Every good and perfect gift is from above

If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If God cannot do this, then it is time we got rid of Him. -- THE FIRE NEXT TIME BY JAMES BALDWIN, 1963

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. JAMES 1:17–18

God of every good and perfect gift, give us the strength to manifest your love and compassion in the world today.

Garrett, Greg. The Courage to See (Kindle Locations 213-214). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition. 

As far as I'm concerned, Stephen Colbert is a good and perfect gift. Not the only one, but he is one.



Can we agree that covid19 is not a good gift. And neither is, as Colbert called him, disease vector Donald Trump.

A disease vector is a living organism that can transmit infection to a succession of hosts. Most disease vectors are insects, and the mosquito is responsible for causing the most human illnesses in the world. Fleas and ticks are also common disease vectors.

Maybe Colbert was joking. Similar to how Trump "hypothetically" was joking about slowing down testing for covid19 infections?

But in a sense, Trump IS such a vector. He packed 3,000 people into a church in Phoenix on Tuesday (June 23).

The vast majority of those people were young adult white people... very few of whom wore masks to prevent the transmission of the virus.

Dozens of Secret Service officers and agents who were on site for President Trump’s rally in Tulsa last week were ordered to self-quarantine after two of their colleagues tested positive for the novel coronavirus, part of the fallout from Trump’s insistence on holding the mass gathering over the objections of public health officials.

The Secret Service instructed employees who worked the Tulsa event to stay at home for 14 days when they returned from the weekend trip, according to two people familiar with the agency’s decision.

The order came in the wake of the discovery — hours before the president’s Saturday evening rally — that at least six advance staffers who helped organize the trip had tested positive for the virus, including two Secret Service employees. Another two advance staffers tested positive after Trump returned to Washington on Sunday.

By the way, whenever you've heard Trump talk about "The Bible" have you ever heard him pray for strength to manifest or demonstrate God's love and compassion?

Right, neither have I.

This is Arizona's curve with data current as of June 21. Wouldn't it be nice, whether you're a believer or not, for Trump and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to -- rather than complain about being victimized by critics -- be at least working to flatten the curve in our state?