I
am saddened over the division in our country and the lack of respect for our
justice system. As I watched the discord
over the outcome of the Zimmerman trial I believe that a lot of the problem
stems from long ago with past slavery issues.
I wish I could say that slavery is a thing of the past but as I sit
under “A Friendly Shade,” I am thinking of a totally different type of slavery which
imprisons us. We are all free today
under the law, but we make ourselves slaves and imprison ourselves when we fail
to forgive, when we fail to put the past behind us, when we fail to control our
thoughts and our anger, and when we fail to accept responsibility for our own
actions and the result of those actions.
In all honesty, no one is new to slavery. Most everyone has been a slave at some point
in time, and I see more and more people becoming slaves today. We, ourselves, are to blame. It does no good to point the finger at
someone else because we will find there are 3 more pointing back at us. As difficult as it may sometimes be, most of
us are not willing to overcome our
obstacles and face our own responsibility.
There are many sources of slavery I could
choose to write about, but as a banker I have chosen money or, rather, our lack
of money. We find in the Old Testament
that when the famine came the people had not planned. They had not stored up a reserve to assist
them in times of need.
“When the money of the people of Egypt
and Canaan was gone, all Egypt Red Sea and allowed
them to walk through to dry land. They
witnessed the miracle as God led them by day in a pillar of a cloud and by night
in a pillar of fire. They were filled by
the bread God rained down from heaven every morning. The people had been delivered from their
slavery, yet they were discontented and
not satisfied; they remained slaves to their fear. They
still wanted to be taken care of.
As
a banker and loan officer, I see people everyday who have not planned. They
live for the present. They do not
make saving a way of life. Most everyone
will agree that it is hard to save in the economy we are in today, but even a
little every month soon adds up. Not
only have they not attempted to put up a reserve of funds, they have placed excessive
charges on credit cards. Many
restructure their home loans to get out of debt, but they are soon, once again,
slaves to adding up more credit card debt because they have not broken the
chains that hold them in bondage. Although
there is a place for credit cards, it is my firm belief they are not to be used
for everyday needs and desires especially if the owner of the card has not
acquired the wisdom, desire, and willingness to sacrifice in order to pay them
off on a planned schedule. Lack of
planning, discontentment, and a desire for material possessions have made us slaves
to the credit card company.
Take a look at what Luke 14:28 tell us, “Suppose one of you wants to build a
tower. Won’t you first sit down and
estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?”
Then, there are those who rely on
government assistance to get them by on a daily basis. They see no need to even look for a rewarding
job. Why should they? Working tax payers will take care of
them. We also see people willing to rob,
steal, and kill from those who make an honest living. But where does it get
them? Truth be known, this type of money
is usually spent too quickly on their own addictions; addictions they have
become slaves to.
In Proverbs 13:11 we have a warning about
gaining money through dishonesty and are provided wisdom about saving. “Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes
it grow.”
My method of saving may not have been the
best, but I grew it little by little. When
I first started working, I did not make much money, but I remember putting a
mere $5.00 a pay period into a savings account.
Sounds small! But with every
raise I increased that amount. With
every bonus I added more money. I was
proud as I watched my savings grow.
With that savings, I was able to meet unexpected expenses. I could also use it to secure loans, if
needed, while reserving my own funds.
I have also learned that unnecessary
temptations to buy can be avoided by using the old method of paying with cash
rather than a credit card. There is
something to be said about knowing that once my cash is gone there is no other
means left to meet my financial needs;
whereby, if a credit card is used I often don’t consider the need and if I
could actually do without this purchase; I don’t have to think about it until
the bill comes around. By that time too
much debts has accumulated for me to pay it off all at once. I find myself asking, “Why did I buy
that? Could I have done without
it?” I should have asked at the time,
“Do I really need this? Will it serve a
purpose?” If I had thought about it for
a while or considered using the last of my available cash, the desire for
instant gratification may have gone away and I would not have imprisoned myself
with needless spending.
Imprisonment and slavery comes in so many
forms and we must invest well in all areas of our lives to claim the Promised
Land. I firmly believe God wants to
bless us. He wants us to live well, but
we have to do our part.
In Isaiah
55:2 we have more words to live by. “Why
spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.”
God is our Bread of Life, and our labor for
Him and His work is more rewarding than material possessions. In Matthew 25:18 we are given a parable to
consider about a man who was given five bags of gold. He invested well; however, there was another
man who did not invest well. “But the man who had received one bag went
off, dug a hole in the ground and hide his master’s money. Vs. 27 “Well then, you should have put my
money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have
received it back with interest.
The question is, “Are we
willing to place the blame where it belongs? Are we willing to turn the
negatives of life into positives? Are we
willing to claim the Promised Land by accepting
our responsibility to invest well
whether it be money, forgiveness, reliance on others, anger, or even inward
thoughts? Are we willing to do what it
takes to remove the slavery that holds us in chains?
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