"Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature." These were the words of President George W. Bush at the end of the momentous day known ten years later simply as "9/11." As one who had grown weary of the politically-correct soft-speak that had become, and still is the norm, I found the president's words very encouraging. The Commander in Chief's words swelled up in my chest in the same way I imagined the British people must have reacted to Winston Churchill's description of Nazi Germany as, "a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime." (http://www.winston-churchill-leadership.com/speech-blood-toil.html)
"Don't demonize your opponent." It is hard to find commentary on public discourse that does not contain such a warning, or rebuke. I fear that we have so deeply imbibed this bit of "universal wisdom" that we are now unable to identify the demonic. We live in a fallen world, and those of us who live here are fallen. I believe that the events of Genesis 3 are historical. The Theological truth established by this Biblical account, and many other scriptures is undeniable. It is called the Depravity of Man (see post for 8/31). Those of us who accept this doctrine drawn from the Bible and abundantly illustrated by observation of human behavior do not mean that people are incapable of acts of kindness, etc., nor that everyone is as evil as she/he could be. Among other implications, however, the Bible's teaching on the human condition is that people are capable of almost unimaginable evil. Technically, the kind of evil we are talking about is not "demonic" but "humanic."
Keeping that correction in mind, one of the great problems of our world is the opposite of demonizing our opponents; it is the failure to recognize the demonic. Incredible evil is at large in our world. It is a truth that we ignore at our own risk. When a leader has the courage to point to it and call it what it, power, resolve, and inspiration are communicated. When we allow the "very worst of human nature," to go unidentified, or when we act as if there is no "dark lamentable catalogue of human crime," that is still growing as we speak, have we not become part of the evil?
It's STTA.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
August 30, 2011, Rushing in where others are fleeing:
On 9/11 the first plane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center about 8:45 AM. The building, with incredible damage and fires raging within, stood for about an hour. Stories from survivors tell of the heat, confusion, smoke and wreckage blocking exits in the massive building. A short time later the horror was repeated in the South Tower. Thankfully in the time between the attacks and the collapses of the towers thousands of people were able to escape. In the supreme statement of terror and desperation, some jumped from hundreds of feet up.
While thousands were fleeing, there were hundred who were going in. Firemen and paramedics went in to do their duty. They rushed into buildings from which others were fleeing. Because of their efforts many survived.
Though I live five-hundred miles from New York City, and ten years have passed since that tragic day, I still see shirts and hats emblazoned with "FDNY." The quiet heroism of New York's first responders is incredible. With them it isn't a boast; it is more of a job description. "We go into burning buildings while other's are fleeing." In the Brotherhood that makes up the country's largest fire department, the members encourage one another to "Do the right thing."--the FDNY motto.
If you read the words of Christ on the night before the Crucifixion, John 13-17, you'll notice that He didn't mince words in speaking of the evils and dangers of the world.
"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. (John 15:18)
". . . you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. . . ." (John 16:20)
"In the world you have tribulation." (John 16:33)
"The world has hated them [Christ's followers]." (John 17:14)
Remarkably, though, the Lord does not help His followers to leave the world. John 17 explains how He is leaving, but He is leaving them (for His followers today, "Us") A short time later, after His death and resurrection, he sends His peopleinto the world.
With good reason many Christians see reason to flee the world. Obviously, we can't do so completely, I mean, we are stuck here on this piece of rock, but the temptation to so insulate ourselves from the world that we have essentially abandoned it is great. Doing the right thing is often hard. In the case of those who follow Christ the right thing is to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel."
To go into a world, from which we want to flee, with the message of salvation. It's the right thing.
It's STTA.
