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 covering you from the Pathway Studios here in Johnston proper. What I made a guess? Yeah. I'm gonna take the word for it on that one. What's that? Okay. Here's the here's the okay. I'm gonna tell first, I'm gonna tell you what's gonna be on the show this week, and then I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna have you buy something from me. So stuff on the show. Mike, did Joel oh, Joel Osteen got harassed on TikTok? Yeah. I read a I read an article about Joel Osteen where some TikTok user had had run into him outside of a restaurant and and said he was a horrible person. And then it went viral for both reasons. People in support that he is a terrible indeed a terrible person and then people against.

And I don't know. The guy eventually got fired and then I don't know. I I didn't follow the whole article. But it seemed very interesting to me. So we're gonna talk about that. Okay. So we're gonna hit that article. And then we're gonna talk about, I I think, a a related topic, which is how do you as a as a as a Christian as a Christian man, as a man of the man of the people,

keep yourself focused on good and right doctrine, teaching, without becoming a jerk in in in in talking about people who you think are teaching false doctrine. Yeah. So basically, we're talking about how to whether it's necessary

for most of the friends of mine on the Facebook to say, this guy's a false teacher with like three exclamation points. Because the guy said like one thing you doctrinally did not agree with. Like yes. Yeah. Part of the part I think the question is,

what even makes a false teacher? Like, is it one wrong thing? Yeah. Because I mean, like, I'm I'm probably a false teacher in some form or another. I mean, I'm sure I've said something incorrect or misunderstood something or taught it too shallow or something like that. You know? And so like like, if you're gonna call someone a false teacher, what is it? What do we actually what what what do they have to be teaching that's false? Yeah. Does it matter

what it is that you believe they're teaching that is false or just the fact that you disagree with them on a minor theological point? Yeah. That's the problem. And now they can't be trusted ever. Yeah. Okay. So we're You should write a children's book. About what? False teachers for kids? No. The the boy who called heretic. Yeah. The preacher who called heretic. Yeah. That way, it's like a boy who cried wolf kind of action. Yeah. Except for it's it's it's how to keep people from constantly calling everybody a heretic all the time. Although on Facebook, who called heretic. So do you do you think that that we live in the day and age where since people's voices are more likely to be heard

because of social media and the ability to share it, that there's always been this many heretics out there or people with false teaching. And we're like, no, we just didn't even notice because they were confined to their country church or whatever. But now since they have the Internet, they can blast their half truths or poor theological work out to the masses. And now we're like, oh, there's false teachers everywhere. I mean, is the problem the same? I guess is what I'm getting at. Yeah. Okay. Well, let's get to that. We'll get to that when we get to the when we get to the story. That's good. If we got time, I I had found an

something on Facebook that the the fellows have already seen, but I I just wanted to talk about it on the show and kind of flesh it out. It there was a conversation around the people trying to get help from the church. So they might call, they might text, they might something rather than show up and say, look, I want I need help from the church. And I'd seen someone, from a church in Canada and they said, well, what we do is if they say they need help from the church, we say, once you come to the service, come to our Sunday service, and then we'll sit down and talk afterwards,

and then we we might be able to help you out. But you gotta at least come to the service. We're not gonna help you unless you come to church here. And, it was kind of a mixed reaction on Facebook. Like, hey, man, you get a seems like you're carrot carrot and sticking a guy by saying, hey, you gotta you gotta we'll bargain. If you come to the church service, then we'd be willing to help you. But the others had a reaction that like, this seems like some level of discernment. And so I I I wanna say that some of the stuff that we had talked about, I think I wanna talk about out loud here on the show. Perhaps it may be helpful for some folks as you think about what it is to to help somebody, and truly help them and to help people who actually need

help versus perhaps those who are just using you. So anyway, it's it's always we'd probably cycle that conversation around once every three to four months. And I thought it was a good way of talking about it and people asking for help from church. I actually had a real good conversation with a guy at work about this exact thing. And so, yeah, let's get to that one. Okay. I'm ready. Fourth. And we'll see if we don't have time, I'll pick this up probably next week, but like I joined I joined the house church

Facebook group. Yeah. Okay. Dan's gonna sympathize with me here because Dan, I I I think you're you're part of many a church Yeah. Yeah. Facebook group. Yeah. And like some of the stuff you see in some of these places, you're like, I don't know how the gospel made it anywhere Yes. With what's going on. Indeed. Okay. And so, like, I I may have may have a story from the house church group, and and the part the part of the reason I joined, I thought that maybe there's some folks on house churches that would be having some interesting discussions, but it reminded me of something that I've always been super cautious about, which is, I I think there are very healthy expressions of things like, house churches, that I think that is valuable for the broad church to normalize a bit.

But then you also run the risk of people stay up on their feet and whining and crying about something they didn't agree with, and they set up a kingdom somewhere, and they're proselytizing to their joke of a kingdom. And, I've seen a lot more of that, to be honest. Been very disappointing Yeah. In this particular area. So we'll see if we get to that. We can all enjoy the life lesson of how not to get caught up in stuff like that. Okay. And so finally, before we start, the guts of the show, I do want you to know I'm I'm gonna do my best, to to keep the Life From The Path shop at lifefromthepath.org,

flying with new products. Yeah. And so, there are a couple new products out there. There's a there's a some nice t shirts out there. There's a thrift store priest. There's already one that's got like thrift store priest kinda written on there in the image of the of the priest. I put one out there that doesn't have the lettering on it, and the thrift store priest's a little small a little smaller because Mike didn't wanna wear such a giant priest. Yeah. I didn't know that I had said something bad about that before, and I was just about ready to fire off on how I didn't like that giant priest from the last one. Okay. So I'm glad to hear that. I shrunk him a bit. Good. And then secondly, out there as of a few days ago is the unique Mississippi Don't Push. Yeah. Life from the Path shirt.

So it's a Mississippi Don't Push on the front, and it's got the Life from the Path logo on the back. Also, I think all these are relatively I mean, it's like $20 or something. Don't know. Did it come in a Henley? No. Do people still wear Henley? No. I'm no. I don't wanna attract Henley crowds. I don't know what's going a v neck? No. Dan, the Henley is the one that that it buttons at the top and it's generally long sleeve, but it's no collar. Okay. Yeah. It's a Henley. Like a baseball shirt? Yeah. Kinda Yeah. Like

Kind of. I think we can probably safely say all these shirts are exclusives. Right? Yes. Life in the Path exclusive. Yeah. That's right. In fact, you no one's bought them either. So I mean, not only are they exclusively sold on lifeinthepath.org, but you may own the only one. Yeah. If it was a proud owner of a thrift store thrift store priest Yeah. The people love it. I got several comments around town while I was wearing it. A whole bunch of them. One lady at the Dollar Tree asked if I was a priest because I was wearing this shirt. So it's because things were late.

That's awkward. No. I'm not. It might have been the robe you were wearing over it. Maybe. Boy, that would be awesome if if someone saw your saw your shirt and said thrift store priest and just like, oh, well, good morning, father. Are you the thrift store priest? I mean, like, do they think like the dude walking in with a Superman shirt, Superman? I mean, is it like No. I have no idea. I'm trying to figure that logic. A good point, Dan. I've never been mistaken for Batman. Yeah. I found I have a Batman shirt. I was trying to get my toe to wear and get out of there. I'm Batman. Alright. Here we go. Anyway, lifefromthepath.org. Click on shop. Hey. I simplified the website, guys. There's a podcast and there's a shop. That's it. So, and I think a donate button, but I'm not even sure that goes anywhere. So anyway, go pick that stuff up. It's even as a gag. You can do it as a gag. That's fine with me. I'll tell you but I I part of the reason I went and updated the shop is because,

the the vendor we use to, like, put the products out, they have this brand of shirt that I really like. Like, everywhere I've bought a shirt, I said, man, that's a nice shirt. It's been this brand. And so I went to see if it was available in our stable, and it was. And so I'm producing shirts from that. Should be should be like We need to come up with some Life in the Path board games. Oh, just like we gotta do Secular Solomon. That would be fun. Remember, what was that game we were gonna try to where where, like, your kingdom can't be trusted? And like you it was Life From The Path app, and you look at it and it takes a selfie and goes, this this man can't be trusted. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. I I still got it on my leg. Hey. If anybody's listening, I keep saying I'm gonna do and I never get around to it. We really do need a live from the Path app. And we can't pay for it though. Yeah. That's what you're thinking. I need you to design it for free. Yeah. And Publish it for free. And probably take care of the web hosting. Yeah. Basically, if you just wanna do this out of the kindness of your heart because you like the show or hate it and think this will be some sort of weird spiteful thing at us to make it for us Yeah. And we will be raw There's nothing you can do to the show that we haven't already done. Yeah. That's right. So Anyway, I'm open, but you need to make it to my specifications. Okay. Okay. Alright. Here we go. California man says Joel Osteen harassed restaurant into firing him after viral TikTok video. Church denies.

A TikTok user is out of a job after posting a video insulting pastor Joel Olsteen. The video spanning only sixteen seconds was posted by Nick Stanley whose username is Nick and Soff. During his encounter with the Lakewood Church pastor, Stanley smiles along with Olsteen for a video before asking him asking him, you know you're a piece of ass. Right? Oh, yeah. Olsteen responded by simply smiling away, as he would. I'm gonna put $300

that that's what he would do. To do a little ding on his teeth and I feel like they have like three Joel's teeth and they autopilot them around town. And so like when people say insulting things to him, no one sends the command to act insulted because they didn't even program it in. So he just keeps wheeling his smile out there, big giant. He shakes that little cube thing. Yeah. The Lord bless you.

