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This year, millions of Americans are making New Year’s resolutions for better lives. For most of them, that means better finances. Television, magazines, and tabloids are ablaze with the top financial resolutions to save money in 2010. Money is a popular thing these days. So many politicians, businessmen, and newscasters are talking about money, and in such large amounts that it is hard to imagine what use the few dollars you hold in your pocket really are.
The past few years have seen several major calamities and overhauls in the national economic scene. Unfortunately, these are not merely isolated economic fluctuations, but signs of the unraveling of our entire economic system. The housing market crash, the mortgage meltdown, and the demise of several national banks were all dominoes in a greater and imminent collapse, which started with the lowering of banking standards from years before. (See “In Whom Do We Trust?” April 2009) What is next?
This decade has seen unprecedented government intervention and control, with the business industry being the latest sector to see government tampering. In September 2008 the federal government stepped in to bail out AIG, one of the world's largest insurers. Then on June 1st 2009, the government bailed out General Motors, the second-oldest member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Now the Obama administration is calling for yet another stimulus bill, supposedly focusing on job creation. The Heritage Foundation, a public policy research institute published a report citing the failure of Obama’s previous stimulus bill. “In January 2009, White House economists predicted that the stimulus bill would create (not merely save) 3.3 million net jobs by 2010. Since then, 3.5 million more net jobs have been lost, pushing the unemployment rate above 10 percent,” said Brian Riedl, the Heritage Foundation's lead budget analyst.
The fact is that more money alone has never solved economic problems. If the government run economy is consistently faltering, that means that the procedures are failing. The situation we have today is like a convoluted operating room, with so many instruments and medications, that we can’t even diagnose the problem, so as to even begin to find a solution. One thing is clear: the stimulus option does not work, and has a long history of not working. The Heritage Foundation reports, “The idea that increased deficit spending can cure recessions has been tested repeatedly, and it has failed repeatedly.” In the 1930s, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” doubled federal spending, but unemployment remained above 20 percent until World War II. President Bush tried to improve the economy through Government spending in 2001, and 2008, but the economy continued to worsen both times, exacerbated by the costs of the war. Now Obama is attempting yet another stimulus bill, while at the same time increasing national spending (a.k.a., national debt).
The most dismal factor in all of this is that the money being spent to fix the economy is coming from taxpayers. Government intervention works on the principle that the Government can spend your money better than you can to fix your problems. That’s exactly what our government has been doing, and now our nation is 12 trillion dollars in debt. According to information from the U.S. Treasury and Federal reserve, the burden of debt per taxpayer is $112,671. That’s how much the government has spent on you. In a nation where 15 million people are unemployed, we can only wonder what those people would have done if they had their own money. President Ronald Reagan believed that “there is nothing wrong with America
In April of 1995, following the Oklahoma City Bombing, rescue workers left this message in paint on one of the surviving walls: “We search for the truth. We seek justice. The courts require it. The victims cry for it. GOD demands it!” The bombing in Oklahoma City was the very first case of terrorism at home, and it shook the nation. The safety and security that America had long taken for granted was being challenged, and the question of truth was in everyone’s minds. The cry for truth and justice resonated loudly, and the culture rushed to provide the answer. Unfortunately, the answers of our postmodern society were unfit to provide a solid answer, and unable to promise a secure future.
Dr. Gene Edward Veith, a columnist for WORLD Magazine and author of 18 books, wrote about the conflicting worldviews that are prevalent in society today in his book, Loving God with all your Mind: Thinking as a Christian in the Postmodern World. He identifies the fact that the world we live in today has an overall climate of postmodernism, which denies absolute truth, and holds to a belief that truth is a construction of the will. In short, “the human being is the creator of truth.” According to this belief, truth must be relative, and therefore indefinable. And if that’s true, how can we ever find justice?
Sadly, justice is the first thing to be lost in a society where truth is relative. Our courts are an example of this moral disintegration. Our judicial system is based upon the Constitution, the supreme law of the land. But what happens when supreme law is relative? Postmodernism wants us to believe that truth is fluid. It is constantly changing, and always able to be shaped in whatever way we see fit. This has led to a re-interpretation of the Constitution by our highest courts, which can only end in a disregard for our basic rights. Life is no longer valued. Private property is no longer protected. And because truth isn’t solid, we can expect even more new interpretations in the future.
Ideas have consequences. Our ideas shape our beliefs, which we use to interpret the facts that we encounter. Our beliefs will ultimately shape our conclusions, and our conclusions are what determine our actions. Under a postmodern worldview, that means a person who completely believes that he should blow up a building would honestly be right in acting upon the ‘truth’ that he created. The terrorist attacks on September 11th were ideological attacks. The radical Muslim terrorists had deep religious convictions that killing the “infidels” was truly righteous. Our problems only get deeper when there is a clash of postmodernism, which is inevitable under such an erroneous belief. What happens when two people’s constructed truths collide? Here then, is our dilemma: Truth is a construction, and in our society we construct our truth around pleasure, building our own luxuries high around us like great towers. Then along comes another man. We wouldn’t dare confront him, because he is entitled to his own truth, which he can construct and live out as he sees fit. But if this man happens to be a Muslim extremist, then truth for him may consists of the destruction of our towers. Looking at it this way, it is very easy to see why our government is so slow to bring justice to our enemies.
