Sunday Service: Take Up Your Cross

from Matthew, Then Jesus told his disciples, if anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me, for whoever would save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life from my sake will find it. What will I profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? What does that even mean? How does it apply to you and your life? If it even does? That’s what we’ll figure out today. Welcome to the Sunday service. So what does it mean? To pick up your cross, take up your cross and to follow him follow Jesus. I think fundamentally, it means that it’s obedience to God. And I think that there are also a lot of other things you can read into that. We’re all familiar with the term spike cross to bear my responsibility, my duty, my obligation, my work, when I’m called to do what I must do to all of these things. When Jesus took up his cross, he did it with great humility and obedience to his father, he put God’s will in his love for all of us above himself to the point of his death. Taking up our cross means putting aside our selfish desires, and following God’s will, for our lives. We’re all at least anybody who’s thinking about it, many of us are thinking about, think about, what’s the point of this? What’s the point of life? What’s the meaning of life? Existential, heavy, giant questions? What’s my purpose, what’s my why? That’s what this is. This is picking up your cross taking up your cross means that it’s figuring out what it is. And picking it up. And carrying it putting aside our winds are short term desires and thinking more in favor of in service of deeper meaning, greater good. Think about the highest and best use of your resources, I’ve talked a lot about our most valuable resources of time, attention, energy and money. And think that a big part of getting what we want out of life is making sure that we are allocating those resources to finding the highest and best use of and for those resources. And the more we can align them, the allocation of those with what is truly important, then the closer we’re gonna get to the lives that we truly want. And that’s what this is all about. So a big part of it. A big part of this is self denial. And I, I am not a monk, I have not taken a vow of poverty, by any stretch of the imagination. I do plenty of things. For the sake of fun, and joy and pleasure. I put delicious food in my mouth. That isn’t good for me. I drink things that are tasty, but I know that it’s not my best interest necessarily. So it’s not about totally being 100%. On this all the time, it’s doing our best to do the majority and to get as much of our resources aligned to what’s most important. That’s what it’s all about. It’s not a game of perfect. So, Christianity, obviously, that was from the Bible from Matthew, that actual verse and story of Jesus is story of Christianity. And there are other most every other major in fact, all other major world religions talk about this, and certainly addressed this. So I think that there’s much to be learned and gained from an exploration of not only Christianity, but the other major world religions as well. So that’s what I want to do with you today. But in Christianity, self denial is a key aspect of spiritual discipline, spiritual discipline. It’s a great time. You familiar with self discipline, what about spirit Sure discipline, where are you at, from a level of spiritual discipline. And for not thinking about it, we’re not intentional about it, we’re probably not great at that. Jesus taught his followers to deny themselves and to take up their crosses. And that takes the form of fasting, prayer, giving, with an emphasis on living a life that reflects Jesus’s sacrifices, and teachings. So again, the Jesus said to His disciples, Whoever wants to be, my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. So to put a greater good ahead of your own. That’s what this is all about. I know that I’ve always wanted to feel like I was part of something bigger than myself. And to try and live a more selfless life, not just my ego, certainly my ego, but also the way that I interact with with with other people and how I again, spend my resources. In Islam, self-analysis practice through fasting, during the holy month of Ramadan, where Muslims abstain from food, drink and other physical needs, from dawn until sunset. And this practice is meant to cultivate self control, gratitude and empathy for the less fortunate. And certainly, I know how blessed I am, and how fortunate I am, in many, many, many, many aspects of my life. And keep it in perspective. Keep it in mind that there are literally billions of people currently living the same planet as me that have nowhere near the amount of resources and privileges and whatever. I’m just very fortunate in order to keep that in mind. The Quran it says, Oh, you who are believed to create upon you as fasting, as it was decreed upon those before that you may become righteous. So fasting, too fast, have you ever fasted, intermittent fasting has become a very, very, very popular thing. But not necessarily from a spiritual perspective, I think a lot of us do it, myself included, to lose weight to be healthy. But it is a very, very, very long tradition and practice. Simply going without of denying ourselves. Not because I’m trying to lower my body fat, but because I’m trying to deepen my relationship with with God with our Creator. So fasting, people certainly do it in every major religion, every different philosophy or practice, so nothing but a positive thing. In Buddhism, self denial is linked to the concept of renunciation, where monks and nuns give up world worldly possessions, and desires, and quest to attain enlightenment. So this practice is based on the belief that attachment to material things and desires, the to suffering. The Four Noble Truths, which include the idea that desire is the cause of suffering, and that overcoming desire leads to the cessation of suffering. So in Buddhism, one of the main ideas is that of dukkha. And that is that life is suffering. And that sounds really strange. If you’ve never, you’ve never encountered this idea or thought about it. But then you think about it, you say life is suffering, and not because you’re mortally injured and you’re experiencing pain, but that certainly is, but suffering that we don’t get what we want, that we have disagreements with our loved ones that we age, and we’re no longer able to do the things that we used to do that. It’s really in every aspect of our lives, you can break down and look that a main feature or bug of humanity, and that really is a bug is that of consistent suffering. And therefore the Buddhist tradition is one of the main things is how do I detach myself from these things, and an effort to hold overcome the suffering.

