Choking Game

You can’t change tomorrow,

You can't change today,

As your life is planned for you,

That's the way it will stay

Life is not perception, it is reality. The reality, a vapor that appears for a little while then vanishes. (James 4:14) After you pass the age of 50, it seems that every other day is Friday.

The Christian faith has always been a singing faith, a faith of singing praises to our blessed Lord. This writer can go into any church, listen to the congregation sing for five minutes and tell you the spiritual convictions-temperature of that church. I can still hear those old people singing at the church where I was raised, “take my life and let it be, consecrated Lord to thee.” The greatest failure by parents, pastors, poets or even prophets, in the rearing of today's children, without stressing to them the value and magnificence of life. When did we fail to put value on life and living, the ugly, plain seed, pitiful-looking “seedling”, going in to the “good earth”... after water, sunlight, every element God has provided for nutrition, a beautiful plant, same with animal life? The reproductive ability the male and female animal producing the greatest of God's Creation, particularly, the genus “Homo-Sapiens”, the human being, made in the very image of God. (Genesis 1:26)

From the beginning, there has been a challenge to living. The two first born, brothers, one killed the other. From the beginning, not only conflict but greed. Jacob, grandson of the first Jew, Abraham, fooled his blind father, and through his foolish mother, cheated his brother of his birthright. Others throughout history have “thrilled” to that thin line between life and death, wrestling with wild animals, warfare of nations, or just acting foolishly. God has “impressed” on mankind, that He does not tolerate foolishness. Even His chosen people, He killed multiple thousands at a time, the two priest sons of Aaron... Moses' older brother... Aaron the high priest of Israel. He turned Moses' sister, Miriam into a leper. God does not mess around, giver and taker of life AND SO SHOULD OUR YOUNG PEOPLE BE TAUGHT.

There is a fascination amongst young people of walking on the edge, tempting fate, “glue sniffing”, “a concoction of wormwood drink” (toxic chemicals drunk to give a high for sexuality, but very deadly) car surfing, (riding of the outside of a car while someone else is driving) huffing, (inhaling poisons to the system, tempting biological survival) the smoking of marijuana, the using of illegal drugs, such as cocaine, heroin,etc, seeking a temporary high or sexual hallucination. All of these activities, a delusion or illusion, to achieve a “high”, sexual-neurological-psychological breakthrough. These are life experiences-satisfactions, beyond the arena of normality. In this sin, there is a DOUBLE HAPPENING, sin against self, but more importantly, sin loaded onto Jesus Christ. The most recent delusional game, walking the thin line of normality, the Choking Game. (in the choking game, one with a dog leash-rope-belt, etc. cuts off blood to the brain long enough to experience the unnatural) Most deaths happening when this is done alone, parents find dead children... in their bedroom... alone. It is beyond comprehension that a child would do this act to loving parents, friends, acquaintances. I can say as a health care professional “helpless” feeling than a lifeless human being... only one of a kind, a totally unique individual. Within a few hours the DNA of this “totally unique” individual changes. You can reproduce other live animals, plants which are nearly the same but, not another YOU.

We were all created for a definite purpose. A death, particularly a young death, profoundly affects everyone around us. Loving parents never recover from the death of a child, particularly a foolish, useless death. It is bad enough to lose a child to disease, to warfare. I will always remember the screams of my neighbor across the street, when the casket of her only son, her only child, was brought home from the Vietnam war. You can write it down, if you are chosen for life, God will work you over, beat you down, to see if you are worthy of eternal life with Him. We have examples and scripture tells us these examples are put there for our profit... Jonah, a coward, Joseph, a type of Christ, (one-fourth of the book of Genesis is about this one man.) a story which we study over and over, because he was a real man. (even Broadway play – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) sold into Egypt at the age of 17, died as a ruler of Egypt at the age of 110.

Joseph's father, Jacob, to whom all Jews in the world, to this day, owe allegiance, a cheater, whose name means looking out for number one, but after wrestling with God, forever crippled by God, his name was changed to Israel, Israel which means governed by God.

God gave Himself the glorified name, “Lord of Hosts”. Twice in the 46th Psalm, verses 7 and 11, identical, “The LORD of hosts [is] with us; the God of Jacob [is] our refuge.” Selah. Note that the psalmist did not use Israel, God had to clean up Jacob. God help the man who has never been through darkness, who has never failed. God gives special attention to anyone who ”tempts” God with life, self choking, self drugging, self attempted suicide in an manner, at a time when most of the world's wealth is spent on healthcare. God help those who do not take care of their health, who do despise God, their family, their friends, that they would add to the horror story of life's survival, the sorrow of self inflicted death, the curse of thinking it a thrill. Advise your children, those with whom you come in contact, “messing around” with drugs, taunting fate that heaven is real, hell is hot.