"For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help, the afflicted also, and he who has no helper. He will have compassion on the poor and needy, and the lives of the needy He will save" (Psa. 72:12-13).
Hey Gang, The signs are everywhere - win the lottery and win
million of dollars and all for a single one dollar investment! Casino advertisements are along every
highway and even our government advertises the 'get rich schemes' of buying one
of the many opportunities available to give your money to the government.
I received a frantic call from a friend of a friend who was
in deep financial woes. It seems her
husband was a gambling addict and had secretly spent their savings and had even
run up debt with one of the bookies, who did not take kindly to those who did
not pay for their indiscretions immediately, if not sooner. And now he had escalated his gambling to
putting his hand in the till and spending the house payment, food and other
needed expense money.
After meeting with the young man I drove him to the huge
casino complex and walked with him through the hotel, the huge dining rooms,
the casino and swimming and recreation areas - all lures to draw victims into
their dragnet, where they could fleece prospects. I asked him, "Where do you think the
money came from to build this complex?"
By looking into his
eyes it was not difficult to see that he knew precisely where the money came
from - from the 'fleecees', better known as the 'suckers'. But, he would not admit that he helped
purchase the gaming tables that were continuing to fleece him and the other
suckers who were totally convinced that they could get rich quickly.
As a lad growing up in the home of a coalminer, we were
looked upon as being very poor, even destitute.
As long as we lived in the mountains with the rest of the coal miners,
we did not look at ourselves in that light.
Oh, there were times we wished we had more, but I do not recall being
without food (carrots and turnips all winter) or warmth in the house.
And then one day I received an invitation from Uncle Sam
that said, "Your friends and neighbors have chosen you to be a small part
of our armed forces.” It was fact that
as long as you did not open the invitation you could offer your services to
another of the armed services, which I did.
I immediately joined the Air Force.
Now some folks thought it was kind of weird that I refused the Army and
its two year requirement and joined the Air Force that required four years of my
life!
The Air Force offered me an opportunity to learn a trade; but, I learned something far greater than a
trade while serving in the Air Force. I
was sent to S. Korea, which at that time
was not considered the garden spot of the world. Now,
keep in mind that up this point in my life the one thing that was foremost in
my mind was to find a way to not go through what my family had gone through in
my early years - poverty. I soon learned
in Korea that wealth does not necessarily mean green stuff in the bank.
SOOO Good buddies,, there is much more that I believe God is
leading me to send along so let this stew for a couple days and as Paul Harvey
used to say, "Tune in at the next Gramps message for the rest of the
story."
Blessings,
Gramps
No comments:
Post a Comment