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The Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful and costly tombs ever built, but there is something fascinating about its beginnings. In 1629, when the favorite wife of Indian ruler Shah Jahan died, he ordered that a magnificent tomb be built as a memorial for her. The shah placed his wife’s casket in the middle of a parcel of land, and construction of the temple literally began around it. But several years into the venture, the Shah’s grief gave way to a passion for the project. One day while he was surveying the sight, he reportedly stumbled over a wooden box, and he had some workers throw it out. It was months before he realized that his wife’s casket had been destroyed. The original purpose for the memorial became lost in the details of construction.
Dr. James Dobson, Coming Home, Timeless Wisdom for Families, (Tynadale House Pub., Wheaton; 1998), 122.
WHO REALLY CARES?
A couple years ago, a Syracuse University professor named Arthur C. Brooks wrote a book called "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism." He was not particularly excited about the outcome of the study he’d done (he’d been raised a liberal) but from the evidence he amassed he concluded that conservatives who practice religion, live in traditional nuclear families and reject the notion that the government should engage in income redistribution were the most generous Americans, by any measure.
By contrast, secular liberals who believe fervently in government entitlement programs gave far less to charity. Liberals want everyone’s tax dollars to support charitable causes and were reluctant to write checks to those causes, even when govts don’t provide them with enough money.
From his research he found that liberals give less than conservatives in every imaginable way, including hours given to volunteer work and the percentage of liberals of blood they donate.
In other words, when people give themselves to God rather than government, they end up giving more of their time, treasure and talent to charities and to the poor.
(From a sermon by Jeff Strite "i-Give" 1/18/2009)
Porn Tolerance According to a new study, 65% of men, 48% of women, 36% of fathers, and 20% of mothers agreed that pornography was an acceptable way for someone to express their sexuality. Pat Trueman of the Alliance Defense Fund says porn gives young men a sense of “entitlement” when it comes to sexual relations in the dating realm. As a result, men don’t know how to have a relationship and the women wanting a relationship seem to adopt the male point-of-view on porn. Researchers also found a correlation between the use of porn and participation in other risky behaviors, such as drug use, binge drinking, and promiscuous sexuality. (One News Now 3/17/08)
I am justified a Social Security income because I have met the years of requirements of paying into the system, and have obtained the age of entitlement.
If I commit to Christ and follow his word by faith, then I am justified to receive my eternal inheritance.
A House of Cards Economy
In fact, our current financial crisis is a direct result of this "entitlement," or "free lunch" kind of thinking. According to Terry Jones of the Investor's Business Daily (posted Wednesday, September 24, 2008), President Carter signed the Community Reinvestment Act in 1977, which pushed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to aggressively lend money to low-income communities. It was his contention that every American should own their own home, whether or not they could afford it.
When Clinton got into office, he "supercharged the process." He put in place new rules and regulations, which gave Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac extraordinary leverage, allowing them to hold just 2.5% of capital to back their investments, vs. the 10% required for banks.
With government guarantees and government incentives in place, banks made loans to people that required no money down and no verification of income. People who couldn't afford it, were given extraordinary loans, and by 2007, Fannie and Freddie owned or guaranteed nearly half of the $12 trillion U.S. mortgage market.
When President Bush and others began to warn Congress of an impending crisis, most Congressmen ignored it, because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were financing 384 of their campaigns to the tune of $200 million over the last 20 years. (Terry Jones, "How A Clinton-Era Rule Rewrite Made Subprime Crisis Inevitable," Investor's Business Daily, Posted Wednesday, September 24, 2008, 4:30 PM PT)
"Free money" was available for the taking. All went well as long as housing prices kept going up. If a person couldn't pay their mortgage, which many couldn't, no problem! Just foreclose on the property and sell it for more than what was owed. Banks were making money hand over fist with these subprime loans, and it worked as long as the housing prices kept going up.
But when the housing market began to drop, the whole system came crashing down like a house of cards. Banks couldn't sell foreclosed properties at a high enough price to cover their losses, and now everybody is hurting.
It's all because of an "entitlement" philosophy and greed. It's all because people wanted a "free lunch" without the work. It's all because people wanted to take, instead of working to give. They were ignoring the 8th commandment: "You shall not steal."
