Accept Your Intellectual Inferiority

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ~ James 3:14 - 15

If you want to be viewed as an educated person, you have to do the necessary work.  Educated people know when you don’t know your facts.  You cannot make up the facts and try to present them as real facts.  Too many people want to act like they know everything.  It’s impossible for you to know everything.  All clear thinking people understand this reality.  Why would you want to attempt to present yourself like you know everything?  No one likes someone who pretends like he or she knows everything.

Those who try to pretend like they know everything are envious and jealous of those who really are highly knowledgeable people.  When a truly knowledgeable person on a wide variety of things attempts to give the pretenders the facts, the pretenders will try to make their ignorance appear as facts.  The best way to handle pretenders is to present the facts to them and then move on from them.  They’re a waste of your energy. 

With so many things you need to and have to invest your energy in, you don’t need to waste it on meaningless discussions and debates with people who are pretenders.  Remember that truth always triumphs over falsehood inevitably.

Never downplay your intelligence to make others feel better or to let a pretender off the hook easily.  Don’t simply not offer the truth because you’re around a pretender, considering you know the individual is not interested in facts and it won’t matter what you say to him or her.  Speak the truth no matter if you feel it will matter or not.

You will be surprised how even your family and friends will be envious and jealous of your knowledge when they want to be right about something or be right about something all the time.  Many people are simply not comfortable not knowing everything.  Don’t be surprised if you sit at the kitchen table with pretenders and/or hang out at the mall with them.  Pretenders are everywhere and your family and friends are not automatically exempt from being pretenders.

If there’s something you don’t know and you desire to know it, do what it takes to learn it.  Don’t hate on others because they know what you don’t know.  Some people who have not truly earned their degrees; that is, had other people doing their work for them to get their degrees feel inadequate when they’re engaged in a discourse with people who are truly educated and they cannot perform satisfactorily.  This just goes to show you that a degree alone does not make you educated—it’s the learning you obtain, whether it’s in a degree program or outside of the confines of a brick and mortar institution.

Don’t pretend to be educated—go out get educated!

Deuces,

Tony      

What is

Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable? ~ Proverbs 20:6

You can’t take away what already is.  When I find myself in the midst of justifying my friendship with the man that graces this blog with me, I am always baffled.  Yes, Antonio and I exercise arrogance in our friendship because that is the type of love that we have for each other, but never have we withheld how we feel about the challenges we face, nor have we EVER masked the deeper issues we have with each other with an attack, passive aggressive statements, or public humiliation.  We just state how we feel and continuously encourage each other’s endeavors.  I adore when people try to steam roll our friendship because it inspires post like these.  I have found that our friendship is something that people envy, loathe, and desire all together.  Trying to glean an understanding of what is leaves most angry, upset, and confused in trying to understand why we passionately advocate for each other.  Our friendship is an intimate association of familiarity and companionship (no we are not, nor have we, or will we ever sleep together).

One of the most important things that I will never force is a friendship.  Relationships should be built and sustained naturally and as in any thing that is natural, you will have flaws and imperfections, but when embraced there is a beautiful evolution that can be everlasting like God’s love.  The self problems of some individuals can and have spilled over into their personal friendships and a serious amount of self-reflection must occur before the loneliness of having no real, purposeful, loving friendships occur.  Sadly, it is a direct reflection of weak minded people and I don’t contribute to things or people that take away from, instead of, adding to positive reinforcement.  When my connection with Antonio and other friends rustles the feathers of some so much so that they have to seek the most minute tactics to bother me in some form, it makes me laugh from the inside out.  Why? Because they couldn’t be more obvious *laughing*. If something about my character bothers anyone just that bad, they should know to feel free in speaking to me at any time.  I will never try to out do others when it comes the core of my friendships with gift giving, titles, attire, career choices, or relationship.  How does one pass judgment on a friendship that is powerful and loving, but be completely blind to the fact of the negative energy and hurtful actions that they have bestowed in the friendships that are claimed to be near and dear to their heart…just saying?   

Antonio and I don’t have to censor our friendship PERIOD, however, the same cannot be said for others. I am receptive to constructive criticism, but I am disgusted by underlined messages: masking what one wants to say, but never stating it.  I take delight knowing that I can affect many by just being truly with no veil, no mask, no co-signer who I am.  Don’t be so upset about the closeness, genuineness, and passion of another’s friendship that YOU fail in adding building blocks or completely demolishing your own.  Antonio and I will never conform to another’s blueprint of what our friendship is and will continually be: rare, layered, and candid.  Our friendship is victorious and we celebrate it every day by just being. Simply because it’s what is.  I want to leave you with this status that I borrowed from one of my Facebook friends, (K.A.):

When you know your value, you don't have to beg people to be your friend or mate, to spend time with you or to love you. Be confident in who GOD made you to be. Everybody can't afford the luxury of your friendship.

Who has been afforded the luxury of your friendship?  What, if any, backlash have you all received because of how close you are?

Deuces, 

San