Because when I cultivate a level of detachment from aging, from disappointment, from physical pain from a lack from not having exactly what I want, well, then I’m moving closer to the idea of being an enlightened person. I think that it’s extremely interesting. And a lot of that is accomplished through meditation and practice and meditation. And I think it’s definitely worth exploring as all of these ideas are. Hinduism teaches self denial through various practices like fasting, meditation, and asceticism. asceticism is the opposite, essentially, of it is the opposite of what is the term that I’m searching for right now. Simply trying to get everything that I want, for the sake of only what I want hedonism. So asceticism is the opposite of hedonism, a hedonist cares for nothing other than meeting their own needs. Immediately. asceticism is the opposite. It’s it’s the denial of of that. It’s turning down, comfort, and pleasure. And, again, self denial. So the idea is that trying to control the mind the senses, trying to detach from worldly possessions, and focus on spiritual growth and the union with God and what the divine in the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavad Gita, it says, He who was able, while still here on earth to withstand the force of desire and anger before the livers, liberation of the body, death is a yogi. He is a happy man. So are you able to withstand the force of desire and anger? Hmm. So not just the things that I want but also to not fall victim to anger and rage and hatred. So think about just right. I’m not going to go too hot, not going to get mad. And I’m also not going to pursue happiness all the time, pleasure, gratification, self gratification, I will practice self denial. And Judaism self denial is seen in practices like fasting on Yom Kippur War, the Day of Atonement where Jews stain from food, drink and other pleasures to purify themselves and to seek forgiveness. Self Denial is also present in Tikun Olam, repairing the world which involves putting one putting others needs before one’s own. The Torah says afflict your souls referring to the practice of fasting on Yom Kippur war. These practices across all major religions emphasize self control, spiritual growth, empathy, and a deeper connection with the Divine or to higher principles. What is the standard that I’m living? Do I have a standard that I’m living under? Am I pursuing a higher calling my pursuing something beyond simply me? Or can I not see past my own nose? My soul wrapped up in simply satiating my needs. That I don’t care about anything else. I’m just blown right past the other human beings, I don’t care. I want what I want when I want it. I’m essentially a child. That’s got some kids at home that are well versed in that practice. They’re not into the self denial thing, because they’re little kids. That as we age as we grow, what is it that we’re pursuing? What is most important to us? That’s it. That’s that’s the whole thing. That’s the game. For lack of a better term to do what must be done in service of what matters most. So we need to know what matters most to us. This is why Jesus and these other all other major world religions, lay it out and they give the path it’s in self-denying. Well, it’s not in hedonism, it’s not in meeting all of our, our worldly needs and desires. Then again, I’m not saying you abstain for those completely, not aesthetic. asceticism is I don’t think that that’s a sustainable route. And I’m a human being. And the fact that we are fallen and flawed and prone to sin is a feature of, of our existence. But figuring out what is most important, what matters most, and then doing what must be done in service of what matters most in service of the world that you want to live in and the life that you want to have. When we start pursuing self interest, when we only pursue winning, and getting what we want, and do so at the cost of everything else. That’s when it all falls apart. And you can see this, in most every aspect of our lives today. Where we are falling woefully short of what God wants for us. And what God knows how we need to be conducting ourselves and what leads to a good life. Accepting spiritual responsibility, demands that we accept personal responsibility in the face of difficulty, it demands that we take ownership of all of it. And that is God’s plan. That we are acting in obedience to God. accepting responsibility in the face of difficulty to look for something heavy, pick it up and to carry it to shoulder the burden. That sounds good to you. Sound good? Shoulder a burden? Well, the toddler says no. The man the woman says yes. That’s what we’re talking about. Are you gonna hit snooze, turn on the TV, and let somebody else worry about it. A virtuous and righteous person asks, not what God in the world can do for them. But what they can do for God and the world. You mean so many things in so many different contexts, putting your fork down and getting up from the table, getting out of bed and getting moving when you don’t feel like it. It’s spending time with your loved ones and doing the things that they want to do. Even when you’re tired and you don’t feel like it. It’s choosing discomfort, over comfort. It’s recognizing the buck stops with you, and with no one else. If the future that you want is to be. It is up to you. It’s to be it’s up to me. It’s knowing that you are the woman or the man for the job. You’re the guy you’re the gal except accepting that responsibility. All of that means that you are a soldier of God. It means accepting responsibility. Taking up your cross, walking up the hill. It means doing your part by doing your best

