Trustworthiness

In other commentaries I have talked about my walking the streets of ancient Pompeii, as have so many since the eruption of Vesuvius. The cataclysmic event was so fast, instantaneously fixing everything in place with lava-cement for eternity: dogs lying in a doorway, food on a table, people in basements, in bed, at work, at play. The guard at the gate of the city, still standing with his hand on his sword, trustworthy to the end.

Citizens of today's world live in a “matrix”, a gauntlet of deceit. Trust and trustworthiness is difficult to find...whether a doctor, pharmacist, mechanic, sales people... even the proclaimers and purveyors in the spiritual world. A husband should have no problem about trusting his wife, nor the wife the husband. Children should have every right to put full trust in parents.

I purchased one of my Manhattan co-op apartments from a member of the New York Mafia. He owned two apartments in this very remarkable building, sold me mine because it was one occupied by his daughter. The daughter and her husband had become drug addicts...the husband had killed himself, and the daughter was institutionalized. The father, the MAFIA member, was in tremendous debt to gamblers in Atlantic City. It was because of his desperate need for money, that he sold the property as cheaply as he did, and I paid him cash. It was necessary to completely redecorate the entire unit because of the couple's sickness.

After I got everything settled, he asked me to come over one night, and we talked for a while over some pizza which he had ordered. He said to me, “you are the only man I have ever met who I feel I can trust. Members of my family, the people with whom I do business, 'supposed' friends cannot be trusted at all. They'd all as soon kill me as look at me, if I do not do everything exactly as specified by the Mafia.” I did not need any involvement with this man, but it was an educational experience. He told me things that I wish I did not know, things that had happened with the Mafia family, not only in Manhattan, but their summer houses in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He told me about the social meeting places of mobsters, for example the restaurant on the corner of First avenue and 59^th street (almost under the 59^th street bridge). I walked there on several occasions just to see the circus..stretch limousines parked in the streets around the place, chauffeurs with engines running, immaculate formally-dressed men and woman arriving and leaving. He had told me that most Mafia members were Catholic...Catholicism does not care as long as they get their cut.

The remarkable thing about this member of the Mafia, highly intelligent, extremely personable (I have never known a con man I did not like), I believe that such people as him are more aware than others that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). Most Christians, whether Catholic Mafia or cotton-mill worker Pentecostal, likes to think that we can bargain with God, that we are special in our God relationship. We like to fight the good fight from an air-conditioned foxhole.

God is not playing with us, expects total dedication. Constantly our minds are crowded with thoughts, from these thoughts proceed action, and these actions show our trustworthiness. This scripture in God's Word gives us His expectation of our trustworthiness. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

In these times of national uprisings, protests, efforts at reformation in many countries, the story is being told of a group of men led by a reformer/crusader. He with his 1000 men had sought refuge in the mountains. The king, the ruler of the country, with his army, had pursued them, sent an envoy to the bandit demanding surrender. The bandit chief told the envoy, “pick out any man behind me and tell him to come here.” The bandit leader said to the chosen young man, “go and jump off that cliff.” The young man jumped, was spattered dead below. The bandit leader said, “call another one.” He said to this young man, “stick this dagger in your heart.” The young man did so and fell dead at the bandit chief's feet. The bandit leader said to envoy, “Go tell your king that I have 1000 other just as dedicated , just as trustworthy as these.” The King and his army turned around and went back to their home, not willing to go to battle against this dedicated group.

Satan is in charge of the “heavenlies”...the earth, the air and everything that surrounds us. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12) We have become a world of weasel words, trite hypocrisy. Dominique Strauss-Kahn was one of the world's best speakers on diversity...rich, sophisticated, with friends in high places, politically correct. The spontaneity, unexpected consequences of diversity of dragging an African girl across an expensive Manhattan hotel room. Just to think you could trust this man with the world's money, and a maid could not trust him in a hotel room. This shows the acceptability of sinners on the world scene. In South Africa, girls are being raped by men to cure their lesbianism, called “corrective rape”.

It takes 51 million Americans to elect a President. There are 64 million Catholic voters. If the Christian/Catholic church actually believed in trustworthiness, actually believed in stopping abortion, gave no credence to same-sex marriage, a Sunni-Muslim president such as Obama would not be in the White House. If the American Jews believed in the trustworthiness of the prophets of the Old Testament, they wouldn't support anti-Christian liberal causes such as abortion, stem-cell research, the homosexual agenda, the most anti-Israel President ever and give the anti-God Democrat party 75% of their votes. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)