BACKGROUND:
The book I.D. CRISIS by Kurt Koppetsch deals with the spiritual, intellectual, and social conflict of people in modern times. Confusion about the past and uncertainties in the present prevent us from knowing our true nature. As a direct consequence of such confusion, visions of the future are clouded. Some of the diversions that prevent us from realizing our true identity as children of God are philosophies, politics, economics, and falsehoods such as religious cults. The solution is remembering that human beings are dependent creatures of God.
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE:
Each series of the book I.D. CRISIS will conclude with the poem "Rays of Hope and Freedom" to assure readers that God cares about our lives and we are his children of hope. Hope is the From/to process at work in the modern Era of Faith repairing life and circumstances. Hope is making the impossible come true.
This week's topic:
ARE WE EXISTING IN AN IDENTITY CRISIS?
We live by priorities.
The routine of daily life is subject to value judgments. Our decisions have far-reaching consequences on personal behavior and relationships. The quality of life on earth depends upon a successful balancing of priorities--with God and one another.
Choosing priorities requires people to exercise their God-given freedom. Any outcome will necessarily be influenced by personal convictions and views about life. People decide to make materialistic greed or spiritual hunger their priorities. Blessing or curse of life on earth depends upon a thorough appreciation of the purpose of our creation.
To help us live by the right decision requires that we become fully aware as to whose we truly are.
Therefore, in light of God's purpose for human creation, let us ask: "Do we have an identity problem?"
Because of its serious implications, this question certainly merits attention. So let us look at the problem with genuine concern and examine the quality of daily life. Let us expose all the consequences that result from spiritual neglect. Thus we must make our review a matter of personal involvement.
As we commit ourselves to the search for truth, we seek to find the answers to understand the secrets of life. And any truth uncovered will hopefully guide us back on the right path of faithfulness and obedience.
A potential crisis can be turned into the better way of life. Our quest for purpose and meaning on earth will also lead to a deeper appreciation of the nature of our being. A dedicated search will lead us to fundamental truth and point the way to whose we truly are.
We are God's people!
God's mark of ownership is the divine act of our creation. And on the strength of God's righteousness alone, this claim on our lives was renewed. God made it permanent through the divine act of redemption.
God acted despite the sinfulness of people. Redemption--life in union with Christ as God's anointed savior--offers all people the opportunity to live by grace in the newness of life. It further secures for the faithful and the obedient a place of restored fellowship in the presence of God. For as grace and faith combine, then all people who believe in God's plan of salvation will experience the oneness that identifies human beings as the image of God.
If our behavior in thought and deed is not in harmony with God's expectations for the purpose of our creation, then, we are in the center of an identity crisis. Our behavior--together with the fruits of our labor--is all the evidence needed to indict us.
Whenever people as individuals, families, or societies that make up a nation continuously miss the mark of realizing the life-giving relationship ordained by God, God's expectations of faithfulness and obedience have become sidetracked. When this happens, devotion as well as service to God degenerates into a purposeless ritual. People will go to church once a week solely to satisfy the ego. The absence of any genuine sign of repentance will serve as additional proof that pride and arrogance have combined forces with selfishness and greed.
Neither families nor societies benefit from the spiritual decay of their members. Satan is the only one to gain from any degeneration of the human race. Therefore, Satan will offer help to the wayward in making the final break from knowing God by severing any remaining strains of conscience. Thereafter evil can claim victory over the conflict in man.
Sheer physical existence becomes the new order of the day. Without hope, life has already been shown to be very harsh. People compete for self-esteem, increase greed to remain above average, and excel in empire building to maintain an image.
For people who live without hope, the world is nothing more than a jungle. This type of world consumes--energies and people. In it people will fight and kill in order to survive.
Within it, people will tend to live in their own ocean of self-righteousness. Only the choking from the corrosive atmosphere of hate and greed will make them aware of spiritual blindness. Missed opportunity to overcome this way of life lead to deathbed despair in which the dying see the horizons closing in for the final curtain call.
People have created their own death trap when they make the world a place in which ruthless ambition is the order of the day. In it we will constantly see people working extra hard to outsmart and outdo their fellow men.
