Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper. You are live from the path. And you're listening to live from the path. We're coming from the, Pathway Studios here at Johnston Proper. It is good to be with you,

again, I think. I I almost couldn't find the place, Ben. We've been on a on a sabbatical. It was the fog. Hey, man. It was a long time. I don't think I was thinking back to this, actually. One of my kids goes, hey. Hey. Do you do you have to go to the show tonight, dad? And they kinda powdered at me. I said, yeah. Yeah. I'm going to show tonight. I said, I I like, I I don't we haven't done one for, I mean, Yeah. I think it's darn near a month, man. I know. That's a long time. I was worried that the one or two people that count on us to kick out podcasts would be very disappointed.

We could lose them. We could drop our audios by a half. Alright. So here's what I got going on show. So to kick off the new year, here's a few things that I was thinking about doing. What we're gonna do is some secular versus Solomon. Okay. I've got some I mean, you gotta kick the kick 2018 off in the right foot. Now hold on. To be fair, that's me and Dan? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. It's a light room, man.

Yeah. That's tough. I blame Bubba for this. If he were here, I wouldn't be in this pretty much. And then we're gonna do so I I always go through these stories, and, like, I here's the deal. You guys are terribly hard to Like, I might say, oh, hey. Here's an interesting topic. And you both be like, yeah. No. I think I agree. And then we're done. And, like, there's nothing to talk about. So I'm just I'm gonna start rifling through story. Yeah. Okay. And we're gonna see what fits. Right? If we if we if this if you got one sentence and that's all we got, we're moving on. There's no reason to bleed a stone here. Yeah. Okay. This sounds great. Okay. That's what we're gonna do. Wait a minute. Now see, if you were to tap the stone,

the stone would come out. Sorry. There was a previous conversation about what Moses are tapping the tapping the rock instead of just letting the water come out. It you you had it would've had to been here, so I should probably should have brought it up. And wait. Here's the deal. You missed it because, like, it was the it was it was a quotable mic moment. What was it? You if you're gonna fall, you you should trip and fall into holy do you remember what it was? Yeah. Well well, we because we were talking about the rash of of of pastors. Like and dudes that are like, I kinda like their preaching. Like, they were they're kinda helpful to me in a couple of spots in my life. You know? And and and they keep going down for for, like, you know, affairs on their wife or or sexual misconduct, and I'm like, I there's especially in that line and as a pastor, like, the way that you're operating your life, even if you do trip and fall, you should fall unholy. You shouldn't be even close Yeah. To the things that you're falling into. You know? And, like, I not to say that, like, obviously, there's there's we were talking about this too, that there's grace to be had for actions that you take in your life. But for heaven's sakes, like, you know, I shouldn't it's not like I accidentally stumble with my walk with the Lord, and all of a sudden, I'm an alcoholic. Right? Like, I I never picked up if I if I don't have that stuff in my house at all, I can't turn out to be that way. And so, like, some of these things where their guys are like, you know, I I had some misjudgments

or whatever, and I wasn't being led by the holy spirit, and I I cheated on my wife. Like, what the heck are you even doing in a place where you could cheat on your wife? That was these these explanations are terrible. Right. Right. I don't to to your point, I don't find myself kinda wandering and then accidentally ending up in a strip club. I couldn't tell you where most of them were. Yeah. Right? Like, as a matter of fact, was I was driving Uber at the last year, and

I picked up this group of people, and they were in Ankeny, and they were saying, hey. Take me to this this it was a strip club. And I'm like, I you know? I just I'm not even sure where this is at. So I had to put it into the Uber to look for it, and I thought, oh, crap. Now it's gonna Google is going pick it up and start offering me stuff. I thought, I got to get out of this Uber business. You're in strip clubs. Hopefully they took it as I just wanted some lumber.

Anyway, you're listening to Life from the Path. I'm sorry, Just in case it mattered, I do apologize for the for the big lag. We just life is getting in the way of some of everybody being able to be here, me specifically. And so apologies for that. My goal in the New Year was was to not have that keep happening, and there you go. I I loused it. So I'll do And we had some equipment issues. That's true. We did. We did. I and I think we got that straightened out. You guys will let us know what if if if it hears if it sounds alright. But we're still working on that too. Actually, there's a couple couple days I was here reconstructing and or deconstructing and reconstructing stuff. We'll see how it goes tonight. Alright. So so here, let's let's do a couple of these quick hit items, and we'll we'll see what snaps. Let's see. The first one was

oh, shoot. So that was the one we're talking about. That one's gonna land. Mike, let's see. Thoughts on thoughts on Trump calling stuff an asshole? These these these are my favorite stories. I here's the thing is I open up my my news feed. It buzzes to my phone all the time. You know? And, like, I never seen that word so many times in the in the news. Like, just here's the thing. Obviously, you know, I'm not saying that behind

noncamera interviews, there ain't a ton of people in Washington dropping to Essie. You know? Like, I I think it happens all the time. And so, you know, people act acting outraged that he would even use that language are are fooling themselves. I believe most of them use that language, and, your your high stool might come down a couple pegs. On the other hand,

as a guy that is to represent once again, if you're gonna trip, you should fall on decent and not depraved. You know I'm saying? Like, I just I I I it's I mean, truthfully,

he can feel however he wants about those countries, but you're leading our country. And we need to we need to have some type of relationship with other people. Right? Like, you don't bust out to the the potluck block party and then start calling your your neighbor next door a whore. Right? Like, it's just it's not how it's not how you conduct yourself. And and so, like, even if if that your inkling is that that's true or the guy next to you is that you're almost certain a drug dealer, it's not the time. You know what I'm saying? You're in a community, and you're trying to get along with people. And, like, if you have personal relation relationships with them, you can talk about their deficiencies. Right? But, like, to publicly even say anything like that about another country or any country of which you are also a leader of, it's it's it's ridiculous. It just seems poor form. Dan, any quick thoughts on that? Yeah. You know what? I honestly haven't followed it other than I've seen the bullet points, but I don't I haven't read the in-depth what really happened. You know? So I have, yeah, I have really nothing to add. It I mean, other than I mean, he is who he is. You know? As far as his communication style, he's say gonna what he's thinking, and it's gonna be outlandish, and everybody's gonna get mad. And I I think he goes back at home at night and lays his head on the pillow and says, this is awesome. Yeah. I think he sleeps very talking about me. Yeah. This is great.