Totally forgot about that. I saw some of those at work the other day. What? The Joel Osteen per cube? Yeah. There there's a big old toad of them. Wow. Yeah. I didn't know they were actually moving. Oh, he's making progress. You know, it does seem like I don't know. I'm not speaking to whether the man's good looking or not. I'm just telling you that he does have a face where someone could conceivably rob an art gallery, and like 15 of them had Joel Osteen masks on. Like, I could just see that happening. Yeah. He looks like a real estate agent. Like a real Eisenhower. Yeah. Yeah. He did. Hey. How do you think Eisenhower feels about that? You should ask him. Yeah. I'll text him. Alright. Anyway, Olsteen responded by simply smiling away. Stanley, on the other hand, looks in the camera and says, he knows, after wishing a couple of pedestrians a good night. It's a weird video. Did you you said, Mike, you watched the video? No. Oh, okay. Mm-mm. You just read about it? Yeah. And they played it over and you was it awesome in your mind? Yeah. I changed the language around. I thought it was a little bit stronger. My bad.

I see. I've been regaling people with that story all day, and I put the f bomb in it because I I didn't read it that close, I guess. Stanley later said on TikTok that he was working a double shift, and his encounter with Osteen took place during his lunch break. Stanley did not reveal the name of the restaurant in his videos. Fox Business reached out to Stanley but did not hear back before publication. Mixed reactions led the comment section with some approving while others called him out for the video. One user referred to it as the best TikTok they've ever seen. I'm sure. Another referred to Stanley as a king for doing so. Others were not too pleased by his action. I think this was unkind. Doesn't matter who you might do this to, says another man. That's kinda true. As the video's popularity increased, it got into the hands of Stanley's employer who responded by firing him. He took to TikTok to break the news. If anyone wants to buy me that beer now would be a great time, he says as he ended the video. Since his firing, Stanley thanked people for the overwhelming love and support. View this okay. Viewers were willing to create a GoFundMe account for his recent unemployment. Instead, he announced a GoFundMe campaign for two nonprofit organizations in both Los Angeles and Houston, where Joel Osteen pastors his Lakewood Church.

On Saturday, Stanley provided context to the video that started it all. He was working in a SoCal restaurant when Joel Osteen walked in. He was surprised that so many people in his restaurant wanted to take pictures with him. Why would anyone wanna take a picture or get an autograph from a monster like that? He asked in his video two minutes and thirty seconds. What what is the deal? Stanley later claims that Joel Osteen's team harassed the restaurant into terminating him. Despite Stanley's claim that viewers were interested in boycotting the restaurant, he urged them not to. I love where I worked. I have no personal quarrel with him. I loved it. And it's not their fault I got fired. If you wanna cancel something, it's definitely Joel Osteen. Okay.

I mean, I he he really thinks like Joel Osteen jumped in and and tried to cancel him on his job. I mean, I I think Joel probably walked away and forgot it ever happened. Yeah. It's like he was checking out the the TikTok going, hey, TikTok. Yeah. That's what the the church basically reported like like and you'd figure, I suppose they would, but like they're like, Joel didn't even recognize that this encounter had happened. Right? He's he probably smiles and takes a picture with a thousand people in a day. I mean, like him or hate him, he's a busy guy. Yeah. But we don't have that large of an organization without, like, having a lot of schedule too. And you're not sitting around worried about how many hits a a TikTok is getting. Yeah. He said in fact, they asked one of his guys, a spokesman for Osteen in the church, and he said he was not aware of the TikTok incident. He denied Staley's allegations that Osteen's team harassed the restaurant into firing him. Said it would be the most out of character thing in the world for Joel Osteen to try and get anybody fired, the spokesman told Fox Business. I can't even fathom that. I can't even imagine that. Now here's the thing. I don't think highly of Joel Osteen. It's preaching.

But I I mean, I don't have any reason to think like that again, that he would spend his time vindictively trying to get this man fired. So here's the thing. It's like the outside the outside perception of Joel Osteen is different than the the the perception that is within Christian circles. Right? Like, we struggle with Joel Osteen

as as the Christians that that struggle with him is because they he preaches the prosperity gospel. Right? Like, God will provide you with all these things or whatever. And we struggle with that internally. I don't think that that is the struggle with him outside of Christian circles. Right? And so, like, for what what what is he he's actually this guy hating Joel Osteen for. Why is he such a horrible person? Because he has a mega church? There's plenty of good pastors who don't teach the prosperity gospel that have a mega church. Right? So like Yeah. From from the actual perspective, like, this guy literally just hates Joel Osteen because he purportedly loves Jesus. Right? No. No. I think he I think it's because he's a megachurch I think he's jealous. He wants the money. So so he hates him because he has a big church. Right? You could hate all kinds of pastors for that. Yeah. Yeah. I think he feels like, at least from what I've heard from other people, is that they feel like Joel Osteen and preachers like him take advantage of people who want to be wealthy.

Mhmm. And so then they purport, hey, if you follow my big old church, you can be wealthy like me. Like Kenneth Copeland. Yeah. Yeah. Like those types of guys. Yeah. Well, okay. That's understandable. So I think so I think you're fleecing people. I meant to say people had the same reaction to Jim Baker and, you know, like yeah. So so I mean, whether that perception now, I don't know why the guy wasn't more specific. I this guy's a Charlton because of I mean, that would have been nice to say as opposed to like, why would you follow this guy? I hate him. Cancel him. I'd like don't I know. A little bit of detail might have been helpful. I here's the thing. At the end of the day, it's it's more about

like, I just can't stand this type of behavior. Like, it's all all of it's self glorification. Right? If you really didn't like Joel Holstein, I feel like you should've went and talked to him. Like, hey, man, like, left your phone down and said, look, I feel like you're robbing people. You're taking more money than you should, and all out, you're just a horrible person. Mhmm. And if you would have had that conversation with Joel Osteen, I think that's more than fair. But to to set the guy up, you know, and then and then basically pounce on him on a TikTok without, you know, warning, and then and then have it turn around and affect you, and then I it's just it's it's it's really I don't know. It's it's the part of the Internet I just absolutely hate. Right? It's just so ridiculous to even if you don't like Joel Osteen, there's no reason to set the guy up and make him look like a fool publicly. He'll do that on his own. Right? If if you wanna stay out of it. I mean, that's the culture we live in though, you know, with Twitter and all this where you can just say you can message anybody you want and say, hey, I hate I hate your big fat head. I but I think that's fair because you can at least do it directly.

Right? But now if you take a video And I suppose. Of your messaging interactions and then post that, that is more like what this guy did. You know what I'm saying? Like, it was it was literally just put up there to shame a guy, and you didn't even have the guts to confront him about the things for the reasons you don't like him. I I think he has the mistaken idea that the Internet actually has weight to it. Like, I made this video. All these people watched it. I'm gonna crumble Joel Woolstein now. So he obviously got me canceled. And, like, nobody cares. That's true. Mean Even the people who watched it. They You don't get a cheering section that's like, yeah, you're dead on. That guy's the worst. I mean, Internet language is like that lasts for all of like five minutes. Yeah. All these people have forgotten. They they're on to their next cat video. That's exactly right. TikToks are what? Fifteen seconds or something? You flipping through them, you're like, that guy really got Olsteen, and then you won't remember it by dinner, dinner, you know. And he's thinking, I've made it. I've arrived. Yeah. I'm like Joel. Yeah. I am Joel. Because people getting a million views, it's not important it's not impressive anymore. Yeah. Because the amount of media that we take in, a million views is no big deal. Isn't it crazy to think that, like, you could someone could say, look, I got a million eyeballs on this thing and to have it have no

like Impact. Consequence at all. Yeah. Literally means nothing. Yeah. Like I I took it in, I let it go, and it was done. That's true. I took in that Joel Osteen video here while Ben was talking. Yeah. And see, the the article made it seem like Joel just kinda smiled. Yeah. He like actually laughed it off. He was like, and then walked out. I mean, I don't know what you want him to do. Yeah. Right. This is the thing. This is what I I guess maybe the filter I wanna put you through is like, as a Christian, if I don't regardless of what you think of Joel Olsteen, if you saw that and you're immediately hosed off at Joel Olsteen,

I I, like, I need you to consider that you're not taking in the world right. Like, he's he's a dude. And, like, if you wanna if you like, if you're upset about what he's teaching and you think he's harming people, I Dev, I don't know if you attempted to go down and talk to him. It probably wouldn't make any difference, and they probably wouldn't let you in. But like, I I like, to but to take joy in that or to be I I don't know. I'd be real careful here. I'd be real careful

when you have when when you feel like an unjust, petty, and non Jesus following world takes

takes it takes aim at somebody and you enjoy it. I'd be real careful. I'd be real careful. Now it's probably funny to watch, to be honest. Because like because it's bold. It takes boldness for a guy to do that, and it's funny to believe Joel Cena Olsen's laughing it off. That's probably kind of funny too. Yeah. But like, I would just be so careful. There's a there's a a lack of humility and a and a piousness that comes I think with with some of that. Like, I I don't know. Your heart should break for Joel Osteen, not be because of that, but because of the level of influence the man has that he's probably wasting for the gospel. I

mean, if he could just flip a switch next Sunday and just show up and say, we're going through Habakkuk and we're doing it righteous. Yeah. We better go line by line through Habakkuk. I mean, that would be awesome. And I hid the offering plate this week. We ain't taking it. Yeah. Thankfully, we just found a bunch of money in the wall. We're doing good. Hey, man. They could so that plumber, when they so they found what was it? Was that crazy amount of money. It was like 500 5 or $600,000. Yeah. Like $500,000

they found in the wall, and the plumber was in there working at Lakewood Church and he finds it. And like, it it would it came from they believe it came someone had stolen stolen it, like, a while back and they never found it. So it's not like some guy was like, like, the church treasure was stashing it back there. Someone stole it. And like, anyway, the plumber goes, I I deserve that money. They should give me some. Like, What's it? Why? It's not It's not your

Yeah. I mean, don't we pay you for plumbing work? Then that's what they gave him $20 anyway. Well, that was overly generous. Yeah. They paid him to come there and plumb. That's right. Like, I don't it doesn't belong to him. It's not his walls. It's a matter with people. I don't know. I don't know. But like, here's the thing. It it's it's a little bit of the it's it's a it's a common mindset though. It's think of the same way people react to to what they expect out of the government or other organizations is they go, oh, well, this is more than what you need, so I should be able to get some. Like, well, people didn't give it to you. They didn't donate to Chuck's Plumbing. Yeah. I mean, what if I'm going to hook up an outlet for a guy and I'm like, hey, I found this TV in your living room. I'm a I'm a have it. Yeah. What do you mean you're gonna have it? I found it. Yeah. You it wasn't even on when I found it. You barely use it. That's right. You I saw four other TVs in your house. You obviously have more than you need. I should be able to Yeah. I should get this. I deserve this TV. Yeah. Like, I it's just no. You deserve to get paid for being electrician or to be paid for being a plumber.

