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DO NOT REJECT ME IN MY OLD AGE

 

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This picture (click it) was in my blog & newsletter article "Ageism Is The New Racism" (7 May 2022 ARC-News). It focused on the unconscious confirmation bias toward elderly people which is coming to the fore now that racial bias is receding. It's become "cool" to be anti-racist these days, but ageism is still alive and well... and increasing. Why is it that even people who rail against racism and think they aren't prejudiced in any way can harbor the unconscious confirmation bias of ageism?

Get "Ageism Is the New Racism" also as a PDF, a 5.5" x 8.5"-formatted 4-page booklet. Ageism, like racism, is an often-subconscious bias that is reflected in the way many people relate to elderly people, either by "politely" ignoring them or by assuming that elderly people (especially with a disability such as hearing loss) have "dementia" – Parkinson's or Alzheimer's Disease – and are incapable of interacting, thus treating them as "other" or less than human. This brief article is based on the Conclusion in this webmaster's online M.Th.S. thesis A First-Century View of Yeshua, the Messiah – you can read it online or download and print this thesis by clicking here.

All people understand new things on the basis of what they have previously learned. We learn how to speak by hearing certain sounds over and over again in various contexts. After we've learned how to speak, read and write our native language, we don't consciously think about making the right sounds or connecting the sounds with written letters: it has become an unconscious process. It's the same with ageism: when a child first sees older people and asks mama or daddy why they look or act differently, the parents explain that as people get older they slow down physically and/or mentally, their bodies get worn out or sick, and eventually they die.

So later, when that child sees an older person, he might assume that the person is starting to slow down physically and/or mentally, the person will get worn out or sick, and then die. How often have you heard derogatory terms such as "old geezer" or "crabby old lady"? We've finally learned not to use the "n-word" but we feel perfectly comfortable thinking and using such derogatory expressions about the elderly. And when an older person shows one of those behaviors, it may unconsciously confirm the idea – the bias – that this person is also going to become demented, get sick, and die pretty soon. By projecting those thoughts toward an older person through body language and tone of voice, without even saying a word, that person gets the idea that he/she ought to drop dead pretty soon.

We have collected a whole series of books along with the article "Ageism Is The New Racism" on our "Free Literature" page:

The following four books illustrate modern, secularized views on ageing that have arisen from Biblical teachings on respect shown to the elderly... teachings that today's Christians often sadly ignore. Get Ending Ageism, or How Not to Shoot Old People by Margaret Morganroth Gullette (free PDF or Amazon). When the term "ageism" was coined in 1969, many problems of exclusion seemed resolved by government programs like Social Security and Medicare. As people are living longer, today's great demotions of older people cut deeper into their self-worth and human relations, beyond the reach of law or public policy.

In Ending Ageism, or How Not to Shoot Old People, award-winning writer and cultural critic Margaret Gullette confronts the offenders: the ways people aging past midlife are portrayed in the media or by adult offspring; the esthetics and politics of representation in photography, film, and theater; and the incitement to commit suicide for those with early signs of "dementia."

Get Ageism Unmasked - Exploring Age Bias and How to End It by Tracey Gendron, Ph.D. (free EPUB – see note 1, or Amazon). Why do we still tolerate stereotypes and discrimination based on age? This bold account of the history and present-day realities of ageism by Dr. Gendron, a nationally recognized gerontologist and speaker, uncovers ageism's roots, impact, and how each of us can create a new reality of elderhood.

Ageism Unmasked shifts the lens, enabling us to see that we tolerate, and sometimes actively promote, attitudes and behaviors toward differently aged people that we would reject and condemn if applied to any other group. It peels back the layers to expose how cultural norms and unconscious prejudices have seeped into our lives, silently shaping our treatment of others based on their age and our own misconceptions about aging – and about ourselves. Offering an all-inclusive approach, Dr. Tracey Gendron reveals the biases behind our false understanding of aging, sharing powerful opportunities for personal growth along with strategies to help create an anti-ageist society.

