Persecution of Christians have started in Europe. It is likely only a matter of time before these things begin here. Even more chilling than the prison sentences for religious speech are the reasons given for them. One example is a prison sentence of 50 days for calling the legal crime against God's law of abortion "unjust". Evidently, calling something "unjust" when it is illegal is a serious crime in Europe. Expressing a belief in non-evolutionary theories such as intelligent design have been deemed - “a threat to human rights” by the Council of Europe.

It is indeed a sad, sad day for Europe. I pray that God will spare us the same fate here in the US. We should all pray for mercy. In the event He does not see fit to spare us, we must all begin to prepare for that day. We should start by drawing closer to Him. We should also begin to memorize large blocks of Scripture. They will probably not permit us to take our Bibles into prison. Read the Hiding Place to see how precious God's word is in prison. They can't take it from us if we hide it in our heart.

I began to memorize the book of Galatians last year. I got stalled on chapter four. I intend to take it up again and finish the book. My daughter Mary has committed much of the first six chapters of Romans to memory. I may join with her when I finish Galatians.

God be with you all,
Scott

Time Preferences & Godliness

Gary North wrote an interesting piece recently that referenced an idea that Austrian Economist Ludwig von Mises called time preference. Regarding it, North said this:

The more future-oriented you are, the more attention you will pay to the ticking clock. Ludwig von Mises called this time-preference. Future-oriented people have low time preference. They discount the future at a lower rate of interest. This applies to future benefits, but it also applies to future costs.

The present-oriented person is like the grasshopper in the story of the grasshopper and the ants. He fiddles all summer and starves in winter. In the Disney cartoon, he sings, "The world owes me a living." It doesn’t.

Edward Banfield’s book, The Unheavenly City (1970), got him in a lot of trouble on campus at Harvard because he wrote that inner-city men are present-oriented. He defined lower class as present-oriented. This was politically incorrect in 1970 . . . and probably today. His point was that inner-city men, especially if they are single, act for the moment. They want action. They don’t count the long-term cost of their actions. Mises would have said that such people discount the future with a very high rate of interest. The distant future is worth almost nothing to them. So, it has little effect on their present actions.

There is no doubt that the poor have a high time preference and the rich have a much lower one. Interestingly, the Bible has a lot to say on this subject as well. Easau had a very high time preference: And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? Gen 25:32. Nothing beyond the present moment meant a thing to him, no matter how valuable. In contrast, Jacob had an extremely low time preference. He was willing to take great risk to cheat Esau out of his blessing (Gen 27), and wrestled with the angel of God that he might receive a blessing on the eve of what he expected to be his last day before Esau would kill him (Gen 32). One writer said that Esau throwing away his birthright as he did was an affront to God. God desires men who have a very low time preference. No doubt that is why He loved Jacob, but hated Esau (Rom 9:13).

Let us consider next what Jesus taught us by words and example. Jesus himself had a very low time preference:

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb 12:2.

He also taught the same:

Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. Luk 12:33

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Mat 6:19-21

This last verses gives us a hint as to why God desires men to have a low time preference. He wants our heart to be on Him as our greatest treasure.

What can we learn from these passages? We already know that the poor have a high time preference. The bible seems to confirm such an idea when Jesus says:

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Mat 11:5

It is also apparent that when a man believes in Christ, his time preference becomes very low. Paul testifies of such:

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
1Co 15:19

A faithful Christian will gladly yield most of this life's pleasures, for a reward in the resurrection. Therefore, faith in Christ changes a man's time preference from high to very low. What of the rich however? Seeing his time preference is already low, does that imply godliness? No it does not. While it is certainly lower than that of say Esau, it is not necessarily very high. Indeed it is too low. Examples include the rich young ruler of Luke 18, and the foolish rich man of Luke 12.

Another striking implication of the gospel is one often misunderstood. Because when a man becomes a believer his time preference goes from high to very low, he also replaces those characteristics that made him poor with those that can generate wealth. He therefore, will no longer be poor except that which makes him poor that he may be rich toward God. He will not be poor however because of former ways such as squandering his resources, foolishness and sloth. Instead he will be industrious, save his money, give to the poor, and provide for his own. The bible is replete with descriptions of such Godly men, and this short post doesn't permit going into detail at this time.

What can we learn from these truths?

1. Lay not up treasures on earth, but in heaven - forgo today's pleasures for eternal riches.
2. Give and lend generously to the poor.
3. Preach the gospel to the poor - encourage them to forgo today's pleasures for eternal riches.
4. Work hard and be diligent. Make the most of both time and money for God's kingdom.
   

Grace to you all.

Christians & War

I found it very disturbing in a recent political debate to hear a self-professed Christian advocate:

1. murder in retaliation for an minor offense to one's person and pride such as sand kicked in the face
2. the implication that an offense against the US state is one that will result in going to hell.

You can view the videotape for yourself and form your own judgments. The clip shows the response of Mick Huckabee in the South Carolina debate, when asked about a minor provocation against US warships in the waters near Iran. I would like to examine his remarks more fully as well as those of Ron Paul on the same subject.

Huckabee's first response is that hostile provocations will result in certain death. While I will take issue with that idea shortly, the implication of those doing so will go to hell. I don't believe Huckabee was addressing the theological issue of whether a Muslim is at peace with God. The implication that an attacker of the US will face punishment by God seems much more to be the crux of his statement. This man has stated in the past that he believes God personally favors his candidacy as well as the presidency of the current president. These facts lend further support that an attacker of his, the president's or the US, are in effect attacking God. They would therefore go to hell.

In a sense Huckabee is doing us a favor by laying plain the fact that many if not most America's worship the US state instead of Christ. If they followed Christ, they would be like Him. That they follow the aggressive US state is evident by their own aggressive characteristics, which brings us to the second point - the idea that murder is an acceptable response to minor offenses.

Let's examine what Christ taught us:

But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:3

Now some may argue that state actions are not morally the same as personal ones. I challenge anyone holding this notion to demonstrate it from Scripture. This idea does not come from the Bible, but from this nation's false idol - the government. In this particular case, if you were over in front of your neighbor's house, acting provocatively, and he responded in kind, would you then be justified in attacking and killing your neighbor. Would that action not be murder? Shouldn't we instead accept the offense and consider how we may have provoked it, and then make overtures to peace instead of war? If that is the proper Christian response, then how should it be that we should act like a bully murdering with abandon just as long as we do it with collective consent?

Consider the previous illustration. What if instead of a solo action, you had the support of the other neighbors? What if instead of acting personally, you and your neighbors appoint or hire certain men to do the work of provocation and murder for you? What if instead of a single neighbor, the actions are against another neighborhood next to yours? What if your neighborhood passes laws and elects a leader? What if you continue to escalate the situation in size and scope. At what point is it justified? Is there a certain minimum size for a group of people to be a nation and commit murder and sin without it being sin any longer? This kind of thinking (that a state can perform acts of murder and violence) stems from the worship of the US state as God.

As a last point, I would like to contrast the Christian preacher's response with another man who does not make a point of mentioning Christ for political gain, but his life and speech reflects the teachings of Christ. You can hear his response to the same question near the end of the clip. At this point in time, it appears that most Americans do not support anyone who will not worship the US state. We must pray that God will bring repentance to America and do what we can to urge men to repent and turn to Christ.

In Christ's grace,
Scott