Despise not the day of small things

In this recession most of us, whether saint or sinner, Christian or unbeliever, has suffered some type of loss or know someone who has.  It is easy in times like this to really get discouraged as a Christian and get caught up in thinking that God has withdrawn some of his blessings and possibly to wonder why God has not sheltered us from hardship.  We may look at our dwindling finances or economic status and wonder how it can be possible for God to use the little that we have now to support or contribute to ministry as generously as we did in the past.  But as the scripture says, “There is no new thing under the sun.”  Similar situations have happened several times before to God’s people as shown to us in the Bible.  One such situation is when the Hebrew captives returned to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon to rebuild the city and the temple.

And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. …But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: [Ezra 3:10, 12]

The older men were young when they saw Solomon’s temple, but the new temple that was being built paled in comparison to the grandeur of the previous temple, so they wept.  But in the midst of their sorrow, Jehovah gave them comfort through his prophets.

Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? …The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts. [Haggai 2:3, 9]

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel … [Zechariah 4:8-10a]

The small size of the foundation was such a let-down to the older generation that they felt God could not be glorified as fully as he had been in Solomon’s temple.  They eventually got so discouraged with its size and the victories of the enemies who tried to hinder the rebuilding of the temple that the work on the new temple was delayed for awhile until Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah encouraged them to move forward on the project.  The Lord let them know that in spite of the dwarfed size of the temple, it was of the utmost importance to finish it because he was still going to use the temple to accomplish great works that would even surpass the greatness Solomon’s temple had.  The Hebrews doubted that God was still with them, but he told them through Haggai that this project, although small, would be a sign that God was still blessing them and that the temple would ultimately see the coming of his peace in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, to bring salvation to Israel and the whole world.  This was a much higher honor than the previous temple had ever experienced.

So just as the Lord provided the will and wisdom to the Hebrews to complete the ministry to which he had called them, even in the midst of their lack, he is still with us to continue contributing to ministry even though we are lacking.  Of course, we may have to cut back on the amount of funds we give, but God can use more than our finances.  We have been blessed with gifts, talents, skills, and time that are just as important as our finances, and in some cases they are more important.  The wisdom God gives us can show us where we can spend less and save more.  This calls for a paradigm shift from the years we may have been taught that big blessings can only come when we give the most money.  Scripture shows us this isn’t true.  God can do as many great works with $1.00 as he can with $1,000.  The important thing is that we serve God in sincerity with all our being and that our hearts are full of love for our fellow man.  It is in the midst of these lean times of losing our jobs, houses, pensions, retirement funds, and more that we must cling to the Lord more than ever.  He is still with us and if we are not weary in well doing, he will cause us to reap in the midst of our lack more than we ever thought was possible.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Is America going to pot?

Since California legalized the use of medical marijuana in 1996, 12 other states have followed in its footsteps.  Some lawmakers in the state of Illinois are now hoping to be added to that number.  Although it passed a law in the 1970s legalizing medical marijuana, the law was ignored and never enforced, but that may soon change, if some members of the Illinois House get their way.  An Illinois House committee recently voted to bring the issue before the whole Illinois House for a vote.

I’m sure the advocates for the legalization of marijuana are wringing their hands in glee, hoping for another victory.  Those who back the idea of legalization often use the Netherlands as their prime example of how things should be in the United States.  What they often forget to mention is that the sell and use of cannabis in the Netherlands which is sold in the coffee shops there is technically illegal, the law is just not enforced.  They also conveniently don’t mention that in recent years, problems have arisen in the Netherlands with the sell and use of cannabis that have caused the government to rethink their policies and a large number of the cannabis coffee shops have been closed down while the government decides how to make changes they deem necessary.

There have been problems with drug tourism when potheads coming in from other countries get high and harass some of the local citizens.  These drug tourists have also been attempting to smuggle their stash of drugs out of the Netherlands into countries where it is illegal.  So much for the utopia that pot smokers want us to believe the Netherlands are.

Germany, where smoking cannabis is popular, has seen an increase in problems caused by marijuana.  With the Netherlands bordering on Germany, it is easy for potheads (who are mostly younger) to cross the border into the Netherlands to get high.  Experts who monitor drug use in Germany say cannabis users are starting at increasingly younger ages.  It was estimated in 2006 that  approximately 400,000 Germans were psychologically addicted to the drug or are heavy users.   A greater number of young people who use marijuana are experiencing heart palpitations, sudden sweating, and anxiety/panic attacks.  There have also been a larger number of marijuana smokers visiting drug clinics complaining of being burned out or severely depressed.

