Man Gives Away AIDS

The following video is very disturbing; please proceed with caution! I pray that we can have a productive dialogue about this very serious issue that is affecting people of all colors and ethnicities. While I sit here watching this video in disgust, I hope that it is a joke to awake the masses of people engaging in unprotected sex. Please pass this video along because this type of reckless behavior can affect and infect each and every one of our lives.

Pardon me

Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. Ecclesiastes 5:10

I have a version of the Bible titled “The Book”, a brother gave this bible to me this past summer. In “The Book” this same scripture reads as, Those who love money will never have enough. How absurd to think that wealth brings true happiness! Yet many of us are chasing the dollar, I myself am extremely broke, and I won’t lie and say that I am happy in my broken despair (lol) but I do find joy. There are tons of things we can find joy in in the world but what brings me the most joy and I think is often taken for granted are our family and friends. Family and friends are those who support us when we are down, they are the ones who are most proud of our achievements and they give us the strength to keep pushing when we feel that we have nothing left to give.

The scripture is right, only a fool thinks that wealth will bring happiness. Well wealth in a monetary sense, because to have a wealth of good family and friends, let me repeat that, good family and friends are one of the greatest gifts we can receive from the Creator. As I travel to Philadelphia today I am thankful because I will be spending time with my family and friends as one of my close friends is getting married. A joyous occasion it will be, a joyous occasion I really do need. With all the stresses of life and school I look forward to spending time with people I care about and people who care about me. I know it is God who sees that I need this break, and he has afforded me enough money (NOT ALOT OF MONEY) but enough to give thanks to him and watch two people say their vows before him and in his name. Take time to remember the people we sometimes forget, I am sure they will make your day a little bit warmer. Peace and Grace be unto you!

The soul that is within me no man can degrade.

Pardon me

Wisdom crieth out, she uttereth her voice in the streets; She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,  How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Proverbs 1:20-22

Do not silence your voice, allow your true self to be heard! I read the other day where a man said, “when you see and hear the good in me, you are looking at God, when you see the bad in me, you are looking at me and all of my imperfections”. When you speak the truth, you speak an act of good faith along with your words. The bible says that wisdom cries out, her voice can be heard in the streets. There’s a cry for your wisdom in today’s world. Key word here is your wisdom, not your judgment. There’s a need for a voice of love and compassion on our streets, to speak life to our children, hope for our peers, and gratitude to our elders. Your wisdom is based upon your experience, the experiences that you have had culminate into a wealth of knowledge that needs to fall upon deaf ears. Your words may spark a change, a much needed change in someone’s life. Use your voice for love and not destruction, it is a noble action, your only gratification being that you know you helped a fellow human being on their road to success.

Fools hate knowledge, and with their hate for knowledge they will purposely tune out your kind words and helpful actions. But who wants to walk amongst fools anyway, it will largely lead down the wrong path. I am more interested in finding like minded individuals who strengthen the steps that I wish to take while here on this earth. The verses following the two above show wisdom abandoning fools and largely letting them deal with their troubles alone. But we are all fools at some point or another, and we all look for another chance to right our wrongs. So it is then that you must use this beautiful voice that experience is sharpening and allow it to speak truth to the power of our Creator and speak out to those who may have hated your knowledge in the past. All this talk of truth is not to be confused with judgment, the very judgment that has taken many of us away from churches and religion in general. No sir, this is a spiritual truth of wisdom, nobility and honor. Let us love our people by our actions and our words and be hopeful that the same love will be bestowed upon us. Peace and Grace be unto you.

You have to be taught to be second class; you’re not born that way.

Pardon me

 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Phillipians 2: 1-4

Hmmm, have you ever been in a situation and you are unsure of which way to turn? We all have, but it is during this time that we must seek help. Help from our Lord and Savior, help from our family and friends, just help in any form that help can come in. Well if we need help, why is it that we reject it? Many of us close up when times get hard and attempt to hold everything together on our own. While watching The Passion the other night there was a scene where the devil says no man can hold this burden alone. Never thought I would be quoting the devil but he was wrong because Jesus did hold that burden, in fact he carried the burden of all our sins so that we would not have to carry such a heavy load. How noble of a man to do such a thing, its like saying “here fam, give me all your bricks and I will carry them for you, all I ask is that now that you have a lighter load you act in a more noble way towards other people and you respect our Creator”.

That’s an amazing gift, a gift that has been bestowed upon all of us. So I look to this scripture and it says that we should not look to our own interests, rather the interests of others. You know what it feels like when you are struggling with something, so when you see your fellow human struggling do them a favor and take a brick or two. Don’t do it hoping that you will gain something worldly from it, if anything do it because it has and will continue to be done for you. So do not only ask for help, give help, give help wherever you can. A friend of mine will read this and say, “well Cedric, you don’t ask for help”. My reply is, I know and I am trying, we are all trying to become more perfect beings in our imperfect state. We are a community of brothers and sisters, united under many different shades, let us continue to Help one another for it has already been done for us. Peace and Grace be unto you.

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.