" THERE EXISTS GOLD , ALSO AN ABUNDACE OF CORALS ; BUT THE LIPS OF KNOWLEDGE ARE PRECIOUS VESSELS ." - Proverbs 20 : 15.

Myth , Fact

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" E-mail , text messaging and iPods are causing a global epidemic of shyness ," report Australia' s Sunday Telegraph. According to phsycholo-gist and researcher Robin Abrahams , shyness in social situations now affects about half the population , which represents a significant rise over past levels. "Thechnology is enabling us to opt out of difficult situations and causing people to become more insular ," says Abraham. "People. . . e-mail or txt one another rather than talk ."

FLAWED "BRICKS" OF HUMAN SOCIETY

1.) WE ARE ALL IMPERFECT. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." ( Romans 3 : 23) Just as flaws within bricks might cause a building to weaken and crumble , inherited imperfection in humans manifests itself in ways that can weaken society. These include tendencies toward corruption , dishonesty , greed , and abuse of power. This is nothing new. A wise Bible writer observed: "Man has dominated man to his injury." - Ecc. 8: 9.
Leaders in government and the judiciary acknowledge our imperfections and weaknesses and try to counteract these with reams of legislation. But they do so knowing full well that one cannot legislate love for one's fellow man or the desire to be law-abiding.

2.) DEATH OVERTAKES US. "Do not put your trust in nobkes , nor in the son of earthling man , to whom no salvation belongs. His spirit [ or life force] goes out , he goes back to his ground ; in that day his thoughts do perish ." (Ps. 146: 3 , 4) Considered to be one of the wisest rulers of all time , King Solomon of ancient Israel saw how futile his hard work might turn out to be. He wrote: "I , even I , hated all my hard work at which I was working hard under the sun , that I would leave behind for the man who would come to be after me. And who is there knowing whether he will prove to be wise or foolish? Yet he will take control over all my hard work... This too is vanity." -Ecc. 2: 18 , 19.

3.) GOOD SELF-RULE IS BEYOND US. "To earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step." (Jer. 10:23) Our imperfec-tions aside , the Bible teaches that according to God's original pusose , humans have neither the God-given right to rule themselves nor the ability to do so effectively. Why , for example , do people tend to chafe at the thought of another human or group of humans telling them what to do or setting moral or ethical standards for them ? The answer : We were created to look to a higher authority than ourselves for guidance in life . That authority is God .- Isaiah 33: 22 ; Acts 4: 19 ; 5: 29.

4.) HUMANS ARE INFLUENCED BY A HIDDEN RULER. " The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one "- Satan the Devil. ( 1 John 5 :19) If thd top management of a company was utterly corrupt - and untouchable - what could the average employee do to correct things? Little if anything. The same is true in regard to correcting the problems ultimately to the hidden rulers of this world - invisible , evil spirit creatures working under the overlordship of Satan. The Bible describes those rulers as " govern-ments ," "authorities ," "world rulers of this darkness ," and "wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places." - Ephesians 6: 12.
The Bible does not , however , simply exposed mankind' s failings and the world' s unseen rulers. It also provides good news in the form of a sure solution to our problems , thus giving us a sound basis for hope.