Whatever whatever the topic happens to be. And so I don't know. I think he wins. Yeah. I think that's true. You know, the the one thing I I think I would caution is and maybe this goes to Mike's point is the senses of false outrage. Right? Like, to the extent that you

are surprised that this is still happening, like, I I don't I don't quite understand that. Like, I I noticed quite a few people that were like they were outraged. Like, I can't believe that he would say something like that. I mean, what about the last year plus the month of year where the campaigning makes you think that he wouldn't say something like that? Yeah. And and even I I saw and I I hesitate to even speak to this because I feel like I'm not in that situation. But but I did see a number of folks who had adopted or have relationships with other countries, either the mission relationships or they are adoption relationships or whatever. And they're like again, they they appear to be flummoxed, and they're like, you know, I I have to explain to my child why this this guy is saying this thing. And I thought to myself, who put him on on such a high pedestal? I don't think he have to. Yeah. Like Right.

I I would say, I who who who cares? Who cares what this man thinks? Now I recognize that there there are thoughts that there are implications to, again, the types of relationships that they have. If there are p are are are there really folks, like, in other countries who are like, hey. This man represents our relationship with The United States. It might politically, but, like, as a mission organization, like, most of that stuff is happening between, like, Christian donors that are sending money over there. Right. And and that's obviously not this man. And so I recognize that there is a a sense of reaction to that. I just I just be careful about giving credence to things. Like, giving things weight in your life that do not belong. Like, I really don't care what the president thinks of people. I don't. I I don't but, I mean, to be fair, I I don't believe the rest of the world you know, there's there's pockets. Right? But but most of rest of world doesn't operate that way. Like, whatever comes out of their leader's mouth is

it's it's like having an authoritarian father. I agree. You know what I'm saying? Like, where where we can say, look. We're a freely elected system, and, like, if the guy's a schmuck, we'll call him a schmuck, and we'll move on. You know? Yeah. But, like, there's there's there's probably a good 85% of the world that they they don't get to do that, and they don't see it that way. And so when they see it happening over here, they're like, they must all be schmucks that they chose this man. You know? Like, they chose him to represent. And so, like Yeah. I mean, I agree. And we have to deal with that. Yeah. I mean, there there's there's a little bit of weeds here and right? But, like, some of it is way overdramatized. Right? You know? It's a yeah. It's a political game. I mean, the the little girl sitting in a hut in Haiti does not know who Donald Trump is. Probably doesn't even know who America is other than they've heard, oh, yeah. America. Americans are here. They have money. Yeah. I mean, it's it's yeah. He could say I love puppies,

and and there'd be all kinds of people screaming because he he didn't love cats. So it's all games. It's all politics, and and if if it was the other side, like, let's say, the last eight years, it was the same thing. He says something. Everybody's mad at him because he didn't say the other thing. It's just what it is. Hey. Does that that reminds me. So are are are news organizations not held to the same standard as, say, print organizations where you can write the s word and then pump it out on, like, a headline? So so there's been a lot of trouble within the media trying to figure out how they can handle or how they how should handle this type of thing. Like, there was it showed up on a lot of newscasts. It showed up on Saturday Night Live where, like, they they were saying it. They they said, look. The president said it. Can't we say it? Now here's the thing. If the president said it, it it wasn't televised. Right? Like, that's why there's debate as to whether like, you get groups of people who said it happened and then some who said it didn't.

And so, like, that's it's different. And the truth is it's, like, it's a little bit it's an iffy conversation, but, like, there there are this is where the FCC has to decide. Right? Like, what's what's standards of decency versus what what is, communicating the news. You run the same problem with, like, violent images when you're covering war footage, when you're trying to demonstrate things that are happening, describing crimes that occur. Yeah. But when ever when has it ever been a tentative of our constitution that the president sets the moral standard

of of of what we can say and what we can't? Yeah. So the FCC does. So it's not him specifically, but, like, it like, there is a government regulation of Yeah. But the guy who says, well, well, the president said it. Like, that's the stupidest argument I've ever heard. No. No. No. I agree. Which, again, is is like that that's that's what I'm saying. A lot of people are reacting to this on premises that I would say are false. One, how much I have to invest on what the man thinks in general. Two,

that he is proposing or that we should even consider that he's the one that sets the morality for the country. Now I I mean, I get it. So to to Mike's point, like, that is something that we have the freedom to debate and say we just do not subscribe to. A lot of other political setups in the rest of the world don't have that same concept. Like, is actually, they set the morality, what they say goes. And so we do have a posturing problem. We have to react to that. But, like, from our perspective, think that's they're

goading a little bit to otherwise, I I think, deal with the thing in the way they wanna deal with it. Yeah. That's true. Yeah. Yeah. Alright. Second thing, any any any resolutions this year at all, fellas? Usually, we're a no. Actually, I'm I'm I'm staying at the gas station. For good?

No gas station at all? Yeah. Obviously, I gotta stop and get gas. The youth group needed soda, so I stopped in there. But since the first year, there's no personal gas station stops and no personal lunches out to eat. Oh, man.

I'm rocking it so far. Really? I brought two cans of soda with me. I'm that old guy that brings drinks from home. Nice. It feels very lame, I'll be honest with you. But, like, so far, I've been packing my lunch every day, and yeah, yeah. I mean, I can't say I'm in love with it, but but it it it is something that I resolved to do. And so far, it's it's going okay. Alright. Good. Dan. You you know, don't this year. Last year, had a bunch of goals and and I did fairly well, on them. But this this year, I I I I have more vague

direction stuff than I do. Continue Adonis ing. What's that? That's your plan is to continue Adonis ing? Yes. That's right on, Dan. Wait. Like, being like Adonis? It's a phrase people use. No. I don't think so. Yeah. I've never heard of it. I just yes. Okay. Okay. I don't know. I don't really have any I so I a few things I started before New Year because I thought I didn't wanna load it on January 1. So, like, I'll I started a few days beforehand. So I started drinking lemon water in the morning,

like boiling lemon water. Well, I don't feel lame anymore. Boiling lemon water. Well, you know, like heated. It's a it's like a like a tea. It's just just lemon juice and hot water, really. But here's what I found is that when I started doing that, it's too freaking hot. When I make it in the morning, I can't drink it. And so I have to wait for it to cool down, and I've been reading my bible consistently in the morning because of that. And I thought, alright then. Lemon water it is. So consistently for for this year so far, I've been drinking the hot lemon water in the morning, getting my bible reading done in the morning, which I have I have never been able to do consistently. Like, Last year was good because I finally got consistent bible reading in, and then this got it doing happening in the morning. So those those are my my two kind of things that I wanted to reorient my day to get up early enough to boil in water and then to to drink it and kinda read bible stuff before I go to work. And, like, that I'm sticking with it so far. Yeah. Is that supposed to be kind of a cleanse thing? Yeah. It's for digestion stuff. Like, I also gave up caffeine for the most part for the same reason. Like, they're just I I was feeling crappy, and I decided it was it was probably all the coffee and and pop and stuff I was drinking. So I gave up the caffeine and started drinking a little more. Not me, man. I'm sticking with it. That's what I mean, double down. Whatever. Yeah. Whatever sustains you. Yeah. So I guess along that line, like, I I'm reading I'm doing a read through the Bible in the year plan with a bunch of people and

so yeah. So, I mean, there are some specific things I'm doing, but I I hadn't thought of it as, you know Like a resolution. I just kicking in some stuff into gear. Okay. Waking up earlier. Yeah. More Bible. Yeah. Kinda stuff. Okay. Good. Hey. There was a story on the Christian Post that mission groups are saying that our misunderstanding of unreached people is hampering our ability to fulfill the great commission.

