Even though I am free of the demands and
expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in
order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous
moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I
didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered
their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve
become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I
meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t
just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!
You’ve
all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins.
Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that
tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.
I
don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it
everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top
condition. I’m not going to get caught
napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself. – The Message -
*
* * * * * * * * * * * *Our government has established a limit on the amount of carbon emissions a company is permitted. If the company is going to exceed that limit they must purchase “carbon credits” from an authorized broker. A carbon credit is a permit representing the right to emit one ton of carbon dioxide.
The
broker has purchased these credits from companies that are not going to use the
full allowance of greenhouse gas emissions. He then turns around and sells
them, at a profit, to companies that need permission to exceed their limit.
And…Al Gore has government contracts to manage
as much as $3.4 billion in carbon credits.
My
nephew AJ, and I, recently argued about climate change. He is of the persuasion
that we are killing our planet with greenhouse gasses and we need to do
something…urgently. He may be right, I
don’t know. This is what I do know…for sure. When Al Gore, the most vocal
spokesman on global warming, villainizes greenhouse gas producers he is talking
about a concern from which he is personally profiting. He actually benefits when nothing is done to
lower emissions. Can I really believe his hysteria? What if it’s all a giant
ruse for a few people to become obscenely rich?
We
call this a “conflict of interest”…
Does
it matter? Well, it depends on the message. Killing the planet might be
important enough that Mr. Gore should forego his profits in order to ensure his
message is not tainted. Mr. Gore’s response to this implication was “Do you think there is something wrong with
being active in business in this country? I’m proud of it”.
OK…follow
the money.
Certainly
the Gospel is that important. It’s why Paul made it a point to never profit
from his role as an Apostle. He said I want it made clear that I’ve never gotten anything out of this for myself, and that I’m not writing now to get something. I’d rather die than give anyone ammunition to discredit me or impugn my motives”.
As believers, any questionable behavior on our part pollutes God’s message of grace and forgiveness. Yet, many of us live on the margins of propriety. It doesn’t only hurt our reputations…it hurts God’s. Here’s the question: Do we want our lives to influence people for Christ? If we do, we need to avoid conduct that may be permissible but is not beneficial.
Live boldly out there today…
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