A follow-up note: (post for 8/30)
Monday, August 29, 2011
Thoughts on 9/11:
It was Tuesday. I was in my office working. Kathy called and told me there was an explosion or something in New York. What I did next says a lot about me, and the condition of our world. I just confirmed my recollection by looking at a list of terrorist incidents that took place in the time just before 9/11. (also here) Bombs--suicide, car, and otherwise--attacks on trains, buildings and historic monuments, and man-made tragedies of all sorts had become common place. Less than a year before the USS Cole had a massive hole blown in its side. Distance and repetition had removed the terror from terrorism for me. The flow of blood in the newspaper and on the news, combined with troubles closer to home had made me more numb than I wish I were. I just kept working.
As I remember, Kathy called me again a few minutes later. Like many of you, she had been watching the horror unfolding. I heard an emotion in her voice that I had only heard at times of family deaths or other major troubles. I knew that this was beyond the wickedness that, for me had become the new normal. I came home and struggled to take in the magnitude of what had just happened.
It is a balancing act with which we all need to struggle. Somewhere, right now there is likely some atrocity that is being planned, carried out, or just inflicted on innocent people, yet this morning I need to take a helium tank back to a vendor, return some borrowed equipment we used at a church event last night, and do this STTA. My wife is going to the dentist. While I type she and I are discussing what we need to do this evening. Life goes on. I can't just quit. On the other hand the numbness to the pain of so many that too easily hardens my heart is troublesome.
I want to be more like my Lord, who when "He saw the multitudes . . . was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd." (Matthew 9:36) I know my capacity for meaningful empathy is infinitely less than Christ's, but I pray . . .
Lord, help me to see and be impacted by the needs of others, and show me what I can do to make a difference. Amen
It's STTA.
As I remember, Kathy called me again a few minutes later. Like many of you, she had been watching the horror unfolding. I heard an emotion in her voice that I had only heard at times of family deaths or other major troubles. I knew that this was beyond the wickedness that, for me had become the new normal. I came home and struggled to take in the magnitude of what had just happened.
It is a balancing act with which we all need to struggle. Somewhere, right now there is likely some atrocity that is being planned, carried out, or just inflicted on innocent people, yet this morning I need to take a helium tank back to a vendor, return some borrowed equipment we used at a church event last night, and do this STTA. My wife is going to the dentist. While I type she and I are discussing what we need to do this evening. Life goes on. I can't just quit. On the other hand the numbness to the pain of so many that too easily hardens my heart is troublesome.
I want to be more like my Lord, who when "He saw the multitudes . . . was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd." (Matthew 9:36) I know my capacity for meaningful empathy is infinitely less than Christ's, but I pray . . .
Lord, help me to see and be impacted by the needs of others, and show me what I can do to make a difference. Amen
It's STTA.
Friday, August 26, 2011
The Upper Room:
For nearly a year three of we guys have been hanging out with the Lord Jesus and the Apostles. We have been meeting once a week for a time of study on the Life of Christ. Last night we were in the upper room as Jesus transformed the Jewish Seder, the commemoration of the great Old Testament deliverance, into the Lord's Supper, the symbol of the even greater deliverance which Jesus was about to accomplish. The Apostle Paul tells us that"
". . . as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." (1 Corinthians 11:26)
As I read through the gospel accounts of this final meal, I was again reminded of the humanness of what went on--the jostling for positions (Luke 22:24). the unwillingness of the Apostles to take the servant role (John 13), and of course the bluster of Peter.
You and I would have been right at home.
The meal that these men were sharing is a powerful communication of Christ giving Himself as the sacrifice for sin, thus becoming the Savior of sinners. It is significant that He did not share this "Last Supper" with idealized, airbrushed stand-ins, but real people.
It's STTA
Unshaken and not Stirred
Here in Covington some felt it and others didn't. Some of us thought it was something else. When I felt the earthquake I was in a restaurant near a highway project. I assumed there was some blasting going on. In typical small world fashion, I found out it really was an earthquake via Louisiana--a phone-call from my son.
I feel like this is a warm-up for a Rodney Dangerfield routine, but one Californian commented that his cellphone set on vibrate registered higher on the Richter Scale. At first, based on my mostly unshaken and not stirred experience, I was ready to agree with the Left Coaster. Then reports of actual damage started coming in. The Washington Monument may be damaged. I heard of at least one school that is closed. At least one wedding was disrupted. Numerous buildings were damaged. It's nothing like what happened in Japan, but, for many, not insignificant, either.