And the core the core output of the article was you can't think of the unreached as your neighbor who doesn't know Jesus because they are reached. They have us. So I think the concern is that as we orient, if we think, oh, well, it's our neighbors and stuff, then we stop sending money and time and resources to find, like, I don't know, tribes in in Sudan

and stuff like that. Legit concern, Mike? I don't even I don't understand the premise, Ben. So so the the concern is is that if we if you define unreached people as anybody who doesn't know Jesus, it's hampering international mission work. Because people then define unreached as my neighbor Tom does not know Jesus. I will spend my time, money, and effort trying to reach Tom because he is unreached.

And so no one then is spending time, money, and effort to reach the pygmies because no one is their neighbor. Are are they saying they believe this to be a current problem? Yes. They said it's a current problem. Well, I disagree. Why? You said if it was only a one sentence answer, Ben, you weren't gonna beat it to death. Wait. Except for I wanna know why you so hold on. It says, concern is rising among among alliance members that many Christians have lost sight of what the term really means with missionaries going out to the far corners of the world to spread Jesus' message.

Okay. Fugler added this man's name. Of course, believers need to keep praying for and reaching out to those around us who don't know Christ, but we believe it's imperative that as a as a church, we embrace a greater commitment seeing the good news taken to the truly unreached, those places and and among people groups where the gospel has yet to be heard. Okay. So I've given my neighbor Tom the best shot I can. You're done, Tom. You know what saying? I'm going to Malawi. I can't put up with your white face no more.

I now hold on. These are guys alliance of what? Tell me they're part of the alliance of international missionaries. Yeah. No. I'm sure they are. Alliance? Hold on. They're taking International Day of the Unreached. John Fugler, chairman of the Alliance for the Unreached. Well,

here it goes back to teaching the whole gospel and the whole, you know, council of of god. We're we're are called to be witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, Galilee I mean, you know, to the other other parts of the world. So so yes. Yes. And, yes, it you know? Yes. Our neighbor is unreached, and, yes, so are the people in that tribe in The Sudan.

And so, yes, I I may not have to go there, but I have to send who's gonna go. I mean, I have to either send or go long range, and I'm responsible completely for my neighbor too. So Yeah. It's like those guys that, like, they they start working for oh, I mean, name any any charity, like, even the food bank, you know? And then all of sudden That's all that's on the radar. Everyone they meet is the is a degenerate if they do not give to the food bank, and they might be living at the hospital caring for sick kids or whatever, like, twenty three hours out of the day, but according to this dude, they're junk because they don't give to the food passion. That's right. And so, like, he might be overreaching

a little bit. Yeah. Maybe you're part of God's plan to reach those people, and God's using someone else to use to reach someone else. I mean, wouldn't you say that, like and we've had this conversation before. Like, as far as international missions goes, it's like I mean, people from outside of the country can do a lot of good, but it's it's the infrastructure within the country. Like, if you set up people to meet Jesus in that country and then let people who live there work and do the work of Jesus Christ, that's better. That's always better. It's not like Paul said, hey. I'm I'm not setting up a church here in Ephesus. I just want you to like me, and then I'll be back. And then we'll talk about it again when I return. Like, he set up a church to operate apart from his presence. Right? And so, like, I'm not saying that we don't need to send people to set up churches, but, like, it's the great commission is is is to

make disciples. Right? It's to grow people into knowing who Jesus Christ is. And, like, if you do that with some people in that country, then those people will make other disciples, and your oddly tall, weird whiteness doesn't need to be there. You can go back home and and and take care of your neighbors. Alright. Yep. Next. So that one guy Mike, this was the story you were talking about. It was it was the the dude that was a youth pastor.

Hold on. See if I can find the allegations were made. Okay. This week, allegations were made against Andy Savage, the megachurch teaching pastor at High Point Church in Memphis regarding an event that took place twenty years ago when Savage was serving as a youth pastor in Texas. According to the accuser's testimony, 22 year old Savage coerced the then 17 year old Jules Woodson to participate in sexual activity. He had oral sex had oral sex in the back of a car. Woodson reports that he apologized immediately after the incident, I'm sure, asking her to remain silent sounds like an apology. When Woodson refused, according to her testimony, church instructed her to keep quiet. And so the the the the primary outrage to this was there was video of this guy telling this story, and then the church kinda get up and applauds.

It's part of the Me Too stuff. He he gave his personal testimony. I was the perpetrator. Yes. And and God has forgiven me. Yes. Yeah. Yes. That's true. And so the question is there there were a lot of reactions to this, most of them negative,

whether the man should should still be in ministry. How does God's forgiveness extend to this man still should to be still in ministry? Was the church right to have stood up and applauded? I don't know. Quick thoughts on that. Dan.

Well, my my my initial thought when I was hearing about this was the church did, but it has been trained through the last several years is to, you know, recklessly love and and offer grace and forgiveness and mercy, and I think we should. I think that is good. I think they're they probably didn't have time to process what was really being said, what he really did, what what happened, and to say, well, wait a minute. You're also a pastor and leader in this church, and maybe maybe that's not appropriate.

And and then but, you know, maybe we need to figure think this through more than we just before we just stand up and applaud. And I don't know where I even am on that. If something that he did twenty years ago, I wanna know what's he done in the last five years. Is that a habit, or did he, like he was just a silly 22 year old that just

that was a bad mistake and a terrible thing, and he learned even though they that that church did things terribly wrong, I would say, those people all need fired. Yeah. The Texas church. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The elders need to step down. They're still alive. I mean, you know, all that stuff.

