Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• Romans 6:23

But your iniquities have separated
    you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
    so that he will not hear.

• Isaiah 59:2

Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

• Psalm 51:2

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

• 1 Corinthians 15:9

The New Boilerplate

My wife filled a small book with “Angel” on the cover.  It was hidden with a box of crafting things.  On 18 July 2025, I thought I had posted the last of these.  But this little angel book held a prayer, followed by 71 quotes.  So, the “with a little help” series is back in business for a while.  And it will be fun for me.  She did not attribute any of the quotes.  The first, next week’s installment, is from James A. Garfield, the 20^th president of the USA.  The next one is disputed, with some thinking it originated with Teddy Roosevelt and others saying Fred Astaire.  After the prayer, these might be on the lighter side.

Her quote

“Fun is like life insurance, the older you get, the more it costs.’”

• Frank McKinney “Kin” Hubbard

The Discussion

Kin Hubbard (1868-1930) was a cartoonist, humorist, and journalist.  Abe Martin was his main character.  He was probably not talking about our ultimate cost in sinning against God though.

I recently got a Christmas present for my granddaughter, and her Dad said the cost was outrageous.  I laughed it off.  I told him the older that the children get, the more expensive their toys.  When the children want or need an automobile, my son is on his own.  Or better yet, the child can get a job.

But the idea of life insurance costing more as we get older is true, not much of a joke.  You either have to settle on a very small face value of the policy or you must pay a lot each month.  I had a cousin who was an actuary who calculates the probability of future events.  With that information, the insurance company then establishes what risk they are willing to take – usually assuring that they make money in the long run.  Otherwise, why would they issue the policy?

But when you are a child, a new toy can be a great prize.  These days, the latest video game is high on the list.  I had sons that whined that they were bored.  I got the latest video game when the money could have been better spent.  And I cannot remember how many times that a game purchased on Friday was mastered by Sunday, and they wanted another game.

The problem is that one at a time, some of the things that the child wants is not a big sacrifice, but in the long run, the total cost is ridiculously high, and you have taught the child how to manipulate you.  Those skills do not translate into manipulating bosses that well.

But notice the Scriptures.  The wages of sin is death.  Yes, God offers a way out of that, but Isaiah says that our sins hide God’s face from us.  That can be a high price to pay.  Psalm 51:2 has King David asking to have his sins washed away, as God promises in the Scripture from Romans 6.

But Paul, who wrote the letter to the Romans, felt inadequate to be considered an apostle because he had persecuted the followers of Jesus.  Paul knew that his sins were forgiven, but the role of apostle was a high position.  He knew his past, and that weighed heavily upon him.  On one hand, could Paul forgive himself?  But on the other hand, Paul remained humbled.  And Paul never let his thought of inadequacy keep him from serving God in the position of apostle to the Gentiles.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory