“No matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens.” Abraham Lincoln

“One day two women came to King Solomon, and one of them said: Your Majesty, this woman and I live in the same house. Not long ago my baby was born at home, and three days later her baby was born. Nobody else was there with us. One night while we were all asleep, she rolled over on her baby, and he died. Then while I was still asleep, she got up and took my son out of my bed. She put him in her bed, then she put her dead baby next to me. In the morning when I got up to feed my son, I saw that he was dead. But when I looked at him in the light, I knew he wasn’t my son.  “No!” the other woman shouted. “He was your son. My baby is alive!” “The dead baby is yours,” the first woman yelled. “Mine is alive!” They argued back and forth in front of Solomon, until finally he said, “Both of you say this live baby is yours. Someone bring me a sword.” A sword was brought, and Solomon ordered, “Cut the baby in half! That way each of you can have part of him.” “Please don’t kill my son,” the baby’s mother screamed. “Your Majesty, I love him very much, but give him to her. Don’t kill him.” 1 Kings 3:16-26

Demographers study subjects such as the geographical distribution of people, birth and death rates, socioeconomic status, and age and sex distributions in order to identify the influences on population growth, structure, and development. As such, they study birth rates because a country’s birthrate is among the most important measures of demographic health. The number needs to be within a certain range, called the “replacement level,” to keep a population stable so that it neither grows nor shrinks. If too low, there’s a danger that we wouldn’t be able to replace the aging workforce and have enough tax revenue to keep the economy stable. Countries such as France and Japan that have low birthrates have put pro-family policies into place to try to encourage couples to have babies. The flip side can also be a problem. Birthrates that are too high can strain resources such as clean water, food, shelter and social services, problems faced say by a country like India, where the fertility rate has fallen over the past few decades but still remains high.

When scarcity runs rampant in a society, especially in a third world country, it is often the wealthy who hoard the resources while the poor  bear the burden of living on dwindling resources. Getting to that tipping point in a society, or even in a family unit is not always obvious until the scarcity is rampant. The same can be true in our relationship with G-d — what seems to have happened overnight has, in reality, been slowly creeping into our everyday living. The more we get consumed in survival, or too involved in “cat fights” with our neighbors and friends over trivial matters, the further and further away we get from G-d.

We need to stop the “cat fights” – and we need to get back to love, mercy, Grace and compassion for our brothers and sisters, our neighbors, and the strangers in our midst. Though our government seems more interested in creating “cat fights”, the church needs to focus on love and compassion.

Pastor Dave

“Cats have it all – admiration, an endless sleep, and company only when they want it.” Rod McKuen
 

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Do you have it all? Do you feel as if your life is completely fulfilled? Is there something missing in your life? If the answers to those questions is “no, no and yes” then you need to get a cat. Cats, after all, have it all – so if you get a cat then you will also have it all.

Of course I am being completely ridiculous. Cats are great, but they do not bring a person complete fulfillment. Our complete fulfillment will come when we die in the Lord, as the scripture tells us: “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Romans 14:8) As such our future is already secured for us through the cross of Jesus – which compels us to live for the Lord, out of thanksgiving for the Grace of G-d.

And yet there can be fulfillment in this life right now – but it is not a fulfillment that the world seeks – one of wealth, power, commodities, and influence. If that is all this life is about, we might as well just sleep our lives away – because that kind of life is like being asleep: it may pass the time, but there won’t be much to remember. Of course, that is just my opinion. But the times I remember most in my life are not the times I purchased that great couch, or bought that brand new car. The times I remember most are the ones where I was able to sit with a relative or even a stranger as they were dying – to be invited into one of the most intimate moments of a person’s life. I remember the moments where my wife and I were able to help a friend who was having financial troubles – or do some counseling for parents whose child was experiencing problems with drug addiction. This my friends is what living for the Lord is all about. You may think it is not much of a life – I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Pastor Dave