Who do you want to see?


This may seem like an unusual title for a Christmas article, however if you stay with me, it will
make sense, I promise. I am writing this article on November 9, which is a Sunday night.
Yesterday, Mr. Biden claimed the presidency for himself. I have my personal feelings about all
that has transpired and have shared my views in November’s article. The last thing I want is to
make this writing political. This article has always been a time to set aside “business as usual,”
and talk about matters that help us to win in life, which goes much deeper than politics. This
article is about living with peace, happiness and confidence regardless of the environment
around us. We do not have to live with insecurity, fear, regret or compromise which is a great
trade off, and when it comes to matters of the heart, we are all the same.​ ​ Whether we be
Democrat or Republican, we have all experienced negative emotions. We do not need to
continue to live with​ ​fear, jealousy, envy, insecurity, lacking peace, etc. I fully believe we can
limit these emotions, or “corral them,” but we need the tools to do it. These “tools” are nothing
you would learn from a psychologist. These tools are what I would call the “Gold Standard of
Life.” The Bible calls them the Beatitudes, and following these we slowly but steadily gain
control of our emotions. Before I start, I will give you a disclaimer.

This article is a spiritual talk,
or​ ​what I call “straight talk.” There are no ​“​feel-good shallow platitudes”, but rather it is truth
said in love. If you are open to that, then I invite you to continue. My hope is that you will.
In Matthew chapter 5, the first book in the New Testament, we find these Beatitudes (or said in
reverse, Attitudes to Be). In other words, we are created to operate, or live in a certain way.
Just as computers have operating systems, so does the most complicated “computer”, the
human soul. Applying ourselves to this will give us the greatest opportunity to experience
everything God would have for us. Your concept of God may be very sophisticated or simple.
The God I have come to know is very caring, loving and kind. However, He has His way, and I do
not tell Him how I want to live my life, but rather,​ ​He tells me. This is no different than an
expert in his or her trade. If you want to learn their skill, you do as you are instructed. God is
The Expert at Life, and if I want to experience a life in harmony with His, I must order my life
accordingly.

All I can say is that after 40 years of seeking Him through all my ups and downs, I
have absolutely no regrets. I am a much better man than I could have been on my own. The
difference cannot even be measured. However, it was and is not easy. In fact it has been the
hardest thing I have ever done. There have been plenty of tears, worry and fears, as He was
and is pressing me and molding me as a potter does clay. I see the form He is making me into as
He spins me on the wheel called life, and it pleases me. More importantly, I sense it pleases
Him. He’s the potter and I am the clay. At times I have gotten off His wheel, only to ask to be
put back on again. I have come to learn that as He presses and shapes me, it is not to hurt me
but to free me from my fears and insecurities, and to challenge me to trust Him more. It all
starts very purposefully with the following set of truths. God is very predictable, He follows His
Bible 100%. These truths are what Heaven runs on and ideally the human soul. So if you are
tired of doing it your way, I invite you to try it God’s way.

Matthew 5:2-8 The Beatitudes

And Jesus opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.


There are many good commentaries on the Beatitudes, and there are even more than these,
but I want to address the first one. Blessed, is the state of being in God’s favor, or right with
God, which honestly feels really good. When someone is poor, they do not have much. Poor in
spirit is the same thought. “I do not have much to offer you God, I am a mess, but if you want
this mess, this mess desperately needs You.” With those exact words I began my life with God
40 years ago, and what a life it has been. Like I said, I have cried my share of tears, but those
tears were tears of surrender as I knew God was calling me to a life with Him and stripping me
of my old habits, unrighteous thoughts and​ ​patterns, and inviting me to a New Life, one that
follows Him. With each step, His peace grew in me as I gave Him more control of the steering
wheel until finally I became the passenger. The best decision I have ever made, but also the
hardest thing I ever did. I learned through many struggles and failures to allow Him to change
me and not to try to do it myself. The more time I spent with Him in prayer and Bible study, the
easier it became. I noticed that as I grew spiritually, His peace inside me grew and my
insecurities, fears and doubts lessened. My confidence increased, and it was not self-
confidence, but a ​Father/son confidence, that with God as my Dad we would go through life
together. I am never alone and the more I understand His greatness, the greater my confidence
grows.


Now I want to tie what I just said into what is going on politically. To say I am upset is an
understatement, but as I said in my opening, the last thing I want is to make this article
political. So I am praying that truth, justice and honesty win in this political chess game we are
in. I would be at a complete loss if I did not have this Father/son relationship. In fact, prior to
Saturday night, I was thinking that if the shoe was on the other foot, what could I write to bring
comfort to those who feel differently than me. How could I comfort them? There’s nothing that
I would say differently. Focusing our life on God regardless of our political party, and the
outcome is and will always be the right answer especially if it is God who you want to see.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”


Though the elections are super important to all of us, we part here. They have no eternal
bearing on our life. A relationship with God super transcends anything that we value or find
important here. Here is temporary, God is eternal, and we need to keep that in mind. When we
do, it is much easier to care for one another. The first command of the Ten Commandments, is
to “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul and strength. The second is “To Love
thy neighbor as thyself.” Instead of fighting, arguing and bickering, this is the direction we are
to go in, and it is an impossible task without God at the wheel.

So let’s look in the mirror and see what we can do to change the atmosphere, and then ask a

most honest question, where do
I stand with you God? If you have all the peace, security, love and joy you want, then maybe
God is not for you, however if there is a sense of something missing, I would encourage you to
read the Bible starting with the Book of John. Pray before you read, asking the Lord to speak to
you. Also you are always welcome to send an email to Arthur@Vida4U.com​ any time, not just
during the Holidays.
Finally, thank you so much for reading. I’m sure this was not the easiest article you have read,
but it was written with all my heart and for your well-being, both here and for Eternity.

Merry
Christmas – Arthur.