'Produce your cause, saith the Lord, bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob'
Isaiah 41:21
You know inflation is with us when even the kids are aware of the bite of rising prices on their fixed pocket monies. My son, after some deliberation with his classmates have concurred that they should petition their respective parents for an increase in their allowances. The value added tax in Singapore has just increased by 2% to 7% in July, but prices of food and drinks in their canteen has gone up by much more. Profiteering, or is it just the plain multiplier effect of rising costs?
'He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack; but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse…'
Proverbs 28:27
Without an inflation-adjusted income, those with a fixed income stream will truly feel the wrath of the inflation dragon. Some of us might recall that a couple of decades back, the interest rates on Singapore dollar deposits was 10-12%, and it was in excess of 20 plus % in the United States of America. Will there be another dragon slayer like the cigar chomping ex US Federal Reserve Chairman, Mr Paul Vocker who put an end to the wildly inflated antics of the inflation dragon with his pointed and decisive thrust of his interest rate sword, and in the process sent the global economy into stagflation(ie inflation with recession).
'The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteh his trust in the Lord shall be safe..'
Proverbs 28:25
Cycles come and go, just like the seasons. Of course, with global warming, we cannot take the constant behaviour of the seasons as given, for flowers now do spring up in winter and bears in Siberia suffer from amnesia because winters are no longer frigid cold like before.
What about us, the finite human with infinite desires??
'They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noel entered into the ark and the flood came, and destroyed them all…
….Likewise, also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all..'
Luke 17:26-30
No news is good news. But in times of euphoria, which brings along it, the concomitant greed and fear, though more of the former than the latter, men will look for every nook and cranny of excuse to justify buying higher and higher. Like a helium balloon gone mad, hopes, desires and pride literally fall heads over heels in an increasingly steepening curve of avarice, undergirded by ethics gone awry.
'Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools'
Romans 1:22
What was a brilliant decision, what qualified as a foolish choice, is a function of the point in time, that an action is measured. Witness the unfettered joy and tears of the long suffering citizens of a repressive regime, when salvation comes in the form of a change of guards. Fast forward to a latter point in time, and the same feted saviours are no longer placed on the same pedestal of joy and gratitude, for either ineptitude takes over and worse, the oligarchs of abuse are back in power, notwithstanding a change of actors.
'And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear'
Isaiah 65:24
God knows our needs. Often we bring upon ourselves needless grief by thwarting His will, by doing things our way, to much furthur woe and weal.
Demi-gods abound when men wallow in the ever rising swell of their greed charged prideful enthusiasm. When will all this folly end?
Like the seasons, booms and busts will repeat its regular cycles, but most will never step aside voluntarily from the runaway frenzy till a mis-step forces them to regain their senses, hopefully.
'…And My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places..'
Isaiah 32:18
To be in the world, is to be caught up with the erratic antics of the world.
'…if riches increase, set not your heart upon them'
Psalm 62:10
Can one be in the world, but not of the world?
'Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak'
Matthew 26:41
To not be buffetted by the winds of greed and fear, to be able to shelter in an oasis of contentment and peace, is a blessing from the Lord our God.
But we must want to seek Him, to place our full faith in Him.
The long running infatuation by a large segment of the general populace, with the spell filled lives of Harry Potter comes to a close with the latest and last in the series, or will it?
Back by popular demand is a distinct possibility for a generation who are no longer strangers to wizards and witches, a fertile ground to dwell deeper into the broader reaches of pagan worship.
If not this, the world will seek gratification in other new fangled pleasures.
Is it practically possible for one to be in the world, yet not be part of the world?
'For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also'
Matthew 6:21
As believers and followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are asked to be like Him, to be in the world, yet not of the world.
What is of the world
- pride, greed, selfishness, anger, lusts and every attribute that will ensure that our hearts will be more tainted than a nicotine stained teeth.
'…..but money answereth all things.'
Ecclesiastes 10:19
What is to be like Jesus Christ?
- humility, contentment, selflessness, love, kindness, self-control, patience and every good fruit of the Spirit.
'…..but time and chance happeneth to them all,. For man knoweth not his time...'
Ecclesiastes 9:11-12
The value of most material things in this present inflationary world has gone up and will continue to go up tremendously. On the contrary, the general values and ethical standards of humans, man who are made in the image of God will continue to deteriorate, as man look away from God, and towards mammon.
When will all be brought firmly back to terra firma, as some surely would? Only the Lord knows.
Still it is often at ground zero, that man cares less about the cents and learn to come to their senses. Only at such times would this verse often speak to them, the downtrodden and the disheartened.
'Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest'
Matthew 11:28
And only in such times, when the world seems less magical, when an echo of 'abracadabra' does not make our dreams or rather lusts come permanently true, and the beautiful witch takes on her true gnarled form that just maybe,the contrite and humbled heart will call out to Abba Father.
'And all flesh shall see the salvation of God'
Luke 3:6
'And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had the opportunity to have returned'
Hebrews 11:15
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
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