The NEW Serenity Prayer

Serenity
© 2001 - David Todeschini http://www.net4truthusa.com/

Posted by: WebPastor David Todeschini
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“Lord, grant me the strength and the courage to change those things which cannot be changed, the motivation and the concern to change those things that should be changed, and Lord, please grant me the insight and the wisdom to change those things for the better, that I might enjoy the serenity of knowing that I have been used as an instrument of your peace.”

You will pardon me for changing the ubiquitous “Serenity Prayer’’ around a little bit[1]... the old one was a cop-out from the first line, which says that we should accept the things we cannot change. Obviously I disagree. There is nothing that Man has done under the sun that cannot be undone - short of bringing back the dead... but give it time.

The trouble is my friends, that people these days, more than ever before in history, have mistaken apathy for serenity. In that sense, “serenity” or the quest for it, has led to the most gruesome and vile atrocities in human history; the Holocaust of WWII, the genocides in Bosnia, Iran and Iraq, the massacres in Africa, starvation in Bangladesh, the persecution of Christians all over the world, and other atrocities, including the 9-11 attacks. This is because “serenity” dictates that it is wise to know that one person acting alone, cannot change these things, and shouldn’t bother to try...it may disrupt one’s serenity. God forbid!

“Serenity”, or what has been mistaken for it, has led to the leviathan of a government we have in this country (US) today: a political and military leech that consumes over half the value of our personal incomes, and has its grimy paws in every aspect of our personal lives. The courts can order parents to give their children dangerous mind-altering drugs[2], and take the child from them if they don’t comply[3]... Certainly, it is time to start thinking about voting the bastards out of office, or in the alternative, picking up that Remington 700 and getting some attention.

While true Christianity teaches the principle of non-resistance, some see this and interpret it to mean absolute passivity, which I, personally disagree with. We cannot be “Our Brother’s Keeper” if we do not rise up to defend him. Can we change the things that (seemingly) cannot be changed? We can, if we don’t trip over our “serenity’’ in the process. All of us can have our serenity in a tent or a log cabin, way off in the wilderness, alone with God, the nature He created, and our thoughts and quiet prayers. When we return to society, it is time to get busy.

Where would our society be today, if Rosa Parks did not defy the system, decided that she couldn’t change it, and for the sake of the serenity of Memphis, she should sit in the back of the bus like all the other “niggers”? Where would we be if Martin Luther King did not pursue his dream of equality for all? How many starving children were saved by the tireless efforts and ministry of Mother Teresa?

“All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to sit around and do nothing”.

That is what the whole world did just before World War 2, and it led directly to the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, and the most infamous evil empire ever to exist on the face of the planet.

Too often, that is so true! In the name of “freedom’’, it seems we can do as we please, as long as enough of us want to do it. If 60% of the country decided that they were all going to light up a joint, march down to Washington DC, and have another Woodstock festival on the front lawn of the White House, how are they going to stop it? Will they throw everyone in jail? I don’t think so! Mr. Clinton would probably join the crowd, and take a few tokes, although he wouldn’t inhale ☺.

Seriously, folks, we as God-fearing Americans can no longer afford to look at a moral issue and say, “Well, you can’t fight City Hall’’, and let them have their way. We’ve let it go much too far already, and our collective departure from basic decency, and the power of unity that rallies around the desire to engage in depravity, has cost us the lives of 40+ million souls who have been murdered in vivo by “choice”; aka: abortion on demand. This carnage exceeds the lives lost in WW1, WW2, Korea, and Vietnam combined! Where is “The Wall” for them? The Supreme Court decided that an unborn child is NOT a human being with the Constitutional “right to life”. A simple passage from the Bible proves them wrong:

“...For Lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.” - Luke 1:44 KJV

If you believe in God’s word, AND you agree with the Supreme Court, then you must concede that an “inviable tissue mass” (which is how the court described an embryo) “leaped” in Elizabeth’s womb “for joy” in the Bible story. This is, legally speaking, a non-sequituer[4]... It is a boldfaced contradiction... The Supreme Court’s view is what psychology would call “a cognitive distortion”, or “cognitive dissonance”, and it is diametrically opposed to the concept of “One nation under God.”

The analysis is simple, yet powerful. I have attacked this issue several times in my books, articles, and on my web site, because I believe that it is at the core of what has gone terribly awry in this country.

A parallel can be drawn from the court’s decision, to the mentality that is required for war. Calling a living soul “an inviable tissue mass” is not that much different than calling an enemy soldier “Kraut”, “Jerry”, “Charlie”, “Gook”, “Slant”, “Dink”, “Slope”, “Zipperhead”, ad nauseum, which makes them less than human in our eyes. It is therefore easier to kill without conscience, when a “higher authority” justifies our distorted thinking, or more precisely, inflicts the evil upon us by “legalizing” what is intrinsically wrong. Society then hides its collective depravity behind a false veil of “morality”, by what sociology calls “boundary maintenance”; the persecution of innocent people, in order to claim that they are “protecting children”.

I could go off on a tangent here, but I won’t; I’ll just mention the fact that Roe vs. Wade [5] came into play on the heels of the Vietnam war. In the ten years that it took that conflict to claim 58,149 American lives, and over 3 million Vietnamese lives, over 150,000 living souls per month (in the US alone), were murdered before they were born. A baby that can “leap for joy” in the womb is, despite any name you wish to call it, or any status nine Court Justices may arbitrarily bestow upon it, a living soul. A fetus, inviable[6] or not, is a living soul, and a helpless human being who has the same right to life, liberty, and freedom as you or I. At some point it becomes sentient enough to “leap for joy”, and feel pleasure and pain. Terminating that baby’s life is murder, and infanticide, and calling it by any other name, or justifying it with legislation does not change its true nature.

