Debt

Just as the rich rule the poor,

so the borrower is servant to the lender.

(Proverbs 22:7 NLT)

Faith is the most important reason we believe the scriptures are true. At times, it is also because God’s Word is proved by our experience of life. How many of us become “wage slaves” to be able to pay the bills? Do we stay with a difficult job or a toxic work environment because we fear we might lose our income and go bankrupt if our new job or business opportunity does not work out?

The 1937 Disney movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, featured the dwarfs marching off to work singing, “Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho! It’s off to work we go!”  I once noticed a bumper sticker that read, “I owe, I  owe, so it’s off to work I go.”    I know from personal experience how difficult it is to pay off consumer debt to multiple creditors by making monthly payments. 

To be up front about it, I have carried consumer debt most of my life.  I used to say that being of sound mind, I spent every cent I made – two years before I made it.  I was only half joking.  Were it not for God’s provision, I would still be up to my ears in debt. 

The ability to buy on credit lets us have what we want now, rather than to wait until we have saved the money to buy it, but look out - it’s a trap! Henry David Thoreau is reported to have said, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”  My contention is that this is probably due to debt. 

One source reports that, “Americans added $660 billion in debt while paying down credit card balances and buying homes during the pandemic. The average person now has nearly $54,000 of debt, or more than $155,000 per household.”[1] 

A consumer debt study by Experian for 2020 said, “Overall, total outstanding consumer debt grew to just under $14.9 trillion. Several types of debt contributed to this growth, though it was notably counteracted by a decrease in credit card balances.”[2] 

In today’s economy, only a small proportion of the money in circulation is hard cash.  Most transactions are being conducted in “numbers money.”[3] 

When a consumer goes to a car dealer to buy a car, the dealer’s financial officer arranges for a loan. The lender sends an electronic payment for the car to the dealer’s bank account. If the buyer makes a down payment, it is usually by check or debit card.  No exchange of cash takes place.  That’s numbers money. [4]  Without creating debt, most of us could not afford to buy a car. 

When we use a debit card to buy our groceries, or a credit card to buy gas, no exchange of cash takes place.  Account transfers take place electronically. [5] When our life insurance company “automatically” dips into our checking account for their monthly premium, that is numbers money.  No cash. 

Were it not for credit cards, how much online shopping would there be?  How many small businesses would fold if Christmas buying had to be in cash?  It is a lot easier to whip out your credit or debit card to buy the things you want, isn’t it?  It’s more difficult to come up with the cash. 

In short, our economy has become dependent on numbers money, and especially on credit buying.  Without it, our economy would collapse.

You see – it’s built in for people to go into debt and stay there.  It adds money to the economy and lends stability to the work force. 

There is a fly in the ointment.  Interest rates on homes and cars are low right now, but the interest we pay on credit card debt, personal loans, and the like amounts to usury (in the moral if not legal sense).  Somebody is lending in ways that take unfair advantage of the ordinary Joe.  Further, there is no guarantee that home and auto loan interest will not go up.  I’m old enough to remember 10% interest on home loans and 16% interest on used car loans. 

Stay with me while I quote a number of verses from the Holy Bible, so that we may get a feel for the whole wisdom of God about debt. (Hint: He doesn’t want us to go into debt.)  Please remember that God gives us His commands so that we may have happy lives.

Hopefully, these verses will convict us about how far we have wandered away from God.  Things that are wrong have become so commonplace that they are taken for granted. 

Nations 

The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless every work of your hand; and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. (Deuteronomy 28:12 NASB) 

At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts.  And this is the regulation for the release of debts: every creditor is to forgive what he has loaned to his neighbor; he shall not require it of his neighbor and his brother, because the LORD’S release has been proclaimed.  From a foreigner you may require it, but your hand shall forgive whatever of yours is with your brother. (Deuteronomy 15:1-3 NASB) 

You are not to charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned on interest.  You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess. (Deuteronomy 23:19-20 NASB) 

Society 

So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard about it, they went down there to him.  Then everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him. (1Samuel 22:1-2 NASB) 

Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means among you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a resident, so that he may live with you.  Do not take any kind of interest from him, but fear your God, so that your countryman may live with you.  You shall not give him your silver at interest, nor your food for profit.  I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God. (Leviticus 25:37-37 NASB) 