Because that was awful trying to hide it. Yeah. But but but I I need more information to know if he shouldn't be a pastor now. Now they might be reacting too far the other way. I mean, if there was grace, if he is done, if it was a mistake, and that's what his confession was all about. They took down the confession too, so I can't hear that. Right. You you know, then I could speak more intelligently, but but I'm gonna write the fence on what he should be doing now. Mike?

Yeah. I I mean, I I suppose there there you just you need more information, right, to know. Like, I think the thing that troubled me was is, like, if I think if you read the gal's take on it, it's, like, the last like, not the last they ever heard of it. Right? But, like, when when he left his when he left the church in Texas, he didn't say why. It was a vague, I made a mistake. It's time for me to move on, and then he left. Right? And then, like, it ended with with him asking this gal to just keep it keep it on the low. Right? And, like, this should've came out

fifteen Yeah. Seventeen years ago. Well yeah. And and the I think the clarification here is that the church asked her to keep it on the low. He like, he they weren't allowed to talk after it was reported. So, like, he said that he had apologized. That didn't happen. It's like the church says, hey. You're not allowed to talk to that person. I'm like, whatever. I'm totally allowed to do whatever I want. Yeah. So that I agree with that. So and and maybe this goes to the point of this isn't it's safer to do to feel like he's doing penance in this way. Right? Like like, you you removed yourself twenty years from actually making an apology, from ruining your life, which it probably would and should have at the time. Yeah. Right? And you dodged it for twenty years, and then now we look at it and and and and having to rightly respond to the fact that this that Jesus is a is a is a forgiving character. Otherwise, we're all in trouble. But, like,

it's this doesn't feel like this doesn't feel like he had necessarily been I don't know. I've been struggling to handle this correctly. Are you telling me his moral compass is that much different twenty years later? As

a man of the cloth, he frankly, he he would have known how to react to it then, and he did not. The church did not. He did not. And and the church should have told the next church, oh, by the way yes. Exactly. Well, and it does say in the article that, like, he he said all this stuff when he was taking the job at the Memphis church that he's in. He let them all know that this was something he had done in the past. I'm like, that's all that's all well and good. Right? I I I get what you're saying. But here here's what I know. It's like, there's a list of folks that I know that that they do not follow Jesus at all. Their life does not reflect it. They have no interest in it. It's not what they do. And then when one of them meets Jesus, you know when I start hearing from them? They start going back, and I start getting apologies for them being jerks for the last ten years. You know I'm saying? Like, they start showing up out of nowhere, and, like, you didn't ask for it. God does that. God says, here's the wreckage you caused without you following me. Here's the grace you received. And then grace has has just a way of of of warming inside of you and you going, man, I really owe some people some apologies. And so here's the thing. It's like as a youth pastor, as someone that's to be following Jesus Christ, it is terribly embarrassing and terribly hard, and you have some very awkward years coming up. But that all should have blown up right then and there when it happened because that's the way God deals with it. You don't get to be shady and hide the stuff. You don't get to tell half a truth like, hey. I made a bad decision. No. You didn't. You got oral sex from a 17 year old while you were a youth pastor. That is not a oops. That's a yeah. Right. That's abuse. That's not abuse. Yeah. That's horrible. Right? And so the fact that you got to live with that for the last twenty years with half of the details, especially with the gal that accused you, you know, and and and it was all in the quiet hush, hush, hush. I don't care what the church body has said. You following the holy spirit? That should've came out. A church body trying to save face does not trump the holy spirit leading your life, and you go on, I hear what you're saying, boys, but I gotta get this out. I did this. I need to repent from it, and it needs to be done. And that's the way you live when you follow Jesus. Here here here's a side kinda side road from this whole thing. Because you get down to what happened this past week.

This was an illustration in a sermon, and he was thinking in his study, this is gonna be a home run. Yeah. I'm really gonna make some cool points, and I'm really gonna and hopefully, he was thinking it from a positive. Some people who've done some bad things gonna find out there is grace for you. Yeah. But he he broke the cardinal rule of illustration is the illustration blew up on his face and was bigger than whatever he was saying. And now all we're talking about was his illustration,

and he may lose his job over it. When that's really all it was. I mean, what happened was terrible and real. I'm not saying that it wasn't. I'm just saying that's that's what the tool he had this week is a great illustration that I'm gonna make a point on, and and he he chose a poor one. But, I mean, how myopic do you have to be to not recognize the nature of the point you're making? Yeah. I mean, but, like, it's one of the things that brings caution as to whether he's actually recognize I mean, I can't whatever. I don't know the man. Alright? So Right. Right. In fairness and and, frankly, with the church that applauded didn't know the details either. He did not give the level of detail that we now know. Yeah. And so, I mean, recognize that that's what what these people are hearing is someone did something, they've to to their extent, it sounds like he confessed it, and then it was handled well. He's given them a pass. He's obviously a skilled speaker in a large Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, they're not going, Yeah. You totally abused people. Fantastic. Right?

A I mean is Matt Lauer. There is probably a lack of sensitivity there. But I would say, for that man to even think that this is a good it's a good a reasonable point and something that that that, a, whatever I would agree with you that whatever point he's trying to make, like, is supporting and not a lead actor is foolish. But second of all, to not recognize the extent that he that the story was about him and and not having some sensitivity around the other the other half of that story,

it it just it it gives you pause to say, like, did you did we learn this? Or do or do you know the language the right way to talk about it, the way that makes it sound like this is the right way to talk about it? And and I think that's the quarrelsome thing. And when it comes to, like, what he's currently doing, I there's a million ways to serve Jesus. I feel like you just can't be a pastor anymore. I'm the Lord will forgive you. This is a forgivable thing, and and you can go on and and serve Jesus, and you can tell the story,

and you can help bring people to him through it. I I feel like, as a pastor, it's done, though. I just feel like you've disqualified your ability to lead people well. You know what? That's that's actually kind of a decent point. It's like, is there a reason that you're holding on to this pastor thing so so mightily? You know what I'm saying? Like because you're right. You can serve Jesus in a ton of ways. You could you can serve people and and and getting them to know Christ a ton of ways. You don't necessarily have to be the guy on stage, which, I mean, that job's hard to have without pride anyway. That's a that's a pride battle, especially the bigger the church gets is like, you know, that's that that has to be a constant battle that this is not about me. This is about God. This is not about me. This is about God. And the more popular you get because of your great preaching style or the programs you designed or all these things that you came up with, it gets harder and harder to say,

you know, God has has has I God has grown this thing, but you're like, but I'm pretty good. You know? I'm pretty good. I'm pretty smart, and I've done good things. Right? Like, that's a battle anyway. And I I I really, all you're doing is taking your pride out of the thing and saying, look, maybe I don't, and maybe I can serve people this way. I I'm with you. I think that's the way to live. Alright. I think that was all my I think that was all my quick take stuff. Let's let's do some secular song. For America's fastest growing game show.

