SIGN OF THE TIMES. Matthew 24:6

American Evangelicals are steeped in conversations about the End Times.  Ever since Hal Lindsay published THE LATE GREAT PLANET EARTH in 1970, Christians have been reading, writing, preaching, and making movies about the end of the world.  There are so many films about it, my pal Robb Brunson was even in one–he has his own page on IMDB! https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3045887/.

When I was in middle school, John Bisagno preached a year-long sermon series on the Second Coming.  About six months later he decided he needed to re-visit some things, and he preached on the end times for another two years. Sermons like these were being preached all over America, and the Christian books on end-times topics were legion. Then in 1995, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins published LEFT BEHIND, the first novel of the multi-media franchise that would grow to 16 novels, five films, seven spinoff books, graphic novels, children’s books, and video games. Like I said, the church culture that Protestant Christians swim in is soaked in the End Times. 

They say that fish swimming in the ocean have no concept for water because they have been immersed in it their entire lives. Evangelical Christians are so immersed in a highly specific pre-millenial, pre-tribulation view of Last Days Eschatology, most of us cannot imagine any other perspective.

As a high school senior I was so familiar with the prevailing interpretation of the book of Revelation that when a friend asked me about it, I was able to sketch out a calendar for all the events that would happen during the seven years of tribulation, beginning with the rapture of the church—which would kick off the whole thing.

Then as a college student I read Revelation and told my dad, “I have a Post-It note filled with questions.”  He was astonished:

“You fit all your questions on a Post-It note?”

He had read Revelation many times and knew what a difficult book it is. I have read it many times since and I agree with him—there are so many things that are hard to understand. There are only a few things we can state clearly about the end times: Paul predicts a rapture of the church in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. There will be an Anti-Christ and a seven-year tribulation.  Then Jesus will return and God’s enemies will be judged.  But I am not convinced that all the super-specific details predicted by writers and preachers are really stated in the book. For example, many say “Gog and Magog” from Ezekiel 38:2 are Russia and China.  But Messianic Jewish Rabbi, Jason Sobel, a believer in Jesus, argues that the Bible is unclear, and that Hebrew Rabbis do not agree.

Here’s the thing: There is no scripture more difficult to interpret than prophetic scripture.

I am not a scholar of prophecy by any means. But my whole professional life is words. And when I read the words of Revelation, I see little support for many of the things on the accepted End-Times calendar. 

More importantly, consider the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament: they were significantly misunderstood.  We look back today and understand that there are TWO COMINGS of Christ, a first coming as a babe in Bethlehem, and a second coming as a Conquering King on a white horse.  But no one in the time of Christ understood that.  NO ONE.  These were not stupid people.  They knew the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. They were able to interpret some of the prophecies correctly. But no one on earth understood that the Messiah would be born, then die on a cross, be resurrected, ascend to heaven, and return later.  NOT ONE PERSON understood those details.  They were not stupid.  And they were not without the Holy Spirit.  God spoke to prophets through His Holy Spirit all the time. 

If no one among all the children of Israel understood Messianic prophecies correctly, it is because God chose not to reveal everything. 

In the same way, God may have chosen NOT TO REVEAL EVERYTHING about His Second Coming to us.

There are far too many Christians, including preachers, writers, and filmmakers, who are repeating non-Biblical assertions that they picked up from sources OUTSIDE the scripture itself.  If you can read the Bible and find your map of the future in its pages, then preach on.  But if you are relying on the film “A Thief in the Night,” or books by Hal Lindsay or Tim LaHaye for your material, perhaps you should stop repeating things that you cannot find in the scripture for yourself. 

That’s not to say the opinions of those experts are not valuable. I’m in favor of a good Biblical commentary—every good Bible student should consider the interpretations of wise men who have gone before.  That is how you learn, and how we protect against heresy.  We SHOULD check our interpretations against the interpretations of wise, respected scholars who have gone before.  But the ultimate authority is the scripture itself.

Given the overwhelming difficulty of interpreting the highly poetic, dream-like language of prophecy, I believe we should be vigilant about keeping an open mind. We should not draw conclusions and become dogmatic about them.

