It’s interesting that Rogers noticed the growth of government back in 1934. By his humorously exaggerated estimate, half the people in the U.S. hold government jobs.
Today, we also have a problem with growing government. Thousands of IRS agents are needed to handle the new healthcare legislation. When you hear about vast amounts of stimulus spending, it will require additional government staffing to administer the programs.
The point that Rogers makes in his quote and the question we have to ask today is “Do we really need to grow government to such a large size?” Can we get along with a smaller government?
This beautiful picture was taken at Will Rogers Dog Iron Ranch in Oolagah, Oklahoma. The picture was taken looking from the house down the walkway toward Lake Oolagah in the background. The ranch is just a few miles from the Will Rogers Museum in Claremore, OK. (near Tulsa) If you are ever in the area, be sure to stop by and visit.
I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebookpage regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.
Will RogersHave you noticed that Congress seems to live in the land of “good intentions?” Some call it an “alternate universe.” It’s a place of love, happiness and prosperity.
How many times have you heard our legislators proudly proclaim that their legislation will bring world peace, end poverty, end hunger, end unemployment, put a chicken in every pot, cure cancer, clean up the environment, stop terrorism, and leave no child behind.
Noble goals indeed, but without fail there are always unintended consequences which create the opposite effect. The “War on Poverty” hasn’t ended poverty despite spending untold billions of dollars. Treaties never seem to bring peace, extending unemployment benefits seems to correlate with more unemployment, and cleaning up the environment seems to mean that nobody can live, work on, or enjoy the land any more.
The fact that the programs don’t accomplish their original goal, by any measurement, and cause more trouble that good, doesn’t seem to make any difference. In fact, the more colossal the failure, the more money is demanded to finish the work. Just the other day a high administration official remarked that the stimulus spending did what it was supposed to, and that we needed even more money to finish the job!
Will Rogers was concerned about an ineffective gathering of “our boys [and girls]” in Congress in 1931. I’m even more concerned about them gathering today! Not only are they ineffective, they are killing us with “good intentions,” because people are still hungry and unemployed.
Well, the Capitol grounds may be a place of love, happiness and prosperity, but if you wander down the wrong street a couple of miles away, you better be packin’ heat and be wearing a bullet-proof vest.
Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.
I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.
When times get tough, it seems natural to ask “Why, O Lord?” It seems natural to wonder “Where is God when I am suffering?” Why isn’t God answering my prayers? Where is God’s comfort?
In Psalm 44, the Psalmist seem to express the deep feelings of our hearts with his words. His pleas echo our prayers. His urgency for help speaks to our needs.
I must remember that these words are from Scripture! They are the very words of God. It means that God knows my heart and my situation. We can put this together with the gospel and the life of Jesus in the New Testament. We can understand that Jesus, the Son of God, experienced human life with all its joy and grief, glory and suffering.
God understands our situation and pain, because of the life of his Son, Jesus. Furthermore, from the example of Jesus’ life, and the teaching of Scripture, we find that everything that happens has purpose and meaning. Even bad things have purpose on God’s plan for our lives. The best example is the cross of Christ. We can also look at the life of Joesph in the Old Testament, and the life and writings of Paul in the New Testament.
The idea of God’s purpose and meaning in the things that happen is called the Doctrine of Providence, and it is a sweet and comforting thought, and guiding principle when times are tough. The Puritans referred to difficult times and severe trials as a “frowning Providence.” Faith is not shaken when we understand the providence of God, even in the darkest of times.
Dear Lord, You understand the darkest of times of my life. You have purpose and meaning in every event, every trial, every grief. Let the knowledge of your providence be boosted by the understanding of your steadfast love for me. As I read your Word, let these truths encourage my heart. Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 44 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes ESV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
Rogers wrote this quote in 1933. Can you believe that the World Court debate still rages today? Some politicians and “legal scholars” believe that the U.S. should subject itself to external legal authorities.
We’re trying to solve problems overseas, and making quite a mess of it. We can barely handle our own problems. There is hope however – The UN just appointed a space ambassador to greet alien visitors.
The image of Rogers is from his 1921 silent film Guile of Women. Rogers plays a Swede named Yal who travels with a friend to America to seek his fortune. After misfortunes in love and business, his girlfriend finally arrives from Sweden.