Individuals 

Now a woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”  So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.”  Then he said, “Go,  borrow containers elsewhere for yourself, empty containers from all your neighbors—do not get too few.  Then you shall come in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour into all these containers; and you shall set aside what is full.”  So she left him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they began bringing the containers to her, and she poured the oil.  When the containers were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.” But he said to her, “There are no more containers.” Then the oil stopped.  So she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.” (2Kings 4:1-7 NASB) 

When you make your neighbor a loan of any kind, you shall not enter his house to take his pledge.  You shall stand outside, and the person to whom you are making the loan shall bring the pledge outside to you.  And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge.  When the sun goes down you shall certainly return the pledge to him, so that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it will be righteousness for you before the LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 24:10-13 NASB) 

If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest.  If you ever seize your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets,  for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else is he to sleep in? And it will come about that when he cries out to Me, I will listen to him, for I am gracious. (Exodus 22:25-27 NASB) 

Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:42 NASB) 

Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold  was brought to him.  Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’  The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.  He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back. “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.  When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’  In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Matthew 18:23-35 NIV) 

Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,  and the other fifty.  Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” (Luke 7-41-42 NIV) 

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Luke 16:13 NIV)[6] 

Admittedly, some of these verses are about forgiveness and gratitude.  Yet, they also speak to our attitudes about money and debt.  Please take a few moments to reflect on God's Word. 

Whom are we to serve?  Will we serve God or our creditors?  How much interest is fair?  How does God want us to treat those who owe us?  How many of our children or grandchildren could we have put through college with the money we have paid in interest? 

Should the good old USA borrow money from China?  Will a people oppressed by poverty and debt become rebellious? 

Does God still help people the way He helped the widow through Elisha?  She did what Elisha told her, and she received a miracle.  God will help us if we obey Him.  He helped me.

 

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[1] https://www.benefitspro.com/2021/09/29/average-household-debt-rises-during-pandemic-to-over-150k/?slreturn=20211020194605

[2] https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/research/consumer-debt-study/

[3] https://workableeconomics.com/where-does-money-come-from/

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] https://biblehub.com/ (All Bible verses) 

Being Patient

You can always tell when God thinks something is important by the number of times it is mentioned in the Holy Bible.  If you use a concordance, the number of times a word is shown to occur does not always reflect the total number of times it actually shows up because a concordance is primarily a verse locator.  However, it is one way to get a count.  I use a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance because it is the one that was most readily available in large print (in a bookstore before I started internet shopping).

My concordance is keyed to the King James Version of the Bible.  Other translations sometimes use words like “perseverance” and “steadfast” to render “patient” or “patience” from Latin and Greek into modern English.

In my Strong’s, the word “patience” is listed 34 times, in 14 different books of the Bible.  “Patient” is listed nine times in seven books, and “patiently” is shown six times in four books.

It would seem, therefore, that an earnest disciple (student) like me might be able to get the point.  I cannot, however, seem to be able to – at least not on my own.  It seems that the only way I can avoid impatience is to lean on the Lord.

How about you?  In this age of instant gratification, are you able to patiently wait?  Do you get cross with people about delays they are not able to avoid?  If I don’t watch it, I do.

Here are some verses to help when we hit the end of our rope:

The end of a matter is better than its beginning;

Patience of spirit is better than arrogance of spirit.

Do not be eager in your spirit to be angry,

For anger resides in the heart of fools. (Ecclesiastes 7:8-9 NASB) 

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.  For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,  who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. (Colossians 1:11-14 NLT) 

Now godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world,  and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. (1Timothy 6:6-11 NKJV) 

Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience. (Titus 2:2 NLT) 

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,  knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (James 1:3 NKJV) 

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.  You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!  My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience.  Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. (James 5:7-11 NKJV) 

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. (2Peter 1:5-9 KJV) 

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.  I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. (Revelation2:1-3 ESV)

 

Note: All verses quoted from: https://biblehub.com/esv/revelation/2.htm

The Baptism and Temptation of Christ

Let’s share together some lessons from God’s word. 

Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him.  But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have the need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?”  But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.  After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him,  and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17 NASB)[1] 

Note that when Jesus was baptized, it was to fulfill all righteousness - not just for a ceremonial purification.  It is because Jesus was perfectly righteous that He was the unblemished Lamb needed to pay the price for our sins.  The use of capitalization by the translators to identify our Lord shows that it was their judgement that John the Baptist saw the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus.  John heard and understood the voice of God. 

