A fundamental shift

 A Fundamental Shift

​Man is fundamentally insane.

He spends billions to build implements of war.

He sends thousands of young men to fight and die in wars.

What are the wars about?

Land, resources, ego.

What?

Are these things worth a single life?

No.

​Man is insane.

He is more interested in destroying than building.

He has no money to help his own people while he wages war.

He thinks war brings him profits, material wealth, stature, and renown, while his people suffer.

​Man is insane.

He runs for office,

Claims to be a public servant,

Enriches himself at the public expense,

Then is shocked at bloody revolutions.

Is he not a fool?

​He treats his neighbor as an enemy—

Mistreats and abuses him.

Who will then help him in times of need?

​Man treats those closest to him the worst.

Those whom he claims to love, he mistreats,

But those who care less about him, he treats well.

He mistreats his spouse—

Talks to her as he wants, but treats his boss with utmost respect.

Is he sane?

​A wife withholds affection from her husband,

Yet she expects him to love her.

A wife is disrespectful to her husband and still expects his unconditional love and tender treatment.

Is she sane?

The same wife is obedient to her boss, her pastor, etc.

Where are her priorities?

​Couples have no time for each other—

Too busy for each other,

Yet expect love to grow.

Is this a mental asylum?

​People behave without restraint,

Yet expect a well-ordered life.

Are we on pills?

​A leader is tyrannical,

But then complains that others hate him.

Is paranoid—

What did he expect?

​Musicians make music that promotes violence—

Do they expect the youth to be peaceful?

Hollywood produces violent movies—

Do they expect crime to go down?

Are we sane?

​Religious people claim to represent God, who is love.

They claim to love their neighbors,

Then go and treat them the same way as the godless treat others.

Are they truthful?

Religions claim to be the way of peace and truth,

Yet schism and fights are what we see.

Isn't man insane?

​Business owners take advantage of their customers, charging them high prices and giving them products which are not good.

Is he sane?

Thinks he not of the future?

Thinks he not that his customers are also human?

They will, sooner or later, pick up on his scheme.

​Man is insane.

He lives for self and thinks he will succeed,

But don't all others live for self?

Man does evil and expects others to submit and accept,

But will not others use evil also to retaliate?

Man chooses evil ways and expects good results—

Is his mind functional?

​The entire human race is insane.

Priorities are wrong.

Means to achieve results are insane.

​Now I understand the way of the Lord:

It's not the way of restriction,

But the path of wisdom.

Do good to others.

Treat others as you would want them to treat you.

This is sanity.

​Treat others well and they may treat you well.

Treat others well even if they don't treat you back well;

Revenge will not be in their hearts.

Treat others wrong and they may not retaliate for lack of strength, but hatred is in their hearts.

​We need a shift from madness to sanity.

Why do I do what I do?

What result do I expect to see in 10, 15, 50 years?

Will killing people for profit lead to peace or future violence?

Do the lives of others matter or only mine?

Does the well-being of others matter or only mine?

​Put away madness and folly.

Choose the path of wisdom—

The way of the Lord.

Choose to fundamentally shift from madness to wisdom.

Under Heavy Weight

 Under Heavy Weight

​I. The Void of Living

​Life is full of deaths and suffering of all sorts.

Daily we hear of murders and terrible stories.

What is the meaning of life?

This life is a horror show.

​A man gets married to a wife;

the wife expects him to take care of her and carry her—

but who will carry him?

Speaking of marriage, it is a lot of conflict resolution,

dealing with problems more than pleasures.

What is the point of marriage?

​Daily you wake up and make plans,

but have no guarantee you will make it back home alive.

No guarantee you will keep your job.

No guarantee the things you work hard for will not be destroyed in a moment.

What is the point of all this?

​II. The Trap of Fleeting Relief

​A man messing with multiple women will bring himself countless troubles.

Women can be emotionally chaotic.

They will say one thing, but emotions will lead them to do something completely different.

What appears to be love in the beginning can easily become jealousy, hatred, and chaos.

​A man cheats with a woman for the sake of pleasure,

then he soon finds out he has to carry her:

her burdens, worries, and anxiety.

Only then does he realize she is not a pleasure toy,

but a real human being with needs and emotions,

seeking someone to carry her.

​The pleasure soon becomes pain—

another burden added to his shoulders.

And soon he needs another woman to relieve the stress he carries.

Unless he becomes wise and understands that each advance in life,

each acquisition, brings more burden,

he will ruin himself.

​What is the meaning of this?

The search for pleasure soon turns to anguish and bitterness.

​III. The Universal Weight

​Life is hard for everyone on this planet.

Even the criminal is seeking a future,

seeking something firm to hold onto.

He commits crime because he believes it will provide a way to sustain himself

and shield him from life's chaos.

​Compassion upon all;

this life is hard upon all.

All are either seeking an anchor,

a relief of pleasure,

or a way to sustain life.

All these things lead to more burdens, one way or another.

​This life is a life of burdens.

One might say the real purpose of this life is to carry burdens until they crush you.

What is the meaning of this?

Show me a path of life where no burden lies.

​For even the homeless person has a burden to carry:

he needs to stand in the sun and beg for his daily bread.

He is never safe in the streets;

harm is always near.

​The millionaire has a multitude of cares to carry:

the fear of loss.

He acquires riches to shield himself from life's lack,

yet fear now becomes his burden.

​What is the meaning of this?

The pleasures of life are simply temporary relief from a life of burdens.

​IV. The Bondage of Modern Existence

​The woman seeks to get married because she wants to be loved and her burdens carried.

Yet more chores are added, along with her husband's expectation for intimacy,

his desire for her to sacrifice for him,

and children needing to be taken care of—

all while her husband is not really available for her emotional needs.

Why did she get married?

​A job removes one's liberty:

you must be up at a certain time,

get there at a certain time,

and can only leave at a certain time.

The time spent on the job can easily destroy time for your own creativity.

You need the job, for with no job, there is no food.

Like the animals of the forest, most of our energies are spent chasing food,

leaving little time for creative development.

​Isn't life a chain of slavery?

Isn't this world one vast field of slavery for all?

Where can true, unfettered joy be found?

​V. Disillusionment and Despair

​Temporary joys are sometimes followed by deep existential despair.

This is why many who are married come to hate marriage.

Those working hate their jobs;

people in affluent countries hate work altogether.

The pleasure lover hates the woman he just slept with,

as all these things reveal themselves to be shallow and contribute to more stress.

​Drugs become widespread as we seek to numb our pain

from the totality of our disappointment and disillusionment.

It is why suicide increases as our riches increase.

When some realize the burden of life,

the emptiness of every achievement,

and the vanity of it all,

they find life not worth living.

​The question remains:

All this for what?

What is the meaning?

​VI. The Unshakable Anchor

​When all the layers are peeled back,

life only makes sense if there is a source of constant dependency, constant relief, constant joy.

What is this source?

Only God.

​Not God as the religionists preach Him—

the opiate of the masses, a mere source of comfort—

but God as in abiding in His love,

as in seeing Him as the only source of true and constant joy.

God as the One who lifts and carries burdens.

​We were not meant to carry burdens.

It is the burdens of life that have robbed us of life and joy,

added countless stress upon us,

and led to all manner of destructive behaviors as we seek relief.

​Let us enter into true fellowship with God.

Cast all our cares upon Him;

only then will we become free to live.

​Without this constant and abiding love in God,

everything we seek in life becomes the chain that holds us captive.

Marriage, jobs, and pleasure all become heavy burdens with minimal reward.

This life leaves us heavy laden, under crushing weight.

No wonder we are so stressed and crime is so rampant.

​Let us go to Jesus and cast our burdens upon Him.

The Measurement Trap: Why Men Master Goals but Struggle to Love People

​Relationship problems among men often trace back to childhood and upbringing. I fear that many men do not understand the true purpose of life, and this misunderstanding leads to serious issues down the line.

​Growing up, men are taught many things—good things, even—that inadvertently lead to problems later on. From a very young age, boys are conditioned to be protectors and providers. We are taught to build ourselves up so that we can take care of others later in life, whether providing for ourselves, our parents, a spouse, or children.

​In short, men are taught to form relationships with things, activities, and goals rather than people.

​1. The Scorecard Mindset

​We condition men to be strong and in control. As a result, men bond with each other primarily through shared activities: playing sports, hiking, or serving in ministry together. To us, this represents connection. But the activity—not the person—is the primary focus. This is why men rarely have deep, face-to-face conversations in the way women do.

​We are not taught to value relationships with people, but with things we can measure and keep score with:

​If I invest in a business, I can see its growth and progression.

​If I play a game, I can track my stats and performance.

​But a true relationship with a human being—how do you track that?

​2. Courtship as a Conquest

​This difficulty with unquantifiable connection is why marriage becomes a stumbling block for so many men.

​In the early stages, a relationship feels like an adventure or a conquest. The man puts in effort, sees a return, and measures his progress as the woman responds to his overtures. He has a goal he can track—whether that goal is honorable or not. In reality, he is not building a relationship with the woman; he is building a relationship with the goal of acquiring her.

​Once they marry, the goal is achieved. The dynamic switches, and the man suddenly faces a reality where progress can no longer be measured on a chart. Disillusionment sets in.

​Because he has not been trained in the art of human connection, he reverts to what he knows: providing.

​Work becomes the priority.

​The bank account becomes the benchmark.

​The relationship with his wife and children takes a back seat.

​Why? Because relationships are hard to quantify. Why spend an hour talking to my wife? What does it accomplish? How can I track the return on investment of her love?