For those who are dealing with damaged property, the earthquake clearly had a negative impact. Where the damage was to public buildings whole communities are impacted. Just because the quake didn't really move me, doesn't mean it was insignificant.
On the other hand, the Mid-Atlantic 2011 Quake does not merit any name that ends in "geddon." Based on the promises in the Word of God I am confident Jesus is coming again. I was sure of that on Monday. I'm no more or less sure today.
Any time God taps us on the shoulder and says, "See what I can do." we ought to pay attention.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
"We Were Family"
I haven't read the book, yet, but I hear good things about it. A young friend, who has read Francis Chan's Crazy Love, sent this quote from the popular book:
" A while back a former gang member came to our church. He was heavily tattooed and rough around the edges, but he was curious to see what church was like. He had a relationship with Jesus and seemed to get fairly involved with the church.
After a few months, I found out the guy was no longer coming to the church. When asked why he didn't come anymore, he gave the following explanation: 'I had the wrong idea of what church was going to be like. When I joined the church, I thought it was going to be like joining a gang. You see, in gangs we weren't just nice to each other once a week--- we were family.'"
Ouch!
"A few decades ago Bill Gather got us singing, "I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God."
And I am glad, especially when the rest of the family loves on me. I confess, far too often, though, I regard my spiritual family kind of like an insurance policy--nice to have when I need it, but ignored most of the rest of the time.
Thanks, Maria & Francis, for reminding me that we need to be family all the time. For those of us who claim God as our Father . . .
It's STTA.
" A while back a former gang member came to our church. He was heavily tattooed and rough around the edges, but he was curious to see what church was like. He had a relationship with Jesus and seemed to get fairly involved with the church.
After a few months, I found out the guy was no longer coming to the church. When asked why he didn't come anymore, he gave the following explanation: 'I had the wrong idea of what church was going to be like. When I joined the church, I thought it was going to be like joining a gang. You see, in gangs we weren't just nice to each other once a week--- we were family.'"
Ouch!
"A few decades ago Bill Gather got us singing, "I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God."
And I am glad, especially when the rest of the family loves on me. I confess, far too often, though, I regard my spiritual family kind of like an insurance policy--nice to have when I need it, but ignored most of the rest of the time.
Thanks, Maria & Francis, for reminding me that we need to be family all the time. For those of us who claim God as our Father . . .
It's STTA.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
The News--Listen or Else:
Things are happening so quickly, that I imagine by the time this is read much will have changed in Libya. I don't want to make light of a very serious situation, but have you seen the video of the Libyan news anchor waving a pistol while broadcasting the news?
We often see hard reporting, but . . .
This female journalist vowed that she was prepared to defind her nation and leader, and was willing to die doing so. The fact is, though, that journalists, politicians, preachers, and just plain folk regularly deal in that which is deadly. Not long after the gun-waving newscaster made her on-air threats the TV station was shut down. Did she make good on her bluster? If she did, the damage, though it might have been deadly, was limited. Her gun only had so many bullets. Her aim and ability to shoot quickly were likewise limited. The force I am speaking of is far more destructive.
" . . . the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. . . . it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison." (James 3:6-8)
No need to wave a gun. We are already using a weapon far more powerful. Be careful with that thing. Somebody might get hurt.
We often see hard reporting, but . . .
This female journalist vowed that she was prepared to defind her nation and leader, and was willing to die doing so. The fact is, though, that journalists, politicians, preachers, and just plain folk regularly deal in that which is deadly. Not long after the gun-waving newscaster made her on-air threats the TV station was shut down. Did she make good on her bluster? If she did, the damage, though it might have been deadly, was limited. Her gun only had so many bullets. Her aim and ability to shoot quickly were likewise limited. The force I am speaking of is far more destructive.