Secular or Solomon? And you've stumbled onto America's fastest growing Internet game show, Secular

versus Solomon. Here's the core of the game in case you have forgotten. I'm going to give bits of wisdom, and your job is to tell me whether it is a secular bit of wisdom, wisdom of the world, or whether it's biblical wisdom generally originating from Solomon. And the whole point here is to say, do we know where our wisdom is coming from? And so if it is worldly wisdom, we wanna know who's perpetrating such things, so I want country of origin. Everybody go on the rules? Do I do I need to face the other way, man? Yeah. That would be ideal. Move yourselves around.

Done. Okay. I'm ready. Okay. Here we go. Here. I'll make this super small. Make it make it easier. Alright. We're gonna start with Dan Secular or Solomon. A spoon does not know the taste of soup nor a learned fool the taste of wisdom.

Okay. I'm gonna I'm gonna say that is a secular proverb, and I'm trying to think where that would come from. But I just it just has a UK flavor to me. I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm just gonna go England. I'm gonna go

yeah. I'll go England. Oh, a spoon does not know the taste of soup nor learned fool the taste of wisdom. Mike, Solomon. Mike's in for Solomon. Why did you chuckle after I said Solomon? I don't know if Solomon makes reference to soup.

That's why you don't know your Bible very well. So I I'm not the points man, so I can't award them. But, Mike, I I would generally at least award Dan half points because a spoon does not know the taste of soup nor a learned fool the taste of wisdom. It is whales. Wales. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, technically part of The United Kingdom. The problem is Dan settled on England. See, and I was gonna say UK, and I I thought I just kinda yep. Yep. Not not Solomon then. Yeah. No. Definitely not Solomon. Yeah. Secular. Okay. It's when he was vacationing in Wales.

Secular Solomon, whoever pampers his servant from childhood will in the end find him his heir. Whoever pampers his servant from childhood will, in the end, find him his heir, secular or Solomon. Mike? Yeah. That's secular and, louse. Louse. Secular louse, Dan. I I'm gonna say that one's actually Solomon. Dan's in for Solomon. Dan. Whoever pampers his servant from childhood will in the end find him his heir.

Solomon, Proverbs 29. Come on. I mean, Dan is rocking today. Rocking. It's abysmal. It's a new year, my friend. Dan's on a year long bible reading. Starting in starting in Proverbs.

Secular Solomon, whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence. Woah. Ouch. Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence. Secular or Solomon Dan? See, what happened was, Solomon had some really spicy meatballs, and he was in a in a really bad mood,

and, he wrote that. So I'm gonna say Solomon. It's he's he ordered the number five spicy at the Laotian restaurant, and it was a mistake. Mike, I just can't take in the man that after being seen cutting off his own feet, yells enraged at the crowd, bring me the couple of violence. And the crowd the crowd goes, I think you've had enough.

Solomon. Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence. It is indeed Solomon, Proverbs 26. I don't even know how to take that in, man. Yeah. What is what is the what is meant by this proverb? Okay. One more time. Read it. Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence. They're they're they're not gonna give the appropriate message. And then

violence will come upon them because people are gonna get mad, ticked off, and North Korea's gonna hit send bombs There you go. That kind of thing. There you go. We've you've you've allowed a fool to conduct your business. The result of a fool conducting business is generally violence and putting and making it so that you don't have the chance to get out of the situation you had to cut off your own feet. And that's what's happened. You should not use a fool. I I you know, I just some of these proverbs been from Solomon, I feel like they're more common innate wisdom. Right? Like, once again, when he says, I have a message delivered, bring me the fool. Watch this one. Bring me John Reliable.

I'll take John. So I do wonder if, like, like, how much how many of these are re or Solomon is restating, simply because he's done them. Yeah. Yeah. Right? Done them or seen them. Yeah. He's seen other kings, you know, people bring him fools for messengers, and he's like, you're a fool. That's right. I'm taking you by his you boys out. Right. He sent the fool, go cut off his feet and get get out the boxed violets. Bring in my cup of violets. Let's go. Things just work differently in other parts of the world. Yeah.

Speaking of which, secular or Solomon, at high tide, the fish eat ants. At low tide, the ants eat fish. Woah. At high tide, the fish eat ants. At low tide, the ants eat fish. Secular or Solomon Mike? Secular and Japan. Secular Japan. Dan. I was totally gonna say secular Japan. Man. But I'm not I can't I can't be totally there. So I'm gonna go I'm gonna go

Taiwan. That is in with Taiwan. They're on the black beaches of Taiwan, and the tide would come in and the fish would okay. That's enough. I mean, this is an image I can't quite I can't quite reconcile. First, let's say where it's coming from. At high tide, the fish eats ants. Excuse me. The fish eat ants. At low tide, the ants eat fish. It is Thailand.

Thailand. When you say Thailand, so close. I haven't been to Thailand. I went to Taiwan. That's it says it's a pause all the time. Where did I go? Well, I mean, is this happening? At high tide, the fish are coming in and and picking ants off the beach. The ants are swept away by the tide, and then the fish eat them when they're in the water. They find them in the water, and they pick them off? Yeah. And at low tide, when the fish are left behind, the ants take them over and eat them. Because some kid was making a castle and that fish got stuck in it. Oh, I never thought of that. Then the ants said, hey, revenge. Couple violence for Bring me the couple violence

and I'm bleeding. We can lift it because we're ants. Here we go. Secular word, Solomon. No matter how hard you try, the bull will never give milk. Oh, boy. No matter stop the don't think it. No matter how hard you try Too late, Ben. The poll will never give milk, secular or solemn and dam. That is

a secular proverb from Poland. Someone entirely of the Polish. There's someone yelling at a poor Polish boy,

knock it off. It's just not gonna happen. Mike. Yeah. I'm gonna go secular as well. And Sweden,

No matter how hard you try what what is it we think of? Eastern black countries. Cows. No matter how hard you try, the bull will never give milk. Secular Ukraine. Ukraine. So next time you see a nice Ukrainian man walking around your fields, you say no.

