2. Psa 37:16-22 NASB Better is the little of the righteous Than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken, But the LORD sustains the righteous. 18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless, And their inheritance will be forever. 19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil, And in the days of famine they will have abundance. 20 But the wicked will perish; And the enemies of the LORD will be like the glory of the pastures, They vanish--like smoke they vanish away. 21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back, But the righteous is gracious and gives. 22 For those blessed by Him will inherit the land, But those cursed by Him will be cut off.
3. Freedom When are we free? Freedom “is not the right and the ability to do as one pleases, but the ability to move without constraint in the sphere for which God made us.” Synod of the Reformed Christian Church (1928) Gal 5:1 NASB It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
4. Economic Freedom “Individuals have economic freedom when property they acquire without the use of force, fraud, or theft is protected from physical invasions by others and they are free to use, exchange, or give their property as long as their actions do not violate the identical rights of others.” Gwartney and Lawson et al, 1996 R1,135.9 Billion 46.5% 76% Man in his desire for freedom believes that economic freedom, the ability to earn and spend as he pleases, will bring freedom. But this “freedom” leads to slavery again if it is not submitted to God.
6. Consumerism “Consumerism is a way of living in which the person, at least in practice, makes consumer goods the object of his heart’s desire; that is, they become the source of his identity and the goal toward which his life is oriented.” “Consumerism is, quite precisely, the consuming of life by the things consumed” Richard John Neuhaus
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8. Wesley’s Trilateral Earn Righteously and Earn with honest Labour Live frugally, refrain from sensuous and extravagant spending Give to Self Give to Family and Employees Give to the Household of Faith Give to all in need
9. Psa 37:16-22 NASB Better is the little of the righteous Than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken, But the LORD sustains the righteous. 18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless, And their inheritance will be forever. 19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil, And in the days of famine they will have abundance. 20 But the wicked will perish; And the enemies of the LORD will be like the glory of the pastures, They vanish--like smoke they vanish away. 21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back, But the righteous is gracious and gives. 22 For those blessed by Him will inherit the land, But those cursed by Him will be cut off.
One fine Spring Sunday morning, a Priest was gazing out of a rectory window at a nearby Trout Stream. "Today would be a good day to sneak off and go fishing", he thought. The weather was perfect, his fly rod had new string, he had very recently heard reports of a good Trout run, and the Associate Priest was more than ready to handle the Mass. So, within minutes, the Mass was underway and the Priest was quietly sneaking out the backdoor, rod, net and creel in hand, heading upstream. But he didn’t go unobserved. An Angel was watching his every move and went straight to God. "The Priest lied so he could sneak away and go fishing", the Angel reported to God. Smiling, God said, "So he finally gave in to temptation." The Angel nodded, "Should I alert the congregation, Sir, and allow him to be caught?" "No, give him complete privacy," God said. "Should I command the fishes to avoid him, so he gets skunked and catches nothing?", the Angel asked. "No", God said, calmly, "We want the Priest to catch something. In fact, command the largest Trout in the stream to take the bait and give the Priest the fight of his life." Confused, but loyal, the Angel did as God instructed and within minutes, the Priest had hooked a massive Trout. The fight was spectacular. The Priest was using every trick in the book to successfully land the fish. He loosened the drag so the giant fish could run and not snap the line. He slowly walked the bank, up one end and down the other, allowing the huge fish freedom and time to tire out. Finally, after an exhausting ten-minute ordeal, the massive Trout cruised into the shore and the Priest proudly scooped him up in the waiting net. The Angel quickly turned to God, "Should I make a hole in the net so the fish is released?" "No", God said, calmly, "The Priest will release the fish.""What?" the Angel said, shocked, "The Priest lands the biggest fish in the stream, by far the biggest catch of his life and, forgive me God, but you actually expect him to release it?" Smiling knowingly, God assures the Angel, "The Priest is supposed to be in Church. He can’t carry the giant fish into Mass and he certainly can’t talk about it to anyone."
Victor Frankl, the Jewish psychologist who spent time in a Nazi concentration camp in Germany wrote, "They striped me naked. They took everything -- my wedding ring, watch. I stood there naked and all of a sudden realized at that moment that although they could take everything away from me -- my wife, my family, my possessions -- they could not take away my freedom to choose how I was going to respond."
The total value of outstanding credit balances in the South African household sector increased by 7% year on year (y/y) in the first half of 2011, according to data released by Absa Home Loans. On a month-on-month basis, households’ outstanding credit balances amounted to 1,135.9 billion rand in June, 0.4% higher than in May this year. Household credit comprises instalment sales agreements, leasing finance, mortgage advances, overdrafts, credit card debt and general loans and advances.(From http://www.lessor.co.za/2011/08/household-debt-still-taking-strain/)The percentage of credit-active consumers having impaired credit records remained high at a level of 46,5% in the final quarter of 2010. (From http://www.absa.co.za/deployedfiles/Absacoza/PDFs/Economic%20Research/Property%20Research/Property%20Commentary/2011/March/Mortgage%20Advances%2030%20March%202011.pdf.pdf)Household debt repayment is currently 76% of peoples expendable income.
In the year Wesley earned today's equivalent of $1.4 million, he lived on 2% of his income and gave 98% of it away. He did. He "tithed" 98%. In fact, during Wesley's lifetime he earned the equivalent of $30 million. When he died, left behind only a few miscellaneous coins and a couple of silver spoons. He had given away the rest. He practiced what he preached. (1) We are not to gain money at the expense of life or health. For instance, long before the dangers of lead poisoning was popularized, Wesley urged Christians working with lead to exchange their work as soon as they could, not exchanging life or health for gain. (2) Second, Christians should not gain money through any occupation which harms our mind. To Wesley this meant abstaining from any occupation where lying, cheating, or avoiding taxes was the norm. (3) Wesley argued that a real Christian would not "Gain all he can" by hurting his neighbor, which in his mind eliminated the possibility of gaining money through running gaming enterprises, pawn-broking, usury, or selling goods below market value to run the competition out of business. (4) Christians should stay away from practicing lucrative improper medicine. He condemned doctors who sometimes "play with the lives or heart of men, to enlarge their own gain." He particularly rejected doctors who lengthened pain or disease to make money, or who held hostage needed care until they could melt down a patient's fortune. Finally, (5) Wesley argued that a Christian has no business gaining money at the expense of his soul by running a tavern, play-houses or other establishments which lower the state human nature.
