Forgiveness

Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound

we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it.

And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.

Marianne Williamson [1]

Each of us has been wronged by others.  Each of us has also been shown kindness, repeatedly.  Why is it so easy to remember the wounds, rather than to recall the helpfulness? 

The Holy Bible has a lot to say about forgiveness.  A good Bible concordance is a valuable tool for Bible study and learning the “whole wisdom of God,” rather than relying on one or two verses that seem to prove a point.  A quick count from my Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible lists about 118 times where the words forgave, forgive, forgiven, forgiveness, forgivenesses, forgiveth, and forgiving can be found in God’s Word.  If I were to venture a guess, I would say that God thinks it’s important. 

Forgetting a wrong goes hand-in-hand with forgiveness.  It is difficult to forget, but forgiveness is not complete without it. 

In the Bible it says they asked Jesus how many times you should forgive,

and he said 70 times 7. Well, I want you all to know that I'm keeping a chart.

Hillary Clinton [2]

I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive.

Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note - torn in two, and burned up,

so that it never can be shown against one.

Henry Ward Beecher [3]

Jesus said a lot about forgiveness.  What He said was not ambiguous.  It is clear that He commanded us to forgive.  He set the example for us from the cross when He prayed: 

And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
(Luke 23:34 ESV) [4]

Likewise, Steven the Martyr gave us an example of obedience to Christ when he was being stoned to death:

And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:59-60 ESV) [5] 

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul declared that everyone has sinned, but God has provided a way to be forgiven: 

… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,  whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Romans 3:23-25 ESV) [6]

I once heard a sermon by the late Pastor E.V. Hill on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Pastor Hill happened to be Black.  In the sermon he said, “Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.” It doesn’t help to deny that what we are doing is a sin.  It is what God says it is. 

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1John 1:8-10 ESV) [7] 

Sin is lawlessness (1John 3:4).  It is disobedience to God.  It is idolatry because when we sin we give the satisfaction of our base desires priority over the love, loyalty, and obedience that we owe to the Lord.  Therefore, the just penalty for sin is death; whether it is adultery, theft, murder, blasphemy, unforgiveness, or any other sin.  Praise God, for He has given us a way to be forgiven, and the death penalty we deserve has been pardoned: 

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 ESV) [8]

 Unforgiveness is a sin because Jesus commanded us to forgive: 

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”  Jesus said to him, I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

 Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.  When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.  So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’  And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.  But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’  So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’  He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.  When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.  Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.  And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’  And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.  So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart. (Matthew 18:21-35 ESV) [9] 

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14-15 ESV) [10] 

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.  (Mark 11:25 ESV) [11]

Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; (Luke 6:37 ESV) [12] 

Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him. (Luke 17:3-4 ESV) [13] 

And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. (Luke 17:10 ESV) [14]

And many more.

 Under the New Covenant in Christ, God’s forgiveness includes forgetting our sins ever happened: 

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,  not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34 ESV) [15] 

For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more. (Hebrews 8:12 ESV, from Jeremiah 31:34, see also Hebrews 10:17) [16] 

The forgive and forget verses do not contradict the assurance of salvation that we have in Christ Jesus.  God’s Word says: 

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one. (John 10:27-30 ESV) [17] 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17 ESV) [18] 

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39 ESV) [19] 

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. (John 6:37 ESV) [20] 

In writing this post, I struggled with the seeming dichotomy between “once saved, always saved” and forgiving in order to receive forgiveness.  Usually, the various commentaries available to me are a big help.  In this case, I did not find the answer there.  I will give you what I came up with on my own, with the understanding that I do not have formal Theological training, and other believers may disagree.  Trained or not, we all need to be humble enough to admit that none of us will have all the answers until we meet the Lord face to face. 

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1Corinthians 13:12 ESV) [21] 

Salvation brings change with it.  We are no longer the same.  We are given a new nature, and the old sinful person we were no longer controls us. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2Corinthians 5:17 ESV) [22]

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2: 1-10 ESV) [23] 

If we are truly saved, Jesus Christ is in us, and His nature shines through us.  It is visible in the things we think, feel, and do.  From the moment we trust in Jesus, we begin to be more and more like Him. 

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30 ESV) [24] 

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.  Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1John 2:3-6 ESV) [25] 

Jesus said: 

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,  even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17 ESV) [26] 

At the Great White Throne Judgement, unbelievers will have to give an account for everything they have done in this life before they are thrown into the lake of burning Sulphur. (Revelation 20:11-15)  On the other hand, believers will stand before the judgement seat of Christ, and everything they have done, good or bad, will also be made known.  However, our sins have been forgiven, and we can boldly go before the throne of Grace without fear of punishment. 

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.  So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.  By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.  There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.  We love because he first loved us. (1John 4:13-19 ESV) [27] 

Then, our reward will be given to us according to what we have done.  Our sins have been forgiven, but our reward will be granted according to how we have lived for Jesus. This is also consistent with what Jesus commanded regarding forgiveness. 

The saved person cannot lose their salvation, but we can be chastised here in this life as well. Don’t I know that one! 

Friends, forgive and forget is a tall order.  If we try to do it on our own, we cannot forgive the way Jesus did.  Jesus said: 

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-5 ESV) [28] 

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13 ESV) [29] 

Praise God! If we yield ourselves to Him, we can forgive and forget like Jesus did.  Please pray for me, so that I can live up to what I have written.

 

---

[1] https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/marianne_williamson_404141

[2] https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/hillary_clinton_135285

[3] https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/henry_ward_beecher_105212

[4] https://biblehub.com/esv/luke/23.htm 

[5] https://biblehub.com/esv/acts/7.htm

[6]  https://biblehub.com/esv/romans/3.htm

[7] https://biblehub.com/nkjv/1_john/1.htm

[8] https://biblehub.com/esv/romans/6.htm

[9] https://biblehub.com/esv/matthew/18.htm

[10] https://biblehub.com/esv/matthew/6.htm

[11] https://biblehub.com/esv/mark/11.htm

[12] https://biblehub.com/esv/luke/6.htm

[13] https://biblehub.com/esv/luke/17.htm

[14] https://biblehub.com/esv/luke/12.htm

[15] https://biblehub.com/esv/jeremiah/31.htm

[16] https://biblehub.com/esv/hebrews/8.htm

[17] https://biblehub.com/esv/john/10.htm

[18] https://biblehub.com/esv/john/3.htm

[19] https://biblehub.com/esv/romans/8.htm

[20] https://biblehub.com/esv/john/6.htm 

[21] https://biblehub.com/esv/1_corinthians/13.htm

[22] https://biblehub.com/esv/2_corinthians/5.htm

[23] https://biblehub.com/esv/ephesians/2.htm

[24] https://biblehub.com/esv/romans/8.htm

[25] https://biblehub.com/esv/1_john/2.htm

[26] https://biblehub.com/esv/john/14.htm

[27] https://biblehub.com/esv/1_john/4.htm

[28] https://biblehub.com/esv/john/15.htm

[29] https://biblehub.com/esv/philippians/4.htm

 

In God We Trust

Trust in God, who has provided salvation through Jesus Christ, and Love, Strength, and Power through the indwelling Holy Spirit. 

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

(Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV) [1]

 

“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.  And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” (Romans 5:1-5 NLT) [2] 

 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”       (Romans 15:13 NIV) [3]

 

 

 

 

---

[1] https://biblehub.com/nlt/lamentations/3.htm

[2] https://biblehub.com/nlt/romans/5.htm

[3] https://biblehub.com/niv/romans/15.htm

 

US Public Lands

In the USA a third of all land, about 840 million acres, is publicly owned.  The government agencies that administer and manage federal public lands include the National Park Service (84 million acres), the Bureau of Land Management (248 million acres), the US Forest Service (193 million acres), the US Fish and Wildlife Service (95 million acres), and State and Local Government (199 Million acres) [1] 

That’s a lot of land.  Most of it is open to the public, and anyone can visit it.  However, it is generally underutilized.  About 75% of Americans never use public lands, [2] especially those lands located outside urban areas.  In states where there is more public land, accessing it is easier.  From where I live in Idaho, I can drive to land managed by the BLM in about 10 minutes. 

