Living in a world filled with calamities, clichés, and conundrums!

I think today is Thursday, March 25, 2010, but lately I have, like the proverbial infant, been mixing up my days and nights, therefore, having now consulted the calendar on the wall, and having checked my computer time signature, I bid you a good Thursday morning. Surely I've not lived to see my grandfather's words come true: "Son, you act like you wake up in a new world every morning!" This mixing up of days can cause a few gotchas along the way since I typically am studying and preparing for different lessons at different times and tend to study the next one coming up but if I don't grasp what day it is I might end up studying the other lesson which then makes me jump through hoops to get the one done that I should have been studying. If you follow this logic trail then my grandfather may have also been talking about you! Our dear Brother Milton continues to astound everyone with his progress as God works in his life. He has a wonderful sense of humor about his memory problems that continue after his catastrophic stroke. If you ask him what he wants to eat he will name something he just ate and his wife has to intervene because she says he would eat the same thing over and over because he doesn't remember eating it before. He thinks this to be hugely funny and I do too! We recently received some photos of him baptizing two of his grandsons and no one, and I do mean no one, would have ever believed this man who was at the point of death multiple times would ever have been able again to do something like this! The Psalmist put it this way: "This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes." (118:23)

I am conflicted almost always in these huge issues where so much is on the line, like the recent health care battles and its subsequent passage. Why am I conflicted? Because I do know there are many families struggling and many have been mistreated because of the greed and corruption that defines our flawed system. People on both sides take advantage of this situation to sell their side of the story. I am against government run for most everything but on the other hand I believe it is wrong to somehow champion opposition to helping others in the name of the free enterprise system. There will always be dynamic tension involved in these debates. Jesus said that we will always have the poor with us but He also went out of His way to reach out to help the lowliest in the society of His day. Sadly, the purpose as stated by those in favor of government running health care is to touch the lives of those in need, when, in reality, many of them are focused on maintaining and growing their base of power. It's not much better on the other side either where the track record reeks from the stench of excess, greed, and under the table dealing. Makes me homesick. Homesick for the city that Abraham longed for, homesick for that place whose builder and maker is God! (Hebrews 11:10)

Tuesday evening I watched a remarkable program on PBS on the Frontline series that delved into the lives of people impacted by this cataclysmic recession. The setting was an upscale hair salon in New York City's east side. The patrons would come in and as they got their hair done they would talk about their experiences in dealing with this economic downturn. Gut wrenching. It was hard to hold back the tears. People who had given their lives to hard work and playing by the rules now totally devastated by the decisions of others they had nothing to do with. Some had lost businesses. Some had lost family. Some had lost their health. Most had lost any notion of confidence that had long characterized their lives. One man who had been the head of training within human resources for a major airline told about the day he was let go. He had many years at his company. He loved his job and the people he worked with. He got up every day excited about going to work. On this day he showed up and was surprised to see his boss in early. She came into his office and shut the door. She told him the company had undertaken a reduction program and he was included. She asked him to try and pack up his things and leave within ten minutes. He went into shock. He sat there stunned. He didn't know what to do. At the time of the filming he was into a year without employment or prospects. Others were equally sad. Children having to quit college. Credit cards maxed out. Houses being foreclosed. No end in sight. Why did this happen folks? While I thank God for His mercy and grace in sparing us this outcome thus far, I must tell us all the truth. It was pure greed and unbridled selfishness that brought about this collapse and we would do well to remember this so that we do not find ourselves on the side of evil as we seek to chart a way forward. I went to bed Tuesday evening very burdened for the people on that program. I know there are millions just like them, many of whom are even worse off. I prayed for them and I prayed for our nation that we would return to God and seek to honor Him first in all we do. Join me in doing the same. Amen. .......More later.