The Bible Economics Line by Mike Ramey

 

REFUSING THE VERY APPEARANCE OF EVIL

“Abstain from all appearance of evil.”

--I Thessalonians 5:22 KJV

 

     A few years back I had a sit-down with a veteran cop who had lots of experience when it came to fighting gang crime.  One of the things that surfaced during our conversation was the fact that gang bangers had taken to setting up ‘front’ businesses in our city through which to funnel and launder cash and stolen merchandise.  Businesses from laundromats to barber shops and beauty parlors were used to dispose of many a gang’s ill-gotten gains. 

 

     On the surface, in an urban setting, such businesses were viewed as helpful.  The cops knew however, these businesses were a sinister front just beyond the public view.

 

     Front companies are not new when it comes to crime.  Criminals (and those who want to make like they are criminals) have been ‘running’ front companies for quite a long time.  From the Caymans to NarcoTroubadoures down in Central and South America, the criminal mind is very pliable when it comes to laundering money.  Unfortunately, there are those who like to cover themselves with the fields of sports, politics or education in order to do the same thing.

 

     In our modern times and in light of the spreading of the Wuhan Virus coupled with the rise of SJW’s (social justice warriors), it makes more sense than ever to be well aware of the type of vocation and the type of business plan you may be considering developing.  Avoid a vocation which even has the appearance of being on the shady (I Thes. 5:22 KJV).  The same may also be said of avoiding opening a business that has hurting or enslaving people in any which way as a part of its financial bottom line.

 

     God will NOT ‘cover’ for you, even IF you are making money hand over fist and turning some of your profits over to a church or buying ‘things’ for your local food bank or public school.  Right is right, and wrong is wrong.  IF one claims to be a part of God’s business program, one MUST do business God’s way.  Obedience to Scripture far outweighs public relations pictures with the rich and famous to put a noble spin on immorality.

 

GETTING YOUR KIDS HOOKED ON YOUR BAD BUSINESS MOVES:

     If you watch many of the TV crime documentaries, no doubt you are familiar with what led to the downfall of many a mobster during the seventies and eighties.  The Crime Families told their soldiers and capos to stay away from selling drugs, no matter how much money would be brought in.  Sad to say, many of the wise guys did NOT listen. In the end analysis, many of their OWN family members got ‘hooked’ on their product.

 

     How many famous movie stars, rappers, and smut peddlers eagerly tell THEIR families to stay away from the ‘family business’, only to find out that their families did not take them seriously?  What happened?  They got hooked or messed up in some other kind of way.  How many liquor barons and vineyard kings have immediate family members who are alcoholics—or worse?  How many embezzlers have family members who are suffering with the shame and legal bills of a thieving parent?  How many families of the political class have built their wealth by questionable or illegal activity over the years?

 

     Lest I forget, those who are actively involved in the false religions of witchcraft, astrology, palm reading, psychic prediction and other forms of the occult are not left out of this ‘evil vocation’ mix.  Not only are these—and other—occult vocations spreading fear and mayhem, they are also quite capable of doing spiritual harm to their families and others.  Repenting and leaving evil vocations is the only way to please God.

 

  WHAT THE WUHAN HAS EXPOSED:

     There is always a high cost to low living.  God makes sure that the scales are balanced on his ledgers.  IF an individual seeks to enslave others with their business model, members of his/her own family will pay an awful price.

 

     One of the main things that the Wuhan Virus pestilence has exposed is how many people have their life savings tied up in places such as bars, liquor stores, and ventures designed to ‘appear’ to people as ‘needed’ services and companies, but—in reality—were little more than efforts to separate people from their money.  Money—by the way—needed for the basics of life.

 

     For the first few weeks of the Virus, the boys and girls of Madison Avenue did not know how to advertise in an era when just about everything was closed.  Lockdowns meant no movies; no nights out at the club, no heading to sports palaces, no trips to Vegas, no restaurants, and—unfortunately—no church.  Folks were huddled in their homes, venturing out to obtain the essentials to feed their families.  As the Virus slowly made its way through our social structure, the advertising gurus turned their efforts to trying to drum up a ‘new normal’ by encouraging people to drink and gamble at home and bring the old forms of entertainment and pleasure back into focus.

 

     If you look at the ratings and sales figures…it did not work.

 

     It’s pretty hard for one to justify the playing of professional sports to enrich a few ego-driven athletic millionaires and out-of-shape, greedy billionaire owners when the fans of these games are fighting for not only physical survival in the wake of a public health disaster, but also in the wake of an economic disaster traceable to high unemployment and political ‘dirty tricks’ across the country.  One of the more interesting things observed by a lot of people during the many ‘isolations’ and ‘shutdowns’ is that those ‘playing’ sports games have a need to be ‘adored’ which borders on the fringes of poor self-esteem.

 

     The central lesson learned from the Virus was those who were involved in ‘unimportant’ ventures which centered upon pleasure, entertainment and sports lost their collective shirts.  Those employed in upright ventures such as law enforcement, education, medicine, trucking, grocery stores and food banks flourished.  I’m not saying that they got away ‘scot free’ from economic harm and physical damage, however, I find it interesting that ventures where people served other people did well.  Ventures where people helped themselves did not.

