"God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5

Why does God oppose the proud? What's wrong with pride?

The proud libertarian might say:

My vast knowledge makes me better than others.
I know the right thing to do.
If only I were in charge, the world would be a better place.
I don't need anyone telling me what to do.
I don't need any help.
I don't need to rely on a god.

The humble might say:

Three day weekends, fun, family, friends...life is good. You have your job and everything is going well. Maybe you have all your bitcoin money. You have a nice house. You have good food. Everything is great!

God is so amazing. Look at a blade of grass. You might think, what could be more commonplace than grass. We walk over it. Cows eat it. But really look at a blade of grass. God made this incredible thing! Out of nothing, God spoke and made grass. He made a molecule of chlorophyll. It can take the energy of the sun (that God made) and turn it into food for the plant. It can multiply itself so abundantly that grass grows in most places on the earth. It can practically grow out of the rocks! It has such abundant life, that we spend time hacking it back, it grows so much!

I've been reading one of my friend's travelogue, which has been very interesting. He picked up a hitchhiker, who had been in the military and the guy was telling him about his life and how he'd been in prison. This man had been in solitary with a man serving 3 life sentences for murdering his wife and children. Both the military man and this murderer describe blacking out and engaging in extreme violence which they didn't remember. In the travelogue, my friend spoke of the evil of mankind. I agree in some respects, but I think there is more to it than what is presented here.

The phone rang. Beverly glanced at the number. Daniel. She answered the phone. "Hey, what's up?"
"Hey Bev. I got a week off and a great idea. Wanna go down to Baja?"
"Sure. I got some vacation time I can take. Let's do it!"
Daniel explained, "The whales are down there having their babies. We can grab a boat and go see them. And I know a place where we can get some awesome margaritas."

Are you suffering from the way someone has treated you, now or in the past? Do you keep repeating the same story to others about how someone has done you wrong? Do you keep going over a scenario over and over again in your head? I used to do this more, but now I remind myself of all Christ forgave me of. Then I realize that I need to forgive the person who is bugging me.

We are given reasons why we need to forgive. One is it gives the devil a chance to have a go at us.

Yes, the earth is flat. Yes, we have all been lied to. The globe is a lie. Heliocentrism is a lie. Space travel is a lie. The implications are enormous.

Why would they lie about this? How could this lie be carried on over generations? Why would anyone be so evil to purposely deceive us?

Like it or not, the answers to all these questions are in the Bible. But the Bible also contains the answers to a more important question: now that I know someone created this place, what must I do to be saved? What is there to be saved from?

Do what you like as long as you don't hurt anyone else: it's the motto of libertarianism, and it's the motto of the church of satan. But is it a good way to live? Living by it would eliminate a lot of pretty nasty behavior...murder, rape, theft, so in that sense, it seems like a good idea. What proponents of this philosophy fail to factor in is, "Do my actions hurt the God who created me?"

A few days ago, I asked people what they thought it meant to be human, and I got some great answers. People said to be human is to have purpose, to be responsible, to have empathy, that we are created in God's image, that we can be fragile while being strong...and that the question needed a book to answer :)