Real Bible Study Applies to Real Life Part 2
Turmoil continues on the political and educational scene.
I heard mention on the news this morning that Detroit will be required to close half its schools, and that class sizes will grow to 60 students at the high school level.
Protests are being mounted in Michigan’s capital city, Lansing, with the Tea Party Movement, Republicans, and on the other side, the teachers out in full force.
Among my emails this morning is one from “RightMarch.com PAC, Patriotism in Action,” asking me to support Wisconsin Governor Walker’s budget cutting proposals.
Objections are raised to the state collecting teacher union dues.
That is nonsense. Republicans and misinformed Tea Party activists may peddle slick propaganda, but they hardly know how to tell the truth. And, in terms of what the Bible teaches, that is INJUSTICE in the extreme.
Like taxes, teacher union dues are collected by means of payroll deduction.
What the right-wing faction is after is to dismantle the Teachers’ Union. This faction wants to institute conditions equivalent to what is called a “Right to Work” state. And that amounts directly to a “Lack of due process state” where employers can extend working hours without additional remuneration to the teachers or other workers, a direct violation of the commands in the Bible (Luke 10:7. Jeremiah 22:13).
And the reasoning behind that (dismantling the Teachers’ Union, gutting the Teachers’ Contract)?
They want administrators to be able to fire a teacher on a whim. Administrators are too lazy and inept (I fully documented that in Part 1) to follow due process procedures. Administrators claim it is too hard and too costly to treat teachers fairly and properly. They want to be able to fire them outright. And they would if they could.
Why do the Tea Party and Republican protestors want union dues to be voluntary? Because this would decimate the strength of the union. In plain English, Republicans and Tea Party protestors are engaged in blatant union-busting.
Furthermore, why should some teachers get the benefits of hard-won contract improvements without having to pay union dues? They want to be free-loaders, which is clearly unjust to those teachers who are footing the bill.
My father told me many years ago, “The only reason you need unions is because of bad management.”
We currently have bad management in the schools because we have inept and immoral and incompetent administrators, as I documented thoroughly in Part 1.
He was absolutely right.
I see no evidence in all this commotion to put forth a movement to evaluate and improve administrators. They must be sacrosanct.
And they are growing in numbers.
And administrators are very highly paid.
When I began to teach at Denby High School in Detroit in 1990 the school had two administrators: the Principal and one Assistant Principal. When I was a student in Detroit at Cass Technical High School, a school of 5000 students, there was only one Principal and one Assistant Principal. That is the way it should be.
But by the time I retired from teaching at Denby High School, the administrative staff had grown to seven Assistant Principals. And Denby High School has just over 2000 students.
Many school systems are administratively top-heavy. That seems to reflect the fact that administrators of today are less competent than those who preceded them, so more of them are required, and they still don’t know how to get the job done!
In the sources I cited in Part 1, statements were made about how teachers are overpaid. The salary figure most prominently featured was $100,000 a year.
I think this morning’s email was more honest: it reports for Wisconsin:
• Average teacher salary: $48,000
But then the absurd statement is given:
• Normalized for a 12 month work year: $64,400
Of course, never a word about the fact that teachers work nine months a year, indeed, but the time they get off is an UNPAID INVOLUNTARY LAYOFF, so attempting to foist the notion of “normalized for a 12 month work year” is nonsense and unjust.
It seems everyone who has ever gone to school deems themselves experts about the schools.
If you are able to read this with understanding, be thankful to God that He privileged you to have teachers somewhere along the line who successfully taught you how to read.
Most people in America do not know how to read. Only one-third of college graduates know how to read adequately according to research I read published just last year.
Most Bible believing Christians who read and study their Bibles, especially if they make use of the King James Version, have taught themselves to read at a higher grade level of reading comprehension than most students otherwise achieve by the time they graduate from high school.
I read an article by Diane Ravitch, an excellent opinion piece, about what is really behind the protests in Wisconsin being mounted against the teachers. In the public comments below, a poster asserted that while it is good to encourage students to read non-fiction at home, reading the Bible is counterproductive because people who read the Bible demonstrate such ignorance about everything else.
