One of Christianity's Biggest Lies

We like formulas. We want to know that when we follow the appropriate steps in the correct order that a positive outcome is guaranteed. To this end we buy books that promise such things as 6 Steps to a Happy Marriage, 8 Principles for Success in Business, and 7 keys to Getting into The College of Your Dreams. Falling for these fantastic promises in our personal lives is sad. Falling for such false promises in our spiritual lives is a tragedy.

The idea that God blesses us because of what we do is one of the biggest lies in Christianity. Too many of us fall for it.

Blessing in this life is not guaranteed by following any formula or set of rules. God’s blessings are based on His character and not our performance. While many Christians will profess this truth our lives can say otherwise. When we follow God we expect him to bless us and give us what we desire. When it doesn’t happen we find ourselves disillusioned, disappointed and depressed.

This is where I found myself in 1993. I had just started my first “real” doctor job and life was going well. Lisa and I were both teaching Sunday School and regularly attending Bible Study. We were giving more to the church than we ever had before in both time and finances and we were checking all of the spiritual boxes. Everything was going well except for the area of fertility.

We had struggled to conceive for years. Our son appeared to be a fluke, as in the three years after his birth Lisa had not conceived in spite of our not using any contraception. A miscarriage in June was disappointing but it at least confirmed that conception was possible. We were certain that God would soon bless us with another child.

In November our prayers were seemingly answered. It all made sense to us. We were faithfully serving God and He had blessed us with another pregnancy. A few weeks later the bleeding started and an ultrasound confirmed another miscarriage. We were devastated. We found ourselves wondering what had happened. We had actually thought, at least to some degree, that our faithful service would result in God answering our prayers. We were wrong.

The broken thinking that led us to believe that we had a part to play in God’s blessing us, that there was an element of earning blessings, caused our grief to be greater than it would have otherwise been. In the loss of that pregnancy we were taught the truth that God blesses in His time, for His purposes, to those that He chooses, for His reasons. We don’t earn anything.

It is only when we understand the truth of God's grace that we can break free from the lie of earned blessing. Sadly for me, it took the sorrow of loss for me to learn the lesson.

- Bart

I share more details of our heartbreak and the lessons learned in the 4th part of the series I taught on Broken Thinking. All four parts are available on my vimeo page at www.vimeo.com/bartbarrett. This particular lesson can be viewed by clicking here.

Planned Parenthood and Selling Body Parts, a Christian Doctor Responds

Baby parts are on sale. We just didn’t know it. The release of the Planned Parenthood videos revealed repulsive secrets about the organization and our society.

Many people reacted with shock and disgust to the hidden camera footage of a Planned Parenthood physician callously discussing getting reimbursed for the organs of aborted babies. In the conversations I have had and in the articles I have read there has been a common question, “How could they do such a thing?”

My answer has caught people by surprise- “Why wouldn’t they?”

The Planned Parenthood policy of selling aborted baby organs is the natural and expected outcome of the worldview and mindset of the organization. Planned Parenthood believes that unborn life has no inherent value apart from that given it by the mother. Regardless of the stage of pregnancy or level of development, it is only a “fetus”, just a blob of tissue until the mother declares it otherwise. Life is only life when it is wanted.

While Planned Parenthood denies the value or sanctity of unborn life it proudly proclaims its support for adult life. (The “rights of the woman” are its guiding value) If unborn life is not at all life and adult life is of supreme value, why wouldn’t you collect the end products of a medical procedure so they could be used for medical research? And since your work is noble and valuable, why not make a little profit while you were at it?

If Planned Parenthood gave any credence to the opinions of those disturbed by the revelation of their tissue procurement policies they wouldn’t be in the abortion business to begin with. Arguments about the dignity of life or the morality of the policy were dismissed long ago. In the minds of Planned Parenthood those who make such arguments are anti-women, anti-science, simple-minded religious fanatics. Planned Parenthood knows what they are doing is right, they know the tissue they are dealing with is not a baby and not yet human. They have to believe this in order to continue in business. Like so many monsters in history their evil deeds are justified by their determination of what is fully human and what is not.

