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Checkmate Government

I woke up this morning, fixed myself a cup of coffee, kissed a super-hot woman goodbye as she went to work, then sat down and started writing this. While that sentence doesn’t seem very monumental to you, in a way it is.

See, I woke up in a bed that I chose, in a house that I chose to live in. I fixed a cup of coffee that I bought because I like it. I chose and married a gorgeous woman that somehow puts up with me and chooses to be with me. Then I chose to sit down at a computer and type what I want to type.

Now, was that paragraph a bit more profound? Maybe. But just in case, let’s give perspective. In the mid 1700’s, the people that had settled here in this area we now know as America were making products to enhance their lives. They made their own food, clothing, and tools for working. One day, a group of British men came along and basically said that they we are going to tax you on what you were making and at the same time reduce any taxation or tariffs on companies they want to thrive there. In 1773, the East India Company was a beneficiary of this. That year, when a shipment of their tea arrived, the colonists took 45 tons of tea and threw it into the harbor. It took over 100 colonists and 3 hours to do. This gesture spoke volumes around the world. But why? Why this extreme? Simple, because they weren’t given a choice.

What we’re seeing more and more today is the reduction of personal choice over individual freedom. The laws that were set in place for the country and each local entity were designed to prevent or punish one from denying another those freedoms.

Maybe one possible reason is the division over feelings and facts. Maybe it’s those that truly believe that the collectivist cultures are the right way. They believe that because they emotionally relate to those cultures, that America needs to be a collectivist culture as well. There are great things about collectivist cultures. They are very family oriented. They are often very moral and ethical people. They give great weight to honor. All of these things are good. And to those I would say, Asia, Europe, South America would gladly have you as new citizens. America simply wasn’t designed to be a collectivist culture. Primarily because a collectivist culture sets aside any individualism for the sake of the group.

It was designed to remove the possibility of corruption in church, government, and other groups that were terrorizing them at the time. And the way to do that was to create an individualistic culture. This culture was based on the personal freedom and the idea that no one should take that freedom. This was the reason for the first and second amendments. The first was to ensure you had that freedom and the second was in case the government got so big and used tyranny as a method of control to maximize monetary gain. Always follow the money.

At the end of the day, any decision that only affects your health, should be a decision that is only regulated by you and no one else, especially any government body. If you wear a helmet when you ride a motorcycle, good. That’s probably a good idea. If you choose not to, it only affects you. There should be no laws to govern that. If you choose to wear a seat belt as an adult, good. It may save a life. But if you choose not to, that should be your decision only. No governing body should relegate your personal health decisions. But alas, both of those scenarios have laws governing them. Why? Because we gave into the emotion of losing a loved one because they chose not to wear a seat belt or a helmet. In theory, that sounded like a good idea, but the problem is, it began the slippery slope.

Now as soon as some of you read this you thought, “But people need to wear a seat belt and if they’re too stupid to not know that, we need to regulate that with law in order to save their life.” Again, sounds good in theory, but where does it end? Some of you may have thought, “but it does affect other people, their loved ones will suffer because they’re no longer alive.” There is some truth to this but again, where does it end?

I don’t know where it ends, but we can all see where it continues. Insert vaccines here. We know that the vaccine does not prevent you from getting Covid and it also does not stop or even slow the ability to spread the virus. There is an article that explains this and refers to a specific study listed by the CDC that details this. So, here we are again, it only affects ME. I can still get covid and give covid. Having said that, there is plenty of evidence to show that it reduces hospitalization and even death by 90% or better, particularly among those that have the comorbidities associated with death from covid, like obesity and any respiratory problems. And yes, there is evidence to show that it can hurt someone. This is experimental. So, we have evidence that it hurts one and saves another’s life. THIS is why it should also be a personal decision. It is different for everyone. There is no one-size-fits-all to this. But we hear daily of those wanting to mandate vaccines for access to daily activities, including employment. I personally think it’s a good idea to get the vaccine if you have a comorbidity. But I also want it to be MY decision.

Are we seeing a pattern here? You see a group of people that aren’t being allowed to make their own decision on which tea to buy. And as a result of 10 years of enactments that limited personal decision more with each stroke of the pen, they finally had enough and threw what would be today’s equivalent of $1M worth of tea in the harbor.

I just have a feeling that at some point, someone is going to throw a bunch of masks and vaccines in a harbor somewhere that will get the world’s attention. If the legislators don’t arrive at the personal decision conclusion, the people will. History proves that. Everyone thought it was impossible at that time. Then George Washington said, “Hold my beer.” Checkmate Government.

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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East to West

There I was, in my bed, not wanting to get up. Not wanting to wake up. Asking God to take me in my sleep every night for over a year. Sad story? Nah, I’m writing this, aren’t I? That means God didn’t listen or He listened and didn’t act on it… because He has this silly notion that He’s God and He can do whatever He wants (I speak fluent sarcasm).

Depression, anxiety, drug addiction, alcohol addiction… we all have either dealt with one of these issues or know someone very close to us that has. This is the current epidemic in society. Some hear (and believe) the lie that you must simply learn to live with it. I firmly believe that no one is called by God to have these issues plaguing us our entire lives. I believe they can be a thing of the past. But this requires both knowing what God says about us and where the battle primarily takes place. My pastor is currently teaching a series called “Winning the War in Your Mind”, based on the book of the same title written by Craig Groeschel, lead pastor of Life.Church. And this series couldn’t be more timely. This is the primary issue we all face.

