The General Confession

We have done those things that we ought not to have done and we have left undone those things that we ought to have done.

Now really, do you mean this when you say it? Do you ever say it? Or is it only Anglicans that go through this motion?

My thoughts this morning went to just that: thoughts. We have thought those things that we ought not to have thought and we have left unthought those things that we ought to have thought. 

Sometimes it is just inertia that stops us from thinking, looking up information, and devising the cunning plan.

Thought precedes action - and we are all caught in this immutable time-sequence. God in glory, of course, can say - Before they call, I will answer. But what we think depends on what we hear and what we think about ourselves in our communities. 

What we hear depends on the voices we listen to. Our thoughts disturb or confirm our prejudices. If we believe lies, we will be invulnerable to the truth. 

Some may blame one particular leader and claim that he believes the imperial lies of the glorious past. Some may blame another leader and claim that their democratic process has been stolen. 

How will the truth penetrate either one of these? Propaganda, lies, imperial glory, stolen election? 

How can we confirm the things we hear? And change! Will certain leaders ever turn away from the evil they propagate?

When God says, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, or as I have it, for my devisings are not your devisings and your ways are not my ways. An oracle of Yahweh, we need to ask ourselves, How we will deliver our thoughts from the prisons we put ourselves in?

Name the prisons. Consider the alternatives. Confirm the information from multiple reliable sources. Don't jump to your assumptions. All this seems so obvious, why is it that 50% of the apparent dialogue in the world is so filled with conflict? This is not just international, but personal also.

My Ukrainian engineer looking at our furnace today had a spam call on his phone during his visit. There was no need to confirm its falsity.

Why do some reporters fail to adjust their public messages when they are obviously spouting lies? In some countries where opposition is punishable by prison or enforced suicide, I might understand. But are they afraid for their lives even in North America? Or are they under the thumb of hidden oligarchic powers also?