forever and erin, you have hit the nail on the head. I believe God is the only perfect friend. He is the one that we can trust with all of our emotions, secrets, and thoughts. He will never let us down. But we also have many acquaintances in life, so I guess we are blessed. We get the best of both worlds.

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Kingpin
Administrator of the Christian Bulletin Board

...break a promise to someone you admire, or break the heart of someone who loves you?

Wow...thats a hard one...But then again its really not because breaking someones heart is far worse i think than just breaking a promise. It runs so much deeper like so close that it could puncture the soul a little. Really though it all depends on how you broke their heart too. I mean if this person is someone you really dont know but they have been "in love" with you for a long time then it might be a little easier to crush them. But say you know your best friends with someone and you both really care for each other and then all of a sudden something really bad happens between the two of you and you say so many wrong things that you dont mean and that cant be taken back and its too late. Hearts have been broken and there is no mending it. However with the help of Christ of course and a long period of time. If you just break a promise to someone, usually if there is a strong friendship there, then it really wont be that big of a deal...

In Him,

Erin Grace

I haven't been on in quite awhile but this topic intrigued me. I understand what Michelle is asking. I personally would rather be in a morally sound country now but when I was younger, I probably would have gone the other way.

As far as the question about whether I would rather be good at one thing and not so good at others or good at several and not good at one particular thing. I, when I was young, would have said that I would rather be relatively good at many things, which I chose, than to be really good at one particular thing.

What I have learned from this, is that cruel dictator has it right on. In order for someone to be really successful and make a lot of money, they usually need to be able to do one thing very well. The reason for this is that when you learn one thing well, it takes you less time to accomplish what you are trying to do, you do a better job, and you get paid the same amount of money than if it takes longer. You have to have either one set of tools or one subject of information to get the job done.

Going the other way, you need several different kinds of tools or information to do a lot of different jobs, you forget from one day to the next week or two exactly how you did the job so it takes a lot longer.

Also, I can't remember who said what they did about knowing several different kinds of things reasonably well. I believe it was whit-dawg. I will check after I am through here. When you know a lot of things you are constantly being asked to either show someone how to do the job or do it for them. blback

Good to hear from you Bill! Thanks for the input!

That too depends on what the promise is...(just as you said it depends on how you break the heart...) Say that you promised a best friend that you would be there for them no matter what they were going through, and say they fell into some hard times and you abandoned them because you "got busy". But it's okay, right? They are your best friend...they will understand...
Then you have broken a promise AND broken a heart.
Just as today people promise "Till death do us part" and they take it so lightly. Well, we just don't get along anymore. He/she is not who I thought they were. And then again, you have broken not only a promise, but a heart as well.
As bad is it sounds, I think I would rather break a heart than a promise, because there are so many different ways that you can break a heart, and not all of them are your fault. Sometimes you have to break hearts when you are doing what you think God would have you do by, say ending relationships/friendships that are not of Him...leaving jobs/families to do what He has called you to do, and so on. Breaking a promise on the other hand is different. True, there most likely will be promises that you will have to break for the same reason, but if that is the case, then you should probably be more careful what you promise. You are responsible for keeping your promises just as God keeps His promises to us.

True True! When i replied i never thought about it like that....I think your so very right....Thankx for the insight!

In Him,

ERin Grace

It seems to me that none of these answers have an answer...

Oh well throw us anoter 1

innerdawg

just reading and watching what all of you have to say is exhausting in itself!! i agree with whit-dawg, are there really any answers?!?!?! by the time i finish reading and think about what i want to say i am completely famished.
i am eagerly awaiting the next unanswerable question!
maybe this time i'll comment on it.

court

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STAND 318 MA-MA

There ARE no "right or wrong" answers. That's why I like the questions. Sometimes it seems like both answers are wrong. Sometimes it seems like both are right. And sometimes it seems like there just isn't any answer at all. Makes for interesting discussion into how we think and why we think the way we do. If we are all honest, that is. You know, like not giving the "pollitically or morally correct" answer. (as none of you have tried to do, and that is good!) Next question to follow later this afternoon...

Okay, so it's later than afternoon.


Well, it took me a while to think one up:
Would you rather...


...know that you had exactly 365 days to live, or die unexpectedly?

I think that knowing when you will die takes all the fun out of living. I mean by knowing when i die, i would probably totally blow off God until the time came. Then i would say well now that im about to die, i think that im going to tell God that im sorry for everything that ive done. I mean its pointless. I would rather die unexpectedly because the mystery of God would be ever present. I will always want to seek Him and be with him daily because who knows... I am not promised another day. Or even anothing minute. My relationship with Him is always growing because He is all that I can see in my past present and future. My life lays in His hands so why not let Him protect it ALWAYS? That way i know im safe no matter what happens to me unexpectedly!

In Him,

Erin Grace

Well, you are right about it being pointless! Pointless to blow off God until the time when you know you are going to die and then ask for His forgiveness, that is...

Luke 12:42-48 talks about two types of servants. One servant knows what his master expects of him. The other sevant does not. When the master goes away, both servants commit the same crimes. When the master returnes, both servants recieve punishment, but the servant who KNEW what the master expected recieved a much greater punshiment than the servant who did not know. It's called being accountable. Luke 12:48 "...for everyone to whom much is given, from him much is required..." God is not mocked.