When something or someone is determined to be less than human then it is not entitled to the legal protection or respect accorded to other human beings. The Jews under Nazi rule, slaves in early America and Christians in many Muslim nations all attest to the atrocities that come when men determine that other men are not fully man.

We have allowed Planned Parenthood to determine what and who is human and who is not. The videos reveal the natural outcome of their determination. As shameful as their practices are, the greater shame is that we have allowed these practices for so long. As a society we have ignored the truth about the atrocities of the abortion industry and pretended that barbaric providers were rare. We turned the other way when Kermit Gosnell preyed on poor women, we ignored the fact that abortion clinics are disproportionately located in minority neighborhoods, and we lied to ourselves and pretended that abortions after the first trimester were rare and in the best interests of the mother. Worst of all, we lied and said it was “just a fetus” or a lump of cells.

It is a sad reflection on the nature of man that when we deign to decide what is and is not human we do so in a way that elevates ourselves and devalues other life. A true and correct definition of life can only come from the God who gives it. 

- Bart

The drawing in the post is of a baby at 18 weeks of pregnancy. The first video released shows the Planned Parenthood doctor describe selectively crushing a child like this in order to harvest intact organs. 

UPDATE: I have received some appropriate questions which have correctly pointed out the legality of Planned Parenthood's actions and that the fees charged for the tissue were not all that great and profits were nominal. Objections were focused on the term "selling baby parts", if money is exchanged for the intact liver of a baby of 18 weeks gestation the term is every bit as accurate as the euphemistic "reimbursement for collection of fetal liver tissue." 

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Why Do People Do Stupid Things?

A man jumps 180 feet from a crane into an air bag. A woman dons a fire suit, climbs into a car and blows it up. Another man splits 45 watermelons open in less than 60 seconds, with his head. Watching this on television two questions repeated in my mind. Why would anyone do this? And, why am I watching this?

The first question is something I have considered for years. Several possible answers have come to mind from boredom to adrenaline addiction, but I think the true answer is more basic. People have a desire to be recognized, to receive attention, to be special. They want to be somebody. It is as if their greatest fear is insignificance. The desire for adulation and recognition is so overpowering that people will risk life and limb for a moment of praise.

It is easy to look at these seemingly insane daredevils and say, "I would never do That!"  But is not totally true. We all do things to get recognized, many of which are silly and some of which are downright foolish. Simple expressions of this desire include those who have too many clothes or too much makeup and those non-stop talkers who always need to be the center of attention. The desire to be recognized, when not appropriately checked, can lead to harmful behaviors such as sexual indiscretions, risky investments, or the dangerous behaviors we see on reality TV. Being ordinary, just one of the crowd, doesn’t satisfy.

The root of all this dates back to the nature of all mankind. The Genesis account describes the initial sin of Adam and Eve and the deception that led to it. They were created to live lives in submission to God, but that was not enough. They were tempted by the thought that they could be more, that they could be like God. The desire to be Godlike, to be above others, has plagued us ever since. We want to be recognized as greater and more special than we are. Contentment is an elusive virtue.

The solution to this problem is not to do more and achieve more, as this is a desire that can never be satisfied. The solution is to see ourselves as God sees us, to remind ourselves that our value comes from Him and what He sees in us and not in the praise of others. This is a simple statement but it is amazingly difficult to realize! It is nevertheless worth the effort for it is the secret to a life of contentment and peace.

-              Bart

As for the second question, I watch this on TV for the same reason I watch most programs. It was what was on at the time!

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Bill Cosby, Ben Affleck and Others Who Were Not What They Seemed to Be

People we considered our heroes are turning out to be anything but. How could we be fooled so badly?

Bill Cosby was America’s Dad. Not only did he play a loving, intelligent and supportive father on his television sitcom, he was a tireless advocate for education and personal responsibility. I was one of the millions who looked up to him and considered him a role model. Little did I know that he was a sexual deviant who preyed on women. Any claim he may have had to innocence evaporated these last few weeks when the transcript of a 2005 deposition was released in which he admitted under oath giving a woman a powerful sleeping pill in order to have sex with her. America’s Dad was in reality America’s Pervert.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner were America’s Couple. Talented, beautiful and seemingly in love, they built a family together in the public eye. In the midst of the dysfunction of Hollywood they put on a façade of normalcy. There recent divorce announcement revealed the truth about their marriage. It was in reality dysfunctional and unhealthy. Careers came before kids, and the extended absences common with the acting profession contributed to the end of their marriage.