No. My boy. Step back, sir. Here we go. Secular or Solomon, better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite. Yeah. Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite. Secular or Solomon? Dan? I'm

I'm gonna go with Solomon. Dan's in for Solomon, Mike. Yeah. Solomon's all over that, Ben. Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite. It is Solomon. Ecclesiastes six nine. Oh. Six nine. I don't know. Does that one make sense? Better is the sight of the eyes. Better to take it in than chase it? Is Is what I mean? Yeah. He I mean, what is it? The first I don't know. Between the first 12 chapters of Proverbs or whatever, there's probably three devoted to dudes

going after stuff that don't belong to him or That's true. Chasing the drippy, drippy woman or whatever. Know? Like, I just hit the he loves Yeah. To bang that The drip drip faucet woman. Here we go. Secular or Solomon. Dripping honey. The highway of the upright turns aside from evil. Whoever guards his way preserves his life.

The highway of the upright turns aside from evil. Whoever guards his way preserves his life. Secular or Solomon, Mike. That's exactly what we're talking about about people stumbling. You know I'm saying? If you want a highway that's all solid stuff, then if you fall down, it ain't that big of a deal. Mhmm. Solomon. Solomon, Dan. See, I I think you're being tricky, and it's a good biblical council coming from, like, a a TV preacher.

That's where I get all my good biblical council, Dan, and my credit card number. But I'm gonna go Solomon. Dan's in for Solomon. The highway of the upright turns aside from evil. Whoever guards his way preserves his life.

Solomon, Proverbs sixteen seventeen. Damn. I knew it. That's why I said it. Hey, man. This this game really doesn't bounce as well without three people in the room. No. And, like, I usually like to yell at booba and make make comedy comedy. It is stupid answers, and yeah. So yeah. We're missing a guy. I can't even keep track of whose turn it is with only two men. Yeah. Alright. Here we go. Secular or Solomon, give to a pig when it grunts and a child when it cries, and you will have a fine pig and a bad child.

Give to a pig when it grunts and a child when it cries, and you will have a fine pig and a bad child. Secular or Solomon? Damn. Okay. I'm gonna I'm gonna go, secular, and I'm trying. This is where I get it's really really difficult for me.

I'm I'm gonna go with, oh boy, it's really tough. Oh, damn. Brazil. Brazil. Are you kidding me?

Dancing with Brazil, Mike. I was gonna say Brazil. Okay. I'm gonna say secular and Portugal. Give to a pig when it grunts and a child when it cries, and you will have a fine pig and a bad child. Secular Denmark.

Denmark. I had no idea there was pigs in Denmark. Isn't that where they made the movie with the pig? The talking pig? Babe? Babe? Yeah. No. I think that's Ireland.

I've never looked at the origin of that movie, Ben and Dan. Here we go. Secular or Solomon? What's the matter with you guys? I wonder where this is made. Beautiful country. I must visit.

Secular or Solomon. I wonder if they have lemon water there. And a hot stove. The church is near, but the way is icy. The tavern is far, but I will walk carefully.

Sorry. The the church is near, but the way is icy. The tavern is far, but I will walk carefully. Secular or Solomon, Mike? Secular. I I'm I'm forced, Ben. My hands are tied. It's Ireland. Alright. Ireland, Dan. That's good.

Yeah. I'm gonna go secular and and I believe I'm gonna go with Mexico. Dan says it's Mexico.

Here's the deal. I could've given you a clue here. You've you've ran into this country already so far, and their actions would make you think that perhaps this is a true sentiment. Anybody wanna re change their guess?

North Korea. Denmark. It's the bull country, man. That was Ukraine. Yeah. Ukraine. Yes.

Alright. The church is near, but the way is icy. The tavern is far, but I will walk carefully. Secular Ukraine. Yes. Yeah.

Before I go, I'll muck the bull. I don't think they talk in a in a Spanish accent, am I? Absolutely, they do. Okay.

Hold on. Hold on. Alright. Secular, Solomon. Last one. Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. What the heck? Better was a proverb. It's half a paragraph. Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take it by secular or Solomon Dan. I'm gonna go Solomon. Dan's name is Solomon Mike.

Man. Secular Greenland. Secular Greenland.

Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. It is indeed Solomon, Ecclesiastes four. Dang it. Oh, that's it, Mike. What's the tally? I won 74 to 30. What the heck? Why? Because I'm amazing.

I rock this. Yeah. Yeah. And excuse me. I'm headed to the tavern. Don't let me open up a cup of violence.

It's hard to get there without defeat. Alright. Anyway, you've wandered in America's fastest growing Internet game show. To check out past versions of the show, go to lifeinthepath.org. And, I mean, we're seeing lots of traffic, so you're gonna have to fight your way through. I recommend going early. Maybe maybe in the morning. Alright. That's it.

What else? Anything else on the docket here? I got a I got a secular or a sacred psalm. I got a a dear life from the path. Okay. Yeah. Let's do that. Okay. Here we go. Ready? Yep. Dear life from the path. My husband and I enjoyed going to estate sales. Recently, we were shocked when we heard an estate sales representative ask an older lady if she could afford what she was looking at. The woman answered, yes.

Shortly after that, as the woman was leaving, the estate representative asked her if she could search the pockets in her jacket. She said, yes. And nothing was found on her. The estate sales representative followed up with, you know how it is? Man, this is iffy. We were appalled to say the least. We've been browsing right along with the older lady and saw nothing suspicious. What do you make of this? Should we have said something?

Holy cow. What are you gonna say? Yeah. Bye bye. Don't ask that lady these questions. You don't have the right to not trust her. Boy, I mean, was it an auction or, like, a garage? I mean, a state representative?

Is it a family member? An estate sales representative. You know, I think it's gotta be like the the auction company. I still have a thought. That's what was assuming. Maybe maybe they've run into some sticky fingered oldsters before. I mean, maybe maybe that's a problem with old people in estate sales. They're going around to snoop through Ted's belongings because they knew Ted, but they're not really wanna buy something, or they're gonna take something that they believe rightfully belongs to them. I mean, we could have saved a couple paragraphs here and just said, how do I handle everyday interactions? Love whoever What if I don't like what someone says? Yeah. What if I think somebody's stealing? What should I do? You should ask them. And then when they produce no stolen goods, you immediately apologize and say good day.

That's just a weird way to handle yourself, you know? Or they're of course, they're what they're asking is they should have should they have said something to the sales representative? Yeah. Mean, if she was over it doesn't appear as if she was overly rude about it or anything. Right? She suspected someone of theft. They said, I'm not thieving. Search away. She came up with nothing and said, okay. Yeah. Thank you. And she was she was obviously wearing clothing that that implied she was not of noble means.

Yeah. You know? And I I I noticed people treat you differently depending on what clothing you wear. And, they just decided she was poor and maybe she was just playing them. Maybe she just was loaded.