See, Paul wrote, “Be transformed by the renewing of your gym membership.” Wait… no he didn’t. He actually said, “Be transformed by the renewing of your bank account.” Hold up… no, not that either. Paul wrote, “Be transformed by the renewing of your MIND.” He understood then, while sitting in a prison cell, that your mind is where the battle is. Paul understood that when Jesus did what He did, that concluded the real war. From that point forward, the battle wasn’t against flesh and blood, but against… and I quote, “rulers, powers, principalities of darkness, and spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavens” (Eph. 6:12). None of that sounds like the stuff we usually think we’re warring against. If that’s all off the table, then the only thing left is the mind.

I firmly believe that no one is called by God to have these issues plaguing us our entire lives

Jason Grainger

I’m not going to address each of the aforementioned issues society deals with individually. What I want to focus on here is what God says about these issues, what HE says about you, and what I believe are practical ways to both get out of the shackles of these issues and avoid going back.

See, Isaiah 64:6 says that all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags. Romans 3:23-24 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. These verses basically state that no matter how good we are, we come short of God’s worthiness. The anecdote is Jesus. Once the crucifixion took place, you became heirs of God; adopted sons and daughters of the Most High God. That’s who we really are. God made us in HIS image.

To briefly address one aspect of anxiety, many times, anxiety comes about in “people pleasers.” The idea that we made mom and dad proud consistently and now it seems we can’t make anyone happy. This leads us to a dark place, wondering what it is we’re doing wrong. The sooner we see ourselves through God’s eyes, the less we care what others think. If someone is angry at you and you know you did nothing wrong, guess who isn’t angry at you… your God (and very possibly your spouse). I say that because that’s the only two people whose opinion of me I care about, God and my wife. For people pleasers, anxiety can begin to erode away when we really begin looking at ourselves through God’s eyes and understand that we simply cannot make everyone happy. So there’s no sense in worrying too much about it. Remember, if God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) 

Ok, I get that He is for me, but what can He do about the issues at hand, depression, anxiety, and addiction? Check this out, “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation (enemy) you encounter. I will make ALL of your enemies turn their backs and run…But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land” (Exodus 23:29-30) The land is your own individual liberty from the bondage of depression, anxiety, and addiction. And it won’t go away all at once. Little by little God will drive it out! That’s great news!

But what if it was brought on by my own mistakes? Well, welcome to the club. This club includes…every single person that has ever lived, except Jesus. As Pastor Kody Woodard of Renovation church recently said, “Failure is an event, not a person.” Your issues don’t define you, regardless if it was brought on by your own transgressions or not. This goes for depression, anxiety, and addiction. That doesn’t define you. So if you’re not defined by that, then how are you defined? The Cross. That’s how you’re defined.

There’s something else. Look at this, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). REMOVED. When you remove something, it doesn’t linger around. If I remove my gym membership, they will not let me linger around and hang out when I want. I have been removed. Do you know why the writer said east and went instead of north and south? If you are walking forward headed north, when you get to the north pole and keep walking in the same direction, you are now headed south. But if you are walking forward headed east, you have to completely turn around in order to be walking west. That’s how far He has removed your transgressions (sins). So you are no longer defined by your mistakes, but by His acceptance.

I’ve said this before, but the two primary ways out of depression and anxiety (which are also the two ways to avoid going in or back) are community and service. Both of these are the antithesis of isolation, and that’s the key. Don’t isolate.

Community is a group of people. The best community is church. But community can also be a local club, or close friends. Church is usually the best community because they are there for you unconditionally and solely based on their love for Christ, which makes you eligible for their love and attention. You’ll need community in times of doubt and fear. Remember the story I shared at the beginning? Community got me out.

Service is simply serving someone else. This has two factors. One is that we were created to give. When we give, we benefit. That’s how God designed us. That’s why when we give a gift to someone, we feel great. The other factor is that it gets our minds off of our problems and on to someone else’s problems. And often times, in this, we find that our problem isn’t nearly as big of a problem as we originally thought. Again, with my story at the beginning, service helped keep me out.

So, if you’re headed east, turn around and head west through community and service. Don’t continue to believe the lie that you just have to learn to live with it. That goes directly against what our God says. You CAN and WILL be FREE!

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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Does God Send Good People to Hell?

I can’t imagine God sending good people to hell!

From an emotional, and even logical standpoint, this makes sense. When one thinks of God, they think of who He is and what He embodies. God is goodness. God is love. God is kindness. You get the point. But to truly understand this concept, you have to know God’s nature. There is more to God than just sweet whispers in your ear during a crisis. God is also jealous (Exodus 25:5 & 34:14), vengeful (Romans 12:19), and a God of wrath (Deuteronomy 32:35).

We have all heard this phrase spoken. We’ve heard it said primarily in reference to people that live lives believing that there are certain sins God didn’t mean to put in there. He meant to say that “those” sins are actually ok. That the writers of the Bible just made a mistake. We’ve heard it said in reference to those that don’t really know what they believe, or if they believe in God at all but live a good, decent life. So that brings the question, would God send perfectly good people to hell? To answer this question and address that phrase above, you have to look at two things: what does “good people” mean, and does God send people to hell? We’ll start with the latter.

Imagine you’re on a train and this train is headed for a brick wall. You are certainly headed for death- no doubt. You didn’t do anything to really cause this. You’re just on the train. And you really can’t do anything to stop it. It’s going too fast to try to do anything about it. Suddenly, someone comes along and says, “I have a way out. It’s not easy, but it’s the way out. You’ll avoid death and live a long fruitful life.” What’s your next move? “Nah, I’m good. I think I’ll just sit back and hope for the best.” No. You wouldn’t do that. You would jump at the opportunity to be rescued from inevitable death.

