Spiritual Advantage with Sam Stone

Zhuangzi, the ancient Taoist sage, told this classic fable:
Once upon a time, a monkey keeper was in charge of feeding the monkeys twice a day. He told the monkeys, “I will feed you three chestnuts in the morning and four in the evening.” All the monkeys got angry and protested noisily.
He responded, “Okay, Okey! I will feed you four nuts in the morning and three in the evening.” Then every monkey was happy with the new arrangement. (End of story.)
When I first heard this story, it sounded funny. I thought the monkeys were stupid, and the monkey keeper could easily manipulate them. It’s the same number of nuts a day. What difference does it make?
However, as I grew older, I realized that this classic story is classic for a reason. Many choices we make in life are just like the monkeys in the story. We often think we make the right choices, but from a higher perspective, we have made naïve decisions.
I believe our founding fathers saw this human problem and designed the republic we have. Every two or four years, we have an election. During this time, people argue like crazy and choose a leader between Tweedledum and Tweedledee. The monkey keeper behind the scenes must be laughing at us.
During the COVID, some people thought the Pfizer vaccine was better, and others insisted on taking only Moderna. Still, many others refuse to get vaccinated. People from each group put down another for conspiracy.
I think regular coffee is better, but my breakfast buddy thinks decaffeinated is healthier. When you go to restaurants, the waiter comes with regular coffee in one hand and decaffeinated in another, asking, “Regular or decaf?” But, recently, I learned that most restaurants actually put decaf coffee in both pots to avoid liability because some people are sensitive to caffeine and could develop severe symptoms.
Nowadays, regular and decaffeinated coffees taste the same. You can’t tell the difference anyway. (No wonder I can’t keep myself awake after eating at a restaurant.) In this case, the restaurants are playing us just like the monkey keeper giving us the same thing in different pots to make us happy.
Now, this story kept me humble because it’s a parable about human nature. On the other hand, it also teaches us the wisdom of the monkey keeper, who didn’t insist on his way but graciously accommodated the monkeys even though the monkeys made irrational choices.
Now, the question is, how do we make the right choice? Psychologists and social scientists have discovered that most choices we make are emotional, not logical. We justify our decisions only afterward with logic, as if we have made intelligent and informed choices.
This scientific discovery reveals that most of us are trapped in our emotions, often unconsciously. Only those with a higher level of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) can experience freedom from the emotional trap. Still, emotions are only one of the traps that keep us from making the right decisions.
In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus reveals five traps that keep us from making the right decisions. In fact, he said that if we can’t overcome these five traps, we cannot become his disciples. So, today, let’s explore the freedom from the five traps so that we can make wise choices.

According to Forbes magazine, the United States and China rank top with the most billionaires in the world, followed by India, Germany, and Russia. However, many wealthy Chinese people keep a portion of their assets in the United States.
That means they don’t trust the stability of the totalitarian government. History shows things could turn dark overnight under a dictatorship. So, in case something should happen, they have planned to take shelter in the United States. That’s why most tycoons keep one foot in China and another in America.
Despite all the problems and complaints we have in the US, we are still the land of opportunity, security, and stability. Wise people say, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” You can say that those wealthy people are wise when they diversify their assets to reliable places to safeguard their rainy days.
However, we also know that we came naked into this world, and we will leave naked. No matter how many assets we can secure, they will belong to someone else after we die. A hundred years on earth is relatively short. In a blink of an eye, our hairs turn gray, our eyes dim, and our limbs weak.
Jesus said if God should take our lives today,
“‘The things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:20b-21).
There is an interesting phrase here, “rich toward God.” He is referring to storing treasures in heaven. Don’t you think it’s wiser to transfer your assets to where you are going rather than keeping them where you are leaving them behind? Jesus also said,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Mt 6:19–20).
Since we don’t store physical cash and coins today, there is no concern for moths and rust, but at the beginning of the Ukraine war, we heard many countries froze Russian oligarchs’ assets kept there. So, spreading your assets in other countries doesn’t mean they are safe and secured.
Jesus wants us to store our assets in a more secure place, heaven. He also said,
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mat 6:21).
