a bit of an epiphany

I was sitting in church this morning when a thought came to me, all out-of-the-blue like. I had to write it down lest I forget it, and I had to get it posted before that note slipped my mind. Would ya look at that: motivation!

There's a very old saying that probably came from either bikers or criminals: "Its better to rule in hell than serve in Heaven." The sentiment is that whoever's wearing that on the back of their beat up t-shirt is a rough dude; one would suppose that character could take care of himself...whatever that really means.

It also brings up an interesting question: who said you get to rule in Hell? I don't care how much of a tough guy the hardcore shirt wearer is; there are plenty of things between Heaven and Hell that are tougher. No puny human gets to decide where he rules. Think about it: you don't even rule much of anything on Earth, and you want to be a ruler in a place not even of Earth? How do you get that job? What kind of schooling is required? If you're not even good enough to rule on earth, how ya gonna do it where beings are more powerful than you are? If you can't rule the world (and better leaders than you have tried, come close, and ultimately failed) you stand no chance of getting that job in the afterlife.

The arrogance of people never ceases to blow my mind. We think we're so in control, that we affect so much. Its laughable. The Earth was here before us. Animals didn't need to worry about ethical treatment or rights. They go on living with or without us. Scientists two decades ago were claiming we were causing a global freeze, but when that didn't pan out, they went for global warming instead. The Earth was here before us. It will be here, if God decides that it will be, after we've gone. We could blow up every nuclear weapon we have simultaniously, in the process really putting the Iranians to shame with thier efforts in comparison, and make the world clicking hot for generations. The Earth would still right itself. Humans can mess things up, and maybe even do it for a long time, but we still don't have that much of an effect on things. The world goes on with or without us.

So, since we can't even make the world bow to our will, how is it we'll be able to rule in Hell, then? The shirt doesn't qualify as a pass. You gotta stand up and do something about it. Didja see The Omen? The Possession of Emily Rose? Who's possessing who? You gonna go to Hell and take that demon's job? Go! Tell him he's a pansy. Whup his ass, then go after his boss. Lemme know how that works out for ya.

Think about it a moment. Since those are the choices, there's really only one way to go. I'll be a servant in Heaven. Its going to be a lot better serving Jesus than it will be serving Satan. If nothing else, the working conditions will be far easier to deal with.