Leland Yee was an American success story. Born in China, he came to America at the age of 3. He graduated from UC Berkeley, one of the top schools in the nation, then went on to obtain a doctorate in Child Psychology. He worked as a child therapist for years before entering politics in 1988. He was a member of the school board in San Francisco, a county supervisor, and a member of the State Assembly in California before winning a seat in the California State Senate in 2006. He gained a reputation as a staunch advocate for gun safety and sponsored numerous bills restricting access to guns in California. In 2012 he announced his candidacy for the office of California Secretary of State. Mr. Lee was respected member of the Asian community and honored by gun control groups. He was also a crook and a gun runner. He pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges July 1, 2015.

The list of similarly admired people who are not at all admirable is seemingly endless. Sports heroes, celebrities and even pastors are placed on pedestals for public adoration only to later be found completely unworthy of respect. I am left wondering how it is that we idolize losers with such regularity.

I have come to the conclusion that it is human nature to want heroes. We want to have someone to look up to, someone who can help us believe that amazing things are possible. What we do not want to recognize is the truth that all people are all messed up, that no person is perfect, near perfect or even good at heart.

We choose distant people as heroes, people we do not know well, because we can overlook or deny their imperfections. When we know someone well we tend to know their faults and failures and all of the ways in which they are not heroic at all. We tend to focus on their imperfections and cast them aside as potential role models.

In my life I am learning to look up to a different kind of person. I am learning to admire those who work hard at being the best they can be outside of the public eye, people who are far from perfect, who know their flaws and do not hide them but instead work to overcome them every day. I believe it is these people, who labor in the shadows and whose accomplishments are overlooked by others, who are the greatest role models in our world.

When the day comes that we all stand before God and give account for our actions it will not be the Afflecks, Garners, Cosby’s and Lee’s who are recognized. The greatest honor will not be reserved for the Obamas, Bushes, Clintons or Romneys of the world, the movers and shakers and the most powerful. It will be for those individuals who honored God in their daily lives, who faithfully loved and served God outside of the eyes of the world.

May we all seek to be and to honor these kind of heroes.

Bart

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A Parent's Heart Hardened, A Child's Heart Broken

When life gets busy little things, and little children, can be overlooked. When parent's don't care as they should the pain can last a lifetime. As a child who was abused and neglected I have experienced this firsthand.

As a child my greatest love was baseball. It consumed my passion and my attention. I practiced with my brother for hours and played with neighborhood kids whenever I could. I read baseball books, collected baseball cards and watched the game of the week on TV every Saturday. In spite of my passion and interest I was only allowed to play one season of Little League baseball. Although my mother was a stay-at-home mom she considered taking us to practice too much of a chore. What was important to me did not matter at all to my parents.

While my childhood was characterized by significant verbal and physical abuse the pain of not playing baseball hurt the most and the longest. Beatings hurt for a short while and bruises faded but knowing my parents didn’t care about my heart brought a pain that endured for years.

While the feelings of a child were irrelevant in my family they were treasured in my wife’s. Through her I learned how important little things can be to a child. She taught me the value of listening to their music, watching their TV shows and playing their games, that when I valued their interests I valued them.

Over the years I have learned that caring about feelings and paying attention to the hearts of others is a Biblical value, one that was modeled by Jesus. He showed His love in the way He dealt with the silly fears and foolish failures of His followers and in the tender way He welcomed children and reached out to those in need.

Learning to love in this way has been a challenge for me. Overcoming the callousness and selfishness that I learned at home has required conscious effort. The brokenness of my parents was passed on to me and I am not naturally compassionate and caring. I am eternally grateful to God for loving me enough to help me change.

-          Bart

I share in detail about my childhood story and my life-long struggle to overcome in the third part of the series on Broken Thinking that is available on my vimeo page. Go to www.vimeo.com/bartbarrett and you can view it, and the other messages in the series online. You can go directly to the message on the importance of caring by clicking here.

Thanks to all who read and listen, and especially to those who share posts with others. Comments and questions are always welcome.