This is the life we live, summed up. We were born destined for death. We didn’t get ourselves into this, Adam did that. We can’t get ourselves out either. So God comes along and comes up with a plan; Adam got them in, so he’ll send Jesus to get them out. So there we were, on that train headed for a brick wall. Jesus comes in and says, “I’m the way out of here.” What you and I do with that information is up to us. We can either choose to follow this guy out or hit that brick wall and perish being a perfectly good person. But in the end, God never sent anyone anywhere. He made a way out, and we choose to take that way or not. Up to us.   

But wait, they’re really good people! Ok. Well, let’s see what the guy that gave us a way out says. The next place we have to look is to standards. Standards are used in every facet of life in the entire universe. Standards tell us true value. If I say that a pizza is good, that’s one standard, my standard. I love pizza. I feel like I know a good pizza when I taste one. But then again, I like frozen pizza. But if an owner of an authentic Italian pizzeria in Chicago says a pizza is good, well that’s a different standard. Now that pizza just raised in value. It’s now worth more that he said it was good than when I said it was good. Unfortunately, our standards vary as well as ebb and flow. They are not steady. Sometimes they are raised and sometimes they are lowered, based on our current circumstances. God’s standards never change. If there’s one thing I learned in my boring philosophy of religion class, it’s that if God could change, we would be doomed. The fact that He cannot and will not change gives us a steady standard by which to live and a hope that we serve a truly just and almighty God.

So what are His standards? Isaiah 64:6 says that our righteousness, our best, is still like filthy rags, meaning that our best is still not worthy of God’s presence. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. Basically, summed up, we can be as good as we can possibly be, like Billy Graham and Mother Teresa good, and will still not be worthy of God and being in His presence. So there has to be another way. Yep. Jesus. Being good does not qualify you for heaven. You don’t get holy brownie points.

But there’s good news, you didn’t get yourself in this mess so you can’t get yourself out. Yep. Jesus. Seeing a pattern yet? When Jesus said He was the only way, He really meant it. Goodness isn’t another way. Jesus is the ONLY way. He’s the only way off of that train. Our goodness still has us buckled into the seats on the train. If you believe your goodness outweighs your sin, or that what God calls sin really isn’t a sin, and you don’t believe you’re doing anything wrong, you’re in a very dangerous place. You’ve been blind-sided by deception. But there’s hope.

So what do we do when we wrestle with the truth of God’s word? When we really don’t like God’s laws? I’ll leave you with this tough truth. I once had a rule in my house that one of my bonus sons didn’t want to adhere to. I basically told him he had two choices, adhere or leave. He said he would follow the rule but made sure he told me what he thought about it. My wife says, “What are we going to do about this?” I said, “Nothing. That’s a win! I don’t need him to like the rule, I just need him to obey it. Out of his obedience, I can reward him and bless him.” See, blessings always flow from obedience. The sins that God has defined as such in the Bible are there for our protection. But the hard truth is, God doesn’t need us to like them, he just needs us to obey them.

It’s much like when I was going to church growing up. There were many, many times that I didn’t want to go. My parents never asked me if I wanted to go. They didn’t care if I wanted to go. They KNEW that if I would just obey, blessings would flow. They knew this, even when I didn’t. And eventually, once I was “grown”, I ended up seeing the benefit of church and began attending on my own. I would’ve never gotten to that place if I hadn’t obeyed them and God.

The qualification? Believe Jesus is who He says He is. Follow Him. Turn away from sin daily. The man on the cross next to Jesus basically asked Jesus to just remember him and maybe let him join. That was about it. No baptism. No special worded prayer. No song with a 14-minute bridge to catch your emotions. Just “Hey Mister, I believe you are who you say you are, can I go too?” And Jesus said yes.

So, does God send good people to hell? Nope. We were already headed there. He gave us a way out. We choose what to do with that. But if we want to be right with God, it starts with recognizing our shortcomings. Without that, we’re still really good people sitting on that train.

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Welcome: An Open Letter to Those Leaving CA & NY

Dear Californians and New Yorkers,

We would like to welcome you to Tennessee, Texas, and Florida. We truly believe in southern hospitality. We’ve operated that way our whole lives. Don’t be surprised when total strangers start waiving at you. Oh, and if someone says, “Bless your heart”, it’s not a good thing, though it sounds like it. And always try the biscuits.

We don’t hold resentment toward you for wanting to better your lives by moving here. We’d all do the same. We want to benefit from your contribution to society. We understand that in 2019 alone, 653,000 people left California. We know that number will probably be even higher in 2021. We understand that Tennessee is #1, Texas #2, and Florida is #3 on Uhaul’s list of one-way trucks entering states.

The purpose of this letter is to remind you why. See, we believe that the liberal and conservative can work together and get along. We believe in “you do you.” We believe in the good of humanity which causes us not to rely on the government. Remember 9/12/2001? There were no republicans in TN, TX, or FL that day. There were no democrats. There were no black and white people. There were no straight or gay people that day. There were only Americans helping Americans get through this trying time. In 2010, TN endured a devastating flood that shocked the nation. That event brought out the best in everyone. People were once again helping out complete strangers with total disregard to identity or background. Church attendance again reached an all-time high. In March 2020, middle TN was hit by strong tornadoes. Immediately, Tennesseans rushed out to help people they had never met. Events like these show us that people, at their core, are good people. We believe the same about you until you give good reason to believe otherwise.