In some places, there are restrictions and user fees.  They help protect the land from damage caused by overuse and provide funds to help pay the cost of managing the land. 

Who owns American public lands?  This is where it gets muddy, (if you will pardon the play on words.)  Some sources indicate that the “Property Clause” (Article 4, Section 3, Clause 2) of the US Constitution gives Congress the power to buy, sell, and regulate the use of federal lands. [3] I am not a Constitutional Lawyer, but I don’t see anything there about ownership.  Other sources say that the public lands belong to the people. [4] According to the Public Lands Alliance, federal lands are owned by the people and managed by various government agencies. Their website provides an excellent visual description (map) of the location of US public lands, and an organizational chart that shows the various federal agencies responsible for managing federal public lands. [5] 

It is important to understand that public lands managed by our state and local governments are subject to different use and management rules and regulations. For instance, state trust lands are commonly leased to provide funds for schools and universities.  City parks may be subject to curfews for public safety, and county parks and recreation areas are often subject to user fees. 

The federal government tries to regulate the public lands for multiple uses; like agriculture, grazing, logging, mining, and recreation, to name a few.  Leases and fees are charged to help fund the management of federal public lands. 

This has led to accusations of mismanagement.  Many people believe that federal agencies negotiate “sweetheart deals” with private business interests and environmentalists that short-change the public, and that has led to environmental problems and restricted access by the average citizen.  It is apparent that many of these concerns have a basis in fact, but it is my opinion that it would be better to fix the problems at the administrative level where they happen, rather than for the federal government to divest control to state and local governments that lack the infrastructure to manage these lands effectively.  I have experience in managing programs at the state and county level, and I can testify that these levels of government are even more susceptible to pressure from big business, special interest groups, and ill-informed local public opinion than the federal government is. 

Urbanization has served to separate our people from the outdoor experience provided by our public lands.  Most of our public land is located in remote, rural areas that lie to the West of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.  Therefore, like many other political issues, the ownership and use of public lands impact the Mountain West more than urban areas.  For instance, in 2018: 

·    In Alaska, 222.7 million acres, or 60.9% of all land is publicly owned, whereas in Nevada 56.3 million acres, or 80.1% of all land is publicly owned.  Consequently, even though the number of acres is greater in Alaska, the proportion of all land that is publicly owned is greater in Nevada. 

·   In Idaho, 32.8 million acres, or 61.9% of all land is public. However,in New Jersey only 172 thousand acres, or 3.6% of all land is public. 

·   This also holds true when we compare Oregon’s 32.2 million acres of public land, or 52.3% of all lands with Indiana’s 384.7 thousand acres of public land, or 1.7% of all land.[6] 

Public land is managed in diverse ways.  One of the most important ways is lands that are designated as Wilderness Areas.  Enacted in 1964, the Wilderness Act established the Wilderness Protection System.  In 1968, Congress expanded the system. “As of July 6, 2022, there are 803 wilderness areas, totaling approximately 112 million acres, in 44 states and Puerto Rico.”  About 111,695,310 acres of US Public Land has been designated as wilderness.[7] 

Wilderness areas are managed to preserve some public lands in a wild and natural state.  No vehicular traffic is allowed.  Roads and structures are forbidden.  Access is limited to foot or on horseback.  In some Wilderness Areas exceptions are made to allow use by handicapped persons.  These places are kept pristine so that the public can have access to a wilderness experience now and in the future.  For a state by state listing of the acreage and proportion of lands designated as Wilderness Areas please see: https://wilderness.net/practitioners/wilderness-search-tools/summary-reports/acreage-by-state.php

These figures may change slightly every year depending on how much land is acquired or sold.  Please be careful when researching this subject on the Internet because some websites have been compromised. 

My apologies for boring you with so much data.  It was necessary to present the “big picture.” Here’s the point.  US Public lands are, in my opinion, the property of the American people, but held in trust by the government to be managed in the public interest. 