" . . . the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. . . . it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison." (James 3:6-8)
No need to wave a gun. We are already using a weapon far more powerful. Be careful with that thing. Somebody might get hurt.
Monday, August 22, 2011
School Days:
My youngest grandchild just went off to her first day of school today. Have a great day, Kira.
It is an experience that has been, or will be going on all over the country. It is a significant day for parents and kids. Most of the home-schooling families I know haven't started their program for the year, yet, but when they do, though it will be more subtle, the reality will be the same. Our children are growing up.
And they should!
In one of the New Testament's most definitive passages on parenting, Ephesians 6:1-4, we read that parents,are to "bring them up," literally to nourish them. Like many of you, I've lately been enjoying some home-grown tomatoes. The luscious fruit is the result of plants having what they need to grow from tiny two-leaf seedlings to productive vines. Especially those of you who grow those dinner-plate-sized 'maters made sure that those plants had what they needed to grow and produce. Now the delicious result is dripping off your chin. I don't want to get carried away--children aren't garden-vegetables, but that word "ektrepho" describes both what good parents and successful farmers do--we "bring them up."
I enjoy my children, especially since at this stage in life they provide me with grandchildren, but God did not entrust them to me primarily for my pleasure. The Psalmist observed that they are a "heritage" from the Lord. I need to invest in them in such a way so that these children will be and become a blessing to the world. Today Kira stepped out into the world in a new way, At the end of this school year Christopher, my oldest grandchild, will take another step, when he graduates from high-school. It is part of bringing them up. I continue to pray that my sons will bring them up well.
For moms looking at the taillights of a school bus with tears in their eyes, and dads handing off a set of keys . . .
It's STTA.
It is an experience that has been, or will be going on all over the country. It is a significant day for parents and kids. Most of the home-schooling families I know haven't started their program for the year, yet, but when they do, though it will be more subtle, the reality will be the same. Our children are growing up.
And they should!
In one of the New Testament's most definitive passages on parenting, Ephesians 6:1-4, we read that parents,are to "bring them up," literally to nourish them. Like many of you, I've lately been enjoying some home-grown tomatoes. The luscious fruit is the result of plants having what they need to grow from tiny two-leaf seedlings to productive vines. Especially those of you who grow those dinner-plate-sized 'maters made sure that those plants had what they needed to grow and produce. Now the delicious result is dripping off your chin. I don't want to get carried away--children aren't garden-vegetables, but that word "ektrepho" describes both what good parents and successful farmers do--we "bring them up."
I enjoy my children, especially since at this stage in life they provide me with grandchildren, but God did not entrust them to me primarily for my pleasure. The Psalmist observed that they are a "heritage" from the Lord. I need to invest in them in such a way so that these children will be and become a blessing to the world. Today Kira stepped out into the world in a new way, At the end of this school year Christopher, my oldest grandchild, will take another step, when he graduates from high-school. It is part of bringing them up. I continue to pray that my sons will bring them up well.
For moms looking at the taillights of a school bus with tears in their eyes, and dads handing off a set of keys . . .
It's STTA.
Where Is My Retirement Fund Going?
My family is spread out. As the next generation gets older and moves out--something that will begin to happen shortly--it will, likely, be even more multi-sited. So, it was a great privilege to be with my two sons and their families and most of my wife's family over the past couple of weeks.
I am an incredibly blessed man. My sons and daughters-in-law are involved in significant ministry in churches that are making a difference in their communities and beyond. All of my siblings and my brothers, and sisters-in-law love the Lord. and are serving Him. I see great promise in the next generation.
When I ask myself why I am so privileged, I am quickly driven to the reality of God's goodness. Knowing, though, that God often works through human instuments, I am reminded of faithful parents, my father-in-law who began a spiritual stream sixty-plus years ago when he turned to Jesus Christ, of my grandmother who faithfully raised three boys by herself during the depression, and countless others who have gone before me. I want to leave something behind that will be there long after I'm gone. I am the ancestor of someone great that I will never meet. I enjoy my family. I want to live so that even my family that will be born after I'm gone will appreciate me.
