That phrase has become one of the main mottos of the pro-mask crowd. It basically implies that if you don’t wear a mask you are stupid. It reminds me of the pro-evolution crowd who would say the same thing. ”oh, you believe in creation, you are one of those anti-science people.” Excuse me, have you actually read major scientific studies, let’s say two books on each view and arrived at a conclusion based on serious personal study or are you just parroting statements you have heard from other incredibly biased, prejudiced people. Some of the most intelligent scientists I know believe in creationism and have very intelligent, well thought out disertations on why they believe the way they do.

It reminds me of Proverbs 18:17
The first to plead his case seems right,
Until another comes and examines him.

I regularly have people give me links to the WHO and CDC as ”science” when I say something against masks, but when I give them my links or book titles that prove masks are worthless, they are immediately discounted as quacks or having been dismissed by real scientists.

Science is based on observable facts. An observable fact is, more are wearing masks now than ever before, and the virus is spreading faster than ever before, ”Yeh, but, ” and then all the supposed scientific excuses come.

In March Dr Fauci, the Who, CDC, and many medical journals were saying, ”We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection… In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.”

Than in June everyone did an 180-degree reversal. The excuse given by public health authorities was that they had initially offered anti-mask advice only to prevent a run on masks that healthcare workers needed. In newspapers and on cable networks, pro-mask messages became the norm. “Overnight, masks have become a symbol of social responsibility.” In August the Washington Post said that mask rule breakers were narcissists and dangerous.

The Washington Post also wrote, ”A new study (yeh, right) has shown that people who don’t wear masks are no longer just dumb or self-centered, they are sociopaths: people who are unconcerned with adhering to measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 tend to display higher levels of traits associated with antisocial personality disorder, also known as sociopathy.”

There is plenty of scientific proof that masks don’t work, and very little proof that they do, but the media and government have decided to make mask wearing the solution to the problem. Why?

To be continued:

Recently I read this story recounted by Gordon Dalby. He told of a nun who worked in a men’s prison. One year she brought some Mother’s Day cards to distribute to any prisoners who were interested in sending cards to their moms. Word spread, and requests for cards began pouring in. The demand was so great that she reached out to Hallmark to see if they’d be willing to donate extra boxes of cards. That first year the warden drew numbers from a lottery to determine which inmates would receive the limited number of Mother’s Day cards. With Father’s Day quickly approaching, the nun got to work securing sufficient boxes of Father’s Day cards, and the warden announced a free giveaway to all who were interested in sending a Father’s Day card. Not a single prisoner asked for one. What are we to make of this story? What has happened to the God-intended bond between fathers and their children?

As a 72 year old man I can look back on my life and see so many good things, so many blessings from God that have made a huge difference in my life. Of all the positive forces in my life I think the most powerful was my Dad. It is interesting as I think about that statement because my Dad had a long list of negative qualities that should have resulted in just the opposite result. Dad wasn’t a spiritual influence in my life at all. He never read the Bible, I am not sure he owned one, went to church sporatically at best, and I never once heard him pray. Dad became a believer just weeks before the end of his life and I had the joy of baptizing him. All of my spiritual influence came from my Mom, because of her I never missed church, Sunday School, Bible camp, vacation Bible school, or Youth group. Dad was a very hard worker and the work ethic that I have had all of my life is probably my Dad’s greatest gift to me. He also was always very nice to people and treated everyone with great respect, and any chance he got, to help someone out, he took. The key gift he gave to me was his time. It wasn’t what you would call typical father/son activities, it was mostly just working together on the farm. He didn’t talk much but he would say little things all during the day that were like darts, they would stick in me and I have never forgotten most of them. I don’t know of anybody who tells more stories about their Dad than I do. It is my way of honoring him. I have told some of them so many times and every time I tell the story, it grows just a little bit, until they are almost ”tall tales.” I know that, and most who have heard them know that, but I don’t care, in my mind he is a super hero.

Patty and I leave for Fairbanks, Alaska today to spend Christmas with our daughter Shelly and her family. We have gone up and visited them fairly often in years past but never in the winter, so this will be a new experience. It most likely will be below zero in temperature and 24 hours of dark. We have six grandkids up there so we are expecting this to be a very enjoyable visit. Also, if it works out, my son-in-law, Philip, is taking me ice fishing. For all the fishing that I have done, I have never been ice fishing, so I am looking forward to this new experience.

