By Dr. James L. Snyder
When it comes to politics, I am as confused as the politicians themselves. I do not like to discuss politics because I do not understand it and just as soon as you understand one opinion, everything changes and you do not know where you are at. Just as soon as a politician voices a position on an issue, he spins it around and it sounds like he has taken an opposite view. All that spinning has me in a whirl.
Politicians change positions more than the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage changes her mind.
It seems to me that when God ran out of brains and intellectual capacitors, He turned to an angel and said, “I know what I will do. I’ll make me a politician.” He gathered up all the leftover dirt He could find and threw together what we now know as a politician.
I do not know if this was a joke on God’s part or if He is just trying to test us to see how much pain we can endure. The only consolation I have, and I have read my Bible over 100 times, there is no mention of politicians in heaven. Maybe that is one of the things that makes heaven, heaven.
I know I do not understand much that goes on in the political arena, but one of the things I have been hearing has to do with what they call, “The Haves and the Have Nots.” It must be important because now there is a TV series with this name. Do not dare ask me if I have watched it because I will have to tell you the truth. I “Have Not.”
What do people mean when they use this phrase? Who are these Haves? And who are these Have Nots?
Probably more importantly, what is it that these Haves have that the Have Nots want?
I am reminded of my old uncle Amos, who often brags, “I can afford anything I want, I just don’t want anything.” If you ever saw old uncle Amos, he really does not have anything. At least, he did not have anything that I wanted or any sane person, for that matter.
The problem as I see it is simply this. If I want what somebody else has, am I really going to be happy when I have what he has?
There are many things that I do not have and I am quite happy that I do not have them.
I do not have an incurable disease. I do not have a debt so far above my head that I am going into bankruptcy. I do not have a table full of bills that I cannot pay.
I am happy that I do not have any of these things.
It could be the benefit of getting old. I guess I am getting old, at least I am getting older and my plan is to get as old as I possibly can. Next month I will celebrate another birthday, but I am getting to the age that I cannot remember how old I really am. I “Have Not” a clue. I guess I will have to count how many candles are on my cake if I can see through the smoke.
But as a part of the “older generation,” I do not really need anything that I do not have. I suppose it would be nice to have a new truck, but there is nothing wrong with my old truck. It still gets me where I want to go, the air conditioner still works and the radio still plays my kind of music. Why would I need a new truck?
It probably would be nice to have a new house. At our age, my wife and I do not have the energy to pack up everything and unpack everything in a new place. As it stands, everything in our house is exactly where we want it. I think I will be happy with what I Have and not waste time on what I Have Not.
I choose to focus not on what I “Have Not” but on what I really do “Have.”
I have a wonderful wife, but do not tell her I said so, it might get me into some kind of a situation. This year we will have been married some 43 years and why she has put up with the likes of me all this time I will never know. Actually, the fact that she has put up with me all these years brings into question her sanity.
I know I could not put up with myself all that time. Last week I was beside myself and had to get up and move.
I have some wonderful children and grandchildren. It would be nice to live long enough to see my great-grandchildren, but I am not pushing that issue. I am rejoicing in what I have.
The best thing that I have, the thing I treasure the most, is my relationship with God. I can identify with what David said, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1).
What David is really saying here is that when “the Lord is my Shepherd,” then the reality is simply, “I shall not want.” The other side of the picture is true as well. If I find myself constantly in want, maybe the Lord is not my Shepherd.
Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, PO Box 831313, Ocala, FL 34483. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 1-866-552-2543 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net or website www.jamessnyderministries.com.