There is only one way for us to avoid this pitfall, and it is both proverbial and simple: Let the Lord build the house. God’s ways are perfect, and His law is truth. Even when our courts no longer require justice, and even when our citizens no longer cry for truth, we can always trust God to demand it! Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is unchanging, absolute, and flawless, and He is the perfect answer to all our problems. This is our truth, which the Bible says has the power to set us free! Armed with a solid foundation, we can intellectually and capably engage our modern society.
Withdrawal is unthinkable. Having found what truth is, we can never go back to a flawed belief, no matter how blissful ignorance seems. Compromise is not an option. The very nature or our truth makes it absolute and unchanging. Postmodernists constantly change and clarify their beliefs, which will quickly bring them to circular reasoning and dead ends. Using logical and systematic methods, we can easily isolate a postmodern worldview. If truth is relative, then what is right? If we invent what is right, why do we punish murderers? Our culture can’t give us the answers. Only a fundamental, supreme law can govern a nation.
Peter Marshall, the U.S. Senate chaplain in the early 1900s prayed on the senate floor, “Give to us clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for—because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything.” As we look at the direction our nation is going and see our society falling down around us, it is clear that we need basic truth instilled in our culture once again. The only way for us live in this world is to truly love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. Only by standing for Him can we successfully stand in this world, and thereby make a positive impact on our culture for God’s glory.
The Other Side of the Bank and Credit Market Crash
Richard Edwards moved to Horseheads this past October after the economic depression engulfed the market. Mr. Edwards is a programmer and web designer from Southern California, but over the past years he became involved in the real estate market. His story captures the depth of the shift in fortunes that resulted from the 2008 economic crash, and gives a good snapshot to how exactly such a depression affects individuals.
Ten years ago, Mr. Edwards and his wife took the money from their mortgage and invested it in real-estate. Through a series of quick ‘flips,’ (quick re-selling of property) he was able to make a significant amount of money very quickly. That made it an effective and attractive field of business. By leveraging the property, and taking out more mortgages, he was able to buy more real-estate. The theory was that as the banks gave out loans, the people who bought the land and houses would pay it back eventually. The original loans that the investor bought the property with would start with a very low “teaser rate” of interest, and the investment would appreciate, or increase in value, before it expired. And even if the investment didn’t appreciate in time, and investor could keep refinancing until it was sold. “With so many different lenders, we could always refinance to get out of paying real interest rates, especially on the larger payments that would pay down the larger loans” said Mr. Edwards. “As long as the real estate value kept going up, and as long as we could keep on refinancing, then it was a profitable business that went on for 10 years.”
That worked out great, up until the mortgage lending meltdown in 2007, caused mostly by inaccurate credit rating, speculation, and the changing policies of banks and the government; all brought to a head by a sudden boom in the real estate market. “When the mortgage lending meltdown made national news, then suddenly no lenders anywhere would refinance anything. And one by one we watched these teaser rates expire, and were unable to refinance them to more affordable loans. As the loans reset, we found they were no longer profitable.” With a large portfolio of investments on hand, Mr. Edwards found his assets value dropped from 6 digit to 4 digit value, and his liabilities ranging in the 7 and 8 digit figures. “We were borrowing money out of the property we had purchased to use them just as down payments on the larger loans of other properties.”
Then at the end of October 2008, the strain of foreclosures and default loans finally pulled their toll on the banks, causing the big bank and credit market crash that is still rippling through our economy and industries today. For people like Richard Edwards who were already reeling from the mortgage lending meltdown, this was the final straw. “I didn’t have any time to react to it. At this time I was still unemployed, and was socked with payments that were unaffordable, and had at this time exhausted my savings.” Richard tried to make any profit he could out of the property he still had on hand, but through this entire time no one was buying anymore. Before he might have gotten several offers on a piece of land within two weeks of putting it on sale, but now he might go three months without even one offer. “It’s like a shell game, where there’s a bunch of shells being moved around, and you wonder which one has the equity in it, the answer is none of them do!”
While talking to Richard Edwards, I was struck with the scope of the real estate market crash. Throughout the months of senate committees and investigations that followed the market crash, it was revealed how deep and corrupt the problems with the credit and mortgage system really were. But for Mr. Edwards and many of the other hundreds of thousands of people who lost their jobs, it was nothing less than a screeching halt, wild spin, and hard crash to an entire field of business. While it is easy to point out the irresponsibility of banks in the amount of money they would lend out on poor credit, it is also important to keep in mind the domino effect of calamities that hit viable investors like Mr. Edwards. “Originally I had set aside around $250,000 as a contingency, thinking that a quarter of a million dollars would be enough to weather any wrinkle in the real estate market. It didn’t occur that I would be socked with both long term unemployment, and a decline in real estate values, and the inability to refinance loans. So it was the culmination of those three calamities, any one of which would have been difficult to weather, which quickly burned through my savings.”