It's just it's just weird. It's a weird reaction. And again, if your reaction is to go, yeah, but that old I think they do have too much money. I think it creates a risk for the gospel. There's all kinds of stuff I don't like about it. But like, that don't make any sense. Yeah. My first reaction isn't to go, oh, you should probably give this guy, this plumber who's doing his job, extra money for having found something that was stolen. Yeah. We paid you to to to put a hole in the wall in the first place. Right? Like, it wasn't even your idea. It's not like you just came in one day and said, hey, I wanna start poking holes in the wall. Like we said, come in, poke holes in the wall. You found money in the wall and you're like, look what I found. I deserve some of this. You wouldn't have been poking in the wall if we wouldn't have told you to do it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That don't make no sense. No. No. It doesn't. Okay. Anyway So but so so but I I think this this led into a good conversation which is what it through what strength should the Christian spend time calling out what they believe to be false teachers or false teaching?

And and what what does it mean to be a false teacher? Is it is it is it just someone was wrong in what they taught? Because, like, let's say you've you've you're talking through, hey. How much of how much of the Bible is a truthful art? How much of it is meant to be historical linear newspaper like description of historical accounts? And, like, you know that you got from my perspective, I got faithful people who love Jesus that will believe different parts of that. Is one of them from the other guy's perspective a false teacher? Or, like, what does it actually mean to be that? How forceful should you be?

What is the banner of which any given individual should go pointing it out? How do you do this well? Because I think the the the risks on either side are, we go, the spirit will will sort it out. Well, I mean, the spirit could always sort it out, but, like, it it seemed to have grabbed John the Baptist and said, go do this. So, like, there and Jesus called out false and wrong teaching. Almost every New Testament epistle was like, watch out for false teaching. They cared about it. K? It came up all the time. And so it mattered. It mattered. The people said it. It mattered. People called it out. But on the opposite side, I there does seem to be, a tendency for some folks to look around and basically go, look. If you're not if you're not drinking my broth, you got false teaching.

Like, if you're not getting it from me or the people that I approve of or the people that I read, then you best be careful because you might have you might be indulging in false teaching. And like, it it basically makes it sound like there's no one got any goodness coming out of them anywhere. Yeah. How do we do this well? And that changes over time too. Right? Like, I would have said a thing or two about some teaching ten years ago that I'm like, I don't know if that was dead on anymore. Right? Like like so there's some wisdom to be had in people's own brand of sauce. I I think that so the the the thing that I was that I was reading through a little bit this week is I was trying to figure out, like some some pastors that I or and some teachers that I really like, like they were listed on a YouTube video and like these guys are false teachers, you know. And so number one, the first thing that you do when you blast somebody on the Internet and saying these guys are false teachers, I I go to listen to them and see see how false they are. And we'll check them out. Right? Like if you're like, don't listen to this guy. He's the worst. But as soon as you tell me he's a false teacher, I'm like, oh, I gotta go hear what he's saying now. It's like a car accident. Like as soon as you see what's up, you're like, I gotta know what that guy said. So so you're not first of all, you're not gaining what you think you are. Or you're like, don't give this guy any attention. Don't listen to what he's saying. And then as soon as you tell me about it, I'm like, what's that guy say? I gotta go see. Yep. And two, I think there's a there's a really delicate line between a false

teaching and a false teacher. Right? Like, so biblically, you disagree with somebody about something. And like, it can get down to some some very, you know, weighty theological issues.

And it can also get down to to to like bible interpretation based on, you know, the style of writing of the book or or whatever. And so like, I think there's a lot of honest disagreement to be had in all those conversations. But at some point, somebody looks out and goes, they don't believe what I believe when it comes to what propitiation is a great one. Or God's wrath was one of the ones we were talking about earlier. Right? Like some theological thought process that like, you know, when when Jesus died on the cross, he died for our sins to create, to fix a broken world and rescue us out of what we did. And some folks will say, but that's not enough. God's wrath was averted and thrown on Jesus and we must we must really drive that point home. And people will claim that other people are false teachers because they don't land on the wrath hard enough, you know. And so it's stuff like that where where people are calling out others as being false teachers because they don't emphasize wrath enough. They don't like the balance. They they don't like the balance. And so the reason I bring up that example is to realize that like some of the things that people are accusing other people of being false teachers are about are stuff that a common dude like me, I wouldn't have thought twice about. Like, I don't honestly spend a whole lot of time going, was the God's wrath addressed enough in this man's sermon? It never would have occurred to me. Right? And so, like, some some of these conversations are happening in academia

of Christianity. Right? The real sitting around thinking type of folks, which I gotta be real honest, I didn't feel like, it's not like Jesus doesn't know those answers or couldn't speak in an academia type way, but like that is not the example

that he gave in the four gospels of the way that he lived his life. Right? Homeless and transient and basically helping the poorest and the the thought of least of these was where Jesus spent almost all of his time. And so it seems like a a large miss focus to me. Yeah. I mean, it's like someone going, hey, Ben, what do you got in your cupboard? And I say there's peanut butter and graham crackers in there go there. And they go, false teacher, there's cereal and pasta in there too. Like, well,

I mean, I didn't give you everything in the cupboard. Right. I can only teach so much at so many times, and like, I can only focus on so much at so many times. You know, like, and so I I I don't think that makes people so so we I guess here's maybe we'll put some boundaries on something. Omission for me doesn't equal false. Mhmm. It's focus. Give people be grace be gracious, and,

be willing to chalk up to focus. If you think something was missed, it's especially important. Go, hey, I think there's an element here that I just want I wanna tack on. I wanna add to. Because I've seen critiques where, like, they actually said, I agree with everything up to this point, but they didn't talk about this. I'm like, well, then add. Then say, here's what you should think of in addition to this. I think that's totally fine. I think for me, what what crosses a line that they're like, maybe they're an erring brother in Christ. Yeah. And then it crosses a line that they start messing with the identity and the deity of Christ. That becomes a false teacher. When you're you're misrepresenting who Jesus is, now you're messing with the foundation. Because you and I agree might disagree with eschatological ideas or, you know, different things. But, we can't disagree on Jesus. Yeah. Right. Right. Right. We don't agree with core tenets. We we agree on core tenets of the faith. And so like, when you start misrepresenting those

and and you're basically trying and I would say that there's there's an active there's an active thing to it where you're trying to lead people away from from right thinking, probably right understanding, right worship of who God is. Like, I did did frankly, false teaching more often than not, I can identify by something that elevates humans,

by something that doesn't try to elevate. Because frankly, if you're otherwise elevating God, if you're talking about Jesus in the right way, a lot of that stuff will shake itself out. Like, you can't it it it de elevates Jesus to say he wasn't God. Okay. Well, I think that's wrong. If anything elevates God and and elevates Jesus, you're probably on the right track. If it detracts and tries to elevate a human, you're generally on the wrong track if you needed a sniff test. Mhmm. That most of that stuff would be would be there. And, like, again, we can disagree on eschatology. We can disagree on all kinds of things. What does the word eschatology mean? End. It's in. Like study of the end times. Okay. Got it. Yeah. I just wanted to sound impressive. That's why used that word. Yeah. And so here's Joe Plummer Mike going, I wish I'd just find money in the wall because these guys are talking way above my head. I don't know. And so the question is is like, if if we had to if we wanted to help our Christian brothers out and sisters out and say, what are what are some some closed handed issues where we just we honestly, we can't allow a whole lot of flex here.

But like, would people be surprised on some of the more open handed issues? Right? Like if I said the existence of hell, closed handed or open handed issue? False teaching?

Well, so so here's the thing. If you if you elevate Jesus, then I assume anything that Jesus talks about is is a reality. The nature of hell, yeah, that's open handed for me. Sure. I I think Who who who's been there to know? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we have a we it's gone through filters of things Yep. In our lifetime that make us think of images. I mean, that that just that just basically spiced off a quarter of the a quarter of the folks right now. Yeah. They're like, I you know, I I I think the end time is a huge one where they're like, it has to be this, it has to be this, it has to be this. And if you don't agree with me, false teacher. Same thing with the with the existence of hell and what it looks like. Is it the is it she could have burning sands down there? You know what? And it's just the worst of the worst, or is it merely just a you chose to live a life separated from God and God granted it to you because that's what you wanted, you know?

Yeah. I I I think that's open handed to me. I don't I don't feel like we have to fight to the death between each other about something like that. Well, think about this, like, crank do I get for being right? Like, about the detail. Like, if I if I know with clarity and that Jesus talks about that there is a separation from God, and regardless of how literal or figurative you take the explanations, it's not good. And so and it's a consequence of you saying, no. I don't want rescue that God provides. Like, the details two steps down are not totally relevant to me. Like, if someone's going, you know, maybe this nasty separation from God might be worth it, that we're already lost. That isn't that isn't where the question is is is gained or lost right there. It's a step beyond that says, is there a God? Is he good? And do I need him for rescue? That's where that question hints. So like, I I just don't

for things that that the Bible doesn't speak to in super super detail, why do what good does it do to me to be right? And I wouldn't even know if I was. So does it does it compound because, like, if you start taking some views where the Bible can be interpreted in such a way or does you you suggest that it might be valuable in the way that it's different than we've always understood it, then it compounds because, like, if the Bible is the source of truth for all Jesus related items so for example, if someone said Noah's ark wasn't didn't happen. The ark was not an actual thing.