Get Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives by Daniel J. Levitin, Ph.D. (free EPUB or Amazon). Author of the iconic bestsellers This Is Your Brain on Music and The Organized Mind, Daniel Levitin turns his keen insights to what happens in our brains as we age; why we should think about health span, not life span; and, based on a rigorous analysis of neuroscientific evidence, what you can do to make the most of your seventies, eighties, and nineties today, no matter how old you are.

Successful Aging (or "Ageing" in British English) uses research from developmental neuroscience and individual differences in psychology to show that sixty-plus years is a unique developmental stage that, like infancy or adolescence, has its own demands and distinct advantages. Levitin takes a scientific approach to what we all can learn from those who age joyously, as well as how to adapt our culture to take full advantage of older people's wisdom and experience.

Get The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload by Daniel J. Levitin, Ph.D. (free EPUB or Amazon). Levitin runs the "Laboratory for Musical Perception, Cognition and Expertise" at McGill University, where he holds the Bell Chair in the Psychology of Electronic Communication. Before becoming a neuroscientist, he worked as a session musician, sound engineer and record producer. A New York Times bestselling author and neuroscientist, he shifts his keen insights from your brain on music to your brain in a sea of details. The information age is drowning us with an unprecedented deluge of data. At the same time, we're expected to make more – and faster – decisions about our lives than ever before. This book is an excellent resource for elderly people.

No wonder, then, that the average American (especially an older person) reports frequently losing car keys or reading glasses, missing appointments, and feeling worn out by the effort required just to keep up. But somehow some people become quite accomplished at managing information flow. In The Organized Mind, Daniel Levitin uses the latest brain science to demonstrate how those people excel – and how readers can use their methods to regain a sense of mastery over the way they organize their homes, workplaces, and time. With lively, entertaining chapters on everything from the kitchen junk drawer to health care to executive office workflow, Levitin reveals how new research into the cognitive neuroscience of attention and memory can be applied to the challenges of our daily lives. His earlier book This Is Your Brain on Music showed how to better play and appreciate music through an understanding of how the brain works. The Organized Mind shows how to navigate the churning flood of information in the twenty-first century with the same neuroscientific perspective.

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ARE RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES SAFER THAN IN-HOME CARE?

 

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CLICK THE PIC! Just this week I came across a few articles about comparing retirement communities vs. home care. This infographic goes on to compare them in terms of nutrition, safety, connection with others, emergency preparedness, and protection from fire danger, isolation, falling. Here's an intro to the leading article:

"When it comes to health and safety concerns, seniors are an especially vulnerable group. Our safety needs and considerations evolve as we get older, which means seniors have to make changes to adapt. For seniors to thrive during retirement, they need to be proactive about their health, safety, and social life.

"Recently, there has been some concern about the safety of retirement communities in light of the global pandemic. To make an informed decision and rise above the public anxiety, it’s important to look at the real data regarding the safety of retirement. View our infographic below for information regarding the safety of retirement communities, as compared to in-home care and living alone.

"More seniors are choosing to live in retirement communities to focus on their health & wellness. From social connection opportunities, convenient meal services and on-site medical staff, senior communities truly place value on the wellbeing of residents. Connect with a Senior Lifestyle community near you to find out more about the health and wellness programs that are just a few clicks away." There's the sales pitch. You now realize that they want you to sign up for a senior community. What's the solution?

Another article in a link from the one above is "The Cost of In-Home Care Versus Senior Community Living" that deals with the very real aspect of expense. Although nearly 90% of seniors want to stay in their homes for as long as they can – it's familiar and full of memories – many seniors with disabilities face architectural barriers: they have heart problems or bad knees, a broken leg or hip that hasn't healed well, a leg amputation, etc., and simply shouldn't stay in their homes.

Senior communities provide better nutrition, safety, connection with others, emergency preparedness, and protection from fire danger, isolation, and falling. But senior communities cost $3,000 to $8,000 per month, the median net worth of retired couples is less than $50,000, and many of them have little or no savings. Their home equity and/or savings would pay for a year or less in a senior community. Then they're broke and out on the street.

Home healthcare isn't cheap either. Very few doctors make housecalls nowadays, and a home health aide can cost over $20 per hour. Insurance might pay less than the full amount for a nurse or an aide to visit, and the number of visits might be limited – after that, you're on your own. A spouse (usually the wife because women live longer) taking care of a disabled spouse often becomes exhausted and simply can't continue caring, so they have to hire someone to provide respite care, or place that spouse in a nursing home... if they can afford it. A child or other relative often must quit their job to provide care for their loved one.

