Unworthy Goals

Whoever is pregnant with evil conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment. – Psalm 7:14.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” – Mark 10:23-25.

On a salary of $7,500 per year, Jersey City’s Mayor Frank Hague managed in ten years to pay $400,000 in cash for real estate. After thirty years as political boss of New Jersey, he admitted to being worth $8 million—a broad underestimate according to a former attorney general of the state.

In his Senate diary the late Senator George Aiken noted that politicians, especially those seeking reelection or election to a higher office, will vote in committee for a measure they do not like, then trust the other members of Congress to kill it. That way they can truthfully say they favored the bill without worrying that it will actually pass.

Listening to a voice others will not hear, Christ’s disciples rise to the level from which the Voice sounds. Embracing the absolutes the Holy Spirit enunciates, we scorn the numerous expedients available. In a world where discretion has gone to sleep and shamelessness has awakened, we remain circumspect. In a society where Christ’s claims are no more welcome than his conclusions are acceptable, Christians adhere to both his claims and his conclusions.

Courtesy of Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations by Virgil Hurley © 1995 by Word, Incorporated.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV © 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved.