The Deep Roots of IntegrityWritten by David Leonhardt
I planted 81 trees this spring. Those trees with large root systems will surely grow strong and healthy, even if they look like just a twig above ground. Those with smaller root systems are in for a rough ride, even if they have several feet of trunk to them already.So, too, with people. Those of us who have nurtured our roots, our values, our integrity, what nobody else can see, will always be strong. Those of us who have neglected our integrity in favor of what world can see could be in for a rough ride. Take some time today to nurture your integrity. It is best investment a person can make.
| | God and the HackerWritten by Wayne Patterson
My computer was recently hacked and infected with a virus. This virus caused some files to continuously write to my hard drive using up all of my free space. The computer would suddenly freeze and I would get a low disk space message. Since this only occurred when certain programs were started you can imagine my frustration. I am not a computer expert and it took me several days to figure out problem. Then I spent several hours deleting infected programs and several more hours restoring my operating system. Not exactly a fun way to spend a beautiful Saturday.Along way I updated my obviously obsolete firewall and virus protection programs. The new scan eliminated several other viruses I had been unaware were infecting my computer. I had updated my operating system but had neglected to also update these programs and to be sure they were compatible with new system. Another change was switch from a dial-up connection to DSL. With new connection my computer is always connected to internet. Until hacking occurrence, I was unaware of extreme nature of risk I was taking with my computer and sensitive personal information. You may want to read another hacker inspired article about identify theft, "What do You Mean I Am Not Me," that is available on Scam Central page of our website. While waiting for various programs to load, I was preparing for next day's lesson since it was my turn to teach our Sunday School class. Midway through lesson I was struck by similarity between ourselves and our computers. In "Dial-up" mode we are connected to world only for short spurts of time. Our presence is not likely to be detected by "Great Hacker." Since we do not accept many new things into our lives, we do not come into contact with virus demons that can short-circuit our goals. As a result we allow our personal firewall to crumble and corrode. This happens when we stop going to church or praying on a regular basis. We lose contact with our Christian support group that has sustained us in past. We are doing just fine on our own. God has no place in our daily lives and we only think of Jesus at Easter or Christmas. We have also picked up a few "minor" viruses. Maybe we drink too much, but only on special occasions. Perhaps we mistreat our family, but only once in a while. We have allowed these viruses to slip into our lives because we convince ourselves that they do not really interfere with our day to day operations.
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