A man, while traveling, suddenly was confronted by a eureka moment. Truth about a situation he had been involved in. For a few days he was blinded by truth until he had time to think about the situation. He realized his mission was to do something about the horrible state of affairs among his people. He went to the groups that had been carrying on in a despicable way, to show them they were doing devil’s handiwork . They were lying and cheating and immoral and unprincipled in their personal and business dealings. He spoke to them. He offered guidelines and advice but they feared he would destroy what they had built together. He would make the foundation of their lively hood crumble. They made up lies about him and mocked him. They called him a traitor and stupid and hateful. Still the man persisted. He showed them that things could be better if they did things differently but they beat him and put him in prison then drove him out of town. He escaped with his life. He left behind a few people who admired his thinking and they organized a group to teach the truth to who ever would listened. People did listen, not all, but some. He had to move on to the next city for he was under constant threats. The man continued his travels. He continued to face abuse and scorn and castigation. He persisted in the face of continual threats because he knew his was right and he knew his backers were getting stronger and they admired his persistence and pleaded with him not to give up.

He wrote to his disciples with loving advice throughout his travels until finally he was imprisoned. He continued to write from prison to his teacher followers. He wrote to them on how to follow Jesus teachings. How to avoid letting people sit around and take food without working for it. He asked them not to forget the poor people in Jerusalem who thought the second coming would happen soon and they had put all their worldly goods in a pile and it was parceled out to everyone according to his need. Then they ran out of supplies.

Nero feared he would cause an uprising in Rome and had him decapitated. But his movement to change people by delivering the message of love and salvation was carried on and it spread over the known world. He was an example of love with a message that truth and determination can overcome evil and put the bad guys out of business. That man was the apostle Paul.

We had a man working hard for us who enduring malicious lies, character assassination and demoralizing insults from fearful people . Do they know what they are afraid of? Are they Chicken Little and Turkey Lurkey? Victims of group think? Can they stop spewing hate and look at the sky and see the sun is shining. The sky is not falling, Nancy Little and Chuck Turkey.

The strangers have bludgeoned me with words that just don’t apply. Words like racist, homophob, immoral, hater of children, deplorable and on. I am moral, principled, honest, caring beyond myself, I don’t need to do things to make myself feel good. I have a small roof over my head, a small car that I can fit a card table and chairs or other yard sale stuff in. I have a nice job, friends, painting supplies, Salvation Army designer clothes. I have more than I need and I feel blessed.