Wasn't that Sam from wall whatever the Sam's Club guy, Walmart guy? Didn't he used to drive around like an old beat up pickup or something? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Multi millionaire, billionaire Yeah. And coveralls and I don't know. Yeah. I don't know. I I I mean, I feel like this is a real weird question because nobody who's gonna answer this was there. Yeah. And Like none of your business. Yeah. I you know, it's saying like, hey. I had an interaction. I chose not to really get involved. Should I got involved? Person who wasn't there? Stop being the world police. Yeah. I don't know. Let people go. You know? The if the old lady would have put up a fit about it, then maybe you should also back her play. You know? But, like, if she didn't she let it go. I mean, you're the third party offense, man. Just you gotta drop it. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. Gotta let it go. Okay. Secular says, since I wasn't there, I can't I can't guess at what may have triggered the sales rep's suspicions, but her treating a prospective customer in such a heavy handed manner is surprising.

I've seen wealthy shoppers at more than one estate sale who dress down to enable themselves to get a better bargain. Yeah. That said, I think you were wise to not intervene. To have done otherwise might have caused the scene and embarrassed the shopper even more than she already was. Wait a minute. Aren't the estate sales aren't they auctioned or pre priced? Like, do they really go, you know what? For you, $8.50. Is that going on in an estate sale?

Yeah. Really. I mean, if if it's a if it's an auction and the dude you're bidding against has it in his mind that he will pay $50 for this thing, what you're wearing or not wearing should have very little to do with it. But maybe I have a compassionate heart and I think I can pay more for this, and she obviously can't. I'm gonna let her win. I mean, she drove to the auction. Right? You know? She got here somehow. I feel like I mean, not like he's phoning in a bid from the bridge downtown. You know? Like, they're at the auction. Look at that tattered trench coat. She can have this box of eight tracks for $38. Yeah. It seems a bit I mean, yeah. That's not firing on all cylinders for me. Just don't make no sense.

Alright. Let's do it now. That was a bad one. Yeah. Yeah. Dear dear life from the path. My parents are driving me crazy. About six months ago, they opened a little store close to where we live. Every day since it opened, they have made me work with them on the weekends as well after school until 6PM when dad gets there. I'm tired of working there. They don't pay me and are very strict. I want to tell them I don't wanna work there anymore, but I'm afraid if I do, they will punish me. Can you tell me what to do? Holy cats, man. What? Did we get a sense for how old this dude is? If he's over 10, he's in big trouble. Isn't this where you say suck it up, buttercup? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, welcome to the nineteenth century up until maybe 1950. You know? I mean, this is the way the world works. Your parents open a place. You work there.

That's it. I don't know. Anybody else wanna tack on there? No. I'm kind of interested in secular's advice. I mean, he's he's not making any other case here. Like, hey. I can't get my schoolwork done or I'm not able to go to my the football game or whatever it is that his his plans are. It's just like, I don't wanna work.

I got some video games that are really fucking dust. Yeah. I mean can't play them? I think I'd roll the dice and see what kind of punishments we're talking about. You know? Like, hey, dad. I don't work anywhere. This place is stupid. Well, then you're gonna go home and clean the kitchen. Yeah. Okay. You know? Or I'm a take away your car. Yeah. That's no problem. You know? I mean, I I I think I'd roll the dice and tell him I don't wanna work there no more and then wait and see what the punishment is. And if mom cries, then, obviously, you gotta stay because you can't do that. But if you make dad mad, everybody can make a deal with making a Yeah. You gotta test your limits. I feel like I mean, I might just ask and say, look. I don't come into work today. What do you think? Yeah. What do think is gonna happen? Feel on it. Okay. What's the secular advice? Secular says, I don't know how old you are, but your parents wouldn't be doing this if they didn't need your help. K. That's definitely not true. I Grace came up to me tonight and says, if I don't agree with you when you're saying something to me, then I have to agree with you no matter what you say, otherwise I get in trouble. I'm like, yes. Yes. That's exactly how it works here. Yes. You do something that I think is wrong, I bring it up, and then you agree that it was wrong, and then you would go our separate ways. She And goes, but you always do that. I'm like, yes. This is exactly my job description. Find you doing wayward things, and then I bring them up. Yes. This is exactly right. She goes, that's not fair. I said, you're mistaken.

I feel like I'm holding up my end of the bargain here. Alright. A second of advice is, I don't know how old you are, but your parents wouldn't be doing this if they didn't need your help. Please try to step up to the plate with less resentment. By being involved in the family business, you are learning not only responsibility, but also skills that will be valuable when you are older. You don't know if any of that's true. What you need to do now is recognize that your parents need you and provided the work doesn't conflict with your schoolwork and normal social life, be proud that you are capable enough to contribute in a meaningful way.

Yeah. Okay. Yeah, man. It seems alright. I really wish people would stop using the phrase step up to the plate. Noted. Yeah. Yeah. But if you're not a baseball fan. What does it make any sense? You have Maybe it's a buffet. You're the next guy in line. Like, it's it's not a virtue. Hey, man. Step up to the plate. Well, I mean yeah, because you're next up. It's not like you volunteered to go out there. It's not brave.

Yeah. I suppose, like, you don't ever see the on deck dude rolling up the plate and going, you know what? Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. I'm out. No. Pass. And then and then busted for the locker rooms. Yeah. They're like, they in the in the business world, they were like, yeah. Chuck really stepped up to the plate. I'm like, it's Chuck's job. Chuck did it because he's supposed to do it. Like, if some guy came in and volunteered off the street and said, hey. I'm gonna take this on and then did a really whiz bang job, that's way different. But, like, I don't know. It just they we use it as if it ex explains a person that has done real something fantastic, and, really, it explains a person who just did what they're supposed to do. Yeah. That's true. Where where it turns out is, like, two hundred fifty days out of the year, Chuck's overpaid. This

time, we've gotten our money's worth out of it. Yeah. So so when you say, finally swung and hit one. That's what they mean.

Yeah. I agree. Otherwise, Chuck's not trustworthy. Yeah. Okay. One more. Last one. Yeah? Yep. Man, this one's kinda lengthy. It's about an insecure teenage girl. I'm ready for it. Dear life from the path. I'm a 16 year old girl, and I'm pretty sure I'm the most insecure thing on the planet. I always feel self conscious. Although, I guess it's normal for kids my age to feel like this, it's at a whole different level for me. I feel like everyone, including my closest friends, don't like me or care about me as much as I care for them. I try to distance myself from people so I won't seem annoying or clingy, but that has left me socially deprived. I don't have a best friend either. I have multiple kind of friends. I'm scared to get too close to anyone and too shy to make new friends. And yes, I know, having friends isn't the most important thing in the world, but it's still pretty important because you need to have people there for you to trust and to have fun and make memories with. I always feel like a burden to everyone and like everyone who is nice to me is only doing it out of pity. This year, I wasn't invited to even one 16 party because I've distanced myself from everyone. No one, except for two kids, talked to me at school, and when the teacher asks the class to partner up, I'm usually left alone. A lot of this no one likes you, everyone hates you, paranoia, comes from my parents because when I was younger, they said it to me repeatedly. I only have a few Internet friends. They're the only best friends I have. But unlike me, they have lives outside of the Internet. I'm the loser. Please help.