As people fight for supremacy, the tenderness of conscience becomes dulled in proportion to the fierceness of worldly struggles. Eventually the wayward will also become insensitive to the pain of slow spiritual death. As they compensate for this painless loss with overindulgence in the pleasures of materialistic gains, Satan waits prepared to reap the harvest in a field full of people who have lost all spiritual identity with God.
Because human beings were created to be dependent creatures of God, an identity crisis is really upon us. We simply have failed to appreciate divine truth as the message that alone can satisfy the hunger of starving souls.
What must we do?
This is not just a cry of desperation of the humanly frail and physically weak. There are moments of truth in all people--good and bad alike. These times of root awakening are opportunities to change. It can be the beginning of the better way of life.
Unfortunately, not all people will take advantage of the chance for a new beginning. We all know that the shedding of bad habits is good for us and there is even some honesty to our hidden desire for change. Yet this is seldom pursued with sufficient impetus to make a fresh beginning the new routine of daily life.
We are not alone in this tragic situation. We share this dilemma with multitudes of people around us.
Because pride makes us cry for even greater independence, we are slaves of our own pride. It makes us want to dictate the ground rules for communion and fellowship with God.
Thus, the sin of rebellion, defiance, and independence is compounded by the greater sin of pride. Even though this conflict is harsh, let us not become overwhelmed by the fierceness of our own problems. Nor must we let ourselves become intimidated by the evil around us. There is nothing in the world that can destroy what God has ordained.
At the same time let us also recognize that there are no alternate or substitute ways for God's plans for our spiritual well-being. For on the basis of God's righteousness alone, grace is the divine gift that secures salvation through Jesus Christ. Thus, the only proper reaction to God's offer of grace is to take refuge in God our Redeemer.
Life in today's world is a mixed blessing. Aimless drift and apathy is a predominant problem among the well-to-do. Hunger, disease, and death darken all signs of hope for the less fortunate. Though present in different ways, despair can touch rich and poor alike. Nonetheless, life continues to run its course because God sustains it.
This world is the proving ground for Christian faith. The faithful and obedient are given the opportunity to live the faith that we as Christians have so readily professed. Life must be shared with zealots, opportunists, the confused, and even those who reject everything, including themselves.
Yet the presence of God is evident. For from within this unlikely bundle of people, God continues to use individuals in many ways to accomplish divine purpose.
Through his grace, God is providing ample help. Christians can draw on the power of God to let the Holy Spirit work his will through them. Thus, we do not live for ourselves but to the glory of God.
Christ's prophetic words in the Sermon on the Mount serve to identify followers and their mission: "You are the light of the world ... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14,16)
For a better understanding of "good works," let us keep in mind the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). God is glorified when we recognize the other person also as a child of God and give of ourselves.
If Christians--as the body of Christ--are really concerned about their mission and work, they need not defend or be apologetic about their witness to the good news of the Gospel: Jesus Christ came, died, and was raised back to life for the forgiveness of sins--for even the worst of sinners.
To end the identity crisis, we must yield to the Holy Spirit, who alone will reveal the truth about God.
The flourishing of falsehoods--such as religious cults--during an identity crisis is alarming, but should not come as a surprise. Whenever people feel spiritually destitute, they will accept even their own manipulation for the sake of temporary relief.
But false teaching will go on. Saint Paul mentioned that this will continue as long as there are people who like to promote human ideas: "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths." (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
As people of God--our true identity through creation and redemption--we live in the world by the grace of God.
This rules out all clever manipulation by the human mind to become giants in intellect and develop our own methods of pleasing God. Restored fellowship was provided by God two thousand years ago--despite sin--as a gift of grace.
God has acted. We now must respond, faithfully and obediently, and live out God's plan of salvation.
RAYS OF HOPE AND FREEDOM
My life was in chaos.
Darkness clouded my senses.
My heart trembled in fear.
I prayed to God:
"Father, help me!"
And God transformed my life.
The world is still the same.
But I am now secure:
Christ is my Savior!
His love fills my heart,
His faith is my faith.
Rays of hope now light up my soul.
Rays of hope and freedom
Show me the way to God,
And where Christ lives I too will live!