Alaska requires a COVID test within 72 hours from boarding the airplane but don’t accept the ones you can get results on in an hour so we are waiting today for our results to come in. If they don’t arrive we will have to quarantine when we get there until the results are emailed to us. The literature that we read while waiting in the waiting room to get our test said that there were about 30% false-positive readings. If either of out tests end up being positive, we will have to take another one at the airport for $250 and quarantine the 3 to 5 days it takes to get the results. I was getting a bit cranky reading all this, and then I read some of the ”most often asked questions, ” and one of them was ”Where can we legally quarantine?” and one of the spots was a residence. No problem then, I can quarantine at Shelly and Philip’s house and out on the ice with a fishing rod in my hands.

Justin Hart on Twitter: “BREAKING! Do mask mandates work? Our analysis below. We looked at cases on days where mask mandates were in place vs when they were not. We calculated the cases per day adjusted for population and: WITH MASK MANDATE: 27 cases per day per 100K people NO MASK MADATE 17 cases 1/ https://t.co/IALibl5nmg” / Twitter
— Read on twitter.com/justin_hart/status/1340725086278434821

I have been reading a lot of books and material and listening to pod casts about the COVID virus lately. I don’t think much accurate information will be found on Google and Youtube because of the high amount of censoring done against anything not politically correct. There are a number of very smart people who aren’t in a position to profit from what they write who are looking at all the information and coming to conclusions that are much different then what we hear on the news or the media. A recent small book is entitled “Unreported Facts About COVID 19, Lockdowns: part 3 Masks” by Alex Berenson. Here are some quotes from the book.

June 5, the WHO had released a statement entitled “Advice on the use of masks in the context of Covid-19.” The paper ran 16 pages and included 80 footnotes and this statement: At the present time, the widespread use of masks by healthy people in the community setting is not yet supported by high quality or direct scientific evidence. Less than 48 hours later they completely reversed their position because of worldwide government pressure.

In December 2013 the Canadian nurses’ union filed a grievance against the requirement for nurses to wear face covering. The case went to a neutral arbitrator, James Hayes. He heard thousands of pages of testimony from six expert witnesses, consulted 249 exhibits, and read more than 100 scientific papers. In September 2015, Hayes issued a 136-page ruling saying hospitals could not make nurses wear masks. The “scientific evidence said to support the [mask mandate] on patient safety grounds is insufficient,” he wrote. (https://www.ona.org/wp-content/uploads/ona_kaplanarbitrationdecision_vaccinateormask_stmichaelsoha_20180906.pdf)

A study done on particle size that people breath out and masks came to this conclusion, “In basic terms, masks have almost no chance of catching most of the particles we exhale.”https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021850208002036)

In a paper published on Nov. 18, Danish researchers reported on a trial that covered almost 5,000 people in Denmark in the spring. The trial was carefully designed and executed, and the conclusion: Unless future large randomized controlled trials find different results, the Danish mask study essentially should end the debate if surgical masks protect people who wear them outside hospitals. As physicians and infectious disease professionals largely agreed, the answer is that they don’t. Anyone who says otherwise, for whatever reason, is being untruthful – and as of Nov. 10, that group, unfortunately, includes the Centers for Disease Control.

At the conclusion of the book the author asks the question, ”on the basis of such flimsy evidence that masks make any difference why would the universal use of them be pushed so hard by so many?” He comes to several conclusions but the last one is the one I have believed to be true for some time, ”But the worst reason of all is that mask mandates appear to be an effort by governments to find out what restrictions on their civil liberties people will accept on the thinnest possible evidence. ”

(This blog is a repeat of and modification of one written months ago with a different title)

Even just ten minutes of looking at pictures of the Nazi concentration camps where Jews were imprisoned during the Second World War is incredibly depressing not only because of the experiences that the Jews went through but also seeing and thinking about the cruelty and what people will do to other people.
The Nazi’s had a plan and strategy in mind as they inflicted incomprehensible cruelty on the Jewish people, and that was to get them to feel less than human.

