Going to the end of the Line

 

 

 

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

The trials and tribulations of this world are many and varied. We all have them. We all strive for a comfortable existence. But there are many parts comprising the shaved ape. You must ask yourself, what creates happiness? A baby is happy with a bottle. A clean diaper would be nice, but not life threatening. Later, as the eyes focus, having some people fill the bill.

That baby, like all babies are born into the world picked for them by chance. X meets Y and XYZ hits the ground running, or crawling, whichever the case may be. Rich man, poor man, or Indian Chief, it is what it is. You learn your situation and you deal with it. Your “happiness” depends not on your situation. It depends upon how you deal with it. When I was 21 years old I worked at a local college for five hundred dollars a month, was married to a cute blonde, had two dogs and a chicken and was happy as hell! I quit to buy into a trailer park; my wife left me and took the kids and dogs (She left the chicken) and I’ve been looking for answers ever since.

I found Jesus in 1974, and He’s always done right by me. I was a Baptist and attended church regularly. I didn’t tithe, but like all good Baptists I dropped money in the plate. I was saved so I was vaccinated for sin. I didn’t have enough money to do any first-class sinning, but I didn’t have to because everyone I knew was as broke as I was and we were in survival mode.

After I got into the trailer park business there was money around. And tenants. Killeen was an Army town so soldiers would deploy and Mrs Soldier would keep the home fires burning. Need I say more? You want pictures? Thing was, I now had access to considerably more than five hundred dollars a month and I needed it to pay the child support! Was I happy? Well. . . NO! Was I prosperous? Figuratively speaking, yes. Did money make any difference? Not at all.

Jesus never told me that I’d get a return on the chump change I dropped into the plate at church. My misery was spiritual. I knew I had betrayed The Lord and “tipping” Him on Sunday thinking I’d be ok in the long run wouldn’t square the deal! After all, I was saved. After thirty or forty years of life lessons I began to form some theories. And I became very astute in spotting snake oil salesmen.

Behold the Prosperity Gospel! Give me all your money and I’ll send you a touch from God! And 50,000 people sit there in the audience and drink that cheap whiskey every Sunday. Joel Osteen tap dances across that stage, the crowd shouts, “Hallelujah,” drops the rent money in the plate and sits back in snake amazement when the landlord shows up. Life is hard. It’s even harder when you’re stupid.

Ok, you were born poor. There’s a reason for that. Your parents were poor. The poor you will always have with you. You work a dead-end job. Ok. See all those people on the freeway at 6AM heading into town? How many are smiling?  Consider this: If all your bills are caught up, and have money left over that is “rich.” But, you go to this big glassy building and watch this guy (who is smiling) blow your dress up and convinces you that if you don’t empty your pockets Jesus Gon’ be mad! What did Jesus tell us about the old lady giving two pence to the Temple. Thank you!

So there you are, working, barely making ends meet, and see no way out. Here’s your way out. Keep working. Make it to the end of the line. Raise your kids. There is no financial miracle waiting for you. The miracle is living a good life. Fix things where your wife doesn’t have to leave you. In a country with a 50% divorce rate that’s a victory right there. Forget the young girls when you’re coming down with ED! Stick with the old girl. Try explaining your hemorrhoids to a young girlfriend.

Some people do get lucky. They come up with an idea and the world is their oyster. But look at them. It didn’t come out of nowhere. Usually there’s a history of trial and error before something clicks. Then, most times it only clicks once, and if you handle it carelessly one day you’ll come home to the chicken.

I began this article to ream out these prosperity preachers but as I wrote I realized harassing them wouldn’t change anything. You can’t change a predator. The lion will not lay down with the lamb. See how that works? You’ve heard that all your life. The only time the lion lays down with the lamb is after he’s eaten all the other lambs. And this Sunday the lion will hit the stage once again. Baa Baa black sheep, have you any wool. Just put it in the plate. Don’t pay any attention to that man behind the curtain.

So, here’s your answer. Is Joel Olsteen evil? No. He’s a type one predator. Don’t blame the lion for being a lion. All lions do eventually lie down. Their strength fails them, their teeth fall out and the hyenas eat them. That’s why they’re called laughing hyenas. Coyotes laugh too. Bet you didn’t know that. You gotta spend time in the desert if you wanna know them things. There are very few miracles, financial or otherwise and you will most likely never see one. God gave this thing to us.

God created humankind in His own image and likeness, then said, "Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth". 

He said, “I made it, you run it! Whatever situation you find yourself in you are equipped to deal with it. Money is not the root of all evil. The love or covenanting of money is! You do that when you step out of your slot into a slot you know nothing about. And when you bargain with God you are paying for an education. You pay long enough, and you will graduate. And you don’t want to be post graduate. If you wake up tomorrow and your bills are paid. If your boss likes you, even if you don’t like your job keep working. That pays the bills. If your family is pleased that’s a plus. Treasure them! God’s gonna want them back. In the end it is going to be you, her, and the chicken. If you want to contribute to some cause, church, or investment, don’t do it with your living money. Joel gon’ be just fine. There’s a sucker born every minute. Don’t be one. As you age you will appreciate these things. And that’s as good as it gets. Trust me. You may make mistakes. We all do. Learn from them. You know what doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a different result is. Don’t lay down with the lion. There are other ones. Don’t be one. I love you, and good luck!