"It is my pleasure once again to feature another excellent blog written by my dear Iranian friend Paymaneh. Paymaneh is an Iranian-Christian refuge living in exile in Malaysia. Even though she lives faraway from her homeland, she has not forgotten her people. Every week on my radio program, I give Paymaneh a "voice" by reading her powerful stories that bring awareness to the plight of Iranian people living behind the "iron curtain" of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In her new blog, Paymaneh takes us to the streets of Tehran and introduces us to the suffering children who must sell their bodies and souls to stay alive! . Every person in the world has their own story to tell. My story is the story of POVERTY! Most children in Iran are very poor, so poor that we have to abandon going to school and instead work in the streets, in both rainy and cold weather, wandering among cars, selling flowers and snacks. "Sir would you like to buy these flowers? " "Do you need some chewing gum?" "These Quran verses will solve the problems of your life! From morning until evening, exhausted and hungry, we plead with people to buy our flowers or gum. Unlike others, we love the traffic lights! We have to jump in front of people's cars,and quickly clean their windshields. Some people ignore us, some treat us like animals, and fortunately, a few give us some money. We are also known as "rented kids," who are dropped off in the morning by a mini bus at specific locations to work the streets and sell our merchandise. At the end of the day, our employer collects our earnings and maybe if we're lucky he will reward us with a few Tomans. Who's fault is it, if our parents cannot make money, because they are in prison or addicted to drugs or disabled? Most of our mothers, if they cannot earn money, will sell their kidneys in order to survive for another month. Most of us cannot go to school. We are bullied, offended, abused, raped, or used by our employers to carry drugs. Because of that, most of us end up becoming addicts. We are suffering, dying, and crying out in desperation, while billions of dollars which should be ours, instead is being transferred into foreign bank accounts by Mullahs and government officials. The terrorists in Syria and Lebanon receive their illegal portion of the money to buy weapons, while we are starving and dying in the streets. Millions of dollars are used to decorate the Masouleum of Khomeini and enhance the gold dome and the carpets inside. The Shi'e Imam's tombs are beautiful, bright and polished and we have to pay for them with our lives in darkness and despair. We are living in hell while the Mullahs are living the lifestyles of Kings and emperors.
I have a question for the Supreme Leader, Mr. Khamenei, what will you do with the money you received from the nuclear deal? Will you help us so that we don't have to wander the streets day and night and sell our bodies and souls to stay alive?
I feel like I don't have any hope. I don't have a future. I feel that I will never see anything different
than stop lights, trash dumpsters and cardboard boxes to sleep on for the rest of my life. I was born in the streets and I will die in the streets. Rooz Khosh ( Have a nice day) (About the author, Paymaneh Sabet)
I am an Iranian lecturer, a teacher, and a translator. But previously I also wrote journals. I love writing and producing short films. I love to write about romance, love stories, and the greatest love story between God and His people. It is my duty to use my gifts and talents to stand up against the dictatorship in Iran and cry out for their freedom. I want to do my best to reach them with the gospel, inspite of their barriers and limitations. I want the world to know the true Iranian...to know their faces and the human rights atrocities they have suffered with for the past 36 years. My biggest dream is that Iranians will know the truth and turn their hearts to Christ for true salvation, freedom, and happiness.
"For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil and some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith, piercing themselves with many sorrows...." (1 Timothy 6:10)
"Tailored suits, chauffeured cars, fine hotels, and big cigars up for grabs, up for a price.... "Come on, come, love me for the money. Come on, come on, listen to the money talk.... AC/DC, the Australian rockers, from "the land down under," several years ago, cranked out a heavy metal anthem dealing with the deceptive and dark life ruled by the love of money. The chorus of the song, "Money Talks" sums up the obsession and greed of human beings possessed by the love of money: "Come on, Come on, love me for the money. Come on, come on, listen to the money talk....
