In conflict…

Is it me, or is it the country working against itself? You have this flawed two party system wherein currently the democrats, led by President Obama, are desperately trying to raise confidence levels and thereby hopefully stimulate an economy that appears on the brink of complete collapse. Then along comes the freedom of the press/speech wherein the media and the republicans undermine any gain in confidence that the public might have realized. Under normal circumstances, this would all seem just fine. But what about under dire circumstances where time is of the essence? My Christian Interpretation would be that it would appear that human nature could interfere with the necessity of a quick response.

Not to be an alarmist, but…

I suspect that throughout the ages, there have been many occasions wherein people considered that the times they were living in were Biblical.  As the world economy staggers and talk of doom and gloom increase, it would be a good time to take stock of our lives and our relationship with our Creator.  I don’t think doing so is ever a bad idea no matter what the underlying motivation.  In that spirit, I present to you the following scriptures:

Revelation 18:1 ¶  After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendour.
2  With a mighty voice he shouted: "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.
3  For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries."
4  Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
5  for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.
6  Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Mix her a double portion from her own cup.
7  Give her as much torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn.’
8  Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
9 ¶  "When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her.
10  Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: "‘Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!’
11  "The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no-one buys their cargoes any more—
12  cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble;
13  cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men.
14  "They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your riches and splendour have vanished, never to be recovered.’
15  The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn
16  and cry out: "‘Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!
17  In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’ "Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off.
18  When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’
19  They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: "‘Woe! Woe, O great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!
20  Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you.’"
21  Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: "With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.
22  The music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No workman of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again.
23  The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world’s great men. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.
24  In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth."

Stimulating the economy…

I touched on a version of this issue many posts ago, but it comes to mind again.  I’m wondering if every time the President mentions the word catastrophe, he isn’t also accomplishing more than just motivating politicians to get off the pot.  Is the mere mention of the word ‘catastrophe’ also stimulating people to start buying things to help them survive in case of an economic collapse?  Wouldn’t that, in itself, temporarily stimulate the economy to some degree?  Of course, that kind of buying would not signify confidence…though I suppose it could be misrepresented or misunderstood as such.

Inflation

Maybe it’s just me…but amidst all the rhetoric concerning the current economic crisis, the one word that I am not hearing is inflation.  I don’t know about you, but my dollars don’t go as far primarily due to the fact that EVERYTHING costs more than it used to, and quite frankly, my wages have not kept up.  I have less money to spend.  Now, what strikes me as odd, is the government’s remedy for our ailing economy is to throw some money on top, the very thing, mind you, that causes inflation.  Once again, it would appear that this remedy is nothing more than a desperate attempt to delay the inevitable.  Not a cure, but rather a bandage. 

 

Which brings up the big question.  What is the cure?  How do you bring the costs down on everything?  How do you level the playing field?  Does anybody really know where to begin?  I sure don’t.  I keep hearing the S-word (socialism) mentioned.  Is that where we are heading?  Would that help in the long run?  I really don’t know.  I’ve never lived anywhere except here in America.  I have no way to compare life styles nor am I well educated in this area.  I think, though, that I would likely survive just fine under socialism primarily because I’ve never really been much of a capitalist.  I’ve never been motivated by a desire to be wealthy.  I suspect that the people that would object the most to socialism would be the people with the most to lose.  Would the majority of Americans benefit, though? 

Corporate America

These are interesting times.  It would appear that corporate America is holding all Americans hostage?  They’ve got their hands out asking for bailout money…but if the government doesn’t appease them, they threaten to close their doors.  Closing their doors would put many people out of work and puts the country at greater risk of falling into a depression.  Now, I wouldn’t necessarily be thinking that these huge corporations are trying to take advantage of us, but when I hear they are buying new jets, or giving out billions of dollars in bonuses, then I’m thinking….bonuses for what?  Running the company into the ground?  Either these companies are really, really, stupid (which could explain why they are failing)….or they are really, really, bold.  It appears to me to be the latter, and they are, in essence, extorting money from all of us.  If one of these large companies did fail, I imagine the CEOs still walk away filthy rich.  Therein lies their leverage.  They have little to lose personally, and are gambling with the fate of their employees and the economic welfare of the country at large.

Do you ever wonder why...