It is difficult to understand things that are not part of our personal experience.  Therefore, people who have not had the benefit of experiencing the outdoors may not understand why some of us want to make a fuss about the current movement to give the management of federal public lands over to the states.  It is difficult to explain, but maybe the poet Robert Service said it best: 

(excerpts from) The Spell of the Yukon

By Robert Service

No! There’s the land. (Have you seen it?)

It’s the cussedest land that I know,

From the big, dizzy mountains that screen it

To the deep, deathlike valleys below.

Some say God was tired when He made it;

Some say it’s a fine land to shun;

Maybe; but there’s some as would trade it

For no land on earth—and I’m one…

 

I’ve stood in some mighty-mouthed hollow

That’s plumb-full of hush to the brim;

I’ve watched the big, husky sun wallow

In crimson and gold, and grow dim,

Till the moon set the pearly peaks gleaming,

And the stars tumbled out, neck and crop;

And I’ve thought that I surely was dreaming,

With the peace o’ the world piled on top.

 

The summer—no sweeter was ever;

The sunshiny woods all athrill;

The grayling aleap in the river,

The bighorn asleep on the hill.

The strong life that never knows harness;

The wilds where the caribou call;

The freshness, the freedom, the farness—

O God! how I’m stuck on it all.

 

The winter! the brightness that blinds you,

The white land locked tight as a drum,

The cold fear that follows and finds you,

The silence that bludgeons you dumb.

The snows that are older than history,

The woods where the weird shadows slant;

The stillness, the moonlight, the mystery,

I’ve bade ’em good-by—but I can’t.

 

There’s a land where the mountains are nameless,

And the rivers all run God knows where;

There are lives that are erring and aimless,

And deaths that just hang by a hair;

There are hardships that nobody reckons;

There are valleys unpeopled and still;

There’s a land—oh, it beckons and beckons,

And I want to go back—and I will …

 

It’s the great, big, broad land ’way up yonder,

   It’s the forests where silence has lease;

It’s the beauty that thrills me with wonder,

   It’s the stillness that fills me with peace. [8]

Friends, please read between the lines.  Do you hear the love? 

Service was writing about the Yukon, but the sentiment is transferrable to the outdoor experience that is available to every American.  It is spiritual.  It refreshes the soul, renews the spirit, and clears the mind.  I feel closer to God when I am standing on the seashore or deep in the mountain fastness. 

Land Grab 

Some in the government think of our public lands as a bank account.  To them, it is a source of revenue that, if sold, can provide money to fund government operations.  They say they would like to cut the federal expenditures driven by the management of federal public lands. 

It is a lie.  They will waste it.  Haven’t they robbed our children’s piggy bank enough by creating an almost $40 trillion national debt?  Our children’s-children’s-children will be saddled with it.  Don’t they have any shame? Teddy Roosevelt must be turning over in his grave. Our public lands are our heritage.  They were passed down to us by those who have gone before.  It is our duty to pass them down intact to those who will follow after us. 

If the federal government gives the administration of federal lands to the states, they will be transferring the cost to the states.  The states do not have the human or financial resources to the handle it.  The states will also lose the revenue they get from the feds in lieu of property taxes.  They will have to lease or sell the land to big moneyed private interests to stay solvent.  In turn, these interests will exploit the natural resources that rightly belong to the people and lay waste to the environment.  How do I know … because they have done it in the past.  Repeatedly. 

Public access will be lost to the people.  How do I know … because that is what happens when public lands are leased today.  Whether the provisions of the lease provide for it or not, the lease holders treat the land as theirs, and they run our people off land that rightfully belongs to them to recreate on.  Don’t try to tell me that it doesn’t happen, because it has happened to me. 

This is not a “make or break” issue when choosing candidates to vote for, but it is a tipping point if all other things are equal.  Please be an advocate for the responsible management of our public lands; in the public interest.  Let your sitting elected officials know that you expect them to act in the best interests of the people.  Make the candidates for public office aware that you will be taking their position on this issue into consideration when you vote. 

Lastly, if you haven’t visited our public lands, give it a try.  You will be blessed when you experience God’s wonderful creation.

 

 

 

---

[1] https://www.publiclands.com/blog/a/public-lands-in-the-united-states

[2] Ibid.

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_lands_in_the_United_States

[4] https://www.americantrails.org/resources/what-are-public-lands

[5] https://www.publiclandsalliance.org/about/what-are-public-lands

[6] https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/public-land-by-state

[7] https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/RL31447

[8] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46643/the-spell-of-the-yukon

 

 

Don't Lose Heart - Never Give Up

“Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up.  We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. 

If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.  Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God … 

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.  We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.  Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies … 

We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.  All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory … 

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.  For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!  So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” (2Corinthians 4:1-4, 8-10, 14-18 NLT) [1]

 

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,

and give thanks to his holy name.

For his anger is but for a moment,

and his favor is for a lifetime.

Weeping may tarry for the night,

but joy comes with the morning.

(Psalm 30:4-5 ESV) [2] 

 

“All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:27-30 ESV) [3]

---

[1] https://biblehub.com/nlt/2_corinthians/4.htm

[2] https://biblehub.com/esv/psalms/1.htm

[3] https://biblehub.com/esv/matthew/11.htm

 

Redistribution of Wealth

What is wealth?  We often base our opinions on our observations and experience of life.  They can also be influenced by the sources we get our information from.  The older I get the more I realize that my opinions may be formed from incomplete information, and that they may not be fully correct as a result.  Nevertheless, I have a confidence level of about 98 percent that I am correct on the subject at hand.

Decisions are almost always made in uncertainty.  How much information is necessary to make good decisions?  Although it is not possible to gather all the information necessary to arrive at 100 percent certainty, we are still able to get enough needed information to make a decision. 

Expert opinions vary regarding what wealth is.  In very general terms, there are two types of wealth.  One is material wealth, which is usually based on the net worth of the money, goods and services held by an individual, corporation, or other legally recognized organization.  The other is intangible wealth, which considers the quality of life enjoyed by people. 

Material wealth and quality of life are interrelated.  Those with more material wealth have more opportunities to enjoy a good quality of life.  Often, however, if material wealth is misused, the result can be a diminished quality of the overall experience of life.  Obviously, people who live in poverty, or who are “just getting by,” may have fewer opportunities to enjoy “the good life.”  We should also remember that the difficulties we face in life can be overcome by a right relationship with God. (John 16:33) 

A common criticism of capitalism is that society becomes stratified – that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.  On the other hand, it is argued that although socialism seeks to remove socioeconomic differences, it results in ruined economies that fail to produce enough affordable goods and services, which people need to for a decent standard of living. 

“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” (Winston Churchill) [1] 

“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” (Winston Churchill) [2] 

The idea that in capitalism the rich get richer by exploiting the poor did not originate with the current radical socialists who seem to have taken over the Democratic Party.  Neither did the idea that socialism would correct this injustice by redistributing the wealth.    It is at least as old as the utopian movement in the 19^th century.  The term, “from each according to his ability to each according to his need,” may have originated with the French utopian  Étienne-Gabriel Morelly.  It was popularized by Karl Marx in his Critique of the Gotha Programme (1875). [3] 

The idea of redistributing wealth seems to be focused in improving the quality of life of the general population by taking from the rich and giving to the poor.  (My apologies to Robin Hood.)  In the Soviet Union, and the Eastern European countries it dominated, this included the confiscation of private property by the government.  As an example, the homes of prosperous persons were declared to be “underutilized,” and the government relegated the owners to a small portion of the home, while giving the rest of the home over to be used by one or more less fortunate families. 

That idea has not been lost on Democratic Socialists like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) who once advocated for the confiscation and refurbishing of slum apartment houses to provide housing for the poor as a solution to urban blight.  That the history of public housing in the United States has been a miserable failure seems to have escaped AOC.  Housing projects were built and occupied, but the tenants’ style of living resulted in the rapid deterioration of the buildings.  Further, they became a hotbed for drug abuse and criminal activities. 

The Democratic Socialist wing of the Democratic Party is advocating that the rich be taxed to fund social programs that are intended for the poor.  The result is already being seen in Zohran Kwame Mamdani’s governance of New York City.  The rich and middle class people who are able to do so are relocating to places where the tax structure is more business friendly.  The same thing is happening in California. 

If tax the rich policies are extended to the national level, the same thing will happen.  We will once again find that America’s means of production will be exported to foreign locations.  Investment in American businesses that stay in the USA will dry up.  Investment and a portion of profits are necessary for businesses to acquire the capital needed for product development, growth, and expansion.  Without these, there is no growth in well paid private sector jobs.  No jobs, no wages, and no wages, no consumption.  Economic activity slows down, and without it tax revenue dissolves. 

With growth in government, the cost of government increases and so do taxes.  Job creation transferers from the private to the public sector.  This causes government spending to exceed revenue.  That drives deficit government spending.  The advocates of Modern Monetary Theory (aka Macroeconomic Theory) tell us that deficit spending is good because it puts more money into the economy than it takes out.  What they cavalierly ignore is that the result is inflationary.  Although “funny money” printed to bridge the gap between revenue and spending temporarily stimulates the economy by increasing the amount of money available for consumption, the value of money decreases – it buys less.  Consequently, it is inflationary, and it erodes the standard of living for the average person. 

Those who advocate for socialism point to the Social Democracies of Europe as an example of socialism’s success.  However, they fail to consider that the European Social Democracies have market driven, rather than socialist, centrally planned economies.  Private property rights are regulated, but they are not destroyed.  The European Social Democracies also heavily tax the middle class.  In 2026, the personal income tax rate in Denmark is 60.50 percent. [4]  In Sweden, socialist policies had to be modified because they were destroying small businesses and discouraging entrepreneurship. [5] 

As President Trump has pointed out many of our European NATO partners neglected to spend the amount on defense that they were obligated to under the treaty.  It is clear to even the casual observer that the Europeans helped to fund their socialist governments by skimping on defense spending. 

When we give Democrats the Presidency and majorities in the US Senate and House of Representatives, they do the same thing.  They always cut defense spending but spend like drunken sailors on social programs. 

Once again, we can see that there is “no such thing as a free lunch.”  When the Democratic Socialists and other big government advocates promise the public “free stuff” in the name of social justice (and to buy votes), somebody has to pay for it. Otherwise, the USA will eventually go broke, or become a nation in decline. 

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples' money.” (Margaret Thatcher) [6] 

The answer is for federal, state, and local governments to adopt tax structures and spending policies that encourage the development and expansion of the private sector.  If the private sector prospers, they will need to expand the workforce.  If more jobs are available, the supply of skilled and motivated workers will get smaller.  The scarcity of labor will increase the amount that must be paid to attract good workers.  Jobs and wages will increase, which will encourage consumption.  More production, wages, and consumption will increase government revenues without the need to increase taxes. Increased revenue will reduce, and may eventually eliminate, the need for deficit spending. 

Friends, centrally managed socialist economies failed in Russia, China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Venezuela.  Social Democracies in Europe have increased taxes on average people, not just the rich.  Since the end of WWII, the capitalist, free market economies encouraged by the United States have raised the standard of living of millions of people around the world. 

In November, we will choose between capitalism’s overall record of success, or the false socialist promises of a society that will be made more just through the redistribution of wealth.  The midterm election will be decided by voter turnout (participation).  Please join me by voting for candidates who support the traditional American way of life, and against the socialist nonsense that is being offered by today’s Democratic Party.  

 

 

---

[1] https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/winston-churchill-quotes

[2] Ibid.

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_each_according_to_his_ability,_to_each_according_to_his_needs

[4] https://tradingeconomics.com/denmark/personal-income-tax-rate

[5] Documentary “Sweden: Lessons for America?” James and Maureen Trusty, Directors

[6] https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/margaret_thatcher_502392

 

How to be Faithful

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2) [1]

 

“And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen. 

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.  So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.  But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.  For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” 

And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.”  For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value.  It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.  God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.” (1Peter 1:12-20 NLT) [2]

 

“With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.  Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.  They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. 

But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.  Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,  throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.  Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.  Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” (Ephesians 4:17-24 NLT) [3]

 

---

[1] https://biblehub.com/nlt/romans/12.htm

[2] https://biblehub.com/nlt/1_peter/1.htm

[3] https://biblehub.com/nlt/ephesians/4.htm