People in the General Sense...

Some peoples only goal is to stir up strife and contention.
To create a sense of drama and urgent matters where non exist.

I don't know what is going on.
What might God be trying to show me?

Back story:

I do not answer the phone.
I screen all calls.
Pain comes via the phone. Why? Because it brings people.

I have become a bit lax in my phone answering lately.
I have even been caught answering the phone before the machine picks up.
I opted to do this two days ago.
Bad. baaaaaaaad choice.
The neighbor lady, (we will call her debbie) who does not live here but this is her vacation home and she lives 3 hours north, has become flustered that my next door neighbors (we'll call her Suzie) her pine trees are dying. Debbie called me to express her concern and divulge the results of the *research,* concluding that I (yes me) needed to approach Suzie, and convince her to take samples of her tree tree branches/needles in to the extension office to make sure they were not a product of beetle infestation. "Heaven forbid we should have to cut our trees all down and lose our pine trees!"

I pointed out to Debbie that the death of the trees in question more more likely to the septic system being dug up and replaced, including the drain field in the vicinity of said trees. I also pointed out that there has been a lack of water recently and that like New Mexico - home to acres of Pinion Pines once-upon-a-time has lost most of their trees due to developement and careless waste of water. I pointed out that this was very similar to what is occurring in our nneigborhood. Debbie took this opportunity to launch. I had inadvertantly given her another ill-percieved cause to chase after. She became very excited, stating that there was going to be aneighborhood meeting to decide how to handle our water provider. ( a family that inherited th land and now runs the Community well.)
"They need to be given the ol ' what-for!" was Debbies opinion.
Selfish, brutish, citi-fied nitwit! Have you never done without water, woman?

Back story:
we have frequent water outages. sometimes aounting to once a month for 24 hours.
it is a drop in the bucket. Where I used to live, the power woudl go out and we woudl be without pwer and water for a week at a time in the dead of winters ice storms. You get used to it.
Anyway, we have had water outages here. small ones. mostly due to vandalism on the well pumps. The water providers put up a fence and that took care of it. Well, our neighborhood has increased developement. 8-12 houses have gone up within a 1/4 mile this summer. Contractors (with no bonds) have been breaking the lines with heavy equipment.

So there is flaw #1 in the neighbors attack onthe water provider : it is the developers fault partly. And the home owners who are hiring the builders with no bond required.

Flaw #2: The local electric company has been payed in excess of $230,000.00 to complete power updates to the system, allowing the providers sufficient power to pump the water that they already have. The power company has not done the upgrades.

So what we have here is a self-centered batch of well-to-do americans who think they are entitled to certain luxury's (as though they were a given!) and get bent out of shape when their desires are not met.

I am frustrated with humanity.
I guess the old Christian addage really applies to what I think:

"Does each one of us, by the fact of our imperfection, deserve death and Hell?
Yes!
Does each one of us, through nothing we have done to merit it, have better?
Yes, almost to a man, globally speaking.
The shut up and be happy with what you do have!
Have you got a shirt and pants?
Did you eat this week?
More than once?
Do you have something to get in under, to avoid being rained or snowed on?
Then you are already richer than the majority of the world.
So shut your stupid, gloating, efete face American Majority!

Shut your face, Sisters Oregon.

people!
They are the reason I no longer want to answer the phone.
They are the reason I would like to be able to shut my doors and lock then and never lay eyes on the majority of them.
With a few exceptions.

- - - - Conversely - - -

God says in His own words, that He Loves all people, and that He has made all of them in His own image.
God says "Love your neighbor as your self." ( Oh please got, not Debbie!)
God says " Love your enemies.) (Wha....? What? Crap! I'm screwed now!)

Never the less, God IS God.
So where does that leave me?
My only hope is to trust that He will educate me as time goes on about such things.
Fortunately, He is reliable to do that, as long as I force my heart to hear Him and not the world around me.

Even so...
I am NOT answering the phone.
Ever again.
If you get my message machine, its not because I don't love you, its because I will call you back.

No more 'cold-calls' taken by me.

:o)