Tim LaHaye’s view might have merit.  Or it might be wrong.  The question is, can you back it up with scripture?  Same with Hal Lindsay’s ideas in the LATE GREAT PLANET EARTH. He may be right about everything.  But if I don’t see it clearly stated in the Bible, I’ll keep it in mind, but I won’t assume it is the only possible correct interpretation.

BUT WHY DOES IT MATTER? DOES OUR VIEW OF THE END TIMES HAVE ANY IMPACT ON OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIVES?

Yes. Our view impacts us in several ways. First, because Evangelicals are so committed to an end-times narrative, that narrative impacts the way we interpret global events. Everything that happens becomes symbolic. Nothing that happens is just a thing that happened—everything has to be a SIGN.  Floods, wars, pandemics, and vaccines—everything is symbolic. 

Second, our view of people becomes overly black and white. Just as the LEFT BEHIND novels were criticized for Manichaean characters, so fans of the series (and all of us who were raised on this apocalyptic narrative) begin to see everyone in Manichaean terms: everyone is either ALL GOOD, or ALL BAD. 

There are no normal people that are flawed but maybe have good intentions.  Everyone is pure evil, or pure good—and that is especially true for everyone who is in the news.

President Trump is seen by many evangelical Christians as pure good (in spite of a long record of evils), but Trump’s Chief Medical Advisor, Anthony Fauci, is pure evil (in spite of Trump’s faith in him and his long career in medicine). 

Such a black and white view of people is wrong.  Both men—like nearly everyone else in the news—are flawed.  And on some level, both probably have good intentions.  People are rarely all good or all bad.  Life is just not that simple.

In 1988, there was a little book interpreting everything in history and current news as a sign of the times: Eighty-Eight Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. 

The writer was sure Jesus would return that year.  He was so sure, he said if there were a king willing to make the bet, he would bet his life on it.  The book sold 4.5 million copies. Needless to say, the Lord tarried beyond 1988.  The writer, Edgar Whisenant, wrote three more books predicting Christ’s return in ‘89, ‘93, and ‘94.  Then after getting it wrong FOUR TIMES, he died in 2001. 

In early 1988, while everyone was caught up in the hysteria and hype generated by that first book—and kids my age were upset they would never have a chance to get married—my dad said something to me that I have never forgotten:

“Steven, you gotta remember.  People have been predicting the Lord’s coming for 2,000 years.”

And they have.  Sure, Israel’s gaining statehood in 1948 is probably a critical puzzle piece in the end-times calendar.  But the rest of it is not so clear.  Even a careful reading of prophecy is like trying to see through the frosted glass of a bathroom window.  Things are not transparent but opaque.  God wrote prophecies that way on purpose, just as He did with Messianic prophecies about the birth of Christ.  We should study them, of course.  But I want to offer some cautionary statements for those of us fully immersed in this ocean of the apocalyptic:

  1. Remember that just as God did not reveal everything about the first coming of Christ—not one of His Chosen People understood that some prophecies applied to a FIRST coming and others to a SECOND coming—so also He may not have revealed to us everything about the Second Coming.
  2. Don’t be so attached to the popular End Times story that you lose sight of what is—and is NOT—revealed in scripture.  Every now and then you should re-read Revelation, Daniel, and other scriptures about the Second Coming and remind yourself how few of the “facts” being preached from America’s pulpits are clearly stated in scripture.
  3. Keep an open mind; don’t try to assign meaning to everything that happens in the news.  We don’t know who Gog and Magog really are, for example.
  4. Don’t interpret every news event as a sign of the times.  Sometimes bad things happen and don’t mean anything.  Jesus said “you will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come” Matthew 24:6.  In other words, wars will happen, but they are not necessarily connected to the Second Coming–even wars in the Holy Land.
  5. Don’t assume everyone in the news is ALL GOOD or ALL BAD.  In my experience, most politicians are men of generally good intentions, but questionable integrity.  Even the worst of them usually thinks he is helping–but the number one concern of every politician in every party is his own power.
  6. Finally, remember that “People have been predicting the Lord’s coming for 2,000 years.” Take things with a grain of salt. Read Revelation, and pray as it instructs us to pray, “Even so, come Lord Jesus” Revelation 22:20. 