So it it's compounding a issue. Right? Because if I go, well, if I can't trust what I'm reading like the ark happened, then how can I trust it in in the gospels? Yeah. No. No. I I think that's that's that's actually where the big rub is for people

as we talk about how much of how much of scripture should I take, literally, like, that is trying to communicate a fact versus something that is trying to communicate a picture that communicates a fact. Like like I would say most of Revelation is. Like, it's telling you something that's true. It's using pictures to do it. I don't know that you're gonna see exactly the things, like, newspaper style that you're seeing in in the pictures in Revelation. I do think there are other parts of the Bible that do that. Apocalyptic literature is like that. It's not foreign. It's not and it's not untrue. Like, I guess that's that's what we need to be open to is that, like, it's communicating a true thing.

It's doing it through many different genres. Like, no one no one reads most of the Psalms. You don't read, like, when he says my soul panteth, like, real how? Have I ever seen a panting soul? Do that, liar. Right. Do I spit on the ground and and False teacher. Crap on his grave and go, that didn't happen. The whole book's a lie. Like, take it in and, like, again, it's foreign to us because we don't write that way. We don't read that way. And so what it feels like is that someone's trying to craft an explanation about how this crazy otherworldly thing really is probably true, but no one wants to admit it. So we invented this, like, art looking no. It it is what it is. That is the notion of how things are being communicated. No one reads a poem and gets flipped out that it isn't a newspaper.

Everyone reads the Psalms that way. People you read even even Proverbs, you take people take Proverbs with a grain of salt because we know someone's trying to communicate a bit of wisdom that isn't, like, stretched across all situations in all mankind. Like, we know this. We know how to read it. So there's some places we just don't know how to read it. Now it gets dicey in places like Genesis when we're like, I don't know. Am I supposed to take this as history? Like, literal history, is that what it's supposed to be? If if it's not, how much of it is? Abraham, a real dude? Job, a real dude? You know? I here's the thing. The people who Jesus seems to act like are real people, I assume are real people. Past that, like, I'm I'm a little bit open on some things. I I don't you know, it doesn't matter. So as an example, we were talking this before the show started. If if even in conservative Bible circles, there are people who would say, we think Job is a, is like a proverbial story. It's not,

it's not intended to communicate the real interactions of a real guy. It's a story that is communicates true things about God, about Satan, about people's interaction with God, about, like, friends who are misunderstanding God's view of the world. Like, if it wasn't if it didn't happen, if I couldn't go back in time and grab Job's arm, does it make is it a false story? Well, they wouldn't think of it that way. We would say the newspaper lied. But but, like, a guy who told this story as a lesson so that commune to their kids or to their community so it communicates true things about God, they wouldn't think of it that way. They wouldn't say it's a false story. They would say, it's a narrative that tells me true things. Now,

again, your level of comfort with that, like, I'm totally open, but that that thought right there doesn't blow up scripture for me. I don't have a problem with that at all. And it doesn't label the guy teaching Job to be a narrative that tells true things versus a guy that teaches Job as a honest honest historical figure. Neither one of those two things blows up a guy and puts him in a false teacher category for me. No. No. No. I'm that's open handed for me because

both guys agree this is some this is telling me true things about God, that God has protected that story and made sure that it's part of what we get to read and share in. I think he has protected the people who write stories. I think he's protected the people who compile stories, compile histories on behalf of the Jewish people. I think I think the spirit's hand is in all that stuff, and so I I don't have a problem with it. I'm probably more open handed on that right now than I was ten years ago. Not because I'm liberalizing, and I think the Bible isn't true. It's there's parts of me that feel like I had unnecessarily constrained scripture. Now I'm not saying that Job wasn't a real dude. I don't know. I I I don't know. I haven't spent enough time studying it. I know there's smart people who love Jesus that think, like, dead nuts you could have patted Joe on the face, and there's smart people who love Jesus that go, you know, based upon everything else we know about scripture and historical literature, we think this is probably a story that they handed down, but we think God protected and made sure his people had. I it's of no I would teach Job the same way. It's of no consequence to me. Yeah. The application is the same. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So so one way or the other, like,

but I get it. It messes with you a bit. Because then you're saying, well, if that's not, well, then what about Jonah? Was it a real fish? What about the ark? What about blah blah blah? And, like, it starts to question whether things are how if I'm basing my life on this and what I know about Jesus is in here, how do I know this is all true? I get it. I understand that. I I here's I I suppose when it boils down to it though, right, is the life of Jesus enough for me to take the point that the Old Testament scriptures are trying to say? Right? Like, is is is the fact that that that Jesus lived, died, and rose rose from the grave, performed miracles, documented whatever,

is that enough for me to go, either way, I wanna follow the God that Jesus is following. Yeah. So so I I I guess what we're trying to do is to say is I I think it is you should be careful about false teaching.

I think you should be ultra careful before you start labeling people false teachers just because they merely disagree with you. Right? Just make sure you're drawing the right line. Just make sure that you're you're not elevating your kingdom. Like people say, look, if you wanna get to Jesus, you gotta walk through me. You gotta walk through my kingdom and my brand of thinking. If you wanna have a church at your place and have 20 people over in your living room, do that. You wanna have a megachurch with a bunch of people as long as make sure it's following Jesus, do that. Right? You wanna talk about Job? Just study the darn thing. You know what I'm saying? Like, don't just base it off of you just guessed and then have been you know what I'm saying? Like like, study your Hebrew, study your Greek, study the thinkers of the day, the people that were there when it was written and the people that wrote it, and how the people they were writing to would have taken it in. If you do all that and you come up with, I think the evidence points that that in a land far far away, there was a dude named Job and the Hebrews like, honestly, this is just a faux story to try to teach you something. If that's how you take it in,

I don't know, man. I just feel like we don't have a we're not gonna argue about this. Well, yeah. Because you gotta think about, like, people have come to that take that particular position on Job as an example. Like, these are not atheists or people trying to get you away from the faith. They would have just said, this book is a lie. God is a joke. The book the whole Bible is made up for manipulation of people, and all of this is a lie. That's what they would have said. That's what they do say. Like, these are people like, before you presume that someone is a false teacher, like, if they're show if they show their work, can you go see why why did they come up with what they came up with? Like, there's there's people who spend their lives looking at ancient ancient documentation and studying the ways of which, the scriptures represent themselves and go, yeah. This is, this seems like totally viable. We've seen other things like this in other,

in in other either documents or histories or whatever, and we think this is a viable path. These are people who are saying, I believe this is representing something true. How do I square that with the what we're seeing in humanity around it? That's what these people are doing. They're not these are not people who are trying to chuck the scriptures. Right. So You just gotta think don't don't immediately go, if it's not what I always thought, someone's liberalizing and trying to pull me off of this. Like, it's your your that's insulting to people who love Jesus and who are probably spending way more time in the scriptures than you are. Just be careful with it. Have some humility in it. And we're talking about just to make sure that you're you're taking us in right here. Like, when we talk about Joel Osteen, for example,

he he falls into a a different crack here for me because the prosperity gospel is an elevation of you. Not an not an elevation of Jesus Christ. We're not agreeing on the work of Jesus Christ and your position as a fallen humanity. So that is a false gospel. Yes. Right? And we can call it that with with a 100% certainty and not be worried that we're, you know, causing fires and setting the place ablaze unnecessarily. That is a lie. You elevating to a level equal to God or or like it's a pay to play operation where if you give God this, he gives back. That is not the teaching of Jesus Christ and that is not anywhere

prescribed within the Bible. And so I'm not I'm saying I'm not saying be afraid to to call false teachers or false teaching what it is, But I'm like, just make sure that it's it's actually worth being called false and that and that the teaching is false, not the guy as a whole. Right? I what was what was the big thing a year ago or so ago? Like, somebody didn't like the Hillsong guy. And so like every song that the Hillsong people put out, they're like, you can't listen to Hillsong worship music anymore because their pastor thinks this about this one particular thing. You're like, what is it? What's wrong with you? Right? Like that's that is that is a broad sweeping petty

thing to say. Now if you wanna discern your worship tunes, I got no problem there. There's some worship tunes that we don't sing because I think that they're not scripturally based. I'm I mean and I'm pretty open to a lot of stuff. But like some of them are just glorification of you as a follower of Yahweh, not Yahweh himself. And like, we're not gonna spend time corporately singing about that. That seems dumb, you know. So if if we can if we can round it up, just be cares careful that you're calling out false teachings

and not necessarily false teachers unless, like, they're elevating their whole gig is to elevate themselves or elevate their kingdom or their church in particular or whatever. And if if Yahweh's getting lost in the balance and Jesus is not made much of, then, yeah, that's false teaching. That's not even Christianity, honestly. So it should be pretty easy to spot. Nathaniel, you ever listened to something and been like false false them out?

No. No. I but also, maybe it's a bad thing, but I'm taken in by things pretty easily.

And then I have to listen I I have like listened to something and be like, I don't know. Let me look up some more stuff. And then I'll have somebody else be like, that guy is teaching you something wrong because of this this and that. And I'll be like, okay. That makes sense. Okay. Okay. And then I'm taken in by that. Okay. So so you you you like whichever ice cream you're licking? I mean, not not always. Like for for to give you an example, I was reading in college, I read the book Justification by N. T. Wright Yeah. Which was like a retort to

what's the bucket? Oh, the The guy. Minnesota. Yeah. Minnesota. Paul. Piper. Piper. Yep. Mhmm. And and it's like, you know, I'm sure if I read Piper's book, I'd be equally as convinced. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. I here's the thing is like and this is obviously just from my own personal perspective, but like I read those books and I'm like, I don't I can't take any of this in. Like, none of it makes any sense to me. It's 300 pages devoted to like a caveat or something. I'm like, boy, I just feel like we're spinning our wheels here. Not saying that there's not good you know, that that it's important to study our scriptures, but like and someone's gotta do it to help people like me. But I try to read books like that and I'm like, I I have no idea what's going on here. I don't even know what we're arguing about Justification through something or other, bobbidi bobbidi. I'm like, whatever. People I I did not realize that there were five points of Calvinism. Right? And I read them somewhere and I'm like, I mean, mostly, I don't know. Yeah. We are pretty bad. Right? I take it in a broad swath. Right? And so people Everybody rolls it up. Seriously,

people are like, this is a huge theological point that, you know, that you're what is it like you're ultimately sinful or I don't remember what the point is. Total depravity. Total depravity. I read total depravity and I go, yeah, actually, yeah. We are bent towards sin. Good enough. That makes sense to me. And so if you before someone would explain it to me, I'd have gone, I can agree with most of these points of Calvinism. Sure. This makes sense to me perfectly because I don't dig it down to its deepest layer and then try to fight it out. I just go general principle are is humanity is broken and sinful and God is perfect. Sure. Total depravity. I'm in. Yeah. But you so you work on on directions. Like if to like if when they say total depravity, think of that as the North Pole. What you took in was I I'm in I'm in Texas and he's talking about some somewhere between Missouri and Canada.