NEXT, December 7:
Christianity, nice people, and the real world
(Excerpt from the book I.D. CRISIS by Kurt Koppetsch, published by Shepherd News Trust, Inc.--www.shepherdnewstrust.com)
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
I.D. CRISIS--Series 1 of 20--Introduction
BACKGROUND:
The book I.D. CRISIS by Kurt Koppetsch deals with the spiritual, intellectual, and social conflict of people in modern times. Confusion about the past and uncertainties in the present prevent us from knowing our true nature. As a direct consequence of such confusion, visions of the future are clouded. Some of the diversions that prevent people from realizing their true identity as children of God are philosophies, politics, economics, and falsehoods such as religious cults. The solution is remembering that human beings are dependent creatures of God.
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE:
Each series of the book I.D. CRISIS will conclude repeatedly with the poem "Rays of Hope and Freedom" to assure readers that God is in charge of human lives and we are his children of hope. Hope is the From/to process at work in the modern Era of Faith repairing life and circumstances. Hope is making the impossible come true.
This week's topic:
INTRODUCTION
I.D. CRISIS was written to alert all people everywhere about a better way of life, God's way. The purpose of the text is to help diligent readers get started on the personal road of discovery to eternal truth and universal salvation.
No writing, however eloquent, can prescribe a step-by-step procedure for this search. People must learn to appreciate for themselves the way of truth. Such is the beginning of an everlasting relationship.
And the authority for guidance belongs to God. In human ideas, what may be totally acceptable to some is highly objectionable to others.
Even though attitudes and behavior may vary from culture to culture, the essence of life, nonetheless, is changeless. The model of the godly life has been given to the world. The message about the Kingdom of God and the will of God is clear in Christ's teaching.
Much confusion is nourished by ignorance. And evil enters in when theories are declared as facts and dogmatic pronouncements attempt to protect doctrines and traditions. This is typical when ecclesiastical organizations feel threatened and try to perpetuate themselves. But such defensive moves are not always necessarily in the interest of truth.
There is no need to speculate concerning the truth about God. The teaching of Christ is God's summary. The message given explains the Kingdom of God and the will of God. Nothing more is required for the short human pilgrimage on earth of seventy years more or less.
Christ affirmed God's expectations of faithfulness and obedience. The call to worship and service--the ancient Shema Yisrael--is confirmed for all people everywhere as a primary event in everyday life: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37)
No additional explanations is needed. The human race is the height of God's creation. And God has definite expectations of people.
Eternal truth is further enhanced by Christ summarizing the historic Law of Holiness and Justice. This divine command stands as the foundation of all human relationships: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:39)
Prior to Christ's confirmation of these standards for human behavior, God's prophet Micah provided the divine reply to the age-old question as to what God requires of people. The subject again concerns holiness and justice: "He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)
The direction is straightforward. There are no hidden meanings.
Yet Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest Americans, lamented about the sad condition of ecclesiastical religion. The prophet Micah's detailed summary to "walk humbly with your God" was compared by Lincoln to the workings of the institutional church.
This is how Lincoln saw the problem: "When any church will inscribe over its altar, as its sole qualification for membership, the Saviour's condensed statement of the substance of both Law and Gospel, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor, as thyself' that church will I join with all my heart and all my soul."
What otherwise may appear as sarcasm on the part of non-committed people are actually cries of desperation--sometimes even calls for reform. The vacuum within an empty soul is the greatest imaginable abyss. It is as consuming as the bottomless pit.
--Where is God in times of war?
--Why all the starvation in the world?
--Why do people suffer?
These outcries are real. Death and suffering are in the world. Where is God in all this trouble? Assuredly, with the faithful believer! God is right in the center of war, starvation, and suffering to support and uphold the faithful.
Faithful believers live in the world according to divine promise. What God ordains, God also sustains. This message of hope has been given many times. But it must be repeated again and again.
God has already demonstrated his perfect record of performance. He has proven to be faithful and steadfast. Therefore, any demands for new themes in the teaching of eternal truth are mere tactics of arrogant people. With their demands they wish God's creation to march to their tune. Anyone more concerned about the ways of the world than the Kingdom of God does not have a working relationship with the Living God at heart.
Biblical writings are sufficient evidence about the concerns of a righteous God for sinful people. The Bible, indeed, is a text on relationships. It is a true God-and-people book.
But eternal truth is a matter of revelation by the Holy Spirit. The written word, indeed, is human, but its inspirational message is divine.
