Open Your Eyes
MUSIC BLOG
08-15-2024
OPEN YOUR EARS!
Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.
They have ears, but they do not hear, Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.
Make the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes blind, So that they will not see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.”
Cited from NBC News
Jordan Chiles, the Team USA gymnast, originally finished fifth in the floor exercise Monday, but an appeal by her coach saw her upgraded to bronze. On Sunday, the International Olympic Committee said that the appeal shouldn’t have been allowed, meaning she will have to return her third-place prize.
A story from E-magazine INC.:
Her name was Sylvia Bloom, and she worked for 67 years as a secretary at a Wall Street law firm, riding the subway each morning, and going home each night to the modest apartment that she shared with her husband.
During that time, it's now been revealed, she accumulated $9 million before she died in 2016, at age 96. She lived such a quiet, parsimonious life that nobody had any idea of her wealth.
Nobody, including apparently the husband with whom she shared that modest apartment all those years (rent-controlled, by the way, which is kind of a big deal in New York). He was city firefighter who later became a teacher and worked a side job as a pharmacist, and who died in 2002.
Bloom's niece, Jane Lockshin, said she learned of her aunt's wealth only shortly before her death, explained the strategy to the New York Times:
"She was a secretary in an era when they ran their boss's lives, including their personal investments," she said. "So, when the boss would buy a stock, she would make the purchase for him, and then buy the same stock for herself, but in a smaller amount because she was on a secretary's salary."
Now, in death, the bulk of Bloom's fortune is now going to a worthy cause, funding college scholarships for New York kids.
Jordan thought she was a winner, but upon closer investigation if was discovered that she was not. Jane lived like a modest person, but when she passed away, her true wealth was uncovered. Looks can be deceiving.
The Bible addresses those who live by their senses as being dead to spiritual things. Yet to this day, the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear. Duet. 29:4 There is an innate tragedy for a person who calls themselves a Christian to live like the world. The worldly person only trusts what they can sense. The faith they have is in their accomplishments. They spend no time contemplating the wonderful acts of God or God’s grand scheme for the world. The importance of their world is in what they know and experience.
Jordan Chiles's coach thought he knew better than the judges and asked for a recall. Her coach thought he was advocating for his athlete, but the result was disappointment. Jane Lockshin was just a secretary, her husband was a firefighter, teacher, and pharmacist. She had a secret that could have had some great benefits for her family, but she chose to keep it a secret. Do we do the same in our spiritual lives? Some of us may live above their abilities or purpose. God gifts His children for His purposes and glory. There is always a risk of a child refusing to live in the purpose which God has given them. He placed a talent for music in them, but they rejected that and became an unhappy accountant joining his family firm. He placed a talent for numbers in them but they rejected God’s plan and became a carpenter working in the family business. The spiritual truth is that to be truly happy in this life we must have faith. Hebrews says without faith it is impossible to please God. It is also impossible to achieve God’s plan for our lives without faith. Prayer without faith, worship without faith, good works without faith all is vain. Faith is the key to life.
So, how is your faith today? Are you relying more on your 5 senses than on the Holy Spirit? If so, take this opportunity to reset, refocus, and re-establish your God connection through faith in God’s person, ability, character, and wisdom. Pray for a heart to know, ears to hear and eyes to see beyond what those around you are seeing, hearing, and knowing. God will be pleased and you will be blessed.
Blessings,
Marty