INTRODUCTION:
People delude themselves when they think they are voting their "pocketbook." People vote for liberal candidates, who they believe will be liberal with the money of others. On the other hand, God blesses those who glorify Him. Voting for candidates who do evil in the sight of God is irreverence, and eventually He will take His blessings away, money and all. Socialism provides no money. Capital comes from God, not Marx. In this commentary, God provided the silver but the silversmiths credited "the goddess of the lower class" who had no silver to provide.
COMMENTARY:
A “labor union” is when people within the same or similar field
of manufacturing come together to resist those who undermine their livelihood,
especially the fruits of their labor. Currency has changed over time, but union
activity has not. Oftentimes, dissension occurs and mobs form to resolve the policies
perceived against them and eliminate those who provoke.
Unions all focus on one thing — what is in their own best interests,
and they gather together those with the same interests. They have learned that
there is strength in unity. The mob that killed Jesus would have been nothing if
it had been the chief priests by themselves. People with like interests
gathered for their “common good.”
Good Christian men and women will vote for union candidates, even when those candidates espouse non-Christian beliefs. For them it is all about the economy, and with that, they have a false picture if what makes a good economy. It is not their strikes but God's blessings!
Ironically, the crucifixion of Jesus was not for the common
good but the “good” of self-interested Jewish officials; it was actually
for the “common evil.” They lived like kings, and Jesus was interfering with
their lavish lifestyle, prestige, authority, and ambition. In the time of
Jesus, all the groups desired to advance their causes, and each group had the
ones they wanted to be their “king.”
“Socialism” is basically a union of self-interested
people who feel oppressed. They are angry at those who have and
form unions of those who have less. Now think on this: What if socialists
put as much effort into self-sufficiency as they do in angry dissidence; they would
be the wealthy! Socialists are unions of envious people.
What is their envy? Foremost it is the capital (property) of
others. They are a union of angry people whose cause is said to be for the “common
good” but excludes the welfare of those who have earned it. Like little
children who do not get their treat, common people have tantrums and endeavor
to hurt others who worked for their treat. Socialism is one giant mob of childish
Narcissists who look in the mirror and want to be those who have.
They merely look into the mirror and see themselves, then turn their backs to their
beautiful selves, and hunt down the ugly people who are the cause of the
ugliness they know is inside. That “ugliness” is unworthy “self-worth,”
vindictiveness, jealousy, impatience, and hostility.
Like it or not, but unionism is socialism in practice. Those
leaders such as Walter Ruther of the UAW went to Communist Russia to learn
their tactics. Rather than using the term, “communalists” (communist), because
of their cruelty and inhumanity, they call themselves “unions,” “federations,”
and “trade organizations.” The violent unions of the 1930’s should not be
confused with the civil unions of today. Unions have lost their violent energy
and settle things by peaceful means. My own father was in the UAW and my “privileged”
lifestyle is not due to my whiteness but to the unity of unions. My first and one
of two Christmas presents ever was from the UAW union hall.
On the other hand, unions pushed their hand too far. The pay
of union workers soon exceeded, by vast amounts, the wages of independent
workers. Thus, the unionized laborers became part of the elite and those who
did not organize, became the oppressed. Socialism has grown despite it destroys
itself.
I warned members of
the UAW in Bowling Green that their lavish pay compared to the community would
come to an end because they demanded having not what the community has but
more. That came to fruition with the 2008 financial collapse and the end of
overly generous General Motors Corporation. That capitalistic “union” no longer
exists and now the workers work for the less generous General Motors Company.
That “incorporation” has become humbled.
The background to this point has not really been about socialism,
unionism, and corporations but people with common interests unionizing for
power. Never is it really about power but the love of money which provides
power, prestige, and things beyond sustenance. Sustenance is what God provides,
and willing workers can obtain more if it is God for whom they lust and not the
pecuniary. Ironically, coins have the imprint, “In God We Trust,” but in invisible
print it is “In Money We Trust.”
