Ranting

Last week, I was in a restaurant in Joplin, when an 18 wheeler rolled into the neighboring parking lot.  The logo and tagline on the side of the trailer caught my eye.  The Sealy mattress company appears to have been able to particularize America's economic and moral situation in a single statement and a picture that is definitely worth a thousand words.

I don't consider myself a prude, but considering the tagline, the "sex appeal" in marketing seemed over the top.  As I sat there contemplating aloud, I realize sex appeal is used in marketing and a play on words always grabs attention, but a different tagline would have been much more appropriate with the image.  Yet, the image and tagline truly does sum up the condition of America and I simply don't like the reality.

I know there was probably no way to put various images of working people into some sort of collage to portray the message, but I do wish more Americans realized hard work is essential to a strong backbone, both physically and economically.  I wish more Americans felt the need to actually have a backbone, which relates spiritually and morally.  The term backbone has so much more meaning than this image portrays!  Maybe I'm ranting, maybe I read too much into it, or maybe the reality is just too overwhelming.

The backbone of our society really does seem to be about sex and relaxing . . .  And without a doubt, America needs to wake up!

The Dream

When my friend called me the other evening to let me know her husband had passed, it was so difficult to hold back the tears.  They were truly "a couple," and one I admired greatly.  Even though he was a believer and she is a woman of great faith, my heart broke for her.  Fifty doesn't sound young to everyone, but dying just short of your 50th birthday is young and becoming a widow at 50 does seem early.  As she and I talked briefly, both guarding our voices from cracking, she made a simple and eloquent statement.  She said, "We got to live our dream."

I have no idea if they are members of the "Other 1 Percent" or if their due diligence, good management, and land acquisition has caused them to be blessed of our Creator, self made "One Percenters."  Their children are now grown and married with children of their own, well on their way to being the respected successes their parents became.

There were two adorable anecdotal accounts the widow had shared with the minister who shared them through the service.  These two people were married two months after this gentleman farmer graduated from high school.  In a day and time of throw away relationships, they married at 18 and were blessed to celebrate a 31st wedding anniversary, this past summer.  First, was the marriage proposal.   After he got off work, he went to see the love of his life where she worked.  He waited for her break time, and they went outdoors.  He was a man of few words.  He said, "I'm going to buy cows, do you want to get married?"   The minister went on to tell how those two kids went to Wal-Mart bought her bridal set and his band, married, went to Branson for their honeymoon and after two days, said, "Enough of this, let's get our life started."

The second memory she shared was also one of precious innocence and strong determination, from her now more mature perspective.  When they got home from their honeymoon, the young husband announced to his new bride, they needed to talk about money.  She sat down to listen, unsure of what she would hear.  He told her he had a savings account.  She asked him what that was . . . He then stated he had $3000.00.  All these years later, she's laughed telling that story saying, when he said $3000.00, she thought she'd married Bill Gates.

Sunset on their farm

While most of their generation and the one before them chased "the American dream," those two 18 year old kids did invest that savings account into Jersey cows and land.  The dairy farm has earned them a nice living, but more importantly, they actually worked the land, tended the animals and as she said, "lived their dream."

The Dollar Dropped our Standards

The title of this article may sound like it should appear in the Business and Investment section, and I almost did that, but the true subject is about so much more than money.  Before the American dollar became the standard for business, there was gold, silver, product, and service.  Money was not the goal!  Even gold and silver were only valuable if you needed to purchase land or needed a product or service for which you had no barter exchange to offer.  Money was only used if you had nothing of value to exchange!  There is a growing awareness in this country that certain voices of reason and faith have been silenced.  Although I would agree with the current observation, I think we're mistaken in the cause.  Scripture tells us the love of money is the root of all evil, which in America translates to the love of the dollar is the root of all of our social problems.

When our society moved from raising produce and providing services to just making money, we changed a great many standards.  The main one happened long before the Supreme Court ruled against prayer in school.  Although the day had already been changed from Sabbath to Sunday, most Americans still ceased from their labor on Sunday.  It was the wrong day, but at least there was an effort to set one day apart.  A farmer could cease from working one day with his crops and herds, and much of the industrial revolution still offered the national set aside day of Sunday, as a day off, but . . . along came overtime.  Retail stores were closed and many states, my own included, had what was called a Blue Law a.k.a. Sunday law.

Overtime crept in so subtly and it was always out of "necessity," but . . . it also came with pay incentive.  Overtime pay meant a wage differential and that meant more money for working on that set apart day.  Since Sabbath had been changed, Saturday was usually only time and a half, but Sunday was double time.  Once everyone justified that their particular job was a necessity to the wellbeing of someone else, working weekends became justified if the opportunity arose.  Once a willingness to work weekends was established, two things transpired.  Overtime pay for holidays gained an even greater wage differential in some careers, while for others Saturday and Sunday simply became another work day.

Whether it was a good career of M-F with increased income on weekend overtime or a career in which the days of the week no longer made a difference, both classes of workers became enslaved.  Those who gained great increase couldn't get enough, and those whose schedules required straight pay for weekends couldn't say no, and maintain employment.   America had already missed the mark by laboring and conducting business on Sabbath, but for many that was done in ignorance, while they did still honor a set apart day.

When American workers chose money over any set apart day and justified it with self importance and martyred indispensability, the dollar became the standard of the value of time and the value of a worker.  Ignorance of the Truth was replaced with a disregard of the Word of our Creator.