Bedrock

" This country wasn't built on cynicism. It was built on a can-do attitude. One shouldn't complain about the way things are unless one is willing to try to make a difference ."--Frankie Sue Del Papa, Nevada Attorney General In a world of humans who are sinners and where philosophers speak of “man’s inhumanity to man,” I guess it’s not surprising that people tend to focus on the bad side of things. People are more interested in reading the bad things that happen, so news is typically dark. In general, people listen to dirt, the gossip that tells of people’s mistakes and failings, the seamier the better. In particular, those of a more leftist perspective tend to be more negative and humorless in their view of the world; the more traditional and conservative seem to be a bit more positive and upbeat. Yet, being negative is so common, as to be nearly universal. On the negative side, the tendency is to find twisted humor in the bad things that happen to other people;

What is the best way to begin a new year? I believe it is to complete the last one well, by making the right choice, if you haven't already made it. Christmas, in celebrating the birth of Jesus, was a starting point, not just a meaningless celebration of human aspirations. Jesus Himself was the best gift ever given, an incredible gift. God took on human flesh, lived sinlessly, and died undeservedly but willingly. He thereby arranged that He could be both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). Verse 23 is clear: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” No time of the year demonstrates this more plainly than this one, when various contrary views trumpet their claims. Some attack Christmas and everything Christian. Some attempt to find meaning in pleasant, inspirational stories, increasingly desolate in their emptiness every year. Still others decorate their greed and materialism in pretty lights and often disappointing tr