Smuggling Wheelbarrows

Gary continues his talk on the Christian worldview. He discusses the concept of “borrowed capital” on today’s podcast.

Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971), Premier of the former Soviet Union, described a time in the Communist republic’s history when a wave of petty theft was sweeping through the government-owned plants. To curtail the stealing, guards were placed at factory entrances to watch the laborers as they entered and departed. At the Leningrad timberworks, one of the guards spotted Pyotr Petrovich leaving the yard with a wheelbarrow filled with a bulky sack. A guard became dutifully suspicious.

“Come on, Petrovich,” said the guard. “What have you got there?”

“Just sawdust and shavings,” Petrovich replied.

“Come on,” the guard said, “I wasn’t born yesterday. Tip it out.” Out it came—nothing but sawdust and shavings. So he was allowed to put it all back again and go home.

The same thing happened every night all week, and the guard was getting extremely frustrated. Finally, his curiosity overcame his frustration.

“Petrovich,” he said, “I know you. Tell me what you’re smuggling out of here, and I’ll let you go.”

“Wheelbarrows,” said Petrovich. [1]

Error has been smuggled into the church under the pretense of truth since the beginning of time (Gen 3:1–7). Jesus warned His disciples not to be led astray by traditions that have the effect of setting “aside the commandment of God” (Mark 7:9). Paul cautioned the “elders of the church” at Ephesus that after his departure “savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:17, 29–30). It’s no less true today than in John’s day that “many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1), many of whom “went out from us” (2:19).

Gary continues his talk on the Christian worldview. He discusses the concept of “borrowed capital,” or how non-Christians steal morality and ethics from Christians in order to argue against them. Only Christianity provides the moral and ethical foundation for life; an evolutionary worldview can provide only an “everyone for themselves” approach to life. There is no love, equality, family, or compassion in a random chance world.

Click here for today’s episode

Click here to browse all episodes of The Gary DeMar Podcast

[1] Os Guinness, “The Christian and Society,” in James M. Boice, ed., Transforming Our World: A Call to Action (Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1988), 52.

American Vision’s mission is to Restore America to its Biblical Foundation—from Genesis to Revelation. American Vision (AV) has been at the heart of worldview study since 1978, providing resources to exhort Christian families and individuals to live by a Biblically based worldview. Visit www.AmericanVision.org for more information, content and resources