Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins

We Are Rich! You may be weary of hearing us preachers tell you that we are rich, but here is the proof. No, we may not be Bill Gates’ rich, but we are still rich—rich beyond imagination. Robert Heilbroner, respected author in the field of economics, has put in simple terms what it means to be rich. He does so by revealing the standard of living known by a vast number of people in the world today. Heilbroner’s introductory remarks explain his findings: I suggest we go through a little mental exercise to help us count our blessings. Imagine doing the following and you will see what daily living is like for more than a billion people in the world: Take all the furniture out of your house except for one table and a couple of chairs. Use a blanket and pads for beds. Take away all of your clothing except for your oldest dress or suit, shirt or blouse. Keep only one pair of shoes—your oldest pair. Empty the pantry and the refrigerator except for a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a few potatoes, some onions, and a dish of dried beans. Dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water, and remove all the electrical wiring in your house. Take away the house itself and move the family into the tool shed. Place your "house" in shantytown. Cancel all subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, and book clubs. This is no great loss because now none of you can read anyway. Leave only one radio for the whole shantytown. Move the nearest hospital or clinic ten miles away and put a midwife in charge instead of a doctor. Throw away your bankbooks, stock certificates, pension plans, and insurance policies. Leave the family a cash hoard of ten dollars. Give the head of the family a few acres to cultivate on which he can raise a few hundred dollars of cash crops, of which one third will go to the landlord and one tenth to the money lenders. Lop off twenty-five or more years in your life expectancy. Some of our parents and grand-parents may have lived much like that, but for most of us, we would be devastated by such a reduction in prosperity. Could you be happy living in such conditions? Those who have gone to mission points in areas where these very conditions are common give us a picture of happy lives that may be a surprise to many of us. They speak of families who are not accustomed to the lifestyle we accept as normal. Those families, knowing nothing but what we call “poverty” often exhibit a degree of satisfaction and peace that reflects what the Bible says about this subject. What does it take to make you happy, and what does the Bible say about peace and contentment? “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content,” 1 Timothy 6:6-8. “Let your manner of life be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for he has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me,” Hebrews 13:5-6. “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain,” Proverbs 30:8-9. “Now therefore thus says the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but you have not enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages earns wages to put into a bag with holes. Thus says the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways,” Haggai 1:5-7. “And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses,” Luke 12:15. “I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread,” Psalms 37:25. “Jesus answered again, and said unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. Peter then said to him, See, we have left all, and have followed You. Jesus answered and said, Assuredly I say to you, There is no man that has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my sake and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life,” Mark 10:24-30. This is not a “giving” sermon, neither is it intended to make us feel guilty for living in a land and time of prosperity. I just want us to be well aware of what we have, what we have been promised, and what wonderful blessings are ours as children of God. Thank you, Lord, thank you! Carl B. Garner

They're At It Again! It hasn’t been very long since we “lost” the liquor election. So, we have the liquor stores and we see beer in the grocery stores. Now they want to sell our community on the “wisdom” of having open bars, mixed drinks—just like the big city. They are using the same old method, telling us it will benefit our pocketbook. It will “take some of the tax burden off the common man,” they say. Those who put their pocketbook above everything else will vote “for” the liquor option. Those who think this will “bring Chili’s and Randall’s” to our community will vote “for” the liquor option. Those who don’t drink, but think their taxes will be lowered will vote “for” the liquor option. The truth is (and you can look at your tax bill for this year), bringing liquor into our community did not lower our taxes. And adding open bars and saloons will not do it either. That’s not just my opinion; that is what is universally true. Note what cities/states have discovered: Bringing alcohol into a community brings added problems. It is not an economic asset. The economics are a powerful argument against the sale of alcohol in any given city or town. What objective facts warrant these statements? Is this merely a preacher who is “against drinking”? Yes, I am—and my brethren are too—opposed to selling alcohol in Dripping Springs. We are opposed on biblical and health reasons. But we have also found that the claim of lower taxes, etc. is patently false. Liquor, in addition to bringing physical and emotional health problems, will bring not lower, but higher taxes. Note: Tax entities are crying out for increased taxes on the sale of alcoholic beverages. Why? Cities, states and local communities are spending much more on the problems brought in by alcohol sales than they receive from their sale. Ohio, South Carolina and New Mexico are examples. Did the sale of alcohol lower taxes in these communities? The answer is a resounding NO! To the contrary, local taxes are being spent on increased law enforcement, legal costs, alcohol abuse programs, lost productivity, premature death. etc. When it comes to the over-all numbers—the amount of revenue coming in from alcohol sales as contrasted with the costs of such sales—the proportion was in the range of 1-6. In other words, for every one dollar brought into a local community by alcohol revenue, at least six dollars is spent to pay for the resulting problems. Don’t kid yourselves—alcohol will not lower our taxes! Washington State released the following statement: “For every dollar Washington state collects in tax revenue from alcohol sales, over seven dollars is spent as a result of alcohol abuse.” U.S. Government sources say the ratio is increasing. From 1974 to 1990 alcohol-related costs rose from $25.3 billion to $136 billion, while revenue was only $13.5 billion. THAT’S A RATIO OF $10 OF EXPENSES FOR EVERY $1 OF REVENUE! The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services reveal: 1998’s total national revenue from “alcohol taxes amounted to $17.4 billion.” The same source also states national expenses related to alcohol were “$246 billion.” FOR EVERY $1 BROUGHT IN BY ALCOHOL IN AMERICA, $14 MUST BE SPENT TO CLEAN UP THE MESS IT BRINGS. Why should results in Dripping Springs be different? Look these facts up for yourselves. Having open bars and saloons in Dripping Springs will not help your pocketbook, your health, or your soul. Carl B. Garner