It is not the Church or Christian's job to take care of the poor all around the world. It is the job of the Church and Christians to take the word of God to ALL the people of the world; it is the job of the Church and Christians to live their faith; it is the job of the Church and Christians to help those who cross their path in need out of love not out of obedience or as a desire to get acknowledgement; it is the job of the Church and Christians to hold fellow believers to a standard of behaviour but not those in the world; and it is the job of the Church and Christians to be 'black and white' in what's right and wrong: that is, the Church is supposed to state what it believes, stand by what it believes, live by what it believes and trust God to bring people to the truth.
There are too many so called Christians who put themselves under the rule of a small elite of "godly men and women" who supposedly know more than the rest of us, due to the fact that they went to school or seminary to learn how to "understand" scripture; something that the regular masses are just not capable of doing. ...LOL.
As I see it, Catholics put themselves under close to 2000 years of Popes and "early church fathers" who supposedly are the only people that God has ever or will ever speak truth to.
AND
Protestants put themselves under different "church fathers" who chose to protest and reform the Catholic church in the 16th century and their now-a-day preachers and authors who also supposedly know more than the regular people.
What's the difference? The difference is which leader you are listening to. Catholics admit that their beliefs come from the bible and traditions; however, Protestants think that they are following the Bible alone, but they actually follow Luther, or Wycliff, or Calvin, or Moody, or Billy Graham, or Rick Warren, or Joel Osteen, or pick another "wise church leader," and they really are they just regurgitating the words (traditions) of men who decided what the bible said and they agree with?
And of course let's not forget those who follow Oprah's teachings, Buddah's teachings, Marx's teachings, etc., etc. ...Now, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with following the words of wise men and women. I believe God speaks through and works through anyone He chooses. I just get tired of people who try and say that they "think for themselves" when they just parrot their leader's teachings. How on earth can we know what is right? or who is right?
To know what is right or wrong is already written in our heart. Even those of us who try and make all behaviour acceptable know in our heart somehow that it is not. I believe that God spoke through men, who wrote down His will, which was compiled into the Holy Bible. That doesn't mean that I don't believe God speaks through other writings or other people, but that the basics of His expectations are available to us in the scriptures, and all other enlightenment should be viewed through the spectrum of the Bible.
If people read the 10 Commandments, free from an unbiased opinion about the "fairness" of having rules, I think they would see that the commandments are actually not what we shouldn't do, but how we can be blessed by what we do do. The first few commandments deal with our relationship to God, and if people (even atheists or other god followers) were honest, they would see that the commandments having us look to something higher than ourselves is a good thing. To take moment and take a day to rest our bodies and remember what our creator did for us is good.
The other commandments actually are a source of peace if people would follow them, because they speak of how we should treat others. The idea that someone's property is their own is the most fair belief out there AND the basis for the American Constitution.
Let's go through them: Thou shall not steal, commit adultery, murder, bear false witness, or covet.
These ideas speak to the truth of personal property. God was saying that we should not desire or take things that are not ours, which in turn shows that God is all for people having their own private property. When we take God out of our lives we lose the beauty of private property. When people own something or must earn something they can have peace and contentment, both with knowing they did something well and because they can share with those who may be in need. When people believe they deserve what others have or that all things should just be "shared", they never have peace nor contentment. People who are given things tend to not appreciate them and don't take joy in them, because they just see that someone else has something they don't and that's not "fair."
How often do we hear that someone who is poor and content is far richer than the man who has lots of money but wants more and more? Well, what if we turn it around and say the man who is rich is happy and content with what he has and wants more to be able to create jobs and be able to help others; while the poor man is angry and stewing because he wants more than what he has. Who's the happier in this senario? It all comes down to contentment. The rich are not the end all be all evil and the poor are not the end all be all of virtue and vice-versa. We are living in a world where the rich are demonized (heck even the middle class is demonized) and told that they are hateful and mean and unloving because they actually enjoy the wealth that they have earned or created; we are living in a world where those with less (not poor, just with less) are lifted up on a pedestal when they destroy property and demand things they haven't earned. UPSIDE DOWN.
We must resist the covetous ideas we are fed everyday. We must put the blame where it should be and that is on an out of control government--both worldly and in the church. Is it the Democrats fault? Is it the Republicans fault? Yes, it is both of their fault, but mostly it is the American people's fault and complacent Christian's fault because they have sat idly by for the last 100 years allowing the destruction of the independent, successful entrepreneurial spirit that built America. We have so demonized the successful that people no longer desire to reach the highest heights, but do the least they can for the most they can get. Greatness has now been turned into selfishness and laziness has become a virtue. How oh how can we return to our founding? I don't know; But what I do know is that I will not apologize for my family's success nor feel bad for the things we have because of our hard work, saving instead of spending, and blessings from God. I will continue to support my husband in his work, tend my home and work to market my book, support my sons in their respective choices in life, and hopefully have enough to share with my grand daughter as she grows.
I will resist the negative words of "Christians" who say because I feel that taxing the rich is not the way to help the poor that I am mean, unloving, or un-Christian; I will resist the urge to stop fighting because it seems useless; and I will resist the schemes of the Devil that desire to pull me away from the faith that I know to be true.
Blessings and love to all... and if you're interested in reading a good story about resisting both the spiritual evil and worldly evil we are faced with, check out my first novel.
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