Keys to the Kingdom

One of my early memories as a young girl is going to the laundrymat with my Mom. I don’t recall actually helping much, but I watched. I think I subconsciously absorbed a lot of important lessons on how to sort dirty laundry and fold clean laundry. I noticed that some of the ladies folded their towels differently from my Mom and I scratched my head over that. The sorting process was very important if you cared a hoot about the outcome later. Our Sunday-go-to-meetin’ clothes were never washed with Dad’s horse-riding blue jeans. Through the years, I’ve ruined a few items by not properly sorting them before tossing them into the washer. I knew better, but decided to take a risk and do it anyway. Sloppy sorting always comes back to bite me and it’s never worth the gamble.

There’s a lot of brilliant people designing catchy home décor. I bought my daughter a wall hanging that reads, “Laundry today or naked tomorrow.” Although I didn’t buy it, I saw another one I especially liked that read, “Sorting out life one load at a time.“ God is the Master Designer of the Universe and He didn’t create any of us to be spiritually sloppy. We sort out our laundry, so we ought to sort out our lives too. Anything the devil throws into our laundry hamper must be tossed out immediately. Believers need to reevaluate what we’re doing with our lives to see if we’re measuring up to God’s way of being and doing. How we sort today affects the outcome of our life tomorrow.

“Let’s take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus’ name” (Hebrews 13:15 MSG). Believers are to constantly offer up to God a sacrifice of praise. God doesn’t require us to offer the sacrifice of an animal (burnt offering) anymore. Jesus took care of the sin sacrifice once and for all. God petitions our praise which is thankfully acknowledging who He is and bringing glory and honor to His name.

All believers are walking-talking billboards. It costs money to advertise something on a billboard, so there’s a type of sacrifice (or cost) to living a holy life for God. What exactly are we advertising with our daily lives? Are we sorting out the rotten from the excellent and bearing good fruit? It’s not totally about how we act or respond during the church gathering. It’s how we conduct ourselves on our jobs, at the grocery store, restaurant, post office, court house, gas station, family reunions, etc. Everywhere we go, we’re advertising that we’re either good or bad at sorting out life.

God’s Word is the best laundry-sorting manual. His Word is tried and true and can be completely trusted. On the other hand, Satan can’t be trusted any further than you can throw him down the laundry chute. He only knows how to deceive, lie, steal, kill, and destroy your life. Anything he has to offer is ripped, stained, and not your size no matter how you try to put it on.

When believers offer our lives as a living sacrifice to God because we truly love Him, we bring him the honor and glory He deserves. Our sacrifice of holy living and praise is our testimony of Who God is. It’s worth the cost and there’s no gamble involved.

The Key: Believers live one day at a time and sort life’s laundry one load at a time.

I had little exposure to the academic discipline of economics before college, and I suspect that is case with most individuals today, given the opinions and ideas put forth by politicians and the public alike.  Accordingly, here are seven quotes by experts that contain timeless economic truths as a reminder of who we are, and from whence we came:

1)      “Capitalism is a system that begins not with taking but with giving to others.”  George Gilder.  The business person makes money by giving the consumer a product or service that they need or like; socialism begins by taking resources from the citizenry.

2)      “Nothing contributes so much to the prosperity and happiness of a country as high profits.” David Ricardo.  Prosperous businesses create a higher tax base, more research and development, better services, abundant charity, a better quality of life, and culminates in greater happiness for more people.

3)      “Everyone wants to live at the expense of the state.  They forget that the state lives at the expense of everyone.”  Frederic Bastiat.  Government has no money; the money they spend is by confiscation or debt.  Who spends the money more efficiently, the people who earned it, or the people who took it?

4)      “Differences in habits and attitudes are differences in human capital, just as much as differences in knowledge and skills – and such differences create differences in economic outcomes.”  Thomas Sowell.  No amount of income redistribution can create equality of outcomes; it only creates resentment.  Equal opportunity should be the goal.