If anyone Googles ® “Union Violence in the United States”
a list comes up with the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. Unionization seemed to
have got violent in the 1900s. However, the American Revolution was a small
group of people with a special interest who formed a Union for their grievance,
to wit: taxation without representation.” They were taxed, not on their labor
but what they pleasured — their tea. The revolution was not for spiritual
justice but economic benefit… less taxation in that there was not too much concern
for representation. The American Revolution was all about money. The adage to “follow
the money trail” rings true. Scripture says, “The love of money is the root of
all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and
pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Tim 6:10).
While in Ephesus, Paul encountered the love of money:
24 A certain
man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana,
brought no small gain unto the craftsmen; 25 Whom he called together
with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft
we have our wealth. 26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at
Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned
away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: 27
So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that
the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence
should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. 28 And
when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying,
Great is Diana of the Ephesians. (Act 19:24-28)
The silversmith tradesman formed a guild. Perhaps a good name would be the
United Brethren of Ephesus (UBE) and the brethren would pay tribute to the
Diana, the goddess of fertility, often related to the Greek goddess Artemis. She
was noted as the protectress of the lower classes. (Encyclopedia Britannica).
If anyone knows anything about Marxists, The Communist Manifesto values
several things recognizable in this situation: (1) Marxism values money while
devaluing God, (2) they encourage sexual independence, (2) they value guildsmen,
(3) and they claim to value the downtrodden. We find out from Paul’s
experience, that Demetrius, the leader of the mob, made great gain from selling
silver idols of Diana.
Profit is not sinful. It is gain in exchange for work. What was the
problem then? Paul did not preach material gain but eternal contentment through
charity, love, and benevolence.
Demetrius, in those days, would have been a crony capitalist. As a believer
in Diana, Demetrius should have feigned concern for the lower classes, but it
turns out that the worship of Diana means wealth for the silversmiths. They
were not truly worried about their goddess but themselves! That is the essence
of socialism; the wealthy feign concern for the downtrodden all the while worrying
about their own wealth! The leaders of socialism are financed by crony
capitalists for a reason, and that is power!
What problem did they have with Paul” Their new union list of grievances
was one: Throughout Asia and especially Ephesus, Paul had persuaded and turned
many people away from gods made with hands. That is almost funny. “Gods,” by definition,
do the creating but they alleged that they created gods! That is remarkable because
even today people are told to believe in “God as they understand Him.” God is
not God as we understand Him, but a mysterious God who people cannot stand
nor understand!
Bill Clinton’s campaign slogan was, “It’s the economy, stupid!” He was not
far off. As Demetrius and the “UBE” demonstrated. “It’s the economy, stupid,
not Diana or Jesus.”
Keep your life
free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I
will never leave you nor forsake you. (Heb 13:5
ESV) “Therefore,” I
tell you, “do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you
will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than
food, and the body more than clothing?” (Mat
6:25 ESV) My God will supply
every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:19 ESV)
Demetrius was worried about his wealth. It was the economy, stupid
Paul! Jesus who died for Demetrius was worried about his economic health
and disregarded his spiritual. He may have abandoned Diana if it had not been
for his own benefit to stick with her. He understood that Paul was persuasive,
and perhaps he was persuaded himself, but wealth was more important than
eternal life. He traded his soul for silver!
Now for the meaning of modern-day Christians. Just what stands between you
and Jesus? The obvious right now is the mob. They hate those who have and
Christ they love. They want to tear down the blessings that God provided and
rebuild with socialism. They think they it is an improvement, as Biden’s slogan
indicates — “Build Back Better.” Biden is like Demetrius and the mob like the
silversmiths who joined him. Many had been persuaded but they formed a union
against better things. Under the guise of supporting the common people, they
wanted to keep Diana for the benefit of the oppressors. What liars they were.
They were as bad as the Serpent with their deception. They cared only about
their own wealth and used the fools who were lovers of Diana for her concern.
