Hello and Welcome, Bumby here.
In this edition of The Preppy Chronicles I will explore a bit about Beliefs and Perceptions, namely my own.
Young Lady Of Niger….By Oliver Wendell Holmes
There was a young lady of Niger
who smiled as she rode a Tiger;
They came back from the ride
with the lady inside
and the smile on the face of the Tiger.
If you recall a few posts back, I raised the notion of… Is it the message or the medium. I concluded that for me it was both.
We live in an era of Human existence with technologies that have never existed in any other age, yet we still deal with age-old issues.
Salvation or Damnation, Morality or Immorality, Doing what is right in the sight of God or living our lives anyway in which we chose, living only to please ourselves.
In days of old, when a man came face to face with these issues, he could stand in the town square and declare his beliefs and his own perceptions, in this aspect he was just like the young lady of Niger. However, if not careful, he could suffer the same fate as our young lady.
The truth be told, no one particularly cared about him or his beliefs and rarely were any moved to action. The reason is simple, he could make his heart-felt declarations in one town, and then move to another and make a whole different set of heart-felt declarations. What mattered then and what matters now is: Does he live by what he says?
With the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, and phones with cameras, when a man or woman makes a stand and states that they, believe in something, it is literally transmitted around the globe in seconds, for all to read, listen to and to see. There is no shrinking back.. no shying away from… therefore, the risk is much greater. So, when I stand up and say I believe… I had better know who I believe in, and what I believe.
I stated in my very first post…Preppy To The Bone. This Blog is a celebration of living life as a Southern Male Preppy-WASP, in a society that is ever increasingly blurring the lines.
What Lines? For me the first line is a spiritual one.
Ultimately, What I truly believe about God and my relationship with Him, about my purpose or the reason for my very existence, is the cornerstone of how I view the world and my place in it. It establishes what is right and what is wrong, what is moral and what is immoral, how I live my life. THESE ARE UNCHANGING AND UNFORGIVING TRUTHS. Thus, starts the journey of Personal Responsibility; for in the end, what I believe is going to show itself in my everyday thoughts, words and actions, my life choices, and in my lifestyle.
In the next few moments you will decide for yourself …Am I a troglodyte living in ignorance or might I actually be on to something?
I Believe that the Bible is the infallible word of God. I believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten son of God, born of a virgin. I believe that I am a spiritual being on a human journey, that Jesus came to earth to die on a cross and shed His blood as a sacrifice to redeem me and set me free from the bondage of sin, and restore the lines of communication and right relationship with my creator. I Believe that Jesus is the only way… the gateway for me to enter into a restored relationship with God. I do believe that there is a literal Heaven and a literal Hell. I do believe that there is a fallen angel, we call Satan, and HE IS NOT GOD OR.. A god. That he is not all-knowing , all-seeing and everywhere at once, and that God will deal with him and his followers at a later time, he is not my concern, but Gods.
Wow, I do have to tell you that before I wrote that down, I was I bit nervous, but now that it is out there for all the world to read I feel empowered and at peace.
I hope now, that you can clearly see that my view is very narrow and is by design Elitist and intolerant. That the notion that we can live our lives anyway that we want as long as you are a good person, the notion that everything will turnout OK in the end, and that all religions basically believe in the same things, all the different paths lead into one….These Notions Are Wrong.
Once that I have accepted the fact, that Jesus is the only pathway to me having a restored relationship with God, then a new era in my life begins…one of Personal Responsibility. To live as God says to live. A life of Love and Holiness . I know that the word and concept of Holiness is old-fashioned. To do what is right and pleasing in the sight of God. To take a stand for what is right and reject what is wrong, not to sit on the fence but to be clearly on one side or the other.
( For me its progress not perfection )
Once I had accepted this, I can more clearly and assuredly move forward to answer the questions… Why was I born into my particular family, and tribe? What is my place in this world and what are my responsibilities?
The way in which I view my life processes are these: I believe that every human has a Divine spark, this light shines on two constantly rotating; if you will, spheres…one .. LOVE and the other Fear. which means I can be experiencing one or the other or both at any given time. This light is then filtered by my relationship with God (my religious views) then reflected on to the human side, the side that you see … a Southern Male Preppy WASP and all that goes with that.
Thank you for allowing me to share with you something that is very private. I hope, that as we get to know one another better; that me sharing this with you,will give you a better understanding of me.
I will leave you today with a poem by Eugene Field called.. The Duel
The gingham dog and the calico cat
Side by side on the table sat;
‘Twas half-past twelve, and (what do you think!)
Nor one nor t’ other had slept a wink!
The old Dutch clock and the Chinese plate
Appeared to know as sure as fate
There was going to be a terrible spat.
( I wasn’t there; I simply state
What was told to me by the Chinese plate! )
The gingham dog went ’ bow-wow-wow!’
And the calico cat replied ’ mee-ow!’
The air was littered, an hour or so,
With bits of gingham and calico,
While the old Dutch clock in the chimney-place
Up with its hands before its face,
For it always dreaded a family row!
( Never mind: I’m only telling you
What the old Dutch clock declares is true! )
The Chinese plate looked very blue,
And wailed “Oh, dear! what shall we do!”
But the gingham dog and the calico cat
Wallowed this way and tumbled that,
Employing every tooth and claw
In the awfullest way you ever saw
And, oh! how the gingham and calico flew!
(Don’t fancy I exaggerate
I got my news from the Chinese plate!)
Next morning where the two had sat
They found no trace of dog or cat;
And some folks think unto this day
That burglars stole that pair away!
But the truth about the cat and pup
Is this: they ate each other up
Now what do you really think of that!
(The old Dutch clock it told me so,
And that is how I came to know.)
Please join me at my sister site: The Preppy Chronicles II
Always, Bumby
The Preppy Chronicles Ed.I Vol.5
I love what you said about standing on one side of the fence or the other! I think it is so important to know what you believe in and why and to feel certain of yourself! Though I think that Christians (or any group of believers really) tend to build their fences on different spots of their property and in a variety of heights, if you will.
Bumby, I applaud you for standing up and publicly announcing your convictions!