Got a bit frosty last night, but I kissed her on the cheek and told her I loved her.

32 degrees, little concerned the trees are starting to bud out and while 32 won’t hurt, from last night, we don’t want a lower or a continuation of that weather.

Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

I read an article the other day – what am I saying, EVERY day - that says we must give more to the poor.

Which poor?

The poor who has had a great catastrophe in his life that has destroyed his savings and his ability to earn more – or due, to circumstances beyond his control, is unable to work and/or care for himself?  (Like the soldier we sent into battle and comes back mentally, emotional or physically damaged and can’t care for himself – so we let his go homeless or so traumatized he can’t adjust and is without help?)

The poor who lives in a country where the government is oppressive and keeps the citizens down with heavy taxation, discrimination, persecution and specifies who will be the rulers and gives them lush rewards?

The poor who chooses to not have material things and all he earns he gives to others who need clothing, housing, food and salvation?

The poor who chooses not to work, even though capable, and instead takes from the larder of others and demands more?

A young lady came before the Judge, brought there because she refused to pay her rent (the portion that wasn’t paid by HUD.)

The judge asked, “Why?”

The young lady said that she wasn’t working, she couldn’t afford to pay it.

The Judges asked why she wasn’t working.

Because she had a one year old at home and needed to be a stay at home mom and raise her child.

Where is the father?  She was asked – living in another part of the city, was the answer.

Does he help support the child, no, was the reply.

How do you get by?  The young lady started listing a number of government programs she qualified for, but it wasn’t enough for her to buy everything she wanted – some of the funds of which she admitted had gone for things like televisions, games, and other such ‘necessities.’

It wasn’t that she was incapable of working; she just chose not to work.

Another young lady, with a small child and a husband that was out of the house and wasn’t helping out -  worked full-time at a minimum wage to slightly higher paying job, she paid a babysitter, she went to college to obtain a degree, she did without things so she could make ends meet.

She paid her taxes, she raised her child without help from the government (other than finding and forcing her ex to pay child support.)  Taxes, by the way, which helped support the mother who chose not to work.

Which poor should be helped?

I am thinking that far too many people who have learned to work government assistance because they ‘are poor’ have used the first part of the above verse And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as a guideline - learning to do their best to scam – and that is now their ‘work’ forgetting the last part.

No matter the program, there will always be those that take advantage of loopholes – and deprive others of service.  Still in all we are making it much too easy to do so.

I did find it interesting, the other day, when employees who manage the food stamp program were concerned that while the economy had ‘improved’ – it had done so in only a few areas and in many others it had not.

There would be a need to give special consideration to those areas, which vastly outnumbered the ones that had improved.

One of the things required under the rules was that if the economy was improving that food stamps could only be given to those 20 to (can’t remember top age I ‘think’ it was 40 or 50) single men and women without dependents, that work at least 80 hours a month and these other areas didn’t have that kind of employment opportunities.

Bear in mind, this only impacts single people who could be working, not single parent families, etc.

What they neglected to say is, if a person can’t find gainful employment they can volunteer 80 hours a month at different organizations and qualify for the food stamps.

If they aren’t working, why can’t they volunteer?  Obviously some would not make good candidates due to their physical or mental limitations – but?????  I can think of dozens of organizations in our area alone that need volunteers and would welcome this age group to give 80 hours a month to their programs.

It is just frustrating, to me, to hear about all this free stuff the government is currently or is willing to give as if someone wasn’t paying for it – and not helping those people to become productive citizens.

Are there some big corporations taking advantage of people?  Yes.  Are there ‘poor’ who only choose to be ‘poor’ because they don’t have to work?  Yes.  Okay, so what?

Interesting enough some big corporations offer their employees higher than average wages with good benefits, ordinarily they would be held up as shining examples of what companies can do in America. 

However, the government – and those that oppose Christian values - are demanding they provide certain conditions that are opposed to the entity’s belief system – AND rather than applauding these companies for the way they treat their employees and the public, they attack them for their beliefs.

We can help make things better by looking at the places we shop and determine how they are using their profits and how they treat their employees; rewarding those that have been doing right, by all concerned, by shopping there.  I know, it is often impossible to determine – another frustration, but when we can tell, we should support them.

I know it isn’t going to get better unless the nation turns to God and asks forgiveness – which, unless there is a yielding to God’s Holy Spirit, isn’t going to happen.

One person states that one of the ways God punishes wayward nations is giving them the government they deserve – what do we ‘deserve?’  It can be a scary question.

Later, Art :-)