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.Good Morning Friends,
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today is Sunday October 11, 2009
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Friends, it is very hard to believe but it is still sunny out. It just keeps on coming and coming. We truly are blessed that is for sure. I hope that we are not being over-blessed, however, because that might mean that we will be paying for all of this in the future. You know what I mean, there is a cost for everything, or so it would seem anyway.
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I wonder if God took these kinds of things into account when He was working everything out. He must have known there would have to be a cost for everything, because there just has to be. And, why is that you might wonder? Do you think God figured this out for Himself, or did the conditions that surround Him demand that He do it?
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Well, actually the question is somewhat irrelevant now isn't it? Because God being flawless means that He would have created something with perfection in mind. It doesn't take much of a brain to figure that one out that is for sure. However, if you want to toy with the idea that He had to create cost then you would want to consider where the origins of this idea of cost would emanate from. As I said above, it would have to come from the things that surround God - all things and their effect on Him. That would be his immediate environment, and in fact, all of the ideas in His mind. All of these taken together would have produced the idea that all things would necessarily have to have some kind of a cost attached to them. And, like I said, you can take into account God's environment or simply rely on His perfection to get the job done.
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But, rest assured that cost is associated with everything that we know about. There is a cost for this and there is a cost for that. What is cost? How can we continue on in our discussion if we do not even know what a cost is? A cost is the price you pay to receive something. That is the simplicity of the thing. It even forms the basis of all of our contracts, i.e. some sort of consideration must be involved. And, even when God first presented Himself to man, why there even had to be a contract. God chose to contract with his favourite or Chosen People. But, the relationship came at a price as we all know. So, God knew that He had to introduce this idea of price into the psyche of man and He certainly got the job done now didn't He? But, we haven't even answered the question yet. What is cost? Well, in the human context, cost is just something that is required of us to give to someone else in order to receive something of value. For example, in the religious case, we have to give of ourselves to God in order to receive what He has to offer us. Now, the critic or the cynic might say that God doesn't come or work cheap. That might be a disrespectful comment but it is also the reality of the matter. Why should God work for nothing when He is offering so much? I think a human giving himself or herself to God is a small price to pay for everlasting life, for example. Certainly, if I was a Christian or believer in God it would be a very small price to pay indeed.
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Now, the discerning mind might want to pursue the matter a little further and say: why does God require something for His services? What kind of a lesson is that for mankind, to know, that even God demands that we give before we can receive? If God was all merciful and kind and unselfish even, then why does He need to exact a price or a cost from man in order to achieve everlasting life and continued happiness? Why do we need to pay for these services that are, or should be forthcoming from a loving God who should have no need for any sort of compensation at all for His services? Does any of this make sense to you, given your understanding of God, that is?
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Friends, consider the very character of God and the way He conducts His business. Remember, we are likenesses of God according to the Bible. So, that means of course that His personality and means of conducting business is in fact, very similar to our own. He needed to create cost because that was the most efficient way to conduct His business between Himself and us. Man is a selfish animal who needs to take care of himself and no one else is going to do it for him. God needed to introduce this idea of cost and compensation into the human psyche because He knew that this idea would be the most effective tool that man would need in order to survive. It also forms the basis of the idea that the harder you work the more likely that you will receive some kind of reward for your efforts. Or, put in another way, no pain no gain. I think these are self evident things that thinking man already knows about - and practices. Man just knows that nothing comes from nothing. Now, there is a very big concept indeed - that nothing comes from nothing, that is. Think about what I have just said friends. Nothing comes from nothing. Don't you think God knew this too when He was creating this and that thing and all of the ideas associated with it? Of course He did. He knew that even He had to come from somewhere. Yes, something even created God. Think about that friends and let it sink in a bit. This is the true origin of the idea of cost you know. God knew that His very existence was dependent on something else and that is what He is trying to tell us with His philosophy and method of doing business. That we need to pay for this or that thing is the most crucial idea imaginable. God knew of the relationship of all of the matter that surrounded Him, and of how nature conducted itself. The interactions of all of nature was just a bunch of transactions that pointed to the very idea of cost. A river meandering through tough terrain is carving out its space and displacing this or that thing in its path. It is taking, but at the same time is it not also paying some price for its success? What is the cost to the successful stream that is in the business of forming itself? How is this non-thinking thing paying a price or cost for its existence? It appears to be only taking and not giving anything at all for its triumphs in the wilderness. But, yet it is paying and also giving in return. It is returning and giving its beauty that is the price that it is paying. It knows that it must give something and pay some price. Now, if you are not happy with this anthropomorphic idea then think about the pure physical features of the event itself, or of any event occurring in time and space and of its participants, namely matter itself. Do you think matter can get away with performing this or that act without paying some cost? Not on your life. Any transformation or any movement of matter will include some sort of price as part of the bargain. The matter conducting its business will be giving up something for its changes. Water vapour turning into ice will be giving up its former appearance for something else; that is the price it pays for its transformation. Still too anthropomorphic for you? Well, consider this then. The human animal changes and grows all throughout its life. Remember, man is only composed of the things found in nature and is in fact, just another form or part of nature. So, that means that man is a natural creature subject to the very laws of nature. If he does something or changes and grows then he will be paying a price for this privilege. It cannot be any other way. If I want to grow as a human I have to give something back to nature for that privilege. Nature will demand the return of her goods when I am finished with them you can bet your life on that. But, in the meantime I have to give to nature all that she desires, and the greatest thing that she desires is that I respect her way and method of conducting business. If I deviate from that then I will surely die. That is the price that I must pay for my existence.
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The above examples is where God got the idea of cost. There would be a price to pay for all transactions that would take place between all things. It could be no other way. So, God had to introduce this idea of cost into the mind of man to make him happy and productive and knowledgeable in the ways and means of the universe. God knew that He too was the product of something else and contained within that understanding is the very life of the idea of cost. God is simply paying His dues as it were by introducing this idea of cost for man. Remember, man is a selfish creature by design, a mere image of God. God wants to survive and reign eternally as well. His Kingdom is dependent on His understanding of his relationship to all other things. God knows all, but God could not have acquired all knowledge in a vacuum. It would be illogical to believe that. Even if God is only an idea, and that is entirely possible of course, what do you think would be the origin of this idea? It would be dependent on something would it not? And, would there not be some kind of a price to pay for this dependency? That God lived and survived merely as an idea, I mean? He could not survive alone but would need the support of those who believed in the idea of Him. His very existence would be dependent upon those who support His idea. God would have to give something of Himself to gain that support. So, the cost for God would be His revelation to us. Remember, God is a selfish creature just like the rest of us. He needs to be for survival. So, thanks for reading and have a nice day.
