Another Comment On Money

MON., AUG. 16, 1993, 5:40 AM
FARM, STUDY

Money is quite an important feature in the life of your culture. Cash is exchanged for services and products. Checks can substitute for cash, particularly for larger purchases. Small rectangles of plastic are another substitute for cash. It seems so easy, and some people get in deep trouble in buying too much on credit. I am pleased that you finally have reached the point of paying the balance for each month, avoiding interest charges.

I have commented before on the desire of many in your society to pay no more in taxes. And yet the government continues to spend beyond its income. Billions of dollars are promised to those who have incurred losses in the flood. Money continues to be spent for vehicles in space, beyond the earth. Elderly people are “entitled” to Social Security checks, and some of the poor and those without jobs also expect and receive money from the government. Food stamps are really another form of currency, used just once and only for food, but another way in which paper is exchanged for needed commodities.

This President has promised much more than he can deliver… more than be enacted. Medical care is needed by some who cannot afford it, so sometime soon there will be a proposal to provide this, through some form of taxation, to all Americans. And yet, there is the objection to more taxation, objection mostly by those who have plenty of coverage, as you are aware, much of medical care is really unnecessary, actually, except as it confirms that no great amount of treatment is needed. Thus, much money is wasted, but also some rather spectacular forms of treatment do help restore health and do prolong earth life.

The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. This is a bit exaggerated, but I affirm it as the root of a good deal of evil. As Jesus I said that a rich man will find it hard to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Yet your advertising industry constantly extols products and services, urging your purchase of them, for cash or on credit. Much of this that is advertised you would not buy… or even desire. And still you realize that you are paid well because other people are paid for providing these good and services, and they pay taxes, and this provides money to pay you. You are part of a system that is part good and part evil.

Indications continue that your culture’s system cannot sustain itself for much longer, but then you are reminded, in other ways, that other nations also have money problems, some worse than yours. Even I have mixed motives. I want My servants, Christians and others, to prosper and live happily. I also realize that much spiritual growth can come from hardship, dealing with problems that stem from not enough money. Thus I very seldom intervene in monetary situations. I obviously can foresee what will happen in countless situations, but when I change something in order that some may benefit I see harm coming to others. I try mostly to get people to share, so that benefits are more evenly experienced. There is a great range in the difficulty in making this influence “work”… some is easy, while some people, even those who claim Me as Savior and Lord, are hard to influence where money is concerned.