{"id":1280,"date":"2017-12-17T13:39:22","date_gmt":"2017-12-17T18:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.joshuastairhime.com\/?p=1280"},"modified":"2018-12-04T23:02:27","modified_gmt":"2018-12-05T04:02:27","slug":"11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.joshuastairhime.com\/index.php\/11\/","title":{"rendered":"1=1 (DOP #12 2017)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I always love to hear your thoughts on these posts, so comment, like, or share as you will!\u00a0 You can also subscribe to these posts and receive them via email each day by using the subscribe box to the right.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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As I wrapped up my essay from yesterday, I made an assertion that 1 is equal to 1.\u00a0 In this day and age though, it seems that we have forgotten that there is objective and indisputable truth, so I will be doing my best to convince you today that 1=1 is not an alternative fact, and it is not up for debate.<\/p>\n

If I have one dollar, and you have one regular ol’ dollar, I can trade you my regular ol’ dollar for yours, and we will both effectively be happy and will have not lost or gained anything in the transaction.\u00a0 I think this is an easy statement for everyone to accept, and defend as truth.\u00a0 We all agree that 1 equals 1.<\/p>\n

Now, inspired by my recent trading success, I propose to you another trade.\u00a0 I propose to trade you my avocado for yours.\u00a0 1 avocado equals 1 avocado, right?\u00a0 Perhaps you can see my avocado, and you feel confident making the trade because you see that it is in good condition, it is ripe, but not overripe.\u00a0 The color is good, and the smell is as you would expect it to be.\u00a0 It hasn’t been smashed or damaged and overall, you think it might even be a bit larger than your avocado.\u00a0 You make the trade willingly, although a bit confused by my desire to trade things for things of equal value.<\/p>\n

Let’s say however, that you can\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>see my avocado, and I refuse to show it to you.\u00a0 Will you make the trade as quickly?\u00a0 I suspect that it would take quite a bit more cajoling to convince you to make this trade.\u00a0 However, I seek to remind you that 1 equals 1, and your hesitance is unnecessary.<\/p>\n

Or is it?\u00a0 Perhaps my avocado isn’t in very good shape.\u00a0 For all you know, I’ve already taken a bite out of it!\u00a0 Maybe there is a bit of untruth in the statement that 1=1?<\/p>\n

If we stop thinking of money or of fruit (yes, the avocado is a fruit<\/a>…and in fact, it is actually a berry!) and take our equation to people, it gets even more complicated.<\/p>\n

Does 1 person equal another?<\/p>\n

Immediately my mind says no.\u00a0 Surely Hitler and Ghandi are not equal.\u00a0 \u00a0Jeffery Dahmer and Mother Theresa are not equal.\u00a0 I could go on, but the truth is that you have already created a long mental list of people that are not equal to you, some better than you, and some who are unfit to clean your shoes.\u00a0 After all, some people are truly terrible, and have wasted their potential in the most odious ways.\u00a0 Perhaps, if pressed,\u00a0 you’ll accept with me that each person is born equal, but by the realizations of their potential, they increase or decrease their value, quickly creating an inequality between them and us.\u00a0 \u00a0The equation is no longer about quantity, but quality.\u00a0 It isn’t about humanity, but potential.<\/p>\n

This is the same argument that we see with the avocado.\u00a0 The quality determines equality, not the quantity.<\/p>\n

What makes a dollar worth a dollar?\u00a0 Is it the potential it is created with, or the potential that is realized through it’s use?\u00a0 I can spend a dollar on a small bag of rice to give to the poor,\u00a0or\u00a0<\/em>I can spend that dollar on a (very) small amount of heroine.\u00a0 Are those dollars still equal in value now?\u00a0 I’ve used the potential of that dollar in very different ways, one arguably good, and one very bad.<\/p>\n

Are those dollars equal to each other still?\u00a0 Are two people who make drastically different choices equal?\u00a0 Can anything be equal to anything if we consider potential or intention?<\/p>\n

In truth, the physical manifestation of money is not worth very much.\u00a0 It is paper and ink, and I certainly have never paid a dollar for a piece of paper that size that wasn’t money.\u00a0\u00a0A dollar has value because a higher power has defined it’s value.\u00a0 A government that we have accepted as an authority in our life has told us that a dollar has a certain value.\u00a0 We accept this value and use it as the basis for our trade.\u00a0 It doesn’t matter to us what a dollar is spent on, because its value is not changed by the quality of the transaction.\u00a0 Each dollar is equal to each other dollar.<\/p>\n

A person has value because a higher power has defined their value.\u00a0 It doesn’t matter how their potential has been spent, or what ideology they subscribe to and believe in, God himself has set the value of each person.<\/p>\n

Each person, is equally valued by God, AND the the value of each person is tremendous.\u00a0 In fact, God sent his very own son, who’s birth we celebrate in this season, to trade for each of us.\u00a0 Each of us is as valuable to God as his own son.\u00a0 (Okay…you can make the argument that God traded one for many, but you can also argue that Jesus would have come to save even one sinner, so…I think we have to accept that, while difficult to believe, God loves his created beings an incredible amount.)<\/p>\n

How will this change your perspective of the other?<\/p>\n

Will you believe with me that each person is incredibly important, as I believe God has made clear through his actions?\u00a0 Will you treat with equal respect the homeless, and the home buyer?\u00a0 Will you consider the Muslim and the Christian life as equal in value?\u00a0 Will you seek to eliminate the intrinsic biases of our nation and worldview in order to more fully follow God?\u00a0 Will you accept that the ledger of sin can be wiped clean and our values reset by the sacrificial work of Christ, regardless of the amount of the debt?<\/p>\n

Will you truly believe that 1 equals 1?<\/p>\n

If we do, I believe that the peace born unto this earth 2000 years ago, will grow more fully into its incredible potential.<\/p>\n

I am no better than any other, and they are no better than me.<\/p>\n

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Be sure to check out the other people on the journey with me at\u00a0254peace.org<\/a>, or on our\u00a0Facebook page<\/a>.\u00a0 There are some awesome people participating this year, and they all have something important to say.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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