That means while your body is still on earth, your heart can be in heaven. That’s living in heaven on earth. According to Jesus, that’s the most profound wisdom of living, and that’s what he meant by being “rich toward God” because you store your treasure where you are heading and enjoy life to the fullest.
So today, we will investigate three simple principles of the wisdom of living based on what Jesus taught us in this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

I was browsing Amazon.com some time back and landed on C.S. Lewis’ book page, “Mere Christianity.” As you all know, that’s one of the most read books in the 20th century, and naturally, you see nothing but raving five-star reviews. I wondered if there were any one-star reviews and what they had to say.
There is no perfection in this fallen world. Even if you created a masterpiece, you would still find some naysayers who try to pick bones inside an egg. Then, I found a negative review that drew my attention. It was short, “Christianity is a myth, and there’s no God.”
Out of curiosity, I commented on his review, saying, “You made a strong statement without support. Would you care to elaborate on how you got to that conclusion?”
He said he grew up in church, went through Sunday School, and learned the scripture says, “Ask, and it will be given to you.”  However, he had asked many times but was never given, so he stopped believing in Christianity because this verse is a piece of solid evidence that Christianity is false.
I said you shouldn’t take this verse out of context. He said, “Don’t give me that crap! I have heard it all. You Christians always try to defend the Bible with all kinds of excuses. This verse is black and white, the language is not vague, and the meaning is not debatable! It says plainly, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you.’ Since it’s proven untrue, Christianity is a sham.”
After further discussion, I discovered he was angry at God because his father passed away when he was only 12 years old. His father had cancer, and he asked God to heal him, but his prayer was not fulfilled the way he wished. So, ever since his father died, he had abandoned God.
He left me speechless. I felt for him since his request was reasonable. He wasn’t asking God to let him win a lottery or make him rich. He simply wanted to grow up with his father. It was difficult for a 12-year-old to reconcile such tragedy with a Bible verse taken out of context. I hope he eventually reconciled with God.
I wished God miraculously answered his prayer and kept his faith. I also wish all my prayers get answered unconditionally. However, God is not a genie. Some people think prayers are like rubbing Aladin’s Lamp and expect God to come out like the genie, saying, “Your wish is my command.”
The truth is that God has bigger fish to fry. However, Jesus did make a bold promise to answer our prayers. He says,
“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Luke 11:9-10).
He says, “everyone who asks receives.” That’s a bold promise, but we know every promise comes with a premise, and every text has a context. If we study the context and understand the premise, we crack the code to the kind of prayer God answers, and we will never get stuck wondering why our prayer is not answered and get disappointed, discouraged, and lose faith.
Today, we will put the text in the context, the promise in the premise to discover the kind of prayer God answers based on what Jesus taught us in this week’s scripture lesson. So, let’s begin!

You might have heard in the news about the giant lifelike 3D cat on a billboard in Tokyo, attracting fans from around the country and even worldwide. If you have never seen it, search on the web for the “giant 3d cat in Tokyo,” and you will find reports about it. (Don’t do it now until after this message.) During the pandemic, this giant cat served as a source of anxiety relief for people living in Tokyo.
Humans love dogs because they are faithful, and we love cats because they are graceful. We love them maybe because they quench our thirst for faith and grace in this fallen world. Cats can also teach us something about balancing rest, play, and work.
Jesus wants us to observe nature and learn how to live a balanced life. For example, he asks us to look at the birds of the air and flowers of the field to appreciate their beauty and learn from them how not to worry about life and how God constantly provides them.
As you may already know, Japan loves cats—they invented Hello Kitty, started Cat Cafés, and even established a Zen temple for cats. Some monks believe cats personified the Zen spirit because they know how to achieve maximum effect with minimum effort. They avoid confrontation, but when they must fight, they fight like Bruce Lee, knocking off their opponents in the shortest time possible.
Sleeping about 16 hours a day, cats may appear lazy, but they can concentrate every bit of energy on a single task with laser focus. You will agree that cats are highly efficient if you have seen documentaries from Discovery, National Geographic, or Animals channels about how the feline family functions.
Their bodies are like liquid, but they can suddenly turn into powerful fighting machines to attack and even seriously injure an enemy ten times their size. So, they possess both humility and vitality, serenity and fortitude. Most importantly, their efficiency comes from focusing on a single task.
