Borrowers are the Slaves of Lenders

I have to admit that of all times and all places to have lived, we have been blessed with the best! The United States is the wealthiest nation that ever existed.The one possible exception may be Israel during the days of Solomon. The Bible says that Israel was so rich that "All King Solomon's drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon." (1 Kings 10:21)

Adjusted for inflation and technological advances, the citizens of Israel had a higher standard of living than citizens of the U.S.When King David was passing the monarchial baton to his son Solomon he instructed him to build what may be the most magnificent building ever built, what is known as Solomon's Temple.After David had gathered provisions for the building he said to his son,"Of gold and silver and bronze and iron there is no limit. Arise and begin working, and the LORD be with you." (1 Chronicles 22:16)

So Israel under Solomon may have been richer than the U.S. but even Solomon didn't have air conditioning and he could not hop on a jet and be at Disney World in two hours.I have come to prefer the blessings of comfort provided by the industrial revolution and technology. It's better in America.

But there's a strange irony in all this.The U.S. is also the greatest debtor nation that has ever existed.The news media says so-so it must be true.There is such a thing as a debt clock.You can click on this link http://www.usdebtclock.org/ to see how large the U.S. debt is.The clock tells us that this country owes over $15 trillion and the debt is increasing at an alarming rate.Not only that, the President wants to increase the debt limit another $1.4 trillion.That ought to be a little troubling to Americans.

To whom do we owe most of this money?Well, we owe most of it to the Communist Chinese.That's alarming.First, I've never thought of the Communist Chinese as friends.In fact, there is good reason to think of them as enemies.I mean, if there was a war tomorrow, I don't think they would be on our side.

The Bible has some advice for Americans. "The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender." (Proverbs 22:7 NKJV) The old King James version is a little more blunt. "...the borrower is the slave of the lender."

Most Americans took notice of how the Communist Chinese treat their own citizens.They don't hesitate to run them down with tanks in Tiananmen Square. So how would they treat a slave?

How did the Chinese loan the U.S. so much money when they have so many citizens in absolute poverty?If they put their own citizens in poverty, what would they do to an enemy?

The following is a combination of two quotes, both of uncertain origin but combined they describe the progress of a democratic state.

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship."

"The average age of the world's greatest civilization has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through this sequence.

            From bondage to spiritual faith;
            from spiritual faith to great courage;
            from courage to liberty;
            from liberty to abundance,
            from abundance to selfishness;
            from selfishness to complacency,
            from complacency to apathy,
            from apathy to dependency,
            from dependence back into bondage."

Are we witnessing this happen in Wisconsin and other states around the country?For example, I'm glad that the State of California has lifeguards on the beach.And I guess lifeguards should be well paid.A person who was in danger of drowning would not begrudge his salary.

But if the people in California want to pay the lifeguard $125,000 per year, the citizens of Ohio should not have to foot the bill.So when California runs out of money, who pays the lifeguard?People in other states! And who pays the retirement for said lifeguard?That's right! Citizens of other states.

But what happens when ALL the states pay their employees too much?Well, you guessed it.The U.S. borrows money from China. And that is how Americans become slaves to the Chinese.

I want to see lifeguards, teachers, firefighters, policemen and everybody else, have a good retirement program.I want everyone to own a house.I want everyone to have modern appliances. I want healthcare for everyone, but I don't want to be in debt to China.

The inevitable conclusion is exactly what the Bible says. The borrower is the slave of the lender. Ancient Israel eventually went from being the richest nation on earth, to the slave of her enemies. America may be at the same crossroads.Maybe we can learn from Israel's mistake.

If the 70 percent of Americans who call themselves Christian would say to our congressmen, we don't want to be in debt, we could change the course of America.After all, who are the people the congressmen are buying? Many of them are Christians.And those are the very people who should be committed to the words of Bible.The Bible, after all, is OUR guide for life.If we make the stand, the rest of the world will eventually follow us.

Until next time,