Opus 2022-081: On the Issue of Wealth

What is the moral high ground in economics?  We are constantly bombarded by the Marxist rhetoric of redistribution of income.  It is watered down and disguised but all this talk about how rich people are evil is part of the Communist desire to put all wealth in the hands of the state and their elite cronies and make it impossible for the average citizen to accumulate wealth.

Some wolves wearing the sheep’s mantle of being Christian thinkers will go along with this idea.  As someone said, “You can prove anything you want out of the Bible.”  It cannot be done honestly but it can be done.  One of their favorites pushing Communism is,

(Act 2:44 KJV)  And all that believed were together, and had all things common;

They totally ignore such things as,

(Gen 25:10 KJV)  The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.

There are many references to owning property and doing business in the Bible.  When there is a problem it is not with the concept of making a profit but cheating or defrauding in order to benefit.

C.S. Lewis makes this observation in a chapter called “Social Morality”,

“There is one bit of advice given to us by the ancient heathen Greeks, and by the Jews of the Old Testament, and by the great Christian teachers of the Middle Ages.  All these people told us not to lend money at interest; and lending money at interest - what we call investment - is the basis of our whole system.”  p. 85

He goes on and discusses that this might be just the private money lenders that would squeeze the poor.  I think he is right is that because of Jesus and His parable of the talents.  Toward the end he says this,

(Mat 25:27 KJV)  Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

I would not build a doctrinal statement on this but it does have something to say about investing at interest.

Our current version of capitalism may conflict with Christianity but like the Bible comments on wealth it isn’t the system of joint-stock investments but the willingness of people who use the system to enrich themselves while adding nothing.  I think of terms I have heard such as “corporate raiders” and “hostile takeovers” and such.  What they do may be legal but it is not moral.

As always, don’t just take the word of gurus.  Do your own reading and thinking.  Everything cannot be explained in a twenty second sound bite.  

Lewis, C.S.  Mere Christianity.  Norwalk, Connecticut:  The Easton Press, 2002.  

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-011: It Takes All Kinds

Animals carry the burden of anthropomorphic personality traits being associated with them.  The illustrations are everywhere.  Foxes are clever.  Cats are independent.  Worms are slimy.  Democrats are..., well, maybe I should not go there.

My tangent started with the idea of sheep and goats.  We talk about them being separated.  This is a Biblical idea coming from the final judgement day when God separates those going to heaven from those going to hell.

(Mat 25:33 KJV) And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Among the Jewish rabbis the right was good and the left was bad, really bad.  So sheep are associated with those who have lived righteous lives and the goats are the rebellions ones headed for hell.  I don’t care how cute you think baby goats are.  In this usage they symbolize everything nasty. 

Then we have the modern survivalists who want to talk about sheep and wolves.  In this division the character of sheep is that they are stupid, timid and weak.  That matches the Biblical picture.  This is the general population, the ones who go to an all night 7/11 in the wrong part of town wearing only a bathrobe and some slippers.  They then will lock their keys in the car.  They are considered prey of the wolves. 

Wolves are predators looking for their next meal.  The idea is that there are wolves out there living off the sheep.  This can be as illegal as muggers and rapists.  It can be as everyday as credit card companies that know you won’t read the small print.  They live off the sheep.

Survivalists then talk about sheep dogs.  These are the strong ones that take on the responsibility of protecting the sheep.  They are creatures of force like the wolves but see their role as protecting the weak.  In the dramas this would be the cop that risks his life to stop a mob hit.  In our neighborhood it might be someone who speaks up when someone is being taken advantage of.  Generally they are good guys.  They are kind of like guardian angels.

This made me wonder if there is anything such as a goat dog.  This would be someone who looks out for the deviants in society.  They get corrupt politicians off the hook.  They get convicted murderers out of jail on technicalities.  They do everything they can to derail Christian culture and cull out the remnants of Biblical values.  Maybe they would be guardian demons. 

What are you?

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-103: Well Done...

At the moment I am into proof texting.  Proof texting is where you take a quote, usually from the Bible, and offer it out of context to give irrefutable proof to back up your position.  One reason to use it is because you have a valid point, know the context supports you and the person you are talking to is too lazy to look it up.  Sadly that is a minuscule portion of the proof texting that goes on.  Most of it is done to deceive while gaining the support of someone much more reliable than you are.

It is the spirit of the second, deceitful style that I offer this.

How are we supposed to eat our meat?  Let me quote Jesus,

(Mat 25:23 KJV) His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant;...

Now obviously I am proof texting but my point is still my point.

We are supposed to eat our meat well done, not rare.  There should be no evidence of blood when we cut into the steak.  Not only does the Old Testament tell us not to eat the blood but even in the New Testament, when the question is “What standards should we expect of the Gentiles?” we see the same restriction.

(Act 15:20 KJV) But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

Although they were not talking about the local grill the point here is that blood is not to be a food.

So if you see me sending my steak back don’t sneer at me.  I am just trying to be a righteous diner.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-219: On the Street: “My Mother Just Died...”