Do you ever ask yourself why? Why this…or why that? Why is my boss so challenging…why is my co-worker so challenging…why is my marriage so challenging…why is my job so challenging…why are my kids so challenging, why is life so challenging? The list could go on. Today, I’m considering that it is all about erosion. Huh? Yeah…environmental conditions that bring about some sort of wearing away of something or other. In time, even the most pointed peaks can be worn down to ground level. A sharp shard of glass tossed in a stream or the ocean ends up all rounded and smooth. Is that the reason for strife? Is it the shaping of our souls via abrasion, resistance, trial, conflict? It would seem likely. I think of Moses and the commentary about him…the meekest man in all the earth. Hmm. What makes a person meek? By trying, can you become meek, or is genuine meekness the result of environmental conditions, through experiences? I don’t believe it’s an accident that the majority of us start out young and strong and leave this life old and dependent. Surely, it’s part of the plan, true humility being the objective.

In the land of other people and things…

If Jesus pulled in right now, appeared right now, would you run right out to him…or would you be torn? Just imagine, Jesus is outside and waiting to take you away. What would you do? Would you just drop everything and run right out there, or would you be thinking about what you should grab to take with you? What about your stuff, your ‘cloak’, your wife, kids, dogs, cats, whatever? Would there be something inhibiting you from just running right out to Jesus? The question is, if you have those thoughts, are you really prepared for His coming, and if not, are you really fit for service in the kingdom of God? I don’t know the absolute answer to this. It seems to me that wanting to take your kids, wife, husband, ‘could’ be a show of love and how could love be a conflict with God? On the other hand, wanting to go back to get your ipod could point to a real problem.

What constitutes faithfulness...

I guess that's the question for all of us that claim the name of Christ.  What must we do, who must we be, to be considered faithful?  Jesus said many things that are relevant, but two things stand out for me.  First, in John 14:21, Jesus said "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me."  And then, in John 14:23, Jesus said  "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching."  If you had to sum up what Jesus's teaching was, my Christian Interpretation would be that it would come down to love (John 13:34  "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."  Matthew 22:37-40  Jesus replied: "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."  Matthew 7:12  So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.)

If love is the commandment, how then are we doing?  If you took a survey of yourself, and in one column you noted acts of selfless love, how many entries would there be?  Are we making the most of every opportunity, or are we a bit like the person James describes (James 1:23-24  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.)?  Do we walk out the door and immediately forget who we are, who we want to be?  It's so easy to do that, and to be sure, satan doesn't miss an opportunity to attempt to derail the best of intentions.

You know, as I'm sitting here thinking about this blog entry, it just dawned on me that I have a heavy jacket in my closet that I rarely use and could live without.  The weather is getting colder here now, and we have many homeless people in this area.  Surely one of them could make better use of it.

House of cards

I find it interesting that one of the core issues at the heart of the credit crisis…ie relaxing the government regulations that would have determined if a person ‘qualified’ (had a reasonable chance of being able to pay it back) for a loan and instead giving loans to people who were really at high risk to default on the loans…is exactly what the government is doing to try to remedy the credit crisis. In other words, the government is, in essence, borrowing 700+ billion dollars that it can’t afford (wouldn’t qualify for) and is at high risk at never being able or willing to pay it back, and throwing it in the pot to try to restore confidence in the economy. Remember, our government was 9 trillion dollars in debt before the credit crisis. What kind of example is that? Does that build your confidence in our government? Sheesh.

Smoke and Mirrors...

Politics!  Once again it appears that the politicians have fooled us.  In an apparent effort to make an administration (or administrations) look successful, they (temporarily) stimulated the economy in a short-sighted and irresponsible manner.  Surprised?  I'm not.  The two party system is wrought with this type of behavior.  The politicians love to point to the stats.  Look at unemployment...look at the housing market...look at this and that.  But, so often, the numbers are deceptive because they are the result of, what amounts to, bad business decisions.  Decisions that are based strictly on the here and now...without considering the future implications.  Want to buy a house even if, in reality, you can't afford it?  We'll still give you a loan even if there is a good chance you will default on it.  One little hiccup along life's way and you will be over your head in debt.

The way I understand it, the government is at fault in all this, though business took advantage of the government's idiocy.  Since the government mandated that companies give loans to people who basically couldn't afford them, these companies did exactly that.  There were a lot of commissions on the sale of homes.  Capitalism would say...who cares if the home buyer can't afford the home?  What matters is that I get my commission.  If the home buyer made a bad decision, that's their problem and not my fault.  That's what capitalism breeds,  greed, and shortsightedness.  Who cares that the whole economy collapses later on...what matters is the money I can make right this minute.

imo, the USA needs a whole new government system, as the system we have now has it's origins in selfishness (me), and greed (me).  A system that is based on 'me', is doomed to self destruction.  

Was Jesus GOD?

  Here is what scripture says:   1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord...