Tuesday, June 05, 2018

To Catch A Thief

We live in a world that is falling apart both physically and morally. This is from January 12, 2014.

I noticed another little ding in the front of my Honda Fit today. It's not very big at all and I'm probably the only one who would notice but it's there. Maybe it was a shopping cart or somebody's car gently backed into me- nobody ever leaves a note. Maybe it's been there for awhile and the light just glinted perfectly for me to see. It's the nature of the universe, isn't it? Things tend to disorder- they don't get better- they fall apart and disintegrate. In my previous teaching life, when I taught Economics among other subjects, I often read from Vance Packard's The Waste Makers. In his book, Packard describes the practice of planned obsolescence in industry, the manufacturing of goods to have a very limited useful life and become obsolete so they can manufacture and sell more products. I think our culture has totally bought into the concept Packard brought to light- if it's not new, we don't want it. The Joneses are always in the lead and we are always trying to pull alongside.

Several days ago, I read about Philadelphia Eagles' wide receiver, DeSean Jackson, suffering a burglary at his home. According to reports, the criminals got away with a hand gun, jewelry valued at $125,000, and a staggering $250,000 in cash. The loot was hidden in safes, which might lead us to redefine the word safe. Jackson, a tremendous player, is no different than the rest of us. He simply is one more fulfillment of Jesus' teaching in Matthew 6, in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount:
19“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,20but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Whatever we possess on this side of eternity is open to corruption, no matter how careful we are where we park or no matter our security precautions. It even applies to our bodies; we face the identical end as all creation no matter how much we exercise or abide by a healthy diet or get regular checkups. My car and DeSean Jackson's fortune share the same fate- irrelevance at some point. There will be no tears in heaven but no ATMs either. The deposits we make now are a GPS for our heart; they give an exact location that is eternal in nature and perpetuity. The Lord's bank is always open.

Applicable quote of the day:
“Men kill for many reasons, they steal but for one- greed.” 
 
Sharon Kay PenmanFalls the Shadow

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com

 

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