Where is the Incentive?

raul : a good story .

here is one that appeared many years ago in our local news-magazine .
the story was brought back from canada's north by a physician from ouur local hospital who often spent several months a year working with aboriginals .

an old man had been living alone in his igloo for many years .
over time he had befriended some of the missionaries who were visiting throughout the north .
the missionaries of various religious groups were trying to persuade him to join their congregation .
while he kept putting them off for a while , he finally decided to make use of their wisdom .
as he met the missionaries throughout the week , he asked them to visit him in his igloo on sunday .
he told them that an important decision would be made on that day .
sunday arrived and the missionaries came to his igloo .
they were rather surprised to find that he was not meeting them individually but had invited them all at the same time .
after a bit of awkwardness , the old man spoke :
"i'm am an old man who can neither read nor write .
i have invited you , because i believe you are much more knowledgeable than i am .
you have studied much and have travelled far .
so i will leave you now and ask you to decide which of your (religious) groups i should join .
i am sure you will be able to give me the right advice .
i will be back in an hour and will accept your decision . "

i understand that the wise and learned could not agree among themselves and were unable to give the old man the advice he was looking for .
hbg

Mindonfire wrote:

cicerone imposter wrote:

There is nothing to fall "from." Just live a good and productive life while trying to keep healthy. Like the majority of human life on this planet, we will be forgotten within the next two or three generations - to be forgotten forever.

Don't lose any sleep over it; just learn to enjoy life.

How can you truly enjoy life if you are seperated from the things which make life enjoyable?

What exactly am I seperate from?

Mindonfire wrote:

Where is the Incentive?

If you thought that you will not fall because of these doctrines which have been formulated to remove all of your incentives, or if you did not realise that these doctrines are at the root of every great fall, then you did not comprehend or understand the story of Adam and Eve. And if you did not comprehend or understand the story of Adam and Eve, then you do not comprehend or understand human nature. And if you do not comprehend and understand human nature, then you do not know the purpose of the Bible. And if you do not know the purpose of the Bible, then you have no idea who or what you worship.

Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

Actually, the Adam and Eve storty is a great one, as far as stories go. If you choose to follow everything you've typed up then this is your business.

However, there are plenty of people in this world who are not God fearing individuals who do incredible work for others and do not preoccupy themselves with what patch of real estate they'll end up in upon their death.

maporsche wrote:

Mindonfire wrote:

cicerone imposter wrote:

There is nothing to fall "from." Just live a good and productive life while trying to keep healthy. Like the majority of human life on this planet, we will be forgotten within the next two or three generations - to be forgotten forever.

Don't lose any sleep over it; just learn to enjoy life.

How can you truly enjoy life if you are seperated from the things which make life enjoyable?

What exactly am I seperate from?

It depends. If you are a diabetic and you are seperated from insulin, how can you truly enjoy life? If you are starving and you are seperated from food, how can you enjoy life. There are too many examples to post, but you should get the point.

James 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

James 2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be [ye] warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what [doth it] profit?

Look, I understand that being seperate from something could cause me not to enjoy myself. You don't need to explain this.

My question was what you were referring to in your response to CI. It's obvious you weren't referring to insulin or food. I can make an assumption as to what you were referring to, but I'd rather ask specifically as to be clear.

We were referring to anything that truly makes life enjoyable. This varies from person to person. But even though it may vary, it Starts with the basics: adequate food, healthcare, education, justice, peace etc.... You can't fully enjoy life without these basic things.

If you had written this from the beginning, you would have received a more direct response. You didn't say these were "examples," so we had to assume it meant you.

maporsche wrote:

Look, I understand that being seperate from something could cause me not to enjoy myself. You don't need to explain this.

My question was what you were referring to in your response to CI. It's obvious you weren't referring to insulin or food. I can make an assumption as to what you were referring to, but I'd rather ask specifically as to be clear.

We were referring to anything that truly makes life enjoyable. This varies from person to person. But even though it may vary, it Starts with the basics: adequate food, healthcare, education, justice, peace etc.... You can't fully enjoy life without these basic things.

If you are personally doing without insulin because you're a diabetic, what have you done to improve your personal situation? Did you pracitice good eating habits? How often do you check your health with a doctor? What did your doctor tell you?

90 percent of the population in this world do not have the proper food, health care or shelter. Some people's genes and environment dictates that they must learn to live without many modern conveniences including drugs.

Most of us do the best we can about our health, so just ignore it, and those in-between. I personally belief in moderation, but will eat steaks, and drink alcohol. At 71 years old, I enjoy pretty good health and lifestyle. We are one of the fortunate ones with health insurance.

Some are lucky to have been born in a developed country where economic and health opportunites are great compared to many parts on this planet. Most try to make the best of what they have.