As an experienced reading specialist I can assure you that most of the students who came from Bible reading homes demonstrated better behavior and better reading skills than most other students who came from families that did not share this background. I observed this repeatedly and regularly in the students in my own classroom for more than thirty years.
INJUSTICE IS AT THE HEART OF THIS WHOLE PROBLEM.
Why are states like Wisconsin and Michigan and Ohio and Tennessee and probably everywhere else facing such problems and pressures?
The problems are financial.
The problems reflect the higher unemployment rate because of this Second Depression.
Unemployed people can no longer afford to stay in their expensive homes. They cannot keep up the mortgage payments and fall behind.
Property values fall, and reduce property tax revenue.
In many states, it is the property taxes that support the schools.
But the real estate market is a continuing fiasco.
AND THAT IS THE HEART OF THE INJUSTICE PROBLEM.
Banks and Mortgage Companies with the assistance of relaxed standards of accounting and law made mortgage loans to people without verifying whether those people were in a position to make good on repaying the mortgage.
They bundled these mortgages into very risky investment vehicles and sold them to unwary investors, including not only individual investors but even some pension funds.
Banks themselves were allowed to engage in very risky investments after the bankers’ lobbyists recently persuaded Congress to get rid of the Glass-Steagal Act, passed at the tail end of the Great Depression to prevent banks from engaging in such practices ever again.
Now we see the outcome and unwisdom of these decisions.
Banks, especially some very large ones, tottering on the verge of insolvency, strong-armed Congress again, threatening that the looming disaster would result in tanks in the streets, demanding they be bailed out as “TOO BIG TO FAIL.”
It is the greed of the financial community that has directly brought on our present economic meltdown.
The banks, especially the Federal Reserve, have DIRECTLY VIOLATED BLACK LETTER LAW WITH IMPUNITY, and it is they who are to blame for the problems states are now facing.
Our Federal Judges and the Courts have largely refused to address these problems, though there are some very significant lawsuits making their way through both state and federal courts that may bring redress for a few.
But so far, not a single banker has been placed in handcuffs or in jail for violating the law.
IT IS THE CONTINUED FLAGRANT REFUSAL TO ENFORCE PRESENT LAWS THAT LETS THIS SECOND DEPRESSION CONTINUE.
Bankers have flagrantly flaunted the rule of law because they know what the Bible teaches:
“WHERE THERE IS NO PENALTY, THERE IS NO LAW.”
AND THAT IS ABSOLUTE INJUSTICE.
The Bible declares that when God hears the cry of the poor, He responds.
Those who are responsible for the injustice had better look out!
To learn more, do some Real Bible Study for a change. Get your Bible out. Get hold of Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible and dig into the references supplied on this subject, starting at Exodus 3:7-8. Be sure to follow the “+” symbol which indicates “Find more here,” as at Exodus +22:23-24.
I furnished my three administrators at Southeastern High School a printout of many of those cross references. I knew they were each active in their own church, and though they might not take the time to look up the references, perhaps they would read them if I printed them all out for them.
As the school union representative, I was charged with oversight of enforcement and compliance with the teacher contract. But as a Christian, I knew that the most important contract is the contract God has carefully spelled out in the Bible. If you break His contract, you are in very serious trouble. Just check out the cross references at Genesis 6:13 which demonstrate God promises to deal with injustice here and now as well as hereafter, and Malachi 3:5, which spells out the provisions of God’s teacher contract, for He is “against those that oppress the hireling in his wages.”
Justice – I have studied justice in the Bible and I desire to be on the receiving end of God’s style of justice!! Justice is doing the right thing.
Psalms 82:3 AKJV Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
I like the following from the TEV:
Isaiah 1:16-17 GNB Wash yourselves clean. Stop all this evil that I see you doing. Yes, stop doing evil (v17) and learn to do right. See that justice is done—help those who are oppressed, give orphans their rights, and defend widows.”
And this from NLT:
Jeremiah 21:12 NLT This is what the LORD says to the dynasty of David: “‘Give justice each morning to the people you judge! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors.
Isaiah 30:18 GW “The LORD is waiting to be kind to you. He rises to have compassion on you. The LORD is a God of justice.” What is God’s justice in this verse? It is to be kind to his children and to have compassion on them. There’s some justice.
Ezekiel 45:9 NLT “For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Enough, you princes of Israel! Stop your violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Quit robbing and cheating My people out of their land. Stop expelling them from their homes, says the Sovereign LORD.
Proverbs 8:20 AKJV I lead in the way of righteousness, in the middle of the paths of judgment:
Proverbs 2:8-9 AKJV He keeps the paths of judgment, and preserves the way of his saints. (9) Then shall you understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yes, every good path.
What about punishment? Isn’t just about punishment? Sin punishes the sinner all quite well…
Jeremiah 2:17-19 GNB Israel, you brought this on yourself ! You deserted me, the LORD your God, while I was leading you along the way. … (v19) Your own evil will punish you, and your turning from me will condemn you. You will learn how bitter and wrong it is to abandon me, the LORD your God, and no longer to remain faithful to me. I, the Sovereign LORD Almighty, have spoken.”
Jeremiah 4:18 GNB Judah, you have brought this on yourself by the way you have lived and by the things you have done. Your sin has caused this suffering; it has stabbed you through the heart.
Romans 6:23 AKJV For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The second coming is not to deal out justice. The second coming is to save the righteous.
Hebrews 9:28 GNB In the same manner Christ also was offered in sacrifice once to take away the sins of many. He will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are waiting for him.
This also messes up the idea of a rapture.
Unions… If you can do the following and support the government and the unions, then fine!
Luke 10:27 GNB The man answered, ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ” Ecclesiastes 12:13 AKJV Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
I wish there was a way to edit my comments. I get fired up and respond, click send, then re-read – oops. Too many typos. Oh well. The second coming is not about dealing with sin (I wrote justice), the second coming it to save the righteous. The is what the second coming is all about. I hope you figure out all the other typos…
Dear A. Way,
You have cited some excellent verses about the topic of justice.
In a prophetic passage concerning the Second Coming of Christ, note the following verse from the ESV (chosen because this translation utilizes the term justice,
Isa 61:8 For I the LORD love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Christ will set all things right when He returns, particularly with reference to matters of justice and injustice!
I completed Isaiah 26 yesterday, but could do no further work today. Since we have had so much snow and ice here, I have not been able to get out and walk like I should. Sitting for so long now has my lower back in pain again.
I am looking forward to receiving some much needed global warming!
Isa 61:8 For I the LORD love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Christ will set all things right when He returns, particularly with reference to matters of justice and injustice!
Yes, and who is being recompensed? The righteous.
Today when people think of “justice”, they think of punishing wrong doers. The quotes above are not talking about that. Doing “justice” it taking care of the widow, and orphans, the needy, the oppressed.
Some headlines today:
“18 GOP senators in Wisc report death threats after union vote…”
“Unions threaten businesses”
Is this God’s way???
I also abhor injustice. But we must also admit that what we think is just does not always equal what God considers just. I am contemplating Mt 20:1-15 where workers agreed to one thing then felt mistreated when others got a “better deal.”
Dear Pastor Dave,
Indeed, we may possibly be mistaken in our estimate of what is just. But Scripture itself is rather complete in what it says about these matters, so upon carefully studying the written Word of God found in the Bible, we can generally determine quite precisely what is just and what is not just.
I like the following passage of Scripture that applies to this theme:
The cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge or Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible to this passage make for a marvelous Bible study on this subject if you carefully follow the “+” symbol (which indicates “find more here”) to find even more on this most important subject.
Sometimes our view of God’s justice may be utterly mistaken because we have failed to adopt a truly Biblical view of the attributes, nature, and character of God.
This is an area of Bible study where the false cults (especially the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other materialists in theology) have gone very far astray from what is explicitly taught in the Written Word of God. There is an absolute harmony in God’s attributes. We cannot select those attributes of God that appeal to us and neglect, ignore, or deny those which do not appeal to our own rather inadequate sense of justice.
Abraham was correct in his estimate and understanding of the character of God when he said,
As we live in this world and interact with unbelievers we must be prepared to answer their questions (1 Peter 3:15). If we are not getting any questions, we must be failing to let our light shine brightly.
