THE CZAR OF PHONES

I would be the “Czar of Phones”.  Many times I see parents walking with their children while they are looking at their phones.  Today I saw a young woman interacting with her phone as she met her husband and walking with her child.  The husband reached out and hugged the child but the woman continued to look at her phone.  I wanted to reach over and grab her phone and say “Naughty girl!  Pay attention to your daughter and your husband!”

As Czar of Phones I would have almost godlike power to control how people use their phones.  They would not be allowed to pay attention to the device while in the presence of a living, breathing person.  If they did, they would have their phone removed for two weeks while they meditate about how to relate to real people.  If they were not associated with the person they are near they would not be permitted to use their phone in speaker mode. 

People do not seem to realize a person you can actually touch has more immediate worth than a voice on a device.

A “TWIST” OF TRUTH

The verses of 1Timothy 6:5, 6 fit today where there are those people who seem thrive in a good argument.  They want to have the high ground as victors over unfortunates who dare disagree with them.  For example, they dispute the old ways in an attempt to prove that wealth and health show godliness.  If a person is rich and wealthy God must be showing his approval.  They use "questions and strifes about words” (v4) to pervert the meaning of scripture to prove their own point.  They say "gain is godliness" (v5); but God says "godliness with contentment is great gain"  We're supposed to withdraw ourselves from such people.

We need to be cautious.  We shouldn’t pervert the meaning of scripture attempting to prove someone else wrong.  Don't smugly think you are not one of those rich men who withholds from the poor.  Maybe we are not giving enough.  Let us remember we ARE rich.  We never go hungry.  We are air conditioned.  We can always buy gasoline.  We have an automobile.  We dispose of our clothes before they become rags.  We have jobs.  We have education.  We have. . .

Most important is we have the Word of God.  If we read it, we  have the true riches.  And having the Word of God we have knowledge that can uplift others, not put them down.  It is not knowledge for the purpose of achieving superiority, for demonstrating mastery.  It is knowledge given us for our own security - - and to help others achieve the same security.  It is not knowledge we twist to fit our own purposes.