"I urge you, brothers and sisters, to be wary of those who cause divisions and undermine the faithful, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned. Avoid such people, who do not serve our Lord, but their own appetites. And by clever words and flattery they deceive the hearts of the innocent and naive."
Romans 16:17-18
"Nor will love be seen coming from the hearts of those who are fallen into wickedness: they are the fruit of hate, deceit, greed, fear, pride, possession, and aggression. And they will not only forsake love by washing their hands of it, they will eventually come to condemn it, and persecute it— and thereby condemn themselves.
For the people of God love is the touchstone of faith, the way to know if what we believe is with Him, or from something else; if we are walking with Him, or with something else; if the one who speaks is speaking for Him, or for something else; if we are keeping Him in our hearts, or something else; if we love Him, or ourselves, or something else.
Love does not speak with hate or fear or derision, but with the fullness of existence which is joy and mercy. Love is ridiculed and trampled upon by that which is in opposition to His creation. When you are in doubt or confusion about what is true and what is false, look for the light of love. This is the hallmark of the spirit in the world.
Love is not what we do, but how we do what we do. Love is found in the most ordinary things, not in grand gestures and elaborate mannerisms. It resides in small daily acts of kindness and fellowship, done lovingly and with care, for His sake. It is how we carry our cross, not in front of a cheering crowd, but in the quiet moments, and the little things, while walking with Him.
The hardened heart judges others, while ignoring its own sins, thinking itself good. Love is mercy, as it shows us our commonality with our fellow humanity as a weak and sinful creature. We do not need to hate and reject the world, and despise and subdue His creation. Creation is a gift from God, to which we bring our own good use and order in His name. And if we are wise, with our reverent humility and wonder. We can work with His gifts lovingly, and not abuse them from an excess of greed. It is not the world itself that is a source of evil, but the willfulness of our hearts, hardened by pride.
Only love is creative and productive. Only love is accepting and uplifting, able to bring all things forward to His plan and make them new. Love consecrates, while sin desecrates and destroys in its lust for possession and the will to power."
Jesse, Love is the Refuge of the Way, 24 June 2017
"Love does not make you weak, because it is the source of all strength— but it makes you see the nothingness of the illusory strength on which you depended before you knew it."
Léon Bloy
And so we had a triple witch option expiration today.
Stocks were slammed.
Wash, rinse repeat.
Gold and silver soared, although they pulled back some into the close.
As we have seen before, the mischief of heavy selling was done in the days before expiration, particularly in the mining sector where stock options are more of a factor.
The VIX rose sharply.
The Dollar chopped sideways. It is at a relative higher end of its recent trading range.
They have no shame.
Have a pleasant weekend.