Modern day cannabis has been cultivated to yield contents of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the ingredient that gives it its kick, up to 20-25% whereas marijuana plants back in the hippie days rarely had more than 10% THC content.  In Bremen, Germany, the Brain Research Institute has shown in its studies that cannabis use during puberty can lead to long-term damage like lack of motivation and disturbances in memory.  Research at the Central Institute of Mental Health, also in Germany, has revealed that smoking pot can cause schizophrenia.

And if there’s still any doubt about the harmful effects of using marijuana, the Oct. 1, 2008 issue of the journal Sleep revealed a clear link between insomnia and the use of cannabis or alcohol and harder drugs in teens and young adults.  This insomnia tied to cannabis use also showed an increase in depression and suicidal tendencies in these teens and young adults.

Some states, like California and Arizona, that have legalized medical marijuana have experienced an increase in criminal offenses involving the drug in recent years.  They have also witnessed their national parks being used by Mexican drug cartels as pot farms.  The legalization of medical marijuana is just a stepping stone to legalize all marijuana use, and ultimately, all illegal drugs.  It encourages a mentality among potheads that says, “If patients can use marijuana for their problems, I should be able to legally use it too.”  Thus legalization of medical marijuana drives the demand for the typical use of marijuana, to get stoned, which often leads to demand for harder drugs.  And it’s this heightened desire and demand in the U.S. that has furiously fueled the Mexican drug war.

In the end, arguments in favor of marijuana legalization such as its regulation would reduce sales or usage, or that it would dry up the underground market, or that drug arrests are racist, or that information against using pot is wrong, or that drug enforcement is too costly, are all unreliable arguments.  Legalization of pot will not end the black market it fuels any more than the laws and regulations upholding our movie, music, and fashion industries have ended the billions of dollars in pirating and knock-offs of those lucrative industries. Should we legalize slavery again because human trafficking has shown dramatic increases and also generates a lot of money on the black market?

The tendency to use the failure of Prohibition against alcohol isn’t much of an argument either.  Once Prohibition ended, we inherited a whole host of other problems like drunk driving injuries and deaths, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, underage drinking, and binge drinking.  Did legalization of prostitution really benefit Nevada as they claimed it would?  All it did was help crime rates increase in Las Vegas and helped increase human trafficking in the U.S.  Likewise, pot legalization will only do more harm.

The use of drugs to get high is simply, as I’ve said in a previous post, the sin of sorcery mentioned in the Bible.  They were used in ancient times by pagans who wanted to enter an altered state of consciousness to contact their devilish spirit guides or gods and are still used for the same reasons today.   It’s Satan’s subtle way of unleashing more of his evil angels to affect mankind’s decisions for his own evil purposes.  In my opinion, all this fuss about the benefits of legalizing pot isn’t worth the nickel bags that marijuana users were smoking when they thought it up.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Sources: Crime in Arizona Reports, State of Arizona, Dept. of Public Safety

California Department of Justice, Criminal Justice Statistics Center

Dutch Coffee Shops Close as Authorities Weed out Drug Tourists, Deutsche Welle, 29.04.2007

Netherlands: Efficiency of Drugs Policy Under Scrutiny, Global Legal Monitor, Law Library, Library of Congress, March 2, 2008

Soft Drugs With Hard Consequences, Deutsche Welle, 14.05.2006

Adolescent Insomnia Linked To Depression And Substance Abuse During Adolescence And Young Adulthood, ScienceDaily, October 5, 2008

4 simple things churches can learn from a fragile economy

Although the news has been saturated lately with dark, dismal, depressing details about the present state of the world economy, there is much wisdom to be learned from what has been happening because of the covetousness and pride of the individuals and organizations who have brought this on.  The name-it-and-claim-it, blab-it-and-grab-it sermons of prosperity preachers will now be put to the test and my prayer is that those of us Christians who have embraced these covetous false doctrines will be humble enough to learn four simple things concerning our monetary resources, namely:

1.  Cut unnecessary spending.  Modern churches, especially megachurches, have in the past few decades been more like our tax-and-spend government.  The more taxes they get, the more taxes they want in order to expand government for wasteful programs or earmarks.  Only, the churches’ tax system is called “tithes and offerings.”  It is continually taught, because of man-made tradition, that the Lord requires us to pay 10% of our income to our local church, and if we don’t, God will withhold his blessings from us.  Then the more money the church receives, the more programs they want to establish or they want the latest state-of-the-art, high-tech equipment for their offices and sanctuary or the more they want to add to their building projects as if God is impressed with all of these things.

