Don't trust in princes

Psalm 118:9 It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in princes. 

Psalm 146:3 Don’t put your trust in princes, each a son of man in whom there is no help. 

There are few princes left in the world. But there are many political, business, entertainment, athletic and other influencers and leaders, avidly desiring followers, so as to stroke their own egos, or advantage themselves. These two verses, from the Psalms, warn against loyalty to such people, against uncritical belief in what they say, against expecting help from them. They certainly warn against worship of such people, rather than following Christ.

Thanks for reading!

Women of the Bible: Ruth

 Ruth was the name of a person, and it is also the name of a book of the Bible, which is, not surprisingly, largely about Ruth, who, although not descended from Jacob, aka Israel, became one of the ancestors of King David, and of Christ.

Here's a link to chapter 1 of that book.

And chapter 2, and chapter 3, and chapter 4.

Good for Becky Hammon!

Becky Hammon is a US women's basketball player, born in South Dakota, currently on the roster of the San Antonio Silver Stars of the Women's National Basketball Association, where she is the second leading scorer, and leads in assists. Hammon has recently received some criticism for playing for the Russian team in the Olympics.

That's right, the Russian team.

Why? Well, she didn't make the US women's Olympics team, which is no shame, as that group is an extremely talented one, with Sue Bird and Kara Lawson as its point guards -- Hammon's position. (As I write this, they are destroying the team from the Czech Republic by 40 points.) Hammon has played professionally in Russia. Most of the WNBA players have played in more than one country, one reason being that they don't get nearly as high salaries as NBA players.*

I saw Craig Sager interview Hammon a few minutes ago on USA cable TV, as part of its game coverage. He asked about the criticism, and, among other things, Hammon said that she was playing for God first, then country. This web page quotes her as saying much the same thing. Great! Country loyalty is fine, but loyalty to God should come first, whether you are a talented basketball player or not.

Thanks for reading.

*A commenter points out, correctly, that there was some serious financial incentive for Hammon to play for Russia, too, perhaps as much as a couple of million dollars -- it wasn't just for love of the game, and probably not just from a desire to play for someone in the Olympics. The money involved does not, of course, approach the outlandish salaries of some NBA players, but that's another story.