Category: Alan Bailey

A smorgasbord of faiths?

By Alan Bailey

SOME people eat very simply. Perhaps because they have no choice. Others have a great array of possible delights in front of them, especially at times of celebration. Decisions, decisions. What looks nice? What tastes good? What is actually good for me? Will this upset my diet? So the questions flood through the mind.

These days the whole of life seems like a smorgasbord. So much is available and accessible. Just look at the stock in a thousand shops. Think of the devices available to us and the maze of things on offer on the Internet. Take your pick—if you can afford it.

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The best gift I’ve ever received

BY ALAN BAILEY

GIVING and receiving gifts is a major part of Christmas celebrations. How much time is spent deciding what to buy and how much time is spent taking things back to the shops some days later!

I have to admit that I don’t get too involved in the whole process as my wife is so adept in it all.

Giving something of value to another is an expression of love and esteem.

It’s often said that it is the thought that counts and largely it’s true. Genuine joy and delight can be seen on the faces of receivers — and not only children, but their parents as well. Continue reading

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Who can you trust?

By Alan Bailey

THERE was a time when trusting others was normal. We had faith in human nature to a point. Institutions were solid, having our confidence. A saying was “as safe as a bank.”

But now the banks have let us down. Whatever next? A recent royal commission has revealed that banks have drawn money from accounts of deceased people over a period of years; they have maintained insurance policies that were worthless, and by various shady deals have taken money from clients who have been unaware.

Sadly, the word of another is getting harder to believe, making cynicism and distrust the emerging forces of today. The media is keeping us informed of scams and swindles and rackets and rorts. Meantime, our faith in human nature is taking a nosedive. Little wonder the average person is unimpressed by political rhetoric, hard sell and televangelists.

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An appointment you must keep

Tips for Life

By Alan Bailey

ALMOST every new day brings us a reminder that our hold on life is very tenuous. The newspapers usually have more names in the death notices than in the births column. We hear of friends or relatives battling with disease and people being killed in accidents, wars and natural disasters.

AN APPOINTMENT IN THE BOOK

We won’t have it written in our diary, but we can be sure that one day our life here will end. As God’s Word says, “It is appointed to man once to die.”

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Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

Tips for Life

By Alan Bailey

DO you ever wonder where the human race is heading? Is it flat out going downhill to its own destruction or is there a bright peaceful future on the way? Opinions will range between these poles but I fancy pessimism is in the majority. There are so many signs of civilization coming apart at the seams. Acts of cruelty, oppression and war are on the increase. Weapons are becoming more frightening as technology advances. We look to national leaders to navigate the way forward, but agreement is hard to find. Hatreds, prejudices and cruel ideologies keep getting in the way.

Do you wonder if anyone is in charge, in a sovereign way, ruling over everything? The reports we see and hear from the media day after day don’t encourage the idea. All seems so random, outcomes seem so unsatisfactory, human wisdom and human nature disappoint—let’s face it. We are not able to rescue ourselves.

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Why are we so angry?

Tips for Life

By Alan Bailey

PEOPLE seem to be flying off the handle in all directions today. Have you noticed it? There’s road rage that seems to show up almost every day. People are often irritated by small things, such as being beaten to a parking spot or being upset by a queue jumper. In the home, short fuses cause untold damage with words and even fists flying to make a point. Alas, weapons are used for vengeance and murders are committed out of anger. Why have we become an angry society?Continue reading

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That feeling of insecurity

Tips for Life

By Alan Bailey

INSECURITY abounds. Lack of money has a lot to do with it for many in our society; they are constantly threatened by the inability to have enough to cover the many demands for their cash. How worrying!

Insecure relationships can make life awkward and slippery. How many wonder how long they and their partners are going to stay together. The signs of breakdown are coming up all too frequently. It’s hard to sleep at night when you wonder how long the security you have enjoyed is going to last.

Job security has an unfriendly look about it to another percentage of people. Will the boss call me in and tell me not to come in on Monday? If he does, where to next? Am I past getting another position? Will I join the unemployed who have no job security whatever?

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Don’t mix truth and fantasy

By Alan Bailey

THE line between truth and fantasy is being blurred in many modern minds. Our technology has brought us loads of both, and the difference between them is getting harder to see. The world of game-playing on screen and the world of social media aren’t all that far apart. Add the deliberate deceit that is practised to take advantage of others and you have a labyrinth of notions that take a bit of analysing.

One result is that we read of Christmas “legends” where a mother and child are mixed with Santa Claus and Rudolph. The whole celebration is then based on tales and imagination meant to be pleasing to the minds and hearts of our children.

Without wanting to spoil the fun children have, we need to do some separating of fact from fiction. How much is actual history? Is there a great event being remembered or was there no great event?

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Don’t get left behind

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

THE BEST THINGS are the latest things—or so the modern mind thinks. Notice how that wonderful mobile phone that was made three years ago is now despised, almost, because later ones, smarter by several degrees, have hit the market. Whatever the cost, one must keep up with the best.

This way of thinking has very wide implications. Old is bad, backward, primitive. New is improved, advanced; hence, much to be preferred.

Of course, there is evidence for this everywhere. Discoveries are continually being made that take us forward. Old, inferior ways are continually being discarded.

HOLD ON, NOT SO FAST

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Why so much anger?

Tips for Life

By Alan Bailey

Anger can lead to tragedy. The case of an alleged murder before a Brisbane court is a sad example.

A father-of-three from New Zealand, who was due to marry in a week’s time, had an altercation with an older man who was aggressively following him on a Queensland highway on December 1.

The accused allegedly pushed the man who fell into the path of an oncoming garbage truck.

The man, a father of four, was killed.

Apparently, the accused had no past record and lived a normal life. In court it was revealed that the victim was a former professional driver and had an alleged history of road rage incidents. The case will be re-heard in April.

A cool head would have saved all of this.

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