If church funds are used in the same manner they were in the first century church, people would be more willing to give and would probably receive a greater amount.  But we are proud to be like the rich man in Jesus’ parable in Luke 12:16-21.  When his farmland yielded a huge bumper crop, instead of trying to come up with a way to help out those who had less or glorify God with it, he was only concerned about how he could store it all away for his own selfish purposes and decided to build larger barns while in the meantime he ate, drank, and was merry without regard for anyone else.  Then, suddenly, it was time for him to meet his maker and all his grand plans for himself were scrapped.  His focus on laying up treasures for himself instead of being rich toward God highlighted the worthlessness of his plans.  This is clearly an application to how the modern day church operates.

2.  Spend more on helping people.  The main reason the first century church gathered offerings (not tithes) was to meet the basic needs–food, shelter, and clothing–of Christians who were less fortunate.  Acts 4:34-35 tells us that those who were wealthy sold their luxury possessions and brought the funds before the congregation so they could be distributed to the poor saints.  It was also used to cover the expenses of faithful workers in the ministry who spent the bulk of their time preaching or ministering, because they who preach the gospel should live of the gospel (see 1 Corinthians 9).  In Acts 6:1-2 we also see that elderly widows received something from the church for their needs every day.  I think James was right on point when he wrote,

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?  James 2:15-16

3.  Contentment with what we already have.  This is one of the underlying themes of the New Testament that is repeated several times.  It is when we cast aside the contentment we have for what God has already blessed us with that we allow greed to become our motivating force.  The idea that we should always want more than what we have because God wants to bless us with more is a self-centered concept if our focus is only on material possessions and it can cause us to overextend ourselves financially.  Anyone working from this motivation is assuming that material gain is godliness.  We tend to forget that to whom much is given, much is required.  The more that we get from God, the more we should give out to others.  Paul gives us three witnesses in the following verses on contentment:

I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.  Philippians 4:11-13

But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.  1 Timothy 6:6-9

Let your conversation [way of life] be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  Hebrews 13:5

4.  Helping family, especially the elderly, is more important than giving to prop up churches.  This statement would be considered sacrilege in today’s churches.  We are taught that we should give God (i.e. the church) his cut right off the top and then he will bless us with whatever we need later.  The “give God the first cut” doctrine is the opposite of what Jesus taught.  The religious leaders of his day taught something similar and he preached against it in Mark 7:9-13.  It is God’s commandment that a person honor their father and mother, which includes financial help, but the religious leaders taught that a person who dedicated their finances as a gift to the temple or synagogue was not obligated to help out their parents.  This tradition stood in the way of the fulfillment of God’s commandment.  So if a person needs the funds that they would give to the church to help their parents, their parents should be the priority.

Paul backed up this concept in 1 Timothy 5 when he said that a believer who doesn’t care for an elderly widow in their family (and by default any other elderly family member) is worse than an infidel, or unbeliever.  By caring for their Christian family member with their own funds, they would alleviate the church from having to use their funds.

Conclusion

With this economic downturn, I’ve been wondering to myself if the radio evangelists and televangelists will continue to preach the prosperity gospel.  I can hear them now–”My fellow believer, don’t you worry about this economic situation.  Our God is bigger than the U.S. or world economies and he’ll continue to meet your needs.  You just keep on giving to this ministry even if things look bleak and I guarantee that God will pour you out a blessing you won’t have room enough to receive!”  I also wonder how many Christians who bought into the prosperity gospel overextended themselves with a larger house than they could afford or with huge credit card debt and are now facing dire financial straits.  Would megachurches with million-dollar accounts help bail them out?

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

More hot air on Capitol Hill about oil prices

Well, Congress is at it again.  For the umpteenth time they’ve summoned the oil barons to appear before their committees to answer for the cost of gas and the record profits for the oil companies.  From what I’ve seen and heard, it’s the same dog and pony show as always where the congressmen grill the CEOs or their attorneys with their feigned anger as if they are raking them over the coals.

Of course, the oil companies give their same excuses about supply and demand or that they need the funds to reinvest to keep things running for their companies or that things would be worse without their generous tax breaks.  Unbelievable!

Congress and the oil companies must think we are just plain stupid.  With all of the profits these companies have made, they could have built several refineries by now to alleviate this situation.  The only reason they haven’t is because they don’t want to because they love all the profits they’re getting.  Lack of new refineries can’t be blamed on environmentalists either, although that excuse is being thrown around as well.

Oil companies have huge lobbying power on Capitol Hill and they are also close friends with our President and various people in his administration.  When you take into account their lobbying power in addition to their campaign contributions and the fact that the politicians in D.C. have a large amount of stock in oil companies, is it any surprise Congress and the President haven’t done anything to alleviate the financial hardship of Americans who are paying such high prices for gas?

So please, don’t be fooled by all the hearings that have gone on this week about gas prices.  Congress is just giving us a nice little show to make it appear that they really care about taxpayers so they can use their posturing to brag about how they fought for their constituents when they are up for re-election.  It has also been a nice opportunity for the oil barons to play the blame game and point their fingers elsewhere as if their exorbitant profits are not their fault.  We’ve seen it all before.  In the end, we really can’t expect Congress or oil companies to do anything about it since their greed has blinded them to having any compassion for the common man.

Put not your trust in princes [government officials], nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.  Psalm 146:3

When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.  Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.  Proverbs 23:1-3

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Fareed Zakaria’s post-American world

There’s an interesting article by Fareed Zakaria published in this week’s Newsweek entitled “The Rise of the Rest.”  In his article he discusses how the world is changing to the point where many nations are making great strides in economic advances.  Based on Zakaria’s research, other nations have surpassed the U.S. in some economic areas and hold bragging rights for several socioeconomic icons such as the world’s largest shopping mall or tallest building.

Americans presently have a dim view of the world because of the economy, the wars we’re fighting, and other factors, but according to Zakaria, the majority of nations in the world are experiencing positive states of existence that are independent of America’s influence.  He points out that we are witnessing a shift in power and attitudes that reflect a post-American era where most of the world is not really thinking about whether or not they hate America, but are focused on growing and preserving their economies and cultures. Over the past two years, the economies of 124 nations have increased more than 4% each year.  Zakaria’s opinion is that America, instead of fearing any power shifts to a global economy, should embrace these changes.

Overall, according to Zakaria, we are living in a time of “unprecedented peace and prosperity” where war and death from global violence have been decreasing since the mid-80’s to levels not seen since the 1950s.  Although he acknowledges deaths by terrorism is a problem, when considering the global picture, it is rather unsubstantial since it tends to be localized.

I’m sure Mr. Zakaria has done his research thoroughly and is a world-travelled journalist, but I am somewhat hesitant to accept the rosy picture he wants to paint of the state of the world.  It’s great to have a positive outlook on life, especially if you’re a Christian who understands that ultimately God will have his way in the end.  It’s also great when developing countries can make economic advances to solve their own problems, but I also think we should be realistic in how we view the world.  There will always be serious dangers to look out for, whether local or global.  Why?  Well, let me state this as simply as possible–man is essentially evil and selfish by nature.  Yes, we as humans have some good traits, but history has shown that when we acquire a large amount of material things or power or some other type of status, we always seem to want more and what we have is never enough.  Mr. Zakaria seems to have forgotten to factor in the unpredictable, complex, and greedy nature of humans which can change the whole world’s outlook in a New York minute. 

The Lord Jesus stated clearly for us in the gospels that throughout the last days there will be wars and rumors of wars.  There may be fewer now, but just wait a few years.  Christ also stated that while we are in this world, we will have various troubles.  Nevertheless, if we are Christians, we can be of good cheer because he has overcome the world.

Just this week it was reported that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ties to the leftist rebels in Colombia.  Apparently, files were found on a comfiscated laptop of a dead guerilla that revealed Hugo Chavez is influencing the rebels in an attempt to de-stabilize the Colombian government.  Of course, Chavez denies it but U.S. officials suspect he is making moves to influence as much of Latin America as he can.  So, it’s stories like these and other conflicts that seem to pop up around the world (especially in the Middle East and parts of Africa) that show just how fragile peace and prosperity can be.  

They [false prophets and priests] have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly [in a manner of little account], saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.  Jeremiah 6:14 

And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many…  Daniel 8:25

College students fall short in American history

The American Civic Liberty Program and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute recently released documentation showing that college students are graduating with less knowledge about American History than their freshmen peers who recently graduated from high school.  The reports tested the students on their knowledge of democracy, U.S. history, basic principles about the U.S. economy, international relations, and U.S. government.