Californians are fleeing by the droves and are all stating the same few reasons, personal taxes, business taxes, government policies, some of which led to shutdowns, and the lack of affordability to the middle-class family. Ask yourself how it got there. Think long and hard about how a vibrant, rich state, got to a place where it was too expensive for a middle-class family to live there. Ask yourself why that hasn’t changed.

What you’ll find are a few consistent principles. Big government leads to either mass exodus or opposition to tyranny. I learned that in history. But you, from California and NY don’t have to look back very far in history to see what relying on the government does. Raising taxes only hurts everyone EXCEPT the government. Making it impossible for a business to profit causes them to go where they can profit. Capitalism works when used correctly. Government doesn’t generate revenue; it only spends it. Of the top 10 states that people are leaving, NY #1, CA #2 and through MA #10, ALL of them are governed by big government policies: big government spending and control. Ask yourself, why would people leave that and come to our states. The answer is for the same reason you did. Big government PROVED to not work.

In our states, we believe that we know what to do with our money better than any government entity. We don’t force conservative or liberal opinions on you, and we don’t want other opinions forced on us. What you believe about a certain subject is perfectly fine. But we’d rather not see legislation stating we must believe the way you believe, nor do we want to see legislation stating you must believe the way we believe. Again, you do you.

So now you’re here, in TN, TX, and FL. And in these states, we believe that the people should retain more of their own money. We believe that people know how to spend it more appropriately than government. TN still has no state income tax… and we’re thriving. How could that be? Because people know what to do with their money to stimulate the economy. We believe in the humanity and goodness of people to give to charity, which we all do. We believe that personal choice is a constitutionally protected right and individual responsibility is vital to a thriving economy. We believe that if you want to wear a mask, that’s up to you. If you want to get a vaccine, that’s up to you. Don’t believe in God or church? Don’t go. Up to you. Don’t like guns? Don’t buy one. You will not be shamed for doing so or not doing so. You will, however, receive resistance if you are pushing us towards or away from any of those. You do you.

But remember that FL has remained open this entire time and has had by far the best overall response to covid in the country, with South Dakota close behind. Florida’s covid numbers are excellent. How did that happen? Protect those that are vulnerable to it, let everyone else go to work. Governor DeSantis refused to make an illness political. He just used common sense.

So, here’s where we have one request, we simply ask one thing, please don’t begin looking to make TN, TX, or FL just like home. We ask that you understand HOW we got to be YOUR destination, then begin to find a way to adapt so that you too can thrive. If we start implementing policies in these 3 states that line up with states you’re leaving, making the government too big, there will be mass exodus or opposition to tyranny here as well. Let’s avoid that if possible. Again, welcome. We’re glad you’re our neighbors. To us it means there are more good people to come together in times of need. In the words of my good friend, Jeff Pence of FL, “Hello Neighbor!” Now, somebody pass the biscuits!

Stay Classy GP,

Grainger 

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Enough is Enough is Enough

After looking at the events at the capitol, you have to ask why. Why are there people this upset? Why did they resort to a peaceful protest on the capitol? Yes, there were a small faction, less than 100, that went to violence. But most were there in disgust of how the election went down. There were obvious activities taking place that caused everyone to question the validity of the election.

For starters, never, in the history of our country has an election just “paused” and then resumed hours later like GA… only to yield thousands of votes that just “appeared” for only one candidate. That’s statistically impossible. This is obvious. Then there’s the truck driver in PA that was carrying blank ballots that were later “counted”.

There are more but let’s stick to the point. The point is that in our nation’s history, when a group of people felt oppressed, they spoke out. If they felt they weren’t heard, they speak louder. Then they turn to protests. Let’s not forget what happened in MN over the summer that sparked many violent acts and some peaceful protests along the way. I have a friend that supports BLM that said he went to Nashville for a peaceful protest and everyone he saw there left at the same time. Only later did the violence occur. Meaning, that an entire group wasn’t responsible for the nonsense of a small faction of that group. So, we can’t hold the entire #MAGA group responsible for what these few idiots did either. And certainly not Trump. He actually spoke against violence of any kind. And his speech never even got in the zip code of meeting the Brandenburg vs Ohio test.

It was once black people. It was once women. It was once LGBT. They spoke out against the oppression and didn’t feel as thought they were heard. So they protested. They stayed angry at the situation. In most cases, it stayed peaceful.

Four people die. Zero businesses destroyed. This is considered a riot

Now insert conservatives/republicans. They’ve been called every name in the book. Been made to feel inferior. Called racist with no evidence or base to the claim. Been told that being white is automatically a sin. Was told that being a male makes you toxic by nature. Written off as conspiracy theorists only to find total validity in such theories, such as Biden’s connection to China or the made-up allegations against Trump (ALL of which were proven false). As I’m writing this, I’m reminded of how many small, locally owned businesses were completely destroyed and it was consistently called “protests” by the media, but around 100 white punks (who deserve to be in prison) storm the capitol and it’s called “riots”. This is obvious. The media isn’t even trying to hide their disgust for all things conservative. Same goes for Hollywood and secondary education. Conservatives are the extreme minority that is tired of not being listened to and sick of being treated so poorly.

At some point, those people stand up and say, and I quote Joe Biden, “enough is enough is enough.” Yes, Mr. Biden, enough is enough. Enough kicking republican voter location workers out without explanation while the democrat workers stay and count alone. Enough mail-in voting that has proven to be an easy device for fraud (absentee is different, they’re requested first and validated by voter ID). Enough writing someone off solely based on their party affiliation.