Yeah. You're like, yeah, North. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Sure. Yeah. So I'm saying you don't have the ability to be good Yes. At all. That's what he's Total depravity. Yeah. Like you cannot do a good thing ever. And I wouldn't I wouldn't I wouldn't have taken it in that way. Right. Right. You just took it as an, oh yeah, we're we're pretty rough. Yeah. Yeah. God is God is perfect. We don't get in the party without Jesus. Yes. We're to pray. We can't go in. That makes sense to me. And and so I I don't know how many people are like me. Maybe the whole maybe maybe there's 85% of the world, you know, tries to read even N. T. Wright or C. S. Lewis for heaven's sakes. He tries he puts me in a spin because he argues with himself on the same page. And he's So like does Paul though. Yeah. Well I this is thing. It's like and and people like me struggle sometimes with Paul. Because I like he'll say a thing and I'm like, right oh, no. That's stupid. I agree. I wouldn't even go to something like that. Alright. He just argued against that. Yeah. So it makes it very hard to read Christian literature for me. Right? Like, because I I even commentaries that I borrowed from Ben, they're like 7,000 pages. I'm like, what is all this jibber jabber? Why are we talking about this? You can blame Harris. He recommended the commentary.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I I think, like, have some humility in the thing. Be mindful of anything that be watch out for anything that elevates people and devalues Jesus. And then but I I would encourage you just to be, prayerfully open

to faithful people who appear to love Jesus, who are not trying to get you not to believe, but who are asking you that or or opening up a potential to see things a little bit differently. And I say that not because I think it's gonna turn your biblical world upside down. I I think it will deepen it. That has been the consequence to me. I don't I didn't I've not discarded, basic truths that I've understood from Christianity over my whole life. It's, but they have gotten deeper. I understand them with some more depth than I did. I have a more appreciation for

the things that I'm reading, the connections between pieces of scripture. And and, again, like, you won't I think Revelation is an example, part of Daniel's dreams is another example, even parts of, like, second Thessalonians. Like, there's some there's some ways of going about writing something that those guys are tapping into and that you're missing the depth of when you read it like a newspaper. And so I don't wanna miss it. If God has used a human medium and a human way of communicating something that tells me a key, like, even as an example, the start of re revelation, like, tells you I'm gonna tell you talk about signs.

Signified. I'm gonna tell you things in signs, and you're like, yes, but it's a newspaper. It's like, I told you upfront, it is signs. 80,000 beasts. Yeah. Like, I I just that's the thing. Like, we miss it because we're too narrow, and I I, as a matter of fact, Mike was talking he was walking through Revelation with one of his like, in a youth group, and, like, there's just this one dude who just can't he can't take it in any other way. He's just so solid that, like, God can do what he wants and, like, no. This doesn't make any sense. And if you tie it through the rest of scripture, there's a way more natural way of reading it, but he ain't moving Because that's just what's it's what daddy told him. And, like, I get it, but I'm I'm just I'm just saying not everyone's trying to drag you off the path and and being able to sniff out the difference. Like, it's a level of maturity. If you need help, ask someone around you. Like, ask your pastor to take a listen. Take a look. Take a read. Hey. What do you think of this? I've told people before. I've read it and said, you know, there's there's probably three major things I might glob onto here, but the I would ignore these details. They're they're they're not substantiated well through scripture. Even if the the point was right, their substantiation wasn't good, and frankly, I think it's a risk. So I'd ignore that part. But otherwise, yeah, these three things are probably fine. Like, I'll I'll do that,

if you need help discerning. But, like, you know, I I just don't don't overdo it, except what what is super clear. When you find out that they're devaluing Jesus, I mean, go to town. Stop listening. Cut it off. Don't pick it up again. Tell everyone else. Don't check it out. Leave it alone. I take it back what I said earlier. There was a a while back, I got into like listening to these these like motivational video compilations on YouTube. Okay. And so they'll like take all these like different speeches from like TED Talks and like Tony Robbins and but they'll also throw like throw in like Joel Steen and and what's that other guy's name? He's from Texas.

Chandler? No. TD Jakes. TD Jakes. TD they'll throw TD Jakes in there. So if it's if it's a pastor and a motivational compilation, I'd say stay away. It's probably yeah. It's probably no good. It's probably not good.

Because right because I suppose if it made the human motivational video, it might very well be elevating humans. Yeah. You can be the best you. No. No. Depraved. The Bible says See? And and once again, if someone did a motivational speech out of the last three chapters of Job, I'd be like, yeah. I'm pumped for the day. Because I feel nothing but comfort to know that God is on the throne and he's not putting up with any of my crap. I think that's fantastic. Yeah. Actually yeah. Like, if you look at a life and and someone represents to you the human existence, basically validates that you're getting away with it. Yeah. Like, that's not motivating me. I'm like, how depressing. I'm scamming the whole system. Seems rough.

Alright. Hey. You're listening to Life From The Path. Maybe everything we just said scares the crap out of you. Yeah. Make one. And you're real worried about me probably me and my salvation. Less so Dan, because Dan looked like he was taking it in, but filtering it like, yeah. Don't know about any of this. So whatever. Again, let us know with the complaint line. I'd love to hear from you. (515) 517-0085. Again, here's the thing. I'm always I'm I'm open. For the same reason I said I don't know, I'm I'm probably an I don't know and the thing you wanna argue with us about. So go ahead and hit me up with it, and maybe you got something for me to read or enjoy. I don't care. So, let's do that. That's (515) 517-0085

on the Joel Osteen, Bob Eiselauer, live from the Path to Complaint Line. We would love to hear from you. What was the what was the next? There was a third one. I don't remember. Gone. It's gone completely. Oh, it was the okay. Well, let's say scammers. We were talking about scammers from the church. Let's set this up, then we can give some advice. So, Mike, you want can you read the scripture for me? The reference scripture? Yeah. What is it? Okay. The scripture is second Thessalonians three ten. Oh, yeah. I read this earlier this week.

It's still here, in fact. Here we go. Second Thessalonians three ten. Yep. I'll start at nine and go to eleven. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command. If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. I'll finish this out. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and earn their own living. Mhmm. Mhmm. Okay. So this was people were having discussion on that particular

section. And basically, the question was, you know, how do we think about that? And people come into the church or to Christians and saying, hey, I need some help. Can you help me out? And I think we we tend to to to to fall into a couple different camps even within a person,

is we think, boy, I just don't think these guys seem like they might be lazy or acting irresponsibly. But, you know, we want to be gracious. We don't want to be selfish. I can't I can't judge the whole world. I can't and if if I only give to people that I got time to vet out, are there good people who are going without something because their circumstances look suspicious and I was too lazy to you know, so like, it's a balance where we're trying to find is we we wanna be kind and generous,

really generous, but where it takes discernment, you know, like, do we do? And so anyway, I'd seen someone respond to this, and I was interested in the fella's response. This lady says, here in Canada, we have a fairly socialist mindset. As a pastor, my husband regularly has people calling him to ask for a handout, $50 for food, etcetera.

Many of these people through multiple government grants have more coming in per month than the moderate pastor salary does. But the church is seen as the place where you nice people will give you stuff. So after a brief chat to clarify need and urgency, my husband usually tells them that if they come to church for one Sunday and meet us and sit through the service, we will give them a grocery gift card. So far, we've had one person take us up on that offer. To take home, people need to be encouraged to do all they can for themselves. And the church needs a team of spirit led loving people to discern how best to help those who truly cannot help themselves. There's an amazing program called When Helping Hurts that we use as our base guide. So the question was is that, like, I think you could tell this real rough and make it sound bad. It's like, okay. Well, I'll trade you food if you sit through our prostralization.

If you come to one service. But that that isn't what they're trying to do. And, Dan, I think you had an angle on this that that kinda helped tie some of that together. What what's been your experience or your reaction to that? There there is a segment of the population that they just know, the church is a freebie. You you know? So they'll just go through the phone book going from church to church to church, or they'll come into town and go from church to church to church as they're working their way across the country.

And so the church has to be careful. You're not helping them when you're doing I mean, yeah, you've given them a meal or something, but it was like you're not helping them as people. You're not you're just not helping them in their faith at all. I mean, you're feeding this lie, basically.

I can't remember what I said when we had our conversation, you know, other than that so we we have always a lot of communities will will pool together the resources. If someone comes through town, they'll they'll be like, well, you can go to the police station. That way, the police can vet them if they make sure they're not like a murderer or something on escape. Yep. But the churches support it, and they pay for it. But they they get, like, either, you know, a place to stay or a ride out of town on a bus or or, you know, a meal or something. But that's it. You have you just you just have to use some discernment.

Yeah. I'm I'm trying to remember what I had said that was Yeah. No. Should've looked it up there. Yeah. No. No. Yeah. That that was a lot of what you said. Like, you'd have like, the the people are constantly using the church, and it happens a lot. Like, think that was the thing is that like A lot. Yeah. Like, it's not just, hey, every once in a while so that you know it's it's so random that it must be true. Like, it's very clear that people are every doing day, literally. I I mean, if if we were to answer them all. I quit I quit answering the phone, to be honest, for that very reason. Because like, why because then they also get mad if you say no. Or Right. Say, well, gosh, I don't have money either. Sorry. You know you know. Yes.

