Did you know that holding a grudge is one of the most unhealthy things you can do? A key element to good health is forgiveness. That’s right, not forgiving people is a lot worse for you than your offender. In fact, research has shown that it’s better to forgive than to be forgiven.

According to Mayo Clinic among the benefits of forgiveness is healthier relationships, greater spiritual and emotional well-being, less anxiety, stress and hostility, lower blood pressure, less depression and lower risk of alcohol and substance abuse. I would say those are pretty good reasons to forgive and move on.

The Bible is pretty serious about forgiveness. For example The Lord’s Prayer that we recite so often says that we should forgive others just as we expect God to forgive us. So how do you forgive? Well first, you decide you don’t want to keep feeding the ugly monster of anger, bitterness and hate. Then you make a decision to forgive the offender. God has given you the ability to make choices and forgiveness is a choice. In fact it’s a series of choices. Each time the offense comes to mind, make a conscience effort to get rid of it.

I had a friend who was betrayed by some people he had put a lot of trust in. When I asked him why he wasn’t bitter about it, he said he didn’t want to carry the emotional baggage so he chose to forgive and forget. And, he said every time it came to mind he remembered to forget it. And God can help you to do the same thing. Each morning take a minute to ask for God’s help that day in “remembering to forget.” Pretty soon you won’t even think about it and you’ll be the better person for it.

Thanks for joining me and whatever you do keep showing up.

During the recent budget battle, the president said that if his budget didn’t pass, social security checks wouldn’t be sent. This didn’t sound right because if there was 2.6 trillion safe in the Social Security trust fund like we had been told then it shouldn’t be affected by the budget crisis.

Well, there are a couple of things we should be aware of. First, it was a scare tactic, because the president does have the authority to authorize the payments in spite of the budget battle. As it turns out however, in trying to win the battle, the president exposed an ugly truth. The money you and I put into Social Security over the years, went into the general fund and has been spent to the tune of about 2.6 trillion dollars.

That’s right. It was not set-aside in a protected fund. Now that is scary. And the debt is being paid back as part of the trillions being borrowed from China and other countries. So how safe is Social Security? It would seem it’s as safe as America’s borrowing power. It doesn’t show up in the federal debt, because technically it’s an internal debt and only outside debt is counted. But I’m sure if you’ve been putting money into it all your working life, it’s very much a debt.

So when you hear the word “entitlement” being tossed around and being made to feel like your social security check is welfare, don’t buy it. You put it in with a promise of a return at retirement. The fact the government didn’t have the foresight to set the money aside and spent it puts the burden of responsibility on them not you.

It’s one more example of why we should be concerned about how much control the government has over our lives.
Thanks for joining me and whatever you do, keep showing up.

A Santa Fe hairdresser has refused to cut the hair of the Governor of New Mexico unless she supports same sex marriage. Well since the governor feels pretty strongly about it and since at least ten salons have said they would be happy to cut her hair, she probably is not going to change her mind.

However, the Governor should file a complaint with the New Mexico Human Rights Commission. Their response would be interesting.

In 2008, a freelance photographer in New Mexico turned down a request to do a same sex marriage wedding because of her religious beliefs. The client, a professor at New Mexico University, was shocked that her happy day was met with “hatred. “ She filed a complaint with the New Mexico Human Rights Commission and unbelievably, the professor won the case. The case is now under appeal.

Now you would think as a small business owner, the photographer could choose her clients. There are lots of wedding photographers and the professor could have found one that would have been happy to do her wedding. And the idea that the photographer’s choice not to do the wedding was tantamount to “hatred” is patently stupid.

But so it goes with the American idea of freedom today. Or does it? Could it be that the American idea of freedom today only limits the freedom of a few, like a Christian photographer who prefers not to do same sex marriage weddings? What about a hairstylist who refuses to cut the hair of the governor of New Mexico, the same state the photographer was stripped of her right to choose her clients?

Is his refusal an act of hatred or an act of conscience? So that’s why I wish the governor would file a complaint with the New Mexico Human Rights Commission. Then we could find out if this is about freedom or a growing repression of religious freedom.

Thanks for joining me and whatever you do, keep showing up.