As humans, we can improve our health and wholeness by focusing on one task at a time. Distraction can cause anxiety. Anxiety, in turn, can cause distraction. So, it’s a vicious cycle. If you can focus on one thing, you will be highly efficient and able to maintain your mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus warned one of his best friends, Martha, about the distraction that had driven her crazy. She was showing symptoms of chronic anxiety that could ruin her sanity and relationship with her sister and others, including Jesus. Jesus said,
“Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.” (Lk 10:41–42a).
Jesus diagnosed that Martha’s anxiety comes from being distracted by many things and prescribed the solution by asking her to focus on one thing. The problem is, how do we choose the one thing to focus on when we have a thousand options on our plate in this busy world?
When we study the context, we discover that Jesus was not talking about any one thing but the one thing that keeps us on the right path and maintains our sanity and well-being. Today we will explore this one thing from the scripture lesson so we can also lead a healthy and happy life. Let’s begin!

About 20 years ago, I read a book by the famous inventor and scientist Ray Kurzweil, “The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology.” It’s a very thick book, but the gist is that by around 2025-2030, science will reach a breakthrough to eternal life. Specifically, merging biology and GNR (genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics) will make it possible for us to cure every disease and replace or renew every part of our body.
Death becomes optional by then. It might sound hard to believe, but few people dared to discount his forecast because he had creditability, and his prediction was based on data. He predicted the coming of the Internet decades before it happened. So, it’s hard to dismiss him. He has been frequently invited by reputable institutions such as Havard, Standford, and MIT to give his presentations.
I am mentioning this because we are now in 2022. Based on Kurzweil’s prediction, we are about three years away from eternal life, eight years at the most. That means if you hang in there for another eight years, you will live forever. I wonder how many people still believe him after the pandemic.
There’s one problem. Kurzweil is an atheist. So, he also predicted that religions would become obsolete by then because he believes religions are invented by humans only because we fear death. If death is no longer an issue, religions are no longer needed. That’s terrible news for me because it means I would not have a job!
I love science because I believe science is a form of stewardship of God’s creation. I hope Kurzweil is right that we will attain eternal life through science. If that day did come, I had nothing to lose. However, if Jesus is right that eternal life comes only through Christ, then Kurzweil has everything to lose.
I remember Chairman Mao of China said that we don’t need religions because science will give us eternal life. Unfortunately, he died long before science could give him what he wanted.
Kurzweil and Mao failed to understand that religion is not about the quantity of life but the quality of life. Who wants to live forever in this messy and fallen world? Only a quality life is worth living for eternity. The eternal life Jesus offered us is more about the quality of life than the quantity of life because eternity is the realm of God, or the kingdom of God. He said,
“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10).
Again, by “abundantly,” Jesus is not talking about material abundance but the quality of life. Another translation says, “live life to the fullest” (CEB). Jesus made it very easy for us to raise our quality of life through two simple commandments known as the Great Commandments—love God and love people, nothing more and nothing less.
He said, “Do this and you will live!” By “live,” he is talking about eternal living because he was answering a question about eternal life. So, today, let’s explore this crucial teaching of “Do this and you will live” because we all want to live abundantly and fully now and for eternity.
Today, we are dealing with a very familiar passage, but we must pay full attention to it because if we miss this, we miss everything. Jesus didn’t say, “know this and you will live,” but “do this and you will live.” So today we will talk about what to do. Let’s begin!

A few years ago, I was at a gym on a Saturday, but I wasn’t aware that their closing time was different from the weekdays I used to go. As I took my shower, I wondered why there was no one there, and the attendant came to rush me. I wonder why he sounded so impatient and somewhat rude.
To make things worse, I could not open my locker after the shower. My glasses were inside it. Maybe I didn’t see the numbers on my combination lock clearly. I was sure I had the correct number, but it refused to open no matter how many times I tried.
The attendant got very impatient and rushed in with a bolt cutter and cut my lock off. Then, I was a little annoyed that he destroyed my favorite lock that I had had for years. As I left the gym, I saw the closing time posted at the front desk.