God, teach us to properly interpret your word and to properly interpret the news events in our world.  Free our minds of “End Times” details that are not in the scripture.  Even so, COME LORD JESUS.

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What About All This Free Time? Isaiah 55:11.

God once sent a punishment that sounds like the year 2020:

“Joy and rejoicing have been removed from the orchard: no one is singing or shouting for joy in the vineyards. I have put an end to the shouting.” Isaiah 16:10.

In 2020 there was no cheerful shouting. Stadiums were quiet. Weddings were quiet. Graduations were quiet. Playgrounds, elementary schools, and birthday parties were quiet. Even rock concerts were silenced.

We were grounded, confined to our homes and back yards, banished from public places, and left with too much time on our hands. What did we do with the time? I read about one of the Houston Texans football players who was taking piano lessons. A friend was bragging on one of her high school students that published a book during the quarantine. I know a young lady who was painting with her aunt, and a young man who bought his first set of golf clubs ….

But Pastor Gregg may have said it best:

“Have you grown closer to Jesus during this pandemic? Have you been reading your Bible more now that you have all this extra time?”

Do it. DO IT. Just do it. Pick up the Book of Books, the owner’s manual, God’s love letter to you, and begin reading it. I’m serious.

Choose one of the 66 books you have never read, and read it all the way through. Turn to the contents page and check that one off. Then read another one…. It’s okay if you read the shortest books first. Just read. Let God speak to you through His amazing word during the quiet time.

Maybe He allowed the pandemic for just that reason: so believers would grow closer to Him. Don’t let the opportunity pass you by. Right now, you have time to create some new habits. Read the Word. God promises to bless you for reading:

“My Word always produces fruit; it will accomplish the purpose for which I sent it out.” Isaiah 55:11.

God’s word will bear fruit EVERY TIME you read it.

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The Devil. Isaiah 14:12-15.

Satan.  Beelzebub. Lord of the Flies.  Prince of Darkness.  Lucifer.  Mephistopheles.  Lord of the Dungheap.  Where did this enemy of our souls come from? 

Most of our ideas about Satan come not from the Bible but from Milton’s PARADISE LOST (same place we get our notion that Adam & Eve were felled by an apple.  The Bible does not name the fruit).

Isaiah provides one of the key passages on the devil’s origin:

“Shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! You have been cut down to earth, you destroyer of nations.  You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the Mount of Assembly.  I will make myself like the Most High.’  Nevertheless, you will be brought down to the place of the dead and cast into the deepest pit”  Isaiah 14:12-15.

So where did Satan go wrong? He was pure until he sinned (Ezekiel 28:15). 

What was his sin? PRIDE. He tried to take the highest place.  His punishment? Banished to the lowest place in hell forever.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN? The greater your pride, the greater your downfall.  I spent part of the morning reading about a man from FBC (and SBC) who is 91. He was an appellate judge whose ambition (pride, IMHO) once took him to the top of the Southern Baptist Convention. Now a lawsuit—and the scandalous facts it reveals—will likely send him to his grave in shame. 

A similar fate awaits everyone who is proud.  “God is OPPOSED to the proud, but gives GRACE to the humble” James 4:6.  You don’t want to be opposed to God!  You will not win that contest!

God, make us humble!

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What is the Worst Sin? Isaiah 14:12-15.

Contrary to popular belief, all sins are NOT equal.  In fact, the Bible ranks sins.  Some are far worse than others.  But is there one sin that is the worst of them all? If there is, it is probably the devil’s first sin: pride. 

WHAT PRIDE IS NOT—

Pride is not simply knowing your strengths.  Pride is not giving a detailed answer when a job-interviewer asks why they should hire you. Pride is not choosing goals that most people will never achieve.  It is not prideful to go to college, to be confident, to look people in the eye, or to tell an opponent you plan to beat them in some contest.

WHAT PRIDE IS—

Pride is an unhealthy obsession with yourself and your ranking. Pride is believing you are above others, that because of some trait or accomplishment, you are more valuable than others, or somehow worth more than others. Pride is the voice telling you that you are a different breed, a higher class of person than those other people. Satan believed he was different—BETTER—than other angels.

“Bright morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! … You said to yourself ‘I will ascend to the heavens. I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the gods’ assembly … I will make myself like the Most High. But you will be brought down to the deepest pit” Isaiah 14:12-15.

In contrast to Satan, Jesus gave up His place, “not regarding equality with God a thing to be grasped, He emptied Himself, being found in appearance as a man…” Philippians 2:6-8.

We are instructed to do the same: “Let each one of you regard one another as more important than himself” Philippians 2:3.

This is no small matter.  When you pridefully think more highly of yourself than you should, you are acting like Satan.  But when you put others above yourself, you are acting like Jesus. And God promises to punish pride, but bless humility:

“God is OPPOSED to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” James 4:6.

God, reveal to us our pride and teach us to walk in humility, as you walked.

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What are Your Goals? What Are You Chasing? 2 Kings 17:15.

Did you know there is a connection between the pursued and the pursuer? One will take on the traits of the other.

Remember playing tag?  All the children darting this way and that?  Remember being “IT” and trying to anticipate the moves people would use: you tell yourself, if he pivots left, I’ll be ready, but then he pivots right and you miss him? Then you play football and it’s all about catching the man with the ball. Chasing people can be so much fun.

Sometimes we do not chase a person, but a goal: being the first across the finish line. Building the fastest car.  Chasing a competing company: CBS wants to catch NBC. Apple wants to catch Microsoft. Twitter wants to catch Facebook.  

A connection develops between the chase-er and the chase-ee. The pursuer adopts the characteristics of the pursued.  It’s like the hunting guide who says the secret to duck hunting is to think like a duck:

“BECOME THE DUCK.”

If you want to tag the child ahead of you, you get inside his head to predict whether he will pivot left or right. If you want to beat a competing company, you copy what they are doing to beat them at their own game. You become like the competition.  Sometimes you become like them on purpose—but often you do it unconsciously. 

You become what you pursue. Spouses become more alike, the longer they live together. Whether we intend to or not, humans take on the traits of the one on which we focus our attention.

YOU BECOME THE THING YOU WORSHIP.

If it’s true that you become what your pursue, then the object of your pursuit better be something of VALUE. Israel pursued worthlessness and lost their value:

“They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves” 2 Kings 17:15.

Are you chasing the popular crowd? Or chasing the rich? Are you trying to be accepted by the guys, but the guys are ruthless?  Or are you chasing hard after Christ? Are you trying to be a faithful husband? A loving dad? A friend who has time for people?

“If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and FOLLOW ME” Luke 9:23.

What are your goals?  Because you will BECOME the thing that you pursue.  Chase the right things! Pursue Christ and your life will become infinitely valuable as you become like Him.

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GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS. Micah 7:18-19; 2 Kings 17:8-26.

I read good news and bad news this morning: In Micah 7, the prophet praises God for His mercy:

“Who is a God like You, removing sin and passing over rebellion? … He does not hold on to His anger forever, because HE DELIGHTS IN FAITHFUL LOVE. He will have compassion on us. You will cast our sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:18-19.

That is amazing, and we should always be grateful for God’s mercy.

But He is also a God of Judgment. What you plant is what you will harvest. Consider 2 Kings 17—

Israel sinned. They lived like the lost people around them. (We do that, don’t we? If an alien landed on earth, would he be able to tell that your life is not like the lives of the lost people? What is different about you?)

“Israel lived according to the customs of the nations God had defeated around them… They secretly did what was not right against the Lord their God…. They would not listen, but became obstinate… THEY PURSUED WORTHLESS IDOLS AND BECAME WORTHLESS THEMSELVES.” 2 Kings 17:8-15.

Note that—You will become like the thing that you worship. Make sure you worship THE RIGHT THING. The passage reports the Assyrians had taken over Israel:

“They did not fear Yahweh. So the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them…because the people don’t know the requirements of the God of the land” 2 Kings 17:25-26.

The lions were so bad the idol-worshipping king of Assyria had to find an Israelite priest to send home to Israel to teach the Assyrian settlers how to follow God so God would stop the lions from slaughtering them.

God is merciful, but God will not tolerate idol worship. Check your heart: what is on your throne? You? Your goals? Your friends? Your free time? Your entertainment? Your insecurities? Remove these idols from the throne of your heart. Give God your WHOLE HEART. Ask Him to show you anything that needs to change.

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HOLINESS.  Micah 6:6-7.

Close your eyes and imagine.  Imagine a world WITHOUT JESUS.  Imagine that you are going to HELL unless you can make up for your sins.  What will it take?

What does it take to please God?

Micah suggests several answers:

“Should I come before Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?  Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousand streams of olive oil? Should I give my firstborn for my transgression, the child of my body to pay for my sin?” Micah 6:6-7.

Of course, none of these would ever be enough. You could sacrifice thousands of rams and give your firstborn child, but God would still not forgive you. 

Sometimes it is valuable to consider the seriousness of sin.  Bachelor and bachelorette parties are on my mind today.  Could there be an event more perfectly designed to destroy a marriage?  I have personal knowledge (but was not there) of parties involving grooms sleeping with hired prostitutes, and male “dancers” forcing themselves on drunk women.  The whole idea—the justification—is to “de-flower” the bride and groom before the wedding, as if that will make them more faithful.  Of course, that never works. You don’t beat gluttony by overeating.  And you don’t defeat lust by being lustful.  All you have accomplished is sin, heartache, and regret.  Such events are an abomination to a GOD WHO IS HOLY.

Stop and think about that: GOD IS HOLY.  What are we doing? Why are we swimming in this sea of sin? Why do we laugh and make movies about it and tell ourselves it’s no big deal?

If it matters to God, then IT MATTERS.  Sin is a BIG DEAL.  If you can’t see that, imagine trying to earn forgiveness.  If you could afford to sacrifice ten thousand rams, it would not be enough.

If we loved Jesus, we would beg Him to help us do better.

God, humble us before your staggering HOLINESS.

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Let Jesus Wash You Clean—Again and Again, Forever. Micah 7:19.

Hogs like to wallow in the mud.  The muddy places they frequent are called “hog wallows.”  But we are not hogs. People like to be clean.  We shower every day, sometimes two or even three times. We wash our hands so often we stop counting.

We have one type of soap for hands, another for bodies, a third for hair, a fourth for teeth. There is laundry soap, dishwashing soap, car wash soap, pet soap, horse soap, soap for precious metals, soap for glass, soap for tile floors, soap for wood floors, and soap for power washing concrete. Americans spend over $85 per person, per year on soap and detergents. We are obsessed with cleaning.

When a lost person gives their life to Christ, they sometimes feel an incredible sense of being clean after Jesus washes away their sin. But then they sin again. And again. And that requires adjusting to a new reality: as a believer, your sins are forgiven, but your habits don’t change overnight. It is easy to begin to wallow in your sin—to feel discouraged and end up stuck there.  It’s as though you keep stumbling into a hog wallow and finding yourself covered in mud. At some point, you stop getting up to wash it off. 

But don’t do that! If you have given your life to Christ, then you KNOW He forgives you. You have no right not to forgive yourself. That’s like saying, “Well, Jesus, I know you forgive me, but my standards are just a little bit higher than yours….”  Do you see how crazy that is–and how prideful? You must forgive yourself.  Over and over.  Get up out of the mud. Stop wallowing in it.  Let Jesus wash you clean again and again forever, and keep trying to do better.  You WILL begin to do better.  Show yourself some patience.

The prophet Micah wrote: “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” Micah 7:19. 

I like the way Corrie Ten Boom paraphrased it:

“God buries our sins in the depths of the sea and then puts up a sign that reads, ‘NO FISHING.’” 

Stop fishing!  Stop dredging up old sins and making yourself crazy with guilt over them.  Forgive yourself and move forward.  Wallowing in your sin will only cause you to keep sinning—and punishing yourself for sin is often motivated more by pride (also sin!) than by any godly impulses.  There is a place for repentance and fasting—we must take things seriously. But if you are sincerely seeking God and striving to improve through His power, don’t fight His grace.  Let Him restore you so you can get out of the mud and begin to bear fruit for His kingdom.

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BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS. Micah 4:3-4.

The ability to resolve conflicts is a gift.  Being a peacemaker does not mean compromising everything.  Peacemakers have integrity—they won’t yield the key point, but they will yield pride and anything else that might get in the way of peace.  Ronald Reagan never compromised on SDI, but was able to make peace with Mikhail Gorbachev and the USSR, ending the Cold War. 

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” Matthew 5:9. 

The ultimate peacemaker is God Himself. Jesus died to make peace between man and God.  God is in the peacemaking business: between nations, between spouses, between warring armies, and between feuding friends. 

“He will settle disputes among peoples and provide arbitration for nations.  They will BEAT THEIR SWORDS INTO PLOWS AND THEIR SPEARS INTO PRUNING KNIVES.  Nation will not take up sword against nation, and they will never again train for war.  But each man will sit under his own grapevine and under his own fig tree….” Micah 4:3-4.

The prophet says famously, ‘they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.’  In other words, warriors will become farmers and weapons will become farming tools. 

Which would you rather be?  In the movies, war is all glory and adventure, but farming is the real glory.  Soldiers destroy cities, crops, and lives, but farmers build and rebuild. 

War is the most destructive force on the planet.  Growing food may be the most beneficial.  God wants you to be a grower, a builder, one who makes things right.  Be a healer. 

Be the lawyer who can SETTLE a case, not the one too angry to make peace. 

Be the athlete who can congratulate the team that beats him. 

Be the teacher who can work things out with a challenging family.

Be the writer who can draw people together, not force them to choose a side.

Be the coworker who makes the office run smoothly, not the one spreading mistrust.

God, make us peacemakers, and send us leaders who are peacemakers.

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Don’t Let Prosperity Make You Weak. Micah 4.

I made a bumper sticker today.  It has a picture of hiking boots and says, “We will walk in the name of our God forever and ever.” Micah 4:5.  When I read the verse, it got me thinking of the great stickers in the tee shirt shops along the Appalachian Trail. But I’ve never seen this verse on a sticker.  So for this devotional, I made my own using CANVA, a free bumper sticker generator online. 

This verse follows Bible passages about the ravages of war—women raped, children slaughtered, entire cities starving under siege. Such things are hard to relate to while we sit around eating potato chips and watching a stream of entertainment that is unfinish-able.  We are the most prosperous people who have ever lived. The only thing keeping our wealth from making us fatter than Jabba the Hutt is that we can afford the time and money it takes to hike and get fit.

Why are we so wealthy? Because your ancestors did some things right.  America has stood for justice and fought off sin in many forms.  Not in all forms—we tolerated slavery, Jim Crow laws, and racism for too long.  But during those times of great sin, many Americans found Christ through revivals such as the Great Awakening. Lost people turned from sin by the millions.  Americans repented and sought the Lord and our generation is reaping what they sowed. 

In the words of Micah 4:3, our forebears “beat their swords into plows, and their spears into pruning knives.”  Men traded war and bloodshed for families and farms.  Consequently:

“Each man will sit under his grapevine and under his fig tree, with no one to frighten him … Though all the peoples of earth walk in the name of their gods, WE WILL WALK IN THE NAME OF YAHWEH, OUR GOD FOREVER AND EVER.” Micah 4:4-5.

What American has failed to notice the incredible salaries paid to top-performing movie stars and athletes?  Keanu Reeves was paid $30M for Matrix Reloaded.  Max Scherzer was paid $56M to pitch—and though he is the highest-paid baseball player, he is ranked #26 on Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes.

Do you know why we can pay entertainers this way (and yes, athletes are entertainers)? Because Americans have a surplus of both time and money.  Our jobs pay well enough that we can work fewer hours, leaving ourselves time to pursue a gluttonous diet of entertainment—and we have enough money to pay far more than we should.

If you can afford to devote both time and money to recreation, then you are rich. And we are rich because our ancestors took their weapons of war to the blacksmith and he beat their swords into plows. 

Our ancestors sought God instead of greed, and we are the ones who got rich.

God, teach us to live lives of holiness and hard work in spite of the EASE with which we are surrounded.  Never let us become soft, weak, selfish, and fat though we live lives of relative ease and comfort. 

“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion” Amos 6:1.

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