How about later when Demetrius is old? Will he not need a 401k? How about
social security? “Even to your old age I am He, and to gray hairs I will carry
you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isa 46:4). Yahweh will serve and preserve His
people, yet even Christians fail to trust God. Demetrius was more worried about
his own economy than eternal life, and he was shrewd; he called others like him
to protect, not their economy, but his. He bundled all the silversmiths
together (fascimo in Italian) for prosperity and denied the economy of
God. Which is? “He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from
the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor” (1 Sam
2:8).
The people of Ephesus depended on Diana to lift them up as the goddess of
the lower classes. Diana would not help the silversmiths because they were guildsmen
and could take care of themselves quite well. Perhaps they thought that without
dependence on Diana, no one would buy their handiwork, and they would become
the lower class as well! They were not even worried about their false goddess,
but themselves. Just who, then, was their god? The silversmiths were a union of
gods; each one serving themselves for the appearance of helping others. Rather
than serve and preserve the lower class, they wanted the wealth of themselves.
That, in a nutshell, is socialism.
Nowadays, even Christians depend on the government for many things. Their
charter was originally for commerce and military protection. That are the sole
rights provided to the federal government; all other rights were delegated to
the states. The Civil War was not about slavery at all; it was a war about the
Constitution. Who would have the power? It was a War Between the States of the
Union and the States of the Confederacy. After that war, the union won, and
states’ rights would become secondary.
Demetrius was not concerned about the status of everyone in their “union”
but his own state. Each of the other silversmiths were worried about their own
statuses. Their union was each for themselves. They were not there for Diana
but Narcissus because each one was a lover of himself.
Why are Americans turning to Marx? He is the modern-day “Diana.” Why did
people vote for Mrs. Clinton? She was the “fertility goddess” herself and
claimed to care for the lower classes, but like Demetrius, it was herself who
she was concerned with all the time!
Why do Christians vote for Democrats? Bill Clinton sort of hit the nail on
the head. He said, “It’s the economy, stupid.” It would have been better said, “It’s
is the free stuff, my stupid American voters.” Diana offered usury. Jesus did
not. Paul and the apostles never ever preached about material gain, and neither
did Jesus. The Abrahamic Covenant was essentially, I will prosper you if I AM
your God, but the flip-side was, If I AM (Yahweh) not your God, you will
not prosper. Demetrius looked to Diana and his own hands for prosperity,
the Jews looked to the promised land for prosperity, but the Christians looked
to Jesus for true prosperity; that is a room in a mansion built by God!
Demetrius wanted things his way right now and so did the other
silversmiths. Christians are called to be patient. If things were perfect on
earth, there would be no need for Paradise! Death is gain for Christians (Phil
1:21) because the meek shall inherit the Earth (Mat 5:5). Just how is that? The
Paradise in heaven will replace the promised land, and Christians are fellow
heirs of God:
This mystery is
that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of
the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel (Eph
3:6 ESV)
Demetrius was at Ephesus speaking to the union of silversmiths. They
needed not to form a union of self-serving smiths, but a “body of fellow heirs”
to the Promise of God. Rather than depend on Diana right then for prosperity,
when the time comes, they will have what their Father in Heaven provides. And
what did God promise all along? Certainly not a Garden Paradise for just two
people, but a City of God (New Jerusalem) for many people.
A good argument for the union of silversmiths would be:
“Let not your
hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. 2 In my Father's house
are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a
place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:1-3)
Right now, if you are depending on Diana, your union, socialism,
or the work of your own hands; you are looking in the wrong place. If you are
looking for Democrats to provide prosperity, you are looking the wrong place.
Where to look? Of course, neither can we look to Republicans
for prosperity, because just as Israel, the prosperity of America is in God’s
hands. We must be His nation and He will take care of us! The question is which
party wants to MAKE GOD GREAT AGAIN in America? Only you in conference with God
can answer that question.
(picture credit: Alamy Stock Photo)''
