Our Effect on Others

Is anyone else upset at the cost of ink jet cartridges for printers? We have a digital camera, and have to print out our pictures. I have an Epson Color Photo 825– and I went to buy both a color and black and white cartridge last night. After the ink and the photo paper, the total cost was close to $80. And then they sell the next model printer for just about that. Talk about the Gillette Razor subscription model to the extreme.

What’s latest in the news… Does anyone else find it interesting that the cardinals use smoke signals to tell whether thier vote was successful? How about that it is a democratic decision to figure out who the next “Vicar of Christ on Earth” is? How is it that they cannot agree on the first three times? Shouldn’t it be obvious? Are they making someone the Pope, or recognizing that this person is? And what was the guy they chose before he became Pope? I mean, can their be multiples that are that close to God?

I guess why this whole thing doesn’t make much sense is because I’m a Baptist and believe in the Priesthood of the Believer– the fact that we all have an equal audience with the Almighty through the Blood of the Lamb. I do not need a priest to hear my confession. I do not need to do penance, pray for dead people or pay for indulgences. I don’t value tradition higher than the Bible…

Speaking of which, and back to the Title of the Post, I was reading about King David last night after Absalom had been killed. David took it really hard, probably moreso since he knew that the rebellion was part of the punishment for his sin with Bathsheba and against Uriah (her now-deceased) husband. However, Joab has a really good point. If you notice, everyone who won the battle came back like losers, and Joab told David that he’d better go down to rally the troops or they would leave him. He may have felt terrible, but being a leader meant that he needed to be an example, an encouragement, and be stable.

In our lives, we are leaders– of our families, of our friends, of our children. They need to be encouraged and strengthened. They look to us for support and stability. That’s one of the reasons why we must guard ourselves against sin, against selfishness, and against the tendency to get caught up in ourselves. We must show and demonstrate encouragement, and building each other up.

We have a big effect on others through our actions and words. How is what you are doing now effecting someone else? Is it a positive effect or a negative one?