God inspires believers by means of divinely ordained channels. The Bible is the means by which the Holy Spirit makes known the truth about God.
Education is a continuous process of learning. But somehow people have conceived the unfortunate notion that formal education ends the learning process. Nothing is further from the truth.
A worse situation exists in religious education. It is truly sad to see children elated at having been freed from the burden of learning about God at the day of their confirmation. They have learned fast to follow the example of elders.
With the exception of some sporadic programs, no responsibility has been exercised by either teachers or adults to maintain the learning process of knowing all the truth about God.
Good behavior is a matter of faithfulness and obedience to God. The quality of our response to God is not subject to human consideration, for the will of God is the purpose of our being. Christ taught and demonstrated God's intent for people. When people live and act accordingly, they have achieved true greatness. Then they also have something to boast about--because of what God through Christ has done--and not brag about worldly achievements.
The Word of God in Jeremiah encourages our concern for the Kingdom of God. "Thus says the LORD: 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practice steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the LORD.'" (Jeremiah 9:23-24)
RAYS OF HOPE AND FEEDOM
My life was in chaos.
Darkness clouded my senses,
My heart trembled in fear.
I prayed to God:
"Father, help me!"
And God transformed my life.
The world is still the same.
But I am now secure:
Christ is my Savior!
His love fills my heart,
His faith is my faith.
Rays of hope now light up my soul.
Rays of hope and freedom
Show me the way to God,
And where Christ lives I too will live!
NEXT, November 30:
Are we existing in an identity crisis?
(Excerpt from the book I.D. CRISIS by Kurt Koppetsch, published by Shepherd News Trust, Inc.--www.shepherdnewstrust.com)
The book I.D. CRISIS by Kurt Koppetsch deals with the spiritual, intellectual, and social conflict of people in modern times. Confusion about the past and uncertainties in the present prevent us from knowing our true nature. As a direct consequence of such confusion, visions of the future are clouded. Some of the diversions that prevent people from realizing their true identity as children of God are philosophies, politics, economics, and falsehoods such as religious cults. The solution is remembering that human beings are dependent creatures of God.
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE:
Each series of the book I.D. CRISIS will conclude repeatedly with the poem "Rays of Hope and Freedom" to assure readers that God is in charge of human lives and we are his children of hope. Hope is the From/to process at work in the modern Era of Faith repairing life and circumstances. Hope is making the impossible come true.
This week's topic:
INTRODUCTION
I.D. CRISIS was written to alert all people everywhere about a better way of life, God's way. The purpose of the text is to help diligent readers get started on the personal road of discovery to eternal truth and universal salvation.
No writing, however eloquent, can prescribe a step-by-step procedure for this search. People must learn to appreciate for themselves the way of truth. Such is the beginning of an everlasting relationship.
And the authority for guidance belongs to God. In human ideas, what may be totally acceptable to some is highly objectionable to others.
Even though attitudes and behavior may vary from culture to culture, the essence of life, nonetheless, is changeless. The model of the godly life has been given to the world. The message about the Kingdom of God and the will of God is clear in Christ's teaching.
Much confusion is nourished by ignorance. And evil enters in when theories are declared as facts and dogmatic pronouncements attempt to protect doctrines and traditions. This is typical when ecclesiastical organizations feel threatened and try to perpetuate themselves. But such defensive moves are not always necessarily in the interest of truth.
There is no need to speculate concerning the truth about God. The teaching of Christ is God's summary. The message given explains the Kingdom of God and the will of God. Nothing more is required for the short human pilgrimage on earth of seventy years more or less.
Christ affirmed God's expectations of faithfulness and obedience. The call to worship and service--the ancient Shema Yisrael--is confirmed for all people everywhere as a primary event in everyday life: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37)
No additional explanations is needed. The human race is the height of God's creation. And God has definite expectations of people.
Eternal truth is further enhanced by Christ summarizing the historic Law of Holiness and Justice. This divine command stands as the foundation of all human relationships: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:39)
Prior to Christ's confirmation of these standards for human behavior, God's prophet Micah provided the divine reply to the age-old question as to what God requires of people. The subject again concerns holiness and justice: "He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)
The direction is straightforward. There are no hidden meanings.
