Saturday Song: BB Gabor, "Consumer"

This time of year is the most profitable for stores. I've heard that the last two months of the year make up for the previous ten in sales. That's why the day after American Thanksgiving Day is called Black Friday.

A singer named BB Gabor released this social-comment song on an album in 1980. It highlights our consumer culture and how fanatical some folks are about getting inside the stores first.

Listen to Mr. Gabor's song here:

The problem with possessions is that they sometimes possess us. We buy a smart phone but it needs apps. We buy a DVD player and it begs us for disks. We buy a car and it requires insurance, gasoline, and oil changes.

Jesus spoke about the eternal worthlessness of possessions in Mark 8:36 (KJV) when he said, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

Jesus might have had Proverbs 11:4 (BBE) in mind regarding riches and Judgement Day. "Wealth is of no profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness keeps a man safe from death."

And as Solomon also wrote, riches are fleeting. Proverbs 23:4 and 5 (BBE) reads, "Take no care to get wealth; let there be an end to your desire for money. Are your eyes lifted up to it? it is gone: for wealth takes to itself wings, like an eagle in flight up to heaven."

We also need to remember that God is our God, not the things we own. A rich, young temple ruler asked Jesus how he could gain eternal life. When the man told him how he kept all the law from his youth, Jesus saw that his wealth was his god. That's why the Lord said in Mark 10:21 (BBE), "And Jesus, looking on him and loving him, said, "There is one thing needed: go, get money for your goods, and give it to the poor, and you will have wealth in heaven: and come with me'".

On Monday, I'll post about how Jesus is the saviour of all his people.

Are All Biblical Examples Meant for Us to Follow?

In 1963, a movie called Heavens Above, starring Peter Sellers, came out. It was about a vicar who took scriptures literally rather than literately. This foolish minister ended up bankrupting the local businesses and his church.

This film also shows how foolish Christians can be when they spout scriptures without knowing their contexts and meanings. One example is the rich, young ruler who came to Christ and asked how he might enter the kingdom of heaven. Imagine if everybody did what Jesus said to him in Mark 10:21 (BBE). "And Jesus, looking on him and loving him, said, 'There is one thing needed: go, get money for your goods, and give it to the poor, and you will have wealth in heaven: and come with me.'"

Who would have the money to support missions if we all sold our possessions? How would churches exist without donations? Governments certainly wouldn't help us out, given their hostility to Christianity.

The reason Jesus said this to that man was because he loved his riches more than God. We could say that wealth was his god.

Some people do the flip-and-point method of finding out God's will for them in Scripture. This is a foolish way to read the Bible. Like what the butler said to the vicar in Heavens Above, he was to Apply Matthew 27:5 (BBE) to himself. It reads, "And he put down the silver in the Temple and went out, and put himself to death by hanging." Would those foolish Christians do that if their finger landed on that verse?

Then the butler quoted John 13:27 (BBE) which reads, "And when Judas took the bread Satan went into him. Then Jesus said to him, 'Do quickly what you have to do.'"

This is a silly example but some folks have actually maimed themselves. I've heard that a man in a bad marriage cut off his right hand because he read Mark 9:43 (BBE) which instructs, "And if your hand is a cause of trouble to you, let it be cut off; it is better for you to go into life with one hand than to have two hands and go into hell, into the eternal fire."

For this and other reasons, I'm writing a book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? I don't want anybody to assume they're going there and then find out at death that they're sentenced to eternal damnation.

On Thursday, I'll be addressing the subject of how not to misquote Scripture.

Saturday Song: Ronnie Hawkins, Home from the Forest

What a beautiful-but-sad song this is. Gordon Lightfoot wrote and recorded it but Ronnie Hawkins had a hit with the song in November of 1971.

The story portrays a man who lost his way in life, as well as in the forest. Many people end up like him. They spend all their lives working and end up old and forgotten.

Hear this poignant song here.


Most of the people in this world are lost. They follow human religions and end up spiritually bankrupt. All their sacrifices are useless. They find out too late that their religion was a sham.

This also is true of materialism. As Jesus pointed out in Matthew 16:26 (KJV), "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

But there is a place where our treasure won't be frittered away or stolen. Jesus pointed out to a rich young ruler the location of this safe place.  Mark 10:21 (KJV), says, "Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, 'One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.'"

So, did you like the song and what I wrote here? If you did, please leave me a comment. But if you'd prefer not to do that, have a blissful weekend anyway.