Posts Tagged money
oh, Babylon
Posted by annaldavis in Everything Else on May 24, 2010
Last week CNN ran a travel story titled “The Call of Babylon.” Here’s what it had to say:
This ancient city on the banks of the Euphrates River is more than four thousand years old and was once the home of Nebuchadnezzar, who built the Hanging Gardens, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
“Babylon is definitely impressive,” Dauge told CNN. “It’s known throughout the world. Even the casual tourist has some collective memory of a place like Babylon, when you talk about people like Nebuchadnezzar.”
Located 88 kilometers (55 miles) south of Baghdad, Babylon was extensively reconstructed by Saddam Hussein, meaning little of the original city is visible.
Let’s hang for a minute on that last phrase: “little of the original city is visible.” What about INVISIBLE?
You know how some places are so powerful they seem to have a life of their own? Like New York, for example. Or Vegas. Or Paris. Babylon was like that — it was so great, and so impressive a city that although the ancient Babylonian empire fell in 539 BC, its spirit continues to affect us today and will do so for some time.
We know this because Revelation 17 and 18 call it “Babylon the Great,” saying that Babylon is like a harlot that seduces all the nations, as well as the kings of the earth, merchants of the earth, and the peoples and multitudes. Before we get stuck on this point — whether Revelation is literal or figurative, whether any of this even applies to us today — let’s just for the sake of argument say that the actual physical city of Babylon, covered in dust and (apparently) by Saddam Hussein’s reconstruction site, is not our problem.
It’s the Spirit of Babylon that we need to be worried about.
So what, exactly, makes the Babylonian spirit so incredibly powerful so as to survive the ages and win a spot in the great war described in Revelation?
Allow me to speculate for a minute before I get to my point. Keep in mind that Babylon was originally established by Noah’s great-grandson Nimrod (Genesis 10) between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers. Coincidentally, this is also the suspected site of the Garden of Eden although no one has seen it since God kicked out Adam and Eve. But because people lived hundreds of years in those days, Noah’s family may have heard rumors of its possible location. Could this be why one of the earliest records use the word “Babilli” which means: gateway to the gods? Maybe Nimrod had heard the stories, and when he set up his territories he said “yep, over there. That’s where we think it might be. I will call it Babilli, because that is the gateway.”
So stick with me here…
What did the serpent say to Eve in the garden, about eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 3:4-5)?
1. You surely shall not die!
2. You will be like God.
What does the spirit of Babylon say, according to Isaiah 47?
1. I shall be a queen forever.
2. I am, and there is no one besides me. (God identifies Himself with this exact phrase, calling Himself the “I AM” and in Isaiah 45:5 we read “I am the LORD, and there is no other. There is no other God besides me.”)
Could it be that the Babylonian spirit is SO POWERFUL because it was the original worldview that brought down humanity, in the Garden?
What a diabolically amazing feat, to separate the crowning glory of creation from the Creator. It would likely become one of Satan’s prized ideas. One of his favorite spirits.
“Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city!”
what I want
Posted by annaldavis in Everything Else on April 26, 2010
I live in one of the most affluent areas in the world. A 15-min drive will take me to dozens of restaurants and shopping choices, where I can buy almost any type of food or item I could ever possibly want. Should I not find what I want, I can drive another 15 minutes in my choice of three different directions, and will likely find my desired item at any one of those destinations.
If I’m too busy to go out shopping, feel ill, or just plain tired I can pull up thousands of shopping options online, click the “pay now” button and the item will arrive at my door within the week. Maybe even tomorrow if I pay extra for shipping.
When the recession hit, our shops and restaurants felt the squeeze – they were only crowded on the weekends. Now we’re back to full capacity almost every night of the week. And for the right price I can find what I want anywhere, which is good because the TV, radio, and magazines tell me that I want a lot. That I need a lot. That I can’t be happy or lovable, complete or satisfied, pretty or smart without having what I want.
What is this thing that draws my eyes to sparkling storefronts, that causes me to feel dissatisfied with with what I have? What is this thing that tells me I’m worth it, that I deserve it, that life is nothing more than what I can have next?
Maybe you feel it, too. A force of some kind, pulling you in – maybe saying that you need plastic surgery or special spa treatments, and then you can be happy. Or when you buy that new TV. Or that new car. Even a shiny new piece of jewelry. Our culture is teeming with it – whatever it is, this force, this thing causing us to want to buy things, change ourselves, change others. And then when we have the money to do so, well… it’s intoxicating, and we can’t get enough.
When you feel the pull, beware. That feeling, that thing is not from God.
Expired Coupons
Posted by annaldavis in Everything Else on December 31, 2009
In all the craziness of the holiday season, I did something twice that no stay-at-home mom on a budget should ever do: I went grocery shopping while hungry, and without my coupons. I didn’t even try to use the coupons. The thought of sitting down with the store circular, my list, and my overflowing coupon organizer just seemed too overwhelming, so I threw caution to the wind and just went shopping.
Well today I sat down to discard of all the expired coupons, and realized that I bought many items full price when I could have saved money. As I threw away numerous coupons reading 12/6, or 12/27, or 12/31 — I wondered if it was worth it, taking the easier way, but paying more money for it?
As we say goodbye to 2009, I wonder how many expired coupons exist in my spiritual life. Were there times when God offered me a discount, a freebie, more of something (buy one, get one), or a package deal and I turned Him down because it required some extra effort on my part?
Were there moments of joy I could have experienced had I only waded through the sorrow, or sweet kindness I would have felt had I endured the crankiness? Of course, I did take His offers many times. I am so very grateful that I did. The difficult road, when it’s the one God has placed before us, often yields amazing rewards.
In 2010 I want to have fewer unused, expired coupons. I want to see and accept more of what God offers to me. Not always easy, often requires much effort — but worth it.