I felt sorry and told him, “All you needed to do was tell me that you close at this time, and I would have left sooner.” However, the experience left a bad taste in me, and I decided not to renew my membership. That gym is now closed permanently. Go figure!
Anyway, that was the first time I saw how easily you could break a lock using a bold cutter. No wonder many people got their bicycles stolen easily. Most chain locks cannot survive a powerful bolt cutter.
That reminds me of a fable about “The Crowbar and a Key.” Once upon a time, there was a treasure vault that contained gold and diamonds. A strong and sturdy lock secured the vault. The mighty Crowbar laughed at the lock, saying, “No lock has ever survived my power. I can take it apart in no time.”
Crowbar began prying the lock and soon found he had met a formidable contender. After using his full force against the lock with sparks flying all over the room, he was exhausted. Then a small Key entered the room, and she said, “Why are all the noises and smokes? I know how to open the vault.”
Crowbar laughed, “I have been trying all day long and couldn’t open it. Why do you think you can do a better job, a weak little piece of key?” Without saying a word, Ms. Key unlocked the vault gracefully and effortlessly. Then she said, “I can open the lock because I can feel what’s in his heart.”
This fable reveals an aspect of human nature. Many of our solutions to our problems are like using a crowbar to open a lock. An immediate example is how Russia uses a crowbar to break the lock of Ukraine. In relationships, we often use harsh words to get the point across. It’s a quick-fix mentality.
However, we forget that quick fixes are often not quick. They leave long-term destruction behind. The destruction of lives and properties in Ukraine or any war will take years to repair. In the same way, the destruction we make in our relationships will take a long time to heal because of a shortcut we take.
Back to my lock at the gym, the attendant could have offered to check the combination for me before cutting it off. I wouldn’t be mad if he cut it off after unsuccessfully helping me unlock it. He had a quick fix in his mind before thinking about saving the key or the customer relationship.
I want to compare the story of “The Crowbar and the Key” with Jesus’ teaching of being lambs among wolves. As the Lamb of God, Jesus revealed that the key to unlocking this fallen world is being lambs, not wolves. When we think about lambs, we think about vulnerable creatures, but they are, in fact, the key to the kingdom.
It’s like the Taoist philosophy of being like water. Water humbly seeks the lowly places but is powerful to overcome all hardships in the long run. Today let us explore how Jesus teaches us to be lambs among wolves and accomplish our mission effectively and effortlessly. So, let’s begin!

When I think about rejection, Colonel Harland Sanders often comes to mind. Most of you know him as the founder of KFC—Kentucky Fried Chicken. After the Second World War, he tried franchising his fried chicken recipe to restaurants, asking them to pay him only four cents for each piece of chicken they sold, but every restaurant rejected him.
He didn’t give up and kept going to one shop after another until the 1009th restaurant bought his recipe. Can you imagine getting over a thousand rejections? I would have given up after ten rejections. By then, I would think my recipe or the strategy must be useless. How many rejections can you handle?
There are many types of rejections. Of course, sales rejection might be the easiest to handle because you are proposing a transaction. Other rejections are hard to handle. Particularly it gets turned down when you offer a kind gesture to someone or after you work hard to make a presentation.
Sometimes, criticisms are a form of rejection also. Some people are good at dumping criticism at you egotistically. Handling rejection used to be hard for me. A desire for retaliation could brew inside me for days. Sometimes, it explodes after suppressing for a long time, but I am improving!
Sometimes, an unanswered prayer can make you feel rejected by God. Worse yet, a tragedy can make you feel rejected by the Holy One. I know of a pastor who led a thriving church. His wife played the piano, and their children sang in the children’s choir. The entire family was faithful and devoted.
However, one day a car accident tragically killed the son. The father couldn’t handle it and suddenly disappeared, leaving the church without a pastor, the wife without the husband, and the children without the father when they needed him most. He never returned.
Surprisingly, years later, the daughter grew up and became a pastor. She told this story in heart-wrenching humor. There was not a single dried eye in the crowd. In the same tragedy, the father lost faith, feeling rejected by God, but the daughter gained resilience and got closer to God.
We live in a fallen world where we must deal with fallen people and tragedies. God’s will is not always done here on earth, and that’s why Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy will be done.” If God’s will is done here, it will be heaven already.
How do you live in this fallen world? Jesus taught us resilience. Don’t forget that our Lord has been rejected all the time by his own folks in his hometown to eventually being crucified on the cross. He was rejected from birth, having no place to be born, and his king tried to hunt for him to kill him.
He was even rejected by his Heavenly Father at the time he needed him most. He cried on the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Did he deserve it? Throughout the Bible, we read about his faithful service to God. He had every right to ask that question. He knows rejection!
No one in this world understands you more than Jesus. So, if you feel rejected, Jesus is the one you need to learn from. He taught his disciples to handle rejection through resilience because that’s the only way to live through this fallen world. You need resilience not only to survive but also to serve.
So, today we will learn how Jesus taught us to be resilient so that we can stop reacting to rejection, facing unnecessary stress, anxiety, depression, and broken relationships. Let’s begin!

Have you ever heard of a Rent-a-Sister program? Like a Rent-a-Car business, Rent-a-Sister is where you can rent a female person who accompanies you like a sister. The program was created in Japan to address the growing issue of men withdrawing from society and refusing to leave their rooms. They are known as Hikikomori (引きこもり). It translates to “pulling inward, being confined,” also known as “Acute Social Withdrawal” syndrome.
About a million young men have this condition in Japan. They don’t leave home. Many of them still live with their parents, but they don’t leave their bedrooms. Some of them haven’t left home for a decade. Some were violent against their parents when they persuaded them to go out. The parents in this situation would go to the Rent-a-Sister company to hire a sister for their son.
These sisters for hire are not social workers or psychologists. All they do is talk to their client like a sister for a few hours a week. They are not cheap. It costs the parents about $1,000 a month. Since they don’t see it as a mental illness, Rent-a-Sister is a great alternative to seeing a psychologist. In America, we might treat it as a mental health problem. That’s a different topic.
I discovered this on BBC News. As of 2019, this program has helped about 3,000 young men come out of their hiding places. When asked, they revealed they have social anxiety caused by shame, failure, confusion, rejection, fear, bullying, not fitting in, and many other reasons.
Most of us are not in such extreme conditions, but I believe we all are on the spectrum of social anxiety and a tendency to isolate ourselves. In America, we live in comparatively big houses with big yards. We can isolate ourselves in the name of privacy.
Each one is different in terms of social anxiety. Some people don’t want to attend school alumni gatherings because they don’t want to see their old classmates doing better than them. Do you have a specific social group that you avoid?
Our quality of life depends on relationships. Last week, I discussed God as the author of love and healthy relationship. The Trinity reveals that God is not a lone ranger but a fellowship of love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God’s present mission is to restore broken relationships in this fallen world.
Today I want to talk about the opposite spirits known as “demons.” I have never seen demons, but I have discovered that the Hebrew word Satan (sataan) is a verb made noun (gerund) meaning “to oppose,” “to entice,” or “to be in adversarial.” It’s more of behavior rather than a creature.
Since God is love and healthy relationships, Satan is to create broken relationships. This force or spirit is also called the “unclean spirit,” as opposed to the “Holy Spirit,” which is the “Clean Spirit.” Sometimes they are called “demons,” “devils,” or “evil spirits.”
No matter how you call it, their job is to make you unable to relate with others. The demons instill excuses in people, giving them reasons to stay away from one another. You won’t see demons as creatures with horns and fangs, but you see them everywhere where broken relationships exist.
There is a man in the Bible who had 6000 demons or 6000 excuses to stay away from people. In fact, he lived in the tombs instead of a house. Even though this is an extreme case, it teaches us some important lessons about how we can fall into the opposite side of love and relationships.
Mencius, the great philosopher, said that relationship is the fundamental requirement for success. If you want to succeed in life, you cannot let demons possess you. Demons are everywhere in this fallen world. If you don’t pay attention, you can easily fall into their traps and unconsciously become a recluse.
On the other hand, if you have healthy relationships, God has a mission for you to be a peacemaker, restore broken relationships, and bear witness to the joy of love and harmony. Today, we will study the story of Jesus driving out 6000 demons from a man who lost his ability to relate. So, let’s begin!