Oops

TITLE: Oops
DATE: March 2, 2019
TEXT: Psalm 33: 12-18 – ESV - Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,  the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! 13 The Lord looks down from heaven;  he sees all the children of man; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out  on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all  and observes all their deeds. 6 The king is not saved by his great army;  a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation,  and by its great might it cannot rescue. 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,  on those who hope in his steadfast love,
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Most people like to think their government has a good grasp on the future.

Most of us like to think the decisions our leaders make today are going to have beneficial results tomorrow.

Most citizens prefer to believe that their rulers will not make a lot of “Oops, sorry we really messed up on that one.”, or, “By golly, that’s a surprise to us. We sure didn’t see that one coming.”

Unfortunately, about one-and-a-third-billion Chinese people are hearing sounds like that coming from the nation’s leaders who have discovered some relatively serious mathematical errors made by those leaders who had gone before. The problem is this…

Way back in 1980 it was apparent that the nation had a lot of people. To stop the population explosion, the government adopted a ‘one-child policy.’ That meant ‘ married couples could have only one child…thus stopping the national numbers growth. Those who tried to have more than one child were met with financial penalties, forced abortion and mandatory sterilization.

Well, the plan worked well; in fact it worked too well.

One day the Chinese government planners woke up and realized the year was  quickly coming (2029) when the population would max out and then begin to decline. Soon there wouldn’t be enough folks to keep the economy going; to take care of those who had reached retirement age, and to keep the nation moving forward financially.
To prevent this disaster in 2016, the  “one-child” policy was replaced by the “two-child policy.”

It was a great idea. It worked well… at first. Then things leveled off at the old numbers from the insufficient birth rate. And the government said, “Oops, we made a mistake.”

Sadly that is not the only mistake the Chinese government has made. You see, China along with many other nations, likes its people to believe that they should trust the sinful, human leaders, rather than the holy, omniscient Lord.

They want their citizenry to look to the government’s headquarters to find direction for the living of each day.

The problem is, the Lord’s plans are better, wiser, longer lasting, and eternal. No government can match the Lord; no government is willing to sacrifice for its people as the Savior did for the sinners of this world.

Yes. the Lord has a better plan which is always right. By God’s grace humanity will understand that before it’s too late.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord grant that those in authority may come to see that You are wiser and Your plans for humankind offer more blessings. Grant that every human may be turned to You Who has sent Your Son to forgive sins and save souls. In Jesus’ Name I pray it. Amen. 

Today’s devotion was inspired by various articles, amongst which is the one written by the Editors of Newser on February 18, 2019.  Those who wish may check out this link which was, at the time of writing, fully active: http://www.newser.com/story/271462/chinas-more-children-policy-has-failed.html?utm_source=share&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=def

The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann, one of my long-ago confirmands. He is singing with three brothers. This song comes from the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html