The Christian Home and Equity
And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. (Isaiah 59:14)
For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. (Deuteronomy 15:11)
THE CHRISTIAN HOME IS THE BEST PLACE FOR COMPASSION to develop. Some children are born with a tendency to share what they have with others and some are born with a tendency to be “bankers and money managers” and hoard everything. The Old and New Testaments are full of God’s urging His people to be mindful of the poor and needy and the infirmed. I don’t find anything about government redistribution of the wealth to get this done. We could talk about: justice, mercy, manners, etc. It all comes out of attitude. I don’t know which word would be best, today.
But, clearly, the Bible urges people to be mindful of the needs of others. When it says to “open thine hand wide,” it is talking about our own hands. Everyone who is able, is to work. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. (Ephesians 4:28)
THE HOME IS THE PLACE TO TEACH CHILDREN TO GIVE TO THE LORD and to give to those who are truly in need. When I speak of “equity,” I’m not talking about making sure everyone has the same amount of money. I’m not talking about socialism and communism. We’re talking about treating everyone with respect and fairness. Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said: “The problem with socialism, is that sooner or later you run out of other people’s money.” Sir Winston Churchill said: “If you are not a socialist when you are young, you have not heart. If you’re still a socialist when you’re fifty, then you have no head.”
In today’s world, I don’t prefer to use the term “equity” because there are those who think that everyone should have about the same amount of wealth. That’s not the Bible meaning of the word, but some people have twisted it. Everyone should have equal opportunity, but everyone is not guaranteed the same outcome. Some will work harder than others. Some will buy things they don’t need and get themselves hopelessly in debt. Everyone does not have the same brainpower or the same winning personality. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. (Deuteronomy 8:18)
THE BIBLE HAS A LOT TO SAY ABOUT MONEY AND WEALTH. We should tithe our income (profit) to the Lord. A tithe is a tenth: 10%. The next 10%, if at all possible, should be put into a savings account. Let the 2nd 10% build up and use it for emergencies. After a while, transfer some of it over into a reserve account for retirement. The home needs a realistic budget to help in managing the family’s finances. That helps us to get permission from ourselves if we want to buy something. Amazon Books has some good books for helping with family budgets. Children should be taught how to handle money. He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich. (Proverbs 21:17)
CHILDREN SHOULD BE TAUGHT ABOUT THE DEBT TRAP and the danger of credit cards. If the credit card cannot be paid off every month without owing interest, it should be put in a drawer or destroyed. A card is a handy device for buying all kinds of things and earn 1% of the purchase from the credit card company. We have done this for years. But, if ever we could not pay the card off on time and avoid paying interest, then the card would have to be parked, IMMEDIATELY!
CHILDREN SHOULD BE TAUGHT AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE HOW TO HANDLE MONEY and credit cards and how to budget what money they have. It’s a lot cheaper to be poor if you are not a slave to the bank and credit cards. The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)
Equity, justice, mercy. These have always been important words and children should know them and have respect for each of them. Study these words in the Bible with your children just as soon as they’re old enough to understand when you tell them what they mean. They will understand justice and mercy easier than equity, so, start with justice and mercy.
MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME ABOUT RESPECT FOR WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR in less than 30 minutes. Aunt Mandy, an older, black widow woman who lived around the corner from us, was my object lesson. My friends I ran with talked some with Aunt Mandy and I didn’t know what to think about it. I had never seen nor talked with a black person before. So, I asked my mother about it. She explained that God made us all and some with different colors of skin.
Soon after that, I walked past Aunt Mandy’s door (the house was built right on the street with no front yard) and spoke to her. She smiled and spoke back. She invited me to come in. The house was clean and smelled good and we had a good time talking. I went back every now and then and talked with Aunt Mandy.
My mother taught me at a young age to respect women, to open the door for them and to say “Yes Ma’am” and “No Ma’am.” Then there were the little amenities of “Thank you, please, and May I?” These are helpful little ball bearings that help to make the wheel of life turn a little easier as we respect one another.
WE WERE POOR AS A CHURCH MOUSE, but my mother told me one day that a Junior-Senior banquet was coming up in 10 years and I needed to know how to eat properly at the banquet. (Yes, that happened.) We practiced the use of the fork and spoon and cutting meat and the use of a napkin and where to set the drink by the plate. My brother was ten years older than me and the Junior-Senior banquet was coming up for him right away. So, I got in on his training with ten years yet to go. Maybe the hardest thing was eating without elbows being on the table and one hand being in the lap. (I never did get a handle on that.)
My mother taught me more than I thought, and things would come to mind when I began to go into social settings and opening doors for the women and older people. (Everybody was older than me, so I got a lot of practice in opening doors for people.) What my mother didn’t learn from her mother, she learned from reading the Nashville Banner newspaper that came in the mail Monday-Saturday.
In short, what I mean by “Equity” is being nice to everybody you meet and not just a select few. Everybody is worthy of respect. A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. (Proverbs 15:1) A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. (Proverbs 25:11) I tell you, folks, there’s a lot of good stuff in God’s Book.
My daddy taught me a lot of good things too, but not the same things my mother taught me. Ω
Read Through the Bible in a Year
FEBRUARY 22, 2018 – THURSDAY
A.M. . Numbers 7 P.M. Mark 4:21-41
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
Good Verses to Memorize:
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
Song for Today:
Rock of Ages (4:04) (Vestal Goodman; The Martins; Gaither Group)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2W7Elmao3c
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