Taking things for granted!

Do you realize, too often we tend to take things for granted in our day to day life? That can include work areas, relationships, honoring parents, dealing with friends, in the way we communicate, in financial transaction, the list can go on. As long as it doesn’t affect us or our family, we think it is fine.

Let me take your attention way back to a serious incident that was in the news and the documentary televised by National Geographic team too. I am referring to “Texas City Refinery explosion” occurred on March 23, 2005.  It killed 15 workers, injuring more than 180 others and severely damaging the refinery. The Texas City Refinery was the second-largest oil refinery in the state and the third-largest in the United States with an input capacity of 437000 barrels (69,500 m3) per day as January 1, 2000.   

Soon after, several research agencies took up the study to find the cause of this heinous disaster and found it was due to human and organizational error. There is something called the “Root cause analysis” which determines the cause of any breakdown are, due to one or more of the three areas and they are 1. Physical causes, 2. Human cause, 3, Organizational cause. In this case it was purely Human and Organization who are to be blamed. Let me put the finding:

>Safety procedure was not completed.

>In addition, there were a number of serious issues with items of safety critical equipment which had not been resolved prior to the start-up

>The Day Supervisor arrived late for work and did not have a hand-over with the night shift.

>The second Day Supervisor was told that the start-up procedure should not continue, but this information was not passed on.

>Organizational failings included corporate cost-cutting (25% cut in the operational cost).

>Poor communications between individuals and departments

Have you noticed most of the findings are related to lack of responsibility, communication and also due to some who took things for granted? It is possible to have all indicators to signal danger - a siren, an alarm system and yet make no sense if somebody chooses to evade from their responsibility because of their selfishness.

In real world too, we either take things for granted or just don’t care if it is going to affect someone as long as we are safe and happy. In the Bible it is written “Love others as you love yourself”, the golden commandment of Jesus. Bring God into every paradigm and you will be entirely a different person. Taking people for granted is something that need immediate attention, if unaddressed soon will have a serious effect on everything especially on your family too.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_Refinery_explosion

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Extended life!

Yet another year full of opportunities and blessings of the Almighty ahead. The opportunities we want to grab will depend upon the purpose, the ethics we attach to our living and the hope we cling on to. Mark Twain remarks, "Purpose in life is far more important than property or possessions. Having more to live with, is no substitute for having more to live for. The two greatest days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.". 

The New year or months don't bring fortune to us, though we may want to place importance of the day or a particular month we encountered success. It is the divine God who designed and orchestrated the universe and filled with resources for us is the one who sustains you and me. We live beneath the protective palm of a sovereign King who superintends every circumstance of our lives and delights in doing us good. Nothing comes your way that has not first passed through the filter of God’s love.

C. S. Lewis once stated that, “when a ship is on the high seas, it must answer three questions. The first is how to keep from sinking—personal ethics; the second is how to keep from bumping into other ships—social ethics; and the third is the most important of all, to know why the ship is out on the high seas in the first place—the essence of ethics.”.

Some of you in the year 2018 might have encountered serious challenges that crushed all your hopes and filled your heart with disappointment and now you are apprehensive how this year would look like for you. I encourage you not to give up, not to lose hope and at the same time, also not to take things for granted. Many who expected to see this year have passed away. Through the grace of God the Almighty we are here today. Life is a miracle., therefore have the sense of gratitude. It is said, "When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.".  G.K. Chesterton.

Every human being has the right to choose between life and death, good and evil, or success and failure. The choices people make determine their destiny. “God is in the business of redeeming expectations! He’s in the business of reviving hope. In their magnitude and beauty, His expectations for our lives have much more in common with our childhood idealism than with our adult realism; they look much more like what we once dreamed of than like what we now settle for.”.  The Scripture says. “I came that they may have life and have it in abundance.”. Don’t give up but trust God. Wishing a great year ahead!

Happy New Year 2019.

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Life Audit 2018

We are almost close to the end of 2018 and I am not sure if it has been significant to us in anyway. Let me ask you, what if someone has to audit your life? Would you come out clean or you expect many concerns and regrets? A time to retrospect! 

What was your ultimate goal in the year 2018? Was it only making money by any means or living beyond that? Were you able to contribute positive energy, happiness and genuineness to your family, loved ones and society or you were too busy lost in the selfish pursuit of finding pleasures from all wrong sources and living with guilt?