Or so he said.  You must admit, it is a good way to touch the heart strings as you begin to panhandle.  I listened courteously and when he got to the point where he had not eaten in three days, I knew I could help.  In my car I keep a supply of those little packages of cheese crackers with peanut butter filling.  I buy them for myself.  I eat them when I am hungry.  They have been my breakfast, lunch and dinner at times.  I reached in my open door, picked up a handful of packages - after all he was hungry - and handed them to him.  As the confused look developed on his face I reached in and pulled out a bottle of water, again from my personal supply, and started to hand it to him. 

I could not do much for his loss of his mother.  I am not Jesus, I can’t raise the dead.  I could do something about not eating in three days.  After all Jesus said,

(Matthew 25:41-42 KJV)  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

I don’t want to burn in Hell because I didn’t give a hungry man something to eat. 

I guess in this case it wasn’t Jesus I was feeding.  He got a look of disgust, handed the packages back to me and said, “No thank, I was wanting some meat.”  Well, sooorrrry.  He had his eye on either the Del Taco across the street or the liquor store down the block.  What he was not looking for was food to take care of his hunger.

O, well.  I tried.  So did he.  He got nothing from the exchange.  I did.  I may have discovered a way to deal with panhandlers.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-52: Mercy Strikes a Blow

Nobody knows the original source of “Know thyself.”  It is still good advice.

One of my weak points is a lack of the spiritual gift of mercy.  I know it.  Sometimes I joke about it.  I know my Bible and myself well enough to recognize it as a weakness.  That doesn’t mean that I have any need to become an emotional basket case.  It does mean that I need to be aware of my lack and compensate for it.

One way is to encourage others in the body of Christ who have the gift.  Let them be what God has made them.  That is the easy part.

The hard part is fighting my tendency to always assume that people need correction rather than encouragement. 

The Holy Spirit cut through my crust this week.  I was getting out of my car at Panera for my morning time of worship and preparation.  A truck pulled up next to me and two young guys got out.  They were obviously going to be working hard that day.  As I followed them I noticed a woman begging at the door.  One of the men walked on by but the other stopped, listened to her a moment, pulled out his wallet, handed her a five, said a kind word and went on in.  She went in and got something to eat.  I noticed that she stopped several times to thank the young man who had helped her. 

That picture has been in my mind all week.  What would I have done?  I generally don’t give out money.  I probably would have invited her in and bought her breakfast.  If I had been in a hurry I would have been polite but not giving.  I have no problem with that.  Maybe I should.  What God was speaking to me about was the attitude I would have toward the person begging.  I would be judgmental no matter how polite I was. 

A couple of quotes come to mind.  It would be good for me to remember, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”  That is doubly true in this day when the economy is so bad, health care is crumbling and so many are out of work.  I am truly blessed and I should be more willing to share that blessing. 

The second that I came across today in my study are the words of Jesus.  You can read the entire teaching in Matthew 25 if you want but the verse that hit me the hardest was the negative statement?

(Mat 25:45 KJV)  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

How often has it been what I did not do that causes me to be disobedient?  I have a million excuses and some logical arguments.  I am not sure that Jesus will be impressed.

Today I need to begin to put this in motion.  I need to be more merciful without giving up wisdom and discernment.

homo unius libri

Opus 2011-247, Be a Giant

I believe I have mentioned before my gratitude for the shoulders of the giants that we stand on.  I think of my reading.  Some you have heard of such as Wesley and Bonhoeffer.  Others walked paths you have never crossed such as Herbert Schlossberg.  There are enough giants to go around.  I think of my daily walk.  I touch giants as I sit in church or as I listen to pod-casts.  I thank God for the giants

How many giants are out there today?  I don’t mean the big names, I mean the ones that are faithfully passing on the wisdom God gives them.  Some are pastors in small churches.  Some are teachers.  I wish I could say many, but most follow the drum of the world.  Then there are voices on the internet.  I think of ones I have discovered such as Gorges Grouse, Christian Ear to name two that make me think on a regular basis.

How many Giants were not aware?  I don’t think most of them were trying to be giants as much as simply being faithful.  Did Paul know he was writing for eternity or was he mainly concerned about correcting the local churches he wrote to?  Did Wesley know that people would be reading his journals hundreds of years later?  Did Brother Lawrence know that he would be an inspiration for millions?  Did Tchaikovsky know that the Nutcracker Suite would become a Christmas classic?  Did Jesus..., well, yes, I guess He did know.

How many great artists were not famous until after they died?  How many parents, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, strangers on a bus have passed on influence that they were never aware of?

Are you a giant?  Will you be a giant?  Probably not if that is your goal.  Part of being a real giant is selfless servanthood.  Remember when Jesus was talking to the faithful.  Remember their response.

(Matthew 25:44 KJV)  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Be a giant today by being faithful and obedient.  Allow the Holy Spirit to use your life to make an impact.  You probably won’t know about it until half way through eternity but God will know now.  The person standing on your shoulders may not even be aware of it, but God will let him know when the time is ripe.

homo unius libri