Twenty-five people die. 1500 businesses destroyed. This is considered a peaceful protest

Have both sides done this? Of course they have. This is why blind tribalism is a total cancer that is eating our country. Democrats have objected to the last three GOP presidents. Democrats said to go ahead and appoint a SCOTUS before election in 2016 and don’t wait. Democrats supported the protests and refuse to condemn the violent looting and destroying of local businesses, citing that sometimes this is the only way to get the attention of the difference makers.

Now all of the sudden the GOP does these exact same things and it’s all of the sudden atrocious. Well the “deplorables” have had enough. They have watched as the so-called leaders of our country trample on the 1st, 5th and 14th amendments and absolutely spit on the separation of powers while basically saying, “What are you going to do about it?”

Did Trump cause this? Partially, yes. Obama? partially yes. These two presidents had an opportunity to unify the country and only did more to divide it. Part of their job is the set the tone for the nation. Trump never accepted that role. He just made brilliant business moves and got the country back on a very good fiscal track while tweeting the dumbest and most antagonizing things ever. No tone set. Obama set the tone that cops are racist and white people should pay. As a result, we see what we see. If you truly believe that one of these presidents did NOT divide our country, you, my friend, are guilty of Tribalism at the worst degree. Anyone paying attention would agree that BOTH of these presidents divided our country, unless you’re blinded by tribalism.

What is the solution? END TRIBALISM. Also, A third and fourth party being treated as equals. It can never happen as long as super-pacs are allowed. But its’ vital. We have to have leaders that speak up against the nonsense of their own parties, to call out the hypocrisy within the party. We have to have leaders that seek to truly bring unity. To support both the LEO’s and black citizens. Not vilify either.

When the sudden exodus to Parler came, you have to ask yourself why a large group of people would do that. Why would they leave the most popular format on the planet for something else? Are THAT many people just “stupid”? Of course not. Then why? Because they are being mistreated. Again, does this go both ways? Of course. Liberals are often mistreated by conservatives as well. Usually for no reason. Making comments like “dumb libtards don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground” by the right or “hope Parler lets you find FreeDumb!” by the left does nothing but further divide. It gets us nowhere.

If you want to be part of the solution, shake off your blind tribalistic allegiance to party and only support other Americans. We all want to get to the same destination. We just have different ideas of how to get there. If conservatives aren’t treated better, if the constitution isn’t treated better, if the 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 14th amendments continue to be under attack, and separation of powers is routinely ignored, a live-action reenactment of the Boston Tea Party will take place. This can be avoided, but unity and understanding must take place. And that can only happen if you seek to understand a person with an opinion other than your own. This goes for Conservatives AND Liberals!

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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What Leaders Do for Christmas

I recall the time when my dad was out late for work. It happened a lot when we first moved to Tennessee. He had left a good job in lumber sales in Louisiana to help start a new church in Nashville, Tennessee. So when we got here, he was looking for work. He found odd jobs here and there and jobs that had him working from morning to late at night.

Every Christmas, mom would prepare us for the idea that Santa didn’t make a lot of stuff this year and so we wouldn’t be getting very much. This conversation happened every year. And every year, we had so much stuff, it took forever to go through it all. But even if they hadn’t been able to get us stuff, would we have been provided for? Yes. Because they gave us gifts that lasts for eternity.

See, dad’s time spent at work was to provide. It was to make sure his wife and his kids (in that order) were taken care of. He always attempted to show us how God would act. What God would say. What God would think. He taught us to see through God’s eyes and not our own.

Many many times we would say things like, “but his dad lets him!” Dad’s response would always be, “I’m not his dad, I’m yours and I don’t care what they think or what you think, I only care what God thinks.” Both of my parents were always making sure we knew what was most important. What we thought, what we wanted, simply wasn’t very important. Only what God wanted. I was talking with a young relative, around age 4 at the time, and he kept saying “but I want… but I want.” I looked at him and said “what you want isn’t important at all right now. The only thing that is important is that you do what I’m telling you to do.” He looked at me like I had three heads. It was clear he had never been told that.

This principal seems to be lost on the current generation. Things are always about what WE want. Instead of: what does God want. Pastor Charles Simpson expressed my sentiments on this exactly when he said, “I was born before they invented self-esteem. My parents just weren’t that impressed with me.” Exactly! Sometimes they were pleased. But mostly, they were providing for us and instructing us. I’m here to tell you that kept me out of jail. There’s truly no telling where I’d be if I hadn’t received the instruction of pleasing God before our own wants and desires.  

This is what leaders do. Leaders give you something that will last a lifetime. My parents always gave us more than enough during Christmas, but there was a reason. They didn’t get themselves ANYTHING. Was it because they didn’t have enough money to get all four of their boys something and get something for themselves? Perhaps. But, based on my knowledge of them, I’m inclined to think it was because of the principal of being a real leader.

Leaders serve first and eat last. Leaders wait until everyone has eaten at least once before they even pick up a plate. It doesn’t matter if the food is cold now. As long as everyone else has eaten, a leader is happy. Leaders let company use their toys first. Leaders let friends be the first to play a certain game. Leaders get up and give the last seat to someone else.

This leadership was instilled in us at a very early age. I’ll never forget when I saw a very clear, tangible expression of this. My little brother Jonathan was about 6 or 7 years old. He went with me to get a copy of my driver’s license. The waiting room had about 15 or 20 chairs and they were all full. He and I had taken the last two. A man walks in and looks around for a seat. Jonathan immediately, without hesitation, gets up and kneels down next to me to give up his seat. He had been taught that his comfort didn’t matter that much. He had been taught to respect his elders. Subsequently, he entered the military with almost no problems. He already knew what real leadership looked like.   