I know that there really is no way of knowing the exact day that I would die, (unless, say I was condemned) and I am not necessarily saing that I WANT to. But if I did know the moment when I would die, I think that it would not bring me farther from God, but closer to Him. I would want to do as much for Him as I possibly could. There are things that I would ordinarily postpone not knowing when my time was up that I would never get to do. If I knew, I would find a way to fit all of that in there.
It kind of reminds me of one time when this guy came in the cafe and thought he was going to be cute and hit on me, and he asked me "If you knew that the world was going to end in one hour, what would you spend that last hour doing ". (I'm trying to get you to picture it.) Now if he would have asked me that a little over a year ago, he problably would have gotten the answer that he expected. But instead, I said "I would pray and try to get as many people around me to do the same." Needless to say, he gave me a dirty look and walked away scratching his head...
It would be an anticipation. Think of a trip that you are going on to the most exotic, exciting, gorgeous place that you can think of. That eager feeling begins to stir the moment you book your flight. The closer the day gets, the more excited you become. You begin packing, preparing yourself, and any moment that you have to spare you spend meditating on the wonderful things that you will do when you get there. One hour before your flight is scheduled to take off, you can hardly contain your anticipation. It seems to take FOREVER for that last 10 minutes to go by. And finally, the moment has arived. Nothing can equal the feeling that overtakes you as you soar into the clouds...

Now (as they say in a movie that I am quite fond of...) "multiply that by infinity" and you still cannot describe the way I would feel as I was waiting for my final moment. The moment when I would leave this place and go HOME. To see my savior face to face and worship Him for all eternity!!! WOW!!!

If that's not exciting...

...be lied about or lied to?

Zig Ziglar (A world renowned christian motivational speaker) once said...

Think of the day before you fo on a trip and how much you get done in that one day. If you could live everyday like it was that day, how much more could you accomplish in life.

Live life like HE'S coming tommorrow. EVERDAY!! and how much could you accomplish? How small would certain problems seem? How big would certain accomplishments feel? Would you worry about the bad or delight in the good?

What if everyday were " The Day Before?"

innerdawg

I personally would much rather be talked about than to be lied to, to my face. Those lies that are spread behind my back, I do not worry cause God is my Lawyer and he always brings the truth to surface when he knows it's time. But being lied to in my face, hurts more than anything. I can handle the truth, cause it's real and not confusing. Yes, it may hurt my heart, but I will eventually get over it. If someone tells me something that I don't know whether is true or not, it becomes twice the amount of stress and worry on my shoulders and mind. Who would want that? That's just my opinion though.

Bye (-;

I would rather know, if I had the choice... my sisters left so many things unsaid and undone... it's easy to say "live life to the fullest everyday", but them's hard things to do when that chair or couch or bed is so easy to crawl into. If I knew I only had 365 days left, I would prolly not sleep, ever.... there'll be plenty of time for laying down. I would sell my house and travel the world, working about half that time in missions, the other half enjoying traveling... oh yeah, my family would definitely be on the trip...

Also, I am used to the talk behind the back stuff, I have worked with lots of women for years... not a slam, that's just the way it is... being lied to is not something I would prefer.

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Allen

I don't worry about whether someone likes me or not. If they dont, its no sweat off my back except if they pretend to like me. That bothers me and I would rather they stay away. I know that sounds harsh but that is the straigh-up truth. And I don't worry about people talking about me behind my back because rumors and gossip are just that: rumors and gossip and they have no foundation for truth so I let them go. I remember in high school a couple of rumors were spread about me that weren't true but I blew them off cause in high school, one minute you can be teh talk of the school then the next its about someone else. And besides, you can't change people's opinions about you unless they want to see you in a different way and are willing and mature enough to find out for themselves.

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crazy white girl

So what are you saying??? Are you saying that women are more prone to gossip?
No substantial evidence to back that comment up, I bet...
Man, that Allen. I swear! Did you hear what he did last week?? I mean, no self-respecting........
Ok, so I see what you're saying.

That is a good point about being able to know when you are going to go. You would, as I said earlier, not put things off that you want to accomplish before it's all over with.

It looks like everyone pretty much agrees on the thing about being lied to/lied about. I think I agree, but just something else that I was thinking about: It really all depends on the kind of lie that is told to me/about me. Say that someone told me that they loved me and I found out that they never did (been there before!) That's not a good place to be...but on the other hand, a lie that is told to your face can sometimes be less damaging than a lie that is told behind your back. I'm not just talking gossip, I'm talkig purposeful lying with malicious intent to hurt someone. I knew a man once who spent 9 years in prison for a crime that he did not commit. He owned a business and found out that one of his employees was skimming off the profits and using his business in an illegal scam. Insead of calling in the police or telling anyone, he felt sympathy for the girl and told her in private that she could resign quitely and never bother him again, or he would have no choice but to turn her in. She left, and later took him to court claiming that he raped her while she was under his employ and that is why she left. She being his only female employee, they had no other way of knowing if he had repeated the offense. And he had destroyed all of the evidence that she left behind to protect his business, so he had no way to prove why she left. Years later, she was working in another office with some women who were unhappy with thier sexist boss. He had never made advances at them, he just treated the men in the office better. So the woman gathered her co-workers (the women) and told them how she got revenge on her first boss. The women were appaled, and yet they pretended to go along with her scheme, secretly contacting the authorities, and getting her confession on tape. The man was released from jail, but he had lost his business, his wife left him while he was imprisioned, his son committed suicide, and he was a poor, lonely, bitter man who no longer trusted anyone...
I think he would probably have rathered been lied TO than about...just another side, maybe to think about.

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Michelle

I also agree that it isnt always women who are notorious for gossip or talking behind backs, that is unfounded as mentioned before and i think it is based on the field you chose and the experiences you have had. i think we are all guilty of the same crime at different times, male or female. otherwise why would politics be so male dominated ? look at the lies that go on and slamming that is there and such. women arent always to blame P

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Jenn