 

     Yes, the KJV Bible holds that it rains on the just and the unjust.  Please keep in mind though one does not mock God with sinful career choices which will not only lead others to sin but lead others to be enslaved by your product.

 

SAILING UNDER FALSE COLORS—OR AN EASY WAY OUT?

     There are those who are involved in the so-called ‘Christian’ Rap/Hip Hop scene.  In fact, I have heard that there are some Modern Street Gang members who call their gangs ‘holy’ because they use the Bible in some of their meetings.  They have a ‘form’ of righteousness (II Timothy 3:5 KJV).  They aren’t the only ones sailing under false colors; pretending to be what they know  they are not.  God will deal with them, as He will with any individual or company that seek to do evil under His flag.

 

     Yes, even churches are subject to His rule, as the wayward will be judged by Him in the present, and in the future.  Judgment MUST begin at the House of God (I Peter 4:17 KJV).

 

     As we wrap up our time together, let us pray and think about the type of vocation or businesses venture God has for our lives.  Part of the problem which has become obvious during this pestilence is that many vocations and business ventures have been abandoned by Christians for ‘safe’ venues.  For example, it is far easier for a single woman to open a day care center rather than get married and take care of her husband and family.  After all, the day care center seems ‘good’ to her; God wants her to take the ‘great’ route and get married and have children.

 

     Jesus Christ did not suffer on the cross, die and rise from the grave by the power of God just for a person to work as a pit boss in Vegas, or sell bootleg items out of the trunk of their car.  He has a noble plan for those who belong to him.  It is a mobile plan and a plan to benefit, rather than enslave others.  In Bible Economics, it is where you finish and who you are representing rather than how much money you make.  Yes, it WILL be difficult.  Anything worth having usually is.  However, with the Lord as your career coach or business planner, you have the best opportunity when others are greedily grasping at straws.

 

     Mike Ramey is a Minister, Book Reviewer, P-School Ranger, Modern Street Gangs Specialist and Syndicated Columnist who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.  “The Bible Economics Line” is one of a variety of columns that Ramey has in cyberspace.  To drop a line…or a whine:  mgmikeramey@yahoo.com.  ©2020 Barnstorm Communications International.

 

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Rev. M. G. “Mike” Ramey (Retired) served as the Certified Modern Street Gangs Specialist & Media Consultant of “The Gang Line”. He had been interviewed in the U. S. and abroad on radio, television, and Internet about the dangers of Modern Street Gangs since 2007. His writings on Modern Street Gangs abound in print and online. Previously, he served as an award-winning broadcast journalist, producer, and TV/Radio talk show host. He has also served as a staff writer, section editor, and syndicated columnist. Ramey has won—or helped to win—some two dozen journalism awards and citations. He also holds a Police Citation for Citizen Bravery from the Indianapolis Police Department (1986). Ramey is also married, an Ordained Minister (Retired) and a KJV Bible Teacher.

Ramey is a Certified Modern Street Gangs Specialist with Certifications in Law Enforcement (2006), Non-Law Enforcement (2010), and Gangs & Cults Ministry (2017). He also has endorsements in K-12 Gang Issues and Transnational Gangs. He also carries Specialist Ratings in Cult/Occult Crime, and Transnational Human Trafficking. Ramey has also served with several International anti-gang ministries, including Gangstyle.com of Washington state (2004-2009), Thug Exposed Ministries of California (2010 to 2015) and Bishop Outreach Ministries of Florida (2010 to 2015).

In 2011 “The Gang Line” offered training and certification coursework for those interested in becoming certified Modern Street Gang Specialists: Training approaches the anti-gang ministry field through the combined use of spiritual (biblical principles/discipleship) and criminal (gang members and gang crime). From 2015-2017, Ramey served as an Advisory Board Member for the School of Criminal Justice at Harrison College, Indianapolis, Indiana, with a specialty of Organized Crime & Gangs. From 2017-2019, Ramey served as a Bible Teacher to at-risk detained juvenile offenders at the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center with his own Bible-based Curriculum centering upon Biblical Life Skills taught from the Book of Proverbs.

Rev. Ramey’s skill set includes having been a veteran substitute teacher (Secondary Education), a college instructor for two Bible colleges in the Indianapolis, Indiana area, a Probation Officer (Intensive/High Risk & School-Based) with the Marion County Juvenile Court, and a peer grant reviewer of anti-gang grant programs with the U.S. Department of Justice (2010). He also created, designed, and taught the course “Modern Street Gangs: Developing Urban Ministry Strategies—UM-190” at Crossroads Bible College, Indianapolis, Indiana (2009 & 2010). In 2013, Ramey served as a post-production Consultant for Chick Publications’ national anti-gang comic: “Black Angel”. It was translated into Spanish in 2014.

Ramey has written extensively on the topic of Modern Street Gangs with two Internet columns: “The Gang Line” and “The Gang Line Blogger” which abound in cyberspace. In a post-pandemic society, the motto of The Gang Line still rings true: “Spiritual Solutions for Spiritual Problems!”

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