Karma

Nancy and I spent the weekend near Boone, NC. On Saturday we hopped on the motorcycle and went for a ride. We rode up the Blue Ridge Parkway, and stopped in Boone for lunch. Murphy's restaurant seemed like a good place. We parked the bike, walked inside and sat down to order our lunch.

As we ate, we noticed dark clouds forming, and we heard thunder over the ridge of the mountains. We knew that wasn't a good sign, but what can you do? Nancy noticed a car with the windows rolled down. She asked out waiter if he knew whose car that was. His response sparked a rather interesting conversation:

Waiter: "Yes, that's my boss's car. We're not going to tell him!"

Me: "Why not?"

Waiter: "He was mean to us today. He cursed at us for basically doing what we were supposed to do."

Me: "Hmm, that's too bad."

Waiter: "Yeah - that's karma. When you do something negative, that negativity comes back on you."

Me: "Really? So by doing something negative (not telling your boss that his windows are down and it's about to rain) aren't you worried about karma coming back on you?"

Waiter: "No, when someone is mean, exudes negativity, then it comes back on you. I'm just not telling him about his windows, I'm not actually doing anything negative to him."

Nancy spoke up: "But if you know something bad is going to happen, and you don't say anything about it, then you are doing something negative."

I added: "If you know to do good, and you don't do it, that is not a good thing."

He smiled, with a bit of a perplexed look on his face, turned and walked away. A few minutes later he came back by the table with a big smile on his face. "I told my boss about his windows."

Answering Oprah

We had such a great night last night at church. I started a new series called "Answering Oprah." We are taking a look at the teachings that Oprah has been promoting lately - the teachings of Eckhart Tolle in his book A New Earth.

Oprah is a powerful woman. She has accomplished a lot in her lifetime. She has come a long way, overcoming many obstacles to get to where she is now. I admire her for several reasons. She is a great communicator, a wonderful giver, and she has the ability to lead many people. She has a huge influence.

My problem is not that Oprah has this kind of power. The problem is what she is teaching. The philosophies and ideas that she is putting out and promoting are not new. They have been around for centuries. And sadly, they are all a lie. She has deceived many people. She has herself been deceived.

Oprah's teachings are largely based on the New Age Movement. There are many suttle, underlying elements to this that most people who call themselves Christians are going to buy right into. The things she says sound right at first. But just lift the covers, and underneath is a world of deception.

I hope you'll try to join us over the next several weeks as we take a look at what the NEw Age Movement is really all about, and how deceptive it all really is.