12.12-Money, Power and Celebrity

12.12

Today again I was reminded of the dangers of money, power and celebrity.  These will not make you into a different person, but they will reveal what kind of person you are.  There have been stories. FDR, John Kennedy, LBJ, Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Harvey Weinestein, Kevin Spacey, John Conyers, Charlie Rose, and Today Matt Lauer.

Money, Power and Celebrity

For one to get into a position of MPC, Money, Power and Celebrity one must be shrewd and use opportunity effectively.  In fact all of life is an opportunity to use or misuse situations.  When one is in a position of power and influence there are people who will offer things in order to be close to you.  These offerings can compromise your character and your reputation if taken.  These things can ruin your marriage and family life.  Then guilt can come and hardness of the soul and heart can lead to expecting women who work around you to do what your want them to do.  King David was one of the heroes of Israel, but taken down by low morals.

Friendship is a trust.  A work colleague is extending trust to be with you and suddenly a boss can take advantage and expect of a subordinate something that is wrong.  That which is done in secret becomes public knowledge.  Character is seen and one’s family can be destroyed in moments.

Our best course is to see ourselves as humble sinners, saved by grace, if we are children of God, and use this mercy and grace to motivate us to be transformed people.  Honesty is the first victim of immorality.  Being one person in public and another in private puts a callous on the soul.  Then the thought I must cover this up and I must.  Then one thing leads to another.

The trust that people have in us is a precious trust.  We must keep working in honesty and humility to become through God’s grace the best we can be.  Honest.  We cannot be sinless, but we can work toward being honest.  I have said that any man who is involved in an affair, even an affair of the heart, will lie about it.

To serve God is to serve Him only.  We cannot serve God and serve our own selfish lusts.  We cannot serve God and money.  This is a basic, black and white teaching of our Savior and at some level we all fail to live up to it.

Do we love this world?  Do we love to put people up and tear them down?  Do we rejoice at the fall of our politicians and entertainers?  I hope not.  Do we justify ourselves while looking down at fallen men and women?  Self justification is detestable in the sight of God.  Strong men and women are never strong enough to not need God’s amazing grace.

I want to keep praying for the leaders of our great nation in this difficult time.  I pray they move out of the torment of selfishness, guilt and callousness into the humility of amazing grace.  I pray we all protect the men and women we work with from any abuse and harassment.  I pray that the day comes soon when our response to news like today’s news is not just improved news ratings, but improved love for the God of all grace and new energy to stand for justice and righteousness regardless of the cost.  The cost has already been the Son of God dying on the cross.  Let that death lead us to more life, not more death.

Larry Wishard

11.29.17

 


Titus 3.
³ For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, ⁵ He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs ^[a]according to the hope of eternal life.

Psalm 119.

^156 [br]Great are Your mercies, O Lord;
Revive me according to Your ordinances

Psalm

130 Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord.
² Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.
³ If You, ^[a]Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait,
And ^[b]in His word do I hope.
⁶ My soul waits for the Lord
More than the watchmen for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is lovingkindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
⁸ And He will redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.