Month: November 2008

  • The Crash Course

    With all that's happened and is happening in the financial news lately, you may have asked questions about the economy:
    What's wrong with the economy?
    What is money?
    Where does money come from?
    What causes inflation?
    Why does inflation feel like it's more than the government numbers say it is?
    What's "the Fed" and what does it have to do with the economy?
    What's so bad about the national debt?
    How do bubbles form?
    How long does it take for bubbles to burst?
    What causes recession?
    What does the price of oil have to do with the economy?
    Do we still need to worry about energy?

    If you are wondering about the answer to any of these questions or ever wished you understood the economy, you should watch The Crash Course.  If you've never cared about the economy, you should watch The Crash Course to find out why you should care.  This entertaining and terrifying three-and-a-half-hour video series can be watched all at once or in more manageable 3-20 minute chunks.  You might possibly learn more about the economy in this time than you have in your life.  If you spend only three and a half hours of your life learning about the economy, let it be on watching The Crash Course.

    Luke 12:15-34 gives some needed perspective after watching The Crash Course: "And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth."  Quality of life is not the same as standard of living.

    "And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:  And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?  And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?  So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."  Saving is good, but selfish hoarding is not.

    "And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.  The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.  Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?  And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?  If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?  Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?  And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.  For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.  But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."  Planning is good, but worry is not.

    "Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  Do not set your heart on things that will not last forever.  "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." -1 John 2:15-17

    Be responsible with money, but do not serve it:
    "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.  If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?  And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?  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." -Luke 16:10-13

  • Life > Liberty > Property

    It's election day.
     
    One Issue
    I care about many different issues, but practically speaking, I'm a one-issue voter.  Abortion is the deal-breaker, so heavily weighted that it alone could tip the scale against the other issues.
     
    Randy Alcorn explains in a couple blog entries why he's a one-issue voter and why he's voting for a less-than-ideal candidate from a less-than-ideal party:
     
    Even if Obamanomics were to miraculously work, the idea that it would result in a net decrease of abortions is delusional.
     
     
    Life > Liberty > Property
    But isn't bread (though not alone) needed to sustain life?  True, but life is needed to eat it in the first place.  With life, there is at least hope.  Practically speaking, somebody's life and liberty are needed to get property.  It is an evil when strangers, instead of you, eat what God has given you.
     
    What about Patrick Henry's "give me liberty or give me death?"  Again, one must first have a life in order to give it, whether through martyrdom or service to country.
     

    The Mosaic Law was described as the Israelites' wisdom, though it made provision for their hard hearts.  We can learn certain principles from it.  The Ten Commandments seem to descend in order of importance, first those relating to the Great Commandment, then the Second Commandment.  Of the commandments relating to people, after the duty to honor parents, the prohibitions of murder and adultery precede those of theft, perjury, and coveting.

     
    The crimes against God, life, and family, were capital crimes.  Theft of property was merely a restitution crime, but theft of liberty (kidnapping) was a capital crime.  Perjury was a capital crime if it was attempted murder.
     

    Though any murder defiles the land, child sacrifice is called an abomination along with the sexual abominations in Leviticus 18 that defile the land and cause it vomit out its inhabitants.  This makes them more serious than the evils of rebellion against parents, kidnapping, and perjury.

     
     
    Is capitalism in the Bible?
    The Bible assumes capitalism, not socialism.  It condemns eating without working (2 Thessalonians 3:8-12).  Wages are paid according to agreement, not fairness.  Envious eyes that demand fairness leave no room for generosity.  Even those in the early church, which had all things in common, gave voluntarily after selling their private property.  Ananias and Sapphira did not have to give their property or its proceeds as if they were taxed involuntarily.  They were punished for lying, not refusing to give.
     
     
    What if Obama gets elected?
    God is in control, no matter who gets elected:
     
    God sometimes raises up bad leaders or causes leaders to make bad decisions as a judgment.  In 1 Samuel 8, Israel demanded a king and received one as a judgment.  In 2 Samuel 24, God was angry against Israel and caused David to number the people.  Rehoboam's foolish decision was a judgment for Solomon's idolatry.
     
    "If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." -2 Chronicles 7:13-14