Shiv Khera in his book 'You Can Win' says, "What you do affects me and what I do affects you. We are connected. We have to realize that we are sharing this planet and we must learn to behave responsibly.". Does it make sense? This is a great truth we fail to understand. Most often we wish to think from only a selfish point of view and deny to be accountable to anyone. At the close of the financial year we all manage to audit our books of accounts and submit a report. Ever wondered we are God's creation and God has put us on planet earth to be useful and at the end accountable too, to our creator?

“Most people, most of the time, have something which hangs heavy on their hearts, something they have done or said which they wish they hadn’t, something which haunts them and makes them afraid of being found out.”.says Bishop Tom Wright. Usually at the end we only have two things to say. Zig Ziglar (the leadership giant) in his book ‘See You In The Top’ puts it this way, "Wish I had or glad I did.". 

It gives immense satisfaction when we live our life right. Living a life worth and right needs access to God who created you and placed you where you are and who is readily available to offer salvation from all your wrongdoing and guilt, so that you can add value to your family, community and the nation.  Check this video and more resource from the link given below.

Wishing you a blessed New Year 2019 in advance.

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JINGLE BELLS ALL THE WAY

With Christmas and New year round the corner, people all around the world are in the mood of celebration. Sweet treats of different kinds take top priority. In fact, cakes made with alcohol are in high demand. Pubs and discotheques are packed during this period of time. New year party celebrations elevate the spirits of the people with enticing cocktails and foot tapping musical extravaganza.

Does this define what Christmas eve and New year eve is all about? If you notice people just need reason to celebrate, to fill their hearts with all kinds of pleasures and be sated in the false sense of reality sometimes. It is reported that during Christmas night and New year night, the accident rates are pretty high, as people are overpowered with the effect of alcohol.

Definitely this doesn't define this season. It is not fair to define a religion by the abuse but should be valued by its essence. Christians have historically believed and demonstrated that their central conviction are philosophically sustainable, historically verifiable, evidentially testable, scientifically reconcilable, existentially experimental and practically applicable. How much we are familiar with the literature of the subject? We are generally inclined to any belief system conceptualized by someone who is popular and is lavishly wealthy. But have you ever taken the effort to find the truth? I strongly recommend that we find truth and get clarity in the origin and seek God to give the joy and peace that is worth sharing with all.

Somebody put this beautifully.

"21st CENTURY LIFELESSNESS..!!

Our communication - Wireless

Our dress - Topless

Our telephone - Cordless

Our cooking - Fireless

Our youth - Jobless

Our food - Fatless

Our labor - Effortless

Our conduct - Worthless

Our relation - Loveless

Our attitude - Careless

Our feelings - Heartless

Our politics - Shameless

Our education - Valueless

Our follies - Countless

Our arguments - Baseless

Our religion - Creedless

Our faith - Godless.

Wikipedia defines Christmas this way "to give up one's very self — to think only of others — how to bring the greatest happiness to others — that is the true meaning of Christmas.”. For many, the Christmas season is a sad time due to loneliness, loss of a loved one, family conflict, and other heartbreaking issues. What would you say to encourage those  experiencing pain this time of the year?  Share the love and peace of God with people who are longing for the it and that will fill your heart with satisfaction and content. Find the Savior and be transformed.  Let's make this a better place to live with joy and harmony.

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Santa Claus Funda!

With the advent of winter setting in and the climate getting pleasant, people choose to engage in different relaxing activities with the loved ones. Most of the people if you notice also prefer to go for vacations during this time of the year and chill out with their near and dear ones. Also, in most part of the world in some culture, children anticipate this moment where they receive and exchange gifts during the Christmas season and widely believed to have received it  from Santa Claus.

People understand Santa Claus to be the main protagonist of Christmas and revolve their belief system around it, which is completely contradictory to the actual fact. In real life if you notice, always the counterfeit (unreal, fake) takes the precedence and draws the attention of the people, be it in any case. 