The Roman invention of crucifixion wasn’t just to inflict pain, but to dehumanize a person in their death. Read the words of Jesus on the cross in Psalms 22:6-7,
”But I am a worm and not a man,A reproach of men and despised by the people.All who see me sneer at me;They separate with the lip, they wag the head,”
When I was a kid, I had a dog, and we took her to the vet to get neutered so that she wouldn’t have puppies and be attracting all the male dogs in the area to our farm. To keep her from licking on her wound and taking the stitches out, the Vet put a plastic cone around her neck. When people saw her, they would laugh, and you could immediately see her head go down, her ears droop, her tail go down between her legs, and she would hide under the bed. Even dogs have a sense of dignity and worth that can get damaged.

When I wear one of these darn masks I feel just like my dog, they are dehumanizing. I know many who sincerely believe that masks will help in the spread of COVID, and I honor their belief, but I personally do not believe they do any good at all. There have been many doctors who have come out and stated their views about face masks and have been censored and blocked from Facebook, Twitter, Google, and You Tube. A number of doctors have lost their medical license because they dared express their unbelief in face masks. I get accused of being prideful for the way I feel, and a contributor to the spread of COVID. Some say, “you use a seat belt and a bicycle helmet,” so just wear the mask, but the value of seat belts and helmets is obvious to me, I would practice those precautions even if it wasn’t a law, and wearing a seat belt is not dehumanizing. And again, I am in no way convinced of the value of wearing a face mask. I am pretty sure that if people were asked to walk around with no cloths on because it would prevent the spread of viruses, they would refuse, because it would be very embarrassing and thus dehumanizing, and it would be very hard to convince them that their nakedness was somehow protecting their health.

The media has generated a very high level of fear in the general population of catching COVID. People are afraid of COVID so they wear a mask, it is something to do that might help. Another reason people wear masks is because of peer pressure, if everybody is doing it, I guess I will do it too.

I carry a mask with me and I wear it when I am asked to rather than create a scene, but I don’t like it, not because I am being forced to, but because when I wear the dumb thing I feel like a dog that just got neutered.

People’s souls get damaged when they are young by over exposure to sin. A major role of parents is to shepherd their children like Jesus does when He said “I am the good shepherd”. The first thing the shepherd does in Psalms 23 is to make the sheep lay down in green pastures and to walk besides quite waters. A good shepherd parent protects their children from an over exposure to sin. When I was a kid I watched television but it was “Rin Tin Tin,” “The Mickey Mouse Club, “ “Lassie,” and “The Three Stooges”. We had no Smart Phones, internet, and iPads. I read the other day how many murders that kids see on TV, movies, and the internet today, and it was hard to believe. The amount of sex that kids are exposed to today is terrible, and it isn’t even implied, “normal” sex, it is perverted. When a kid gets his soul damaged he is going to be a messed up adult for sure. Even young adults and older adults damage their conscience with the volume of sin that comes into our minds through our eyes and ears.

We live in a culture where sin has become excepted, and normal, and those who make an attempt to live outside the new normal of morality are often criticized and made fun of.

Psalms 101:3
I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;
I hate the work of those who fall away;
It shall not fasten its grip on me.

2 Corinthians 6:17-18
“Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.
“And do not touch what is unclean;
And I will welcome you.
“And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,”
Says the Lord Almighty.

In the life of a person who has a damaged soul there are times when they know it, times when they are all alone thinking about who they are and they know that they aren’t healthy on the inside. When those times happen they can just give a sigh of resignation and go on with life, or they can wish there was something they could do, some cure, as it were.

Psalms 19:7The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;

Psalms 23:3 He restores my soul;

Large volumes of the Bible, the supernatural Word of God will heal and nurture our soul. Reading it, listening to recordings of it, and memorizing it

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

One of the mysteries of life is the balance between the sovereign control of God in a person’s life and their own free will in making choices. They are both very real, and very much part of the final product of who we become. God controls much of our environment as in a supernatural greenhouse to produce in us the character of Christ. But many people get messed up in the journey and don’t amount to much in the end in spite of God’s shaping forces in their life. As I have been actively involved in coaching, counseling, and pastoring people over the last 45years to be champions in life I have seen some common denominators in the lives of those who get messed up.

