PAPERING OVER

A long lifetime ago, when people read and appreciated good honest newspapers, a syndicated cartoon called “Out Our Way”. Often it depicted someone who said, “I was born 30 years too soon”.

This writer was born at least 80 years too soon. I remember the time when people worked for an honest living, before the time of credit cards, mortgages, derivatives, entitlements. The only insurance we knew anything about was burial insurance and perhaps a term-life insurance policy. The typewriter and telephone were remarkable technology. Life was a gift from God. We knew that Cain killed his brother Abel, the first family on earth (And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. Genesis 4:10). Like everything else pertaining to human living and survival, we knew the consequences of murder.

Even 60 years ago when I was studying the medical aspects of life, we were embarrassed to even talk or think about abortion. Since 1973, when the murder of the unborn was considered legal, there have been 55 million unborn babies killed. Every city that has an abortionist, an abortion clinic, sewer pipes where the blood of the unborn baby go through the ground, God is holding that city responsible. Many of us know that our nation's capital, Washington, DC, will be flattened to the face of the earth because of our sin. We are a people who so despise the Muslim, Islamic Fundamentalist, but they do not kill their unborn babies. We think our sin has been papered over with legal documents.

There are many areas of legal work, ways of making a living. Since I lost my eyesight...totally blind, disabled veteran, I have built my life around the successes and failures of real estate. You learn to “cover up” unsightly areas. One building, one room, I wanted to use as an office, I covered the marred – ugly walls by painting them with the blackest paint I could find and then decorated the walls with bright posters (it worked). Other times, we cover ugly walls with wall paper. Wall paper, like paint, will cover a “multitude of sins”.

We are living in the time of economic history when the world seeks to paper over all economic debt with the worthless paper of bonds or fiat currency. In my lifetime we have seen the one dollar bill, just an IOU – promise to pay, “melt down” from a value of 100 cents to about 6 cents. As in Germany's Third Reich, Mugabe's Zimbabwe, de Lozada in Bolivia, inflation making life miserable. In Zimbabwe, toilet paper worth more than paper money (a Zimbabwean 100 trillion dollar bank note is currently selling on eBay for $3.95 – American).

This writer was in many of these countries when such inflation was an every day horror. In Argentina, grocery store article with hundreds of prices. Today, Argentina, some stability. Many American's find they can live well in Argentina, Chile, other central and South American countries on a social security check. After suffering through the papering over of economic insanity such as Europe is now experiencing and which is rapidly heading this way, the common man stabilized the economy with work and a sensible lifestyle. Farmer's produced without government regulations, sold their produce at reasonable prices. Workers forgot welfare, organized unions, big wheels living off the sweat of the underclass, humanity became real again. When the parents of America love their children more than political parties, when they realize that each child is burdened with a debt of $52,000 before they even get started from college or anywhere else, they will elect statesmen instead of crooks. Government cannot supply all of your wants, needs or greeds. Since 2007 the wealth of each American has decreased by 47%.

Like everything else, God gave us a financial system, simple, you work and get paid for your work (Matthew 20:1-16). In the vineyard parable, the owner of the vineyard was very unfair, in my opinion but, when are we going to learn that it is not what we think but what God thinks, what God knows? The vineyard was God's business just as it is God's business if He saves someone at the very last minute of life, deathbed salvation. We should spend more time thanking God that He has papered over, forgiven, our sins and, if God has so generously forgiven us, we should, very willingly, forgive others. We find in the disciples prayer that He forgives and wants us to forgive our trespassers, both known and unknown.

I can see only one way out of our present world dilemma (If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14). Mind you, He is not talking about just any people, any nation, but His people, those who bear His name. Much like the word love, eros, philia, agape, I love chocolate, ice cream, people, this is eros or philia love. God loves us with agape love, love which cannot be papered over.