Honey

ByHal Hammons

Raise bees in your home!  “BEEcosystems” are completely enclosed units that hang on your interior walls and provide access to the outdoors for the bees and access to honey for you.  The bad news is, they’re $599 apiece; however, I am promised, “for the amount of honey you will eat, they practically pay for themselves!”

The good news is, they don’t come with any bees.  That makes them a bit more workable in Tracie’s mind.

But seriously.  I support the work of advertisers; they have a living to make like anyone else.  But eating $599 worth of honey?  That would take the Hammons family about 20 years, given our current consumption rate.  And these units are about the size of a large pizza pan.  I fail to believe they produce honey by the barrel.  Let’s be real.  This is for the heart, not the honey.  Some people want to believe they are “part of the solution” — better yet, to be seen by others as “part of the solution.”  When their friends come over to discuss solar panels and composting, their commitment to the environment will be on full display.

I don’t mean to mock.   I’m making a point, and this is it: bee (see what I did there?) honest with yourself regarding your motivations.  It’s the same with serving Jesus.  If you think serving Jesus is going to be so sweet (sorry, I can’t help it) that it will somehow pay for itself in this life, you need to reevaluate. 

Serving Jesus, done right, brings plenty of short-term hardship and pain (Matthew 5:11-12).  The one who doesn’t “calculate the cost” (Luke 14:28) of discipleship is likely going to get stuck (OK, I’m stopping now) in a situation for which he was not prepared. 

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Why murder?

ByHal Hammons

The New King James Version includes “murders” among the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21. Most other versions leave it out; evidently the older documents tend not to include it. Regardless, I doubt anyone would have difficulty with the idea of murder being included among the acts brought on by a wanton, godless lifestyle.
We likely would be more comfortable if it were left out. A world characterized by “strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying,” — we could manage that. We all can relate to such things; most of us have at least dipped our toe into more than a few of them. And without such things, what would we find to watch on television?

Appearance

ByHal Hammons

I think I’ve finally figured out what bugs me about selfies on social media.  It’s that attention is being drawn, almost exclusively, to the outward appearance.  Sometimes it’s our accomplishments, sometime it’s our misfortune, sometimes it’s our surroundings.  But usually it’s just our looks.  A new haircut, a cute expression — worse yet, the infamous “Which do you like better?” post, which literally begs for audience participation.  All of this is a 21st Century way of saying, “Look at me!  Look at me!”

Zebras

ByHal Hammons

Every time I drive to my parents’ house in central Texas, I tell the family to be on the lookout for zebras.  The hot, dry environment is similar to the African savannah, making it perfect for exotic game ranches.  Of course, wild animals prefer to avoid open spaces in general, and noisy areas such as highways in particular.  So our vigilance — well, mine — went for naught.

Guess what we saw Friday, not 100 yards from the highway?  Four zebra, big as life. 

The Seven Blunders of the World

ByHal Hammons

On March 20, 1925, an Anglican priest named Frederick Lewis Donaldson preached a sermon centering around what he called the “7 Deadly Social Evils.”  Through the help of what he called a “fair friend,” Mohandas Gandhi had the opportunity to reprint the list in his weekly newspaper.  A few weeks before the Mahatma’s assassination, he gave a handwritten copy of the list to his grandson, Arun Gandhi.  It was Arun Gandhi that brought the list to the world, publishing it after his grandfather’s death under the heading “Seven Blunders of the World.”

Flossing

ByHal Hammons

I don’t floss.  Never have.  I have been told my whole life that flossing helps prevent tooth decay.  All I knew was, it hurt my gums.  And my fingers.  Plus, it’s gross. Do I regret it?  Stare into my complete absence of dental work while I say, “Nooooooooooooo.”