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THE HIDDEN DANGER
BEHIND .
THE ENERGYCRISIS!
Few tapies have drawn more attention than the energy crisis. But the real/y importan! dimension
has been ignored.
A
LOUD
public debate rages
over the subject of energy.
Sorne believe that large oil
companies have deliberately with–
held oil from the market so as to
drive prices up.
Others believe that goveroment
laws, which fix the price of oil below
what it would be on the open market,
have created an incentive for produc–
ers and distributors to keep energy
supplies down.
Most of the discussion has cen–
tered on
who
is to
blame
and how the
energy crisis will affect consumers as
they go about their daily lives. Over–
Iooked, however, is a
critica/ danger
to the Work of God and to the free
exercise of religion!
The Real Threat
As
Plain Truth
Editor Herbert Arm–
strong has conclusively proved, the
thing which is uppermost in God's
mind at this moment in world affairs is
the restoration ofGod's goveroment to
the earth (Rev. 11:15: "The kingdoms
of this world are become the kingdoms
of our Lord, and of His Christ") and,
absolutely necessary before that can
come to pass, the making of His own
Church ready for that restoration
(Eph. 5:27: "That He (Christ] might
present it to Himself a glorious church
not having spot or wrinkle"). Like–
wise, before God will restore His
goveroment, the great commission
which He has given to His apostle and
Church to 'preach the good news of
that coming goveroment to the whole
world (Matthew 24:14, 28: 19) must
first becompleted.
Yet the one thing which it seems
almost everyone has ignored about
the energy crisis is the grave danger
it poses to the great commission!
May 1980
by
Jeft Calkins
Few realize that the energy crisis
is beginning to have really far–
reaching implications. Areas of Iife
which were formerly
private- like
travel-are now being made
public.
How you use energy has suddenly
become everybody's business. To–
day, as you can read in the letters–
to-the-editor section of your local
newspaper, people are
demanding
that their fellow citizens cease tak–
ing long trips by automobile, cease
driving large cars, cease using pri–
vate aircraft. Things which were
once part of the
private
sphere of
life are now
fair game
for a whole
host of would-be regulators.
The energy crisis has gotten people
thinking about how their
neighbor
"wastes" energy. Often their motiva–
tion is just plain envy. (James 4:5:
"The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth
to envy.")
The energy crisis has prompted
many people to decry as "frivolous"
or "wasteful" uses of energy of which
they
disapprove. A high goveroment
official says that farm families
should stop their "frivolous" trips to
town. Owners of small cars self–
righteously insult owners of large
ones. One religious leader glibly
declared that fully fifty percent of all
the energy used in the United States
is "wasted."
But "waste" is in the eye of the
beholder. Is the fact that you drive a
comfortable, Iarge car to work when
you could drive a small, cramped
subcompact a "waste" of energy?
When people talk of "waste,' ' look
out!
lt
means that they really want to
subject your life to their
scrutiny–
and if they think that your standard
of living is too high, or you are not
using energy in a way they would
approve of, well then, that's supposed
to be "waste."
What puny man may consider
"waste," the grea.t God may consider
the most important activity on earth.
No doubt in this modero, secular
world, many people think that any
kind of religious activity (not to
mention that which God Himself
directs) is a waste.
And yet the great commission
requires the use of energy. Because
of energy and modero technology,
God has opened doors for His
Church to be physically able to
preach the Gospd into all the world.
This would not have been possible
before the 20th century, when ade–
quate supplies of energy have given
rise to
worldwide
travel and commu–
nications systems. Among the physi–
cal resources which God has given to
His Work to preach the Gospel are
systems which require the use of
energy: radio, television, printing
presses, and, most importantly, the
transportation
involved in
personal
evangelism to world Jeaders.
Up to now God has provided His
Work with the necessary means to
purchase energy on the open market.
But if all energy transactions carne
under public- state--control- if be–
ing able to obtain energy were made
the province of sorne state bureau–
crat-then the state could arbitrarily
cut off
supplies of energy to God's
Work, or anyone else out of official
government favor.
Even now there are cries for man's
government-the state-to take the
"forceful"
st~p
of rationing energy.
A Harris poli reveals that a majority
of Americans want
compulsory
mea–
sures (rationing, ordering people not
to travel, that sort of thing) to make
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