Yet Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest Americans, lamented about the sad condition of ecclesiastical religion. The prophet Micah's detailed summary to "walk humbly with your God" was compared by Lincoln to the workings of the institutional church.
This is how Lincoln saw the problem: "When any church will inscribe over its altar, as its sole qualification for membership, the Saviour's condensed statement of the substance of both Law and Gospel, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor, as thyself' that church will I join with all my heart and all my soul."
What otherwise may appear as sarcasm on the part of non-committed people are actually cries of desperation--sometimes even calls for reform. The vacuum within an empty soul is the greatest imaginable abyss. It is as consuming as the bottomless pit.
--Where is God in times of war?
--Why all the starvation in the world?
--Why do people suffer?
These outcries are real. Death and suffering are in the world. Where is God in all this trouble? Assuredly, with the faithful believer! God is right in the center of war, starvation, and suffering to support and uphold the faithful.
Faithful believers live in the world according to divine promise. What God ordains, God also sustains. This message of hope has been given many times. But it must be repeated again and again.
God has already demonstrated his perfect record of performance. He has proven to be faithful and steadfast. Therefore, any demands for new themes in the teaching of eternal truth are mere tactics of arrogant people. With their demands they wish God's creation to march to their tune. Anyone more concerned about the ways of the world than the Kingdom of God does not have a working relationship with the Living God at heart.
Biblical writings are sufficient evidence about the concerns of a righteous God for sinful people. The Bible, indeed, is a text on relationships. It is a true God-and-people book.
But eternal truth is a matter of revelation by the Holy Spirit. The written word, indeed, is human, but its inspirational message is divine.
God inspires believers by means of divinely ordained channels. The Bible is the means by which the Holy Spirit makes known the truth about God.
Education is a continuous process of learning. But somehow people have conceived the unfortunate notion that formal education ends the learning process. Nothing is further from the truth.
A worse situation exists in religious education. It is truly sad to see children elated at having been freed from the burden of learning about God at the day of their confirmation. They have learned fast to follow the example of elders.
With the exception of some sporadic programs, no responsibility has been exercised by either teachers or adults to maintain the learning process of knowing all the truth about God.
Good behavior is a matter of faithfulness and obedience to God. The quality of our response to God is not subject to human consideration, for the will of God is the purpose of our being. Christ taught and demonstrated God's intent for people. When people live and act accordingly, they have achieved true greatness. Then they also have something to boast about--because of what God through Christ has done--and not brag about worldly achievements.
The Word of God in Jeremiah encourages our concern for the Kingdom of God. "Thus says the LORD: 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practice steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the LORD.'" (Jeremiah 9:23-24)
RAYS OF HOPE AND FEEDOM
My life was in chaos.
Darkness clouded my senses,
My heart trembled in fear.
I prayed to God:
"Father, help me!"
And God transformed my life.
The world is still the same.
But I am now secure:
Christ is my Savior!
His love fills my heart,
His faith is my faith.
Rays of hope now light up my soul.
Rays of hope and freedom
Show me the way to God,
And where Christ lives I too will live!
NEXT, November 30:
Are we existing in an identity crisis?
(Excerpt from the book I.D. CRISIS by Kurt Koppetsch, published by Shepherd News Trust, Inc.--www.shepherdnewstrust.com)
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The economy and the power to make things better--Part 5 of 5--A National Prayer
Prayer by the power of the Holy Spirit is the most powerful force in bonding people and God; we pray to God for his presence, healing, spiritual renewal, and economic independence. Prayer awakens the conscience to become conscientious in our relationship with God.
Dear God and Father:
Jesus commanded us to pray in his name. Let your Holy Spirit guide us in everything you want done. Help us with confession and commitment, strengthen our faith and keep us united.
You have made us a nation of peers, rich in resources, and overflowing with talent. We decided to change all that.
And now many unresolved ills are tearing us apart, straining the social fabric. We have acted willfully and tarnished our opportunities to excel in service to you. At times we are even harsh toward ourselves. You have given us humanity, yet we manage to treat family and strangers less than humanely.
While you expect of us faithfulness and obedience to your will and the purpose of our creation, we have been busily building our own empires in a society of institutions. On these we depend to take care of us.