george grombacher 16:00
So if I want my iPhone, and my Tesla and my Bitcoin to work, we need to get the metal out of the ground.

Pierre Leveille 16:07
Absolutely. Without it, we cannot do it.

george grombacher 16:13
Why? Why is there a Why has production been going down.

Pierre Leveille 16:21
Because the large mines that are producing most of the copper in the world, the grades are going down slowly they’re going there, they’re arriving near the end of life. So and of life of mines in general means less production. And in the past, at least 15 years, the exploration expenditure for copper were pretty low, because the price of copper was low. And when the price is low, companies are tending to not invest more so much in exploration, which is what we see today. It’s it’s, it’s not the way to look at it. Because nobody 15 years ago was able to predict that there would be a so massive shortage, or it’s so massive demand coming. But in the past five years, or let’s say since the since 10 years, we have seen that more and more coming. And then the by the time you react start exploring and there’s more money than then ever that is putting in put it in expression at the moment for copper at least. And what we see is that the it takes time, it could take up to 2025 years between the time you find a deposit that it gets in production. So but but the year the time is counted. So it’s it’s very important to so you will see company reopening old mines, what it will push also, which is not bad, it will force to two, it will force to find a it will force to find ways of recalibrating customer, you know the metals, that will be more and more important.

george grombacher 18:07
So finding, okay, so for lack of a better term recycling metals that are just sitting around somewhere extremely important. Yeah. And then going and going back to historic minds that maybe for lack of technology, or just lack of will or reasons, but maybe now because there’s such a demand, there’s an appetite to go back to those.

Pierre Leveille 18:33
Yes, but there will be a lot of failures into that for many reasons. But the ones that will be in that will resume mining it’s just going to be a short term temporary solution. No it’s it’s not going to be you need to find deposit that will that will operate 50 years you know at least it’s 25 to 50 years at least and an old mind that you do in production in general it’s less than 10 years.

george grombacher 19:03
Got it. Oh there we go. Up here. People are ready for your difference making tip What do you have for them

Pierre Leveille 19:14
You mean an investment or

george grombacher 19:17
whatever you’re into, you’ve got so much life experience with raising a family and doing business all over the world and having your kids go to school in Africa so a tip on copper or whatever you’re into.

Pierre Leveille 19:34
But there’s two things I like to see and I was telling my children many times and I always said you know don’t focus on what will bring you specifically money don’t think of Getting Rich. Think of doing what you what you like, what you feel your your your your your, you know you have been born to do so use your most you skills, do what you like, do what you wet well, and good things will happen to you. And I can see them grow in their life. And I can tell you that this is what happens. And sometimes you have setback like I had recently. But if we do things properly, if we do things that we like, and we liked that project, we were very passionate about that project, not only me, all my team, and if we do things properly, if we do things correctly, good things will happen. And we will probably get the project back had to go forward or we will find another big project that will be the launch of a new era. So that’s my most important tip in life. Do what you like, do it with your best scale and do it well and good things will happen.

george grombacher 20:49
Pierre Leveille 21:03
Thank you. I was happy to be with you to today.

george grombacher 21:06
Damn, tell us the websites and where where people can connect and find you.

Pierre Leveille 21:13
The it’s Deep South resources.com. So pretty simple.

george grombacher 21:18
Perfect. Well, if you enjoyed this as much as I did show up here your appreciation and share today’s show with a friend who also appreciate good ideas, go to deep south resources, calm and learn all about what they’re working on and track their progress.

Pierre Leveille 21:32
Thanks. Thanks, have a nice day.

george grombacher 21:36
And until next time, keep fighting the good fight. We’re all in this together.