Keys to the Kingdom by Carolyn Tucker

I’ve watched many a Western and I have come to the conclusion that the cowboy is my choice of hero. Besides my Dad, John Wayne is my favorite cowboy. On the silver screen, Wayne’s character was a gutsy man of few words, but the words he spoke had unrivaled  authority. If the idiot didn’t believe him, he quickly made a believer out of him. In the real world, being a rancher ain’t for sissies — it’s a lot of hard work with branding, feeding, building and repairing fences, etc. Branding livestock, especially cattle, has been a tradition for hundreds of years. The brand is usually burned onto the hip which identifies the owner, dissuades rustlers, and is an important type of identification that’s difficult to tamper with. Before the use of fences, cattle from neighboring ranches often mingled, so it was important to know which cattle belonged to which rancher.

Believers aren’t physically branded, but we’re identified as being genuine Christ followers by our love. Jesus said, “This is how everyone will recognize that you are My disciples — when they see the love you have for each other“ (John 13:35 MSG). We are Christ’s ambassadors and we represent God and His love everywhere we go. The world is looking for love in all the wrong places. However, when unbelievers bite the bullet and  actually go to church, they’re sometimes introduced to religious rules and regulations instead of love. So if they leave the building without being introduced to Jesus or experiencing a friendly welcome, that makes the devil want to do a victory hoedown.

One way we love others is to show a kindly interest in them. If we’re serious about walking in love, the Holy Spirit will guide us in creative ways to be loving. “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives…the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:16, 22-23 NLT). These “things” enable  believers to love others, but Satan tries his best to rustle them from us. We have to stand our ground, keep the gates locked, guns loaded, and retain what’s rightfully ours.

The devil is lower than a snake’s belly and his main job is to steal, kill, and destroy us in  spirit, soul, and body (Ref. John 10:10). We must take authority over the enemy in the name of Jesus and stand firmly on the Word of God.  Believers have what it takes to love others. We just need to put it to use and start loving on people — because our testimony depends on it! That’s who we are, that’s what we do, and love is our invisible brand.

Love is what sets Christ followers apart from the rest of the world. I don’t want the chuck wagon of my heart to be cold and empty. I want a heart that’s so branding-iron hot with God’s love that I can’t keep it to myself. There’s acres of lost, hurting, and lonely people searching for love, hoping someone will get off their cutting horse and tend to them.

In my Bible, the following scriptures are under the heading of “Loving One Another:” “…God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face Him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world” (1 John 4:16-17 NLT). When we live like Jesus, we love like Jesus.

The Key: We’re branded and equipped to love, so let’s get out on the range and do it.

Debt

I am optimistic about the future of our nation, but I don’t see a way we can ascend to the next level of prosperity without significant economic pain.  The measures taken by national, state and local governments to climb out of the Great Recession of 2008 and the recent pandemic have been unprecedented in the history of our nation and no one has a playbook to return us to fiscal sanity.  Consider these three facts: In June, the national debt has climbed to $30.5 trillion, the Federal Reserve Bank, under the moniker of “quantitative easing,” has purchased $8.97 trillion in treasury securities by printing new money, and interest rates have been held below the rate of inflation for years, helping to give rise to the recent price run-up.

What does this all mean? Considering the national debt, the annual interest on $30.5 trillion debt paid in 2021 was 1.50%, totaling about $459 billion.  We know that in 2022 rates have increased substantially, with more promised rate increases to come.  If the 2022 average rate is 3.00% and the debt does not increase, the public will pay $918 billion in interest.  For context, The United States (“US”) tax revenue was $4.05 trillion in 2021, meaning interest on the national debt would consume about 22.7% of every tax dollar we pay.

At what average interest rate on US debt does debt service equal tax revenue?  The answer is 13.2%, which does not seem out of the question to a banker who started his career in 1979. On January 1, 1981, the national Prime Rate hit an all-time high of 21.5%; at that rate, interest on the debt computes to $6.6 trillion, well above annual revenues.

If all these numbers were not depressing enough, we know that Social Security and pension funds around the country are woefully underfunded; that number stands at about $6 trillion in the 50 states.  Is Bourbon County behind on infrastructure repair and investment? We all know the answer to that question, but we do not know the cumulative number nationwide of all local jurisdictions.  The number has to be staggering.

It is not enough to curse the darkness, so what can we do?  Start with your own house and business and get your money affairs in order, starting with getting out of debt.  Second, get involved in your local governments, and be a positive voice for financial responsibility.  We have to prepare our own jurisdictions for what is coming.  Third, elect politicians who are committed to fiscal discipline. Responsible debt reduction is a long-term process.  I am not saying that we should forego any investments in progress; rather, we need to look for ways to consolidate administrative costs so that more dollars can be put into debt reduction and investments that are important to our future.

It seems incongruous that a banker would advocate debt-free businesses and personal financial statements, but banks do better when their clients do better.  Talk to your banker or accountant to help you devise and execute a plan for lower debt and economic prosperity in the future.  Our county depends upon it.

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word, I put my hope.                                                                                                                            Psalm 130:5

My husband loves to drive through car lots, and when he does, I want to curl up on the floorboard, especially if I see salesmen strolling among the parked vehicles, excited to see a potential buyer.  They wave Dave down and ask if he wants something in particular. Dave explains that he is “just looking.”  Then the small talk begins.  Before I know it, Hubby is sitting in a truck we clearly cannot afford, and the salesperson is grinning.  Our conversation never wavers when we leave the dealership and start home.

“Dave, honey, you get their hopes up, and I feel sorry for them because we aren’t going to buy another car.”

“I give them someone to talk to, so they’re not bored.”

“They talk to you because they think you’re going to make them a commission.”

“Patty, what if they offer me a steal?”

“And when has that ever happened?”

Last week, we were in Henderson, Nevada, when Dave turned onto the freeway exit named “Auto Road.”  Car lot after car lot, we looked at every vehicle on display.  It makes no sense.

When we were first married, Dave worked as a car salesman in baseball’s off-season.  I made more money waitressing than he did selling used vehicles.  He knew what it was like to get his hopes up, only to have them dashed.  Hubby claims that salespeople are used to it.  They don’t take it personally.

I don’t buy that any more than I’m going to buy a new car.  There’s no fun in hoping for something, convincing ourselves there is a possibility we will get it, but then don’t.  A date.  A job.  A good doctor’s report.  A diet that works.  A souffle that doesn’t sink. A decent golf score. A yard without mushrooms. (Trust me, I know.)

But in reality, isn’t life all about hope?  Martin Luther preached, “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” We place confidence in our future improving, yes, but the key is not that we hope, it is where we place our hope.  I don’t hope for 30 pounds to disappear overnight (okay, maybe I do, just a little) or for a Linkedin offer to join the rodeo (although, that too would be really cool).

Instead, I choose to put my hope in One who cannot fail. The only One who will not fail.  My favorite scripture was written by the prophet Jeremiah: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. That doesn’t mean that I know what that future will entail…which is probably a really, really good thing. It just means that whatever that future is, I trust that God is in the driver’s seat.

And I’m not cowering on the floorboard next to Him.