Patron cry of the masses

 

 

 

Most people are familiar with the infamous Ides of March. The soothsayer warning. The back-stabbing betrayal of Julius Caesar. Et tu, Brute.

To clarify, every month has an Ides, or middle day of the month, which is the 15^th except in the case of February, which is the 14^th or Valentine’s Day.

Another type of infamous back-stabbing occurs every Ides of April when people shudder at the initials IRS, and cry out, to no one in particular, their woe of what they supposedly owe, and how can they afford to live; to survive, with the constant burden of ever increasing taxes.

In the parable of the tower (Luke 14 : 28-30), Jesus was telling the gathered crowd what to expect if they chose to pick up their cross and follow Him, when He stated, "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?"

In other words, "Have you really sat down and counted the cost of what you may lose if you follow me? You may lose family, friends, spouses...endure scorn and ridicule...be despised the rest of your life by even those professing to be believers in me..."

This is going to be a heavy load to carry, the Master is saying, but if you carry it well and build your tower accordingly, you will reap a great reward when the task is over.

So, too, as with the real meaning of this particular parable, we can also view the story in a practical sense. We can look at this verse and the ones to follow on its surface value.

Whether you’re a believer or not makes no difference, in the sense, when it comes to sitting down and counting the cost for some project you may have in mind.

My Pastor has always stated that in Bible school, the teachers really expounded on how to take up many different types of offerings from the congregation; know when to squeeze for the needed funds, but the school never taught any business classes, nor how to spend the congregation’s hard earned tithes wisely. Just rely on faith and the Lord, and it’ll all work out was the motto.

And a lot of times, it didn’t just all work out and the project lay by the wayside, with the words of Jesus echoing the following verse (29), "Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him."

A working, practical faith is a good and Godly quality to posses. A blind, foolhardy faith is disastrous.

Millions of people cry their woe of owe when they make foolish, desperate moves by convincing themselves that the only way to survive is to live on their credit cards (at 20%+ interest) until the times get better. They make it through the first month, and perhaps the second, and on it goes until one day they wake up and discover to their horror that they have become a slave to the borrower instead of the other way around, finding themselves in a financial hole too deep to get themselves out of short of winning the mega-lotto.

I was at that bottomless pit a couple of times myself, and cried my own woe of owe, until I took a good look in the mirror, called myself a fool, and came up with a plan of action by cutting the credit cards (keeping one for emergencies) and working as much as I could to pay off the old lifestyle as fast as possible. Yes, it’d take years, but soon the monkey was off my back; the burden of slavery gone, and with the new found freedom I was now in possession of, made a promise to never get into that kind of hole again, even unto death if need be.

And there have been times when I’ve felt like I was one step away from homelessness, but stood steadfast, claiming the promises of God that if He can take care of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field who toil not (Matthew 6 : 25-34), then am I not much better than they?

I view the relationship that I have with my 13-year-old Lhasa Apso, Jia Tu, as I view my relationship with my Creator. Jia Tu depends on me for all her needs...food, shelter, love and attention. She toils not, but rather sleeps about 23 hours a day, rising long enough to eat or go to the bathroom, or tapping me on the leg to let me know she wants to be held and cuddled.

She knows that so long as I’m around, she’ll be taken care of, just as I know that so long as I live and breathe no matter where I am in the world, my Father, my Provider, as promised in His Word, will care for me and carry me even unto my old age when the gray hairs set in (Isaiah 46 : 4).

The blessings that pour forth from the eternal fountain of the Holy Scriptures are there to water and feed us so that we don’t have to worry about our basic needs, but rather guide our thoughts elsewhere upon our Maker and to the task at hand that has been placed before us.

Therefore, when you feel near the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on, and remember to hold fast to the promises of the Lord. Give credit to the Creator, not the card and you will reap a return unlike any other you have ever experienced (Malachi 3 : 8-10).