Also, seniors sometimes just can't stay in their homes because they can't climb stairs to bedrooms or go downstairs to do laundry in the basement. Most homes are still not designed to be without stairs inside or outside, all on one floor for seniors. A basic, accessible one-bedroom apartment plus insurance and utilities can easily cost $1,500 per month. That can take up most or all of some people's Social Security income and doesn't provide the level of nutrition, safety, connection with others, emergency preparedness, and protection from fire danger, isolation, and falling that one gets in a senior community. What to do?

This presents an either-or dichotomy, but it doesn't have to be that way. We can combine the advantages of a senior community with the lower costs of home care. Our Agape Restoration Communities concept offers the better nutrition, safety, connection with others, emergency preparedness, and protection from fire danger, isolation, and falling – combined with the lower costs of a one- or two-bedroom living unit all on one floor, with a community room/chapel for connection with other people, common meals, activities like games or exercise, and of course worship together. Home healthcare workers can provide care for more than one person per trip, saving time and transportation expense. It's called "co-living" or "co-housing" where people share living space and common areas, often with a younger person such as a university student having an inexpensive place to live in exchange for a few hours per week of providing care or other services.

This is what Christian community ought to be like: caring for one another and having things in common while at the same time being responsible for oneself as much as possible. So please check out our Agape Restoration Communities!

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OCT. 14 - A QUICK RECAP

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A QUICK RECAP:

FASTDOMAIN

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This current issue of ARC-News covers five different themes or topics: religious freedom and ministry, child murder, conscientious objection to military service, forced contraception, and disaster preparedness for the elderly. Each theme has a different tone and perspective, but they all relate to some aspect of human rights, dignity, and justice. The right to life has no rational justification without the right to exercise religious faith.

The first topic deals with how Christians are called to preach the gospel and minister to the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized. The author cites biblical passages and examples from Jesus and the apostles to support this claim. The author also argues that preaching and ministering are not mutually exclusive, but rather complementary aspects of practical ministry. The author uses the acronym P&M (Preach & Minister) to summarize this idea. He also provides some historical evidence of how the early church grew through the service of deacons who cared for the needy. And he emphasizes that this is not just a theoretical or theological concept, but a hands-on ministry that helps the church grow.

Next, the second theme is about a horrific case of infanticide in Ohio, where a mother killed her newborn baby and asked her daughter to help dispose of the body. The mother claimed that she did it because the baby would have caused more expenses. The baby was found in the trunk of a car after paramedics noticed that the mother had recently given birth. The baby had been born alive and healthy before he was suffocated in a plastic bag. The article reports the details of the crime, the investigation, and the charges against the mother and daughter. It also includes some quotes from the police and the coroner's office. This article conveys a sense of shock and outrage at the brutality and callousness of the mother and daughter.

Thirdly, it relates a lawsuit filed by Greenland women who were sterilized without their consent by Danish doctors in the 1960s and 1970s. The women claim that they lost their ability to bear children because of this policy, which was motivated by paternalism, racism, and economic interests. The women demand immediate compensation, as they are getting older and fear that they will not live to see justice. The article explains the background and context of the policy, which affected half of the indigenous women in Greenland. The article also mentions how the policy was exposed by a podcast that sparked a political debate. The article quotes a psychologist who initiated the request for compensation and expresses her frustration with the slow pace of the government inquiry.

The fourth theme tells that in Russia, military courts have imprisoned four men who refused to fight in Ukraine on religious grounds. These conscientious objectors are from various Christian denominations and were not allowed to perform alternative civilian service. This raises questions about religious freedom and the right to conscientious objection, which is enshrined in the constitution. The text calls attention to the cases of these individuals who stood firm in their beliefs.

And fifthly, you can learn about the vulnerability and resilience of older adults in disasters. The author explains that older adults are not only the least prepared for disasters, but also have the highest rate of disaster-related deaths. The author also notes that not all older adults are equally vulnerable, as it depends on their health, social support, and living situation. The author offers some tips on how to be prepared and assist others in disasters, such as having an emergency plan, staying informed, keeping in touch with family and friends, and seeking professional help if needed. The author also cites some statistics and sources to support his claims. The author aims to raise awareness and provide guidance for older adults and their caregivers in disaster situations.

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WHEN SCIENCE BECOMES UNPREDICTABLE

 

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In the article "How the Supernatural Entered Science" by Granville Newell on the Evolution News website, we read that the fundamental rule of science – the repeatability and predictability of experiments to prove a theory – breaks down when applied to the subatomic level of particle physics and to the cosmic level of the origin of the universe. The law of cause and effect in physics breaks down: something is usually caused by something else, but the "Big Bang" that brought the universe into being seems to have come from nowhere.

Newell writes – "Materialist scientists have been trying for over 150 years to show how a few (four, apparently) fundamental, unintelligent forces of physics alone could have rearranged the basic particles of physics on the early Earth into what we see today, such as spaceships, nuclear power plants, computers, and smart phones. The conclusion that unintelligent forces alone could rearrange atoms into smart phones is absurd, so you know there must be errors somewhere in any attempt to show how they did, even before you find them. Evolution News articles frequently point out errors and unproven assertions in the materialists’ explanations for how unintelligent forces alone could have created life on Earth and caused it to develop into animals capable of building computers. For example, here is one I wrote recently: 'The Other Unsolved Problem of Evolution.'"

Next, he easily refutes the materialists' argument that "however implausible their current theories may be on how unintelligent forces alone could have created spaceships and smart phones, the alternative of intelligent design is not science because it invokes 'supernatural' forces." But with the advent of particle physics it becomes impossible to distinguish between natural and supernatural. He continues – "But, in fact, if 'supernatural' is defined as 'forever beyond the ability of science to predict or explain,' quantum mechanics already introduced a supernatural element into science a century ago. British astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington said that quantum mechanics 'leaves us with no clear distinction between the natural and the supernatural.' Now, science cannot ever say with certainty what the effects of the forces of physics on a particular particle will be. It can only provide us with a 'probability distribution,' through the Schroedinger equation. But ''probability' does not necessarily imply 'random' or 'unintelligent' causes. That is a philosophical conclusion. It just means that even though we don't really know what is going on at the microscopic level, we can still predict macroscopic phenomena with high confidence."

So it now appears that the predictability of scientific experimentation works only on the level of what we humans should be able to deal with. Things and forces that are either too tiny or too enormous for us to handle simply don't follow the laws of physics. But the human level of involvement consists of both the "micro" subatomic and the "macro" cosmic levels. Newell quotes from another of his books – "Now it must be accepted by everyone – everyone who is aware of quantum mechanics, at least – that there is a supernatural component to all natural phenomena, the question is again only whether this supernatural component is intelligent or unintelligent. And while it is difficult to see any clear and compelling evidence of intelligent design in many 'natural' phenomena, when we look at the origin and development of life, the evidence is overwhelming."

We cannot understand how, according to quantum mechanics, a particle in one corner of the universe can instantly resonate with another particle that is light-years away in the universe. It just doesn't make sense, it doesn't follow the laws of Newtonian physics. Neither can we understand how the fluttering wings of a butterfly in Kansas can cause a typhoon in Australia. We simply can't trace all of the causes and effects of natural acts and of our actions. Why is it so much more difficult to believe that in the beginning was the Logos – a logical, intelligent Being – started everything with a bang, will end everything with a bang, and in between He watches and manages the whole show beyond our natural, human comprehension.

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EVERYTHING RUNS ON INFORMATION

 

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The article ""A Theoretical Biologist's Mission Impossible: Banish Teleology While Retaining Meaning" states: "The universe and all life run on information, not just on [physics and] chemistry. But information is fundamentally immaterial; it chimes with mathematics and probability rather than chemistry and physics. Information also conveys meaning, a concept comprehensible only in the context of intelligence."

What is information? It is more than a random collection of data points. Imagine an alphabet soup of all the upper-case and lower-case letters, the digits 0-9, and all the special characters on a keyboard. That's simply a pile of data. Now imagine that pile getting stirred up in a big explosion, and when all the dust has settled, there on the ground is Webster's Dictionary and a bound volume of Shakespear's sonnets. No, information is data arranged into meaningful constructs.

These meaningful constructs we call logic. Not only engineering, mathematics, and programming rely on logic but also literature, history, music, and art – indeed, the whole universe relies on logic. History is not just a random collection of facts about what has happened: a historian must select and arrange those facts into a meaningful sequence that explains the causation and significance (logic) of those facts. Physics and chemistry follow certain immaterial laws. Without this logic or structure, the whole universe would collapse. What is information/logic?

What holds the universe together? The Greek word for "logic" is "logos" – "In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through the Logos. Without the Logos was not anything made that has been made" (John 1:1-3) and "For by the Logos were all things created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through the Logos, and for the Logos. He is before all things, and in the Logos all things are held together" (Colossians 1:16-17).

The Logos or Logic holds the universe together. Without this immaterial force, the whole universe would lose its structure and collapse into nothingness. In the article "Can Everything Be Reduced to Data?" we read – "I want to show the problems with our data-driven world and show or assemble a richer humanistic picture. Dataism is at odds with human flourishing. Data is just input into something else. If we are just data, then we are inputs into something else. It’s difficult to find a Renaissance moment in this ruinous reductionism."

We are not mere computers. Even computers must have programs, a series of logical paths and decisions designed by an intelligent being that hopefully will produce the desired results. Those programs are not mere zeros and ones electronically written onto disks or chips. They are the material embodiment of an intelligent being's designs.

We human beings are not mere meat-machines that follow the laws of physics, chemistry, and biology. Our thoughts are not mere electro-chemical processes along bundles of neurons, axions, synapses, and dendrites. The fundamental fact that we can choose between good and bad actions, better and worse behavior, tells us that there must exist an objective reality of "goodness."

When critics raise the "wattabout" question – "What about all the suffering and injustice in the world?" they are assuming there must be some fixed, objective standards of justice and good. The very fact that we can think such thoughts and make such choices implies the existence of a reality beyond the electro-chemical impulses in our nervous system. The Logos must exist in order for us to think rationally and ask such questions of morality.

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THE RISE IN ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE

 

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For the past few weeks we've been receiving reports about a sharp increase in the burning down of churches and homes, and other anti-Christian violence led by Muslim extremists. Our contact 'Y' in Pakistan, sent us this message as he was driving his family to a safe location after leaving his home and all his possessions behind: "Christians are requested to pray for the Christians of the Christian Colony of Baraf Khana, Rawalpindi, because the Christians spent the last night in fear. There is a church near Chhoti Palli in Baraf Khana Christian Colony."

"Someone has mischievously said that Christians have committed blasphemy here, while according to initial reports, no such incident could have happened. However, in the night, all the Baraf Khana Christian Colony was evacuated and the Christians there temporarily left their homes along with their wives, children and family like in the Jaranwala tragedy. Which is the state where the guards ask the minorities to leave their homes for fear of these few evil elements and cannot protect them."

The army and police in Pakistan are doing very little to stop this violence, so their passivity and complicity encourages the extremists to continue. In Prov. 29:2-4 we read – "When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan. Whoever loves wisdom brings joy to his father; but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth. The king by justice makes the land stable, but he who takes bribes tears it down." This applies both to Pakistan and to the U.S., as well as other parts of the world: we've recently received reports of anti-Christian riots and persecution in India and Africa.

Persecution of Christians is to be expected, as the Lord and the Apostles foretold. It's not only in faraway countries, but also here in the West: We've been conditioned by centuries of social pressure, first under the Moslems who conquered the Middle East, North Africa, Spain, the Balkans, and parts of France, Italy, Russia and Hungary, and who at best consigned Christians to second-class "dhimmi" status and forbade them to have any social outreach – only Moslems were allowed to do that. Christians were limited to only hold religious observances within four church walls. At worst, Christians were persecuted and killed if they wouldn't convert to Islam.

Then in Western Europe, after driving the Moslems back and after several religious wars that decimated the populations, the various Edicts of Toleration reinforced the notion that people should stop fighting and show "tolerance" to those of other religious convictions, not pushing their religious beliefs on others. Today this has led, however, to the widespread notion that everything is relative, there are no absolutes, and that's the absolute truth!