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.  And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”  But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT COMES OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’” 

Then the devil took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,  and he said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written: 

‘HE WILL GIVE HIS ANGELS ORDERS CONCERNING YOU’; 

and 

‘ON THEIR HANDS THEY WILL LIFT YOU UP, SO THAT YOU DO NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’” 

Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’” 

Again, the devil took Him along to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory;  and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”  

Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’” 

Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to serve Him. (Matthew 4:1-11 NASB)[2] 

Jesus was tempted as we are, but He did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15) He was without food for 40 days and nights.  That He was hungry, is an understatement.  His human body must have also been weakened physically.  Yet, Jesus said that the works He did were the works of His Father. (John 10:32,14:10)  Tempted as He must have been to turn stones into bread, He refused to perform miracles at the command of Satan. 

The devil used scripture to try to deceive when he told Jesus to cast Himself from the pinnacle of the temple.  You can be certain that Satan knows the scriptures, and that he still tries to twist them to cause believers to sin.  That is why we must study the whole wisdom of God and submit to the counsel of the Holy Spirit. 

Satan is a liar. (John 8:44)  He intended to take the kingdoms of the world away, not to give them to Jesus.  If the Son of God had worshiped Satan, He would have lost His birthright to rule the kingdoms of the world with an iron scepter as Messiah. He also would have sinned, and then He could not have been our Savior.    However, He rebuked Satan and sent him away, and God sent angels to care for Jesus. 

There is one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Because He was faithful to the end and died for us, we can have eternal life.  All glory and honor be to God whose love knows no bounds.

 

 

 

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[1] https://biblehub.com/nasb_/matthew/3.htm

[2] https://biblehub.com/nasb_/matthew/4.htm

Praise Report

In an answer to a specific prayer, the Lord has blessed us in a wonderful way today.  We praise Him for His love, kindness, and help.  God is good - all the time!

What do You Believe?

Whether we acknowledge it or not, we all believe in something.  Most of the things we believe in can be verified by our senses.  We can see the sun and feel its warmth, so we believe it exists.  We can hear dogs bark and know they are nearby.  We believe there is a skunk living under the shed because we can smell it.  When we get out of bed in the morning, we believe the floor under our feet will support our weight.

To believe  in something is to accept or regard it as true.[1] If we accept with certainty that something exists or is true[2] we say it is a belief.

Religions, science, and philosophies are organized systems of related beliefs.  They are often ardently championed by their adherents.

Atheists do not believe any deity exists.  The agnostic believes that ultimate reality is not known and may not be knowable.  They are, consequently, not committed to the existence or nonexistence of a deity.  Essentially, the agnostic believes that we can only know with certainty what we perceive with our senses.  Atheism and agnosticism are belief systems.

The skeptic questions facts, attitudes, and beliefs that others say are true.  The skeptic wants to test ideas to see if they are true and tries to accept nothing at face value.  He or she wants proof. For the skeptic, the belief that things must be questioned is axiomatic.  It is their belief system.

What if something cannot be confirmed by observation?  What if it may exist, but it cannot be seen, heard, touched, smelled, or tasted?  What if it is an idea that cannot be verified by scientific experiments?  Freud theorized that the personality includes an Id, Ego, and Superego.  We are told that the universe was formed by a huge, spontaneously occurring explosion billions of years ago.  Did life begin on Earth by spontaneous generation as well?  Have you observed life erupt from a mixture of ocean ooze and sunlight?  Today, scientists are speculating about the existence of dark matter in space.  Sounds okay to me, but where is the conclusive evidence?

A theory is an unproved speculation about reality?  Have any of these widely accepted theories been upheld in a conclusive way?   Light seems to bend in space, and memories long forgotten can be brought back to recall when the brain is stimulated with electrodes.  These observations do not, however, prove with certainty the existence of the unconscious, or subconscious mind, or dark matter.

Some theoretical concepts defy verification.  Nonetheless, to many people these ideas make a lot of sense.  Many believe  they are true simply because learned people say they are.

If we give credence to the unproven speculations of science, philosophy, and political systems, does not fundamental fairness require that we consider the possibility that God exists, too?  If we are skeptical about the Almighty God, must we not at least apply the same degree of rigorous examination to other belief systems?

Knowledgeable Christian apologists have debated unbelievers of all kinds, making the case for our One God in Three Persons … the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  They have shown that creation attests to its Creator, and that over 300 biblical prophesies were fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ.  They have explained the statistical impossibility that the universe and life were spontaneously generated, and that it is virtually impossible for so many prophesies to be fulfilled in one life by accident.  They have revealed the proofs that the Holy Bible is reliable and is an exact representation of the ancient scriptural manuscripts.  The archeological evidence confirming biblical events, and the corroboration of the Bible by ancient secular manuscripts substantiate that the Bible is the truth.  They have demonstrated the internal consistency of the Bible and explained any apparent contradictions in it.  The scope of this post does not permit me to elaborate.  Simply put these apologists have proved the existence of God as he has revealed Himself in the Bible.  There is nothing more I can say that will add to their scholarly arguments.  I can only tell my experience.