We have exchanged the attributes of equality for all human beings--individual rights and personal obligations--in favor of a system of collective agents in our institutions. They are no substitutes, even though we believed these to be better qualified to handle our relationship with you and the relationships with one another.
We let ourselves become saturated with information based on the bottom line of selling papers and air time, and we have neglected searching and listening to your Word.
We have become complacent when financial opportunists deal away our economic independence.
We export manufacturing and import investments. We do nothing to prevent the prospects of our children becoming servants of foreign masters in their own land.
We have relegated trust in you to a meaningless imprint on money, but as money decays, so will we, unless we change and return to you.
These are crucial times. We cry out to you to awaken a slumbering giant. Renew our spirit and help us to seek the only peace of value, your peace, where the human spirit is at peace with you and one another in a world of uncharted space to allow for the expansion of tolerance, compassion, and the blessing of your promise to take care of us.
O Lord, our God, act with haste and save us. Be once again our refuge and strength, for you are our God, and we are your people. Prepare for us your way to transform challenges into opportunities so that toward the end your name will be glorified in a new era in America, the Era of Faith.
In Jesus' name we pray: Your kingdom come. Your will be done. Amen.
Dear God and Father:
Jesus commanded us to pray in his name. Let your Holy Spirit guide us in everything you want done. Help us with confession and commitment, strengthen our faith and keep us united.
You have made us a nation of peers, rich in resources, and overflowing with talent. We decided to change all that.
And now many unresolved ills are tearing us apart, straining the social fabric. We have acted willfully and tarnished our opportunities to excel in service to you. At times we are even harsh toward ourselves. You have given us humanity, yet we manage to treat family and strangers less than humanely.
While you expect of us faithfulness and obedience to your will and the purpose of our creation, we have been busily building our own empires in a society of institutions. On these we depend to take care of us.
We have exchanged the attributes of equality for all human beings--individual rights and personal obligations--in favor of a system of collective agents in our institutions. They are no substitutes, even though we believed these to be better qualified to handle our relationship with you and the relationships with one another.
We let ourselves become saturated with information based on the bottom line of selling papers and air time, and we have neglected searching and listening to your Word.
We have become complacent when financial opportunists deal away our economic independence.
We export manufacturing and import investments. We do nothing to prevent the prospects of our children becoming servants of foreign masters in their own land.
We have relegated trust in you to a meaningless imprint on money, but as money decays, so will we, unless we change and return to you.
These are crucial times. We cry out to you to awaken a slumbering giant. Renew our spirit and help us to seek the only peace of value, your peace, where the human spirit is at peace with you and one another in a world of uncharted space to allow for the expansion of tolerance, compassion, and the blessing of your promise to take care of us.
O Lord, our God, act with haste and save us. Be once again our refuge and strength, for you are our God, and we are your people. Prepare for us your way to transform challenges into opportunities so that toward the end your name will be glorified in a new era in America, the Era of Faith.
In Jesus' name we pray: Your kingdom come. Your will be done. Amen.
Monday, November 9, 2009
The economy and the power to make things better--Part 4 of 5--Hope and promise
Great things always happen when we work the Golden Rule according to God’s plan for human life, be it in economics, finance, jobs, health care, education and respect for the other person. Let the power to make things better now be our commitment to work hard and do what is best in dealing justly in economic and social matters, for the world revolves around the economy. Yet we are not alone in this arduous task toward physical satisfaction and spiritual wellbeing. God inspires us with hope and the promise of his presence, and he expects us to apply the gift of hope to the fullest in evidence to show that we are truly his children of hope.
Next: A National Prayer
Next: A National Prayer
Monday, November 2, 2009
The economy and the power to make things better--Part 3 of 5--The spiritual point of view
God looks with compassion at modern America, and he suffers with the victims of economic abuse. With scorn he addresses today’s arrogant and inexperienced managers, the “Paper Barons” of modern times, as well as impulsive politicians: “You have become too big for your breeches. All the world’s resources are mine. Your greedy appetite and lust for power are wasting what belongs to me and all my people!”
