Obama is getting nuttier by the day... he thinks there is a flaw in our constitution? The flaw resides in lazy people versus laborers. You give lazy people money and they "blow it" and are waiting for another hand-out the very next day. There is no end to what people can blow. That is because of the work ethic's unspoken rule, that people generally value their own things more than the things of others.
When people work hard and earn what they have they usually appreciate it MORE and steward it. That is not to say that if "some" were to receive a "gift" that they would not appreciate it. Though, they are usually the people who appreciate things already, because they have learned a good laborer ethic.
Some people when they go to work they work for a boss and only do the level and quality of work they believe the boss and owner are worthy and deserve receiving back.
So it is an eye for an eye. So every day when the owner is grumpy then they are just less likely to perform their best in order to reciprocate for the way the boss/owner has treated them.
So it seems we as humans are naturally inclined to only give what is expected or what is worthy of our time.
It is a law of magnetism and order that what belongs to one should never be taken advantage of.
The only way to escape this eye for an eye, you scratch my back and I'll scratch your back, law, is an abstract idea.
Anyone got one?
Well I do.
It is believing in God as our sufficiency...
For if we are only out to please those who please us then we limit ourselves of working at our greatest capacity at all times. It is only when we go beyond the standards of others that we demonstrate an abstract concept resides within. This is the witness and evidence of the inner catalyst. Love without measure.
Now I am going to tell a story from the Middle East.
It is said that the banks of the river Jordan were at one time the richest banks in the world. Not only because of the abundant life that lived in its path but because of a very interesting custom that was once considered sacred by Hebrew people. It was considered pious and boastful to go before crowds of people and donate great sums of money into the collection plate. Today it would be like comparing charity donations on tax forms to see who donated the most.
This culture had this custom that if you really wanted to give charity that you would take a precious object that you loved and carry it to the river banks and while no one else was looking on you would toss it into the lively current of the river and it would be forever lost to you. They would say a prayer to God and give thanks.
One might say to themselves THIS IS FOOLISH! They could have sold that precious ring or amulet and fed the poor! Now it is lying lost on the bottom of this river no good to anyone! Does this person believe that "God" will pay them back? Of course they do.
For this strange custom and reason the banks of the River Jordan were considered the richest in the world.
I picture this rich woman tossing a ruby ring deep into the river and saying her payers to God...
What strikes me is that she had a choice! She was not dictated to throw this into the river it came from her own intent and personal feelings the welled up inside and grew to fruition. This is charity and a selfless compact with the almighty.
This woman gave her charity to God.
Then we have another Middle Eastern story...
Jesus and his disciple were together talking and his disciple were concerned that they were going to be unable to pay the taxes demanded of them. Then Jesus says a rather perplexing thing that boggles the western mind. Jesus answers and says, if you go down and cast a hook in the river you will catch "a fish with money in its mouth".
Western thinkers have concluded that Jesus meant to go back to fishing and work a few days laboring until they have caught enough fish and sold them to pay the taxes.
Here is where our little Hebrew custom comes in.
Most western thinkers are unaware that there is a certain fish indigenous to the middle east called the Muskt fish. This fish has a pouch in its mouth under its chin, it scours the river and lake floors and banks looking for shiny items to swallow up in its mouth and put in its pouch for safe keeping.
Jesus was referring to this Muskt fish. Jesus indicated that if the disciples had enough “faith” that they would just toss the hook in and catch a Muskt fish and their tax problems would be solved by the almighty God of their sufficiency.
Had the government limited what this rich woman did with her own luxuries and pluralities than the disciples of God may never have been able to speak the word but would have been too tethered to fishing and laboring to bring salvation to the world.
So it seems that charity does not really need to pass thought the government via taxes but it should also be free that it may pass through the mouth of the humble Muskt fish and be given to whomever God so chooses.
Had the tax collectors been in the “right attitude of heart” they would have been offering Jesus charity rather than demanding taxes.
I tend to think taxes are only part of the charity picture but people need to give freely and not have there luxuries heavily limited but bureaucrats. Let God "redistribute" the wealth...
