To be a Christian, in my opinion, one must believe the simplest of things: Jesus loves me, this I know. That's all. That's what one "believes" - that Jesus does indeed love them. So many people fear God, as in are afraid of him. They believe that God could just as soon kick you into hell as save you. However, I am beginning to believe that so many of us feel that we deserve hell, and unless we accept God's love, which isn't much to ask, we put ourselves in our own kind of hell. I know that I am probably my own worst enemy.
However, once we truly believe that, once we believe that God truly loves us, and nothing can separate us from that, we become a new creation. We love others as ourselves.
Unfortunately, I think some people get stuck at the "Jesus loves me" part, but refuse to believe that Jesus loves us all. I personally have been told by some self proclaimed christians that God hates me, doesn't listen to my prayers, that I make God sick, etc. I have been told that my sin separates me from God, despite the fact that the bible says nothing, not even death, can separate me from the love of God.
At 45, it was the first time I had been told that (from God.) Basically, after a long session of prayer about a big problem that I have been struggling with, God told me that he loved me even before I was born. He said that my parents created my body, but he created my soul. I asked why he loved me, having a day of self deprecation, and he asked me why a parent loves their baby - they simply eat, sleep, babble, and cry and demand to be given so much. Yet, the parents care for the baby, who probably can't even comprehend the parents as separate beings. The parents must love the baby first, and in turn, the baby speaks one day, and tells them that he loves them as well. With that love instilled within them, they grow into children, and just as the parent gave them love, they love other children and make friends. Those children who do not love, who bully, who are selfish, are usually not given love, and don't love themselves, and so, cannot love their neighbor because they don't love themselves. However, those who have love internally, are given that love, are shown how much they are loved, and believe it, give their love freely. It becomes their nature.
In issues of socialism, an adult who loves can see the big picture. If we don't support education, it may benefit the children of wealthy parents, but the community as a whole will be less productive, and even the country. It will ultimately hurt the economy. If we don't offer everyone health care, the health of the nation is then at jeopardy, with disease spreading from those who are unable to afford health care.
There are those who I believe simply don't love themselves, and so they are unable to love others. They replace that emptiness with material wealth, with status, with expensive clothes to keep convincing themselves that they are better than others, and the idea of using their gift of wealth to help others in need then becomes a threat of their status, a threat of their security.
There is a myth a meritocracy in the US - those who are wealthy are rich because they worked hard, and deserve it, and those who have none deserve their lot as well.
The Meritocracy Myth
Therefore, why should I have to give to another? Christ says we should, but that would be enabling another the be lazy. Plus, I worked for it. However, it is God who has blessed me. It is God who has favored me. It is man who has decided to pay a pro baseball player 13 million/yr, and a teacher 30K, even though the teacher is doing an important job. And if we simply live in excess, something Christ warns against, our faith become strangled, and for good reason. Having stuff is really seductive. Having people look at you with envy driving your convertible feeds our ego. We start to view ourselves, and others as: you are what you own.
We learn to share in kindergarten, but we learn to keep as adults. That is the way of man, and not the way of God. Can you still be a Christian and think that the concept of socialism - of thinking as a group, as community, and not just oneself - is evil? Yes, but unless one can become like a child - all that we learned and came natural to us when we were 5 - one can't enter the Kingdom.
Basically, if you can only enjoy Heaven by jeering at those who didn't make it in through the Pearly Gates, then you will realize that it is you who are outside. If you can only enjoy Heaven knowing that not everyone is there, like it is an exclusive club, you will be like the son that stayed home, that is angry about the Prodigal Son returning and getting a party, that doesn't rejoice with the Father that his son has returned.
But, there is hope for you - for everyone. You simply have to deny yourself, and become One with The Father, One with the Body of Christ, One with the Human Race. Until you do, you won't fit through the door.
This is in no way to blame those who are anti-socialism. I understand and agree with many of their points. It bothers me that the CEO of The United Way makes 1 million dollars, when that money that is donated is meant to help people, not be given to one greedy person who "helps those in need." I agree that sometimes the government is wasteful in spending, and the $1000 donation changes hands so many times, that there seems to be only $100 by the time it reaches the one for whom it was intended. And I can understand how someone working very hard to make $1 million/year feels "robbed" when their money is withheld through taxes for social services without their say. I want my money to go to the services that I support, and not to those which I do not. There is also a ungrateful attitude that can come from taking from those who are fortunate to be making hand over fist. There is not a thank you, but sometimes, a demand, an expectation. For example, I often read of the man in St. Paul, MN who came from a poor upbringing, only to make millions through hard work and shrewd choices in business. However, he decided that he wanted to use his gift of wealth to give to those who needed it, and people would write in and request a grant. I'm sure that I would have been tempted myself, having struggled at times while I was there during layoffs and the like. In my ESL class, a mother said that she was only able to buy enough milk for her baby to feed her once a day, and wanted enough for two bottles, and possibly occasional ice cream for her daughter. She was granted her request.
Another boy asked for $1000 to buy a car so a girl would like him. He was told that he should find another girlfriend.
However, one man demanded $20,000, saying, "what is that money to a guy like you that has millions? So, just send me the money already!"
What is 50 cents to that same man, when asked for spare change from a homeless person? However, do we not pass the same person, saying, "sorry," or even ignoring them altogether? Is it my place to demand money from anyone, rather than ask for it in mercy? Is it fair to judge a rich man that chooses to keep every penny, when, if we are truthful, is not unlike us, who would be generous in theory when talking about winning the lottery, but may actually keep every penny should our actual numbers come up? While the bible says that it is more difficult for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than the rich man to enter into the Kingdom, should we not look upon such people with compassion, and mercy, because their temptation is far greater than ours?
I love staying in a hotel, and having someone make my bed, and pick up my towels. If that was your life, could you give it up to donate money to a library in a part of town that you have never been in, for kids you have never seen, except on crime stories in the news? Have you ever owned a pair of expensive pants, or an expensive shirt, that when worn is probably as close to The Lord of the Rings as you can get, making you feel like a million dollars?
I want to go to India, but after watching Slumdog Millionaire, I'm embarrassed. The Americans wanted to see the "real India". A boy, called a Slumdog, not even human, is beaten by the police without mercy. He says, "You wanted to see the Real India! Well, here it is!!" The tourists say, "Well, we are going to show you the real America." My friends growned, and said, "no, please," and saw the tourists throw money at the boy, a BandAid for a terrible problem. And for whose benefit was it? The tourists, to make them feel better. I have heard of child prostitution in India, Thailand and other countries. The children are maimed to garner more sympathy, and earn more money for their selfish guardians. That is true poverty, and it's hard to face. It's hard to see, to acknowledge, and it's so much nicer to be with friends sharing a nice bottle of wine at a nice restaurant looking at the skyline of Manhattan, than knowing that my money has often gone to vanity, rather than help feed a child in a 3rd world country that is starving from poverty.
It isn't just the rich, but the American "poor", those who are poor because they have no car, don't have an XBox, or a big flat screen TV, those who think that they have no option to help those in need because they have so little. In Mexico, I've seen families who literally live in the dump.
Americans constitute 5% of the world's population but consume 24% of the world's energy.
Americans throw out 200,000 tons of edible food daily.
Americans eat 815 billion calories of food each day - that's roughly 200 billion more than needed - enough to feed 80 million people.
What needs to change is America's way of thinking. We want to blame the wealthy, but working in a U cafeteria, I witnessed so much wasted food. We need to think globally. If we did, we could feel the world. We need to stop thinking about borders, and start thinking of the world as Our Neighbor, as Children whom God loves. And we need to begin to make that change with ourselves, and inspire others by our own actions.
However, once we truly believe that, once we believe that God truly loves us, and nothing can separate us from that, we become a new creation. We love others as ourselves.
Unfortunately, I think some people get stuck at the "Jesus loves me" part, but refuse to believe that Jesus loves us all. I personally have been told by some self proclaimed christians that God hates me, doesn't listen to my prayers, that I make God sick, etc. I have been told that my sin separates me from God, despite the fact that the bible says nothing, not even death, can separate me from the love of God.
At 45, it was the first time I had been told that (from God.) Basically, after a long session of prayer about a big problem that I have been struggling with, God told me that he loved me even before I was born. He said that my parents created my body, but he created my soul. I asked why he loved me, having a day of self deprecation, and he asked me why a parent loves their baby - they simply eat, sleep, babble, and cry and demand to be given so much. Yet, the parents care for the baby, who probably can't even comprehend the parents as separate beings. The parents must love the baby first, and in turn, the baby speaks one day, and tells them that he loves them as well. With that love instilled within them, they grow into children, and just as the parent gave them love, they love other children and make friends. Those children who do not love, who bully, who are selfish, are usually not given love, and don't love themselves, and so, cannot love their neighbor because they don't love themselves. However, those who have love internally, are given that love, are shown how much they are loved, and believe it, give their love freely. It becomes their nature.
In issues of socialism, an adult who loves can see the big picture. If we don't support education, it may benefit the children of wealthy parents, but the community as a whole will be less productive, and even the country. It will ultimately hurt the economy. If we don't offer everyone health care, the health of the nation is then at jeopardy, with disease spreading from those who are unable to afford health care.
There are those who I believe simply don't love themselves, and so they are unable to love others. They replace that emptiness with material wealth, with status, with expensive clothes to keep convincing themselves that they are better than others, and the idea of using their gift of wealth to help others in need then becomes a threat of their status, a threat of their security.
There is a myth a meritocracy in the US - those who are wealthy are rich because they worked hard, and deserve it, and those who have none deserve their lot as well.
The Meritocracy Myth
Therefore, why should I have to give to another? Christ says we should, but that would be enabling another the be lazy. Plus, I worked for it. However, it is God who has blessed me. It is God who has favored me. It is man who has decided to pay a pro baseball player 13 million/yr, and a teacher 30K, even though the teacher is doing an important job. And if we simply live in excess, something Christ warns against, our faith become strangled, and for good reason. Having stuff is really seductive. Having people look at you with envy driving your convertible feeds our ego. We start to view ourselves, and others as: you are what you own.
We learn to share in kindergarten, but we learn to keep as adults. That is the way of man, and not the way of God. Can you still be a Christian and think that the concept of socialism - of thinking as a group, as community, and not just oneself - is evil? Yes, but unless one can become like a child - all that we learned and came natural to us when we were 5 - one can't enter the Kingdom.
Basically, if you can only enjoy Heaven by jeering at those who didn't make it in through the Pearly Gates, then you will realize that it is you who are outside. If you can only enjoy Heaven knowing that not everyone is there, like it is an exclusive club, you will be like the son that stayed home, that is angry about the Prodigal Son returning and getting a party, that doesn't rejoice with the Father that his son has returned.
But, there is hope for you - for everyone. You simply have to deny yourself, and become One with The Father, One with the Body of Christ, One with the Human Race. Until you do, you won't fit through the door.
This is in no way to blame those who are anti-socialism. I understand and agree with many of their points. It bothers me that the CEO of The United Way makes 1 million dollars, when that money that is donated is meant to help people, not be given to one greedy person who "helps those in need." I agree that sometimes the government is wasteful in spending, and the $1000 donation changes hands so many times, that there seems to be only $100 by the time it reaches the one for whom it was intended. And I can understand how someone working very hard to make $1 million/year feels "robbed" when their money is withheld through taxes for social services without their say. I want my money to go to the services that I support, and not to those which I do not. There is also a ungrateful attitude that can come from taking from those who are fortunate to be making hand over fist. There is not a thank you, but sometimes, a demand, an expectation. For example, I often read of the man in St. Paul, MN who came from a poor upbringing, only to make millions through hard work and shrewd choices in business. However, he decided that he wanted to use his gift of wealth to give to those who needed it, and people would write in and request a grant. I'm sure that I would have been tempted myself, having struggled at times while I was there during layoffs and the like. In my ESL class, a mother said that she was only able to buy enough milk for her baby to feed her once a day, and wanted enough for two bottles, and possibly occasional ice cream for her daughter. She was granted her request.
Another boy asked for $1000 to buy a car so a girl would like him. He was told that he should find another girlfriend.
However, one man demanded $20,000, saying, "what is that money to a guy like you that has millions? So, just send me the money already!"
What is 50 cents to that same man, when asked for spare change from a homeless person? However, do we not pass the same person, saying, "sorry," or even ignoring them altogether? Is it my place to demand money from anyone, rather than ask for it in mercy? Is it fair to judge a rich man that chooses to keep every penny, when, if we are truthful, is not unlike us, who would be generous in theory when talking about winning the lottery, but may actually keep every penny should our actual numbers come up? While the bible says that it is more difficult for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than the rich man to enter into the Kingdom, should we not look upon such people with compassion, and mercy, because their temptation is far greater than ours?
I love staying in a hotel, and having someone make my bed, and pick up my towels. If that was your life, could you give it up to donate money to a library in a part of town that you have never been in, for kids you have never seen, except on crime stories in the news? Have you ever owned a pair of expensive pants, or an expensive shirt, that when worn is probably as close to The Lord of the Rings as you can get, making you feel like a million dollars?
I want to go to India, but after watching Slumdog Millionaire, I'm embarrassed. The Americans wanted to see the "real India". A boy, called a Slumdog, not even human, is beaten by the police without mercy. He says, "You wanted to see the Real India! Well, here it is!!" The tourists say, "Well, we are going to show you the real America." My friends growned, and said, "no, please," and saw the tourists throw money at the boy, a BandAid for a terrible problem. And for whose benefit was it? The tourists, to make them feel better. I have heard of child prostitution in India, Thailand and other countries. The children are maimed to garner more sympathy, and earn more money for their selfish guardians. That is true poverty, and it's hard to face. It's hard to see, to acknowledge, and it's so much nicer to be with friends sharing a nice bottle of wine at a nice restaurant looking at the skyline of Manhattan, than knowing that my money has often gone to vanity, rather than help feed a child in a 3rd world country that is starving from poverty.
It isn't just the rich, but the American "poor", those who are poor because they have no car, don't have an XBox, or a big flat screen TV, those who think that they have no option to help those in need because they have so little. In Mexico, I've seen families who literally live in the dump.
Americans constitute 5% of the world's population but consume 24% of the world's energy.
Americans throw out 200,000 tons of edible food daily.
Americans eat 815 billion calories of food each day - that's roughly 200 billion more than needed - enough to feed 80 million people.
What needs to change is America's way of thinking. We want to blame the wealthy, but working in a U cafeteria, I witnessed so much wasted food. We need to think globally. If we did, we could feel the world. We need to stop thinking about borders, and start thinking of the world as Our Neighbor, as Children whom God loves. And we need to begin to make that change with ourselves, and inspire others by our own actions.
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