Keys to the Kingdom

Herb Alpert, one of the most-famous trumpet players of all time, was born in Los Angeles, California in 1935. At the age of eight, he began studying the trumpet and had classical training in high school. Years later, while attending a bullfight in Tijuana, Mexico, he was highly inspired by the lively brass music and incorporated that feeling and sound into his own music. Alpert formed his own band and became known as Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Alpert’s style of trumpet playing achieved enormous popularity and he and his band won eight Grammy Awards plus many other musical accomplishments. He has been recording studio albums since 1962 and some of my favorite hits are Spanish Flea, Rise, A Taste of Honey, and Tijuana Taxi. A fun walk down memory lane is The Teaberry Shuffle for the Clark Gum Company’s television ad.

Because of Valentine’s Day, February is the month we think about love. As believers, we ought to focus on love every day. In today’s world there seems to be a problem with what love is and what love is not. Of course, the best way to study love is the written Word of God. “I may speak in the tongues of men, even angels; but if I lack love, I have become merely blaring brass or a cymbal clanging” (1 Corinthians 13:1 CJB). My oven timer has the most-annoying buzzer. When it goes off, I have to press the “off” button immediately because I can’t tolerate the irritating sound of the buzzer. I wonder if that’s what the world thinks of some believers who are merely displaying themselves instead of the love of God.

Exactly what is love anyway? My late husband’s preaching Bible has these particular scriptures underlined: “If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Three things will last forever — faith, hope, and love — and the greatest of these is love“ (1 Corinthians 2,4,5,7,13 NLT).

Walking in love is not always easy. Sometimes love is an uphill climb, but it never falls down. The Aramaic word for love is hooba. The root of the word means “to set on fire.” The concept is “burning love” coming from the inner depths of the heart. Love is essential when we’re involved in difficult relationships at work, home, church, etc. Involvement with porcupine people that are rough around the edges requires a fiery devotion to love. True love is not based on feelings, but rather a commitment.

Believers should have a burning love that overlooks offenses and focuses on what’s good, refusing to harbor any resentment in our hearts. Practicing love is where the rubber meets the road. Without love, we’re just walking around annoying people with our selfish noise. With love, we’re making beautiful music to the ears of those around us.

The Key: If our love sounds like Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, we‘re doing fine. If not, we’re just a pain in the brass section.

It might seem counterintuitive to connect economic vitality to religion, but a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research concludes that there is a strong correlation. Published online in November of 2003, the research performed by Robert Barro and Rachel McCleary in 59 countries over a period of 19 years was summarized by Les Picker in The Digest. The conclusion: economic growth follows strong religious belief and practice.

Supporting this thesis is the compelling evidence that Christian missionaries sent around the world have a strong, positive economic impact on third world nations. This is particularly true of Sub-Sahara Africa, as described in a May 31, 2019 online article entitled, The Economics of Missionary Expansion: Evidence from Africa and Implications for Development. One might think that the resources themselves transported by these travelers caused the growth, but the evidence suggests that the change of character and motivation by the natives created the long-term positive impact.

Since morality and character are attributes that are typically formed in a positive way in religious and spiritual environments, it made sense to me that actions motivated by integrity are productive in an economy. For example, it seems reasonable to conclude that hard work creates economic stimulus, healthy living holds healthcare costs down, and crime-free living mitigates excessive judicial investments by a community; conversely, actions motivated by low moral character can be costly to an economy.

While far from perfect, our Founding Fathers understood this connection. John Adams, who was the primary author of the Constitution of the United States, is famously quoted as saying, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Understanding the tenuous financial condition of the 13 colonies shortly after the American Revolution, these men understood that we could ill-afford misbehavior by its citizens and trusted them to self-govern.

The study by Barro and McCleary further observes that not all religions had the same positive impact; those who have a belief in heaven and hell tended to stimulate more vigorous economic growth. Additionally, strong state support of religious freedom helps the economy, while the persecution of religious thought, such as is the case with communism, has a dampening effect on financial activity. Unfortunately, as the economy grows and strengthens, religious practice tends to wane, and the economy cycles toward weakness again.

One can only conclude that those who have the strongest positive impact on our economy are those among us who have religious beliefs that guide their behavior and the choices they make every day. I encourage you to devote more of your time to your religious beliefs and a faith community of your choice. Bourbon County needs all of us at our best.