A very important part of any person’s growth to maturity and godliness are the presence of people who have grown a lot in character coaching, mentoring, and teaching them. It is very rare that a person becomes exceptional unless they are encouraged and influenced by a godly model, someone leading the way. It is God’s plan that parents are the foundational first step in any persons journey to being a winner in life. Those who struggle big time to grow consistently often have or had parents who are either so messed up themselves that coaching and training their kids to be champions isn’t going to happen. Or they are raised by just one parent and don’t get the balance and input of the wisdom they need to manage life. Single parent homes are a tough place for a kid to grow up with character and inner strength. Or they have two parents who have their act together, but they are so busy that they neglect the most important assignment that any person ever gets in life, raising a child to love and serve Jesus Christ. Parental neglect is so rampant in our culture today because of a million different things to do.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

The key word in this verse is ”train”. That is an athletic term that implies time, effort, a plan, a goal, and lots of accountability. Two of my favorite movies of all time are the first two ”Rocky” movies. Rocky Bolboa wins a very unlikely heavyweight championships of the world, and the reason was because of his coach, Micky. Micky taught him the basics, encouraged him and gave him the heart of a champion.

There are many other possibilities for mentors to arise in the life of a person growing up such as teachers, coaches, pastors, youth pastors, other family members, and just caring friends. But many people get to be adults and have never had a real, powerful and positive influencer in their life or at least very few. One of the laws of life is that there are no self made people, we all are a product of the influence of others.

When we are kids growing up, we are victims; that is, we don’t choose most of what happens or doesn’t happen that shapes us. But there does comes a time in our life when we can choose who we are influenced by. Those choices are so absolutely critical in determining who we become.

There are so many instances where I have seen parents do a great job raising a son or daughter except they didn’t teach them the importance of choosing good friends, and everything that they as Dad and Mom accomplished all unravels because of the influence of wrong friends.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.

If we are wise and humble we know that we always need to have positive models, mentors, coaches in our life. If we know that we need them we will seek for them. As soon as we think we have arrived and don’t need help we are done growing.

To be continued

God is a God of process. An oak tree starts with an acorn. Our Bible took more than a thousand years to write and collect. Full-grown, healthy, responsible, mature adults start as a baby. God planned for the process and growth of all things; they are woven into the fabric of all of his creation. As a 72 year old man I can look back and see the history of my own life, the events, the processes that shaped me into who I am today, good and bad. I can also look back on the lives of our own kids having seen them from the time they were an hour old baby to an adult, and I have seen and been part of the forces, the processes, and the principles that shaped them into who they are today. Those things that are most important to God seem to take the longest to process, and sometimes when something interrupts the process, the result is ugly. A corn plant gets interrupted with a drought, a chicken gets totally interrupted by a hawk, a person gets interrupted with an accident, cancer or COVID.

But with people, the worst kind of interruption is that which stunts the growth of their character, their heart and soul, their wisdom, and their ability to love others and God.

I am certainly not what you would call a wise old owl of a man, but I am 72 years old, and I have seen a lot of people go from weak to strong, foolish to wise, babies to mature, selfish to loving, carnel to spiritual, and useless to very fruitful. I have also seen those who, for one reason or the other got interrupted, and ended up being a messed up person who is selfish, prideful, a fool, relationally challenged, basically worthless for the accomplishing of anything significant, and with little to no interest in knowing The God of the universe.

How does that happen? I ask that all the time, and I also ask, what can restore a messed up person to healthy growth as a person created by God with infinite potential. The problem is that because of the depth of their selfishness and pride; they think everyone else is the ones messed up and not themselves; it is what Jesus called being self-deceived and blind.

(But, wait a minute, maybe I am writing this as being one of those messed up, self-deceived and blind people that thinks he is a wise old owl but in reality is a dumb possum, fixing everyone else’s problems but his own. In my occupation, I fear that being or becoming the case for sure, and I do a lot of reflective self-examination and asking others what they see in me, but that is another blog.)

I have arrived at some firm conclusions on why a growing number of people are messed up; I have pastored, counseled, and talked with so many people who are stunted in their growth that I have identified the common interrupters to most of them.

Reversing the results of being interrupted is tough, but very possible, but only if they see the need to change, which usually only happens with significant tribulations in their life.

To be continued: