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Saturday, July 6, 2013

My Daddy – A Man of Power

Ed Standifer with sons Wayne (8 1/2) and Bobby (13 )
Lake Junaluska, NC (1952)

To what extent does money equal power in the world today? As much as in Amos’ day or more? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1272).

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV).

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32 NIV).

I believe [the above two Bible texts] encapsulate the essence of Christianity. (Through the Year with Jimmy Carter, page 188).

Grateful within the family of man, he prayed for individuals’ care. (My father’s epitaph).


We only had to be subjected to the past election season here in America (to elect our nation’s president) to understand the extent to which the belief in the power of money is implanted within our society. The hearts and minds of the American people could be purchased (it was devoutly believed) with millions, even billions of dollars spent on unrelenting propaganda. As the saying goes, in America we have accepted in principle the power and rectitude of money in politics; all we have left to do is dicker over the price.

Many of us are severe skeptics regarding the power of money. My father as a Methodist minister was embellished with very few dollars. But I learned a lesson from him that I will never forget. He believed adamantly in the essence of Christianity as described above. In neither text encapsulating his steadfast belief is money ever mentioned. Real power has to do with the hearts and minds of people when they are gifted with simplicity and truth. My father was one of the most humble men I ever knew – and also one of the most powerfully persuasive. Daddy was a power to be reckoned with because he believed John 3:16 and he lived Ephesians 4:32.








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