Family, it's STTA.
I am an incredibly blessed man. My sons and daughters-in-law are involved in significant ministry in churches that are making a difference in their communities and beyond. All of my siblings and my brothers, and sisters-in-law love the Lord. and are serving Him. I see great promise in the next generation.
When I ask myself why I am so privileged, I am quickly driven to the reality of God's goodness. Knowing, though, that God often works through human instuments, I am reminded of faithful parents, my father-in-law who began a spiritual stream sixty-plus years ago when he turned to Jesus Christ, of my grandmother who faithfully raised three boys by herself during the depression, and countless others who have gone before me. I want to leave something behind that will be there long after I'm gone. I am the ancestor of someone great that I will never meet. I enjoy my family. I want to live so that even my family that will be born after I'm gone will appreciate me.
Family, it's STTA.
FAMILY"
Family:
My family is spread out. As the next generation gets older and moves out--something that will begin to happen shortly--it will, likely, be even more multi-sited. So, it was a great privilege to be with my two sons and their families and most of my wife's family over the past couple of weeks.
I am an incredibly blessed man. My sons and daughters-in-law are involved in significant ministry in churches that are making a difference in their communities and beyond. All of my siblings and my brothers, and sisters-in-law love the Lord. and are serving Him. I see great promise in the next generation.
When I ask myself why I am so privileged, I am quickly driven to the reality of God's goodness. Knowing, though, that God often works through human instuments, I am reminded of faithful parents, my father-in-law who began a spiritual stream sixty-plus years ago when he turned to Jesus Christ, of my grandmother who faithfully raised three boys by herself during the depression, and countless others who have gone before me. I want to leave something behind that will be there long after I'm gone. I am the ancestor of someone great that I will never meet. I enjoy my family. I want to live so that even my family that will be born after I'm gone will appreciate me.
Family, it's STTA.
My family is spread out. As the next generation gets older and moves out--something that will begin to happen shortly--it will, likely, be even more multi-sited. So, it was a great privilege to be with my two sons and their families and most of my wife's family over the past couple of weeks.
I am an incredibly blessed man. My sons and daughters-in-law are involved in significant ministry in churches that are making a difference in their communities and beyond. All of my siblings and my brothers, and sisters-in-law love the Lord. and are serving Him. I see great promise in the next generation.
When I ask myself why I am so privileged, I am quickly driven to the reality of God's goodness. Knowing, though, that God often works through human instuments, I am reminded of faithful parents, my father-in-law who began a spiritual stream sixty-plus years ago when he turned to Jesus Christ, of my grandmother who faithfully raised three boys by herself during the depression, and countless others who have gone before me. I want to leave something behind that will be there long after I'm gone. I am the ancestor of someone great that I will never meet. I enjoy my family. I want to live so that even my family that will be born after I'm gone will appreciate me.
Family, it's STTA.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
FAMILY"
Family:
My family is spread out. As the next generation gets older and moves out--something that will begin to happen shortly--it will, likely, be even more multi-sited. So, it was a great privilege to be with my two sons and their families and most of my wife's family over the past couple of weeks.
I am an incredibly blessed man. My sons and daughters-in-law are involved in significant ministry in churches that are making a difference in their communities and beyond. All of my siblings and my brothers, and sisters-in-law love the Lord. and are serving Him. I see great promise in the next generation.
When I ask myself why I am so privileged, I am quickly driven to the reality of God's goodness. Knowing, though, that God often works through human instuments, I am reminded of faithful parents, my father-in-law who began a spiritual stream sixty-plus years ago when he turned to Jesus Christ, of my grandmother who faithfully raised three boys by herself during the depression, and countless others who have gone before me. I want to leave something behind that will be there long after I'm gone. I am the ancestor of someone great that I will never meet. I enjoy my family. I want to live so that even my family that will be born after I'm gone will appreciate me.
Family, it's STTA.
