What Would A Psychic Do?

I was waiting patiently at a traffic light recently when I noticed a sign staked into the ground advertising a psychic reading and providing a phone number. It was a local number and if I could have reached my pen and pad I would have written it down and placed a call. I’ve always wanted to ask a psychic if they had been expecting my call. It would stand to reason that even a mid-level psychic should have that much grasp of the near future. Hey Michael, I knew you’d be calling me. “Get out. There’s no way you knew that. So what’s my favorite color?” Blue. “You’re good!”

Psychics are a sham and this particular would-be-fortune-teller is likely a recession casualty in search of new income. The sad part is business is likely booming. People want to know things about the future and other things that we have no way of knowing. Most people don’t know the capital of North Dakota but think they should know what tomorrow holds. Scripture deals with the false teachers, prophets, magicians and soothsayers who made a living through the deceit of certain future knowledge. We simply do not have a capacity to know the future. The only reality we have is the “right now.” This is the way God designed our lives and why God bids us to renew our relationship each day and seek new and fresh guidance. People don’t need a psychic, they need God. Of course, God doesn’t have a phone number and doesn’t advertise on roadside signs.

What will the future be like? Will this nasty recession end soon? Will the economy regain its legs and bring back jobs and incomes? Will the world-wide problems between people and religious groups calm down? Will we have health and peace as individuals? Will…? So many questions and so few certain answers. That’s life. We may not enjoy all of the uncertainty but it is God’s design and as such must be for our best. So all we can do is seek daily renewal and trust God for the future. And, if we think it would help all of those people who feel the need to call a psychic, we could display a sign that reads I Have the Answer to Your Questions. Call Me. It won’t be what they expect, but it will be what they need.

MM

To Tithe or Not to Tithe

With apologies to Shakespeare I put forth the following: to tithe or not to tithe, that’s the question. For many people today the applicable question might read, to make the mortgage payment… or, to purchase groceries… Today’s recession-riddled world is facing challenges of unprecedented proportion and Christians are not exempt. Christians are, however, faced with an issue that non-believers do not deal with: contributing to a church during a season of job losses and lowered income.

What are we as God’s people supposed to do about stewardship in such a mammoth economic downturn? Is the answer to this question found in scripture? In the book of Numbers perhaps? Scripture does not contain a Q & A section that gives handy answers. As great as it would be for God to have a website with a F. A. Q. page, there isn’t one so we are left with reading and praying in order to discern God’s instructions for our stewardship practices. Both Jesus and Paul spoke at length about money and the need to give ownership of all material possessions to God. Reread that sentence slowly and make sure the intent comes across. We aren’t to give all of our money and stuff to God, we are to give God the mental, emotional and spiritual control of our material possessions.

Following that line of theological thinking would lead us to continue to tithe and contribute during a recession if we still have a job. Since Billy Preston first told us that “nothing from nothing leaves nothing,” it’s made sense one cannot tithe from zero income. So pray about your current state and make the decision to continue to faith God through this awful recession. It’s likely we have all lost income and economic stability and as a result our gifts will be smaller. The key is that we continue to give as God leads us to give and we not give into a spirit of fear. Ministry, missions and evangelism must move forward. There are actually more opportunities to reach people than ever before, which is one positive stemming from the recession.

Every church and missions agency I surveyed is behind in both giving and ministry output for the year. It’s even possible that some of these entities will cease to exist if support doesn’t improve. One doesn’t need a F. A. Q. page on God’s website to know that’s a bad thing!

MM

So Many Bibles, So Many Choices

In my best Andy Rooney voice I ask, “Why are there so many different types of bibles?” This is even more curious when you consider that the letters and writings in scripture were originally penned in the language of their era, either Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek. So if Paul wrote Galations in Greek, why are there fifty different versions available in English? Are we English-speakers that picky? What’s next, individualized translations? Hey, cool Bible. What type is it? My own. I call it “Chuck’s Version, CV for short. I have a guy who did it for me.”

While I don’t own an individualized translation I do have several types of scripture in my stash. I often refer to more than one type when preparing to speak as there are subtle differences in the modern translations. I also own a King James Version that I pull out for funerals and weddings but truthfully for little else. The classic KJV of my youth is a very dated translation that is better suited for aficionados of Shakespeare. There was a day in England when thee and thou was common vernacular, but things have changed over the past four hundred years.

There’s even a new bible for patriots. I’m not sure why a patriot needs a unique bible to read. I’m patriotic and I’m fine with a generic bible. My Dad fought in two wars and he was fine with a general bible. I’m assuming that patriot in this case means Amercian patriot and if I’m right it may need to be pointed out that scripture was written thousands of years before the founding of Jamestown. In fact, the King James Bible was commissioned before any of our ancestors left the “Old Country” and settled here. Is it possible we are getting carried away with uniqueness and have gone all-boutique on scripture preferences. Hopefully the influences of reality television won’t invade and we soon find the Bachelorette Bible, or American Idol Bible, or worse, Big Brother Bible.

It’s true that some versions are better than others due to the skills of the translators, but all in all most modern (non-boutique) versions are good choices. After all, it’s not the version that makes the biggest difference. If we aren’t reading scripture it doesn’t matter if ours is the New American Standard Bible or the Three Stooges Bible. So read your bible everyday. And relax, there is no Three Stooges Bible because nuk, nuk cannot be translated from Greek!

MM