Majoring On Major Things

The head of the Catholic church, Pope Benedict XVI, is visiting in Benin, West Africa. This writer has traveled to Benin, and once is enough. I have seen poverty all over the world, but none as stagnant as Benin. Most of it's inhabitants live on a bend of the Niger river called cape St. Paul, a bight confluence affording houses on stilts above filthy water. In one city I visited, 20,000 people live in this debris pile of stagnant water, one can readily understand why so many African children die of malaria, dysentery, skin infections. Their only habitation involves the water into which goes their garbage and from which comes their food. I can still see boys throwing out nets, catching fish, topless women going to the market, paddling a boat. Like sea creatures, these poverty ridden people live in the garbage-stench of water their entire life... no animals, no plants, no beauty.

The Pope, Cardinals, Bishops, hierarchy of the world's richest church as well as people from evangelical denominations should see these sights. I learned early in my travel experiences that no one wants to hear about them. Catholics had rather bask in the gold and silver splendor of St. Peter's. Fundamentalists, guilt peddlers, such as Baptists had rather just put some coins or folding money in the collection plate and hope that magically, some good will come of it.

In the roller coaster tract of life, bends and turns, bumps and bruises, the church, like government, becomes very impersonal. We pretend that magically everything will work out. We surmise, from evidence, that Madoff (jailed, defrauder of $60 billion investor dollars) and Corzine (defrauder of $1.2 billion gambling with euro dollars of investor's money) just screwing over the public, as well as stealing billions of tax dollars, while the SEC and authorities were watching but, “lets just move on”, everything will work out.

We surmise that in the towers of denominational headquarters, their are those, duly elected, who take the responsibility seriously for using God’s money to help the forsaken souls of the world.

The higher the office this writer obtained in every area of endeavor (profession, civic, military), including the church, the more I realize just how much money was just flitted away by promoted people engaged in high living. Expense accounts are so inexcusable. 37% of the citizens of the people of any state or province, have never left their locality. In churches, with real believers, the greatest part of their ministry is the satisfaction of thinking they have helped others. The junkets of politicians, the mission trips of pastors, very much like the exorbitant-decadent vacations of Michelle Obama get us quickly to the root of real sin - pride, envy, greed, gluttony and the general theme of enjoying oneself from the gifts or membership fees of others.

I asked the chairman of one charity once, “how do you figure your expense account?” He said, “when I return home, I determine how much money from my wallet I spent plus all credit card receipts.” I had noticed the extravagance of his eating, the marvelous gifts he was buying for his family. If he had been paying the hotel bill from his own personal funds, he would have stayed in a less expensive suite, less expensive taste buds of food and drink. Every time I experience “so called” Christians gorging themselves with expensive food they do not need, whether at the church house or restaurants, I think of the vast numbers who never have enough food for survival.

The early temple, (Hebrews 9) the holy of Holies, the Holiest place, was secreted from the Holy places by a four thickness veil hung from gold. The most inner layer white, purity: next scarlet, atonement: next: purple,royalty: next blue, eternal nature. When Christ died on the cross, the veil was rent from top to bottom... not almost bottom... not a few feet from bottom... all the way, no need for Catholic works, no need for Mormon or Christian science books, no need for man made catechism. His perfect life, an example, saves no one. We know His worthiness, the liberty afforded us in going directly to Him.

God puts on the spectacles of Christ, looks at us through His faithfulness. We look back through the eye of thankfulness, atonement for sins forgiven, healing, past, present and future. (Isaiah 53).

Peter, Paul, talked about Jesus, there was nothing else to talk about. Jesus preached Himself... way, truth, light, bread, water. Jesus Christ was the greatest faker the world has ever known OR He was who He said He was. There was an eclismic change in the lives of everyone who knew Him. His disciples, who would never communicate with one another again, martyred for His cause. When will the Christians of the world stop playing church, start Majoring on Major Things? There is one thread through the new testament, the giver of life and the resurrection of life. We have one life because of being twice born.