like caries and many other ailments, is prevalent only among civilized races living under artificial conditions; barbarous nations breathing pure air and eating simple food enjoy immunity from its ravages. It is sometimes fatal, but more frequently to the physician than to the patient. (Devil’s Dictionary)

Exodus 20:1-17
1 And God spoke all these words:

2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

3 "You shall have no other gods before me.

4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

13 "You shall not murder.

14 "You shall not commit adultery.

15 "You shall not steal.

16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

Hatred (noun):

• A sentiment appropriate to the occasion of another's superiority. (Devil’s D)


• The emotion of hate; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action. (Dictionary.com)

I wanted to focus on the verses 4 thru 6. It says that God will punish the children of those who hate him. I don’t really think that people do things to God in the passion of hatred. Maybe some do, I don’t know. Maybe I am a dreamer and I think better of people. I’m not really sure. But God shows love to a thousand generations to those who love him. Here’s the kicker… And to those who KEEP his commandments. In a more mathematical formula, I can see it like this:

• Love to a thousand generations = Love of God + Keeping of commandments


• Punishment to third and fourth generation = Hatred of God

So according to the devil’s dictionary, since God is superior to me, then hatred would be appropriate. That’s what the devil would want me to do. If I am working and I have a boss, the hatred would be appropriate. And the devil thinks that love is foolish, by their definition. What is my definition? Surely there is enough information out on the internet that I can find someone out there posting ideas that I like… but does it make it right? All I know is that for God to love my family a thousand deep, I simply need to love him and keep his commands.

Now, today is National Trivia Day, so I guess I should spout off some trivia… In 1965, the minimum annual salary for a baseball player was $6,000, just a thousand dollars more than it had been in 1947. In case you are wondering, the league minimum in 2005 was $316,000. About 17 minutes of baseball pitching is required to burn 100 calories. A baseball hit by a bat can travel as fast as 120 miles per hour. Baseball is the only major sport that appears backwards in a mirror. I think that will do it for the trivia. Johnny Out.