Many today are quick to point out individuals living beyond their means as the ones responsible for our economic state. In Richard Edwards’s case, it was his entire field that collapsed. In talking to him, he told me that he does not consider it a personal failure for himself. He did what he could to prepare, and even in the end he never filed for bankruptcy. “I could have weathered one, maybe two, but not all three calamities at once.” In the end, with enormous interest rates, debts, and a lump of semi-worthless real estate, Mr. Edwards told me he thought it was best just to walk away. Now he has picked up web designing and programming again, as well as adventures that involve canoeing, instead of the stock market.
We have all heard the advice at some point that if you want to be successful, get a good education, and find a good job with good benefits. Assuming that you are a good worker and you don’t make bad financial decisions, you should be set to make a career, build a retirement, and at best stay economically secure for your life. Unfortunately, our economic world is a much more harrowing place these days where survival is the key: survival for companies as they seek to stay out of the red, and survival for employees as they try and hold onto their source of income.
Since the economic downturn has hit the roots of the financial industry, nearly every sector is experiencing unemployment. According to data from the US Department of Labor, the highest rate of unemployment is in the service sector, which affects nearly every service the average citizen use on a daily basis, but manufacturing is also experiencing a financial hit.
Job security isn’t the legendary shelter that many people once believed it to be. In these hard economic times where not even banks are secure, companies often need to cut back to survive. In the changing economy, even some of the strongest companies are no longer as secure as they once were believed to be. Joe Dabroski, a resident of Sayre Pennsylvania, lost his job this past January after 25 years with IBM, a company which has held to the strongest standards of employee retention, even through the Great Depression.
Joe Dabroski graduated from Clarkson College (now Clarkson University) with a B.A. in Mechanical Engineering in 1983. There he met his wife Marion, who graduated the following year with a degree in Chemical Engineering. IBM was actively recruiting top college graduates in the early 1980s. Joe interviewed with an IBM recruiter directly from Clarkson’s campus, and was hired as a development engineer at the IBM’s Endicott site. He was quickly promoted over the years, and reached the position of Senior Engineer in about 10 years. In 1992 he moved to the branch of applications engineering. There he worked with outside customers, describing and promoting silicon technology to other businesses and corporations. He worked in the micro-electronics division, which was the primary developer of the high technology silicon chips within the company. In 2002 he moved to a larger division, working on IBM’s core silicon technology. Here he was an operations analysts doing staff work for management, and working from home. This was the position he held until he was laid off in January 2009.
Mr. Dabroski said that by January he knew it was only a matter of time before he would be affected by IBM’s job cuts. “It was the third cycle of immediate layoffs, but I was finally affected. It finally got to the point where they were past cutting down to the bone, and they were cutting some of the bones out”, said Mr. Dabroski. At the time he was working in Sales Operations, and within an 18 month period 70 percent of the fifteen employee department had been laid off.
But even with such a strong background and experience with the company, Mr. and Mrs. Dabroski weren’t taking any chances. “When Joe started at IBM it was part of the company’s policy that he wouldn’t get laid off.” Marion Dabroski said. “The first time there were layoffs, it was an eye-opener for us, so we decided then that we weren’t going to overextend ourselves. You couldn’t be sure to know how long this good thing was going to last. And so we had to prepare ourselves for it not lasting forever.” The Dabroskis paid off their home mortgage, and stayed out of debt. “I can’t tell you what a comfort that was to us when he lost his job that we weren’t worried if we could make our house payment.”
When Joe Dabroski was laid off, he was given 30 days to search for another job within the company. But by the time the month was over, neither he nor anyone he knew had found another position in IBM. But Joe was able to quickly find a new job with the help of IBM’s out placement services that came with their severance package. He now works for Stateline Auto Auction in the accounting office. On the topic of job security, he says “Job security is very much based on what skills you can develop and how you can articulate them and describe what they are, so you that can move within the company from job to job, or to another company.” Accordingly, for a responsible worker, your security will be invested in what you can do, and not a dependency on what a company promises you. By developing your skills, you have something to take with you if you lose your job, and you can bring it to a new job. “In essence” said Mr. Dabroski, “if you’re able to do that, then you are secure in the effect of being able to demonstrate that you can help a new company, or a new position to succeed.”
For the Dabroskis, keeping a secure family is the priority. Joe said he and Marion were able to work together during his period of unemployment. “We were in lock step on how to approach these things, and when we found out that I lost my job we weren’t struggling with each other because we were already prepared.” As Christians, if we place our security first in our Faith and our Family, we’ll find that God is faithful, and will never downsize His kingdom. Or as the Psalmist says, “Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it.” So rest your security first on the Kingdom of God, “and all these things will be added unto you.”
Since the economic downturn has hit the roots of the financial industry, nearly every sector is experiencing unemployment. According to data from the US Department of Labor, the highest rate of unemployment is in the service sector, which affects nearly every service the average citizen use on a daily basis, but manufacturing is also experiencing a financial hit.