But in the Christian East, communism took hold shortly after the collapse of the Moslem Turkish Empire, and at best strictly limited the Christian faith to only religious observances within four church walls, they were forbidden to have any kind of social ministry: only communists were allowed to do that. At worst, Christians who wouldn't meekly comply were tortured and killed.

And in the West it's just a bit more subtle: the ever-expanding secular humanism under the guise of "democracy", "freedom" and "tolerance" exerts strong social pressure against living out one's Christian faith in the public square. Leftists now push the idea that religious freedom means only the right to attend the worship service of your choice, not freedom of religious expression (as the First Amendment's clearly states). Do you see a pattern developing here? Our courses can help you break out of these cultural stereotypes!

How often have you heard, "Don't shove your religion down other people's throats!" and Christians being labeled as "intolerant" or "bigoted" or "haters" if they speak of or live out their beliefs in public? We've internalized these social pressures, accepting them as "normal" and even come to believe in them almost as religious dogma. We must break out of this "psychological box" that we've been shoved into, and reclaim the free exercise of our religion in society, as the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees and as Christ commanded us to do.

You likely don't have the gifts of healing or exorcism. Perhaps you're not a great evangelist: you get real nervous if asked to speak in public. It's OK if you don't have those spiritual gifts. Remember Christ's parable of the ten talents, five talents and one talent? The person with just one talent buried it, so the Master took it and gave it to the person who had ten.

But actually, you most likely have ten talents already! What are those things attached to your palms? Ten fingers! You have ten spiritual gifts, called the gift of helps! Learn how to start using them, and perhaps the Master will entrust you with some of the greater gifts. Break out of the box!

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A CALL TO SANCTIFICATION

 

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God's will for us is our sanctification (Romans 12:1) – He wants us to become holy ("saint" and "holy" are the same word in Greek and other languages) – "Saint Jerry" or "Saint Sally." The Lord wants us to Experience the Fullness of His glory, to be transformed into His likeness.

In order for that to happen, though, we must strengthen the weak believers but not have communion/fellowship (the same word, "koinonia" in Greek) with unbelievers or false believers – "hirelings." The call to sanctification is also a call to separation from worldly activities and behavior:

"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with iniquity? Or what communion has light with darkness? What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what portion has a believer with an unbeliever? What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, 'I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.' Therefore, "'Come out from among them, and be separate,' says the Lord, 'Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you. I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

The saints of old and even those of more recent times are called "saint" or "holy" because they have been cleansed of worldly passions and lusts and have devoted themselves to the pursuit of holiness: "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). "Therefore, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us" (verse 1) – may we follow their examples and Christ's example!

God created mankind in His image and likeness so that we could share in His glory. After the Fall, however, the image was marred and the likeness was destroyed: we became spiritually "dead" in our trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2:5-9) – this passage tells us about not only our spiritual death, but also about the gift of God's grace that saves us. Salvation is a life-long process of healing and restoration: the Greek word for "salvation" is "soteria" which also means "healing."

When a little child is given a present all wrapped up in shiny, colorful paper and with a pretty bow on it, the child is often fascinated with the box and the bow, so the parents say – "What's in the box? Open the box!" Grace is indeed a gift, but what's in the box? Grace is the gift of the Holy Spirit, the divine nature that restores and transforms our nature and our whole life.

But as the Old Testament scripture quotations in this photo illustrate, it's easy to get wrapped up in the side effects – health and wealth – of God's grace: Jesus, the good shepherd, wants to give us abundant life – "The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly" (John 10:10). However, there are thieves, wolves in sheep's clothing, who are just in it for the money – "hirelings" who want to steal, kill, and destroy the flock. We must beware of them, not hire them, or even give them a place at the table:

"But as it is, I wrote to you not to have fellowship with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner. Don't even eat with such a person" (1 Corinthians 5:11) and "But if one of those who don't believe invites you to a meal, and you are inclined to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no questions for the sake of conscience. But if anyone says to you, 'This was offered to idols,' don't eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for the sake of conscience" (1 Corinthians 10:27-28).

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