Morning and Evenings, April 22 —My Take

Taken from this morning's devotions. I've been devoid of this practice for a while, this thing called a "morning's devotion." Having read this, though, I've taken comfort in the reality of my worth in the coronation of the King. There's much to doubt as it pertains to coronations and exaltations, namely because as Americans we find this idea primitive. This isn't going to be an apologetic case against Roseau and for a Capitalistic economic polemic. Instead my point, I believe, is more pointed in that in thinking about Medieval coronations, Americans have a hard time grasping this idea apart from some kind of Medieval coronation. I won't deal with criticisms here, but I want to point out that in this devotional section in Spurgeon, we have a king—the King—to whom all men have to do, for all of life is in covenantal relationship with this King, including the unbeliever. For temporal kings (including presidents and figure heads that take seats in governments), for the factory worker, the merchant (remember that I'm using old terms for a contemporary setting; the labor of being a merchant has ceased since the 17th century), those in advertizing, etc. Spurgeon, however, is seeking a different vein or purpose. His point is more pointedly religious. It is in the comfort that the believer has in recognizing this King as their only comfort. All other comforts are merely counterfeits to this true comfort. How many idols will we bow down to before we realize that true comfort can only be given by the Eternal King? 

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." James 1:17-18, ESV.

Thursday, April 22, 2010 This Morning's Meditation

C. H. Spurgeon

"Him hath God exalted."—Acts 5:31.

JESUS, our Lord, once crucified, dead and buried, now sits upon the throne of glory. The highest place that heaven affords is His by undisputed right. It is sweet to remember that the exaltation of Christ in heaven is a representative exaltation. He is exalted at the Father's right hand, and though as Jehovah He had eminent glories, in which finite creatures cannot share, yet as the Mediator, the honours which Jesus wears in heaven are the heritage of all the saints. It is delightful to reflect how close is Christ's union with His people. We are actually one with Him; we are members of His body; and His exaltation is our exaltation. He will give us to sit upon His throne, even as He has overcome, and is set down with His Father on His throne; He has a crown, and He gives us crowns too; He has a throne, but He is not content with having a throne to Himself, on His right hand there must be His queen, arrayed in "gold of Ophir." He cannot be glorified without His bride. Look up, believer, to Jesus now; let the eye of your faith behold Him with many crowns upon His head; and remember that you will one day be like Him, when you shall see Him as He is; you shall not be so great as He is, you shall not be so divine, but still you shall, in a measure, share the same honours, and enjoy the same happiness and the same dignity which He possesses. Be content to live unknown for a little while, and to walk your weary way through the fields of poverty, or up the hills of affliction; for by-and-by you shall reign with Christ, for He has "made us kings and priests unto God, and we shall reign for ever and ever." Oh!, wonderful thought for the children of God! We have Christ for our glorious representative in heaven's courts now, and soon He will come and receive us to Himself, to be with Him there, to behold His glory, and to share His joy.

A Public Letter to the Private Sector

Date: April 17, 2010—Saturday

I have currently been in a financial battle with my bank, Altura Credit Union. And though this "decision," which I will get into in a minute, may seem impetuous to some, I think that my concerns are authentic and reflect a truly moral decision on my part. I truly understand why people are dissatisfied with the Republican Party. For all its girth and tenacity, it just does not mete out concerns with the private citizen, and this is one of those cases. I have left the Republicans about two years ago and had joined the Libertarians for a new scene in a truly conservative ideal, but I have also found its beliefs and actions inadequate. So what does one do with these feelings? Well, I'm going to express some of them with some preliminary justification, namely through a recent struggle with the private sector.

I have been a loyal customer with Altura CU for about two years. I had left Bank of America because of corporate greed (they were charging outrageous fees for overdraft, though they assured me that I had overdraft protection), a similar charge I am laying at the feet of my current financial institution. In the two years that I have been with Altura, I did not have this problem. For a long time I felt like there was some fresh air to the already constipated financial exhaustion. Finally I wasn't afraid of my wallet conflating into an abyss…but then came the shocker. Outrageously, the charges started pouring in, causing this conflation once again. One would think, "Hey, stop spending all that money and you won't have that problem." Well, the thing is that I wasn't spending any money at all. Unauthorized transactions were pouring in, transaction after another. I even got these problems fixed, and the company responsible even sent me an email apologizing. Then it came time to face the bank. Was it my fault that these transactions took place? No. So what happens? I'm stuck with the bill. There is absolutely no power given to the consumer. "But maybe this is just a pattern you have, Julio?" you ask. No! Since I've been with this financial institution, overdraft has never been a problem. There is just nothing I can do as a consumer. This is not only unjust on a business level, but it is just a bad business sense. As I began to muse this problem, I remember all the constant battles my friends and family have had with other private institutions, like health insurance, for example. These companies have on a constant basis denied people who seriously need medical insurance but will not provide it because "it is just bad business." They cover it up with clauses like "pre-existing condition" and the like. This can't be the conservative ideal. When has the quality of life ever been reduced to the dollar? Where is the human part of business? For this reason, I have decided to join the Democratic Party for its fight against corporate greed. Now let me be clear before I get these castigations from my conservative friends and family. I am still a social conservative. I also believe in competition within a free market, but not at the expense of a truly humane polemic. How many more people will die because of corporate greed? How many kids will go hungry because banks like Altura will not give hurting parents a break? When will the Republican Party finally see that corporate greed is a real problem? There's too much power in the hands of the private sector. Hasn't the recent collapse of Wall Street been enough to be a cause for worry and attention? Don't get me wrong, I believe in the private sector—I really do—but there's just too much freedom afforded to them and the middle-class and hardworking citizen is suffering for it.

A concerned citizen,

Julio Martinez , Jr.