The reporter states, “Sales are up this many percentage points, and oh doesn't the amount of traffic in the malls look wonderful this year. People are spending more this season than last and that is an indicator that the economy is getting better. Although the amount spent on the gifts seems to be diminishing, people are using credit cards to pay for them more than they have in previous years.” And the cheerful and upbeat words roll on and on. However, in the words of the Charles Dickens character “Jacob Marley” how does this relate to “Mankind was my business”?
Markets go up and markets go down, and the way it appears, markets seem to go down at a rate of about three to five times as many times as they go up. This money is worth this much, and this gold is worth that. This jewelry is this valuable and that present has that much worth, and all the while “mankind” often is overlooked. ”Charity, mercy, forbearance and benevolence; the common welfare” were the traits associated with worth according to Jacob Marley, and yet, so often they are overshadowed by the reports of whether sales are going up or down.
Perhaps this year there will be those who will look beyond the boundaries of the shopping on line or buying in the malls and consider once again those intangible and yet everlasting gifts of benefiting someone who is in need. May this wonderful Christmas season be filled with the joy demonstrated by the ever so grateful Ebeneezer Scrooge once he learned of the business matter that counted the most among the living...and the dead.
Until tomorrow...Why Say More?
Find the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, find locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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