A man and his wife had the good fortune to possess a goose which laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough, and, imagining the bird must be made of gold inside, they decided to kill it. Then, they thought, they could obtain the whole store of precious metal at once; however, upon cutting the goose open, they found its innards to be like that of any other goose. --- This story is attributed to the 6th century B.C. Greek, Aesop.
If ever a fable has come true in human experience, the goose that laid the golden eggs has done so in 2011 in the republic of the United States.
Almighty God in His sovereign grace raised up our republic over 234 years ago. The nation was blessed with growth and prosperity. But there were times of painful conflicts within as well against foreign enemies. By God's grace the nation survived and was victorious over external enemies through the years. The last decisive military victory for the United States was at the end of WW II. The sole condition for the enemies was unconditional surrender. It's never been the same since 1945 in spite of being involved in conflicts even at the present time. Unfortunately as politicians have meddled more and more in military affairs we now have "rules of engagement" and we have to make sure we greatly reduce "collateral damage." The day will probably come when our military people won't be allowed to load their weapons until bullets are whizzing over their heads and/or penetrating their bodies!
Alas, I digressed a bit -- now to continue -- other things were happening as the republic grew more prosperous and powerful. Conflicts broke out at times in the work place. There were grave injustices taking place and certain industries had a strangle hold on workers. The coal industry at one point became notorious for its "company stores" and payment to miners in script instead of real money -- in effect this economic strategy held the miners and their families hostage to the company for which they worked -- a unique brand of enslavement.
The organized union movement changed the landscape and leveled the playing field over decades of time. This was very good for a while as certain abuses by companies were addressed and corrected, BUT the pendulum has moved to the very opposite position of that in which companies and their owners had all the power and full control.
We have now come to the point of outrageous union abuse which is impacting the entire nation in a most horrendous way. Powerful unions with very short-sighted leadership not only believe they can dictate and receive unreasonable wages, benefits, and retirement wealth, but they also reserve the right to determine who should hold elective office -- somehow these people feel they are superior (maybe infected with the Obama spirit) and know what is best in each election. What they really want are not public servants in office but puppets who will move according the will of the unions as they pull and manipulate the strings! It's good to have your own personal slave in the U.S. Congress, is it not -- it will mean more money in your pocket!
The root of the problem in this is that most unholy combination existing in unregenerate human nature known as selfishness and greed. This is why professional lobbying and political action committees are proving to be such a malignant curse to our nation.
The dominant attitude is "I'm first and I want the biggest slice of the pie before anyone else gets their fingers into it."
When you get a number of powerful unions and various special interest groups operating full speed with that self-centered and greedy attitude, then you have a guarantee for unprecedented disaster taking place in the future. To put it simply -- the goose that lays the golden egg daily has been executed!
For decades the idea has been that there is an endless supply of money held by companies, school districts, local and state governments, and of course, the great "Sugar Daddy" of them all -- the federal government itself! And with that view in mind a myriad of groups were unrelenting in trying to get the most of that money for their respective members and as far as each was concerned, "Let the rest of the country go to that very hot place where snowballs cannot survive!"
The goose is dead -- give it the last rites - no more golden eggs! Or to make reference to a more authoritative Source -- God has revealed that from time to time He will bring judgment on the gods that a nation has forged for itself. He gave a very dramatic demonstration of this when He brought the ancient Israelites out of Egypt at around 1400 BC. Specifically the Scripture mentions that the "gods" of Egypt were judged by the true and living God of the Israelites -- quite a calamity at that time to say the least!
The LORD will be awesome to them, for He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth; people shall worship Him, each one from his place, indeed all the shores of the nations. --- Zephaniah 2:11
And since money is a very influential and high profile "god" in the United States, it is simply a matter of time until the Creator of this mighty universe takes action and makes clear the fact that if money is your "god" you are in for a bitter disappointment of the first magnitude!
Stop and ponder a bit -- the federal government is trillions of dollars in debt -- state and local governments are for the most part deeply in debt and struggling with budgets that indicate the financial "well has run dry!" School districts which have had to contend with powerful teachers' unions and unreasonable demands also are in intense struggles over finances. The answer? Get more money! How? Raise the taxes! Ah, is that not what has been going on for years and years on a regular basis so that now the average worker has to labor for nearly 6 months of the year to pay all taxes at all levels, including those "hidden" taxes we hear nothing about?
Did you ever hear a song that was written some years ago titled, Yesterday When I Was Young and made popular by Roy Clark? Perhaps the powerful unions, lobbying groups, and special interest organizations should adopt that as their theme song -- we have now moved into the area where the final phrase of the song is becoming reality -- "The time has come for me to pay for yesterday when I was young!"
The goose is dead -- no more golden eggs!
They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no bud; it shall never produce meal. If it should produce, aliens would swallow it up. --- Hosea 8:7
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. --- Galatians 6:7,8
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