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Anyone who lived through the depression will vouch that it was most difficult. I did not have to experience those terrible times but I have known plenty of people who did. The stock market crash of 1929 and the years that followed were days of horrific hardships and untold human suffering. Prices were low, but money was so scarce that only the most fortunate were able to buy. Many, many families lived off the land rather than out of the grocery store and/or fast food havens like we do today. Rabbits, and squirrels were the only meat that some could afford – simply because it was free for the price of a shell or a trap. Beans and other things that grew out of the ground, many of them wild, became the daily staple of multitudes of parents and their children. A milk cow was almost a luxury and for those fortunate enough to have one, proved to be the source of a wonderfully nutritious food.

Hard times demand extra vigilance. Even the times in which we live today demand the same. Supposedly it was P. T. Barnum who said, “There's a succor born every minute.” Some folks erroneously think that the proverb, “A fool and his money are soon parted,” is a biblical expression simply because it is so very, very true. Times of scarcity bring out the best in people, but they also bring out the worst in people. Predators lurk around every corner hoping to find someone upon whom they can prey. They prey on the old and the weak, but sometimes the very polished ones prey on almost anyone though their well planned and sometimes “bullet proof” scams.

A friend told me about getting scammed in the Great Depression. He and a buddy were visiting a carnival when they heard a barker giving his speel: “Step right this way I guarantee that you will hear the world's greatest advice! You can't afford to miss it! Only one dime; one tenth of a dollar. Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!” Though times were hard and dimes were tough to come by, my friend and his companion were drawn into the side show by the genuine sounding pitch of the barker. Once inside the tent, they joined a line of people who walked single-file toward an older man in a rocking chair. The din of the midway made it impossible to hear what he was saying from a distance but they could tell that he was saying something to every person who passed by. As they drew closer, they could see that the gentleman was whittling on a cedar stick and rocking leisurely. When it was their time to pass by, they strained forward against the rope to hear him say, “Son, always whittle away from your hand and you won't cut yourself!” And, that was his advice!

Good advice is hard to come by, but advisors are always plentiful. One wise man said, “Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy.” (Proverbs 12.20). In a similar vein, he advised, “For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 24.6). I suppose one clue to the foolishness behind the barker's baloney was the fact that he and his rocking-chair friend were working in a side show! Had they been extremely sharp one would think they would have found better employment. However, when we are desperate, we want to believe the best even when the worst is obvious.

The best advice in the world is not found in a circus. Neither will it come from government or public educational circles. The best advice in the world is not about material things, nor is it a secret that can only be learned though some mystical or secret initiation. The best advice in the world is to discover with Solomon: “Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.” (Ecclesiastes 13.12).

Questions:

1. Why should difficult times be a signal for us to be extra vigilant?

2. Why did the wise man say there is safety in a multitude of counselors? What did he mean?

3. Why does the best advice in the world NOT originate in the world?

4. If a man's all is to keep God's commandments, how and where must he start to learn God's will for his life? Will it come from an earthly counselor or a heavenly counselor?

"'Christ in You...'" from Dale Krebbs

Longing For God