戒烟与孙子兵法

戒烟的过程是一个重生的过程，你必须对烟是死的，对新鲜空气是活的。 如果烟对你还是充满诱惑，需要等诱惑降低再启动戒烟，也就是说，戒烟的开始就是杀死烟瘾，并不断杀死的过程。戒烟要讲策略，孙子云：“古 之 所 谓 善 战 者， 胜 于 易 胜 者 也。”如果烟瘾还太大，就是敌强我弱，要等敌弱我强再开战。“是故胜兵先胜而后求战，败兵先战而后求胜。”不要随便开始戒烟期望能成功，要天时地利人和， 要做好思想工作。

戒烟是你和烟瘾（烟魔）的战争，没有做好防守，不要冒然进攻。 “孙子 曰 ： 昔 之 善 战 者， 先 为 不 可 胜， 以 待 敌 之 可 胜。 不 可 胜 在 己， 可 胜 在 敌。”。要点是，善于打仗的都是先从自己入手，“先为不可胜”，先预备自己在烟瘾进攻的时候不被胜过 ，就是很好的防守，比如说不打牌到很晚，不喝酒到头晕，不为小事生气，这些和戒烟没有直接联系，但防守做不好，而烟瘾什么时候来你又不知道，所以一旦烟瘾 进攻你是没有胜算的。

Have a little Faith

In best-selling author Mitch Albom’s latest book, “Have a Little Faith,” he explores how a pastor and a rabbi practice their religions, fight for survival and answer life's puzzling questions. An excerpt.

My worry was wasted. The Reb made no such value judgments. “Our faith tells us to do charitable acts and to aid the poor in our community,” he said. “That is being righteous, no matter who you help.”

Soon we had tumbled into a most fundamental debate. How can different religions coexist? If one faith believes one thing, and another believes something else, how can they both be correct? And does one religion have the right — or even the obligation — to try to convert the other?

The Reb had been living with these issues all of his professional life. “In the early 1950s,” he recalled, “our congregation’s kids used to wrap their Jewish books in brown paper before they got on the bus. Remember, to many around here, we were the first Jewish people they had ever seen.”

Did that make for some strange moments?

He chuckled. “Oh, yes. I remember one time a congregant came to me all upset, because her son, the only Jewish boy in his class, had been cast in the school’s Christmas play. And they cast him as Jesus.

“So I went to the teacher. I explained the dilemma. And she said, ‘But that’s why we chose him, Rabbi. Because Jesus was a Jew!’ ”

I remembered similar incidents. In elementary school, I was left out of the big, colorful Christmas productions of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” or “Jingle Bells.” Instead, I had to join the school’s few other Jewish kids onstage, as we sang the Hanukah song, “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel, I Made It Out of Clay.” We held hands and moved in a circle, imitating a spinning top. No props. No costumes. At the end of the song, we all fell down.

I swear I saw some gentile parents hiding their laughter.

Is there any winning a religious argument? Whose God is better than whose? Who got the Bible right or wrong? I preferred figures like Rajchandra, the Indian poet who influenced Gandhi by teaching that no religion was superior because they all brought people closer to God; or Gandhi himself, who would break a fast with Hindu prayers, Muslim quotations, or a Christian hymn.

Over the years, the Reb had lived his beliefs, but never tried to convert anyone to them. As a general rule, Judaism does not seek converts. In fact, the tradition is to first discourage them, emphasizing the difficulties and suffering the religion has endured.

This is not the case with all religions. Throughout history, countless millions have been slaughtered for failing to convert, to accept another god, or to denounce their own beliefs. Rabbi Akiva, the famous second-century scholar, was tortured to death by the Romans for refusing to give up his religious study. As they raked his flesh with iron combs, he whispered his final words on earth, “Hear, oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” He died with the word “one” on his lips.

That prayer — and the word “one” — were integral to the Reb’s beliefs. One, as in the singular God. One, as in the Lord’s creation, Adam.

“Ask yourself, ‘Why did God create but one man?’ ” the Reb said, wagging a finger. “Why, if he meant for there to be faiths bickering with each other, didn’t he create that from the start? He created trees, right? Not one tree, countless trees. Why not the same with man?

“Because we are all from that one man — and all from that one God. That’s the message.”

Then why, I asked, is the world so fractured?

“Well, you can look at it this way. Would you want the world to all look alike? No. The genius of life is its variety.

“Even in our own faith, we have questions and answers, interpretations, debates. In Christianity, in Catholicism, in other faiths, the same thing — debates, interpretations. That is the beauty. It’s like being a musician. If you found the note, and you kept hitting that note all the time, you would go nuts. It’s the blending of the different notes that makes the music.”

The music of what?

“Of believing in something bigger than yourself.”

But what if someone from another faith won’t recognize yours? Or wants you dead for it?

“That is not faith. That is hate.” He sighed. “And if you ask me, God sits up there and cries when that happens.”

He coughed, then, as if to reassure me, he smiled. He had full-time help at the house now; his home care workers had included a tall woman from Ghana and a burly Russian man. Now, on weekdays, there was a lovely Hindu woman from Trinidad named Teela. She helped get him dressed and do some light exercises in the morning, fixed his meals, and drove him to the supermarket and synagogue. Sometimes she would play Hindi religious music over her car stereo. The Reb enjoyed it and asked for a translation. When she talked about reincarnation, per her faith, he quizzed her and apologized for not knowing more about Hinduism over the years.

How can you — a cleric — be so open-minded? I asked.

“Look. I know what I believe. It’s in my soul. But I constantly tell our people: you should be convinced of the authenticity of what you have, but you must also be humble enough to say that we don’t know everything. And since we don’t know everything, we must accept that another person may believe something else.”

He sighed.

“I’m not being original here, Mitch. Most religions teach us to love our neighbor.”

I thought about how much I admired him at that moment. How he never, even in private, even in old age, tried to bully another belief, or bad-mouth someone else’s devotion. And I realized I had been a bit of a coward on this whole faith thing. I should have been more proud, less intimidated. I shouldn’t have bitten my tongue. If the only thing wrong with Moses is that he’s not yours; if the only thing wrong with Jesus is that he’s not yours; if the only thing wrong with mosques, Lent, chanting, Mecca, Buddha, confession, or reincarnation is that they’re not yours — well, maybe the problem is you.

One more question? I asked the Reb.

He nodded.

When someone from another faith says, “God bless you,” what do you say?

“I say, ‘Thank you, and God bless you, too.’ ”

Really?

“Why shouldn’t I?”

I went to answer and realized I had no answer. No answer at all.

Excerpt reprinted with permission from "Have a Little Faith" (Hyperion Publishing) by Mitch Albom

Faith and Christianity

Several thoughts:
1. Faith is about being righteous or to do the RIGHT things (not just doing good things, which may lead to self promotion and turn out to be just as wrong)
2. Faith is NOT about politics or legality: what is legal may not be right (gay marriage or abortion may be legal but it may not be right thing to do). Any attempt to ban immorality is bound to fail, as enforcing the law is next to impossible (think about the 8th Amendment and the utter failure of prohibition) Therefore, do not try to fix the broken immorality with tough law.
3. To tell right from wrong, we need to remember just one sentence: "Love your neighbors as yourself." Our neighbors do not just live next to us, they are anyone whom we encounter (like the good Samaritan meet the injured traveler who was a total stranger)
4. Nothing is more important than men: in Matthew 12:12, Jesus said: "How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
5. The Gospel is for everyone who believes, including the tax collectors and prostitutes. Matthew 21:31: Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. "

约翰福音2章再谈

约翰福音的每一章都充满了圣灵的启示与亮光。 周五的读经分享中，我们再读约翰2章。 对主耶稣变水为酒的第一个神迹，让我重新感受到一种光照。

这里的水预表死亡，酒预表生命。 特别的地方是这个水不是喝的水， 而是犹太人洁净的水。 一世纪的犹太人对宗教仪式的洁净非常注重，比如施洗约翰的门徒，和一个犹太人辩论的是洁净的礼。（约翰3章25节）。 所以才有后来路加福音11章37-41节的对话：“说话的时候，有一个法利赛人请耶稣同他吃饭，耶稣就进去坐席。这法利赛人看见耶稣饭前不先洗手，就希奇。主对他说，如今你们法利赛人洁净杯盘的外面，你们里面却满了勒索和邪恶。无知的人哪，那造外面的，不也造里面么？只要把里面的施舍给人，看哪，凡物于你们就都洁净了”。主耶稣来所要改变的第一个，就是要把犹太人对律法死板的理解和没有生命运作的实行挑战。 门徒们在主吩咐仆人把水缸倒满的时候，或许还期待主耶稣先行洁净的礼， 没想到主对宗教的仪式不感兴趣， 而是 直接吩咐仆人把水舀出来送给管宴席的人。