You know what else leaders don’t do? Leaders don’t buy for themselves at Christmas. They shop solely for others. I’ve seen many things I’ve wanted during this season. But I simply cannot bring myself to buy myself something. It’s just not in me. Why? Because that’s not what a leader does. I have the money to buy more than enough gifts for everyone in my family, and that’s a lot of people. I also have enough money to get what I want for me. But I won’t. Because I intend on sending a clear message to my children that leaders provide and put others first.

This Christmas, whether you have the means to provide everything your children want or not, make sure you provide the most important gift, pleasing God. Make sure your children know that what God wants is more important than any switch game or TikTok trend. Make sure they know that, at times, they aren’t that important. They need to know that. When we learn that what God wants supersedes what we want, we will then live in unity with Him and His children. Because then our lives become about others first. My kids can answer this quickly when I ask: what’s the key to life summed up in one word? Others.

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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Compassion Fixed My Car

No it didn’t.

I remember taking my car, years ago, to a company that proudly displayed their Christian faith and the owners were very kind and genuine. They would tell me they were praying for me. They were the nicest people. There’s a problem, though; my car always had the same or a similar problem after I got it back from them. They never fixed my car correctly. After speaking with many in the area I was in, I heard the same stories. They just were not very good at fixing cars. But they were GREAT people.

Well, when I needed my car fixed, I was more concerned about my car being fixed than if they were praying for me. As coarse as that may sound, I need my car to work properly so I can do what God called ME to do.

In contrast, I also used to take my car, many years ago, to a guy that was incredibly rude. Not friendly at all. The first two signs you saw when you walked in were, “No Refunds!” and “I shoot every third salesman and the second one just left.” But my car was in perfect shape when I got it back. I hated that he retired. It IS possible to separate business from personal convictions. If the business is good at what they do, they’ll get my business.

Our country is now at the point where it is being run like a business. As it should be. And in this business, citizens get to vote on who runs the company. I’ve been told I can’t vote for Biden because he wants to take my guns. I’ve been told I can’t vote for Trump because he has no compassion. I’ve been told I can’t vote for Jo because she has no shot of winning. I’ve been told I can’t vote for Kanye or it will take votes away from Trump… or it will take votes away from Biden. I’ve been told Trump is a liar. I’ve been told Biden is a liar.

So what do I do? How can I make sense of all this? Well, I have to use process of elimination. First, let’s look only at what we KNOW. I know that politicians lie. All of them. I can’t recall the last time a politician told the truth consistently. I know that occasionally, they pander to the religious right to gain a vote but would never normally show up and contribute on a weekly basis to an actual church. As a Christian, if I’m looking for someone that will represent that part of my ideals, I’ll be looking a very long time. Politicians don’t represent Christians. They represent people that they want to vote for them. And that’s where their allegiance ends. They’re looking for the vote, and once they get it, they move on to do exactly what they wanted to do in the first place, regardless of what you think.

So if I know that they all lie and I know that they don’t represent my Christian values, then how can I possibly choose who to vote for? Well, first, let consider what we CAN’T do. We can’t choose someone based on what they say. We just established that they all lie. Pretending to have compassion, or even having actual compassion doesn’t make them good at a job either. It’s makes them a good person. And my car still won’t work. I can’t listen to words of compassion and empathy and decide that’s good enough, because when I try to start my car, it won’t start. At that point, empathy and compassion aren’t getting the job done. 

The real answer if painfully simple, yet seemingly unattainable by mainstream society. I must look ONLY at what they DO. Then I can decide if I agree with what they do or don’t do and see if it’s working… when I get my car back, does it now work? Because what they say is all hot air anyway. Biden thinks he’s running against George Bush for Senate and denied saying he won’t ban fracking. Trump boasts that his handling of Covid has gone perfectly. We all know those things aren’t true. So what have they done?

One thing that keeps coming up for Biden is the 1994 crime bill. So when Biden went to fix the car, the result of his work as a “United States mechanic” caused a large number of black people to no longer be able to “drive their car”, per se.

In contrast, Trump gave those same people a new car. He put in place the FIRST STEP act. This act did a few key things. It made smaller crimes have lesser sentences; Minimum sentences for first time criminals were lowered, money was saved from the prisoners being released and that money was allocated to transition programs and even more money was added to transition programs. On top of that, he made the plan retroactive.

Immediately, two things happened: non-violent, non-threatening, and first-time offenders were released from prison. The next thing that happened was prison recidivism changed dramatically. In 2019, incarceration dropped in 33 states. Basically, the car that left Biden’s shop still broken, was moved to Trump’s shop and not only got fixed but was improved to a better condition than it was in before.

He still doesn’t represent Christians. He still boasts too much, to the point of lying. He still says and tweets very insensitive and crass things. But if you need your car fixed, are you taking it to the guy that feels bad for you and prays for you and hands you back a broken car, or are taking it to the guy that isn’t super friendly but gets your car in brand new shape? 

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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The 4 L’s

In December of 2015, the New York Times released an article after following a group of 85-year-old people for a year. What they concluded was that it was certain what mattered to them was laughter. They spent “no wasted time on anger and worry.” They were quoted as saying “with old age, I listen a little more.”

What did matter to them was The 4 L’s: Life, Laughter, Listening, and Love. Notice what did not matter to them; none mentioned a thing about current events, politics, donkeys or elephants. Only life, laughter, listening, and love. 

I’ve learned that I have no control over what someone does in the White House. I have no control over what they do in the Tennessee capital. I have no control over what happens in the Sumner County sessions. The closest thing I have to control is a vote. And I use that to the best of my ability. After that, it’s out of my control. 