Job security isn’t the legendary shelter that many people once believed it to be. In these hard economic times where not even banks are secure, companies often need to cut back to survive. In the changing economy, even some of the strongest companies are no longer as secure as they once were believed to be. Joe Dabroski, a resident of Sayre Pennsylvania, lost his job this past January after 25 years with IBM, a company which has held to the strongest standards of employee retention, even through the Great Depression.
Joe Dabroski graduated from Clarkson College (now Clarkson University) with a B.A. in Mechanical Engineering in 1983. There he met his wife Marion, who graduated the following year with a degree in Chemical Engineering. IBM was actively recruiting top college graduates in the early 1980s. Joe interviewed with an IBM recruiter directly from Clarkson’s campus, and was hired as a development engineer at the IBM’s Endicott site. He was quickly promoted over the years, and reached the position of Senior Engineer in about 10 years. In 1992 he moved to the branch of applications engineering. There he worked with outside customers, describing and promoting silicon technology to other businesses and corporations. He worked in the micro-electronics division, which was the primary developer of the high technology silicon chips within the company. In 2002 he moved to a larger division, working on IBM’s core silicon technology. Here he was an operations analysts doing staff work for management, and working from home. This was the position he held until he was laid off in January 2009.
Mr. Dabroski said that by January he knew it was only a matter of time before he would be affected by IBM’s job cuts. “It was the third cycle of immediate layoffs, but I was finally affected. It finally got to the point where they were past cutting down to the bone, and they were cutting some of the bones out”, said Mr. Dabroski. At the time he was working in Sales Operations, and within an 18 month period 70 percent of the fifteen employee department had been laid off.
But even with such a strong background and experience with the company, Mr. and Mrs. Dabroski weren’t taking any chances. “When Joe started at IBM it was part of the company’s policy that he wouldn’t get laid off.” Marion Dabroski said. “The first time there were layoffs, it was an eye-opener for us, so we decided then that we weren’t going to overextend ourselves. You couldn’t be sure to know how long this good thing was going to last. And so we had to prepare ourselves for it not lasting forever.” The Dabroskis paid off their home mortgage, and stayed out of debt. “I can’t tell you what a comfort that was to us when he lost his job that we weren’t worried if we could make our house payment.”
When Joe Dabroski was laid off, he was given 30 days to search for another job within the company. But by the time the month was over, neither he nor anyone he knew had found another position in IBM. But Joe was able to quickly find a new job with the help of IBM’s out placement services that came with their severance package. He now works for Stateline Auto Auction in the accounting office. On the topic of job security, he says “Job security is very much based on what skills you can develop and how you can articulate them and describe what they are, so you that can move within the company from job to job, or to another company.” Accordingly, for a responsible worker, your security will be invested in what you can do, and not a dependency on what a company promises you. By developing your skills, you have something to take with you if you lose your job, and you can bring it to a new job. “In essence” said Mr. Dabroski, “if you’re able to do that, then you are secure in the effect of being able to demonstrate that you can help a new company, or a new position to succeed.”
For the Dabroskis, keeping a secure family is the priority. Joe said he and Marion were able to work together during his period of unemployment. “We were in lock step on how to approach these things, and when we found out that I lost my job we weren’t struggling with each other because we were already prepared.” As Christians, if we place our security first in our Faith and our Family, we’ll find that God is faithful, and will never downsize His kingdom. Or as the Psalmist says, “Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it.” So rest your security first on the Kingdom of God, “and all these things will be added unto you.”
Hardly a day goes by without more reports of government funds being thrown into the financial market. Although we are encouraged to trust the administration and this new stimulus plan, any thinking person can do the calculations, and see that it just doesn’t add up. When you’re dealing with huge concepts like billions of dollars, it is dangerously commonplace to hear that the new proposed Federal bailout package is over $1 trillion now. As our national deficit soars past $10 trillion, all of this additional spending to our budget will cause even great problems down the road. But all we see are politicians and lawmakers running around trying to save the day with more money, and paying no heed to the impending night. Basic economics, history, and reason all prove that when the government tampers with the economy, the results are negative.
It looks like all of us in Chemung County might finally get a look at some of that Federal money, after all. Last month the Elmira Savings Bank received a check from the government totaling $9.09 million in stimulus dollars. Assistant Vice President Kim Elliot says this will enable them to generate more loans, and to promote growth in the community. Michael Hosey, the president and chef executor of the bank assures that Elmira Savings is “still strong and growing.” The danger now is that as more money is pumped into the system, our savings will lose value as the rest of the market experiences inflation.
The banking system, and in some ways the entire economic system relies on a trust. When you trade currency for goods or services, that dollar bill is a promise of a set value. Inflation breaks that trust. In the same way, the banks use the funds you deposit to finance other people homes, help them buy a new car, and essentially flows through the market in a stable pattern that ensures your money will be there when you withdraw it. Irresponsibility and poor money management breaks that trust. This entire economic crisis started when the banks were making out large loans to people to buy houses, and was exacerbated by inflated collateral prices, all of which resulted in net losses to both the financial and banking industries.
