TOP POSTS ALL TIME-CELEBRATE THE EXCEPTIONS

BY STEVE DUNN

It has been my privilege to share my thoughts and passions with you through this blog for the past five years.  Life Matters was my first blog (there are now 22 that I am writing on two blog engines).  The first offering of this began in March 3, 2009.  You have graciously read my offerings, shared your thoughts, reblogged them and shared them via Facebook (Networked Blogs is my chief syndicator.)  According to Google, my number one original post in 2013

One of my favorite photos-grandson Jake and I in 2012

was "I Am Offended and Troubled" which appeared just six days ago and had 608 views on the very first day.  Politics, sports, and religion have always been the topics you have responded to the best, plus anything with cartoons in it.

Throughout this week until New Year's, I am reposting some of your favorites.  I am focusing on those written originally by me.  This one has been among the most popular of all time.  It's called CELEBRATE THE EXCEPTIONS and first appeared April 11, 2012.  It is also one of my favorites:

CELEBRATE THE EXCEPTIONS, BUT LIVE BY THE RULES

One of my great challenges as a pastor is to teach people how to make wise decisions.  Andy Stanley says the best question ever in terms of decision-making is the question, "Is it wise?"  Wisdom comes from God's Word and Stanley is telling us to ask, "Is my decision consist with what the Word of God tells on how to live?"

I find that people who even know what God says still have trouble embracing wisdom because it is not what they want to do. When I point out that there are moral laws that cannot be violated without consequences, they begin looking for a loophole.  Quite often they point to the laws of nature and what we have learned about human nature.  There they can sometimes point out to something that does not always work out the way you think.  So then they use that as an excuse to go ahead and do what they want.

"See, Pastor, there are exceptions."

My response, there appear to be exceptions (or variations) to the laws of nature and our knowledge of human nature; but the vast majority of the time it works the way those laws say they will.  Jump from a precipice and the law of gravity tells us we will plummet like a rock.  And if the fall is far enough, you'll break something or get killed.  The application, "Don't leap from a precipice. You will injure yourself.'

But because there have been a few people who survived falls without breaking anything, people say there is an exception which will then be their justification for leaping off a cliff.

My response, "Celebrate the exceptions, but live by the rules." 

But God's moral law gives us no loopholes. No exceptions.  For every transgression there is a consequence and unless God intervenes or picks up the pieces, we will suffer the consequences.

The wages of sin is death.  And death always collects its due.

(C) 2012 by Stephen L Dunn