You have to be careful. How we have approached it, how I have approached it is if God opens a door and we're we're we're very generous. We we help a lot of people in a lot of ways. Yep. But usually, it's in a way that that God has somehow opened the door or called called our attention to it. It's not they picked up a phone and said, hey, stranger. Wanna give me something? Yep. It's more like, hey, I see you have a need or someone in the church knows someone who has a need, and then we'll go after that and pursue helping them.

And that way, there's already a relationship. There's already we know is a legit need. Know, like, wow, someone's house just burned down a week ago. We've been helping them rebuild, you know, their life. Well, that really happened. And it wasn't just a scam. Yeah. You know, so I don't know. We have yeah. We're to be responsible with what the resources our gods too. Yep.

I don't You look at the flip side though, and and like for a century, they just had crops that they just left there for people. They didn't discern who was gonna get to eat. So that's the thing though, is we've talked about this in the past though, is like it was still the it was still the the poor members of society's job to come out and pick the crops. And like the current generation, well, iteration of this is

go out and pick the crops for me, put it in a bag, and deliver it to my house. Bake that in a bread too? And that is being generous to me. Right? Like it's still required once again if the the the to work and to eat. Right? If you're not even willing to to to accept the handout that's being or the generosity that's being given to you because it requires you to do something, that that seems ridiculous. Like, I I I just thought about this example and it's it's it might be too harsh, but it seems akin to me to changing God's stance on sin to make people feel better. Right? Like when when when when people say like, they're they're in the middle of they're they're in a sinning lifestyle and you're too much of a chicken to say something about it. And so you soften it down and hold their hand as you walk them to their destruction.

That's to some of this boils down to, right, you have to really not love a person to continue to feed them as they destroy themselves. Yeah. And like and I know it's it seems harsh, right, to think about it that way, but like that is it's gotta be 95% of the time that that I feel like either I'm personally or someone is is asking us to get involved in something. It's like you're asking to help us perpetuate your own disaster. And like, you gotta say no. It's like a government program that says, hey, I'm sorry you're homeless and you're a drug addict. Let's give you a place to go take your drugs safely. Mhmm. And it's like, well, who who what?

Yeah. I mean, know, that's not helping anybody. You're destroying them faster. It's letting the person that's destroying themselves define what love looks like and what caring for somebody looks like. And like, they have a horrible perspective on that because they're not doing either one. Right? They don't actually know what actually helps. Right? You want a a good way to learn how to how to how to become a good dad? Find a good dad and hang out with him. You wanna find a good financial wizard? Right? Find a guy that's good with his money and hang out with him. The same is true for people that wanna get off drugs and alcohol or wanna learn how to make their own living or take better care of their family. Right? Like, there is some there is some work on your end that says, I want to do this better, not help me sustain in the crappy. Because all that's gonna happen is we're just gonna create it over and over again. It's not gonna get any better and they'll come back to the same well just like Dan was talking about. Like, they're they're itinerant traveling folks that just Yeah. That's how they make their whole living. And like, it should make us more sad that goes, this is all the more joy that you think life has to offer is scraping by by pleading a case to Christians who will give you money. And I'm not saying that they're wrong or they're not being generous or we don't have an eye, for for the least of these. But

I I think there's a strong difference between least of these because of circumstance. And in biblical times, that is certainly the case. Any type of deformity, you're least of these. Yeah. I mean, they actually, I was thinking about the guy outside the the beautiful gate or whatever that, like, he's he had his friends carry him out there. Like, his begging was work. He couldn't do anything else. He actually couldn't do stuff, and as opposed to sitting home, I'm like, they his friends, you know, hoisted him out, set him outside the gate, and he sat there and begged. And I thought, you know, I actually do find that that's all he could do. He did what he could do. I don't mind that. No. I think that's and and so, like, I think you you touched on something that's a super interesting thing to think about, which is can you always trust people to define what it looks like to love them? And the answer is no. Because, like, think of think of, think of a scenario in which a guy goes, hey, you know, I I, you know, I got a strong sexual appetite. My wife doesn't always,

wanna be involved in it as often as I do. What it looks like to love me is to let me, you know, get it from somewhere else too so that I can fulfill my desires. That's his perverted way of saying this is this is how you can love me is to let me harm myself and whoever it is that he's getting involved with. So no. I don't accept. Just because you feel like that's loving you doesn't mean it's true. Just like the person who is living in such a way that, like, they're not working, they're not providing for themselves, they're they're they've set their life up and continue to make choices that otherwise make them a burden upon society, their family, their friends, or whatever. And go and they go, well, if you to love me, you would give me money. You would buy me food. You would blah blah blah. Like, well, no. No. That actually isn't what it looks like to love you. What it looks like to love you is what the Bible talks about, and what this situation is is that, look, if you don't if you don't work, you don't eat. Now, I do think you gotta be careful about running down too harsh here because the reaction was to encourage them. Right? The reaction wasn't to call them Not to beat them a slovenly tool. Agreed. Right? Yeah. Like, it's to go, look, I will help you. It's this is kind of what we've talked about in the past too. It's like, I'll help you do good things. No. I'm not gonna give you money. No. I'm not gonna buy you food. No. I'm not gonna pay for your hotel tonight.

But you need a ride to work? I'm in. You need to use my computer because you you don't wanna go to library or whatever? Fine. You can generally probably do that. But, but no. That's me that's me loving you. And, I do love you, but, I I don't accept your definition, and I will not be bound to your false definition of love. Well, and and that's where I think that like where it seems like it's a pay to play operation, like coming to our church service and and whatever. I I mean, if you're talking to any type of reasonable person, you know, like on the on the church's perspective, you go, look, it's just impossible for us to be able to discern what I mean, you can see that. Right? Like, you're not the only person asking us for money and, you know, we have to have some kind of way. So look, if you would just do this for us, we'll give you the money. We'll give you the grocery cart. Just will you just come to service so we have any type of says that we're we're at least trying to to do this well.

Because we can't just be throwing money out the window left and right. We don't wanna be feeding drug habits. Like, we don't wanna be helping people do things that are going to harm them. So could you do this for us? I guess a favor to us, will you just show up to the thing so we know you're legit? Yeah. Like, that's where I think you'd represent it wrong by making it sound like a timeshare. Like, if you sit through our spiel, we'll give you free tickets to the Right. To the water park. That's not what they're doing. You could describe I I get it from outside that's what it looks like. What they're doing is saying, look, by saying you have to come here, it means that you're you eliminate transients. K? You are dealing with people who have you know they have a legitimate need because they're willing to sit through anything, ninety minutes of anything, because it looks like there might be someone who might care and help to them, and they're gonna they're willing to have to talk through it and be subject to some questions about someone trying to help. Like, that's what it's doing. It's a filter just like even if you weren't a church

and you ran a business or something and someone felt you felt like they needed help, you would run you might choose to run them through something that made that was kinda like that too. Something that shows a level of commitment. I know you're gonna be here tomorrow. I know you actually live around here. Like, that's what they're doing. And so, like, you gotta be fair in describing what it is that they're trying to do. They're not just saying, hey, man. I think we might be able to trick you with the gospel. I know you're hungry, so instead of feeding you, I'm gonna give you this. And that's not what they're doing. No. Right. No. No. No. I I like I said, I think it's we can have a a a more balanced approach. Right? And, like, when you find that need, like, yeah, we're we're we're it's generous gear time. Overdo it. Over way overdo it. I mean, yeah. Right? And it it's it's just it's it's so hard because when I read that verse, we were talking about this originally, I'm like, well, first of all, he's writing it to Christians. Right? Like, we're talking about people in a Christian community at the time. So do I believe that as a as a wide swath, it applies to all people? I think we could talk about that. I think it this lands heavy for Christianity, for for people who are followers of Jesus for sure. We're not gonna tolerate you sitting around, you know, succubus and resources that could go to a broken world. Hey. You know, I actually just before we move from that, you know why? Is it misrepresents

God. You know what I'm saying? Like, if people see like, oh, this guy believes in a God, and we listen to we Jesus walked. Jesus healed. Jesus did. Jesus prayed. Jesus is an active active fellow. And for us to say we follow Jesus and to be be sitting on our brains all the time and soaking up stuff without doing anything and contributing to the world, they misunderstand Jesus. And so, like, it doesn't matter how you act in a lot of different ways. It's the same reason you watch your tongue. The same reason it matters how you keep your right relationships with people. And so, like, this isn't just, hey, it's not a republican idea that goes, we think everybody should work. This is this is saying you people misunderstand

Jesus by looking at your life if you're a lazy turd. And so, yes, you you you have to go like, you have to earn your keep. You have and, basically, don't even think about it. It's it's you personally. You contribute to the community by making sure you're not a burden on the community to the extent that you can. And, frankly, it keeps you out of the mess so that we know where the community needs help. So that you're helping people who actually need help. Like, it's it's really stinks to think about some some lazy joker coming by and making off with funds that people have given to the church to be able to help other people, and those couldn't go to the quiet widow who's humbly trying to, you know, make progress on her life and get by on some meager government dole because we gave it to some doofus, who was just trying to rip people off. Yeah. Like that stinks. I we got a letter at the church a number of years ago from a senator, one of the state senators.

And the letter said, hey, Jane Doe contacted us. She's got some medication, some health problems. She needs medication. She has no money. Maybe you guys can help her. And so, you know, given the contact information, I call her up. Yep. Yep. Let's go let's go to her house. I grab a guy from the church and say, let's yeah.

Let's just go over and talk to this gal. So we go to the house, and you can immediately tell she's a smoker, which I don't care if she's a smoker, but she's trying to hide the fact that she's a smoker. That's what bothered me. All the ashtrays were cleaned out, made them into coasters. So there were glasses. And I thought, okay, why don't you just put them away? If you're trying to hide it, you know?

