Happy Sabbath to all!
I wanted to put together some personal reflections concerning the unusual time we are in.
Viruses have come and gone in the past. There has been sickness and sadly death, but we have never, in my 68 years, had a shut down like we have with the current plague.
It is hard to imagine how quickly we arrived where we are at today.
Consider that the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 29,551.42 on Feb. 12, 2020. The world was fairly stable on that day. The COVID-19 virus was in the news, but it was primarily on the other side of the world.
Six weeks later the Dow Jones Average closed at 21,413.44. A most significant drop in 6 weeks. When you consider a 30% drop in that economic barometer that is an indication of a lot wealth that is gone. Will the stock market come back over time?
Companies are closing, laying off, cutting salaries and people are worried about how they will survive economically after we get past the impact of the virus. Which companies will survive the carnage and who will have jobs?
Huge stimulus bills have been passed. One bill was 2 trillion. What will be the long-term impact of such a huge spending bill? Will that 2 trillion solve our woes or will more be needed? What will the tax bill be after this is over?
Will the virus burn out with the heat of summer? Or will it come back in a more virulent form at some point in the future.
It is amazing how quickly governments have intervened to take control or try to take control of the situation. Is this the shape of things to come as to how the sinister forces at the end of the age will impose their authority over nations and people?
Most astounding of all, in my opinion, we may not have much of a baseball season if we have one at all.
The bottom line is there is currently a lot of uncertainty. None of us knows exactly what lies on the other side of the COVID-19 virus. At present, uncertainty is a worldwide condition. Uncertainty is fundamental to the world in which we live apart from God and it always will be.
But we through God and His word can see beyond all of the current upheaval and uncertainty. God offers us certainty and stability.
Consider the Sabbath. It comes every seventh day. That is a certainty. We are reassured by the Sabbath that God’s plan to usher in a time of rest is coming.
Consider the Passover. The Passover comes every year and, at that memorial, we renew our covenant with God and Jesus Christ. We are reassured that we are forgiven of our sins and stand justly before God.
Additionally, as we keep the Days of Unleavened Bread, we are assured that just as God intervened to save Israel out of Egypt, God is going to save us from this uncertain world and just as He led Israel to the promised land He will lead us to the eternal life in His kingdom.
Consider Paul’s reassurance in Romans 8:38-39: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Enjoy the certainty and reassurance of God’s Sabbath’s and Holy Days.
Gary Smith
Showing posts with label Economics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economics. Show all posts
Friday, April 3, 2020
Friday, August 5, 2016
Fake Culture Wars and True Prosperity
I did not watch any of the Republican National Convention, but I did make note of news reports and commentary. I thought a few comments from a speech as recorded in a July 22, 2016 staff article at CNSNews.com were significant enough to note them in this week’s Sabbath Thought.
In that article, it was noted by Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal that “fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline.”
“When I was a kid the great debate was about how to defeat the Soviet Union and we won. Now we are told that the great debate is about who gets to use which bathroom,” said Thiel. “This is a distraction from our real problems. Who cares? Of course, every American has a unique identity. I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all, I am proud to be an American.
“I don’t pretend to agree with every plank in our party’s platform,” he said, “but fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline, and nobody in this race is being honest about it except Donald Trump.”
The supposed “fake culture war” involves the decades long battle over abortion, the elimination of the Bible and prayer from our schools, the battle over public school curricula that is growing ever more perverse, and the ongoing abandonment of values that have been fundamental to America’s Judeo-Christian ethic.
In essence, Peter Thiel assesses that the battle over traditional values is a waste of time and all that matters is the economy. Our economic decline, in his opinion, has nothing to do with morality.
The theme “It’s the economy stupid!” was fundamental to the Bill Clinton presidential era. For the people of that time, the morality standards of the leader of the country were irrelevant as long as he got the job done. People saw that the nation prospered during the time of his presidency and concluded that good governance did not hinge on morality.
We are quite a few years down the road from the Clinton era and the Republicans have come to the same conclusion, “It’s the economy stupid!” The problem with this conclusion is that it is completely wrong.
Morality and prosperity go hand in hand.
We only have to look at Leviticus 26 to understand how a nation prospers. We are told in Leviticus 26:3-13, 'If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then:
Additionally, Leviticus 26 tells us what happens to a nation that becomes immoral. We are told in Leviticus 26:14-16, “'But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you.” Moses then recorded a long list of terrible outcomes that follow the abandonment of morality. None of the outcomes support the notion that it is meaningless to fight a cultural war for right values.
The sad reality is that both the Republican and Democratic conventions display the complete abandonment of the Christian ethic. Our leaders are blind to what truly matters. In their mind all that matters is economics—jobs and prosperity. Without morality long-term prosperity is a pipedream.
Thankfully, God has opened our minds to see that if we want to truly prosper, we must apply the principles found in the Bible. Will we be rich as a result? Probably not. But we can be sure that we will be blessed in this life, in what truly matters, and in the end we will be part of God’s family forever.
Have a happy Sabbath,
Gary Smith
In that article, it was noted by Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal that “fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline.”
“When I was a kid the great debate was about how to defeat the Soviet Union and we won. Now we are told that the great debate is about who gets to use which bathroom,” said Thiel. “This is a distraction from our real problems. Who cares? Of course, every American has a unique identity. I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all, I am proud to be an American.
“I don’t pretend to agree with every plank in our party’s platform,” he said, “but fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline, and nobody in this race is being honest about it except Donald Trump.”