My family is spread out. As the next generation gets older and moves out--something that will begin to happen shortly--it will, likely, be even more multi-sited. So, it was a great privilege to be with my two sons and their families and most of my wife's family over the past couple of weeks.
I am an incredibly blessed man. My sons and daughters-in-law are involved in significant ministry in churches that are making a difference in their communities and beyond. All of my siblings and my brothers, and sisters-in-law love the Lord. and are serving Him. I see great promise in the next generation.
When I ask myself why I am so privileged, I am quickly driven to the reality of God's goodness. Knowing, though, that God often works through human instuments, I am reminded of faithful parents, my father-in-law who began a spiritual stream sixty-plus years ago when he turned to Jesus Christ, of my grandmother who faithfully raised three boys by herself during the depression, and countless others who have gone before me. I want to leave something behind that will be there long after I'm gone. I am the ancestor of someone great that I will never meet. I enjoy my family. I want to live so that even my family that will be born after I'm gone will appreciate me.
Family, it's STTA.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Hard Preachin'
I've been a preacher for nearly forty years, so I've heard--and told--a lot of jokes about preaching. "You stand up to be seen. Speak up to be heard. And, shut up to be appreciated."
I can tell you about the preacher who used to time his messages by placing a lozenge in his mouth. When it melted he knew it was time to quit. By mistake he put a button in his mouth one Sunday morning--preached himself to death.
A friend of mine is fond of commenting--often correctly--that a preacher passed up several good opportunities to quit.
I don't recall that anyone has ever told me, but I figure folk have surely thought that I'd "done quit preachin' and gone to meddlin'."
A number of comments and stories about preaching have to do with "hard preaching." Putting those two words in your web-browser will produce a number of hits.
I never considered myself a hard preacher. I want folk in the front row to be safe from slobber-showers, and I've found that pounding the pulpit tends to make my fist sore. Yesterday, though, I preached so hard that one of my fillings came out. Truth be told, it was already loose. I had already made an appointment with the dentist to get it cared for.
All humor aside, Biblical preaching is often hard. I don't mean loud or bombastic. Rather I refer to the fact that some of the truths that the Bible contains are hard to proclaim. Things like the universality of sin, Romans 3:23, or Romans 6:23, which speaks of the consequences of that sin. The Bible frequently instructs us to do hard things, Matthew 5:10-11, for example. Those are hard truths, They are hard to proclaim. But, they must be told. It is not hard, for example, to tell people to love the nice and lovely, but to proclaim Jesus message that we are to love even our enemies, that is hard preaching.
Lord, I'd like to keep my fillings, but let me be a hard preacher. Amen
It's STTA.
I can tell you about the preacher who used to time his messages by placing a lozenge in his mouth. When it melted he knew it was time to quit. By mistake he put a button in his mouth one Sunday morning--preached himself to death.
A friend of mine is fond of commenting--often correctly--that a preacher passed up several good opportunities to quit.
I don't recall that anyone has ever told me, but I figure folk have surely thought that I'd "done quit preachin' and gone to meddlin'."
A number of comments and stories about preaching have to do with "hard preaching." Putting those two words in your web-browser will produce a number of hits.
I never considered myself a hard preacher. I want folk in the front row to be safe from slobber-showers, and I've found that pounding the pulpit tends to make my fist sore. Yesterday, though, I preached so hard that one of my fillings came out. Truth be told, it was already loose. I had already made an appointment with the dentist to get it cared for.
All humor aside, Biblical preaching is often hard. I don't mean loud or bombastic. Rather I refer to the fact that some of the truths that the Bible contains are hard to proclaim. Things like the universality of sin, Romans 3:23, or Romans 6:23, which speaks of the consequences of that sin. The Bible frequently instructs us to do hard things, Matthew 5:10-11, for example. Those are hard truths, They are hard to proclaim. But, they must be told. It is not hard, for example, to tell people to love the nice and lovely, but to proclaim Jesus message that we are to love even our enemies, that is hard preaching.
