Operation No Trick, No Treat – News West 9 and other outlets have reported on a nation wide law enforcement operation that led to 120 arrest and the recovery of 84 minors involved in sex trafficking. This issue is a pandemic in our nation. Just last July 34 people were arrested in Midland on similar charges in a similar state run operation. It is easy to be complacent and to act like this issue doesn’t affect your neighborhood, but it does. This is no longer limited to dark alleys in major cities. My take – I think we need to be proactive and I think there are a couple of ways we can do so. One is to battle pornography (see Proverbs 7). I believe that this issue lies at the root of many other issues. Dealing with porn wouldn’t fix it completely, but it would help. A second way you can be proactive is to consider volunteering as a foster home. Remember, many of the victims are minors and they will need good places to live with people who will show them the kind of care they need (see James 1:27).
Politics & Social Media – A bipartisan effort is being made to begin the process of writing laws that would regulate political ads on social media just as they already do on TV. There are disclosure laws that require those running the ads to disclose who purchased the ad, they’re trying to do something similar on social media. My take – In our country the law is always behind technology, it really has to be, we don’t do proactive law in this country. I think it interesting though that our politicians can come together when they issue might affect their jobs, but on other technology related issues, they remain woefully complacent.
Unbelievable News – The leaks out of the White House & other government agencies have become so pervasive that the news is literally flooded with them. It’s actually gotten so bad that it has become increasingly difficult to hear through the noise. So many government officials are talking to so many journalists, lobbyists, and bloggers that it is impossible to tell who really thinks what. My take – No wonder confidence in the government is so low. No wonder the government has so much trouble getting things done. No one can trust anyone else to keep it zipped. The list of verses I could list that speak to this issue are nearly innumerable, but check Exodus 23:1 for good measure. Jethro’s advice to Moses about running a nation is also applicable (check Exodus 18:21).
Devotional Thought
What determines value? Well, it really depends on what it is…if it is a natural resource, rarity, desirability, & accessibility determine its value. Gold is both desirable and rare, thus it is expensive. Oil is desirable and hard to access, thus it also is expensive. The value of man made things is determined by some of these same factors but also by others, in addition to rarity, desirability, & accessibility, the creator/author/designer affects something’s value. Usability, power, form… there are many things that affect value.
Art intrigues me in particular though, because with art so much of the value is determined by the artist and honestly, what people are willing to pay for it. If a piece has a famous artist and buyers are willing to pay $1,000,000 for it, then that is its worth. It could be a blank canvas, but its still worth a $1,000,000. Psalm 139 tells us that the artist behind each of us is God. He created us, each of us. He also set the price for us, John 3:16 tells us that he set the our value by giving his son to redeem us.
John-David M. Culbertson 