ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S MOST FAMOUS QUOTE, "DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ ON THE INTERNET."

As I compose this blog, the image below has been shared [perpetuated] 612,134 times.  Lies can take on a life of their own.  I have no idea why someone would deliberately create an Meme like this except to satisfy their own egotistical pride.

A Facebook friend innocently reposted this Meme which prompted me to do a little research.  I went to official Government websites to garner factual information...

Pay rates for Armed Forces can be found here. Assuming a 5-day week/52-week year, Armed Forces salaries start at $32,042 for a Second Lieutenant A and range up to $153,072 for a Lieutenant General. The highest paying job in the Armed Forces is a Brigadier General Medical or Dental Specialist who top out at $163,124. Note: Members of the Armed Forces receive a daily rate rather than a conventional salary.

MP Pensions: Amount of annual pension collected in 2012-13, and the number of parliamentarians (and their survivors and dependants) collecting it:

$90,000 and over — 89 former MPs and senators, one survivor.

$65,000 – $89,999 — 129 former MPs and senators, three survivors.

$40,000 – $64,999 — 180 former MPs and senators, 43 survivors.

$0 – $39,999 — 151 former MPs and senators, 126 survivors and dependants.

Harper’s total annual salary is $315,462, when you include his Prime Minister’s wage of $157,731 and equivalent basic allowance for members of Parliament.  Currently, Prime Ministers who serve four years or longer receive two-thirds of their $157,731 in additional salary — or about $105,000 — in annual pension once they are no longer an MP or reach age 65, whichever comes later. That total is in addition to the pension paid to all members of Parliament who serve six years or longer.

The average combined monthly benefit from Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan is $11,300 per person, so a typical working couple can expect to get about $22,000 a year from the government. If you both worked and contributed to CPP your whole lives, you could get as much as $32,000 a year. This is on top of any private or public pension income.

So, where is the spiritual application in all of this you ask?  Well, yesterday at church the speaker made reference to John 14:6.  We can read it every Sunday as it spans the baptismal tank at the front of the church. Quoting Jesus it says, "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE".

As I once again meditated on these words I asked myself the question, "If these words are not true, then what?"  Well, the opposite of the truth is a lie.  In this instance it would have to read "I AM THE WRONG WAY, THE LIE AND THE DEATH"  The truth in this instance applies to the world's ways and to satan - even if he didn't actually say them.  So, here is a truthful meme you are free to share...

As an aside, one of the best places to validate outrageous internet claims and rumours is www.snopes.com