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How are you? No...how are you really? As much as I want to hear that you are fine, I know that you must be struggling to some degree. Times are tough and getting tougher. Each year we hear more bad news about the economy, the housing market, how less funds are allocated to the school system, hospitals and healthcare, and vital or necessary infrastructure in order to support our communities. Meanwhile many storefronts lay empty if you have noticed and some well known businesses with 50+ years of highly successful operation, which were considered “giants” in the retail industry, have gone under, selling off stock at crazy prices in an attempt to balance their books before they fold. Many banks have tightened their belts by closing branches across the state and nation with resultant staff attrition. Once thriving townships dotted across the South Australian countryside look more like ghost towns on our recent travels. This was quite sad to see as memories of yesteryear have been sullied. There is fear about whether life as we know it, or once knew it, will be sustainable for too much longer. So many have their hopes pinned on the election here in Australia on May 18 to bring in their preferred party or form of government in order to get what they have been “promised” or think they will receive. By the time this article is posted, the new government will have formed power and settled into its purpose, whatever that may be. God help us all as sincere prayers are said.
Meanwhile there are a few who sigh and cry over all the things that go on seemingly without an answer or cure (Ezekiel 9:4). God is definitely allowing it for now and He has mighty reasons for this. More on this later. The world is in grave trouble. The weightier matters or the monumental concerns of government, justice, law and order are slowly but surely drifting away out of reach from those who know right from wrong, which way is up, have high moral standards, with a healthy dose of good old fashioned common sense and decency for their fellow human beings. Do we really hear about what is being done for all those who are trafficked as sex slaves? What about all those who are starving and may only have one meal every other day if that, while wealthy large corporations toss their foodstuffs into garbage bins to lay rotting and slowly decompose! I have witnessed firsthand the large scale wastage from thrown out food, food that is still perfectly good and safe enough to ingest, from the line of work I am in and it is overwhelmingly huge and frankly criminal while people are going hungry. Seeing this happen in one city, let alone worldwide is absolutely mind-boggling and defies any sane response. If the law is so concerned about giving good quality food away to the hungry or homeless, why not feed the animals? After all animals will not try to make a lawsuit out of it! Furthermore, what is being done about our homeless? It must be of some concern to know that those living from one payday to the next could find themselves in this position in the not too distant future. Does anybody really care? Or is it all too hard...why bother? The bottom line is that we must bother, we must care, we must never give up. Do not become discouraged, depressed, or pretend it is not happening, like an ostrich with its head in the sand, but rather we need to fight in order to help provide the solution. We need a plan. More on this later too.
Just the other day I heard from a news source that there is less disposable income today than there was back in the 70s. Some of you may not even have been alive back then so you only have my word to take for it. This seems rather incredible and even hard to imagine that things were much better financially back then. I only know it because I have lived it. The facts are that only one parent needed to work while the other stayed home to care for all the children. Jobs were plentiful because of only one person employed per household ensured that there were enough opportunities to go around — ingenious and practical...problem solved. There were 3 of us at home plus Mum and Dad and we had plenty. I know we were not rich but we made do and we certainly did not go without. Times were sensible and practical. Things were done with good reason. We recycled in different ways. Food was cooked at home and it was seasonal. Mums and grandmothers preserved various fruits and veggies to store in Vacola glass jars in their pantries or cellars to enjoy when these items did not grow and were not available to purchase. The only takeaway food I was aware of back then was fish and chips which we had occasionally as a treat because Mum may have been ill or too exhausted to cook. Most people had a small backyard vegetable patch with home grown tomatoes. We also grew rhubarb, passionfruit, and various other produce. Clothing was usually made at home on the old Singer sewing machine; items were mended, hems and waistlines adjusted, with clothing handed down to the next in line or younger siblings. Things were used until they wore out or broke down instead of being discarded ahead of time because a new model suddenly came on the market. Children received things they wanted such as toys usually for their birthday or special occasions...not on any shopping day when people just felt like it. White goods such as washing machines and refrigerators lasted a lot longer than they do today. Things in general now seem to be made to last a certain time and then we need to throw the whole thing away as it is cheaper to buy a new item than fix what we have. Sheer madness!
Why are things so different now? People seem to be in a hurry and just have to have said latest toy, gadget, or item NOW whether they really need it or not. Most would say this is the fault of credit cards and that is a major reason why people tend to buy so much. Back when I was a child only cash was used. If you had cash then you could buy. It took time to save up and in that period of time people learned a good lesson — if by the time you had all the cash saved and you still wanted the item, then by all means you could buy it. After many weeks or months of saving, sometimes the item was not purchased because the desire had faded, meaning that the item was not really necessary at all but rather a fanciful whim. People saved their money and planned for the future. A small Commonwealth bank book was given to every child throughout the mid 20th century Australian school system and it was exciting to see the amount of money grow as indicated by the handwritten blue or black fountain pen ink indelibly etched onto the thick faintly lined professional parchment along with the official bank stamp.
Times were much slower paced and simpler. People forged relationships faithfully in the long term. Men worked for one company all their working lives with many gaining a gold watch on retirement after 40 or even 50 years of service. Reputations and word of mouth was everything back then. People honoured their promises of a job well done often by a simple handshake. Today people seem to be almost invisible, less accountable, able to get away with more like wonky workmanship ripping off people building their first home. It may be rather modest, but still their dream home, often left half built in a state of disrepair. We see these things on current affair type programmes every night with disillusioned customers in tears sharing their experiences in the hope these criminals do not cause further hardship to others, along with rotten drug affected tenants trashing their rental homes causing many thousands of dollars in repair to their rightful owners, or in the extreme, demolition. What is wrong with people? I believe if it comes too easily or readily then people as a rule do not value it. People need to strive or work towards a goal to really appreciate the outcome of their efforts.
Where To Now...Who Can Fix This Mess?
You may well ask this very important question. You may have some hope if the recent election brought into power your preferred party. Sadly this will be short lived. The opposition will see to that (Mark 3:24-25, Matthew 12:25, Luke 11:17). It seems in America, as well as here in Australia, the opposition party does everything in their power to obstruct or sabotage everything the party in power wants to accomplish. On the other hand you may well be quite concerned about the result and so you should be. Have you thrown your hands up in the air while waving your arms about in frustration and despair? If not, give it time. This may sound quite negative but the fact is, it is realistic. No matter what government is brought in, whether in Australia or anywhere in the world, for that matter, it will fail. How can I speak with such authority on this topic? You see, it is not my thoughts but those of the One who created humanity, the world, and all that is in it. The only source for all such bold declarations comes from the Bible. Whether you believe in it or not, is not the point. The point is, it is the true inspired word of God — God breathed which means all that is written within its covers or binding is directly inspired or given by God to the writers of each of the 66 books. You may well reject this but do so to your own peril. I implore you to consider this in earnest and really think about your ways which led you to this point. It was 12 years ago for me when I needed to examine my ways and realised the world was in trouble even back then.
A very long time ago, a little more than one thousand years before Christ lived on earth, the Israelites, God’s people insisted, actually demanded that they have a leader as monarch over them instead of God, as they were afraid of His mighty power and not able to understand it (1 Samuel 7:7). They wanted their own way instead of following their Creator who knew what was best for them — after all God made them and understood everything about them. Nevertheless, God gave them what they thought they wanted in Saul who became King Saul — he stood head and shoulders above everyone else and was the most handsome of all amongst the children of Israel (1 Samuel 9:2; 10:23). He looked strong and mighty therefore the people were confident in his ability to rule. What they didn’t count on was that any human is imperfect no matter how good they look on the surface, because we all have carnal human nature which means we sin (1 Samuel 8:3). Despite a good start with a humble attitude (1 Samuel 10:21-22) things eventually did not go well as Saul was plagued by pride, jealousy and demons. He went from relying on God’s power to trusting in his own thoughts and abilities and took matters into his own hands to his detriment and eventual downfall. Saul got to the point where he feared the people and even sought out a medium in Endor to conduct a séance (1 Samuel 28:7-25). You can read this fascinating account of King Saul’s rulership starting in 1 Samuel 8 where Israel demands a king concluding with the death of Saul in 2 Samuel 1. A very sad, desperate end given for our learning.
How about yourself? Do you try to make well intentioned decisions for yourself and others but these tend to backfire or are met with anger and hostility from friends or loved ones? It is time to try another way because clearly things are just not working out the way they are now. God is waiting for you to have Him in your life but He will not force Himself on you. He wants a relationship with you but it is definitely your choice. How will you respond? Hide like Saul? Ignore that there is a Creator and keep on keeping on battling life as you know it? Perhaps you are at breaking point like I was, angry and frustrated with all the pain and suffering in this world but felt powerless to make a change? After my conversion 12 years ago I finally understood why God allows what He allows. He is not absent but purposeful in everything with absolute power far greater than we can understand now. God is watching and waiting for His creation to try out every type of rulership by kings, government by imperfect humans who will be tempted to succumb to greed or be overcome with arrogance in thinking they are incredibly wise and know best for everyone else. The reality however is that any abilities they have, these have been bestowed upon them by their Creator anyway, whether they realise this or not. In 1 Samuel 8:10-18 God did warn the people what would happen if they had a king and the demands a king would make on them. We can see this right through history to modern day times with the British royal family having Queen Elizabeth II presently reigning on the throne today.
What is really going on in this world is that it has been taken captive by the devil who mocks God through various ways of deceiving humans into believing God is mean and cruel. The truth is it is the devil causing pandemonium and havoc with chaos all over the globe. He is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). He is out to kill all of mankind and is step by step achieving this through our weaknesses whether that be from depression, anxiety, alcohol, drugs, sex, pornography, smoking, lust, greed, addictions to work or anything you can think of. The devil desires marriages to end in divorce, puts attitudes and thoughts into the minds of people so that they will hate one another and want to kill, maim or hurt one another. Don’t let this be you any longer. As much as you may not want to admit it there is a devil and the greatest deception is that the vast majority living do not believe this. So keep continuing to ask yourself this...do you want to keep going like you are suffering or do you want to completely turn your life around? Only you can make this choice. Start off by googling “Beyond Today on TV” to find the viewing schedule for your area, then be sure to tune in at the scheduled time.