The supposed “fake culture war” involves the decades long battle over abortion, the elimination of the Bible and prayer from our schools, the battle over public school curricula that is growing ever more perverse, and the ongoing abandonment of values that have been fundamental to America’s Judeo-Christian ethic.
In essence, Peter Thiel assesses that the battle over traditional values is a waste of time and all that matters is the economy. Our economic decline, in his opinion, has nothing to do with morality.
The theme “It’s the economy stupid!” was fundamental to the Bill Clinton presidential era. For the people of that time, the morality standards of the leader of the country were irrelevant as long as he got the job done. People saw that the nation prospered during the time of his presidency and concluded that good governance did not hinge on morality.
We are quite a few years down the road from the Clinton era and the Republicans have come to the same conclusion, “It’s the economy stupid!” The problem with this conclusion is that it is completely wrong.
Morality and prosperity go hand in hand.
We only have to look at Leviticus 26 to understand how a nation prospers. We are told in Leviticus 26:3-13, 'If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then:
- We will have rain at the right time
- Bountiful harvests and plenty to eat
- Peace in the land and none will make you afraid
- You will overcome your enemies
- Abundant livestock
- And many children
Additionally, Leviticus 26 tells us what happens to a nation that becomes immoral. We are told in Leviticus 26:14-16, “'But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you.” Moses then recorded a long list of terrible outcomes that follow the abandonment of morality. None of the outcomes support the notion that it is meaningless to fight a cultural war for right values.
The sad reality is that both the Republican and Democratic conventions display the complete abandonment of the Christian ethic. Our leaders are blind to what truly matters. In their mind all that matters is economics—jobs and prosperity. Without morality long-term prosperity is a pipedream.
Thankfully, God has opened our minds to see that if we want to truly prosper, we must apply the principles found in the Bible. Will we be rich as a result? Probably not. But we can be sure that we will be blessed in this life, in what truly matters, and in the end we will be part of God’s family forever.
Have a happy Sabbath,
Gary Smith
Friday, October 23, 2015
Standardization
I’m currently reading a book entitled Popular Economics by Robert Tamny. He makes a number of interesting points about economics by using examples to which we can relate here in the 21st century: The Rolling Stones, Downton Abbey, and LeBron James. My goal in this week’s Sabbath thought is not to focus on celebrity illustrations about economics, but to focus on a topic that on the surface seems pretty insignificant. However, once you consider the topic, you will quickly see how fundamentally important it is.
The topic that is fundamentally important to life is: standardization.
The title of the author’s chapter on standardization is “A Floating Foot, Minute and Second Would Give You Ugly House, Burnt Wings, and Slow NFL Draft Picks.” His point in the chapter title is if there was no set standard measure for an inch, a foot, or a yard we would most certainly have “ugly houses”. Imagine if every carpenter measured based upon what he thought a foot should be? One carpenter measures a foot as thirteen inches, a second measures a foot as 8 inches, another sees it as 18 inches. The outcome would be construction that did not fit together to form a precise whole. In other words, we would have pretty ugly homes.
The other items mentioned “burnt wings” and “slow NFL Draft Picks” apply the importance of standard measurements to something as simple as preparing and cooking “Buffalo wings” or to how fast a potential NFL player can run and how high he can jump. Standardized measures, a cup or a tablespoon, or a second or an inch insure delicious wings or help an NFL team pick the best rookies for their team.
The author states, “A standardized minute, pound, and foot are essential to much that we do.” We count on a foot being a foot, a cup of liquid being a cup, and a pound being a pound.
The scriptures tell us that God is interested in standardization of all measures. Look at Deuteronomy 25:13-16, "You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are an abomination to the Lord your God.”
The point about honest weights and measures is also made in Leviticus 19:35-36, 'You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
Standardization is important to a well-functioning society where honesty prevails. When people can rely upon one another whether, business man or customer, it creates a system where people can be certain in all transactions from building a house to making a cake.
There is more to the subject of standardization. We will examine this subject once again, in the next Sabbath thought.
Enjoy the Sabbath day,
Gary Smith
The topic that is fundamentally important to life is: standardization.
The title of the author’s chapter on standardization is “A Floating Foot, Minute and Second Would Give You Ugly House, Burnt Wings, and Slow NFL Draft Picks.” His point in the chapter title is if there was no set standard measure for an inch, a foot, or a yard we would most certainly have “ugly houses”. Imagine if every carpenter measured based upon what he thought a foot should be? One carpenter measures a foot as thirteen inches, a second measures a foot as 8 inches, another sees it as 18 inches. The outcome would be construction that did not fit together to form a precise whole. In other words, we would have pretty ugly homes.
The other items mentioned “burnt wings” and “slow NFL Draft Picks” apply the importance of standard measurements to something as simple as preparing and cooking “Buffalo wings” or to how fast a potential NFL player can run and how high he can jump. Standardized measures, a cup or a tablespoon, or a second or an inch insure delicious wings or help an NFL team pick the best rookies for their team.
The author states, “A standardized minute, pound, and foot are essential to much that we do.” We count on a foot being a foot, a cup of liquid being a cup, and a pound being a pound.
The scriptures tell us that God is interested in standardization of all measures. Look at Deuteronomy 25:13-16, "You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are an abomination to the Lord your God.”
The point about honest weights and measures is also made in Leviticus 19:35-36, 'You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
Standardization is important to a well-functioning society where honesty prevails. When people can rely upon one another whether, business man or customer, it creates a system where people can be certain in all transactions from building a house to making a cake.
There is more to the subject of standardization. We will examine this subject once again, in the next Sabbath thought.
Enjoy the Sabbath day,
Gary Smith
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