Just A Thought

 A white-haired man shuffled into his local bank furious. He muttered to himself as he waited to see the manager. When he finally had a chance this torrent of words spilled out:

“I opened a savings account with this bank twenty years ago, especially for retirement. Accounting models predicted that if I would deposit $100 per week for twenty years, with compounding interest I should have $311,243.27. I am set to retire this month and this account is all I have for retirement. I have tracked my account for twenty years and it has always been on track for that kind of balance.  But, this morning, when I logged in, I saw this message.” At this point he pauses to retrieve a note from his pocket, and reads:

Please note: Due to societal changes, we have adopted a new way of calculating fund balances. Please be open minded and understanding as we attempt to be sensitive to the current social trends. We are now using new Math.

Red-faced, he continues, “Then I proceeded to my account only to find his balance to be 47,832.21. You can imagine how shocked I was. I’ve been shafted!”

I would be angry if that happened to me. In fact, even corrupt governments would call that illegal, and grounds for closing the establishment. How is it that we hold to the “truths” of math religiously, while being flexible on the truths that define the most important and eternal things in our lives. It is not noble and kind to believe just anything that comes along – it is foolish and immoral. It does no one any favors, and it robs those who are not aware of the scams. 

We may feel better about ourselves when we consider ourselves open to many beliefs, as if there are many versions of truth. But God, who is just, saved some of his most severe rebukes and judgements for people who claimed to speak for Him but did not say what He said. Jeremiah 14:13-15 puts it like this in the New living Translation:

Then I said, “O Sovereign LORD, their prophets are telling them, ‘All is well—no war or famine will come. The LORD will surely send you peace.’ ” Then the LORD said, “These prophets are telling lies in my name. I did not send them or tell them to speak. I did not give them any messages. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen or heard. They speak foolishness made up in their own lying hearts. Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I will punish these lying prophets, for they have spoken in my name even though I never sent them. They say that no war or famine will come, but they themselves will die by war and famine!

I am thankful that my bank still operates by the laws of Math I learned in grade school. I am thankful that my church still teaches the laws of God that were laid out in Scripture thousands of years ago. It would be cruel, confusing and wrong to reinterpret those laws just so someone doesn’t feel uncomfortable about the philosophies or life choices they have decided to adopt. If there is a God, how foolish I would be to make up our own rules and then feel smug and enlightened as we ignore His. Just like we discover and live by the rules of Math, gravity, and the speed of light, we would be wise to discover and adhere to the moral and ethical laws that God has established. After all, there will be an accounting.

# posted by John W. Hanson @ Friday, July 25, 2025