Imagination and Egos

When God developed the first man and woman (Adam and Eve), one has to wonder what part was the hardest – fitting all the parts together, or developing the brain and all of the wonders associated with it.
No wonder He had to rest on the seventh day after all He did, along with developing the earth and the rest of the world. One of God’s best moves was to make everyone different in looks and thinking, or maybe just time caused that. However it happened, that’s good.  
Imagination and egos are two by-products of our brains. They can be either your best side or your worst, and both may function without common sense. Such was the case when a California preacher prophesied that 200 million Christians would be taken to heaven last Saturday, May 21, and that the earth would be consumed by a fireball on Oct. 21. This preacher would certainly give Lee Pitts competition on imagination.  
First, interpreting the Bible in that manner is wrong, but also the number of believers and the amount of dollars this preacher has collected are mind-boggling. He was able to do that even after making the same prediction that the Apocalypse would come in 1994, only afterward to claim it didn’t happen because of a mathematical error. It’s not a crime to predict events, but maybe it should be a crime to ask for dollars. I guess as long as people involve religion they can get away with it.  
Pastor Harold Camping of Oakland, Calif. and his independent ministry, Family Radio International, has spent millions of dollars, and some of them from donations made by followers, on more than 5,000 billboards and 20 RVs with the message written on them. Where did all of this money come from? In 2009 the nonprofit Family Radio reported in IRS filings that it received $18.3 million in donations and had assets of more than $104 million, including 434 million in stocks or other publicly traded securities, according to an AP news release.
You and I are evidently in the wrong business. This pastor needs to spend more time saving the soul of California’s ex-governor, instead of inducing good – but not the brightest – folks to spend their money foolishly.
On another note, I realize many of you are behind on your spring work, and many of you are worried about the predicted spring floods, but take a day or two off, or send the kids, and come over to Laramie for the 2011 Wyoming Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show, which will run June 1-4. There you will find some honest predictions, true facts and even have a good time.
On Thursday, June 2, there will also be an all-day conference on conservation easements, sponsored by the Wyoming Stock Growers Ag Land Trust, if you want to skip the convention for a day and learn about easements. Conservation easements have been in the news lately, with the millions of dollars in matching funds that are available, and the stories of how they’ve helped ag families with estate planning or getting out of debt. Now is a great time to learn the truth about easements, if they will work for you, and if that’s the direction you wish to travel.
Dennis