what am i living for? also, fidelity in relationships and the war on drugs

I live for God.

That is what I would like to be able to honestly say, some day. That day is probably going to be today. What does it mean to live for God? To keep on keeping on, living from day to day; but without the expletives, the anger, and the addiction to entertainment that glorifies sex, drugs and violence. All the things that make life fun eh? Should I become boring then?

I think it's one thing to enjoy sex as part part of life and having fun with a committed relationship, but like all good things, it can be abused and quickly corrupted into an experience of pain and regret.

From casual appreciation of eye candy, the justification of 'just looking' and 'appreciating' may be the first step down a gentle slope down towards texting, calling and eventually culminating in a booty call. Betraying trust in one area, could also lead to lack of trust in other areas in the relationship, causing two partners to grow apart.

So date your wife, frequently.

Proverbs 5:18

Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

As for drugs, I think it's too easy to fall in with the wrong crowd. Wanting to nice, going to a party to meet (or with) a crush, or getting involved in substance abuse as a way to have new experiences are commonplace in Kansas. Unfortunately, the deep seated issues of substance abuse are blamed on parenting, social circumstances, curiosity, bad company,etc.. but it's time to take responsibility for our own actions.

I see it as 2-fold;

1. the price of illegal drugs on the street makes it lucrative that corporal punishments mete out are not preventing distribution. Like street hookers, drugs that are addicting, also reduce financial power of individuals and state.

the solution? well, using money as a means of waging war is one of America's better methods of attack on hostile countries. however, not recognizing the local issue at the grass root level has undermine our young, and their future. Also, we have a rather dismal track record of meddling in foreign conflicts and bringing violence and substance problems from abroad (like Afghanistan) to the heartlands. Perhaps the solution requires novel methods the brilliant minds at Apple or MIT would like to help with. I'm quite honestly stumped, but if we keep going the direction we are going, the country's national debt would likely grow worse. And to do nothing, is also the wrong thing. What then to do..hmmm

 

2. the addiction itself. Part of what makes drugs so enticing to those prone to poor choices (such as the young, and those trapped in the poverty cycle), is dismal living conditions they are in. Having a hard job, living in rough conditions, having a hard life... these are all prime conditions for a person who sees no way out, to turn to substance abuse to temporary alleviate their pain.

perhaps with wholesome activities filling the lives of youth, the young can realize that you don't need drugs to enjoy music, relationships, events and well.. life.

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it

Our solutions these days have been reactive, to treat the symptoms after the addiction is intensely hard to combat. What if we devoted our resources to spending fulfilling and enriching activities with children and taught them useful life skills?

This idea was groomed during my time in Dallas, Texas as part of the Project Transformation program.

http://projecttransformation.org/

it was a brilliant idea to keep kids off the streets during the summer, that the upstanding co-founder of project transformation, Sarah Wilke, sketched on a napkin with the late Dr. Leighton Farrell

source; http://projecttransformation.org/dallas/files/newsletter908.pdf