Thursday, Day 3, Sept 17, 2020

 It was a beautiful, but windy, day here in Indy. Temperatures rose from a mid 50’s overnight low to a mid 70’s high during the day.

Nothing exciting today. Kathy went to Frankfort, IN for a lengthy lunch with a friend who now lives near there. Then she stopped by to visit one of our neighbor ladies from when we lived near Lebanon, IN.

I stayed at the camper and veg’d. I had an interesting fiction book on my tablet. I started reading it last night and finished it today.

Doug and Anthony brought Mexican for supper. We had another nice visit with them.

I recently listened to a Just Thinking Podcast, #93, on “A Biblical Theology of the Role of Government”. At 1:01:20 into the podcast Darrell Harrison quotes a section of a sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon on May 16^, 1907. “THERE is no crime and there is no credit in being poor. Everything depends upon the occasion of the poverty. Some men are poor and are greatly to be pitied, for their poverty has come upon them without any fault of their own. God has been pleased to lay this burden upon them and, therefore, they may expect to experience Divine help and ought to be tenderly considered by their Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Occasionally poverty has been the result of integrity or religion–and here the poor man is to be admired and honored. At the same time, it will be observed by all who watch with an impartial eye that very much of the poverty about us is the direct result of idleness, intemperance, improvidence and sin. There would probably not be one-tenth of the poverty there now is upon the face of the earth if the drinking shops were less frequented, if debauchery were less common, if idleness were banished and extravagance abandoned. Lovers of pleasure, (alas, that such a word should be so degraded), are great impoverishers of themselves. It is clear that there is not, of necessity, either vice or virtue in being poor and a man’s poverty cannot be judged of by itself–its causes and circumstances must be taken into consideration.” Harrison and Virgil Walker go on to question if any Pastor would be bold enough to make a similar statement during a sermon in today’s PC world.

It is a thought provoking quote. By the way, the main point of the sermon was not an indictment against slothfulness. There is both the poor in finances and the poor in spirit. You can read the sermon at https://www.thekingdomcollective.com/spurgeon/sermon/3040/

God is good. May He bless you and yours.