Yes, I realize the question seems absurd. Of course Jesus had faith, He had more faith than anyone. Right? Sunday school delivers that fact to us just after the flannel board story of the virgin birth, but does your paradigm of Jesus Christ allow for this to be true?

Faith is perhaps the most important word in the Bible. Maybe salvation, and a few others would be at the same level. This word is so crucial that Paul decided to define it in no uncertain terms in his letter to the Hebrews:

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” – Hebrews 11:1

After reading that I will ask again, does your paradigm of Jesus allow for Him to have faith?

If a requirement of faith is that “we do not see” then it seems that the most orthodox views of Jesus preclude Him from such an ability. Technically, the “all God” and “all man” orthodox principle insinuates that He sees all and knows all which seems to imply that He would not be capable of faith any more than God would be capable of faith. I’ll leave this at that. I have lots more questions.

A pretty complicated set of circumstances got me to thinking how predictable it is that human beings will value something more when we work hard to get them. I had always valued hard work and the rewards of labor, but I only today got to thinking that this could be my sinful nature talking.

Ironically, or not, this is what legalism does to pure religion. It does it so thoroughly that the word religion now almost means legalism. Consider this verse:

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” – James 1:27 (NIV)

Don’t be surprised if future revisions of the NIV change the word “religion” to something like worship, or service. The word has been spoiled by legalism and so have we.

So back to the point. Is the value of something directly related to the trouble we go through to get it? Absolutely not! That is absurd, but for some reason we naturally tend that way. I have a suspicion that our problem doesn’t lie in our ability to judge value, but it lies in our need to feel valuable. You see, if we work hard for something, then we’ve earned it… we deserve it… we have a right to it. That’s what we want, we want a right to it and ultimately it is just that same old control freak sinful nature grasping for our affections.

So God’s version of all this is just like a father and child. He wants us to be His children. We are just terrible at it. We don’t just accept and cherish His gifts, we keep striving to be worthy, and thereby we strive for the wrong reasons. I believe God wants us to live life in wonder, like a child. He wants us to wander wide-eyed and anticipating a surprise around every corner. We can be skilled and child-like, but only when we live life the way God meant us too.

3And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 18:3 (NIV)

Even gigantic financial losses in the stock market, or catastrophic engine failure in a vehicle, or a runaway dog… There is our challenge, “do not be anxious”. I’m still trying to remember running around in the yard as it was getting dark, my hands cold on an autumn evening at my childhood home. I can’t remember my thoughts… whatever they were, they weren’t stress.

Finally consider this verse:

6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. – Philippians 4:6 (NIV)

The word anxious kinda bothers me, consider the definition:

anx·ious
1. full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried; solicitous.
2. earnestly desirous; eager.

I tend to think that the verse in Philippians means the first one, because the second… well that kid on that autumn evening definitely had lots of the second one.

Consider applying Al Gore’s inconvenient truth logic to the stock market. If you did you would dump AAPL (Apple Computers) for a loss in a panic if you happened to see the DOW in the red at 10:35:27 AM … despite the fact that it was green at 10:35:13 AM and again at 10:36:19 AM (not to mention it trades on the NASDAQ). Then you’d release a propaganda video, win the Nobel prize for economics, and cash in on PR perks all by 10:36. Way to go you!

Our historic perspective on climate change is actually tighter than that. Everything we know happened in about 4.5 +- 4 seconds (depending on your earth age assumptions) out of a normal trading day (plus extended hours). Temperature readings are gathered from all over the planet, with some showing a general trend downward, but for the sample group, overall, at this moment in time, things seem warmer.

Lately the US stock market has been an epic battle. Sometimes comical. Large groups of people realizing losses in unison like lemmings jumping off of cliffs. Then swinging the other way while the seasoned veterans buy the deals. Like a tennis match that may not end until all of the emotional, herd minded, and panic prone (aka lemmings) have handed over their last shares.

IMO renewable energy is incredibly important, clean air is also important, but we set the stage for pied pipers of sorts. We don’t need pied pipers, we need independent thinkers, all able to formulate their own opinions based on emotionless information. Those are the people that will give us wise and viable solutions. Propaganda can swing emotions, but historically emotions make for very bad decisions.

Lets clean up the air because we like breathing clean air and know it is more healthy. Not because we believe someone who claims the surface of the planet will be covered in lava by the year 9765 if we don’t stop driving SUVs. Lets quarantine the political propaganda virus to elected offices and keep it out of science. Maybe some day we’ll eradicate it altogether.

There are many voices competing for our allegiance. What would Jesus do?