In almost every area of life, money is powerful, money is the final word, money is the dark poison of greed that shapes and rules the human heart. On July 14, 2015, The P5+1 meetings in Vienna concluded with a historical deal designed to transform Iran and the nations of the world. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif, embraced and shook hands on a monumental agreement, giving Iran a nuclear deal and billions of dollars in sanctions relief money. Missing from the agreement were the release of four American hostages, Iranian pastor, Saeed Abedini, Ex- Marine, Amir Hekmati, Washington Post journalist, Jason Rezaian, and former FBI agent, Robert Levinson. The lives and well being of four Americans had evidently been sacrificed on the altar of greed and legacy. The greedy Iranians were given a deal on a silver platter that instead of curbing them from gaining a nuclear weapon, it paved the way for them to challenge the Middle East in the near future with weapons of mass destruction! In addition to the disastrous deal, President Barack Obama added to his crown another jewel stone marked, "legacy", while Secretary of State, John Kerry, cleared a space on his living room shelf, for a possible "Nobel Peace Prize." Money, greed, power, and legacy has replaced the supreme value of human lives. In Iran, children are forced to work the streets every day begging for money, because their parents are in prison or addicted to drugs. Political prisoners are hanged almost every day, journalists are imprisoned because of their opinion, and bloggers are silenced for speaking out against the government. The value of human beings and their rights are trampled on and crushed by the evil Iranian regime and if Congress approves the Nuke Deal, then my country will be guilty of financing the number one state sponsor of terrorism in the world! The approval of the "nuke Deal" will line the pockets of the mullahs with billions of dollars in sanctions relief money which they will use to enrich their nuclear capabilities and finance the spread of terrorism through Hamas, Hezbollah, in Syria, Yemen, and every part of the world. The innocent and suffering street children of Iran won't see a "penny" or a Toman of relief from the sanctions money. Poverty and unemployment will continue to deteriorate the inner structure of Iran. Human lives will suffer, prisoners will be executed, and the vicious cycle of death will continue for desperate Iranians. It was only a few weeks after the Iranian nuclear deal that the world was shocked by the Planned Parenthood Scandal. A secret video taped recording revealed two staff members discussing the sale of aborted fetus body parts and their profits over dinner. The soul of my nation has been corrupted and deceived by the love of money. The lives of four American citizens hang in the balance because of greedy Mullahs and their thirst for corruption and terrorism. Money Talks...listen to the money talk. The Bible warns us that the love of money is a disastrous deception that enslaves the human heart and corrupts its thinking. When money is at the center, it becomes a deadly idol that will imprison and torture the human soul. Once that happens, the value of humanity is sacrificed in exchange for the lust of material wealth. However, money can't buy real love and happiness. Money is temporal, It will soon fade away and then what is left? People suffer and die and money won't prolong a single day of their lives, only true love will. There is a magnificent mausoleum and shrine in Tehran, Iran, housing the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini. It is a beautiful architectural design with a gold dome, stained glass, supported by eight marble columns, and a lavish decorated interior of white marble floors and fine carpets. The Masouleum is a tribute to the legacy of Khomeini, a dictator who ordered the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988 and enslaved the lives of billions of Iranians under the oppression of Sharia Law. The wealth of Iran stands in tribute to Khomeini instead of feeding the thousands of suffering and starving homeless people who struggle for survival everyday. Money Talks...Money Rules..Money deceives......
God has given us wealth to help the oppressed, to feed the hungry, to educate the poor, to bring hope and healing to the sick and needy. Money is not evil. The human heart is.The only cure for the "idol of wealth" is a heart that is healed by the love and forgiveness of Christ. Christ came to heal the brokenhearted
and to set the prisoners free. When Jesus is Lord of our lives, then money is put in the right perspective. Our whole lives, including our wealth, belongs to God and then we are free to be generous with it, it is no longer our slave master! Christians are called to be the greatest examples of charity and generosity. Christians are not enslaved to the "god" of money. Several years ago, the band AC/DC wrote a rock ballad about the deceit of money. Don't let the love of money rule your heart. Take one look at Iran and you will see the tragic result of greed and corruption. Instead, let the love and compassion of God rule your heart and then you will be free to use money for the hope and healing of suffering humanity.
