Adrian Avila

“Law and order: At level four, right and wrong are determined by a codified system of rules, impartial judges, and prescribed punishments. At this level, individuals defer judgment to properly elected or otherwise constituted authority. Right is getting a proper pay or reward for good work and a prescribed infliction of punishment for breaking the rules. Authority figures are rarely questioned; “He must be right—he is the president, the judge, the pastor, the pope.” Elementary school children operate at this level and find security, predictability, and peace in the rules. At this level, tattletales abound as children are intolerant of rule breakers and demand fairness, which is typically some imposed punishment. The black-and-white thinking of this level of operation leads to fragmenting into divergent groups or cliques who share a core set of group rules and who demean and criticize those who don’t share their rules. This was ancient Israel at the time of Christ—“We have a law!” the Pharisees proclaimed, as they sought to stone Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. The Jews in Christ’s day were separatists who were intolerant of those who didn’t keep their rules and obey their rituals. This is much of our modern world too, with its codified laws, courts, prosecutors, judges, juries, and imposed punishments. Authority at this level rests in the coercive pressure of the state to bring punishment upon those who deviate from the established laws. At this level, police agencies and law enforcers are required to monitor the populace, search for breaches in the law, and inflict codified penalties. This is the first level that requires the emergence of thinking but only minimal thinking—basic indoctrination and memorization of rules. One doesn’t have to understand reasons for things. One only has to know the rules and obey them.”
― , Timothy R. MD Jennings, The God-Shaped Heart: How Correctly Understanding God's Love Transforms Us

“Whatever worldview we espouse, dialogue and debate should take place with civility and courteous listening. But our times make that ideal so elusive. Holding a supposedly noble belief and reducing it to ignoble means of propagation makes the one who holds that belief suspect.”
― Ravi Zacharias, Jesus Among Secular Gods: The Countercultural Claims of Christ

“Dios entrenó a Moisés en un palacio para luego usarlo en el desierto. Entrenó a José en el desierto para luego usarlo en un palacio. Todo esto nos explica que algunos tienen que deambular por senderos tortuosos; que otros avanzan por las rutas bien pavimentadas de un nacimiento lleno de privilegios o rodeados de amigos con influencias; y otros más llegan luego de un desvío o después de encontrarse con una clara señal. Por eso, descubrir nuestro llamado es uno de los retos más grandes de la vida, en especial cuando uno tiene un abanico de dones diversos.”
― Ravi Zacharias, El Gran Tejedor de Vidas