I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebookpage regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.
As I look back across my life, I am continually amazed to see God’s hand in events large and small. God called me out of a life of sin and self-destruction. He has guided my path step-by-step, through dark times and blessings.
In Psalm 78 we understand that God chose David. Had this not happened, David would likely have tended sheep for the rest of his life. There would have been no record of his life because there was nothing remarkable about him. Instead God lifts an unknown and unremarkable young man from obscurity to become one of the major figures in Scripture.
The story of David’s choosing can be found in I Sam 16. From this passage, God makes it clear that the choice of David was His choice alone, and not a choice based on human reasoning, luck or chance. God chose David, David didn’t choose God.
I think the same is true of my life. God chose me, I didn’t choose God. In fact, Had it been up to me, I never would have chosen God. Furthermore, had I made all the choices in my life, it would have been a mess.
Ask God daily for his guidance. Look back and acknowledge God’s day-by-day work in your life. Thank God for the many blessings he has brought your way. It is a great comfort to know God chooses my path and directs my life. If I had to trust in my own choices, I would find no peace, and God would receive no glory.
Dear Lord, Help me to trust in your choosing. Let me earnestly seek your guidance each day, that you might be glorified. Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 78 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NIV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
Foes come in all different forms. For Christians in Egypt, they come with bombs and machine guns. For others, there is physical and mental persecution. The foe for some of us comes in the form of temptation and addictions.
Just like the tiny animal in the picture, we feel small in the face of our foe. The Psalmist reminds us our own efforts are vain and the we need to look to God for help.
Dear Lord, Help me to trust you in the struggle against my foe. Grant me strength to endure, and let me praise you when they are “tread down.” Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 60 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes ESV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
![[Congressional] Investigations are held just for photographers. BEVERLY HILLS, Cal., April 4, 1934](https://systemsofmerritt.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/wr49.jpg)
At all these fancy investigations, the action seems to be in the photographers’ pit. The noise from shutters clicking is almost deafening.
Thousands of pictures are taken of every move made by whoever is testifying. The perfect shot is one that captures an absurd grimace or a finger brushing by the nose. This requires the most intense concentration and skill by the photographer.
Contrast that with the mind-numbing and boring pace of the hearings, and the tedious requests of useless minutia from the witnesses. Senator So-and-so, I would like to read the following 150 pages of office memos into the record. On page 52 the witness sneezes and the resulting image makes it on the front page with the caption: “Witness startled by new revelations.”
After the hearings, all is forgotten and documents are filed, never to be seen again. The photographers however, did their jobs, and their images are what everyone remembers.
Now isn’t it interesting that Will Rogers made this observation in 1934? Not much has changed, except with digital photography, we can get more pictures, more faster!
Photographers at the Watergate hearings, 1973.
Image Information: This picture is an early publicity shot of Will Rogers.
Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.
I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.
When we see a beautiful sunset it can trigger a moment of thanksgiving and praise to God. It speaks of the order and wonder of the universe put into place by the Lord for our well being and pleasure. This simple event that happens each day also speaks of eternity as we consider its vast distances and unending regularity.
The sunset image fits well with Psalm 72 and I hope it will help us remember to praise the eternal God and “increase His name” in our lives daily.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 72 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NASB iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
I’ve been so sick on occasion that I didn’t feel like doing anything. I didn’t even want to sit up and read because my eyes were sore. Sickness, grief, depression and other afflictions can get us down to where it feels like our soul clings to the dust, and our soul melts from heaviness, as the Psalmist says in Psalm 119:25. We feel like a desert wasteland, as shown in the image. Nothing is growing, nothing is green.
It’s amazing what a little medication can do for the body. A friend can come alongside to share the grief, or offer an encouraging word to help lift the heaviness of our heart. Rain in the desert can bring out beautiful blossoms and colors.
The Psalmist also asks for God’s help. “Quicken me” he says, “Make me understand the way of Your precepts” he prays. Once we start thinking about it we can begin to meditate on his wondrous works and offer the Lord praise for his grace and kindness toward us.