Lord, I'd like to keep my fillings, but let me be a hard preacher. Amen
It's STTA.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
OK, You Can Straighten Up, Now.
I'm looking forward to not hearing about the "debt crisis," or the "debt ceiling" for a while. At least I'm hopeful.
Some of my smarter, better informed friends can correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand what just happened/is happening like this:
Everyday we spend more money than we take in. In order to finance this deficit we sell savings bonds to grandparents as birthday gifts for their grandkids, and treasury certificates to the Chinese because they have our best interest at heart..
Somewhere along the line somebody got the idea that this might not be the best way of doing things, so some law was passed that set a limit on just how much red-ink we could use.
That law, regulation, scout's-honor promise--whatever it is--has proven to be no real impediment to our continued, and increasing indebtedness, however, because whenever we feel the ceiling brushing our fiscal spike-hairdo we simply raise the limit. I read that we have done so 74 times since March of 1962. I have no doubt, though, that Congress felt really bad every time they did.
As this current debt ceiling approached somebody got the bright idea--who let this guy in?--that maybe this continually spending more money than we have coming in wasn't such a good idea. I mean, what if the Chinese show up and offer to break our thumbs? So, totally ignoring the long-standing rules this gang of thugs--he recruited some like-minded friends-- said we won't raise the ceiling unless we slow the flow of red-ink--turning it off completely would cause National D. T.s. so that was never seriously considered.
Thus the horse-trading, arm-twisting, back-scratching, and log-rolling began. We now have a piece of legislation that no one likes--giving it the GOLD-STANDARD BIPARTISAN Compromise Seal of Approval--but which will get enough nose-holding "Ayes." to stave off Debt-a-geddon one more time.
Whew!
OK, here is an undeniable debt crisis, and a totally real solution we should all--and I mean "all"--really--and I, likewise mean "really"--get excited about:
" . . . where sin increased [that brings about an indebtedness that will cost us out lives Romans 6:23*], grace [resulting in forgiveness of that debt] abounded all the more," (Romans 5:20
It's STTA.
To find out how you can infinitely raise your debt-ceiling look here.
(Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.")
Some of my smarter, better informed friends can correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand what just happened/is happening like this:
Everyday we spend more money than we take in. In order to finance this deficit we sell savings bonds to grandparents as birthday gifts for their grandkids, and treasury certificates to the Chinese because they have our best interest at heart..
Somewhere along the line somebody got the idea that this might not be the best way of doing things, so some law was passed that set a limit on just how much red-ink we could use.
That law, regulation, scout's-honor promise--whatever it is--has proven to be no real impediment to our continued, and increasing indebtedness, however, because whenever we feel the ceiling brushing our fiscal spike-hairdo we simply raise the limit. I read that we have done so 74 times since March of 1962. I have no doubt, though, that Congress felt really bad every time they did.
As this current debt ceiling approached somebody got the bright idea--who let this guy in?--that maybe this continually spending more money than we have coming in wasn't such a good idea. I mean, what if the Chinese show up and offer to break our thumbs? So, totally ignoring the long-standing rules this gang of thugs--he recruited some like-minded friends-- said we won't raise the ceiling unless we slow the flow of red-ink--turning it off completely would cause National D. T.s. so that was never seriously considered.
Thus the horse-trading, arm-twisting, back-scratching, and log-rolling began. We now have a piece of legislation that no one likes--giving it the GOLD-STANDARD BIPARTISAN Compromise Seal of Approval--but which will get enough nose-holding "Ayes." to stave off Debt-a-geddon one more time.
Whew!
OK, here is an undeniable debt crisis, and a totally real solution we should all--and I mean "all"--really--and I, likewise mean "really"--get excited about:
" . . . where sin increased [that brings about an indebtedness that will cost us out lives Romans 6:23*], grace [resulting in forgiveness of that debt] abounded all the more," (Romans 5:20
It's STTA.
To find out how you can infinitely raise your debt-ceiling look here.
(Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.")
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