Fifty colleges participated in the study which tested 14,000 students.  In eight of the most prestigious universities (three of them Ivy League) who took part in the study, freshmen had higher test scores than seniors who were about to graduate.  None of the tested institutions of higher learning scored higher than a D+.  You can read more in this CBN News article by Paul Strand.

It is no secret that the majority of university faculty are liberals who have anti-American sentiments.  It is believed that this trend began during the Vietnam War and Civil Rights eras of our country.  I imagine that if the students were tested on World History the results would probably be worse.  When I was in college during the late 80’s and part of the 90’s, I had a few professors of history and social sciences attack the Constitution as a document that was only established to preserve the rights of protestant white male landowners.  Since they felt this was the case, they thought the Constitution was an oppressive tool to keep others down.  Many of the founding fathers may have been racist, but the Constitution was a document that allowed enough latitude for the oppressed to be able to change and update laws to preserve human rights.

Hopefully this downward trend of knowing U.S. History will change.  Not being aware of important historical facts can continue to have a negative impact on how we conduct business, how we relate to people who are different from us, how our courts and government systems work, and on how we relate to other nations.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord– 

Putin’s saber-rattling

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is proving more and more that once you are KGB, you’re always KGB in his latest spouting off against the U.S.  Making arguments based on his paranoid antics, he has now made claims that the U.S. is out to invade Russia so we can get their natural resources.  Therefore, he has no choice but to manufacture new nuclear weapons to defend Russia from the greedy U.S., who like a bully invaded the defenseless nation of Iraq, according to Putin.

The London Telegraph is also reporting that his new battery of weapons will include nuclear submarines, nuclear missile systems, and nuclear bombers.  Putin has made further accusations that the U.S. attempted to hamper his visit to Iran earlier this week by masterminding a devious plot that made false inferences that there was a conspiracy to assassinate him when no such conspiracy existed.

This comes in the midst of his statement that the U.S. should pull out of Iraq.  The only reason Putin has falsely accused the U.S. of lusting after his resources is because his own lust for more has reached new heights.  He’s projecting!  In reality, Putin wants the U.S. out of Iraq so Russia, Iran, and whoever else is in league with them can go into Iraq to divide the spoils.  Russia’s booming economy from its oil has served to enlarge his ego and his covetousness.

Russia’s ongoing cozy relationship with Iran is fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.  They are laying the foundation for an eventual invasion of Israel in an attempt to take Israel’s land from them.  Ezekiel 38 states that the land of Magog, which is believed to be Russia, will ally themselves with Persia (Iran), Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer (Germany?) and others to conquer Israel.  But their attempts will utterly fail.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord

China’s pride may be its downfall in the world market

Back in 1996, about 88 Haitian children died from a poisonous drug substance that was given to them.  It was traced back to China.  Then last year 100 people died in Panama from a poisonous chemical in their medicine.  The product was once again traced back to China.  Also last year 18 people in China died from poisonous medicine.  In May of this year, the Dominican Republic found tainted tubes of toothpaste that were imported into their country from China.

Then, of course, we had our own pet food scare, toothpaste recalls, tire recalls, and now a block on seafood–all originating from China. These incidents have taken place in other nations around the world as well.  In a previous post I briefly mentioned China’s ongoing resistance to change its unfair trading practices.  As it turns out, the Chinese companies making chemical products are not qualified to do so.  They have been able to hide the origin of their products by selling them to companies in other nations (primarily European nations) who then resell the products on the world market without any notification of where those products originate.

Now that the U.S. is not allowing certain Chinese seafood into our country because it has been repeatedly found to be tainted with dangerous chemicals, a top Chinese official, Li Changjiang, is protesting the block.  He criticized the block for being “indiscriminate” and has urged the FDA to try to work things out with them instead of automatically stopping the seafood from being imported here, according to CNN.  Mr. Changjiang’s protest seems like too little, too late to me.  When U.S. officials were trying to investigate the origin of the poisonous products, more often than not the Chinese government stonewalled the process.  Now all of a sudden they claim they want to cooperate?

The Chinese government has a history of human rights abuses and because they have gotten away with it for so long, their blatant disregard for human life and their corrupt way of thinking is being reflected in how they execute trades in the world market.  As I mentioned before, they have been responsible for selling their goods internationally at below market prices, manipulating their currency, and violating intellectual property rights by counterfeiting products and have not received any type of punishment.  So now the leaven of their evil ways has leavened the whole lump of international trade and it has cost many citizens in many nations their very lives.  Now that their human rights abuses have stretched beyond their own borders, maybe the world will finally take necessary action to put a stop to their nonsense.

Yes, China’s economy has been strong, but because they are puffed up in their pride and don’t want anyone to tell them they are wrong for some of the things they do, their own pride and haughtiness will lead to the weakening of their economy if they’re not careful.

“Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18

“When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly [humble] is wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Lessons from a wasteful manager

The Parable of the Unjust Steward 

Luke 16:1: And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
2: And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
3: Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
4: I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
5: So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
6: And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
7: Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
8: And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
9: And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
10: He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
11: If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12: And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?
13: No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Lessons learned from the parable

The central character of Jesus’ parable is a selfish, lazy, and prideful manager who took advantage of his lofty position to serve his own desires.  Eventually his wastefulness caught up with him and he was fired by his boss.  Before he left his job he had to come up with a way to see that his basic needs were met.  He was too lazy to learn a new trade and too proud to go on welfare so he came up with a scheme that would end up helping himself by looking out for the interests of others.

At first glance it may seem Jesus condones this man’s dishonest behavior, but this is not the case.  The man was commended for acting wisely.  The commendation was nothing more than an acknowledgement that he was clever in looking out for himself.  But he still lost his job.

Here are the things Jesus is pointing out to us in these verses:

1. In the same manner that the children of the world take advantage of their worldly goods to take them as far as they can in their evil goals, the children of light should make the most of our material goods so they can take us as far as possible in carrying out God’s will.
2. Instead of being covetous by hoarding our material possessions, we should take every opportunity to use them for the benefit of others by sharing them, especially with other believers.
3. When we willingly share with others, we create friendships in the Father’s kingdom.
4. In our times of need and failure, the friends we gain by our generosity will welcome us and come to our aid.
5. Not only will our friends welcome us while here in this world, once we get to heaven they will welcome us into their heavenly homes in the Father’s house.
6. If we prove that we can be faithful to God with something as insignificant and unrighteous as earthly goods, God will reward us abundantly with heavenly goods, which are more important.
7. If an individual shows that they can’t be trusted using earthly goods with godly wisdom, how do they expect God to reward them with heavenly goods? (This point is for unbelievers)
8. If you don’t take good care of possessions belonging to someone else, how can you expect God to give you the spiritual things that belong to you?
9. We should use our earthly goods freely to serve God’s purposes and not be the servants of our earthly goods.
10. Covetousness makes us despise God; godliness makes us despise covetousness.  Therefore, we cannot be the servants of both God and the lust for possessions.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

The World Bank tells developing countries they must abort babies to get money

“World Bank to Continue Promoting Abortion in Developing Nations After US Drops Opposition

PRI’s Stephen Mosher upset at the Bush Administration’s “failure to stay the course” on the issue

By John-Henry Westen

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An attempt by the United States to get the World Bank out of the population control business has failed after opposition from EU countries led the United States to back down.  On Tuesday, the World Bank approved a new health policy retaining support for abortion after the United States dropped its insistence that the Bank which is funded primarily by the United States, halts its promotion of abortion.

The Bush Administration sought to insert language in the health policy update which would distance it from forcing abortion on recipient countries.  The language would have asked countries to provide “age appropriate access to sexual and reproductive healthcare” rather than the currently worded “reproductive health services” which include abortion.

In an April 19 letter, a copy of which was obtained by LifeSiteNews.com, Bank Directors from Belgium, Switzerland, France, Germany and Norway demanded that the bank continue its coercive population control policy. …

World Bank sources told Reuters that the United States did not formally submit any objection to the strategy by a midnight deadline on Monday. …

Mosher noted that World Bank documents report that the organization is in fact funding a lobby effort for abortion.  In Africa, he quoted from a World Bank report, Word Bank projects have included “mobilizing public awareness and political support for abortion and other reproductive health services.”  Thus, he said they are lobbying for abortion.  “So World Bank money is going directly to lobby for the legalization of abortion, something that most Americans would find offensive.”
…

“We need to be standing up for the women in developing countries who say ‘we need clean drinking water, we need penicillin, we need antibiotics for our children when they become stricken with infectious disease, we need inoculations, we need vitamin tablets’,” he said.  “‘We don’t need your family planning programs, we don’t need your so-called reproductive health care, we don’t need your population stabilization programs.’”
…

Mosher concluded [by] saying that the continued US push for population control is at the heart of some of the anti-US sentiment coming from the developing world.”

The whole article can be read here.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–