The passage continues: “Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me thy law graciously.” God’s word or law is our help and comfort.
Dear Lord, when our body is sick or our soul is heavy, please help us to turn to your word. Let it revive us, strengthen us and comfort us. Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 119 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes KJV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
One of the most famous passages of literature is Psalm 23. It truly captures our soul’s desire, that we would be led by the Great Shepherd to the quiet waters.
This verse can certainly be applied to many areas of life. Our brave combat soldiers might take “walk through the valley of the shadow of death” quite literally. Financial struggles might not be a matter of life and death, but they can weigh heavily upon us. This Psalm brings hope to all believers in all circumstances.
I thought the image of the sheep looked like it might be speaking to us. Modern day sheep need their shepherd, just like in the days of David the king.
I thank the Lord that even when I am prone to wander, he brings me back to the flock, and cares for me, and comforts me.
This image is a screenshot of the Psalm Daily Quotes NIV iPhone app, and it allows you to scroll through the rest of the verse.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 67 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NIV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
![Psalm 143:4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; My heart is [Or desolate] appalled within me. 5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your doings; I muse on the work of Your hands. 6 I stretch out my hands to You; My soul longs for You, as a parched land. Selah.](https://systemsofmerritt.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/nasb8i.jpg "Daily Psalm NASB")
There have been a few times in my life where I’ve been really thirsty. You know how it feels – throat parched, tongue thick, mouth feels like cotton. Fortunately in our modern world, water is usually nearby at a fountain or faucet.
I’ve seen movies and read books about people who have suffered from severe dehydration and thirst. Perhaps the person is lost in the desert, like the one pictured on the left. There’s nothing but barren rock and scrub brush. No streams, no ponds, no springs, no water anywhere.
I think the Psalmist captures the feelings of a thirsty wanderer in Psalm 143. The spirit is overwhelmed with the thought of finding water. All thoughts are consumed with the search. The mind drifts back to times when the glass was full, thirst was quenched, water was flowing in abundance. Then there is the mirage, the pool of water just ahead of us. We stretch out our hands and stumble toward the illusion.
Can I thirst for God, like the body thirst for water? Does it consume me, does it move me to long for Him and meditate on his blessings in my life?
Dear Lord, let me thirst for you and long for you in all I do. Help me to find the water of life in your scriptures and in the preaching of the gospel, in prayer, in worship, and in service to your people. Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 143 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NASB iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
Will RogersYou’re not going to believe this, but my birthday is October 31. When I was a kid I remember getting dressed up for trick-or-treat. Actually, the costume was important for one thing, access to candy. When it was all over, the costume came off and I enjoyed the fruit of my labor.
I think Will Rogers has it just about right – combine Halloween and election day. Now days though, the politicians put on their costume for the duration of the election season. Costumes don’t come off until after election day (or after the recount). Politicians come to my door in costume asking for candy. They look for skeletons in closets. They play “tricks” on people they don’t like. Kind of scary, isn’t it?
I never tried putting a pumpkin on my head for Halloween, but some candidates seem to have the same terrifying expression frozen on their face day after day. I think they use Botox these days, but no candidate will either confirm or deny its use. I don’t think I want to be there when the pumpkin head comes off! I suppose we should just enjoy the fun as Will Rogers suggests, and be glad when the holiday is over.
I’ve heard of campaigns passing out cigarettes for votes. That won’t work for me because I don’t smoke – but I might just vote for chocolate.
Will Rogers is a man worth remembering, and quoting. His wit, humor and insight into life will amaze and astonish you. His life will inspire you. Watch for new blog posts from my Will Rogers quotes collection.
I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.
It’s a struggle, isn’t it – loving righteousness? As the hymn says, I am “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.” Yet the Psalmist indicates there is great reward.
When I am caught in sin, my tendency is to draw away from God and from his chastening. Have you noticed it with your kids. When the little ones are corrected, they push away when you try to hug them. The correction was for their good, and you do it because you love them, but their instinct is to push away.
In Romans 7 Paul talks about this war within us, the war between our desire to obey the law, and the law of sin and death in our members. Who will deliver us from this struggle? Paul gives us the answer in Ro 7:25: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
I think my sea otter friend in the picture is reminding me of a passage in “The Valley of Vision” that always helps me put things in perspective. It says: “My trials have been fewer than my sins, and when I have kissed the rod it has fallen from thy hands.”
