"Yes, we did produce a near perfect Republic. But will they keep it? Or will they in the enjoyment of plenty lose the memory of Freedom? Material abundance without character is the surest way to destruction." ~Thomas Jefferson

Have you ever played "Mother May I?"

Maybe I am getting too old. I remember playing this game. It taught me a lot. There is a game kids play called “Mother, May I.” The rules are simple. A group of kids stand facing one kid who is the “Mother.” The object of the game is to reach “Mother” by taking a certain number of steps, hops, jumps, etc. The first kid to reach “Mother” wins. One player plays the "mother", "father" or "captain". The other players are the "children" or "crewmembers".

To begin the game, the mother or father stands at one end of a room and turns around facing away, while all the children line up at the other end. The children take turns asking "Mother/Father, may I ____?" and makes a movement suggestion. For example, one might ask, "Mother/Father, may I take five steps forward?" The mother/father either replies "Yes, you may" or "No, you may not do that, but you may _____ instead" and inserts his/her own suggestion. Now we used to suggest things like like "hop like a frog and whistle Dixie while taking 5 jumps backward". And guess what, they had to. No debate.

The players usually move closer to the mother/father but are sometimes led farther away. Even if the mother/father makes an unfavorable suggestion, the child must still perform it. The first of the children to reach the location of the mother/father wins the game. That child then becomes the mother/father himself, the original mother/father becomes a child, and a new round begins.

The “catch” in the game is to remember to ask the question: “Mother, May I?” If you forget, you go all the way back to the beginning. Really, I get penalized for not being polite and not following the rules? Yes, that is the way it works.

Except, I think we may have lost our way in some ways.

GOD hasn't forgotten though. May I be humble, not demand and always ask. He is faithful.

"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Good character is the best insurance; crooks get trapped in their sinful lust." ~~King Solomon

Good character is important. Doing the right thing, God's thing, makes all the difference. Solomon's dad understood that following what God said is important. Solomon learned that from his Dad.

Looking for a reward in this world and the next? Get God's good character. Get it now.

Good character is the best insurance; crooks get trapped in their sinful lust. ~~King Solomon (Proverbs 11:6)

Can you impress God?

I can't impress God. Some ministers are trying to impress us though. Jesus called it straight. Character is all that counts.

We are too easily attracted to charisma. That doesn't impress God at all. It should impress us either.

It isn't what a minister says. It is who he is.

God knows. Just ask Him.

Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don't be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned. Matthew 7:15-20