“But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
Man does not know its worth. . . .
It cannot be bought for gold. . . .
God understands the way to it,
And he knows its place. . . .
He saw it and declared it;
He established it, and searched it out.
And he said to man,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Job 30:12-28
I was struck by the simplicity of these verses this morning. Wisdom is moral discernment and righteousness. “It cannot be bought for gold.” This reminds me of the highly valued “college education,” which is purchased. Wisdom cannot be obtained this way. Wisdom is different than knowledge. One can have knowledge and not discernment and righteousness. You can determine how wise you are based on whether your not you can discern evil and whether or not you turn away from it.
The crucial legal foundation of the free market is the right of private property: ownership. This implies that at the heart of free market liberty is the right of making exchanges: the right of disownership.
This quote is from an interesting article by Gary North, "Adapt or Die (in the Unemployment Line)." It explains how technology and the every increasing free flow of information is changing the market. These are important principles and current realities to grasp. It is helpful to those who are considering how to start their own businesses in the current economic state and evolution. The article is also helpful for understanding how the free market works (for example, how unions helped move businesses out of the country). Here is his conclusion:
At the heart of the free market social order is this principle: the right of exchange. This implies the right to bid. The right to bid produces a universal response: price competition. The free market extends its dominance by means of price competition. Price competition is at the heart of the extension of liberty.
So, use those smart phone aps. Use Google. Look for a better deal. As a shopper, you would be wise to learn the tools of information-gathering
When you see what deals are out there, you will see that the flow of information is increasing. The offers are increasing. Price competition is increasing.
This should lead you to a conclusion as a producer, meaning a seller: either adapt or die. You do not own your customers, any more than you, as a customer, are owned. You are a free agent. So are they. You are looking for better deals. So are they.
You can stand on the edge of this revolution and wring your hands. You can cry out: "Unfair competition!" This will not save you from extinction. It will only slow you down.
My daughter Bethany played in a piano recital at a nursing home last Friday afternoon. After the presentation I met an amazing man. His name was Jim Cole. Mr. Cole had blue ball cap on with big yellow letters: “I am a WWII Veteran.” The first thing he said to me was, “We should have sung ‘God Bless America.’”
I introduced my boys to him and explained that they had been studying, reading, and writing about war. He told us that he was in WWII for a long time as an airplane pilot. He flew “the biggest bombers we had.” His summary of the war for the boys: “Germany and Japan were trying take over the world. And they almost did. About the only countries left were America and England. We had to stop them.”
By this time a dozen kids and adults had gathered around to listen to Mr. Cole. He was old and bent, but his clear voice and build revealed that he had once been a very strong man. “The Germans and Japanese had better planes than anyone at the beginning of the war. Faster and better maneuverability.” He stressed the importance of learning and being ready. “If someone tells you to go bomb a certain country, you can’t do it unless you know where it is on the map! When I was your age, I knew where the countries were on a map.” He leaned forward and shook his finger at the boys. “Learn! Learn! Don’t be a dummy! If we have to go to war again, it will be you boys who have to fight. Learn and be ready! You’ve got to think and use your brain. Use your head for more than a hat rack.”
While we were talking Anna and Meredith Riggins and Chloe and Emma Curtis prepared to sing “God Bless America.” They sang in harmony and it was beautiful! By this time there was no one left in the room but Mr. Cole and some of us who came for the recital. As they started to sing, his shaky, bruised hands reached for the walker sitting in front of him. He slowly pulled himself to his feet. He sang with them. His face was beaming. It may not be possible for these young ladies who sang to know what an amazing Christmas present that song was to Mr. Cole.
I was inspired by Mr. Cole’s strength, his sense of honor, his sense of responsibility, his desire to be ready, and his pride for our country.
After waiting 9 days past the due date, Isaac David is finally born! We arrived at the hospital around 3am. At 3:15 our midwife checked Dana and told us she was already 10 cm. dilated! The rest was smooth and quick and Isaac was born at 3:58am.
He is 8 lb 4 oz, 21' long. Both mom and baby are in perfect health. We are thankful for this answer to many prayers beforehand. Here are the beautiful baby and mom:
N. T. Wright appears on Fox News discussing his new book, Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters. What is impressive to me about Dr. Wright's discussion is that he presents an intelligent and rational view of Christ without compromising the spiritual truth of his identity. Also, he is able to articulate who Christ is without the traditional, religious terminology that much of the world has already dismissed.
Highland Christian Fellowship finally has a presentable website (but there is still work to be done). We have added to the site a link that explains our "Giving Strategy." Similar to the article "Ministry and Money," this is the practical outworking of our conviction concerning how a church might handle finances in a biblical fashion.
We also started a community Facebook page.
