The spin is in

I listened to this story awhile ago on This American Life
The Fix Is In (2000)

About an international price-fixing conspiracy for lysine and other amino acids that are used in food production. One of the executives involved ended up spilling it to the FBI because he figured the FBI is quite savvy and would figure it out while he was under investigation for something else. Eventually, he comes to the realization that the FBI probably wouldn't have discovered it and being an informant is a really big hassle.

Hollywood turned the story into a comedy starring Matt Damon.
The Informant (2009)

Source: www.moviewallpaper.net

Blockbuster in Sunnyvale is going out of business and I picked up a copy for 99 cents.
It's pretty funny. I think it helps hearing the radio story so you don't miss any subtleties in the movie.

The movie portrayed Mark Whitacre as confident, talkative, a bit aloof, not a very good listener (especially to his lawyers) and a compulsive liar that nearly destroyed his company. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder but still sentenced to federal prison for embezzlement (a practice that may have been common among executives at the company).

You would think after that unpleasant portrait was disseminated into the public he wouldn't be able to get a job... but he's currently COO of another company.

The movie didn't get great reviews but I still enjoyed it.

Marriage 5 - Entrusted

Continuation of notes from the marriage seminar.

 answersingenesis.org

In The Fear of God
The New International Version of Ephesians 5:21 says we are submissive out of obedience and the King James Version of Ephesians 5:21 says we are submissive "in the fear of God."

God is omniscient, He is all-knowing and very aware. God is paying attention. If you don't treat others well, you will need to answer to God. We will be held accountable for how we treated each other in the context of marriage.

Responsible to God
We have accountability for how we treat each other in fear of God. We have a Responsibility to God.

One day,

God may ask you,

"How did you care for the one I entrusted to you?"

Doing Life Together + 1
When considering marriage, most people decide that the person they are set to marry is the person who they want to do life with. The two parties decide they want to do life together, but there is a third party. God.


The Marriage Ceremony
At this point the speaker gives a demonstration of this great deal God has entrusted to each of us and how He is a member of the marriage too. He pulled up a couple that had been married longer than most in the crowd and positioned them as they stood before the officiator on their wedding day. 

First he stood by the wife and spoke to the husband.
When you got married to your wife, did you realize that she is a creation of God? God only created one of her in the whole world and God is crazy about her. God loves greatly her and wants you to give her everything He wants her life to be. So when you married her, you weren't entering a pact to do life together, it was a pact with God. God is entrusting her to you.

He turns to stand by the husband and spoke something similar to the wife.

The Pronouncement
During the traditional pronouncement at the end of the wedding ceremony, the officiant says something along the lines of

"By the authority committed to me by _[governing body]_, I declare that _[person A]_ and _[person B]_ are now husband and wife, according to the ordinance of God, and the law of this state: in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Those whom God hath joined together, let no man put asunder."

"Those whom God hath joined together, let no one put asunder." means let no one come between to harm or destroy this union. This includes the people in the audience, people outside of the marriage, but also the two people within the marriage.

After the part the officiator pronounces them husband and wife, they are told you may kiss the bride.

Lesson: God entrusted you with your spouse and you will be held accountable with how you treat him/her.

Marriage 4 - Terrible Petition

Continuation of my notes from the marriage seminar.

answersingenesis.org

Women Remember everything.
Somehow, women are able to remember everything. This includes sins, times they were wronged, and disappointments. They are able to recount all these things.

The speaker has seen this happen many times. Slowly the individual become less thoughtful, less giving, less patient and become more distant because something has happened in the marriage. Something happened, some event, and one individual is unwilling to free the other person from the sin.

Many things will happen in a marriage (and any relationship). Some bad. But there is a beautiful thing called "Forgiveness."

A Terrible Petition
There is a portion in the Lord's Prayer that goes:

"[LORD] forgive us of our sins 

as we have forgiven those those who sin against us"

This section is also called A Terrible Petition*.
 If we don't forgive, it brings into question if we are truly forgiven.

----------

Footnote: 

*I didn't write down much about the Terrible Petition, so I looked elsewhere online. I found this site that elaborated a bit more.

We all know to pray and confess our sins and we will be forgiven by the grace of God. But it doesn't stop there, the second line sounds like the way God treats us is tied to how we treat others. If we do not forgive others, God does not forgive you. Augustine called this part in the Lord's Prayer "a Terrible Petition" because if we pray the Lord's Prayer with an unforgiving heart, you are cursing yourself to not be forgiven. Preacher Charles Spurgeon described this as signing your own "death warrant".

Being unforgiving can lead to a whole host problems such as trapping yourself in feelings of resentment and bitterness, grudges, broken relationships, imprisoning yourself with addictions, creating a barrier between you and God, not living life as God had intended, hindering others' emotional and spiritual health, not welcoming God's blessings and forgiveness in your own life, becoming an enemy of God, and living an unfulfilled life.

Choose to forgive as an act of free will. Pray for the other person and do not judge them.

Marriage 3 - It Takes One

Continuation of my notes from the marriage seminar.

answersingenesis.org

It Takes 1.

Most people say it takes two to make a marriage work. If one person gives up or messes up really bad, some people the marriage won't work and divorce is the only course of action. Irreconcilable differences? Hear that one before?

The speaker believed
it only takes ONE person to save the marriage.

Divorce is Allowed but God Hates it.
Divorce came from rabbinical law, surprisingly from God. Though God created marriage and hates divorce, He also created divorce for certain situations and for those people who are too selfish to reconcile. Remember the point in the previous notes about SELFISHNESS? It's quite a problem.

Before Choosing Divorce, Try Being Nice.
The speaker recounted a story of a woman from his church who came in for a counseling session. Her husband was a drinker who was rarely home, always out in the bars drinking after work, and came home to pass out. Other people really liked her husband but this was a tough life for her, she rarely saw him. She was left to run the household, care for the kids and she this was her daily life for years. She wanted a divorce. Though she came in for counseling, what she really wanted was blessing for a divorce.

There have been a few situations when the speaker did end up agreeing for divorce for some of the couples, many people would hear her story and tell her she needs to leave him, but his response was different. Boy was she surprised when his advice to her was the treat him nicer. Not just treat him nicer, but to talk to him and ask him about the kids. She was furious! She disappeared for a few months and stopped showing up at church.

About 8 months later she came in for another counseling session. She admitted to being very upset and angry at the him (the speaker) for months. He had stolen her exit, her easy way out. One day she decided to try some of the things he suggested. She woke up early to make her husband breakfast, because morning was the only time she could meet with him, served him breakfast, asked him advice about some things and followed through with his answer. Slowly they talked more and she brought up the kids. Though he was not around much, he still cared about his kids. She told him that the kids needed his help and he came home after work instead of going to the bar to help with the family. Eventually, he stopped going to the bar and coming home every night.


Lesson: Treat your spouse as gold even if they are undeserving.

Be determined to treat the other person like gold, whether they are worthy or not.

Treat others the way God wanted them to be treated. 

Theme: Don't Be Fair, Be Great
There is a common theme in the bible- treat others good when they are good but also treat them good when they are bad, love the unlovely, forgive others not because they asked to be forgiven but because God requires it. This is contrary to the world's culture and the Fairness Doctrine. I think this is a good thing to consider in all relationships (there would be a lot less bullies in the world). But this is most important in the marriage relationship, because your two most important relationships are with God and your spouse.

What we think of about our spouse can make them or break them.