5)      “If history could teach us anything, it would be that private property is inextricably linked with civilization.” Ludwig Von Mises.  The ownership of private property ensures dignity and freedom, not greed.  Who is greedier, the one who earns money to buy, or the one who confiscates it?

6)      “The free market system is not a system; it is not something that Washington implements.  It does not exist in any legislation, law, bill, regulation, or book.  It is what you get when people act on their own, entirely without central direction, and with their own property.” Jeffrey Tucker.  Nobody invented capitalism.  It is natural result of people’s desire to live in community and provide for their basic human needs.

7)      “Under capitalism, man oppresses man, but under socialism, it is the other way around.” Russ Roberts.  Humans make bad choices.  No system of government or economics can change that.

These quotes were compiled by Prager University (www.prageru.com); the editorial comments are mine.  Prager University is not an accredited university, but a not-for-profit information website with contributions by Democrats, Republicans, Independents and people from many religions and races.  Their five minute videos can also be found on YouTube.

Bottom line: our society functions better when free people work for profit by serving the needs and wants of others.  Additionally, society functions better when free people keep themselves informed.  These principles created the greatest economic engine in human history; let’s not lose it due to our own ignorance.

Proverbs 2:2-5: … making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; … if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.                                                                                                                                                                                         

At my granddaughter-in-law’s baby shower, Sonya joined us at our table.  We introduced ourselves and asked how she knew the mother-to-be. She was an open book, energetic and delightful.

As part of our conversation, she mentioned living with her daughter, son-in-law and three grandkids which somehow morphed into an in-depth discussion about her Ecuador mission trips with her husband.

She had no idea when she was going back because her spouse died of COVID last year, and it wouldn’t “be the same without him.”  We sat there, stunned.

I asked questions about her husband’s death and heard details that brought tears to our eyes.  Once he went into the hospital, she never saw him alive again.

Later on, Sonya and I had time alone.  I asked more questions but heard something I never expected.

Her husband worked for the post office but never believed in the tax system, so for 12 years he refused to pay what he owed the government.  He spent what he made, had no life insurance, no I.R.A. or bank account, no hidden surplus of cash.

Sonya had worked in day-care but never made enough to pay the bills. Soon after her husband’s funeral, she learned that she would have to sell her house to avoid foreclosure.

Her daughter and son-in-law bought her home and allowed her to live with them.  She had her car, her clothes and nothing else.

Sonya had been told that if she worked, the government would be the first recipient of what she made.  Was it worth it?  She would end up with very little cash.

I sat, shocked at what I was hearing, praying for the opportunity to tell her that she needed to pay back her debt. Lord, help me, I said silently, but all I said aloud was, “And you weren’t angry?”

“I was livid.  I had nightmares about him.”  Sonya continued by saying that the month before this baby shower, she went to lunch with a Christian friend with whom she shared her anger by saying, “I don’t want to pay for someone else’s debt.  It’s just not fair.”  Taking her hand, the friend replied, “You mean, what Jesus did for you?”

Wow!  It never crossed my mind to express my thoughts the way Sonya’s friend did.  The words pierced Sonya’s soul, and she knew it was a message she needed.  No matter what it took, if it was right for Jesus, it was right for her.

At the end of our conversation, Sonya and I hugged, and I left her with words of encouragement.  I told her to approach the women’s ministry leader at her church and ask to address a women’s group to share her testimonial.  She definitely had the personality, and there were so many life lessons that every woman needed to heed:

1.  Understand your family finances, and never allow your spouse to  convince you to be involved in illegal activity.

2.  Educate yourself so that you are self-sufficient, should the need arise.

3.  Pray for a Christian friend who gives godly counsel.

4.  Love Jesus enough to follow his lead, even when it costs you something.

Sonya was excited about the possibility of using her tragedy to help someone else.  Her transparency allowed for this to happen…even if it did take a little extra prodding to get her there.  My prayer was answered…just not the way I expected.