And then someone still has some ashes in it, like they didn't clean it very well. And anyway, get this. That was my first like red flag. Okay, like you're hiding something. Yeah. And then she had her little heart medications on table there and we're having this conversation. I'm just asking her questions and I'm looking at it, is this the stuff you're taking right now? Yep, yep. I just ran out yesterday or whatever on this one. It expired like four months ago. I'm looking at the date and I'm going, this is the current one you're taking? Yep, yep, yep. And I'm like, man, I'm sorry, we really can't help you. You're you're you're not being honest with me. Right.

Mean, this you know, either you haven't been taking it for four months, and suddenly, you know, we just can't give you a pile of cash, which is what they wanted. Yeah. And, you know, maybe they needed it. I mean, they probably were legit. They they they were not people of wealth. Yep. But they they were just being too I can't remember there were other things that were just showing dishonesty. And I thought, you know, you're you're just you're just trying to take our money. Yep. And, that's not responsible on our side. So we we didn't we didn't help her. That was that was that was a hard no. That's hard to look someone in the eye Yep. And say, we can't help you because you're being dishonest. Yes. But we had to. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I I I guess, you know, I I I know if if anybody's listening and you're kinda like

I we understand the tug. I understand the tug. It says, look, we wanna be generous. We wanna help people. This if if you need some backing to say it's okay to be discerning. It's not okay to be a jerk. It's not okay to have a hard heart. It's not okay to not be generous. You should you should be prepared. You should be preparing yourself in every paycheck you get, and like whatever else is going on, you should be ready for being generous. Not just saying, I hope the spirit works it out. Like, you might as well prepare. You're gonna be generous.

But it's okay to be discerning about it. And and not because you don't wanna help people, but because you actually do want to help them. And sometimes help, like perpetuating deceit is not helpful. And like we actually want actually, was talking to I I teach a a a logic to a group of high schoolers. And, like, this is one of the things that we're talking about. It's like, there's a distinction with the the I was asking for the definition of of the winner of an argument.

And there was a few of them had had what I expected to be answers, which was, well, the person, who's who's, you know, is is still around at the end. You know, person who elasted everybody else. Or the second one was the person who convinces somebody of the thing that they believe. I said, okay. Those seem like pretty reasonable definitions. Except for, like, what if the guy's wrong? Like, what if I convince Nathaniel

that, like, his his this car engine was really a giant turtle? Like, what if I I mean, I really spent time on it, and I convinced him of that. Like, am I right just because I convinced him of that? Like, did I make it so that we're because we both agree, are we both right? No. We're still both wrong. I was wrong in the thing I convinced him. And so, like, Ben's working definition of an argument is the guy who comes to to person who comes to right thinking by the time we're done. And so we wanna actually be right, just like we wanna actually help. And so sometimes help isn't the definition that people give you. And to actually help someone as opposed to their perception of help, means you gotta be kinda discerning about it. And it's okay. It's it's okay. And sometimes it's gonna hurt. Dan's example is a hard like, it's hard. To to Dan's point, it's hard to look someone in the face and go, no. We're not gonna help. When you look at them and you think, they probably do need help in some way or another, but we cannot help not in this way. And that's hard. It's difficult. And it tugs at you because you love people and you want to be generous as you should. But you're you're also called to be discerning.

Ready? Alright. Let's give some advice. They're alive from the past. I have a friend I'll call Whitney, who asked me to pet sit for her on a fairly regular basis. Mhmm. She'll usually ask me a week or less before she's going to be leaving. I love animals. I have several of my own. So I continue to do this for her, but one issue is making it increasingly difficult. Life from the path, her house is filth.

I have animals, so I know a little dog hair or cat litter is part of the deal. That's not the issue. It's dirt from the humans. There's food residue on the counter, stovetops, and cabinet doors, clothing, and paperwork all over the floors, and a bathroom that clearly hasn't been cleaned in years. I refuse to to use the bathroom in her house, and I even sanitize my hands after I leave. This makes the pet sitting harder because I know I should spend more time with her cats than just scooping litter and filling dishes, but I simply cannot bring myself to spend any real time in her house. How do I broach this subject with her, or should I? I dread these requests, but I don't wanna leave an animal without basic care when she's away. Have you ever done this? Have you ever told someone their house is dirty? Yeah. What? I just just told Dan earlier today when I came upstairs. That's true. That's true. He mentioned that the bathroom here at the church might need to chime in.

Oh, here's the thing. It depends on how close you are to him. My my line I don't have to be that close to you to tell you an honest thing, because I think you'd wanna know that other people walk in there and go, smell like pee in here. Well, do I want people to think that about Dan? No. So whatever. I'll tell them. Okay. Alright. So so your advice is

just bring it up directly. Now. Yeah. Right now. Call them out why they're out of town. I know you're in Tulsa, but I want you to know that your bathroom stinks and I refuse to pee here. Yeah. You got here's the thing. It's like I just I I feel like the whole world goes down and down even farther when we start shying away from true things because it might hurt somebody's feelings. The feelings are not the king of the of the of the hierarchy of needs. I think you just need to start shelving truth out. I I don't know. It's it's it's her house. I mean, it's her it's her what she's living in is her comfort level.

I might not like it. I mean, I but who am I to tell her how to live in her house? Somebody who loves her, Dan. What if a guy says my comfort level is living in this house of knives, and no matter where I turn, I get stabbed with knives? You go, well, I guess it's however you feel.

What if we said, my comfort level is bathing in dog poop? Like, at what point do you say that look, I I you're you're you have a a very hard misconception of what is healthy for you or good for you. Yeah. But do do you think your conversation is gonna settle? Go, you're right. I should put all those knives away or I should maybe clean that dog poop out. So do you shy away from doing a good thing because merely because it's not gonna be received well? I mean, I I don't know that it's a matter of of I don't care how it's received. I just don't think it's a value. It's it's it's she she she likes it. She she's comfortable. I love filth. She she doesn't see the filth. She sees right past it.

I don't know if that's the case. Some of gonna save her from that, you know? I mean, do you think that that maybe they're just incapable of cleaning it? Maybe they just have gotten used to it or they're too lazy to clean it up. That doesn't necessarily mean they love it. I I think that this is this is the person who married Pigpen, and that's the problem. I think the lady is making making it seem worse than it actually is because she said that the bathroom hasn't been cleaned in years. Pretty sure that's inaccurate. In years. You don't clean a bathroom for a week, you kinda notice it, you know? I mean, you do most of the heavy lifting inside puddles of water, which gets swooped away. So I mean, you could let a bathroom go for a little bit. For years? Well

Maybe not years. I I think this gal's extra sensitive, and I don't I blame her. I mean, I I would like to be more on the extra sensitive side. I But would never go to someone's house and say, can't watch your cats because you're dirty. I mean, I'd be like, either don't watch the cat, you know, don't let someone else watch the cats or Yeah. Might do that. Say, hey, listen. You gotta clean up before I come over. I don't care if you live like this, but Yeah. That that's that's that's fair. Yeah. Just try it out before I show up. You don't feel like paperwork all over the floors, like all over the floors, paper everywhere. It's not an indication of a life that's struggling. Maybe. Say are they like a hoarder? That's what I wanna That's what I think is happening. Yeah. They're a hoarder. Maybe. Yeah. Say, listen But even then, I mean, how did you let it get to spend? I don't I don't Dan, your position seems to be a bit of a fate of complete. Whatever people are doing, but they must be alright with, so never don't bring it up. Like, that can't be your whole position on life. I mean, if it is it genuinely unhealthy? I don't know. I guess I need more details. Is is okay. I mean, sometimes I might have some food on my counter that I go, I forgot to clean that up, and then I clean it the next day or something. This seems like bowls of Froot Loops on top of piles of newspaper. That's what it feels like me. I'm thinking the cat's eating that up though. Actually, I was gonna ask that. If there's peanut butter on the covers, what does the dog do it? Yeah. Why do you even have a dog? Doesn't the dog supposed to lick that? Jump up on counters and stuff and must It be mostly. I think she's exaggerating. That's what I think. Yeah. So She's a germaphobe.

How many cats is this? You need to put on your mask and get in there. It doesn't say. Okay. So let me ask you a couple a couple options then. Is it is it out of bounds to pick up while you're in there? To clean the bathroom as an example. I mean, you wanna be a servant, that'd be really cool. I mean, isn't that just as offensive? Like, if someone's if bringing it up is one thing, but like cleaning it up for them while you're gone, that that's gotta be taken poorly. Not if you I would do it selectively. I would say, I would clean the bathroom.

I would clean the bathroom up. And if they come back and they're incensed that I clean the bathroom, now I know what level of psychosis I'm dealing with. Yeah. Well, it's a long term long term experiment. I would just say something. Doesn't that seem easier? Hey, man. This place is filthy. What is the deal? Yeah. I mean, it depends how close you are. So I think I would say something if it was if it was rough. Like, if it was so rough that I feel like I can't go in there, and that I was worried about the well-being of the person that lives there or the animals under their protection, then I would probably mention it. Yeah. I mean, yeah. It's generally an unhealthy situation. Yeah. Yeah. I'm just not convinced it is. I think she's just sensitive. She just she's just an ultra clean person and thinks this person lives a little bit low. I mean, certainly, Mike, you and I have been in houses together of which this I mean, this place was rough. Yeah. We didn't take very good care of the place. But like, it didn't put any of the animals at risk. They had plenty, just a matter of fact. I I think the place is rougher than that.

So yeah. Yeah. So I I think if it is if it is a health hazard, to either her or her animals, I would I would probably bring it up and say say, look, you know, this is awkward for me to bring up, but like, it looks it's real rough in here. There's there's kind of stuff everywhere. Do you mind, you know, while while you're out? Do you mind if I pick up the joint? And if they and if they get mad about it like, again, their reaction to that is is either gonna be an honest one and probably some level of embarrassment or whatever, or it's going they're gonna be get angry about it. If they get angry about it, then I think you understand you got a clue that you're dealing with something a little bit deeper than, like, laziness.

You know what saying? Like Yeah. Because really what you're trying to feel out is, is this someone who can be talked to reason with helped, or is this someone who's probably beyond my pay grade who's got something going on that causes them to put the Froot Loops everywhere? And then you broach that. I think you still need to broach that because now you know that there's something going on there and go, look. I just I need to say this is this is probably not healthy for you. Is it something have you ever talked to anybody about it? Like, again, it depends on how close of friends you are. I mean, here's the thing. It's like from a Christian point of view, right, like, just weren't designed to live in filth. Right? And so, like, I just I just I I I even if people were like, hey, I love filth. I I don't that doesn't matter. We we just we weren't designed for this. Same we feel the same way about people who try to stay at a community. I'd rather be by myself. You weren't designed to be by yourself. Yeah. I think that's true. Actually, I had that very same thing that happened this week with one of my kids.

In fact, multiple of my children have made the case that like, hey, mom's standards are real high, and I just don't notice any of this filth. We cleaned up one of them kids' rooms, and like they go I mean, like a full garbage sack worth of crapola, wrappers, and bits of stuff, and shells of bugs, and we're like, this is gross. And they're like and so, like, again, I'm not sure that I have to accept her their eternal evaluation that goes, yeah. You know, I just don't really notice. Your mom's way overreacting. I don't know. You're dirty. You're being a dirty person, and you should stop being a dirty person. So maybe that's the question is if, like, if you take this same situation and it's one of your children,

would you allow them to continue living the filth? Or say, hey, man. What's what's happening? Why is this place so filthy? Do you need help? Or what's happening right here? Yeah. If it was my child, it's yeah. Yeah. I bring it up. I I mean, any one of the any of the fellows in this room, I bring it up. Phil, what's going on in here, man? Your your place is kinda rough. Yeah. Yeah. Secular says she didn't really she's not windy on this one. Secular says, the time has come to tell Whitney you no longer want to pet sit for her. And when she asks you why, tell her the truth and encourage her to get some cleaning help. Okay. That's wrong. That's wrong because you did it in the wrong order.

Yeah. You don't you don't tell someone, here's the conclusion I came to without saying anything or talking anything through with you, and then I'm gonna tell you the justification. Like, never hey, actually, Ben's pro parenting tip, don't do this with your kids either. Spouse tip, don't do this with your spouse either. Don't come with your conclusion, which that should come at the end of a conversation.

You start with the conversation. Hi. I have a question. I noticed it was real rough in here. It's kinda grossing me out. What are your thoughts? Like, just don't don't come with the conclusion first. Like, it's it's it's so hard to get back over it. Yeah. It's so hard to make your way back. Be be open up front. Even if you think that's where it's going, like, be willing to be surprised, be willing to be humbled, be willing to be changed. Sometimes, it'll end up better than you thought. Just don't lead with the conclusion. That's actually excellent advice in a lot of things. Yeah. Okay. Last one. Ready? Yep. Dear, life from the path. Few months ago, I started dating a widower. He's a really great guy and he seems perfect for me. I'm divorced and my adult children live in other states. Mhmm. We have many shared interests and have a lot of fun together. Great. I noticed early on that he is very emotional. But occasionally, he seems to have manic episodes where he works himself nearly to death, doesn't eat or sleep much, and then abruptly leaves. When we talk afterward, he picks on me for really trivial or untrue things. I know bipolar disorder isn't simple to diagnose, and I don't think this issue has ever come up with him. I just wonder if this relationship has a chance. His first marriage ended in divorce and his children want nothing to do with him. Evidently,

his second marriage was good, but she died last year. His youngest son is in college. My self esteem isn't tied to this. I enjoy his company 95% of the time and I think I love him. I don't plan to ever remarry and neither does he. I don't think he's dangerous but I'm not no drama type. So I'm wondering if I should let him go even though it would be hard to do. The heck? Boy, that was the most disjointed. Yeah. Oddball amount of information. This is like the pop o matic bubble of of questions from the device. Hey, I think

he has manic episodes. Pop pop. Oh, yeah. And this kid goes to college over here and doesn't live in the state. Pop pop. Yeah. Yeah. I don't plan on remarrying. Pop. Yeah. Like I don't I don't think he's dangerous. Pop pop. Have you thought maybe you're the dangerous one? Yeah. Bipolar is hard to diagnose. Pop pop.

Okay. What's going on? Okay. So

I I guess so there's a question is should I should I should I give this guy a chance or should I just cut this off? I think you should cut it off. I don't know. But she's happy 95% of the time. That's a lot. Donate is pretty good. This is a micro again, this is a this is a broad this is a broad action based upon a micro analysis. Myself and Steve isn't tied to this. Pop pop. Yeah, it is. Okay. Because like something is. It's like No one said it was.

I mean, she's she's having a counter argument with herself. Yeah. Yeah. He should go. No. He should stay. He should go. No. He should stay. I can do without this. Maybe I can't. Well, so so I really struggle with this because like it's it actually goes back to it has some similarities to this false teacher business. Is that, like, what does it take to say this thing that happens some of the time becomes a way of which I think about this person all of the time? It's very much what we talked about in the last show. Yeah. And, like, if 95% of the time, things are great. You like this guy. You like hanging out with him. Whatever. I'm gonna tell you you should get married because I think you're up to something, but we'll pick that up at a different time. But like, then the other 5%, I would say, why don't you start talking with him about it and say, look, this is a weird breach. You know? Like, if it's if it's to the extent that, like it depends how much I I trust that she's given the description where, like, does this sound like he's working like John Henry for three days, gets all tired,

goes off in a fugue, and then comes back, like, lying about her? I don't know. Because that's so weird. No. She sounds real sensitive in this area. I mean, works himself to death, nearly to death, doesn't eat or sleep much, and then abruptly leaves. I feel like he doesn't know how to handle a fight well, like when you two are squabbling. And so he just bears down and whatever and does a bunch of work. Don't come in the house. Don't come in looking for snacks. Right? Not the regular whatever. I I don't know. That whole description is weird. Like, if he's doing weird things that can't be described and like and he recognizes they're odd, then I think you should walk with him in it and see if you can find him some

you know, if he wants to get help with it. If if this is happening because you're being doing some kind of weird behavior on him, and like you don't wanna take responsibility for whatever's driving this guy nuts, then you should stop that. But if 95% of the time, I mean, I just, you know, maybe you're over cranking on this thing. Sometimes I wake up in a bad spirits. I don't think it's 5% of the time, but it might be two. And you know what? I think my family just kinda has to deal with it. Generally speaking, they got a good shake, I think. But like, sometimes they just gotta go, you know what? He gets like that sometimes. Leave him be for an hour. Yeah. And okay. Or if I mean, they're not married. I'm I'm assuming they're not living in the same place. Oh, they are, Dan. But they're mean, because he yeah. It could confuse me because he'll leave. But where does he go to? So I assumed I meant to his home. Back to his apartment. Mother Mary, hide your eyes. So it's like so let him go. I I mean Yeah. Go go go play cards with someone else. Here's the thing. Mean, you talk to him like you talk to to this letter,

he's probably confused. Yeah. You're driving him mad. He just has no idea what's going on. Where's this relationship going? I'm not tied to you. I'm hungry. I love you. Papa doesn't even know they're dating. Yeah. He's probably the cable guy. He's like, how's the woman's I don't know what she's saying. I'm out of here.

Don't want no more food. So where do your kids go to school? Okay. Pop, you like my shirt? Why aren't we together forever? What? Babe, this poor guy. I mean, as much as a guy has a hard time following regular conversation, I mean, I feel like this guy's on a tilted whirl. He just have no clue what's happening all the time. Alright. Segular says,

if what you have written is accurate, you have seen this man only during his quote highs, but not during his lows. Because bipolar illness can be treated, if the person is willing to admit that they may have a problem okay. First of all, bipolar disorder is not like an Alcoholics Anonymous thing where you go, like, the first step is recognizing that I have bipolar like this is a doctor kinda thing. Like, they diagnose you with it. Like, it's not an addiction that you just I don't know. It is kind of a shifty thing though. What's that? Like, they do often die it's not like a chemical imbalance. Like, they could we'll diagnose it based upon people's description. It is anecdotal. Yeah. I can't really figure out what's going on. You're probably bipolar. Yeah. Yeah. I act like a real weasel sometimes. And 95% opposed to five, I don't feel like bipolar to me. Yeah. I feel like you in a mood.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He just he got on the wrong side of gun smoking. Wasn't happy about it. Like, don't know. Like, give the guy a break. Okay. It says it would be wise to discuss this with him when he's in a normal phase and suggest that he be screened. If he refuses, then that might be the time to rationally rather than emotionally decide whether to let him go. But secular really grabbed on to that by that self diagnosed bipolar disorder. That that's the only reason I wanted to clarify like, make a clarification there. It's like, I think we reach for that bucket sometimes and like, hey, man, you know, did you consider the following? Hey, you get no exercise. Hey, you don't eat very well. That jacks with your body and its chemicals. Hey, you know what? You have a nasty disposition and refuse to rein it in because you feel good about it. All these things are like, you're a sinful dude, and sometimes your sin spills out on other people. These are all possibilities. I'm not saying there isn't bipolar. I'm just saying, did you filter through the stuff that's within your hands of control first? Yeah. I agree. Okay. That's it. That's it for that's all we got for advice? That's all. I do have one question. Hold on. No. I don't. No. I'm gonna think about it. I'm gonna think about it. I'm gonna come back to it next week. Okay. Okay. I think that's all we got. I thought we're gonna do one more advice, so I didn't prepare any tunes. No. So I'm gonna tell you this. Thanks for hanging out with us on the show. We we certainly appreciate it. We just got a few more this year. And exciting announcements,

I think coming by maybe the first of next year, we'll give you an update on the the future of the show. We're pretty excited about that. We'll we'll look for that in the start of 2022, and we'll probably be back here sometime. I don't tell you guys everything. What is it, Ben? I don't know. I feel nervous about it. Anyway have to write a lie from the path. We will we will see you next week. My coworker said the future of the business is in peril.

In the meantime, be faithful to me. God will handle the ends. May listening to stick your life from the past.