Tom Woods, the manager of the Solutions Federal Credit Union says that this problem began back in the late 1990s, when banks lowered their standards of loaning money, and tried to create equality while ignoring the debt-to-income ratios that were used for decades. “It’s not popular, but not all borrowers are created equal” said Mr. Woods. “Philosophy went if everyone has car and house, you have equality, and happiness, and prosperity. And like many things that look good, the end result can be pain sorrow and misery. If you don’t have the management skills and resources to pay that back, you lose your car or your house.” What happened was that thousands of people would finance their house with a $100,000 loan, and that would inflate the market. Their new home would be appraised at $130,000, with the value of homes was being artificially raised due to and increase in housing loans. When it all finally came back down, the people who had taken out these huge loans were left with big mortgages that were greater than the value of their homes. Then when they foreclosed, the house could be sold for $80,000, and the bank had to absorb a net loss $50 grand.
Tom Woods says the only solution is for people to start living within their means. If the government keeps on bailing us out, we’re headed for another economic emergency, just like the banking and housing crash. Government bailouts are just like the lowering of lending standards. It takes way the responsibility of individuals to pay for their actions. Just like the banks could only absorb so much of other people’s losses, we’re approaching the point as a nation where we can’t take anymore debt. The scary thing is who will really have pay. “I think we’ve forgotten who we work for, and who we’re accountable to” said Mr. Woods. “Really, all that money is the American people’s money. Government doesn’t have money just lying around. It’s like a credit union. If you borrow money and don’t pay it back, it harms all the other credit users.” Those extra trillion dollars the government just borrowed will have to be paid back by the taxpayers. According to the research of a public policy research institute called the Heritage Foundation, Congress’s budget resolutions will require a 3.3 trillion dollar tax increase over the next decade, roughly equaling about an additional $2,600 per household annually. And hold your breath, because we’re still spending,
So what should our perspective as Christians be? Thou shalt not steal for starters, and there are plenty of ways to do that in this world without breaking the law. Try to exercise safe financial practices, and above all trust in God. It’s ironic that at a time when all our economic trusts are failing, our money still says “In God we trust.” I was watching the congressional hearings last week, and one Congressman stated, “It will take someone with the Wisdom of Solomon to sort this all out.” Unfortunately for our politicians, Solomon’s wisdom was a gift from God, and they don’t seem to get along with Him very well. A separation of church and state is a separation of wisdom and reason, as well. If you want to succeed in anything, you need faith in something higher. Tom Woods, the manager of the Solution Federal Credit Union says his faith has been indispensable. “As I see things crumble in many people way of looking at things, I’ve been able to know what’s going on… I am not overly paralyzed by the thought of where we’re headed. God is good, and if I stay the course and stay true to God he will make good things happen. Whether we do good or not, I know God is in control, and for his people He will not leave us or forsake us.”
Before all the excitement from the elections and inauguration can be forgotten, we have another opportunity to remember our presidents in February. President’s Day, on February 16th, is a special historical holiday to honor some of the greatest men who have lead this nation. It was first established as a national holiday in by congress, in 1971. Before then, the Nation observed both Washington’s Birthday on February 22nd, and Lincoln’s birthday on February 12th. In the original bill to create the central date, the recommendation to call it ‘President’s Day’ was voted down in effort to preserve the primary honor of Washington and Lincoln. Eventually the common name became commercialized, and generally accepted, but it is still a holiday primarily in honor of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. In a free nation where we aren’t required to kneel at the point of a sword, or bow on pain of death, this holiday represents and opportunity to show gratitude and respect for to our leaders. Really, it’s equally a celebration of Freedom as it is of presidents. We know far too well what presidents look like today. Every detail and action is emphasized, accentuated, scrutinized, and criticized. But do we really know what the President of the United States means to us as citizens? To choose the leader of a nation is an unparalleled gift of liberty, and marks the president’s role with service. The goal of Presidents Day is to honor them in return for that service. In an effort to keep that in perspective, Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays are still observed to highlight two of the greatest presidents this nation who has had, and frame the celebration of the rest of them.. One of them was the father of the nation, and the other preserved it. Despite anything else about them, the most significant feature of their characters is their servanthood, and commitment to America.
George Washington’s renowned integrity laid in his humility, and ultimately his role as a servant. He was first and foremost a committed man of God, and all his honors and promotions were by the will of the people around him. According to one account by the Quaker Isaac Potts, he once found General Washington in the woods during the winter at Valley Forge praying to God for his country, and thanking Him for His “exuberant goodness which, from the depths of obscurity, had exalted him to the head of a great nation.” Washington considered his role as an honor first to God who had given him a chance to serve, and then to his country which he was a servant to. He once said “I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington was the President of the United States for two terms, and though he held what many men view as the most enviable title of all, he is remembered best for the title he held most dear: an honorable man. We remember 43 presidents. How many of them can compare to Washington?
Abraham Lincoln was another man who was a great servant to his country. Many history books tell different stories of his presidency, and there are a lot of contrary views tied up in the Civil War. But Abraham Lincoln was another man who was known for integrity and honesty, earning him the famous nickname “Honest Abe.” Lincoln said of himself “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have.” Lincoln saw the darkest moments of this nation, and though many are quick to point out where he could have done differently and better, he was clearly a man of God whom God raised up to preserve the United States. The latter President James A. Garfield said of Lincoln, “He was one of the few great rulers whose wisdom increased with his power, and whose spirit grew gentler and tenderer as his triumphs were multiplied.”
These great men were citizens who stepped up when their nation needed them, and served their country. We celebrate them first to honor their memory for their sakes, and second to remember it for ourselves. We need more citizens today who will serve their county for thee love of Liberty. Our leaders should not only follow these men’s footsteps on the stairs of the capitol, but also in the deeds of their character. Too many men these days run for political office as their career instead of a service, and it’s the citizens that pay them back for their actions for the rest of their lives. I’m not just talking about reaping the consequences, although that has unfortunately become the norm. All political offices carry lifelong pensions which are paid by the taxpayers. You really have to wonder who is serving who? Our leaders should take more lessons from our own history, and do more to follow in the steps of integrity that our forefathers have laid.
So how can you celebrate President’s Day? It’s a national holiday, and holiday means “a day that holy (or set apart).” We must remember that God has given us a great nation with a rich heritage. God gave us great men like George Washington and James Madison for the divine plan of given us a country with freedom like we have today. He rose up men like Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan to preserve us in a perilous time. Every leader this nation has ever had right up through Barak Obama has been ordained by God for a special purpose in this Land of the Free. Don’t lose sight of any of those facts, and celebrate President’s Day for the memory of our past heritage, and a standard for our future.
It's late... I can't sleep.I wonder why I'm not tired. I've been staying up later and later, recently. The other night I put together a playlist on imeem that inspired me. Tonight I wrote a note on facebook for my friends, and then I read some blogs. I'm finding a theme that I find hard to ignore. People writing... yet not for anyone in particular. I ventured back to xanga the other day to see who was still there. There are a few people yet, blogging faithfully. One girl name Hailey used to be the proclaimed "Queen of Xanga." I remember when she would post, and get 40 eprops. She still writes, even though no one comments anymore! I left mine when my subscribers dwindled.
It's late... I shouldn't sleep.I've been resting far too long. Just relaxing, and dreaming. I haven't written much in a while. It's true I write for the newspaper, but it's not the same as pouring out your heart in words. I get a rush when I write articles, and I know it's something I'll enjoy doing for a living. But what about when I'm not working? When ever anyone asks what I'm doing these days, I tell them I'm working for Wegmans, and writing for the newspaper. It sounds like enough I guess, but in reality it's not much. I only work 32 hours a week, and I usually write my articles towards the end of the month. Other than that, from day to day in the evenings and on my 3 days off a week, I don't do anything. At least, I can't hold up anything that's finished. I have found I like to work. At Wegmans I throw myself into the tasks, and I excel at them. I never slow down, and I accomplish a lot. My boss loves and respects me, and all the managers appreciate me. Work gives me purpose. It keeps me awake. It's in my leisure that I drift off. I have a quote on the left that says "My heart is stirred by a noble theme..." It's not. My heart is... not empty, but not stirring. It's more like stagnant. I really think I am becalmed, like in the Horse Latitudes I wrote about. Even when I write my articles, it's my mind that's working. I need to write more from my heart, and I can't worry about who reads it.
I have things to write about all the time. I just put it off, because I tell myself 'that's not a complete though. Save it until you can use it somewhere.' I'm going to get in the habbit of just writing more when something comes to me. There's more that I need, and I know what it is, but for now I just need to stir the waters. I hear the song in my mind, by Aaron Shust:
It's late... but I wont sleep.
My Spirit is left wanting something moreThere's not a lot that I need. I know fully well what God has given me. What I need is to use it! It's late, but I won't let it be too late. I won't let my mind stop writing, and Lord don't let my spirit sleep. Stir my heart with a noble theme, and I'll write it for you... just like the pale letters above my header say.
Than my selfish hopes/ and my selfish dreams
I’m lying with my face down to the floor
I’m crying out for more
Give me Words to speak
Don’t let my Spirit sleep
Cause I can’t think of anything worth saying
But I know that I owe You my life
So give me Words to speak
Don’t let my Spirit sleep
Every night, every day/ I find that I have nothing left to say
So I stand here in silence awaiting Your guidance
I’m wanting only Your voice to be heard
Let them be Your Words
And now... I'll get some rest. :-)
It’s that time of year where news and internet sites are proclaiming the zodiac sign for 2009, and speculating on the meaning the premonitions of the upcoming year. 2009 is the Chinese Year of the Ox, for those who are interested, and it bears the characteristics of leadership, as well as prosperity through fortitude and hard work. But don’t get carried away with omens and signs. The Bible says that God appoints times and seasons, and 2009 is just another year in the timeline of God’s plan. That said, what is the significance of a new year? For Christians who are watching and praying, it is one year closer to God’s promised return. To those who are observing the signs of the times, it is another page in the divine story. To almost everyone, the New Year represents a new beginning of sort, or another chance. There is definitely a sense of a fresh start, and it is reflected in the numerous New Year’s Resolutions that most people make.
