Daily Self Growth Journal

Affecting Change

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." Jesus (from Matthew 12:17)

After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. The men said, “This is the day the LORD spoke of when he saidto you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.” With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way. 1 Samuel 24:1-7

Prodigious: “exciting amazement or wonder” Merriam-Webster Dictionary

There's a saying that goes something like, “people get the leaders they deserve.” When Christ answered the trick question presented to Him by some pharisee's, of whether it was right to pay taxes to Caesar, He was able to see through to what the real question was. The real question they were asking was, is God more important than Caesar? Of course God was more important than Caesar and He will always be vastly more important than any human leader the world will ever know. However, by accepting Roman money, the jews in Jesus' time accepted the responsibilities that came with it. Today in the United States, we are fortunate to live in a democracy, every four years we vote as a nation for our leader, the president. We have chosen as a nation to respect the authority of the culmination of our fellow citizens' beliefs. When we pledge allegiance to our flag, we are pledging allegiance to the wellbeing of our compatriots and their due respect. Let's remember that, when we're tempted to hate our leadership. We may rightly disagree with their decisions, but we all have friends and family who chose to put trust in their leadership by voting for them. While we should view it as a responsibility to ensure good leadership, we can disagree without hating, and we can influence without tearing down. Let's be cognizant of what it means to actually hate and realize the damage we do to ourselves by tearing down another person. Through hate, we will guarantee our inability to affect change, influence, or progress. If we believe in our ideas, we should make them known, and if our ideas are good enough, people will notice.

Daily Journaling Questions:

How did I help someone in kindness today?

What did I learn today?

What am I thankful for?

Who did I love today?

What about today do I want to remember forever?

What are my goals for tomorrow?

Thank you so much for reading.

Jake