And God continues: “I have made America the bastion of free enterprise. You have eliminated your competitors by swallowing them up one by one, not with your own money but at the expense of my people. You have borrowed money and then passed on the cost of your insatiable growth to the consumers. They carry the burden of your grandiose schemes through higher costs of the market basket or smaller food packages. In your grandiose plots you start new ventures with borrowed money and then fold them up when things do not work out. Who do you think is absorbing the loss? Surely it is not your financial backers. They are even greedier than you are. They are in business to make money no matter what. And look at your accounting schemes. Suddenly you play the fool, claiming that you do not know what is happening. You know how to give yourselves huge salaries, bonuses, and generous pensions. My people must pay for them by your denying jobs, health coverage, and pensions for my hard-working people.”
God’s voice now thunders: “By what rules do you gamble the hard-earned savings of my working people in 401(k) plans? Who decides that you have the right to declare a stock under value or encourage companies to dilute the number of shares? Who do you think is picking up the tab when your schemes fail? Unscrupulous institutional managers of the public trust are the great evils in modern times. A lot of money is changing hands without control and without consideration of the needs of the owner.”
Furthermore, God says: “You pay obnoxiously high salaries in professional sports. Whose money is it that you are wasting? You recover every penny through advertisements of the products my people must buy in order to live. But it is my people who must swallow with each spoon of food the bitterness of your schemes. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
God says: “My wealth in America belongs to the American people. It is my gift to them.” God admonishes America’s leadership—business leaders and politicians alike—concerning job losses: “When you scorn the American workforce as an expense that is prohibitive, you are attacking the foundation of the American dream that I put in place for a bright future of job stability and family income. You are attacking me when you take work away from my people. Your cheap labor tactics are now the cause of many social ills in America. Your greedy appetite is placing the American family in jeopardy. Your greed is a monster that gnaws at the hopes and dreams of my people. And that is not all. You now sell in America for dollars what you have manufactured offshore for cents. Your exploitation of cheap labor markets is slavery. Your greed is responsible for hatred and wars because exploited people feel the injustice done to them. You are fools if you think that I will let you get away with it. Beware of your greed. Greed is a killer. I will not stop your greed, for eventually your own greed will destroy you in due time. Repent therefore. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
And God continues: “I have made America the bastion of free enterprise. You have eliminated your competitors by swallowing them up one by one, not with your own money but at the expense of my people. You have borrowed money and then passed on the cost of your insatiable growth to the consumers. They carry the burden of your grandiose schemes through higher costs of the market basket or smaller food packages. In your grandiose plots you start new ventures with borrowed money and then fold them up when things do not work out. Who do you think is absorbing the loss? Surely it is not your financial backers. They are even greedier than you are. They are in business to make money no matter what. And look at your accounting schemes. Suddenly you play the fool, claiming that you do not know what is happening. You know how to give yourselves huge salaries, bonuses, and generous pensions. My people must pay for them by your denying jobs, health coverage, and pensions for my hard-working people.”
God’s voice now thunders: “By what rules do you gamble the hard-earned savings of my working people in 401(k) plans? Who decides that you have the right to declare a stock under value or encourage companies to dilute the number of shares? Who do you think is picking up the tab when your schemes fail? Unscrupulous institutional managers of the public trust are the great evils in modern times. A lot of money is changing hands without control and without consideration of the needs of the owner.”
Furthermore, God says: “You pay obnoxiously high salaries in professional sports. Whose money is it that you are wasting? You recover every penny through advertisements of the products my people must buy in order to live. But it is my people who must swallow with each spoon of food the bitterness of your schemes. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
God says: “My wealth in America belongs to the American people. It is my gift to them.” God admonishes America’s leadership—business leaders and politicians alike—concerning job losses: “When you scorn the American workforce as an expense that is prohibitive, you are attacking the foundation of the American dream that I put in place for a bright future of job stability and family income. You are attacking me when you take work away from my people. Your cheap labor tactics are now the cause of many social ills in America. Your greedy appetite is placing the American family in jeopardy. Your greed is a monster that gnaws at the hopes and dreams of my people. And that is not all. You now sell in America for dollars what you have manufactured offshore for cents. Your exploitation of cheap labor markets is slavery. Your greed is responsible for hatred and wars because exploited people feel the injustice done to them. You are fools if you think that I will let you get away with it. Beware of your greed. Greed is a killer. I will not stop your greed, for eventually your own greed will destroy you in due time. Repent therefore. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
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