We do not need to agree with all that the ungodly and all that unbelievers do. The principle we must follow is to stand for what is right, and stand for those who are right in positions they take that are correct. We don’t necessarily support all that they do or believe.
Given the headline, “Unions threaten businesses,” referenced by A. Way, I would need to know just what the threats were, and on what basis the threats are being made.
It is certainly very legitimate to withhold our business from those businesses which support or promote injustice in any form.
In terms of what the Bible teaches, some businesses may well need and deserve to be threatened with God’s judgment. Certainly, abortion is wrong. Any business that conducts abortions or encourages them, such as Planned Parenthood, needs to be criticized, and exposed for what they are. They need to be defunded. Our tax dollars should not be used to support them or their agenda.
On Thursday, March 13, 1986, I was threatened and shot at point blank range in the back of my head. The intention was murder and robbery. The Lord graciously spared me all these years since to continue to encourage everyone to engage in Real Bible Study. I just noticed that today is the anniversary of that event. My assailant was never identified, and never caught. Since I was not killed, the police did nothing to find out who did it. A front page story in The Detroit News right after I was shot documented this to be the policy at the time of the Detroit Police Department. But I feel no ill will toward them because of that. I know one Person who does know who did it! And He will see to it that ultimate justice is done. If my prayers are answered, the man will be saved. But if the man rejects the Gospel and continues to turn from God and rebel against Him, his just punishment for all eternity is forthcoming.
What we need to depend on is the power of the Holy Spirit as He works through the ministry of His Word. That is what is missing today in what otherwise passes for Christianity. If the message of the Bible itself, the full message, is not front and center in our ministry, we need to get back to Real Bible Study!
The easiest way to immediately determine whether one is correct or incorrect in understanding the Bible is to observe whether what we teach and emphasize matches the balance of truth found and emphasized as represented in the text of our Bible!
pro 14/12 there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. charles bridges in his commentary on pro 14/12 pg 177 says ” vice passes under the cover of virtue.covetousness is disguised under the name of prudence. indeed it is the fearful property of sin to hide its own character and tendency. the blindness increases in proportion to our familiarity with it. search carefully both thy bible and thine heart”. this is a good commentary on our world today and the sins of our society, injustice, pride, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, is not of the father but of the world i jn 2/16. the challenge to us as believers is i jn 2/17 and the world passeth away, and the lust thereof,but he that doeth the will of god abideth forever. psm 119/105 the word is lamp unto my feet, and a light to my path. the only real answers are found in the bible and through real bible study crgb is great help to me daily in my study of the bible .
praising the lord for saving me by grace through faith eph 2/8-9. i know i couldnt save my self for sure! alot of teaching says we are saved by grace and live the christian life by law. r0m 6/14 for we are no longer under the law but under grace. i have heard different denominations say that service is the key to spirtual maturity, another says knowledge is the focus, another says emotions is main focus. these have a place in our walk with the lord. i think it really comes down to i pe 2/2 as newborn babes,desire the pure milk of the word, that ye may grow by it. its feeding on the word and spending time with him each day doing that, col 1/9-10, i pe 2/3 if so ye have tasted that the lord is gracious;” amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a sinner like me”!
Dear Ken,
This past week I have been carefully studying the matter of the Sabbath, a subject clearly dear to the heart of A. Way! We have exchanged comments on a previous thread here. I have discovered that the Sabbath is indeed a type (Colossians 2:17 & Hebrews 4:8-11). Since the Law has been utterly abolished (Colossians 2:14-16), we are no longer obligated to keep the Sabbath. We may keep it if we wish, but by strong implication, we are warned never to judge anyone else for not observing it, and warned not to encourage others to keep it as a matter of supposed obedience to the Law.
You are indeed exactly correct: we need to study God’s Word daily (Acts 17:11), the only way to grow spiritually (1 Peter 2:2).
If we all would study the Bible by means of cross references like those found in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible or The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, we would soon learn to focus our spiritual thoughts on the things of God in accordance with the balance and emphasis found in the Bible itself.
The subject of justice is featured far more prominently throughout Scripture than, for example, the subject of the Sabbath. Justice is still required; keeping the Sabbath absolutely is not!