From where I sit what Jesus said of the Pharisees may be true of today’s unbelievers as well.  “… You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” (Matthew 23:24 NIV)[3]

God is Spirit, and He is not apprehended by our five senses.  Jesus promised, however, that if we earnestly seek Him we will find Him. (Matthew 7:7-8)  God is not unknown or unknowable.  He has given us the Holy Bible and the Holy Spirit.  Everything that we need to know about God is available to us in His Holy Word.  If we believe in Him, God will cause us to feel His presence and see the result of it in our lives.  If we trust God the Son (Jesus Christ) for our salvation, He will give us His Holy Spirit, dwelling within us, to guide and teach us as we read the Word.

God is real.  I can testify it’s true from my own experience.

How would you like to come into the very presence of Almighty God and worship Him for giving you life everlasting?  Believe in Jesus Christ today and then walk as Jesus walked.

 

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[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/believe

[2] https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/belief

[3] https://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/23.htm

 

Mistakes to Learn From Afghanistan

“There is no avoiding war;

it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.”

Niccolo Machiavelli

https://www.brainyquote.com/search_results?x=33&y=17&q=niccolo+machiavelli

It is easier to see clearly when looking at past events, than it is to forecast the future.  It might be helpful for all of us to remember that the decisions that resulted in the War in Afghanistan were made with the information  available at the time, and without the benefit of hindsight, (although a little regard for History might have helped.)  It is a mistake to judge what has taken place in Afghanistan without considering that decision making usually takes place without complete information.  In decision making, we never have all the information needed, nor do we even have enough useful information to guarantee a successful outcome all of the time.  In some cases, leaders may consider it to be better to act decisively, rather than to vacillate, even if there is a risk of being wrong.

On September 11, 2001, airliners hijacked by 19 terrorists aligned with al-Qaeda were deliberately crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  Another hijacked airliner crashed into a field in Pennsylvania when the passengers heroically struggled with the terrorists to get control of it.  On that terrible day, around 3,000 people died.  First responders and civilians are still dying from exposure to the smoke and debris.  The primary cause of the War in Afghanistan was the 9/11 attacks, and it is a mistake to think otherwise.

We may never know the whole truth about why Usama bin Laden ordered the 9/11 attacks.  We do know that American military actions have been taking place in the Middle East and Afghanistan ever since.  Many militant Islamists have paid with their lives, including Usama bin Laden himself.  Regardless of the ultimate outcome in Afghanistan, it was a mistake for bin Laden to kick over that kind of hornets’ nest.  It drew the United States deeper into the affairs of the Muslim world, rather than moving us out.

It was a mistake for President Bush to allow a businessman like Donald Rumsfeld to direct the military efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq.  War is not a matter of controlling costs by allocating “just enough” resources to achieve “limited and clearly defined objectives.”  The military needs to be able to bring overwhelming force to bear in order to seize and retain the initiative and to find, fix, close with, and destroy the enemy.  If there are insufficient resources to fix the enemy to a position, they will not be completely destroyed, and their escape cannot be blocked.  In Afghanistan, some of the bad guys got away.  We must not try to prosecute war “on the cheap.”

President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Secretary Rumsfeld  made a mistake when they opened a second front in Iraq  before the job was done in Afghanistan.  The resources needed to close the deal in Afghanistan were diverted to Iraq, and it doomed the effort in Afghanistan to a slow and agonizing death.

In my opinion, it is a mistake to regard the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria as individual wars.  Rather, it is better to view them as theaters of operations in a larger War on Terror.  Immediately following the September 11^th attacks, President George W. Bush spoke eloquently about such a war.  In what some called “the Bush doctrine” the President said that the United States would wage this war wherever terrorists were found.  He warned that the war would last a long time, and that for America to survive we must not lose our resolve.  Somehow along the way those ideas got lost, and we need to find them again.

On her Fox News program, The Ingram Angle, I recently heard Laura Ingram point out that the United States of America has not decisively won a war since World War II.  She suggested that we needed new decision makers with a different approach to waging war. Amen.

It is a mistake for America to go to war unless we are willing to do whatever it takes to win it.  Winning a war means to destroy the enemy until they are unable and unwilling to fight.  It does not mean to achieve limited and clearly defined objectives.  It is a mistake to allow the enemy to have sanctuaries where they can recover, reorganize, and then conduct “asymmetrical warfare.”

War is the worst, most horrible thing humankind does.  I wish that there could be an end to it.  So far as I know, however, there will be war until Jesus Christ returns to Earth to set up His thousand-year kingdom.  We should do everything humanly possible to avoid going to war.  If we cannot avoid it, we must stop trying to fight with one hand tied behind our back.  We must fight to win … fight until the threat to our country is utterly destroyed.  As Albert Einstein is reported to have said, ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.’  It is a mistake to fight limited, no-win wars.

It is a mistake to generalize.  Countries differ in history, culture, religion, social organization, economic resources, and infrastructure, to name a few. What worked in one country may not be possible in another.  We helped Italy, Germany, Japan and others rebuild after WWII.  We helped South Korea become a wonderful success story.  That did not work in Afghanistan.  About a decade ago an informed source who had served for a number of years in Afghanistan told me that country would revert to what it used to be before our involvement, the minute we pulled out.  Was it a  mistake for us to stay so long and try to help the Afghan people learn to have a better life?  Only if we were not prepared to stay there as long as it takes.  Only if we were not willing to pursue and destroy the Taliban, no matter where they took refuge.

To put all the blame on any one President for our failure in Afghanistan is a mistake.  President Biden’s mismanagement of the final withdrawal, however, has done incalculable damage to America and Afghanistan.

To think we can fix the way we wage war without revamping our entire way of waging war is also a mistake.  We cannot use even battalion sized special operations units when the situation calls for overwhelming force from Brigade or Division sized units with tank, artillery, and air support.

It is a mistake to think it is over.  The War on Terror will not end until the terrorists stop waging war on us.

“Wars begin when you will,

but they do not end when you please.”

Niccolo Machiavelli.

https://philosiblog.com/2012/10/06/wars-begin-when-you-will-but-they-do-not-end-when-you-please/

 

Opportunity Cost

In his poem, The Road Not Taken, the great American poet, Robert Frost, penned the famous line:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

https://poets.org/poem/road-not-taken

Economists talk about “opportunity cost.”  Generally applied, it is the benefit we lose when we choose one alternative over another. Let’s say a person may want a new car and a boat, but they do not have the money to buy both. If they buy the car, they get the benefit of dependable transportation, but they lose the recreational opportunities afforded by owning a boat. You get the idea.

Opportunity cost is typically used in relation to consumer choices. I think it may be useful in understanding the consequences of choices made in other scenarios, as well. 

In the 2016 election, American voters gave the Republican Party the Presidency, and control of the House of Representatives and Senate. In the best tradition of their party, however, they managed to rescue defeat from the jaws of victory. 

Donald Trump was a political outsider who wanted to change the way Washington did business. The knee-jerk reaction of “establishment” Republicans in the legislative branch was to oppose him. They willfully refused to consider the benefits the country might enjoy if Mr. Trump’s policies were codified in law. 

Chief among these old school Republicans was the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan. Speaker Ryan managed to torpedo the bulk of President Trump’s initiatives before they got out of the dock. 

Instead of taking the road less traveled, the “never Trumpers” remained mired in the old, misguided Republican policies that were holding the country back. They wanted the more familiar, “safer” road; because that was the way it had always been done … and it was the path to personal enrichment through “public service.” 

Consequently, President Trump had to content himself with revoking the regulations President Obama had established by executive order, and to implementing those of his policies that he could by executive order. The benefits were almost immediate, but the Republicans in the House and Senate ignored them. 

Like President Obama before him, much of what President Trump tried to do by executive order was immediately revoked when the succeeding (Biden) administration came into power.

The Democrats, however, are not ones to squander an opportunity.  The present squabble over spending aside, they are acting with a great deal of party unity – to the detriment of the United States of America. Like Tennyson’s Light Brigade, they continue the charge, undaunted by ‘failures to the right of them, failures to the left of them and failures in front of them.’  All the while, the RINO Republicans continue to fumble the ball. 

Painful as it may be, try to bring yourself to think about the opportunity cost resulting from the establishment Republicans’ choice to oppose President Trump’s policy initiatives, simply because they didn’t like him. After we finish crying our eyes out, then let’s try our best to throw out the RINO’s along with the Democrats in the 2022 and 2024 elections.