Bigger Snakes

As my wife and I listened to the news correspondents on TV the other night talking in terms of billions and trillions of dollars she casually commented to me, “What ever happened to millions”? The manipulation of money to ensure larger dividend payouts every year on invested moneys, in the long run, simply hasn’t paid off. The consumer has abandoned financing his basic needs for fulfilling his every want with borrowed money he can’t repay. And the government continues to borrow money from borrowed money. I hate to sound pessimistic here, but the dance is over and it looks like it’s time to pay the fiddler. The warped American dream of keeping up with the Jones’s and bigger being better, as an outward sign of success in life, has come home to roost. We have found ourselves in a financially grave condition of which only common sense and thrifty spending will see us through. “In Wall Street We Trust” doesn’t seem to be a sound truth to build a successful life upon. I’m praying for this country, are you?
Leroy Brownlow tells the story about a family of wayward church members – a father and his three sons. Once active, but now indifferent, they had been visited by the preacher and the elders. Everything within reason had been done to restore them – all in vain. One day while working, a large rattlesnake bit John, one of the sons. The doctor was summoned and pronounced his condition grave. The doctor observed that about the only thing left was prayer. Immediately the preacher and the elders were called. The preacher was asked to pray for John’s recovery, which he did, sort of. Here’s his prayer:
“O wise and righteous Father, we thank thee that thou hast, in thy wisdom, sent this rattlesnake to bite John, in order to bring him to his senses. He has not been inside the church house for years, and it is very doubtful that in all that time he has, until now, felt any need for prayer. We have been doing everything we know for years to restore this family, to no avail. We trust that this will prove a valuable lesson to John, and that it may lead to a genuine repentance. It seems, therefore, that what all our combined efforts could not do, this rattlesnake has accomplished. And now, O Father, wilt thou send another to bite Sam, another to bite Jim, and a BIG ONE to bite the old man? We thus have concluded that the only thing left that will do this family any good is rattlesnakes, so Lord, send us bigger and better rattlesnakes. In Jesus name we pray. Amen”
[Luke 16: 10-15] “...No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money”. It’s ironic that the very dollar bill we selfishly use for our own pleasure, before service to others, has printed on it, “In God We Trust”, yet we don’t. Jesus taught that we are not to worry about what we need, for it will be supplied, IF, we first seek the kingdom of God. (Luke 12: 22-34) It seems nobody has the time, or should we be honest with ourselves here, most people won’t take the time, to seek God, serving Him before anything else. Why not? It seems to be the better deal. So, what should our prayer to God be, concerning our financial crisis? Should we thank God for bringing us to our senses? Is this snake bite great enough to bring us to repentance, or will God have to send a bigger snake? History is plain about empires that exchange the fear God for selfishness – they crumble! This country’s foundation is God, not money.