Dear Lord, help me to love righteousness, and when I am chastened let me kiss the rod of correction – don’t let me pull away – let me fall into your arms of love. Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 45 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes ESV iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
This is one of Will Rogers’ most famous quotes, and it’s probably just as true today as in 1930.
I hope you have enjoyed this quote from Will Rogers and the accompanying image taken from the Will Rogers iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that might enjoy a bit of wisdom from Will Rogers.
It constantly amazes me that the Psalmist can capture our deepest emotions in words across the ages. “Out of the depths” describes so many situations in my life – financial problems, relationship issues, dangerous situations, etc. “Lord, hear my voice!”
But, I also know that God is a holy God. I don’t want to approach Him when I am ashamed of the sin in my life. It takes faith to believe that “there is forgiveness with You,” as the Psalmist says. We know that forgiveness before God comes from the work of Jesus on the cross.
It’s hard to have faith from the depths, but God hasn’t left us alone. The Holy Spirit can help us and comfort us – he can even give us the faith we need. The image on the left is from a deep canyon filled with broken rocks. Let’s ask the Lord to help lift us up and set things right.
Dear Lord, out of the depths I call upon you! Give me the faith to believe you have provided forgiveness through Christ. Help me through these difficult situations. Amen.
I hope you have been blessed by Psalm 130 and the accompanying image taken from the Psalm Daily Quotes NASB iPhone app. Please visit our blog, twitter, or Facebook page regularly and pass these posts on to friends that need an encouraging word.
Who knows what our economic condition is these days – Depression, recession, economic malaise? Whatever it is, a committee has been formed to investigate it. I’m sure their report will tell us what we already know, and will be issued when it is politically convenient. Are you as amazed as I am that Rogers saw …
We’ve had some close calls financially, but there has always been food on the table for our family. My wife can stretch the food budget, a friend gave us some grocery money, a neighbor brought us a meal, another neighbor shared garden vegetables with us are some of the ways God has provided for us …
It’s interesting that Rogers noticed the growth of government back in 1934. By his humorously exaggerated estimate, half the people in the U.S. hold government jobs. Today, we also have a problem with growing government. Thousands of IRS agents are needed to handle the new healthcare legislation. When you hear about vast amounts of stimulus …
What’s hip, what’s hot, what ain’t I got? If it’s a cool electronic gadget or faster computer, I want it! I used to lust after an iPhone 4, until I got one recently. Now I want an iPad. After that who knows. Just give me the latest thing on the market. Modern marketing is not …
Rogers wrote this quote in 1933. Can you believe that the World Court debate still rages today? Some politicians and “legal scholars” believe that the U.S. should subject itself to external legal authorities. We’re trying to solve problems overseas, and making quite a mess of it. We can barely handle our own problems. There is …
Have you ever been in the right place at the right time to see something special? A few weeks ago, after a late afternoon thunderstorm, I looked outside to see the most magnificent rainbow. In fact, there were two rainbows. The colors of the dominant one were so bright and vivid – it was breathtaking. …
Our form of government is truly amazing. Power peacefully changes hands as often as every four years. Votes and not machine guns determine the outcome of elections. If you don’t approve of who is in office, there’s always the next election. The image is from one of Rogers’ silent movies called Jubilo from February 1920. …
What could a young lion possibly want. They’re at the top of the food chain! Perhaps it’s the never-ending cycle of want and hunger that the Psalmist mentions – never being satisfied. I’m a tech guy – always wanting newer and faster computers and gadgets. Can the things of this life cause us to not …
Hurry up, God! I need this, I need that – right now! Perhaps we are far too impatient, which is why we can identify with the plea in Psalm 70 – “make haste to help me, O Lord!” I have trouble waiting for paychecks. They never seem to come in time. Yet our needs have …
A friend stopped by last night and was telling us how she had used a “blue” bottle to feed milk to baby kittens. It took us a while to figure out that she was saying “glue” bottle. Communication problems seem to happen in our house all the time. Sometimes the results can be quite humorous …
