Word for Today, Wed, 21 Apr 2004: God Cares for the Unemployed
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
Are any of you struggling financially these days? I've been
having my own set of struggles. The Word of God has something to
say to each of us on this topic, too.
Did you know that the entire Bible is relevant, and it is not
just a bunch of old stories? No, it is God breathed words of
truth, specifically aimed at people who want to know God in a
personal way. Jesus Christ IS the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Yours in Christ,
Brian
____________________________
God Cares for the Unemployed
Malachi 3:5
The Old Testament prophets denounced employers who sinned
against their employees by unjustly firing them and cheating
them out of their proper wages. For example, in Malachi 3:5,
God declared that He would judge and "testify against sorcerers,
adulterers, and perjurers" and "those who defraud laborers of
their wages."
At this moment, the United States is seemingly prosperous. The
stock market has reached record levels. One political slogan of
the recent past was "It's the economy, stupid." But there is a
danger of being lulled into false economic security. In spite
of recent "prosperity," multiplied thousands of workers are
still being laid off, sometimes under the guise of corporate
"downsizing." Perhaps you have suffered because of this trend.
Once a man could settle down into a position for the length of
his career. If he worked hard and honestly, he could expect to
remain with that firm until retirement at age 65, and then
depend on a pension and Social Security to live comfortably.
That scenario is rapidly changing. People are making dire
predictions about the depletion of Social Security Trust Fund
within the first two decades of the next century.
What in the world was he saying? Simply that those arguments
about "who's right" won't help settle doctrinal disputes! The
claim of superior knowledge just leads to pride. And that pride
was ill-founded. Whatever we know, we know it imperfectly. So
those fights about who is right about doctrine can only isolate
us from one another. In view of our human limitations, we can't
even be sure the winner of the argument is more than half right!
You man not know it, but God is sensitive to your plight. Amid
all of the economic confusion - including corporate downsizing,
bank closings, and jobs being exported to other countries - God
still cares for you. Continue to give your best, plan, and even
dream, but, most of all, prayerfully depend on God through
Christ. And don't forget Philippians 4:19: "And my God will
meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ
Jesus."
What about while we're waiting to learn? Why then, each group
needs to be sensitive to the other's convictions and
conscience. We can exercise our freedom and live by our
personal beliefs. But we also need to be "careful, however,
that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling
block to the weak" (v. 9).
"Taken from God's Man (c) 2000 by Don M. Aycock. Published by
Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI. Used by permission of
the publisher. All rights reserved."
=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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