Think back before covid. Who did you go to concerts with? Who did you have dinner with? Who did you hang out with, double dates, play dates with kids? Remember when it didn’t matter how they voted? 

What’s changed? Boredom and Social media. And a lack of pursuit of the things that matter. We’ve turned our focus away from the friends that make us laugh at dinner and decided they’re no longer dinner-worthy because they dislike Trump. Or they’re no longer someone you want to go to a concert with anymore simply because they don’t like Biden. Think about it, do these politicians know who you are? Do they care? Debatable.

Boredom. Covid put us in a place where we were in search of something to do. People were playing the stock market that had never done so before. There were no sports. This was the closest thing to it. 

One thing that is stoking opinionated fires needlessly that not many are mentioning is social media. Social media has unintentionally, yet successfully driven a wedge in our relationships while trying to bring them closer together. How could that be? 

Originally, it was meant to bring people together. Family that didn’t live close by could keep in touch. People would be positively reaffirmed with “likes”. But it was free. They had to make money. So the social media platforms sold data on what people were clicking on and watching- the algorithm. In order for them to make money, you had to stay on your phone. In order for that to happen, they put things in front of you they knew you’d like and agree with. Algorithms again. 

You kept feeding their data machine and they kept sending you things you liked and agreed with. The more you watched, the more money they made. Little did they, or you, know that the things they were putting in your face were creating total political polarization. 

So now we’re willing to lose friends, people we’ve been doing life with, over things we can’t control. That’s how ridiculous this has gotten. It’s gotten so out of control that an idea about something you have no control over, an opinion, is driving wedges in families, friends, communities. 

There has to be a point when we realize it’s just not worth it. That whether I back the blue or believe Black Lives Matter, or manage to believe both has no effect on the years of closeness I’ve had with someone prior to this social media experiment. 

I seriously doubt we’ll be 85 saying “I’m so happy I ended that 20-year friendship over my opinion on a police department in Wisconsin.” That just won’t happen. We’ll wake up with so much regret we won’t be able to function. We must get to a place where we focus on what matters: Life, Laughing, Listening, and Love.

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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I Plead the 5th

We are all pretty tired of covid. We’ve seen rises in depression, anxiety, domestic abuse, child abuse, as well as drug and alcohol abuse as a result of being quarantined; quarantined whether you’re healthy or not. The debate began. “For the love of humanity, wear a mask!” And in the same breath, “But let me go to work!” Unfortunately, the two issues fall under the same umbrella, individual liberty. We either give it up entirely and accept that the government mandates and forces by law that we are all wearing masks and closing businesses OR we all open businesses as WE (the people) see fit and wear masks if WE (the people) are concerned; individual liberty and choice.

To dive a little deeper into this, we have to understand the US constitution, and in my personal case, the Tennessee constitution. First, masks. Can the government mandate that the public wear masks? Well, ask yourself this question, can the government mandate that you wear a seat belt? The answer to that is obviously yes. But there’s one HUGE distinction: the legislative branch proposed a bill requiring seat belts be worn that, after traveling through the proper channels, was voted on and passed into law. The law mandating masks being worn in public hasn’t had that opportunity. There has been no involvement from the legislative branch on masks in any government in the US. Again, we’re back to the constitution. Let’s see what it says.

Article II, section 2 of the Tennessee constitution says this, “No person or persons belonging to one of these departments shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either of the others, except in the cases herein directed or permitted.”

Article II, section 3 says this, “The legislative authority of this state shall be vested in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives, both dependent on the people.”

Article II, section 18 says this, “A bill shall become law when it has been considered and passed on three different days in each House and on third and final consideration has received the assent of a majority of all the members to which each House is entitled under this Constitution, when the respective speakers have signed the bill with the date of such signing appearing in the journal, and when the bill has been approved by the governor or otherwise passed under the provisions of this Constitution.”

Based solely on these three articles, it is unconstitutional for ANY branch of government to exercise authority over another branch. In the mask controversy, the executive branch exercised authority over the legislative branch by enacting a law without that branch. Look up “separation of powers” or “Checks and balances”. But what does this have to do with businesses? Glad you asked.

The constitution was designed to limit the government, never the people. So let’s return to the constitution. The US constitution, Amendment V states, “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury… nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…” Your business is “property”.

More succinctly, in the case of Tennesseans, the TN constitution states in Article I, section 21, “That no man’s particular services shall be demanded, or property taken, or applied to public use, without the consent of his representatives, or without just compensation being made therefore.”

Based solely on the US constitution and the TN constitution, it would be unconstitutional to mandate a business closure without “due process of law”. In the midst of this “pandemic”, businesses were forced to close, due to no fault of their own, without due process of any kind. Sports industries have been shut down… without due process of any kind. The entertainment industry (bars, concerts) which is close to my heart, has been shut down… without due process of any kind. Both the US and the TN constitution limit activity. But wait, it’s a state of emergency. That changes things. Possibly… let’s look.

Emergency management codes were all designed to “suspend” laws in order to expedite resources needed to help recover quickly from an emergency. For instance, laws that require multi-level approval for funding can be suspended during a state of emergency in order to expedite the funds. Another suspension of laws includes liability. If a first responder administers treatment because of an emergency, that responder is free from liability during a state of emergency. Laws were never meant to be created and/or enacted during this time.

During the pandemic, the federal government issued suggestions of safety. They gave recommendations. The states, however, began issuing mandates across the country (all except South Dakota). In TN, in particular, my home state, the governor began issuing mandated businesses closures and mask mandates which transferred authority to mayors throughout the state. The only basis on which he was able to act was one code. T.C.A. § 58-2-107.

