I've missed more days of blogging recently since we've had five guests from Edmonton, Canada. It has been my pleasure to act as there primary tour guide but it has involved a lot of time and energy.
During the week we visited the mausoleum (one of only three in the world) of Ho Chi Minh, plus the very simple houses he lived in, even as he ruled North Vietnam during his last 15 years of life. He is revered as the father of modern Vietnam; his photo is found in every government building and every school; busts and statues of Ho Chi Minh are prominent throughout the country, and to many he is still the people's very important relative: Uncle Ho. He died (1969) before the country was finally united (1975) under one national communist government. It was the culmination of what he longed for and worked toward for decades.
Long before Ho Chi Minh or Marx; long before the financial crisis that struck the West in 2008 and continues in many places, the Old Testament and New Testament were written with wonderful concern for the "common person" and the proper sharing of goods. In the Bible, God made very clear His concern that all people should be cared for; that those who are disadvantated should not be left to simply suffer.
I thought of this again as I read the Bible yesterday. I read words like the following:
"At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. --- However there should be no poor among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you ---. --- If there is a poor man among your brothers --- do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your brother. --- Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; --- Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." Deuteronomy 15:1 - 11
Communism, Socialism, Capitalism - they all are weakened and fail for one primary reason: humans are sinful. Unless the heart is radically changed by Jesus Christ, dishonesty, greed, and corruption gnaw away at every form of government, in every country.
Come, Lord Jesus, Come!
During the week we visited the mausoleum (one of only three in the world) of Ho Chi Minh, plus the very simple houses he lived in, even as he ruled North Vietnam during his last 15 years of life. He is revered as the father of modern Vietnam; his photo is found in every government building and every school; busts and statues of Ho Chi Minh are prominent throughout the country, and to many he is still the people's very important relative: Uncle Ho. He died (1969) before the country was finally united (1975) under one national communist government. It was the culmination of what he longed for and worked toward for decades.
Long before Ho Chi Minh or Marx; long before the financial crisis that struck the West in 2008 and continues in many places, the Old Testament and New Testament were written with wonderful concern for the "common person" and the proper sharing of goods. In the Bible, God made very clear His concern that all people should be cared for; that those who are disadvantated should not be left to simply suffer.
I thought of this again as I read the Bible yesterday. I read words like the following:
"At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. --- However there should be no poor among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you ---. --- If there is a poor man among your brothers --- do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your brother. --- Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; --- Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." Deuteronomy 15:1 - 11
Communism, Socialism, Capitalism - they all are weakened and fail for one primary reason: humans are sinful. Unless the heart is radically changed by Jesus Christ, dishonesty, greed, and corruption gnaw away at every form of government, in every country.
Come, Lord Jesus, Come!
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