而使徒约翰之所以在这一章跟着记载主耶稣洁净圣殿， 也是因为犹太人已经把圣殿变成了“买卖的场所”， 从古至今，一切的宗教归根结底都是在做买卖， 你要这样或那样做，才能如何。 他们把神的恩典变成可供买卖的东西，为的是他们自己的利益（物质或精神）。 主耶稣还告诉他们，你们要看别的神迹没有意义，神迹并不能让人亲近神， 所以主耶稣并不因为有人信入祂的名就把自己交托给他们。 只有主的死而复活才是一个他们真正需要的神迹和真正的圣殿：就是祂以自己的身体为殿，三日之内重建起来。 因为眼前这个富丽堂皇的圣殿里没有神，而且从来没有过神。 司提反说“其实至高者并不住人手所造的，就如申言者所说 ‘主说，天是我的座位，地是我的脚凳，你们要为我造怎样的殿宇，那里是我安息的地方？这一切不都是我手所造的么？’” （使徒行传7：48-50） 保罗在亚略巴古传道时也说：“创造宇宙和其中万物的神，既是天地的主，就不住人手所造的殿。”。

因为主来不是洁净人的外面， 而是把“里面的施舍给人”， 祂所要做的， 乃是把神圣的生命赐给我们。主说：”这是那些日子以后，我要与他们所立的约：我要将我的律法赐在他们心里，并且将这些律法写在他们心思里。” （希伯来书10：16） 让我们这一班原本没有神的人，如今可以因为圣灵住在我们里面而成为神的儿女， 因为祂的美意本是如此。

a conversation between me and my left knee (from SI)

Me: I’m young! I’m fast! I’m …

Left knee: Have you lost your mind?

Me: What? I’m running.

Left knee: You are 44 years old. You cannot just start running sprints out of nowhere. Are you crazy?

Me: I don’t feel 44 years old. I still feel young.

Left knee: Trust me, you’re not young. Just look at the music on your iPod, man.

Me: What? I’ve got some hip-hop on there.

Left knee: Yeah … The Sugarhill Gang. Dude, I’m not even going to argue with you. Stop running. Go do what you do best … sit in a recliner, prop me up, and watch sports.

Me: No. I can still …

Left knee: OK, sorry pal, you’ve left me no choice. This is going to hurt you more than it’s going to hurt me.

读经亮光：”仍住了两天“

约翰福音11章讲到主耶稣听到祂“你所爱的人病了”， 没有立刻动身，而是"就在所居之地，仍住了两天。" 虽然"耶稣素来爱马大，和她妹妹，并拉撒路”， 可是这爱乃是出于人，是有限制的爱，是人心可以理解和想象的。 这是主出于人性的爱，是联于成为人的耶稣，如同主爱使徒约翰一样，但这种爱不是主来世上的目的。 因为“你们若爱那爱你们的人，有什么可酬谢的？因为连罪人也爱那爱他们的人。”（路加福音6：32）。 如果主不是仍住了两天，而是立刻动身，在门徒们看来，主耶稣就与常人没有区别，因为特别爱拉撒路。 可是主

而另一种爱是出于神的爱，远超我们的所思所想，因为“神为爱祂的人所预备的，是眼睛未曾看见，耳朵未曾听见，人心也未曾想到的。”（林前2：9） “惟有基督在我们还作罪人的时候，为我们死，神就在此将祂自己的爱向我们显明了。（罗马书5：8）。

寻找就寻见，求就给你们

我们求，若不是在信心中求，就常常灰心。 主说的求是如同这个寡妇一样的不断缠磨地求。 主的search不是找一下就好了，是re-search直到找到为止。 “耶稣又对他们讲一个比喻，是要人常常祷告，不可灰心，说，

某城里有一个审判官，不惧怕神，也不尊重人。

那城里有个寡妇，常到他那里，说，我有一个对头，求你给我伸冤。

他多时不肯，后来心里说，我虽不惧怕神，也不尊重人，

只因这寡妇常常搅扰我，我就给她伸冤罢，免得她不断来缠磨我。

主说，你们听这不义的审判官所说的。

神的选民昼夜呼吁祂，祂纵然为他们忍耐着，岂不终久给他们伸冤么？

我告诉你们，祂要快快的给他们伸冤了。然而，人子来的时候，在地上找得到信心么？