Politicians, as you will learn, are not concerned with immutable moral principles. Such a stance would preclude their being elected. In that sense, even John F. Kennedy would have had to compromise his principles; when you don’t, you end-up out of the realm of “serenity”, and like John F. Kennedy, you may end-up murdered for your trouble.[7]

The bottom line to all of this is that “accepting the things I cannot change” is a coward’s cop-out; it is an excuse to fail; it is a set-up for failure. To “compromise” on certain issues may be acceptable, but on other issues, it is NOT. War may be a “necessary evil” to defend our country against aggression, but it should stop there. If the US government wants to control population, or get into the oil business – it is none of their business. Where in the Constitution does it authorize the government to do any of the things they are doing? By enacting laws that legislate morality, or more precisely, remove the natural consequences of immoral or irresponsible behavior, it has, in my opinion, created a self-fulfilling prophesy that requires the law to insure that over 1.5 million people per year (that are the victims of abortion) are NOT added to the US census. What is needed is a Renaissance, and an ‘en masse turning to God.... I am loathe to say it, but don’t hold your breath!

“Serenity”, as expounded in the original “Serenity Prayer” is nothing more than an illusion; it is an apparency. All of the “Anonymous” organizations; Alcoholics, Gamblers, Sexaholics, Narcotics, et al., have adopted the [old] Serenity Prayer, and outwardly, these organizations are very effective at keeping people from returning to their former addictions. However, it is questionable whether the underlying problem that drives the person to his anomalous behavior is ever addressed. It has to be a living hell for an alcoholic to fight the urge to drink; the organization telling him that he has “an incurable disease”; that it is inherited, and that he will be “in recovery” for the rest of his natural life. I don’t have a “magic answer” outside the grace of God, but THEIR “answer” without God; with their secular, politically correct ‘‘higher power”, is certainly wrong. Those who are most successful in their “recovery” are those who turn to Jesus Christ for help. His grace is sufficient.[8]

It is ludicrous to believe that serenity can be brought about by just “accepting” anything life throws at you. The prolific author, the late L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “A man is only as sane as he is self-determined.” I fail to see, under the [old] “serenity” philosophy, how one can be self-determined if he or she walks the path of serenity towards Stoicism.[9]

This book is the result of many, many years of pent-up dissonance, held back by a wall of acceptance. I could not allow that acceptance to continue, and so you read what you see here. That being the case, I wish you NOT to travel the same road I have, but I DO want you to arrive at the same spiritual destination.

Acceptance and “putting your life in God’s hands” – without trusting in God; relying on your own understanding - has to have a limit. It is unreasonable to expect that a moral man would not raise a finger to keep his family from harm, or to protect his neighbor from harm. Those who will not are not doing what the Bible says; they are not allowing God to use them as a vessel of His peace. Unfortunately, sometimes, in order to have peace, you have to kick some serious ass. A man who will do nothing on his own, expecting God to manage the details of his life is just lazy; he is apt to take his car down the highway one day and say, “Here, God, you take the wheel for a while, I need a catnap.” God will not do what we can and should do for ourselves. We can’t answer EVERY question with “I have faith in God”, and shirk our responsibilities behind a cloak of acceptance and make-believe “faith”.

No, my dear friends, I do NOT accept many things in this life. I do NOT accept the answers about the JFK assassination, the Vietnam war, or the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 – and as sure as I’m sitting here writing this, I certainly take everything the mainstream media tries to tell me with TWICE the proverbial grain of salt. I DON’T condone abortion on demand, sex education, or Outcome-Based Education, or believe that Attention Deficit Disorder is anything but a figment of a twisted imagination, and a corrupt profession.[10]

I don’t believe that Public Schools, the Federal income Tax, Welfare, or Social Security is authorized by the Constitution, either. Why do we have them? - It is a matter of “accepting the things we cannot change”, that’s how!

I personally can’t change it all – not in my lifetime, but I won’t accept it because everyone else seems not to want to rock the boat. I’M ROCKIN’ THE BOAT!... I’m “stirring the turd”!

Perhaps this will get people to start thinking... If it does, then I’ll consider this worth the effort. Perhaps I’ll start preaching, I don’t know. My Web site is a start, and I’ll let the Lord lead me to where it takes me. I’ll do whatever it takes; whatever is in my power to do, and my “serenity” will consist of knowing in my heart that I did the right thing. I will not sit around while evil triumphs and moral antinomy[11] prevails.


† Peace and Godspeed - WebPastor David Todeschini

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FOOTNOTES

[1] Also see “Little and Little”
[2] See: links to Citizen’s Commission on Human Rights and Freedom Magazine articles on www.Net4TruthUSA.com/cchrlinks.htm
[3] Buffalo (NY) news - the case of Kyle Carrol, pg. A-12
[4] Non-sequituer (Latin, legal) - “it does not (logically) follow”.
[5] Roe vs.Wade, 410 US 113, 93 S. Ct. 705 (1973)
[6] Inviable - incapable of sustaining life without the mother.
[7] See: “Vet’s Rap Session 5 & 6” and “Could it be true?” in my book: “Land Of Childhood’s Fears”.
[8] God’s grace is sufficient said Paul of Tarsus (2 Corinthians 12:9).
[9] Stoic - tending to bear up well.
[10] See: links to Citizen’s Commission on Human Rights and Freedom Magazine articles on www.Net4TruthUSA.com/cchrlinks.htm
[11] Antinomy - a paradox caused by a contradiction; “Catch-22” (see; “Moral Antinomy and Respondeat Superior”)