Although Santa Claus is a mythical figure, his creation is based in part on a great Christian man named Saint Nicholas of Myra, who lived in the 4th century. Nicholas was born to Christian parents who left him an inheritance when they died, which he distributed to the poor. He became a priest at a young age and was well-known for his compassion and generosity. He had a reputation for giving gifts anonymously, and he would throw bags of money into people's homes (and sometimes down their chimneys) under the cover of night to avoid being spotted.

Christmas is the celebration of Jesus whose birth, salvation to mankind through crucifixion and resurrection was predicted in history thousands of years before ruling out any possible myths existing around it. 

Let's take all effort to ensure facts for  any matter does not turn murky because of unverified opinions and assumptions. May our hearts be filled with joy in this season as we take stock of everything and with the help of God be a transformed better version of who we are.

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Fair game please!

A difficult topic to discuss about. Anytime there is a demand or requirement for honesty, integrity, compassion, altruism, faithfulness and other value-based trait, then the immediate reaction is to move out from such zone or not talk about it. People generally categorize these values under moral science category and  think it has to be learnt during  school days only. Moreover, people assume they have got enough from their parents and elders too, in the form of lectures while they were frustrated and it has no implication  while dealing in real life whatsoever. Am I right?

Shiv Khera in his book ‘You can win’ emphasizes on value education; “Education that builds fundamental traits of character--such as honesty, compassion, courage, persistence and responsibility--is absolutely essential. We don't need more academic education; we need more values education. I would stress that a person who is morally educated will be a lot better equipped to move up in life or succeed than a morally bankrupt person with excellent academic qualifications.”.  It is unfortunate to live in a world and a society where we need to be constantly vigilant in order not to be cheated

If you want to buy a product you need to already have a good amount of knowledge of its features and price in the market or you end up being cheated with sub-standard product and shelling out exorbitant price for it. Actually, if you notice, it is just not possible to be aware of everything all the time and during such situation we want to take the help of “TRUST”, which works well sometimes but  at several cases we get dumped too. 

Sometimes people go to an extent of even taking the name of God to swear in order to make you and me believe that everything they do is fair and yet cheat us brazenly. There are also people with whom we are familiar who are waiting to take a better advantage of us. 

Personal corruption overshadows in all the spectrum of our life. This is the real cancer that can spread from us to our children and they learn to survive this way in an even professional way. Can we take the initiative to apply the values that are connected to God to become our lifestyle? Your prayers and commitment to a real God will make you a better person and help all of us to live in a better place. Think about it!

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When counterfeit looks real!

We have moved to an era where the virtual world is trying to replace the reality in all aspects. We are almost there. The inventions of smartphones, smart robots have done a great job contributing towards the substitutions. A decade ago, playing outdoor games, like soccer, cricket, cycling etc. was fun, energizing and satisfying. We were physically fit, agile and connected. 

Now with SMARTPHONE in our hands, majority of our children including adults still play outdoor games but not anymore on the fields but as indoor games on their smart phones. We are depleting physically and emotionally but have never given a serious thought about it. We are proud to use and give the smartest and most expensive phones to our children while they are toddlers.

Technology is getting more and more successful in eliminating the human companionship with gadgets, especially with smart phones and robots. We are soon becoming a victim of virtual world and staying alone and pushed into isolation. We respect and value the virtual time more than people. Since we believe we live in a time with high corruption in every arena therefore we feel secure to eliminate people from our lives. When we want, we use people like things, most often from our vantage point only. I do strongly believe technology and smartphones have made life easier but definitely not successful in building stronger and healthier community.  

The inventions of robots replacing and substituting human lives is gaining full attention. Relationships are substituted, because there isn't a demand for commitment and the power of evil works best in this context. Recent trend is where people are looking for an opportunity to buy robots and have it as their fiancee or wife. They are able to trust and be intimate with it physically and emotionally than real lives.  A toy will not have a sense of morality or a sense of right and wrong, unlike the amazing creation of God - the human being. 

We live in an age where we have power to design and make technology that suits our ego and budget. Now, the technology is playing its game to eliminate human being from every dimension. We set standards to God and make him comply to our whims and fancies, which is a scary prospect indeed.  Check this brilliant quote, “I do not want a God who is only right when I am right, but I want a God who is right even when I am wrong.”.

Check this Video, the statistics  are alarming.  Man dating Robot on a long term basis

https://youtu.be/TsHuu2JsoW4

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