Holy cow. Man, it was a couple of chip shots there for the first couple questions, and this one is Yeah. Kind of a kind of a gully. Is this this a a female? I'm a 16 year old girl. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I did that's right. Well, I I think she needs to take

some risk and start talking to people and and just it's hard to do, but but ignore the rejections or ignore the people who don't

suffocate with the conversation and just keep trying until you find someone. You'll find this friends out there. You have to work it though. You have to you have to do something. You have to be involved and engaged in this thing. You can't just hide behind a computer screen and hope you become friends with somebody. Yeah. There's like, like the descriptions are kind of feast or famine. Right? Like it's, I I backed away from people because I felt like I was too clingy, but then no one interacts with me. And so like, there's there's I I would agree that this probably comes from

if there's a self perception here that says as soon as you start getting close enough someone to have a friend, then you start worrying about overdoing it. And that causes you to back away, and then you don't have any friends anymore. Right? So like and that that cycle is gonna persist until you can start to get a like a more solid handle and confidence in who you are. Because really, I mean, that's kind of the core thing is like, you're so if you're so dependent on what other people are thinking, then you can become super reactionary

on how they might be thinking of you and it caused you to change your behavior. And so the truth is you gotta let people be people. Right? If you're being too much, they'll say you're too much. People tend to tell you that kind of thing. And so, like, you have to trust that people will help inform you as to, you know, how you're interacting with them, whether you're being a good friend or whatever.

But but to Dan's point, like, obviously separating yourself from folks isn't helping either. And so I so I would agree. I think you just you need to go out there and you need to try to reengage people to make friends. And, like, if you're having trouble right now, like, it can't be a surprise if you've totally pulled yourself away. Right? That's not a reflection of you as a person. It's reflection of your choice to pull away from people. And so you have to re go back out it again. And it's gonna take a while because the truth is is you made that choice, and now you're kind of the person that dodged away from folks. And it's gonna take a little bit of time for people to recognize that you're not still doing that because people don't tend to wanna invest in a relationship of which they feel like you just might bail out over that you're not willing to stay in. And so I think give yourself some time, give yourself some grace,

recognize that your definition of who you are as a person doesn't come from other people, but like certainly God put other people in the world to provide some some very cool things. And so I would say, you know, obviously, engage in a relationship with Jesus. It it helps you get the right orientation of the world if you recognize

who you are. But from there, take that and then start start actively kinda working out into the world. And some of that stuff will solve itself. Sometimes people will stink and it's not good and it's gonna be bad. But, like, the risks that comes with engaging with people and making friends will outweigh

the things that will come you know, the negative things that might come from the process of doing so or what it's like to engage with people and and and have to correct yourself and how you engage with them. So I I would agree. I think you just get back on out there and and see what what comes of it. I think what you're trying to say is step up to the plate. Step up to the plate. That's right. I I mean and and and I think you're all right. Like, I mean, you didn't mention that you had a job, you know, or you were part of any type of social activities outside of school. High school is terrible. I mean, I'm it some people, 5% of the world loves high school, thinks it's fantastic. Everybody else hates it. It's not a good representative of the way the rest of the world is gonna work or how your friends are gonna interact with you throughout your life. And so, like, some people just ain't gonna like it. It ain't gonna be their deal. Yeah. I'd yeah. I'd start with a job. No. And actually, I I was talking to someone about this recently, when it comes to engaging with other people is

yours you're you're a single person, yourself in a vacuum is terribly destructive. Like, you have no gauge for the rest of the world except through your own eyes. And your own eyes are coming from a person who has chosen to take themselves away from people, and like longs for relationship, but isn't purposely not engaging in any. And like, that those that becomes a real desperate type of situation. Like, you just don't see the world well. And people are fallible, and they will cause you trouble, and they're like, they're imperfect they'll see the world imperfectly too. But you you do at least have a a sense of balance or a way to take in the world a little bit differently once you start interacting with other people. And it it becomes real difficult when you're isolated like that is because you you start making decisions that that just aren't reacting to the world as it actually is. And so wanna have a chance to see the world correctly.

Engaging with other people, good or bad, on a consistent basis will at least give you the opportunity to do that. But just recognize it's things are always gonna feel differently and probably aren't a right reflection of reality when you're trying to digest them by yourself in an isolated condition. And and you're you interpret how people are interacting with you, generally in a in a hyper way. Like, it's not really a a a right understanding of the world when you're in that position. So, like, you you have to be out interacting with folks generally on a consistent basis, like, as a like a job or, I mean, school should do it, but as long as you're not pulling yourself away from people.

But but just recognize that you really run the risk of not seeing the world correctly or as it actually is when you lose the perspective of people around you. Yeah. You need to go to church. They have to love you. There you go. Yeah. They got you. Secular says, please do not compare your life with the lives of people you know from the Internet because the information can be misleading. In an online world, everything seems rosy because people are less likely to post about their disappointment. In the real world, let me point out that parents are supposed to support and encourage their children, not belittle and denigrate them. Because you need more mentoring than I can offer in a letter or a column, I hope you will discuss your issues with a counselor at school who may be able to help you receive professional counseling to overcome the verbal abuse you have experienced at home. Please write me again and let me know how you're doing because I care. Wow. You didn't say anything nice about her. You just told her that her parents were drunk and she needed counseling.

I mean, I feel like you could empower her. You know what I'm saying? I feel like you could say some things to her that are true right now without counseling to send her on her way and get her headed in the right direction. Beyond you're a victim. Yeah. Here here. Yeah. You got screwed. Why don't you wallow in it for a while? Go talk to somebody. I mean, I'm not saying that you shouldn't get counseling. Counseling is very beneficial for a lot of people. Right? But, like, in the meantime, you know, go on about. You know, just take some stuff and rediscover who you are and move on.

Alright. You've been listening live from the path. Thanks for hanging out with us this week. Really do appreciate it. On the docket for next week, I'm not quite sure about that. But in the meantime, we'll be preparing a show that will be fantastic. Until we see you next week, be faithful in the means. God will handle the ends. You've been listening to live from the path.