​It is far easier to track financial security. So, the man concludes: "I will work hard and sacrifice my presence so my family knows I love them." Then, one day, his wife says, "You don't love me. You're never here, and you don't spend time with me."

​The man is shocked: "How can you say that when I exhaust myself every day to provide for this family?"

​3. The Real Currency of Life

​His astonishment comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of life's most important currency: relationship.

​Life is not about conquest, performance, or metrics. It is about connection—getting to know someone, spending time with them, and discovering who they are day after day. Men must realize that while providing for a family is important, nothing is more vital than knowing them. People only feel they truly belong when they are known and loved for who they are.

​To know someone, you must invest time in conversation—not conversations aimed at achieving a goal, but conversations simply to know and love the person.

​Having a wife does not mean you have a relationship with her if you do not invest in her personally. Working 16 hours a day to fill a bank account while remaining emotionally absent is not genuine care. In fact, sitting with your family, listening to them express themselves without measuring or judging them, is a far greater sacrifice than working overtime.

​4. Emotional Avoidance and the Path to Wholeness

​Men are skilled at tasks with clear targets, but we struggle with emotional connection. When emotional issues arise at home, our instinct is to retreat back into activity.

​Instead of having a heart-to-heart conversation with his wife to resolve an issue, a man will work late or head to the gym. He does not realize that the very conversation he is avoiding is the only thing that will strengthen the relationship. Men play a massive role in marital breakdown by being physically present but emotionally absent.

​We are meant to be whole. Men are emotional beings, and neglecting our emotional development nurtures a weakness that eventually manifests as relationship failure.

​5. A Call to Unconditional Love

​Men, let us learn to develop relationships with people purely for the sake of love—not to gain an advantage, reach a goal, or hit a milestone. In true relationship, there is no rush, no benchmark to accomplish, and no metric to track. It is simply to love and be loved.

​God is love, and God is fundamentally about relationship with us. He makes time for us and desires to hear our hearts. Marriage is meant to reflect that divine connection.

​It is a tragedy that many men know more about sports teams, the stock market, and politics than they do about their own spouses and children. Let us shift our focus away from objects, jobs, and hobbies, and invest our lives in the people right in front of us.

Why you feel cheated

 During the courtship process, a man presents himself to a woman as a lover — someone who will take care of her, listen to her, and carry her through life. The man takes her out, pays for her food, opens her door, and treats her with kindness.

In the mind of the woman, she thinks this is what the man will always provide. She believes the man will always protect, provide, and shield her.

The woman comes to the date looking her best, looking beautiful. What message does her outward beauty send to the man? She is saying, "I will bring beauty to your life, pleasantness, and peace." She laughs at his jokes, checks on him, shows concern for his well-being, and presents herself as someone who is here to help build him up in every way. She wants to be an addition to his life, to improve its quality. She respects him and he protects her.

The man loves the woman for the beauty she brings him. External beauty, in the mind of a man, appears to be a symbol of internal loveliness.

The woman loves the man for the love he represents. Paying for the date, opening doors, waiting until she gets home — all mean to her mind that he will put her well-being first.

The man is willing to spend his all on her and she is willing to give her all, herself. This is the promise both genders implicitly make during the courtship stage.

But during the relationship or marriage, the truth is revealed that these things were not true. The man stops doing these acts of love, and the woman reveals that external beauty does not necessarily translate to inward beauty. Conflict arises as both genders abandon their own promises and shift into a blame game. You start to feel, "This is not the person I initially met."

Both genders feel cheated, deceived, and disappointed, and if they do not understand the reality of what is happening, they will seek these highs from a new relationship.

But the truth is, for love to be properly maintained, both have to keep their promises. The man should continue to be the provider — providing love, tenderness, and wooing — the same process from the beginning, and improving upon it. The woman should continue to develop and provide the grace and beauty she presented in the beginning, while finding ways to make things better.

It is the failure to keep our initial promises that leads to the breakdown of our relationships. For love is longsuffering, and love never fails, as the Scripture teaches.

The way you gain is the way you keep. A relationship is constant work. Keep working.

Why did God create Satan?

 Why did God create Satan?

This is a question many people ask, and I understand why. When we see all the suffering in this world, to think that there is a God — a loving God — who is presiding over all of this is maddening to many.

Christians will say, "No, God is loving and is not responsible for this evil. The culprit is Satan, the enemy of God and man." The question then becomes: Why did God create Satan, knowing that he would rebel and create all this chaos and suffering?

God never created Satan. Satan is a character assumed by the highest created being — a being with choice, just like you and me.

God gave all intelligent beings the choice to choose Him or to reject Him. God made a beautiful angel called Son of the Morning, gave him wisdom, and placed him as near to Himself as possible.

The highest being thought he had God figured out. He thought he was wiser than God and rebelled out of his own free choice.

Intelligent beings have the ability to question, to study, and to evaluate. Lucifer, or Day Star, began to question the divine will and concluded that he didn't have to obey the precepts of Jehovah, that he had sufficient wisdom to lead his own path.

You and I will ask, "Why would God give Lucifer free will, knowing that he would rebel?"

You and I wouldn't do it because we are not wise or strong enough to know the outcome of choice, and so we give limited, controlled choices.

But God is not like us. He is infinite in power and wisdom and knows the end from the beginning. He allowed the universe to see where choices outside of His will lead: chaos, misery, terror, and death.

No creature is wise enough to guide himself. No creature knows what the choice being made today will result in a trillion years from now.

The issue is not about not creating Lucifer; any intelligent being could have questioned the divine will. "Why do I need to obey God? Why can't I lead my own life?" Now all the universe has seen that life outside of God is ruin and misery.

Lucifer thought his choices would lead to greatness, to self-exaltation, etc. He never anticipated everlasting ruin. He couldn't anticipate that far because he is a created being. His earlier success in overcoming one-third of the angels emboldened him to believe that God Himself could be overcome. He believed in his wisdom, and his wisdom became foolishness.

How often we see similar things, from geopolitical blunders to our personal failures.

The US launched an operation in early January in Venezuela and captured Nicolas Maduro. It was, in military terms, an almost flawless operation on the US side with minimal casualties. Emboldened by such success, the US thought it had finally found the blueprint for success without the need to put boots on the ground and launched a similar decapitation strike against the Iranian government, killing the supreme leader on February 28th, the first day of the operation. One of the aims was to force regime change. We are now in August 2026 and fighting is still ongoing, with the global economy being held hostage through the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The planners in Washington didn't plan for such a long war and didn't anticipate such a long fight, but here we are.

Even now in the United States, there is an effort to deport a massive number of immigrants. The policymakers think doing so will make things better, but the truth is we have no idea how the expulsion of so many people will impact us down the line.

Likewise, in our personal lives, we make choices that we think are tried and true — proven strategies that lead to ruin. We think we can control outcomes, and lo and behold, things end up in ways we never even thought of.

The issue is that you and I, no matter how wise, do not know everything there is to know, and as a result, there will always be factors outside of our control. We see leaders getting into power genuinely desiring to help their people; circumstances come into play and they end up being murderous tyrants.

We see people getting married, genuinely planning to love each other, and end up hating each other. They planned one thing, but circumstances developed that led them on a completely different path. They all thought they knew what they were doing and had sufficient wisdom to carry out their plans, but ruin is what they found.

The truth is that you and I simply don't know the outcome of our choices. We don't know where today's choice will lead 5, 10, or 15 years from now. The best way to be certain of our path is to put our trust in God and allow Him to lead.

This is the lesson the entire intelligent universe is currently learning with the rebellion of Satan, his angels, and mankind. No creature can guide his own path without God, and I am speaking of every decision here. Decisions have ripple effects, and we have no idea where they lead. God knows the end result of each decision.

Let us then put our trust in God in all that we do. This is the only true path to peace and prosperity, the only path to true wisdom. God knows, and I don't.

If Lucifer, who was the highest created being, by his own choice has led himself to everlasting ruin — and trust me, his choices and decision-making process involved greater thought and rationale than I have the capability to do — how much hope do we have in trusting in our own feeble thought process and capabilities? Without God to guide us step by step, our choices, even if they appear good today, will eventually lead to decay and ruin. Nations fall decades or even centuries after critical mistakes were made. Sometimes it is not until we reach the bottom that we see the path we were on. Historians look back and say, "Here was the beginning of the end." Let us be wise and put our trust in Him who knows the end from the beginning.

"I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps." — Jeremiah 10:23 (Berean Standard Bible)

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death." — Proverbs 14:12

Why

 Why?

​A lot of people think the United States is being run by a greedy oligarchy. These men are in government or behind government simply to profit themselves and make more money.

​Let's look at President Trump, for example. He is already a billionaire and yet he is seeking to make more money, using the office of the presidency to make more deals for himself, his family, and his friends.

​The question many people ask is: why?

​The president is 80 years old and already financially secure. Why in the world does he need more money?

​You look at these huge corporations making millions of dollars, and yet they are seeking to increase profits next quarter, to make even more money, to increase market share. Why?

​To leave behind economics and go into romance: some kings in history had hundreds of wives and concubines. Why? What true relationship can you possibly maintain with all these women? One is simply robbing other men of women and robbing the women themselves of genuine affection.

​You go to school, take out a lot of loans, and acquire multiple degrees. Why? Now, you are drowning in debt and the jobs you find don't pay you adequately.

​An Arab prince who has hundreds of cars in his parking garage: why? Will he seriously be able to drive all these cars? Isn't it a waste of resources that could benefit the nation?

​Or a person who has a closet full of clothes they never wear, buying expensive shoes that never see the light of day. I think there was a president's wife—Marcos of the Philippines—who had countless shoes in her closet. Why? A waste of national resources.

​See, the thing is, we can see the issue when the billionaire is not satisfied with his billions and seeks more, but we can't see it when it applies to us. It is said that this world has enough resources to feed us all, but greed has turned it into a place of the haves and the have-nots.

​See, the thing is, all these things we talked about are good, but taken to an excess, they cause ruin. It is good to have money, for the world system operates on money to help facilitate commerce; but when money becomes the aim of life itself, it corrupts the soul as a person seeks to fill his inner void at the expense of others.

​Having one wife is good—the Lord Himself prescribed it—but when women become the aim of life, they become objects to manipulate, use, and dispose of, or to have as trophy wives to put on display and nothing else, robbing them of their humanity and other men of a good wife.

​It is good to have degrees if the aim is to do a particular thing that requires degrees, but there comes a point where having the degree becomes a matter of ego and prestige, and it corrupts the soul.

​The reason we seek more and more of things that we know at a certain point no longer satisfy is to maintain appearances, to feed our ego, to compete with others, and to make ourselves seem better than them. It is a psychological attempt to fill the spiritual void deep in our soul—the need to feel important, loved, and honored.

​But these attempts can lead to the ruin of others, as with what oligarchies do, whether through robbing the workers, manufacturing wars for profit, etc. Or the Arab prince robbing the nation of its wealth while he lavishes it on expensive cars, or you robbing yourself of peace by being restless in keeping up with the Joneses and ruining your health or finances to maintain the appearance.

​The truth is, we all have something we believe will satisfy us if we can only have one more, like the drunkard who thinks one more drink will do it. The thing is, experience has taught us it's not true.

​The only thing that "one more of" will not only satisfy us, but also do no harm to self or others, is the love of Christ.

​While it is good to pursue things, do all things in moderation, lest you become consumed by them and start to live an absurd life that to you makes sense, but is in reality utter foolishness.

​The only cure for greed, the love of display, and keeping up with the Joneses is to seek more of the Lord; this alone will keep us balanced and content with what we have.

Sin as Identity

 The more acceptable a sin is to society, the worse it is for the person struggling with it. Sin seems like an easy thing until you try to break free from it. The more sin is nurtured, the more it grows. Eventually, sin becomes one with the person—it becomes your identity.

​This is why many who are caught up in a homosexual lifestyle identify with it. The hold is so powerful that it feels like this is simply who you are. From a young age, before we are even aware of it, a tendency begins to develop toward a particular vice. Unless it is checked early, it will—like an anaconda—envelop the entirety of our being. The vice becomes your defining feature, your raison d'être. Sometimes we mistake the vice for a virtue; we embrace its death grip, and it grows. The serpent may seem to smile at us as it tightens its hold, sometimes leaving enough wiggle room to allow us to think we are free. But try to escape, and the monster will reveal its true death grip upon the soul.

​A person struggling with things society condemns, like theft or prostitution, may find themselves in a better position to be rescued from sin's vice grip than those dealing with socially acceptable sins—such as the love of money, premarital sex, extramarital sex, homosexuality, pride, and hatred.

​Why? Because those dealing with fashionable sins do not realize the power those sins hold over them, precisely because society does not condemn them. The thief knows there is human punishment if he is caught, so he may be more willing to accept that he needs help. The prostitute may see her degradation and realize she needs help. The drug addict may see his impending ruin and his impotence in freeing himself.

​In contrast, the man who loves money cannot see how much of a slave he is, and because society honors him for his wealth, he will not seek to break free. Similarly, a person caught in the grip of homosexuality is catered to by modern society and cannot see the destructive impact it is having on him. He fails to see that the depression and anxiety he experiences are the result of an unnatural affection; society tells him he feels this way only because others are unaccepting. Thus, he remains on the path to moral ruin without realizing it.

​A woman who is vain or selfish might be excused by society, but she is still dealing with sin, and it will eventually become her identity. Likewise, the man who is hungry for power or the person who is chronically impatient or unloving, are all dealing with destructive sins that will ruin the soul sooner or later, unless the sinner comes to Christ.

​When we say, "This is just who I am," if any part of the character traits we are describing is not in harmony with God's character, we can know we are dealing with something we need deliverance from.

​It is only as a person begins to come to Christ that they realize the power of sin in their life. You begin to see that your entire identity has been shaped by your particular sin, and that only God can save you. At some point, you realize the only way to be saved is for God to destroy who you were. The problem, however, is that the destruction of one's former self is so painful that many simply choose to find comfort in their old identity.

​The closer a person draws to God, the more they realize that true religion is not simply about going to church, but about the need to die daily to whatever identity they held before truly coming to Christ. The old self must die, and this process is perhaps more painful than physical death, for it means dying while you live. You walk through life while the Lord works to destroy the sinful self and recreate you in the image of His Son.

​The sooner we realize our old identities must die, the better we will understand the true nature of Christianity. Christianity is not the improvement of the old life, but its destruction and the birth of a new one. Everything impure in us must be destroyed as we are renewed in Christ Jesus. Unless we are continually dependent on God moment by moment, we will not be able to endure the severe ordeal of inner purification.

​When we hear that we are sinful, it means our very identity has been corrupted by sin. To be holy is for Christ to become our identity—to reach a place where our entire life is centered upon Him and every decision is made for His glory. He alone can accomplish such a work in our lives, but we alone can give Him permission.

This is why you are miserable

 The root cause of human misery is idolatry. What is idolatry? It is putting created things before the Creator.

​There is a deep void within man that needs to be filled. Man was made for relationship and connection. He wants something that can satisfy his deepest longings—the longings of the soul.

​Man is a dualistic being at minimum. He has a physical body and an inner being. The physical body can be defined as his earthly home through which he relates to the material world. The physical part of man needs physical food to survive and material comforts to thrive. The physical part of man allows him to relate to the other creatures on the planet. Animals eat, drink, have sexual relationships, etc., and man participates in the same via his physical nature.

​But life in the physical home alone will not satisfy him, for he also needs to feed his inner man, his higher nature. The higher nature needs deep, intimate relationships. The inner nature seeks a deep connection. The higher nature wants to be accepted, known, and loved as is. Man wants to be loved in his totality.

​But this is difficult because man is evil; he has flaws and can find it challenging to find someone who will accept him as he is if they were to know him in his fullness. To many, a mother's love is the highest form of love they know, for a mother or father tolerates us with many of our faults. They know us. But for others, even a parent's love doesn't cover the entire inner man. There is still misunderstanding; there is still rejection.

​Life can be frustrating when the needs of the inner man are not met—when you feel no one understands you. It is a painful experience to live without a deep inner connection with anyone.

​Idolatry is the attempt to fill that void with created beings or created things. The problem is that created things can't fulfill it; it's too deep. For you to feel completely loved, you would need someone to completely understand you: to know what you are trying to accomplish when you do something, what your true intentions are when you say something, and so forth. You need someone who understands your thought process and with whom you have a perfect understanding.

​The thing is, this level of intimate knowledge is hard to come by because many people don't even understand themselves, much less others. Many people are so distracted in life that they have no time for introspection, so forget about them trying to intimately know another.

​We try to force or manipulate others to love us, to stay with us. Some of us get clingy and basically suffocate others in our search for a deeper intimacy, and their lack of response leads to great misery. Sometimes in our attempt to get their love through deceptive means, they go away from us, which leads us to deeper despair. And so, human relationships end up in misery. To seek that deep, intimate relationship with humans first and foremost will lead to misery, frustration, and inner anger.

​Some people, having seen the failure of having true intimacy with humans, seek to fill the void with pleasure, materialism (money), and whatever else they feel provides them with some form of comfort. Yet these things, being inanimate, cannot fulfill, and the soul is left desolate. Violence and all manner of destructive behavior follow as a result.

​The Creator is the only One who truly understands us, accepts us, and can fulfill our innermost longings. The Creator, being a Spirit, can connect with our spirit. Being all-knowing, He knows all our innermost parts. Being all-loving, He loves us to the innermost core. He knows what we need, when we need it, and how we need it. He made us primarily for a relationship with Him, and from our relationship with Him, we learn how to have relationships with others.

​Idolatry is Satan's cruel work to make us seek satisfaction from material things—which are beneath us and can't fulfill the soul—or from other people, who are focused on their own needs being met first and yours second.

​Reliance on God will fulfill your deepest longings and make you strong. You will have Someone who is never too busy to hear you, never tired of hearing you, and knows how to sustain you.

​Idolatry makes us weak and feeble as we put our dependence on selfish human beings, but reliance on God makes you strong enough to sustain another person as you lead them to Christ.

​The best thing you can do in life is to ask God for the strength to remove all idols and to put Him first. Trust me, it's for your own happiness.

Source of true strength

​Life is immensely challenging, and every one of us needs an anchor to fortify us through its trials. The fundamental question we must ask ourselves is: where do we find our strength?

​As created beings, we do not possess infinite strength within ourselves. Consider a growing child. A child is inherently dependent on their parents, not only for physical sustenance, but for emotional stability. They rely on love and affection to develop into a healthy individual—mentally, morally, and spiritually.

​When I speak of the spiritual aspect, I am not referring strictly to formal religion; I am speaking of the inner person. The internal self requires nourishment to survive and mature. If a child does not receive that crucial affirmation at home, they inevitably seek it elsewhere—through friends, authority figures, or sometimes even destructive groups like gangs. Even in bad company, what they are fundamentally seeking is a sense of brotherhood, belonging, and affection that tells them their life matters.

​Without love and a sense of inherent worth, surviving life’s hardships becomes nearly impossible. Life cannot be reduced to merely eating, drinking, and tending to the physical body; the inner person must be fed. We see this vividly in many affluent Western societies. Material wealth may be abundant, yet depression, anxiety, loneliness, and despair run rampant. Many lose the very will to live because they feel unloved and disconnected.

​In response, people place their trust in substitute sources of strength: money and wealth, intellect and wisdom, and status and position. The fatal flaw with these sources is that they are inherently temporary and subject to failure. In your time of ultimate need, money cannot heal a broken spirit, friends may move away or pass on, spouses can be overwhelmed, health can deteriorate, jobs can disappear, and armies can desert their king. Whenever we anchor our lives to something that changes, we risk total collapse when that anchor gives way.

​This reality echoes the biblical warning in Jeremiah seventeen verse five: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord."

​Human support systems, while valuable, are finite. Only God remains constant. No bad weather, financial hardship, or physical trial can hinder God from stepping in to sustain us.

​When a person truly feels loved, valued, and anchored by God, they gain an inner resilience that makes them virtually unstoppable. The internal spirit is restored. Conversely, when we reduce ourselves to mere biological matter—random atoms with no higher purpose—it is easy to fall into despair during difficult seasons.

​To build an enduring life, we must make God our primary anchor. First, immerse yourself in His Word; discover how God views you. When the world tells you that you are worthless, Scripture reminds you that you are deeply valued and intentionally made. Second, maintain honest prayer; bring your genuine frustrations, fears, anxieties, and disappointments directly to God. Never hesitate to ask Him specifically for strength and fortitude.

​Materialism has its place, but it will never satisfy the inner soul. Seek your strength, wisdom, and purpose in the Lord. When He becomes your anchor, you will find the fortitude to endure any storm and truly thrive

The Conqueror's Heart: Why Love Is Not for the Faint of Heart

​To Josephine, at Milan.

​Verona, November 23, 1796.

​I don't love you an atom; on the contrary, I detest you. You are a good for nothing, very ungraceful, very tactless, very tatterdemalion. You never write to me; you don't care for your husband; you know the pleasure your letters give him, and you write him barely half-a-dozen lines, thrown off anyhow.

​How, then, do you spend the livelong day, madam? What business of such importance robs you of the time to write to your very kind lover? What inclination stifles and alienates love, the affectionate and unvarying love which you promised me? Who may this paragon be, this new lover who engrosses all your time, is master of your days, and prevents you from concerning yourself about your husband? Josephine, be vigilant; one fine night the doors will be broken in, and I shall be before you.

​Truly, my dear, I am uneasy at getting no news from you. Write me four pages immediately, and some of those charming remarks which fill my heart with the pleasures of imagination.

​I hope that before long I shall clasp you in my arms, and cover you with a million kisses as burning as if under the equator.

​Bonaparte

​No. 17.

 Why is it so difficult to love? Everyone in this society—everyone in the world—looks for love. I have been reading a book about Napoleon, his love life, and the love letters he wrote to his wife. You can see that he was a very passionate guy. He expressed his heart and his tenderness toward her: how he missed her, how he loved her, and how he wanted to hear from her every single day because he felt she was the one who kept him alive. Without her, life would be miserable.

​Because he was in the military—he was not yet the emperor—and facing danger all the time, he needed an anchor: someone who could hold him, care for him, and truly love him. But his wife was not responding in the same way. In his follow-up letters, he kept asking her, "Why don't you write to me all the time? Are you so busy that you can't? Do you love me the way I love you?"

​In a way, you can see his tenderness and his suffering coming through those letters. As a matter of fact, he even spoke about how much he suffered because she was not responding in the same way. So, even in Napoleon—a guy you would think was a ruthless military commander—you can see a starvation for love. This has been the problem of humanity throughout history because we are made to love and to be loved. Yet, this has become rare. Finding love is almost like finding a diamond on the floor; it is very difficult.

​So, why is love so difficult? First of all, we have a misunderstanding of love. Love is not easy, and love does not come from the weak. Why? Because the weak do not have the strength necessary to love. Love is an exercise in giving; love is about self-sacrifice. Looking back at Napoleon's letters, we can also see neediness. He was dependent upon his wife for affection, and even though he showered her with affection and love, that dependency made him weak.

​When you are looking for love, it is going to be very hard because the people we deal with are not automatically loving beings—they are seeking love themselves. When people are seeking love, it is often because they do not have love to give. If you have love to give, you seek to give love and receive it in return. This is what makes love difficult.

​Second, love requires patience. If you don't have patience, you will not be able to love because you are dealing with someone who has all manner of flaws and weaknesses. You have to be patient with them. Only as you are patient with them over a long period of time will they feel loved and safe enough to open up and respond to your love.

​Love also requires long-suffering. If you are not willing to suffer, forget about love. When dealing with other people who have flaws and faults, you will suffer. Love requires great strength and forgiveness. If you are not willing to forgive, you cannot love, because people will wrong you. We are all sinful, broken, and fallen human beings, so we may wrong each other intentionally or unintentionally.

​If you want to love, you cannot be vindictive. You have to be a forgiving and tender person. You have to overlook the faults of others in order to love, and you have to keep loving them even when they do not respond. Consider Napoleon again: he had a spouse, he kept writing letters to her, and she was not responding. Yet, you can see his desire to love her. He kept trying—sending her gifts and doing everything he could to show his great love for her.

​In a similar manner, if you want to love, you have to keep doing things for the person even if they do not respond. This is how God treats us. God treats us with loving-kindness and faithfulness even when we do not respond. Eventually, some of us do respond, but He keeps trying.

​The reason some of us do not respond is selfishness. A lot of times, we want someone to love us, but we are so focused on ourselves that we don't understand how much the other person is going through or sacrificing to show us that love. Therefore, loving others really requires dependence on God. Naturally, we are weak and frail human beings without the strength and fortitude to love. When we rely on God, we ask Him for strength, to pour His love upon us, and to give us His Holy Spirit. Patience, loving-kindness, and compassion are gifts of the Spirit, and we need the Holy Spirit to truly love.

​In society, people often think love is a weakness, but love is not a weakness—love is strength. Love requires fortitude. Only those who are strong can truly love; a weak person cannot love. To contemplate love: if you want to love and be loved, you need a connection with God and reliance on the Holy Spirit for that strength.

​Finally, consider why God forgives us right away when we sin. It is because God is strong. Is God hurt when we sin? Yes, because God is pure, lovely, and innocent. There is no impurity or falsehood in God. Hurting someone who is completely innocent is a heinous crime, so sinning against God is a heinous crime. Yet, the Lord is love. The Lord is merciful and tender. The moment you come to Him, He forgives you right away.

​This is what real love is: genuine love is merciful, tender, compassionate, and long-suffering. It forgives iniquity, sin, and transgression. It overlooks faults and still bestows blessings on both the good and the evil, just as God causes blessings to fall on all. You continue doing good to the person even if they do wrong to you. Love is hard because we are separated from God, but as we draw closer to God, we learn to give to others and shower them with love and compassion.

​Additionally, we are changeable. Our emotions shift based on life's circumstances, and that in itself can make it difficult to love properly. Today you may wake up feeling like you want to love, but tomorrow you are not in the mood and you push the person away. Love requires consistency; there is no safety without consistency. It takes a stable individual to properly love others—someone who lets others know, in a deep sense, what to expect from day to day, reassuring them that they care and will be there as much as it depends on them.

​In conclusion, love is not easy, as it demands incredible strength and does not come from the weak. It is an exercise in giving and self-sacrifice, requiring patience and long-suffering over a long period for others to feel safe and respond. This form of love also requires great forgiveness, overlooking faults, and continuing to offer blessings even when unreturned. Ultimately, this strength depends on a connection with God, as true love is merciful and compassionate, much like the way He forgives our sins and continues to provide blessings to all.

Spain vs Argentina: a brilliant script

 You know, despite the world being so evil, people do have a love for what is right. For example, during the World Cup, Argentina was perceived by a lot of people to benefit from dubious refereeing decisions that allowed them to reach the final, especially in the games versus Egypt. A lot of people felt that the referees unfairly removed the second Egyptian goal and also unfairly denied Egypt a review by the VAR (the video assistant referee) of the third goal scored by Argentina in extra time. Following that was the Swiss game, where a lot of people felt like Argentina again benefited from a refereeing decision that gave the Swiss team a red card. So, people were very furious with Argentina, and they even called them "Vargentina." They even talked about how Argentina was FIFA's favorite team or how FIFA was planning to crown Messi as king.

​But in the final game versus Spain, a lot of people—the majority of people who were not for Argentina—were supporting Spain because they felt like Argentina was unjustly in the final. Basically, they became the villain in the storyline. If there were a script, then that script was a brilliant one by FIFA to make people hate Argentina and support Spain, which also would bring a lot of people to watch the final because they wanted to see that villain defeated. So, it would be a brilliant idea if that were the script that FIFA wanted to develop. Just like in a movie, you make the villain so evil so that people will love the hero when the hero wins.

​Nevertheless, Argentina played in the final and they played aggressively, while Spain played the way soccer was supposed to be played, and people loved Spain as a result. People were celebrating Spain because they felt like Spain had saved soccer from the anti-football tactics of Argentina. This goes to show us that people in this world, no matter how evil it is, love to see what is right done; even though they do evil in their own lives, they love to see righteous acts done. They want to see somebody who's fair, somebody who's just, and somebody who's beautiful in the way they deal with others. People still hate ugliness; a lot of people hated the Argentinian team because they felt like they played ugly and were not sportsmanlike.

​So, that goes to show you that, as a Christian, you should not follow the world in doing evil, because you may think that by doing evil, the world will love you. The fact of the matter is, the world will despise you, even though they themselves are evil. The world loves to see somebody who's beautiful. Even when they are against you and your principles because you are different from them, there will still be a deeper appreciation for who you are. If you resist evil, this is where true love is developed. Anybody who cares for you will truly love you, and that's why righteousness prevails in the end—because righteousness is always beautiful. Righteousness appeals even when those who are evil hate you; even the one who hates you will have a deep appreciation for you. Just like with Jesus—if you notice, the Pharisees hated Jesus, but they were always around him.

Dealing with life's hardships: Lessons from Napoleon's letters

 Dealing with life's hardships: Lessons from Napoleon's letters

​Life is hard. Every man has his struggles. I read a book containing letters written by Napoleon to his wife, Josephine, in which he expresses his fears and worries. At one point, he said he was ready to curse his life, but for thoughts of her:

​"When I am weary of the worries of my profession, when I mistrust the issue, when men disgust me, when I am ready to curse my life, I put my hand on my heart where your portrait beats in unison. I look at it, and love is for me complete happiness; and everything laughs for joy, except the time during which I find myself away from my beloved.

​"By what art have you learnt how to captivate all my faculties, to concentrate in yourself my spiritual existence? It is a witchery, dear love, which will end only with me. To live for Josephine, that is the history of my life."

​The thing—the person—that kept him going at this stage of his life was his love for his wife. Love overcomes all things.

​Friends, life is hard no matter how you look at it. A car accident might take away the one you love; a job loss may take away your finances. We are surrounded by constant trials, never knowing what tomorrow will bring. Life on this planet is hard.

​But one thing that will give us the strength to go through life's hardships is love: to love and be loved. While we don't want to make Napoleon's mistake and make an idol out of our spouses, we want to, instead, live for God. Think of Him, and He will strengthen us to go through the trials.

​

​When we are weary of the worries of our jobs, when we are dealing with mistrust, when men disgust us, when we are ready to curse our lives, let us touch our hearts and remember that Jesus loves us. Look at what He has done for us and who He is to us, and we will find joy. To live for Jesus—that is the story of our lives, the history we want to have.

​Love is powerful. We want to show similar love to others—love that will give them courage to face trials, courage to move forward, and courage to live. Love is life; by loving others, we ease their burdens and make life easier.

​As I thought on this piece from Napoleon, it brought into clearer focus that the solution to society's many ills is love—genuine love that has its origin in God. The man and woman who have this love are of heavenly origin, and the place they abide will be one full of life, a heaven on Earth for its recipient.

A glimpse into heaven

 ​Have you ever wondered what heaven would look like? What makes the place our aim? Why is it that many cannot wait to go there?

​Well, come with me on this journey to the heavenly place—the place you cannot wait to enter. The place some Christians say, "When you die, you go there." The place where, anytime a celebrity dies or someone we admire dies, we say they go there, no matter how they lived. Let us get a glimpse of heaven, taste it, and see how it is.

​Earthly: "My wife has really upset me right now. I will give her a piece of my mind. I will speak hurtful words to her to show her my pain."

​Heavenly: "On second thought, let me not do this. I made a vow to love her, and love doesn't speak words that wound for the sake of wounding. Love heals, love protects. I will be gentle. I don't feel like it, but love is not based on feelings, but on what is right. Therefore, I will remain silent until the words of my mouth will heal instead of wounding."

​Behold this man who suffers long with the mistakes of his wife. Who doesn’t say hurtful words to her, who seeks to uplift her continually. Who doesn't just say meaningless words of "I love you" to her, but who demonstrates it by his actions. Behold his self-control in holding back his tongue, his emotions, lest they burst forth and tear her world apart. Behold him taking the lead in making sure his wife enjoys being at home; she looks forward to being there because he is her joy.

​Behold this man, who is easy to talk to, not easily angered, kind, patient, and forgiving. He provides the space for her to be herself, and she grows. His wife glows; she lives in an abundance of love.

​The heavenly man understands that his wife's behavior, or his own tiredness, frustration, and mental state, is no excuse for the mistreatment of his wife, for to do so would reduce him to the state of a beast who is governed by impulse and not rationality. The heavenly man understands that he must always be on guard against his internal beast that would seek to destroy his loved ones. He is a husband, a "houseband," that binds the home together in love, and he must defend it with his life. He defends the home against all threats, including threats proceeding from his own heart. In order for him to love his wife and those around him, he must, like a hunter in a village, guard the door of his heart with a spear, so that anytime the beastly nature of revenge or violence seeks to enter his marriage, he slays it with self-control, tenderness, and love.

​Look at his wife, slow to anger. When she is mad about something, she doesn't speak right away. She studies herself, understands her own emotions, and knows the best time she can speak. Maybe speaking is not it for her; maybe she texts him. It is easier for her not to say hurtful things in this way, and she practices it. Because she says, "I love my husband, and how could I break that love by wounding it? I would rather battle these rash feelings of mine, subdue them first, and then I will speak to him when I am calm." Love doesn't wound. She thinks all day about, "How can I make the life of my husband more pleasant? What are the things he needs, and how can I provide them for him?" My husband is my gift from God, and I will treat him as so.

​The wife, having walked with God, understands that having her monthly cycle, a bad day, frustration, etc., doesn't release her from her vow to love and respect her husband. She understands, as a matter of fact, that real love is revealed in times of adversity. Having known herself as she walks with God, she too, like a hunter, guards her own heart with due diligence and vigilance. She watches over it for any hints of the serpent within seeking to slither out and strike her husband with her poisonous tongue. She is ever ready to strike the serpent with the spear of self-control, silence, and prayer, lest it destroy her husband even as they remain married. She knows it was in talking to the serpent that the man and woman lost paradise, and she will not allow the serpent in her lower nature to destroy the paradise of her home. She knows love is not a given, but it must be built and guarded with vigilance.

​Look at this politician who ran for office on the promise he will help the people and does all he can to fulfill his vow. He tells the truth as it is, even to his own detriment. He failed in his endeavor; the people voted him out, but they know he was an honest man.

​Look at this pastor at a church; his priority is the spiritual health of the people. He treats them with love and kindness. He doesn't look down upon them or take advantage of their ignorance, but prays for them, intercedes for them.

​Look at this man in traffic who is not enraged when someone cuts him off, but prays for safe travels for that person. Look at him giving to the poor beggar who comes to his window.

​Look at the man who uses his money to help others, who doesn't take advantage of others by the use of his money. He sees his money as a gift from God, and he will use it for the betterment of humanity.

​The man who understands that all human beings, no matter their skin colors, nationalities, or backgrounds, are members of one human family. He doesn't hate his neighbor, but loves him and treats him as he himself would want to be treated. A man who looks beyond superficial differences and sees the truth. He has evolved from the ignorance of racism to genuine wisdom. He focuses more on what we have in common than what separates us.

​Look at the man or woman who sacrifices self daily, moment by moment, so they can be a blessing to others, so they can make the lives of others better. The man or woman who keeps their vows to love through thick and thin. The man or woman who understands that love is more than empty words, but actions. Love is concerned with the well-being of the other. The man and woman whom people in the closest ties to them will testify of their love, their patience, tenderness, and self-control. The man and woman whose very home resembles a piece of heaven on earth—and you will get a glimpse of heaven.

​For heaven is not merely a place, but a lifestyle, an attitude of self-denial for the betterment of others.

​Satan was in heaven, but was cast out because his attitude of selfishness was incompatible with that place. His attitude made heaven a hellish place of suffering; his mind was turned into darkness, and he could no longer dwell there.

​Those who practice similar behavior will not enter heaven because they are citizens of hell.

​Those who begin to get a glimpse of heaven here in their own lives will be fit to enter into the heavenly realm in the hereafter. There is no need to wait until you die to go to heaven; heaven on earth is possible to some degree. It requires us to start living like heavenly citizens, to seek the good of others, to restrain self, and promote love.

​Charles Darwin spoke of evolution, of man rising from his ignorance, from the primordial slime to become what he is now. The heavenly man is the truly evolved one, for he has risen from a hellish mindset of ignorance and selfishness. He saw a glimpse of heaven in the life of Christ, in God's Word, and through prayer and practice, heaven has come into his life, and heaven walks with him, abides with him in his daily living.

​The man who dwells in heaven has died here, for the way to heaven is through the gates of death. Heaven begins when the self begins to die; the greater the death, the more joyful the heavenly home. As we die to self more and more, those around us will experience a greater revelation of heaven. Do not wait to physically die to experience heaven when Christ returns, for only those who die daily here will be able to enter there.

​Heaven is practical. I hope you have seen a glimpse of it today. Go and practice. Go and build a heavenly home today.

Did God Make Us? The Devolution of Man

​God Did Not Make Us: The Devolution of Man

​Typically, you will hear people ask the question, "Did God create the Devil? Did God create a being so evil and wicked?" The answer is, of course, no. God didn't create the Devil. God created a beautiful angel called the "Son of the Morning," commonly known as Lucifer, the angel of light. So, how did he become a devil? "Devil," by the way, means "the adversary." He became so by his own choice. He chose to rebel against God and live by principles contrary to His will. He stands in opposition to God.

​What about us? Did God make us as we are? When you look at us, what do you see? Well, let’s first look at what some thinkers—some famous ones—have said on the matter:

​"Man is the only animal whose desires increase as they are fed; the only animal that is never satisfied." — Henry George

​"Man is by nature a political animal." — Aristotle

​"Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to." — Mark Twain

​"Man is a reasoning animal. He must get his reasons for any untoward light into which he has fallen." — Robert Louis Stevenson

​"Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities, war." — H.L. Mencken

​"Man is a gold-digging, diamond-seeking, oil-drilling, bottom-feeding animal." — George Carlin

​"Man is an animal that can think, and it is precisely this ability that has caused him to lose his way." — Paramahansa Yogananda

​"Man is the only animal that inflicts pain for pleasure, knowing it to be pain." — Mark Twain

​"Man is the cruelest animal." — Friedrich Nietzsche

​"The animal is a logical creature; man is the only one who behaves irrationally." — Bertrand Russell

​"Man is a wolf to man." — Plautus (later popularized by Thomas Hobbes)

​"Animals are born who they are, accept it, and that is that. They live with greater simplicity than we do... but man is an animal that can be something more, or something less, than an animal." — Jean-Paul Sartre

​"There is no cruelty that a man is not capable of, which a beast would find unthinkable." — Victor Hugo

​Man is animal-like. It’s no wonder that Charles Darwin, when he looked at the world, concluded that man evolved from lower forms of beings. From what he saw, he was basically saying there is no way such a being is the product of a benevolent Creator. For when he looked at mankind, all he saw was wickedness: man killing others, stealing, cheating, and spreading suffering among one another. Such a being doesn't reflect a benevolent Creator at all.

​When I look at the world, all I see is suffering of all types and bloodshed. The majority of this world’s suffering is caused by man—not animals, not nature, but man toward his fellows.

​Let’s begin from the smallest unit of society: the family. A man and woman seek love. They set their eyes upon each other and come before the altar, promising to love each other through thick and thin, to respect and cherish each other, etc. But, lo and behold, the greatest source of misery for that man and woman ends up being the marriage itself. They yell at each other, try to control one another, and let out the worst of their behaviors. They may seek to maintain self-control—the control of their animal passions when dealing with others—but they unleash them against those they claim to love and cherish. This is the cause of divorce; the "animal man" cannot last long in close relationships, and so, for many, marriage is a source of misery.

​Parents mistreat the children they claim to love and speak to them unkindly. Some even sexually or physically abuse their own children. This is animal behavior—and it is even worse than that of animals, because man has greater understanding than animals, and many animals do not behave in such a manner.

​Employees abuse and mistreat the people they need to make money. Church members proclaim brotherhood to one another and yet are in constant fights because they see things differently; they hate each other and smear one another. This is animal behavior.

​Politicians promise to serve the people, but instead enrich themselves at the people's expense, leading to all manner of economic disparity that triggers revolutions—in which they themselves may become victims. Business elites enrich themselves through corrupt dealings and false balances, which create hatred and envy in the masses, leading to revolutions to seize control of these riches. The human being—the "animal man," or as the Bible calls him, the "natural man"—no matter how high or low his position is, lacks foresight. As a result, he cannot see the end result of his decisions; he makes choices that seem to benefit himself today but end up being his ruin tomorrow.

​We know we are one human race, yet we hate each other and abuse one another because of our different skin colors. Man hates woman, and vice versa. We hate others who are of different religions or backgrounds. We make war against each other for resources. The human being is not only an animal in his irrationality, but he is worse than an animal because he has greater capacity than the beasts.

​God didn't make us as we are. We are the product of corruption.

​"Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish." — Psalm 49:20 (KJV)

​The Bible itself compares the man without understanding to an animal that perishes. The man without understanding lives by impulses like the animals, with no lasting foresight, and he dies like the animals with no hope of eternal life.

​God didn't make us as we are. What we are now is a devolution—a downgraded version of what God created. The Bible says God made man in His image. Man was like God: loving, tender, and compassionate. But man didn't want to be like God. He chose instead to be like the animals; he listened to a snake, and his path downgraded from there. (Reference: Genesis 5:1–4)

​You see in the verses above that there was a clear change. The man was no longer in the image of God; he resembled Adam in his sinfulness, in his downgraded position. The moment Adam forsook his high calling, a change came to the human being. With each generation, we resemble God less and less, becoming more like the things around us—more like the beasts in nature. It was no surprise then that Cain killed his brother, Abel. How can you kill your own brother, whom you grew up with and were supposed to love? Cain had lost reason; he had lost sense. This is the condition of the "animal man." He has no sense; he is dangerous and destructive. The animal man doesn't comprehend Divine things; his reasoning cannot grasp Divine truth, for Divine truths are foolishness to him.

​"The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." — 1 Corinthians 2:14 (ESV)

​It is no surprise when you tell people they have to love those who hurt them, and they rebel. You tell them they have to forgive those who hurt them, and they complain. It is no surprise they reject anything that would cause them to rise up higher, to return to the image of God. They prefer to remain bestial and sensual, with hatred and violence in their hearts.

​Any deep analysis of your own heart will clearly show you the predatory animal nature within: the desire to conquer, to get even, to hurt, and to get one up on your neighbor. The desire to live for desire, no matter how destructive it is to others. The animal nature is alive and well. We are all born with this nature, and the only way out is to be born again.

​What do you do if you find dangerous animals in your village? You destroy them in order to protect the life of your loved ones. In like manner, God destroyed societies that have sold themselves completely to the animal nature to protect the well-being of the universe. He drowned the people in Noah's days because they were completely animalistic, with their imagination towards evil continually, filled with violence. He destroyed Sodom because you can see they had clearly lost sight of the basic truth about the nature of sexual relationships, having to do with only man and woman. That homosexuality is an aberration of nature. And throughout history, God continues to destroy and overthrow nations that have given themselves up to animalistic tendencies and rob the earth of peace. He will destroy this world at the end because the world resembles a jungle with violent beasts of prey devouring each other physically, sexually, mentally, financially, and every other way you can think of. This is why God destroys. The animal man must be destroyed, for he is a threat to the well-being of the universe. This is also why God usually compares Satan and violent nations to animals, for that is what they are—and what we are—when unconverted.

​The Gospel is true: unless we are born again by the Spirit of God, we will not even see the Kingdom of God. The same way an animal cannot comprehend higher education is the same way a man without the Holy Spirit—an "animal man"—cannot comprehend the beauty of holiness.

​Friends, our solution is simple. We must see the animal in us—in our behaviors—and seek the Lord immediately and intensely. We must ask Him to crucify the flesh, the animal nature in us, and fill us with the Holy Spirit so that we may rise to the man and woman God designed us to be: the man made in His image, the man born of the Spirit.

​This is why I tell people always: read the Word and ask God for the power to treat people the way He tells us to. Pray for those who hurt you, do good to them, love your enemies, etc. These are the ways of a true human. But hatred, violence, selfishness, and getting even are all animal behaviors—and remember, no animal on this earth will enter heaven.

​So, Darwin was right in the sense that the man currently on earth is animalistic in nature. But God wants to do an evolution—a true process of evolution—to turn this animal into a man in His image.

​Do you want to evolve to Godlikeness? Then seek the Lord and ask Him to transform your heart daily.

Human nature, corruption and appearances

 ​"So if you, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father, who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask Him?"

— Matthew 7:11 (Berean Study Bible)

​What is human nature? Is it good or evil? Is man born with a tendency toward evil already within, or is his evil the result of his environment? Some philosophers argue that man is born good and it is his environment that corrupts him. I beg to differ, because I believe the testimony of Scripture and the evidence of human history: man is evil by nature. Any person is capable of the greatest evil if given the opportunity and accountability is removed. One thing that restrains human evil is the fear of accountability—the fear of being caught, judged, and condemned. The fact that we need security, police, and armies reveals to us the evil nature of humanity.

​Human nature is corrupt. It is selfish and wicked. Thus, it is no surprise that human institutions are also corrupt. Anything run by man is subject to corruption and is, to some degree, corrupt.

​During a match between Egypt and Argentina in the 2026 World Cup, a clear Egyptian goal was disallowed upon review by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for a foul adjudged to have been committed deep in the Egyptian half—a foul initially ignored by the referee. Many believed the cancellation of the goal was a sign of clear corruption by FIFA in favor of Argentina. They believe that Argentina, with Messi in the lineup—one of the world's most famous athletes—will bring more revenue for FIFA than Egypt. With Portugal's Ronaldo already eliminated from the tournament, FIFA would lose a lot of money allowing Messi to follow suit so early in the tournament, in the Round of 16. Famous athletes bring attention, and attention equals revenue. Professional sports is more about money than athleticism. FIFA is in business to make money, and the love of money is the root of all evil. While I will not say there was a clear conspiracy to get Argentina through, I will not deny it either, because where man rules, corruption is present.

​Is FIFA a corrupt organization, you ask? I will answer: are human beings running it? If yes, then you better believe it is corrupt. It is ignorance to put trust in human institutions run by flawed, corrupt human beings. A spring can only yield the water from its source; if the source is dirty and corrupt, you can be sure the spring will be, too.

​Since the human being is corrupt by nature, everything he touches becomes corrupt. Are governments corrupt? The answer is yes. You might argue that we have government watchdog agencies looking for corruption to root it out. However, the fact that watchdog agencies exist actually proves my point. There would be no need for a watchdog agency if corruption were not a reality. The follow-up question is: who is in charge of these agencies? Fellow humans who are also susceptible to corruption and can easily be bribed. The human being is selfish and, for the most part, concerned with self-promotion and preservation, doing whatever it takes to reach those ends.

​What about churches and religious institutions? Are they corrupt, too? Since they claim to represent the Divine, who is not corrupt, one would hope not. But the answer is yes. It was church leadership that put Jesus, the Son of God, to death. Why did they do it? They feared His growing reputation and felt the people were abandoning them to follow Christ; they feared that if they did not act, they would lose their power. Here is another associate of corruption: power. Money and power are major factors in further corrupting the human heart, and to acquire money and power are often the major goals of religious institutions. Churches compromise their own teachings to preserve their institutions, their power, and their coffers. How many churches refuse to speak the truth for fear of offending sinners? Offending sinners equals fewer people in the pews, which equals less money in the coffers; less money in the coffers means less money for the leaders. So, yes, corruption is rife in every human institution because humans are evil by nature.

​Because we recognize our own corruption, even while many claim to be "good people," we seek to hide it by putting forth a beautiful appearance. The more corrupt we are, the more we seek to construct a beautiful exterior to deceive others and hide reality. We dress in beautiful garments to hide our inner deformities. Many of us will not allow people to get close to us for fear they will discover our inner evils—not even God. We seek to hide even from God, who sees all things and is the only One who can truly help, and so our corruption remains and metastasizes.

​In like manner, governments and other organizations fear close scrutiny, for they know that if one looks closely enough, the inner corruption will be revealed. Typically, journalists who truly seek to investigate corruption are targeted in return; some are even killed. We will do anything to keep our corruption hidden, all the while promoting beautiful appearances.

​Beautiful government buildings hide inner corruption, fraud, and deceit. Beautiful church buildings cover the lawlessness within. Beautiful garments hide selfishness, envy, hatred, and strife.

​When one understands human nature, one will spare oneself many troubles. You will no longer put your trust in man or human institutions, and when they show their true nature and fail you, despair will not overtake you.

​If your spouse cheats, it will hurt, and you will feel betrayed, but you will understand it is human nature. By the grace of God, you will be more apt to forgive. You will understand that if not for the grace of God, you might have cheated yourself. Even if you have not cheated physically, you are guilty of many wrongs that, if subjected to close scrutiny, would leave you ashamed.

​When a government commits injustice, you will call them out and preach the truth, but at the same time, recognize it is the corruption of the human heart on display. As such, you will not call for armed revolution in the streets or a new election to replace one group of corrupt people with another corrupt batch. Instead, you will preach righteousness, truth, and justice, hoping that at least one individual will repent, give their life to God, and be transformed.

​When you experience "church hurt," you will not be discouraged, because you understand that despite their claims to holiness, many church people are rotten inside with corruption. For many, church is simply a social gathering—a moral boost—and not a place where they seek the Lord for true transformation. As a result, the corruption in the church can be worse because it is hidden under a garment of righteousness. People look good on Sabbath morning, but beneath the beautiful appearances are streams of corruption. Before you condemn them, look at your own hidden, inward corruption. When you experience church hurt and understand human nature, you will pray for your own purification and for God to forgive and help those who hurt you.

​It is ignorance of our own corruption that makes us intolerant of others. FIFA, governments, and churches have beautiful, righteous laws in themselves. It is not the organization per se that is corrupt, but the individuals who make up the organization. The source of human corruption is the human heart, and the human heart is desperately wicked.

​There is only one solution for the corruption you see everywhere: individuals must give their lives to Christ, asking for a heart transformation daily and choosing righteousness, no matter the cost.

​The human heart is corrupt; no amount of beautiful outward garments can hide its corruption for long. Sooner or later, it bursts forth. The only cure is Christ’s garment of righteousness. Seek the Lord and be cleansed from inward corruption.

The idolatry of work

What is work? Why do we work?

​Work is basically anything one engages in to achieve a purpose or result—a task to be done. Work can engage the mind and the body, allowing us to grow.

​We work, first of all, because we have to eat. Work is of Divine origin, not human. The Lord told Adam in Genesis chapter 3, "By the sweat of your brow you shall eat." Labor was given by God to man for his joy and development. Work in the garden was meant to be a pleasant experience, but after sin, it became a painful experience. "By the sweat of your brow you shall eat." The ground was cursed by God; the soil became stubborn, just as man had become, and work became filled with stress and disappointment. The Lord declared that thorns and thistles would grow also, meaning a lot of futility would be involved in seeking our daily bread.

​Work can be hard; however, work is needful and useful. Work keeps us occupied; without work, many of us would fall into idleness, and there is a saying, "Idleness is the devil's playground." Without useful work, our minds would begin to wander into evil territory and all manner of wickedness—weeds of thought would come up, leading to evil behaviors.

​Work is good. Work brings fulfillment, teaches us responsibility, and, if one looks carefully enough, leads to our spiritual development. The more stressful the work, the more we are to depend on God. The more meaningless the work, the more we have to keep our minds on God so that our thoughts do not wander into negative territory.

​While work is needful and useful, it is not to be in the place of God. Work is not what sustains us; it is God who does.

​Many have come to idolize work, making it their highest priority in life. They put work above God, family, friends, and coworkers. They are so focused on getting the work done that they sometimes lose all that is really important in life. Consider the man who works so much that he has no time for his spouse and kids, no time for prayer, and no time for fellowship with other believers. He is always tired and in a bad mood. His mind is consumed by work, and soon the stress begins to impact his spirit. Before he knows it, his wife asks him for a divorce. He is shocked; he finds her ungrateful and he berates her, talking about how much he sacrifices for the family by working so hard and that this is how she has repaid him. But he doesn't understand that he had already divorced his wife mentally and emotionally by making work his first love. He is never with her, and so it is no surprise that his wife feels neglected and abandoned. His children no longer recognize him, for he is a stranger to them emotionally. He is never there, yet he buys expensive gifts, thinking products will make up for love. Time is love, but his time was money. So, he gets the money, but at the price of people. Soon, because of the damage to broken relationships, his health is impacted, his work performance drops, and he is called to the office and may soon lose the job he sacrificed his God, his family, his friends, and his coworkers for. He has made an idol of his work, and like all idols, it robs you of all that is dear.

​Work is not what sustains us; it is God who does. We plant the seed, but it is God who allows the seed to grow. It is He who sends the rain, He who gives you health, and He who gives you the strength to carry out your duties.

​Do not make work your highest priority in life, or work will stress you out so much and rob you of life. Work is a part of life; work is not life itself. Work is important, but it is not the most important thing in life. Do not become a slave to work. Do not seek a certain position because of the pay increase if it causes a mental health decrease. Get the promotion because you are prepared and able to do it while maintaining a work-life balance.

​Never forget that you work to live, not live to work. Put things in their proper order and your life will be more prosperous. The order of life is God, family, people, and then work. Even at your place of employment, never put the work above people; value people above the work. While work is important, it is the people who make it possible. Reject any thought process that seeks to destroy humanity for the sake of production.

​Do not live to work, but work to sustain a living. Do not live above your means, making work your idol; for when work becomes your false god, it will soon enslave you.

​Know the Truth, and you will be free.

Are world cup games rigged ?

 Are World Cup games rigged?

​The first question we must ask is this: Are major sporting events about money or athletics? While FIFA might say their chief aim is to promote global harmony through sports, fair competition, etc., one must look beneath the words to see the true motives.

​Wasn't it FIFA who recently created a global peace award to give to President Trump after he didn't receive the coveted Nobel Peace Prize for claiming to have ended many wars? Can such an organization be considered above reproach?

​Let's go back to our conversation. FIFA is foremost a business. They are in the sports business, and in business, the goal is to sell a product and make money. Nothing is wrong with being in business to make a profit. The problem arises when one seeks to make it appear as if they are not in business.

​The World Cup, like any other major competition—the NFL, NBA, MLB, etc.—is about money: merchandising, ticket sales, television rights, etc. As a business manager, you have to make sure you sell the right products and that you are able to retain customers. And so, you want to make sure the best teams and best players who will attract many people to the games are there. The ways the World Cup groups are set up are for the benefit of the big nations, to greatly reduce the chances of early exits.

​European teams bring massive support and great revenue; as a business manager, you want to make sure more spots are given to European teams. More European teams means more money.

​Now, I’m not saying that every game is rigged, but I believe to a great degree it is controlled—not necessarily like the scripted games of World Wrestling Entertainment, but we are to remember that sports itself is entertainment. And so, there is a degree of control there, unbeknownst to the spectator.

​Can you imagine if all the big European teams were knocked out and some African team and a South American team that is not Brazil or Argentina were to make it to the final? Viewership may be impacted, and so decisions might be made in games to prevent that. I saw the highlights of a game between Ghana and England where an English player clearly tackled a Ghanaian player in the box and made no contact with the ball at all. It was a clear penalty; the game was drawn at the time and a goal could have put England in serious trouble. The referee didn't make the call, and VAR (Video Assistant Referee) didn't even bother to take a look at it.

​At the same time, there was a game between Senegal and Belgium. The game was 2-2 and the penalty shootout was looming. A coming-together of a Belgian attacker with a Senegalese player was waived off by the match referee, but VAR called him to review the play. The referee took a while before he decided to give Belgium a penalty—a penalty at the end of extra time, just before the penalty shootout. Belgium scored; Belgium won.

​Do you think they would have made that call in favor of Senegal? Probably not. Why? Senegal does not offer the same huge market as Belgium. Plus, recently, two big European teams were knocked out of the tournament—Germany and the Netherlands. To lose Belgium could have been something very bad in a business sense. Can you imagine all those fans going back to their country so early? Restaurants, hotels, etc., are all impacted. How many fans from Senegal traveled to the States? How many fans from Cape Verde made it here? So, allowing such small teams to go further at the expense of big teams doesn't make business sense at all.

​Protecting the big teams and the home teams becomes a business decision. In some games, you would even see teams that are in a losing position playing as if they are winning, with no urgency, etc., which brings suspicion as to match-rigging.

​The bottom line is this: the world is corrupt, many human institutions are corrupt, and FIFA itself recently had a corruption scandal. Sports at the professional level is probably much more a business than it is athletic; it is much more about money than fair competition, and the Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil. When money is the main goal, you can be sure that corruption will be there. It may be hard to spot at first, but if you pay close attention, you can see the hints of it.

​Professional sports is for the entertainment of the masses, to give them a storyline, to make them worship a hero. And like all forms of entertainment, some form of scripting exists. Do not put your heart in these things, for they are not as fair or free as you may believe.

Your choices matter

 Your Choices Matter

​Sometimes it is easy to think, "My choices don't matter," or "The things I do don't matter. My life is just my own and it has no great impact on the world." We may even look at people like the pastor, the community leader, your boss, or even the president and say their choices matter, but mine don't.

​The Fallacy of Singular Leadership

​This is false. The success of anything in life, whether it be the family, the church, the business, or the nation, depends not necessarily on the choice of a single leader, but on the daily choices made by the individual. Let's look at a business, for example. You can have the best CEO, but if some of the low-level employees choose not to show up, it will impact the business.

​You can be the greatest general in the world, but if your frontline soldiers refuse to fight, you have no strength. You can be the best spouse in the world, but if your spouse chooses the path of selfishness, the family will be damaged.

​The Collective Moral Foundation

​Life is never about the big choices, but the daily choices made by the individual. A successful society is dependent on the choices of all of its members. If the members of a society are greedy for money and neglect true self-development, the rot of corruption will soon begin to eat the society from the inside out. If the members of the society start choosing to believe there is no difference between a man and a woman and that homosexuality is okay, confusion will soon take over the whole society.

​Sexual promiscuity erodes trust and breaks people down emotionally, which then leads to greater problems in marriage. Problems in marriage might lead you to get a divorce. Your divorce not only impacts you, your children, and those around you; it impacts society as a whole, for it shifts people's perception of marriage, and as we know, marriage is the foundation of society. For a marriage is akin to a small nation-state. The breakdown of marriage is a small dose of national breakdown. A nation is a marriage of people through a social contract. Your individual choice of how you treat marriage has a national impact. Choose wisely, deal wisely with your spouse. Your success and failure in marriage have a great impact.

​The Interdependence of the Whole

​A machine depends on the sum of its parts. As long as each part is working correctly, then the machine is working correctly; but as soon as a different part, or what appears to be the most insignificant part, starts to malfunction, then the machine will start to breakdown.

​Each member is integral to the success of the whole. An army at war is not solely depending on the general who directs combat, but on the cook who prepares the food, the mechanic who fixes the vehicles, the clerk who processes the material, and the phone operator who passes the message. Each has a crucial part to play in the success or failure of the army. A missed message could define the success or failure of a battle.

​To build a society, one doesn't simply need a great leader, a great cabinet, etc., but the construction worker who will work on infrastructure, the teacher who will raise the future generation, the policeman who keeps the peace in the streets, etc. The choice of each member is crucial to the success or failure of it. A revolution may start with one member of the society, high or low, stating his or her discontent, then that discontent goes from member to member until it becomes a flood that overwhelms the system.

​Empowering the Individual

​The truth is, no one man is truly as powerful as the least member that upholds him. If you want to build a successful family, church, business, or nation, focus on the development of the least individual. Teach them to make healthy choices, wise choices. If the individual is making healthy choices, then the society and the business become healthy.

​Imagine having a business where one of your employees gets involved in a scandal of some sort; his personal choice will impact the function of the business.

​A powerful nation is not powerful because of its army only. It is powerful because of its industry, its educational system, its virtues, and the people's belief in its cause. A powerful country is dependent upon the poor as much as the rich. For it is usually the poor who make up its armies, work in its factories, maintain its infrastructure, etc. While the rich may provide the financial capital, the poor do the labor, and as such, the poor are as important as the rich.

​A church is not successful because it has a brilliant orator as a pastor. The whole contributes to its success: the deacon maintaining cleanliness and order, the usher with the smile welcoming the people, the treasurer who faithfully stewards its money, the youth working the technology, and the member seeking to live an upright life. If the usher had a bad day and was mean to one person, that one act may eventually lead to a damaged reputation and destroy the church. One member living in sin will, by his or her influence, corrupt the whole.

​The act of one soldier can define a battle. A soldier who no longer believes in the cause can open the gate to the enemy, reveal secrets, etc. One traitor in the ranks can destroy the whole. The individual and his daily choices are what contribute to the success or failure of any group or enterprise.

​Conclusion

​Your choices matter. The choices you make on a daily basis are determining whether your family, your job, church, Bible study group, society, or the nation gets stronger or weaker.

​The idea that my choices are unimportant and only the choices of powerful people in powerful positions matter is simply false. As a matter of fact, many times so-called "powerful" people make choices to appeal to the popular will, and what is the popular will but the individual choices of the majority?

​Your choices matter. Every single one. Whether you choose to read the Bible or watch some foolishness, whether you go to school or not, whether you treat someone kindly or not, it all matters. The person you treated kindly may develop a better view of people and repeat the same. The person you mistreated one day may develop an evil outlook on humanity or your people group and spread evil.

​Your choices matter; seek to make wise ones.

Always remember that national sin is the result of accumulated individual sins. When God judges a nation, He is not judging them, He is judging us. Make right choices that please God on daily 

The Stronger Sex: Man or Woman ?

 The Stronger Sex: Man or Woman?

​Who is stronger, man or woman? A lot depends on how we define strength. If we define strength solely by physical power, then men take the crown, for men are stronger than women on average. They possess greater upper-body strength. But what about emotionally, intellectually, or spiritually? That can be very hard to quantify.

​But let's look at another area. Let's look at strength in terms of who has power over whom. Who is able to rule over whom?

​While many men will go around saying they are stronger than women, the reality is much different. Many men are ignorant of the power of women, and in a male-centric world, it blinds them. Men define power in terms of other men. Men are mostly focused on raw power, while women use soft power for the most part.

​Who is more powerful? The man with the muscles, or the woman who walks by—that beautiful woman who makes every man's heart skip a beat? The woman whom everyone wants to hold the door for? The woman who gets hired on the spot because of her good looks, or the woman who was speeding and is let go without a ticket by a mean-looking male police officer?

​Who is more powerful? Bathsheba, whom King David was powerless to resist, risking his household to attain? Who is more powerful? The Taliban, who defeated the mighty USA, or the women who are so dangerous that their faces must be covered lest the men be taken captive by lust? Think of the rich man who goes to a third-world country in search of a beautiful woman; when he finds her, he lavishes his wealth on her and brings her back to the states to make her his wife.

​Is it King Herod on his throne, or Salome in her youth, dancing before the king, enthralling him, and to whom the king promised half of his kingdom? Just a look, a glance, a shake of the hip would have been enough to take away half of the kingdom. Any other man who desired half of King Herod's kingdom would have to assemble an army and fight for it. But the dance of a young woman was more than a match for the king.

​How many men who would not give anyone a dime will spend a fortune on a woman they barely know? Samson betrayed his strength for a woman. Samson, the mighty man who defeated a thousand Philistine warriors, was defeated by a woman. Solomon, the wisest of kings, was taken captive by his wives. The Israelites on the border of Canaan were defeated by Moabite harlots. We read of Caesar—the mighty Caesar—being enthralled by Cleopatra, and Mark Antony, one of Rome's famed generals, taken captive by her gaze. How many husbands live by the "yes, dear" principle for fear of offending their wives? Men will pay and beg to be with a woman, and yet many men claim to be stronger than women.

​Many men's lives are centered around pleasing women and seeking validation from women, all the while claiming to be stronger. Men seek money, fame, and power just so they can attract women, and yet they claim to be stronger.

​The truth is, the object of attraction is stronger than the one who is attracted. Because women are to a great part the attraction of many men, the truth is that women to a great part rule over men. They don't rule over men through physical dominance, but through beauty, the promise of sensual pleasures, and emotional awareness.

​Many men can resist anything but the power of a beautiful woman, and the man who cannot resist the power of a woman is not stronger than her. Toxic masculinity is nothing but men who realize they are weaker than women; unable to resist, they resort to violence—physical, emotional, etc.—to dominate, to assert back their lack of perceived dominance. Violence is usually the tool of the inwardly weak. The desire to control is the expression of the weak.

​Many men are the slaves of women. To a great degree in modern society, or in the past, women have ruled over men. Women have ruled over kings and generals because women ruled over them through their lust. The person who controls the resources that you seek controls you.

​Women, while physically weaker, are powerful creatures. A woman will analyze a man, seek his weakest point, and unless she truly loves him, will, like a mighty general, take control of the whole man. Her softness, tears, and tenderness are not tools of weakness, but power.

​An army is as strong as its weakest point, and a man is as strong as the passion he controls or that controls him. A man who believes he needs a woman to be validated will be a slave to women. A man who believes he needs to seduce and conquer women to feel like a man has already admitted to himself that women are stronger than him. Hence, womanizers are weak men who look at women as a prize to conquer in order to feel manly.

​The only man who is stronger than a woman is the man who rules over himself, over his passion. Any man who loses control over himself and his passions will find himself being ruled by women. A woman is stronger than any man who lacks self-control and self-possession.

​The stronger sex is the man who has self-possession. He is able to rule over himself, and he will rule over his household. A man who has self-possession will be able to properly love the woman in his life, and his love will disarm her of the weapons of her strength and make her a partner instead of a rival.

​"Her desire shall be to her husband, but he shall rule over you." The woman desires to control the man, and she will succeed over the man without self-control. At the fall, Satan reversed the order of creation and has strengthened the woman while progressively weakening the man. The modern man is weak. The spiritual man, the man restored by God, alone can rule over the woman.