Do Right

My eldest son Luke did something the other day and I thought, I should blog about that.  It was then that I came to the shocking realization that I haven't blogged about my children at all.   Perhaps I thought the posts would be too whimsical or lacking in broad enough appeal.  In any case I'm not trying to sell you anything so here goes.

The other day I gave Luke and Emily some instructions before bedtime about some things I wanted done in the morning.  I was surprised to find that not only had they followed my instructions to the letter, but they did a good job as well.  We don't normally reward our children for obedience, but sometimes we like to just so they know we are watching and appreciate their cheerful submission.  In this case we decided to take them to Chick-fil-a.  They seemed to enjoy it.  That night I was giving Luke instructions for the next morning and he asked the question, "And what will I get if I do that?"  Needless to say we had a little chat about doing right because it is right to do.

More Than Just A Command

Most people know the content of Exodus 20:14 - "Thou shalt not commit adultery."  While this is true and is surely sufficient reason to avoid adultery, the scripture has more to say about the subject.

Proverbs 6: 32-33 for example tells us the nature of the person committing adultery as well as some of the grave results.

But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.

Often we don't get all of the why behind God's commands, but in this case God gives us a little more than just the command.  All the more reason to love and trust him more.

Competition and Regulation

In the December 15, 2008 issue of InformationWeek the Feedback section had a comment from Wally Garneau that I found interesting.  Regarding the government's roll in proping up companies and markets he said "...while competition is far better than regulation, in the absence of true competition, you'd better have regulation."  This comment in a nutshell explains what is so wrong with the bailouts.  By removing competition as a factor in eliminating unsuccessful companies the only way to make sure the money is not missued is to regulate it, but the regulator is government which is itself inherently worse at big business.  It's an all around failure.  We borrow money we don't have to give to companies.  We add a layer of ineffective government monitoring, and we save an unprofitable company temporarily from demise.