June 11, 1963
The diagonal pillar of black and brown smoke swelled from yellow and orange flames. They curled around the fraying edges of the robe and they reached toward heaven. Hair wilted then disappeared in the fire. Skin split then disintegrated. It gave way to tearing flesh that separated from bones. Veins burst and nerves popped. 
Clenched teeth restrained a reservoir of fiery pain. The idea held a man in his place and captivated an unwilling audience. The idea brought all of them that day and it poured gasoline on one of its own adherents. The idea held a match over his head and dropped it, igniting a scene that would horrify the world. The idea had been preparing this man since he was seven. It drove him to endure the agony.
January 30, 1948
Another idea compelled civil resistance. It fought off hunger- not just cravings for sugar, fat or caffeine, but the most basic of appetites. Malnutrition produced headaches with little to cure them. Internal organs protested. The life and the flesh diminished but the idea expanded and reached more people. The means hurt 
like hell and the goal did nothing to mollify the pain. The goal initiated the whole process in the beginning anyway. Three bullets would end the starvation but the idea had already taken off.
Naysayers have been telling us for a long time that what we see is all we get. Flesh and sensations perceive and allow us to interact with the tangible world and its other inhabitants. Millennia of natural selection left us with little more than our impulses to survive and procreate. Ideas prove them wrong, because they overpower the flesh. They’ve always been stronger than our bones. Many of them heal faster than our bodies ever could and can spread more quickly than a plague. Ideas create their own pandemics and transcend immolation, starvation and other abuses.
We just have to make sure that we’re following the right idea. Terrible notions have scarred humanity and the world. They’ve created religions and toppled nations. Ideas have driven men toward the greatest and the most awful events in history. Ideas change individual lives: they compel or restrain. They change perceptions and can even end relationships.
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What ideas are impacting your living right now?
Are they a “flavor of the month” or just another passing fancy?
(It’s ok if they are. I have plenty of these.)
Or are they life-changers?
Definitely a challenging question – something I’ll have to think about. I’m sure there’s a mixture of both in there: life changing and passing fancy. Now you got me thinking…
I love the passing fancies. I don’t let them change basic philosophies or theologies in my life, but they can help develop a well-rounded human who can bring something to the conversation.
Overall I’d say God and His will is guiding me mostly right now. I have a desire to spread the word that we, meaning this country is like the Israelites of the Old Testament. We have turned our back on the One who’s blessed us and turned to worship His provision other than worship him.
The world has had many ideas, the only ones that have any lasting value are the ones that are based on the word of God. Think about all the monsters in world history who killed and maimed in their own name. It is only the power of the ones who’s ideas are in the will of the Creator that have any lasting power.
The people who believe in the theory of evolution and the survival of the fittest even praise the ones in world history that have sacrificed for the benefit of others. According to their religion of humanism the monsters should have been the heros of their religion, but even they are wired to see the true great people of character and strength care for the weak and the down trodden.
We need to have this country have that desire again. That is the idea I’m looking to spread… Again…
Good posts dude, your on a roll.
Thanks Floyd! I think I need some funny stuff for a while. People like funny better 😉 It’s interesting to see what motivations are hiding beneath the surface and that they can force us to make decisions that are entirely contrary to our biological makeup!!! You’re right about the ideas that matter, the only substantive notions have some sort of foundation in God, but not everybody sees that… so it’s up to us to live lives that are completely contrary to the expected failures and limitations the rest of humanity has!
Idea- I’m going to Disney world in Feburary. If this is a passing fancy heads are going to roll. 🙂
Good post Jake, as usual. I think the ideas that go past the “flavor of the month” and change the world are the ones that go beyond ourselves. Those men’s ideas had nothing to do with them really. It’s when we start dreaming like God dreams, with love for all in mind, that’s when we get to the exciting part of life.
What I love too is that we can be doing what seems to be our own thing and just seeking God in it and he’ll use that to change the world. For example, people that just start a little get together once a week that turns into a huge Bible study sort of thing. Seek first God’s Kingdom…follow ideas with that in mind and the world will be flipped.
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