T.C.A. § 58-2-107 Part (a)(1) says, “In the event of an emergency beyond local control, the governor… may assume direct operational control… and such person has the power through proper process of law to carry out the provisions of this chapter. The governor is authorized to delegate such powers as the governor may deem prudent.”  Part (a)(2) says, “…the governor may issue executive orders. Such executive orders, proclamations, and rules have the force and effect of law.” This code is strictly unconstitutional, per the above text from both the US constitution and the TN constitution.

There is hope. Take a look at an example HERE where the supreme court overruled a president for attempting to issue an executive order that, in the supreme court’s opinion, was unconstitutional. In Tennessee, there is an organization taking a stand against the unconstitutional code that gives the Governor too much power. Click HERE to read more. There’s also a petition to get the Tennessee house and senate’s attention. Click HERE for that. So, when it comes down to the bottom line on whether businesses should be forced to close or we should be forced to wear a mask in public, ask the simple question, did anyone vote on this? If the answer is no, then a king must be involved. As for me… I plead the 5th (Amendment).

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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It Was Still HIS Country

There we are. We finally have sports. Something to take our thoughts away from the everyday turmoil of our nation. I was SO ready for sports that I even agreed to watch baseball. That’s kind of a big deal for me. But then they did it… putting political messages all over everything and two teams kneeling during the anthem.

I won’t discuss the fact that they got where they are because they were good at throwing and hitting a ball, not because of their woke enlightenment. Not because of their superior intellect. Because they were born with and perfected a superior ability of hand-eye coordination.

I won’t discuss whether or not they even know why they’re kneeling. What the message is.

I won’t discuss police brutality and whether or not you think it’s an epidemic or not. That’s for another day.

Today I’m only talking about the vehicle chosen to protest. Do they have the right? Yes. And the consumer has the right to cease spending money on tickets too. Picking the right moment for the right audience is paramount for getting a message out that you believe is important.

So we pick the national anthem. There can only be one of two reasons why.

Reason #1- you hate America. To those, I’m sure there are great real estate agents that can get them top dollar for their homes and they can move to another country.

Reason #2- it’s a huge platform that can get the attention of a large audience. But again, is this the audience you want to appeal to?

We all remember the story of Natalie Maines from the Dixie Chicks (now referred to as three persons of non-specific gender or region) and her decision to tell people in London how bad she hated our president (W at the time). On the surface, that doesn’t sound like a big deal. I happen to personally know a musician that was on that stage with her that night standing right behind her and it didn’t strike him or any other band members as a big deal. Just Natalie being Natalie. The problem was that the people who bought their albums and bought tickets to their shows were huge fans of “God-fearing Republicans”, which W was just that. It caused their career to implode overnight. And it seems here recently a certain group of people forgot that story and seem destined to repeat it.

And here we are, watching people protest during a song. But what do they know about that song? Obviously not much. A close friend of mine discussed the lyrics a few years back. I’m going to discuss the resolve of the writer and the audience of the protesters. Quick history…

British ships were intercepting American ships that were on their way to France to provide supplies. Britain still had this superiority complex that they could just do whatever they wanted to Americans. President James Madison has people in his ear that basically say, “Are you going to stand for this or do something about it?” Could he have chosen a diplomatic route? Possibly. But just 30 years earlier the Americans learned that diplomacy wasn’t something Britain was used to. The British like to do what they wanted when they wanted.

So there’s this lawyer who has a knack for excellent poetic writing. He is outraged when he learns that President Madison has declared war on the British. He felt it could have and should have been handled diplomatically. The vote to go to war was the closest ever, proving that the country was very divided on this issue. Francis Scott Key began using his national platform, expressing his disgust of Madison and his outright protest of this “unjust war”. He. Was. Angry.

So Britain obliges. They bring the fight to Ft. McHenry. Key was given permission from the President to negotiate the release of a prisoner. He boards a British ship and while they are negotiating, the fight intensifies. Key is not allowed to leave the boat for a couple of reasons.

So he was relegated to sit back and watch from a distance. The next morning, he began asking questions, (paraphrased) “Can you see?… at dawn?… is it the same flag we proudly posted last night? … the one with stripes and stars… it made it through the fight? but I watched our land get hit with a flurry of shells?… but I saw that British red powder flying through the air behind all of those bombs? Somehow through all of that our flag was still there? WHAT?! … Well I’ll be damned! It’s still waving over the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

What Key saw that night was shell after shell being hurled (approximately 1 per minute, which was a lot back then) at his country. The same country he was PROTESTING. The same country he was angry with for even being in this conflict. He watched in horror thinking the worst. It completely shocked him to find the flag still standing there. 

See, in the midst of his anger and protest, this was still HIS country. He still loved America. He was just angry at President Madison and those that voted to enter the conflict. If the story of this song tells us anything, it’s that even in the midst of disagreement, we’re still Americans. This is still OUR country.  So protesting this tune, written by this guy, who was protesting America, makes ZERO sense.

And then there’s that issue of audience. Most sports lovers really don’t care what their favorite athlete thinks about law enforcement. They want to cheer on their team and enjoy sports. If you feel the need to protest something, there’s nothing wrong with that. But make sure you at least consider what you’re protesting and who it will alienate in the process. The latest antics by the woke sports mob will only hurt. It will only continue to divide. The NFL and NBA TV ratings were at an all-time low prior to covid. We look to sports as an escape… not more political rhetoric. If we want that, we’ll just hop on Facebook… followed by lots of prayer and anti-depressants!

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger