SCRIP-BITS

Psalm 23:4.    Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
 
Oh Friends, I meant to share this yesterday, but somehow got sidetracked. Anyway, the Monday Toronto Star newspaper headline, in big, bold letters, read: ‘Swept up in China’s growing crackdown.’ Then in smaller type: ‘You’ll have to come with us,’ police tell Star reporter as Christians arrested.’ Ah Lord eh! The Star reporter apparently went to check out the Beijing Shouwang Church as they planned to hold Sunday Services outdoors, something you hardly ever see in China. But the believers claimed that they had been evicted from their rented premises, then prevented from occupying the 4 million dollar place they’d bought some fifteen months ago. So the thousand believers who belong to the church were forced to go out doors, become something of an underground church, or Shouwang, because they didn’t have the blessing of the Communist gov’t. Like everything else in China, to survive, you must have the gov’t’s blessing. And they’re such a scared bunch of egotists that they crack down on anything, or any behaviour that has even the slightest chance of eroding some of their control. It ‘s been said that unnatural control breeds unnatural fear, and that’s exactly what’s happening there. It appears they do allow some Christian worship, but only churches they approve and oversee, in other words, control. But the good news though Friends is that according to the report, tens of millions of Chinese Christians still worship without the gov’t’s permission. ‘Glory Hallelujah! All praise be to God!’ They can’t stop us my people! Once the Word is buried in you, there’s no turning back, no fear. And this unnecessary persecution is a perfect example of where our Bit comes in very handy. ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.’ It works Friends, it certainly does! Else why would believers place their lives in jeopardy knowing the high probability of gov’t persecution eh? The Lord promised those Chinese believers that He would be with them through thick and thin, and they believed. Wow! Oh Friends, the stupidity of wicked rulers still amazes me, though it has been going on for eons. Look at what’s happening in the Middle East countries, which are mostly Muslims, indicating that religion is not the overwhelming factor in foolish leadership. The people there are so tired of the despotic, autocratic, oppressive rule of a handful of fat-cats, that they’ve decided to rise up and take matters into their own hands, knowing full well that the might of their oppressive rulers could be unleashed on them. But it’s the same story as always; when you’re cornered, or trapped, and there seems to be no way out, at some stage you either simply lie down and die or retaliate. In this case the people in the Mid-East are trapped in an unending cycle of poverty and oppression, and instead of giving up, they have decided to retaliate with whatever means available, telling themselves that even if they do end up dying, at least it would be an honourable death, fighting for something worthwhile. That unprecedented, unanimous and spontaneous uprising of so many different people makes the Chinese rulers sore afraid, especially with their record of stifling oppression. In fact all despotic rulers today have been put on notice, and the smart ones will do something sensible about it. But unfortunately we’re seeing the old adage ‘power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,’ raise it’s ugly head. And instead of being sensible, many of the confronted despots are using might to fight right. Don’t they ever learn? And in the Chinese situation it’s impossible to have a Communist system work smoothly interspersed with capitalism, for one calls for tight and rigid control, while the other calls for freedom of money, ideas and expression. And though they have already become economically powerful, this is just the tip of the iceberg in the problems they will face. You can’t expect to live a capitalist lifestyle, with all the modern conveniences, plus mass media and communications, yet keep people in mental bondage and ignorance, especially with such a large and far-flung population. Then to make matters worse, we in the West are propping up the Chinese juggernaut by rushing to buy their cheap, shoddily made, uncontrolled, dangerous goods. That’s where the gov’t should be focusing their controlling efforts. There was an article that same day in the paper where the writer laments that fact. We’ve all become so enamoured with cheap, conveniently forgetting the words of the most renowned Chinese philosopher, Confucius, who so rightly proclaimed: ‘Good thing no cheap, and cheap thing no good!’ (smile) But it’s the gospel truth my people. And nowadays even the expensive things aren’t so great. But the money-men are moving their production to places of cheap labour and production, because there they can make enormous profits, and not worry about social justice. Sadly though we’re all so short-sighted and fall for the pitches of the greedy money-men. In a couple of generations, when their society is modernized and productive and the price of doing business there escalates, as it did here, China will face the same problems we are now facing; job shortages, a failing economy and all the negatives they bring. Oh Friends, until the profit motive is not the overwhelming guide in our lives, then societies will rise and fall on the whim of those controlling the society’s wealth. Enough for today though. But I’ll close with two requests. The first is let’s stop always looking for the cheap stuff, though granted that’s all many of us can afford, because we’re only building up other societies while ours continue to decline. Secondly, and more important, let’s pray diligently and sincerely for all those Christians, in China and elsewhere, who are being persecuted solely on the grounds of their faith. It must be a truly great faith though, for unbelievers to be so afraid of it. So stand strong my people, and let’s rebuild our society on the freedom and Christian values on which it was founded. Much LOVE!…without justice, truth, LOVE and understanding…a society will not last for long…