Mature Faith is the Solution for the Adult with Adult Problems

It’s reasonable for a person with a drug problem to admit they have a problem. Denial is happening when addicts do not acknowledge they have a problem. Prudence as a essential human virtue means I make accurate judgements. A drug addict that denies they have a problem is not making accurate judgements. Mature faith as the solution to a lot of life’s problems will have to include this knowledge, and acceptance of it/ agreement with it.

A person with a drug problem, or a person that is addicted to simple nicotine, might say “I can’t stop in this environment.” What environment is that? What planet do you live on?

I used tobacco indoors, and I used tobacco outdoors. The nicotine flowed through my bloodstream.

Mature faith is the solution to a lot of our problems, because trusting and believing other people is a part having a living faith.

Unless one is destitute, adults will find themselves in an environment of their choosing. I cannot say the same things about a child or a teenager.

I am beginning to understand what it’s like to be a conservative. Currently, there 17 states in the U.S. with “Tobacco 21” laws. The legal smoking age was 18 years old when I started smoking cigarettes. It does not matter if I am 17 years old or 18 years old, my self as “a temple of the Holy Spirit” does not want me to start any bad habits.

Some people have said,” if a person is old enough to die for this country (be inducted into the armed forces because of the draft) then they should be able to smoke and drink.”

My biological life is affected by all of my choices, but it also changes as I get older. My environment changes without my consent, as in the case of age, but it also changes when I move from one place to another place.

We can see more easily what God does and what humans do when we keep our thoughts of God simple. Drugs that make me drowsy and unable to operate heavy machinery will not help me think about God the Holy Spirit in the most accurate way. People who love freedom more than anything else are headed in the right direction, but if we want God the Holy Spirit to make our soul his habitat or dwelling place, then we need to examine our desires.

I cannot excuse people confused by an anti-slavery mentality and the love the freedom that includes the argument “my body, my choice.” As Christians, God is supposed to have lordship/ dominion over our body. My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. We are members of the body of Christ. Imagine the drug addict that say they do not have a problem. The mind of the addict is not making accurate judgements.

We walk by faith, not by sight, but we have to be prudent (make correct judgements) when we walk otherwise we will fall. Mature faith is the solution to a lot of our problems.

Side note: it is possible for conservatives and liberals to be unaware of the virtue of temperance. Not on my watch.

Move out of an environment that damages your body, or harms you, as soon as possible. What makes you think that we have the Holy Spirit when our heart is not pure?

I have always wondered why people continue to live in a place that is continuously rocked with natural disasters. There is a long list of places that I will not live because my rational mind won’t let me. I would move if bad weather or natural disasters frequently disturbed my peace. I was born here and I will die here; no.

Washington DC poised to decriminalize the use of magic mushrooms (nypost.com)

I asked a friend, and recent convert to Christianity, what he thought about this. He said, “we cannot enable people to sin.”

Choice is the most important factor in our attempt at unity with God. I quote this a lot because I sense that God is speaking to me when I read it,

“be serious and sober for prayers.” 1 Peter 4:7

People sabotage themselves and people sabotage other people. I am trying to protect myself from that kind of self harm. I do not abstain from alcohol, but I do practice temperance.

Insurance companies base how much I pay for car insurance on my zip code. Some zip codes have more car accidents than other zip codes. People are similar. I am a peace loving dude, and I am contemplative by nature. I suppose many people would agree that a life of pleasure, or a life of contemplation and pleasure, is preferred over a life of labor, work, or servitude. The zip code analogy helps describe the possibility that groups of people living in the same zip code cause more damage to themselves and others, than other people in other zip codes.

Things that “happen” to a child or a teenager, like:

1 the parents that gave birth to them, or

2 the parents that adopt them, or

3 the people that live in their house, or

4 the house they grew up in, or

5 or their parent’s job, or

6 their parent’s unemployment benefits, happen beyond their control.

That part of their lives is chaotic, up until a certain point. Everything changes when a person learns how to defend themselves. I am saying that we should all defend ourselves from sin.

I will write about teenagers for an adult audience. You know that adults can change their environment if they want to, and you know that sometimes they need to change their environment to be happy/ protect themselves from harm. If there is a will there is a way.

A child is not as free as an adult. A teenager is beginning to have that adult freedom. That is why there are holy innocents. That is why children are not as culpable for their actions as adults are.

I do teach a live class. I tell my students, “once I tell you the truth, you are responsible for acting on what you are told.”

Mature faith is the solution to a lot of our problems. I honor teenagers who can see the damage  caused by the addiction to drugs and alcohol, and stay away from that kind of evil entering their lives. I respect their vision at such an early age.