I thought this was an interesting thought...

Tell Your Wife Everything?
Written by Anthony Bradley

Should wives and husbands tell each other everything? I am inclined to say no. Here’s why: Suppose John and Sam have an accountability relationship with each other. John decides, based on the principle of “truth with his wife no matter what,” breaches confidence and tells his wife about Sam’s struggles without Sam’s knowledge. John feels justified in telling his wife about Sam’s sins and struggles because their marriage is built on honesty.

One day Sam noticed that John’s wife began acting weird around him but he didn’t know why. At first, he simply chalked it up to the fact that she might not like him. A few months later, however, it all made sense when John finally told Sam, “Hey, I told my wife all that stuff you told me a few months ago.”

I wish this were a hypothetical situation, but it recently happened to someone I know. For many guys this kind of story puts men in a position where they may always need to ask accountability friends a series of questions: “Are you going to tell your wife what I just you, and if so, what are you going to tell her?” Some guys, it seems, have no filter even with their wives.

I learned that some wives actually badger their husbands until the guy folds saying, “Well, I am not supposed to tell anyone, but. . . .” It seems that there can be a healthy level of withholding information between husbands and wives that does not violate vows of honesty. Does she need to know everything? Does she have a right to know everything about your friends? Should she even ask to know everything? The answers to all these questions are “no,” right?

Sam and hopefully his other friends know that John is the type of guy who cannot be trusted. If you confess something to him, expect him to go home and tell his wife. With John, then, be prepared for the possibility that she too will say to someone else, “I’m not supposed to tell anyone, but. . . .” This situation helps me understand better why most guys do not have friends with whom they can be completely honest, vulnerable, and accountable. This may also explain why some guys are willing to pay a professional friend $120 per hour to listen to them because they do not know any men whom they can trust.

In the end, your friend telling his wife things you confess to him may be part of the risk of being vulnerable, because your friend may have no information boundaries, or his wife will badger him until what you thought was confidential is on a PowerPoint presentation. Perhaps it is good at least for men to ask each other about boundaries with wives before deciding if trust can be assumed. Otherwise you may be setting yourselves up for pain and conflict down the road.

LINK

Responding to a federal judge's directive, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that it will now allow 17-year-olds to get the controversial "morning-after" birth control pill without a doctor's prescription.

In 2006, the FDA said it would limit over-the-counter access to the pill, also known as Plan B, to women 18 and older. But U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman ruled last month in a New York lawsuit that the FDA had to reconsider whether to make the drug available to all women, regardless of age, without a prescription.

Plan B is an extra high dose of regular birth control that needs to be taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse to be effective. Essentially, the drug prevents pregnancy by delaying ovulation. It does not interrupt an already implanted pregnancy.

Religious conservatives object to Plan B, saying it is the equivalent of an abortion pill because it can prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus, and could also encourage premarital sex.

Supporters of broader access to Plan B argue that it is safe and effective in preventing unwanted pregnancy, and could also help reduce the number of abortions. They also contend that the FDA's decision to limit access to the drug to women 18 and older was a concession to the conservative views of then-President George W. Bush and his administration.

The FDA originally approved Plan B as a prescription drug in 1999. It is manufactured by Duramed Research Inc. of Bala Cynwyd, Pa.

FULL ARTICLE

In these difficult economic times many stores are cutting back. Yet Hobby Lobby a craft store known for using biblical principles in their business practice is now giving pay raises to their employees. Some things I noticed about Hobby Lobby is the Christian music being played in the store. Also, the store is not opened on Sundays. Here is their statement of purpose:

"In order to effectively serve our owners, employees, and customers the Board of Directors is committed to:

Honoring the Lord in all we do by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.

Offering our customers an exceptional selection and value.

Serving our employees and their families by establishing a work environment and company policies that build character, strengthen individuals, and nurture families.

Providing a return on the owners' investment, sharing the Lord's blessings with our employees, and investing in our community.

We believe that it is by God's grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has endured. He has been faithful in the past, we trust Him for our future."

A college student in Michigan has been formally dismissed from a graduate program based on political correctness gone awry.

Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) senior counsel Jeremy Tedesco explains that Julea Ward encountered resistance from Eastern Michigan University when she refused to affirm a counseling client's homosexual behavior.

"What we have here is a Christian who is a student in a master's counseling degree program who was dismissed, kicked out of the school, simply because she was unwilling to violate her own religious beliefs in not advocating for homosexual behavior within the context of the counseling relationship," he points out.

When Ward's supervising professor suggested she refer the client to another counselor who did not take issue with homosexual behavior, she followed the advice. However, the school said she could stay in the counseling program if she would undergo a "remediation" program to reconstruct her belief system and help her "see the error of her ways." Ward refused.

Tedesco believes the school is guilty of religious and viewpoint discrimination. "Any orthodox Christian ought to look out if they try to apply for admission to the counseling program at Eastern Michigan University because they're not going to get a degree there," Tedesco contends.

Ward underwent a formal hearing that concluded with her dismissal from the counseling program on March 12. She appealed the decision to the dean of the College of Education, who upheld the dismissal on March 26.

Alliance Defense Fund has filed suit on her behalf.

ARTICLE

Ecclesiastes 5:9-10

"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep."

This reminds me of game shows. Such as Deal or No Deal, where a contestant has already earned a lot of money, yet continues to risk it all for more. Or Wheel of Fortune, the answer is obvious, but they keep spinning the wheel to try and add their winnings only to end up spinning on bankrupt.

It is easy to sit back in your chair watching them on television and criticize. But,would you make the humble and content decisions? Better yet, how do you react to your own finances? (That is a rhetorical question, I do not expect people to comment about personal matters.)

A poll of 2,000 women aged 18-34 reveals that they find it hard to choose between brains, beauty and being nice.

* 25 percent would rather win America’s Next Top Model than the Nobel Peace Prize.
* 88 percent would give up their cell phones, jewelry or makeup to keep a friendship.
* 75 percent would shave their head to save the life of a stranger.
* 25 percent would make their best friend fat for life if it meant they could be thin.
* Half of the 18-24 year olds would marry an ugly man if he were a millionaire.


Link to Poll

We all know the story of God's judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 19 describes Lot's escape from the sinful cities. However, it is rarely talked about what happened after the escape.

Lot dwelt in a cave in the mountains (v 30). His daughters were so corrupted with immorality that they contrived to be impregnated by their own father.

Genesis 19:31-36

"Now the firstborn said to the younger, 'Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him that we may preserve the lineage of our father.' So they made made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, 'Indeed I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in and lie with him that we may preserve the lineage of our father.' Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father."

This song has a powerful message regarding marriage.


How many marriages would be saved if we followed Biblical truth?

Proverbs 5:1-8

"My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding, (2) That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge. (3) For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil; (4) But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. (5) Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of hell. (6) Lest you ponder her path of life--Her ways are unstable; You do not know them. (7) Therefore hear me now, my children, And do not depart from the words of my mouth. (8) Remove your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house"

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

"The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" (4) And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' (5) and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? "6" So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

The question is what is the biggest cause for moral destruction in America? I usually don't do this, but six people answered other. Here is a chance to specifically name the cause and explain your reasoning.

Disclaimer: The material cited does not reflect that of my Christian principles.

In a class I am taking we are reading a book titled “Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals” by Immanuel Kant. One of the claims he makes is that morals are not a result of actions, but rather the intent of the action. For example, if someone does a good deed with a motive of being recognized, that is not considered moral.

“for we like to flatter ourselves by falsely attributing to ourselves a nobler motive, whereas in fact we can never, even by the most strenuous self-examination, get entirely behind our covert incentives, since, when moral worth is at issue, what counts is not actions, which one sees, but those inner principles of actions that one does not see.”

He later says that most of our actions come from a duty. “From love of humankind I am willing to admit that even most of our actions are in conformity with duty.”

I found the next part extremely interesting. “pure sincerity in friendship can be no less required of everyone even if up to now there may never have been a sincere friend, because this duty – as duty in general – lies, prior to all experience, in the idea of a reason determining the will by means of a priori grounds.”

As we know, friendship requires a duty on both sides. Are certain actions required or expected? As we get older friends change. Do you think that self greed is a result of actions in a friendship? How do we measure friendship if we cannot ultimately know ones motive or soul to determine whether their action was genuine? These are a few questions I pondered, as I thought of my few friends of many I consider to be sincere friendships.

The scientists are at it again. Trying to undermine core principles of Christianity. I found an article in the New York Times that is claiming that morals evolved from our genes. Natural selection now permits morals.

Previously on another blog, the discussion was about separation of church and state. I was stressing the importance of recognizing America’s Judeo-Christian heritage and how it correlates to morals. This article tries to support its claim by comparing different cultures morals. My thought is further separation from God will create a more perverse version of morals. For instance, a passage from the article:

“Imagine visiting a town where people wear no clothes, never bathe, have sex ‘doggie style’ in public, and eat raw meat by biting off pieces from the carcass.”… “Educated liberals are the only group to say, ‘I find that disgusting but that doesn’t make it wrong’ Dr. Haidt said.”