Honest John.

"He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.  With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."  Luke 1:16.17 (NRSV)

This was the prophecy of the Archangel Gabriel to Zechariah the father of John the Baptist.

"And the crowds asked him, 'What then should we do?'  In reply he said to them, 'Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.'  Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, 'Teacher, what should we do?'  He said to them , 'Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.'  Soldiers also asked him, 'And we, what should we do?'  He said to them, 'Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusations, and be satisfied with your wages.'"  Luke 3:10-14 (NRSV)

So John's message, which was to prepare the people for the coming Messiah, was one of basic honesty and charity.

People were not to hoard things for themselves which could be shared with others who had nothing.

And people in positions of authority were not to extort money from others by stealth or threats.

John's message was one of equality and integrity.

Obvious qualities which could be emulated today.

We have lost sight of basic honesty in this winner take all world.

Money and profit justify anything.

All's fair in love and war.

The end justifies the means.

And corruption is in the interests of the shareholders.

We are living in a time of intense darkness.

Darkness hides greed, corruption, and murder.

The time has come to turn to the Light.

To expose the evil practices of the fathers.

And to turn their hearts to their children - their workers and employees.

Not to treat then as the enemy but to love them and provide for them as if they were their own children.

We must abandon all notions of superiority.

We must reject all dishonest practices.

We must overcome our fears.

And open our hearts to God and to the people.         

[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]

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