The book of Isaiah has a prophecy that speaks of a glorious year of the Lord. For the nation of Israel whom it was written too, they understood a year of favor according to the laws about the year of jubilee, which was also the only tradition they observed that included blessings extended to the gentiles. When this prophecy spoke of a year of God’s favor, it held a much greater blessing. Isaiah chapter 61 verses 1 and 2 says “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn.” When Jesus went to Nazareth, He stood in their synagogue and read this passage. Then before all the people He said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." The meaning there was that Jesus was the one who would issue in the Year of the Lord. In the subsequent years if His ministry He went around doing just the things spoken of in the prophecy: bringing good news to afflicted, healing the brokenhearted, setting spiritual captives free, and comforting the mourners. But there was more to the fulfillment of the prophecy than just a year or two of miracles on earth. Through the imparting of the Holy Spirit on those who believe on Jesus, these great works continue through us. But how will they be accomplished? When Jesus was in Nazareth the people did not see the truth. Instead they rejected Him, and threw Him out of the synagogue. How do we react to the fulfillment of the prophecy?
I am reminded of a message I heard this past Christmas season about another fulfilled prophecy referring to Christ. The whole story of Mary being chosen to bear the Savior of the world is symbolic of the grace of God which makes the New Testament so special. God can work through any of us to accomplish His work. The message I heard challenged believers to carry the Savior to others, just as Mary carried Him into the world. Through the Holy Spirit we are empowered to bring the light of God’s salvation to a dark world. That is the same Spirit that Isaiah 61 speaks of, and in that same way we can bring good news to the afflicted, bind the broken hearts, and proclaim liberty to the captives. In that way, this year of 2009 can be as much a year of the Lord as His ministry was over 2000 years ago.
Second Corinthians 5:21 charges us that “we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us.” The beauty of Christ’s work was that He gave us the commandment to continue it throughout the world. Even as Christ came to make a pathway between God and man, so we are sent by God to prepare the way for His Spirit in others. As we carry the Spirit of God to those around us, the Lord will anoint us to bring His good news, and through Him we will make 2009 a glorious Year of the Lord!
We live in a world where there is so much to do, so much that needs to be done, and far too many people who are just here for the ride. Just take for example the fact that experiences and entertainment are viewed as the same thing. Life needs to be big, exciting, and adventurous! As the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau said, “The person who has lived the most is not the one who has lived the longest, but the one with the richest experiences.” The only problem with that is whether you live to be old or experienced, you still die the same. That’s why you need something that reaches deeper than just the things that happen to you in life.
The holiday season is a great example. Everyone spends lots of money to create a Christmas experience. It’s a time of joy, giving, and creating wonderful memories for everyone. Christmas is one of those special times that make memories that last entire lifetimes. Disney advertises its world resort Christmas dream vacation, filled with festivities, activities, and what their website calls, “an unforgettable experience.” Are these things wrong? Of course not. It is just the best example of where the world forgets the meaning, and replaces it with the experience alone. Jesus is the true meaning of Christmas, but what we forget too often is that He is also the true meaning of everything in our lives.
Here are a few examples of things that have lost their quality of meaning in the world today. Our work is one of them. Too many people work only because they are told to, because they need to, or just for the money. Work is a great opportunity not only to accomplish something, but also to glorify God. There is a bumper sticker that says “my boss is a Jewish carpenter.” What it means is that we are workers for Jesus on earth, in a very literal sense. Even in non-ministry related work, you are a witness for Christ by showing honesty, diligence, and integrity. I like to say that when I’m at work I am doing double duty; I’m on the Wegmans payroll, but I’m also putting in hours for the Kingdom. Church is another example of where many people miss the point. I’ve heard the term “worship experience” used too much. While that can be a good thing to put us in the right spirit before God, it can’t exist apart from the purpose of giving God all the glory. Besides, the world will never come to Christ on the entertainment ticket. It has to be through the sincere worship part of the “worship experience” that will point them to God.
And lastly, life in general. The world’s mentality is like that quote by Rousseau, which said living means having rich experiences. I recently had a discussion with a student from Corning Community College on this subject. He was writing on the topic of why God lets bad things happen to us, and concluded that it is to allow us to fully experience life. “If God protected us from all harm then there really would be no point in living since we would never experience anything real,” he wrote. “We learn through experience, we learn through pain. We must experience the world on our own, through our own conscious choices to make our lives something we can look back upon and feel proud of.” He said that he had once been close to God, and had faith, but now he felt he could learn so much more about life by grasping life more fully, and learning from experiences. The only problem is, this life isn’t it. God created us to ultimately have fellowship with Him, and that won’t happen until eternity. The best thing we can do with our experiences is to give them back to God by using every opportunity to glorify Him. If we keep them to ourselves, our experiences will die with us, and then what will we have to be proud of? The whole point of this life is not to get to know ourselves, but to get to know Jesus. That is the reason He came down to earth.
So this holiday season as we celebrate the first coming to Jesus, let’s try to make it one great experience to remember! But do it first and foremost by honoring God, and letting everything else be done for His glory. Don’t put “decking the halls” above “hearkening to the herald angels.” Take time to worship the King that they sung about so long ago, who wants a place in your heart and home as much today as he did 2000 years ago in Bethlehem. That way we’ll make it a memory not only for this lifetime, but also an eternal treasure of our continuous worship of God.
Derek Webb is a Contemporary Christian Musician, and a former singer from the group, Caedmon’s Call. He came out with a song in 2007 that has become an anthem for many people I know, called A Savior on Capitol Hill. The first verse goes “I’m so tired of these mortal men with their hands on their wallets and their hearts full of sin/ scared of their enemies, scared of their friends and always running for re-election/ so come to DC if it be thy will because we’ve never had a savior on Capitol Hill.” I think the song is a good reminder to anyone who looks to the hills for their defense. Capitol Hill, in this case. In a nation where almost all of our past presidents have claimed to be Christians, you can’t pick the next one on that alone. Too many people thought that our country would be saved if we elected McCain, and too many now think that it will be cursed because we elected Obama.
As Christians, there are several things that we believe and understand. The first is that God is in control, and uses all things for good. To keep that from becoming clichéd, put it in real world application. I honestly believe that this election will prove to be healthy for this country. As I watched the news results and saw the hundreds of thousand Americans celebrating Obama’s victory, I was encouraged that America would regain its spirit. I am not overly critical of the Bush administration, but it was undoubtedly unpopular. The change of administrations has definitely gotten a lot of people acutely interested in their country’s political scene. Many of those were an enormous amount of young people who love Obama. On the flip side, I think that now Christians will wake up to the reality that “when the righteous do nothing, the wicked rule.” Far too many Christians in the past years have fallen for the myth that if we have a godly president, everything is okay. That mentality has kept Christians politically asleep for the past 8 years, and allowed our ‘godly’ president to sink our nation into a 10 trillion dollar debt, among other things. Because we didn’t keep the leader of our choice accountable, now we will be forced to be involved to protect our rights from the opposite side. If that is what it takes to wake Christians up, then I say again that this election will be healthy for this country.
As Christians, there are several things that we believe and understand. The first is that God is in control, and uses all things for good. To keep that from becoming clichéd, put it in real world application. I honestly believe that this election will prove to be healthy for this country. As I watched the news results and saw the hundreds of thousand Americans celebrating Obama’s victory, I was encouraged that America would regain its spirit. I am not overly critical of the Bush administration, but it was undoubtedly unpopular. The change of administrations has definitely gotten a lot of people acutely interested in their country’s political scene. Many of those were an enormous amount of young people who love Obama. On the flip side, I think that now Christians will wake up to the reality that “when the righteous do nothing, the wicked rule.” Far too many Christians in the past years have fallen for the myth that if we have a godly president, everything is okay. That mentality has kept Christians politically asleep for the past 8 years, and allowed our ‘godly’ president to sink our nation into a 10 trillion dollar debt, among other things. Because we didn’t keep the leader of our choice accountable, now we will be forced to be involved to protect our rights from the opposite side. If that is what it takes to wake Christians up, then I say again that this election will be healthy for this country.
The second truth is less well known, and in greater need of remembrance today. It’s that God raises up all leaders, and “the heart of the [president] is in the hands of the Lord.” As our next president prepares to change this nation, are we objective? Are we seeking God’s will, or are we going to blanket reject anything from a democrat? Let me give you an objective perspective here. I am warily interested to see the economic changes that Obama is planning for our country. Any reasonable person can see that our nation is plunging towards an economic crash. Unfortunately, conservative economics haven’t been used properly since Reagan. Someone needed to grab the wheel, and change directions immediately. The people chose a Democrat, and now you have to expect him to veer the country left. Almost everyone approaching this election knew we needed an economic change. I’m not saying I’ll agree with what Obama does, but I am interested enough too watch it, and I’m trusting in the One whose hands are on Obama.
The last point I want to address is patriotism. The Bible tells us to respect our leaders, and that is something we all know, but in America it takes a different form. This is a free country, and respect doesn’t mean a forced allegiance. Here it’s a privilege to serve our country that is designed to serve us. Think about all the things your nation provides you with. The apostle Paul didn’t have the opportunity to love his country. Rome was restrictive, and you had to honor it to live. But in America God has blessed us with liberty, and a right to choose our government. So as part of a nation that has chosen Obama, what are you going to do? For the past several years the liberal media and much of America has torn down the country through it’s despising of the Bush administration. Now that the ball is in the conservative court, I hope we have enough patriotism to not follow suite. The biblical principle of correcting in love doesn’t end on a personal level. It means that as you lobby your elected officials, and campaign or protest, you aren’t also slandering them.
Finally, as we pray for God to bless this nation, remember that God has historically blessed or cursed a nation on behalf of its people. True change comes on a spiritual level, and not with a new president. Live as you would before God, because you never know if you are being counted in a heavenly equation as one of the few righteous. In Sodom and Gomorrah there weren’t even ten. How many will America need to survive?
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