#94 Totem poles and pecking order(20july06)

When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled.'
Acts 4:13

Alexandra the Great, king of Macedon, fulfilled his ambitions of conquering most of the known world then, at a young age . He died young too, at age 34 in 323 BC.
Was it possible that he has utilized all his alloted karma??

I didn't have much ambition when I was young. The 'gods' must have heard my inner thoughts. In primary one, I was placed at 37 out of 39 in my academic ranking.
Thankfully, I was in a Catholic school then, and not in my now beloved son's school, whose motto is the stirring call to arms "the best is yet to be" could be misinterpreted by the young and naive like me, who could have believed that the last to be called up to the stage, was the best student, academicwise.

That did stir me up a bit and ever since, I have been praying to the unknown god or gods to be that number one might not be too demanding for me.
I did do decently well in my overall academic life, though it took me until much later to realize that God provides, even for befuddled folks like me, who thought that it was our incessant chanting and persistence in effort that did the trick.

''Take away the filthy garments from him......
....I will clothe thee with change of raiment.'
Zechariah 3:4-5

For some borned with a silver spoon(be it a boon or bane), often the heart still desires for a change of color and metal to gold.
For the majority of us, the common brethren, we do aspire to see what transpires at the top, till the day we expire.
No one really knew when totem poles(located mainly in the North west coast of the American continent) first came into existence, for being made of wood, decay ensured that many did not live through the full cycle of life. However, totem poles were believed to be and in fact widely used, amongst other diverse purposes,
as symbols of clan and family wealth and prestige.

'Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou will keep My charge. Then thou shalt also judge My house...'
Zechariah 3:7

As a believer of Jesus Christ, we accept the salvation that God has given us and the freedom from Satan's deathly grip. As a follower of Christ, we strive to obey as the Holy Spirit leds us, knowing that the old sinful us has died and the new us comes to life, to be increasingly transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ, to be made ready for His return.

In the new covenant of the New Testament, all who believe has a direct 'channel of communication' with God, through His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
While each of us are used in different ways by the Lord, all are equal in His eyes.

Contrast this to the society of our time as well as time past. At least on this count, man is consistent in their desire for prideful superiority.
Like in a chicken coop, every grouping of humans will have a pecking order. In the office, we have a corporate hierarchy; in the military,a command structure; in the communist sytem; the proletariat and at home, the head of household, ostensibly the man, but often the real power lies with the fairer sex.

The caste system in India is still very real today. I am no expert on this but from what I read, Hindu philosophy believes that every creature is created by Brahma. Which part of the caste one belongs to is defined by where one's ancestors were believed to have originated from the anatomy of Brahma.
(I do apologize for those who might be better versed in this should there be any factual deficiencies)

Do take time to reflect on your life as a Christian. Indeed we are still living in this dark and sinful world. But, are we still searching for the stairway to the bright lights of society's grandstands??

The light of God's love shines upon us. He will lead us, He will correct us and He has provided.
It is time to stop paying obeisance to the Prince of the air, perched on his prideful totem pole and time to truly be humble and contrite, so that we can truly hear God, so that we can obey in faithfulness, for God is a faithful God.

God Blesses

Eng Hieang