Diversity, inclusiveness: that’s me! That’s always been me,” he said.( source)
That is a quote from Garth Brooks. He is building a bar and not only wants to serve every beer but it sounds like he wants everyone to patronize his place. To many, that sounds like a great business plan.
The more beers you serve the more people you let in, the more money you make. It seems that making money is the only thing that matters and it has been for centuries for businesses. Too many businesses sacrifice what is right and ethical and justify the move that they are in the business to make money.
The problem with that quoted business philosophy is the hypocrisy and the failure to make a distinction between right and wrong. The statement sounds nice but once you look a little closer you find that the ideal is not implemented. In the same article, we find these words
“As part of the renovation, Garth is providing the MNPD a substation in a building adjacent to his.”
If one is going to be diverse and inclusive, then there is no need for a police sub-station to be built next to his bar. The very words diverse and inclusive used without any other qualifying terms means everyone is welcome.
By everyone, that includes LGBTQ, pedophiles, murderers, and thieves, as well as Christians, common folk, atheists, and more. Well, we know that Christians won’t go but they need to be included or the bar and Mr. Brooks is not being diverse or inclusive.
Everyone has to be welcomed or one is not meeting their ideals and claims. Then there are these words:
Our thing is this: If you [are let] into this house, love one another. If you’re an a–hole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway.”
That statement is telling everyone there will be a rule and that rule is not going to be inclusive nor will it allow diversity. Mr. Brookls is limiting patronage to those people he wants and excluding those he considers to be an ‘a-hole-.
Yet, he provides no rules defining what he considers to be ‘a-hole’ behavior. How are people supposed to know how to act or if they have crossed the line when all they get is ‘love one another’? Whose standard of ‘love one another’ will he be using to define accepted and unacceptable behavior?
If it is the biblical concept then people cannot get drunk, (everything in moderation), they cannot participate in sexual acts especially if the partners are not man and wife, the Lord’s name cannot be taken in vain, and so on.
We can conclude that ‘love one another’ is defined by Mr. Brook’s personal definitions that no one else knows about or was raised in. That does not make for a great place to go visit. It also means that the bar is not going to be inclusive because certain behaviors & people will not be allowed inside.
Don’t forget, putting an age limit on who can enter the bar is being exclusive, not inclusive. Barring certain age groups means that inclusiveness is not a standard the bar will follow. It just sounds good to those people who champion inclusiveness and other false ideologies.
It also makes Mr. Brooks look good in their eyes and has them consider him a good fellow so they will come to his bar and continue to buy his records. BUT when you look at God’s plan of salvation and who can enter his paradise you will find that God is the most inclusive and diverse person around.
Anyone, thieves, murderers, children, adults, LGBTQ members, atheists, and more people are all welcome to accept Christ as their savior. The only aspect of human life NOT invited or included in this plan or paradise is sin.
Every person who wants to go to God’s paradise has to give up their sin and practice it no more. Sin is not allowed in God’s home. The knowledge of sin is clearly defined and well documented as well as proclaimed.
Everyone knows God’s definition of what is sin and what is holy behavior. There is no secret and everyone has access to the Bible. They can read it for themselves if no one does it for them. Those definitions do not change and humans cannot change it or add to them.
The definitions are clear and understandable so that no one has an excuse if they do not give up sin and live by God’s rules. Mr. Brooks and everyone cannot get upset at God’s rules because he and everyone else has them as well.
People look to get away from God through these false ideologies like diversity and inclusiveness yet those false ideologies only remind people that like God there are always rules and not everyone is going to like them. But if they want to go to Mr. Brooks’ bar, then they must abide by the rules.
If people want to go to God’s home and paradise, they must abide by God’s rules. There is no way around this fact. Only God can change those rules and he won’t as he remains the same. The rules are the rules and you need to accept that if you want a chance to live for eternity and avoid hell.
No matter how nice a person you think you are, you still need to accept Jesus as your savior and give up all sins and the practice of it to make it o heaven. There will be many famous people who have lived good and moral lives but they won’t make it to heaven.
The reason for that is the rule for salvation. Being good and moral is not the criteria to make it to heaven. The rule to make it to heaven is to accept Christ as your savior and live by his rules. As Jesus said, why do you call me lord yet do not do the things I say (quoted from memory).
The Bible also says that obedience is better than sacrifice. While those good and moral people may sacrifice sin and unethical behavior, they did not obey the rule for salvation. Thus they cannot expect to make it to heaven.
This is fair and just as the rules for salvation apply to everyone and that is very inclusive and diverse. While Mr. Brooks thinks he is being diverse and inclusive, he is no match for God.
theologyarchaeology 