If you don't work, you don't eat

I didn’t intend to mix politics and religion on this blog.  But who am I kidding?  It was probably inevitable.  So here goes...

Since when has it become Christian to let our government take care of our call to help the widows and orphans?

I heard stories in the news about a “Christian Leader”, someone I've never heard of, saying it is our obligation as Christians to support government programs such as unemployment benefits and welfare.  They said that opposing these government programs is un-Christian.  As Christians we should help anyone and everyone in any way that we can.  If that means paying more in taxes to support these government programs then so be it.  We are helping the poor.  That is what Christ told us to do.  Or is it?

I don't have any issues with helping out a person who is down on their luck.  People fall on hard times and just need some help to weather the storm, get their feet back on the ground and move forward.  But who should be responsible for that help?  Should this aspect of charity be the responsibility of our government?  I don't think so.   Yet, recently Congress passed a law extending unemployment benefits.  If you lose your job, you can receive a check for doing nothing other than “looking for work” for almost two years.  TWO YEARS!  Should it really take two years to find a job?
 
Maybe it can take two years to find a job.  What are some excuses reasons that it would take 2 years to find a job?  “I can't find a job that pays enough.”  “I can't find the right job.”  “I need time to focus.”  “No one will hire me.”  I’m sorry but I don’t buy it.  I may be a little cynical but I think the main reason is “The government is giving me money for doing nothing.”  That money doesn't magically appear in the government's back account to supply your family food, shelter, cell phones, cable TV and Internet while you take your time looking for the perfect job.  It’s coming from the taxes we pay.  That I pay.  Especially if you have a family you better be willing to man up and bring some food to the table.  I don't care if the job pays minimum wage.  Minimum wage is still more than no wage.

But I’m not being loving enough.  As a Christian I'm supposed to love my neighbor.  If I'm not willing to support you while you take your time to find the right job I am not walking in Christ’s love.  Let's be blunt.  WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!  What does scripture say?  2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”  If you haven't figured it out from the title of this post, this is how I interpret this scripture:  If you don't work, you don't eat.  Yes, that sounds harsh.  But if you're willing to work at something, anything, you will have work to do.  It may be picking up handyman jobs.  It could be flipping burgers at McDonald's.  It could be volunteering at your church or local soup kitchen.  If you are willing to work there is something out there for you to do.  And if you are working at something, anything, God will provide for you.

Last year while my wife was pregnant she had to go on modified bed rest.  Suddenly our income was not going to be enough and I had to find another job to make ends meet.  And it had to be a job that would work around my full-time job.  In about a month I was working at a retail auto parts store.  To put this in perspective, the most complicated thing I had done to any car at that point was change the oil.  I did not know cars.  So in a working environment where almost 10% of the country is out of work, I was able to find a 2nd job selling something that I knew almost nothing about.  And to top it off I was part of the management team.  There is work out there to be had.  You just have to be willing to do something you don't want to do for less money than you want to get paid.

But wait!  Jesus fed the hungry, right?  He took the loaves and fishes and fed the multitudes!  So why don't you want to help someone who needs it?  Yep, Jesus fed the hungry.  HE fed them!  He didn’t pass the buck to the government, HE FED THEM!  If you know someone in need you fill that need.  You don’t direct them to the nearest welfare office to pick up your charity check.  And it is not always their immediate need that you should be focusing on.  They may be hungry and want food.  But they need a way to make sure that they don’t become hungry again.  Remember the old proverb.  If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day.  If you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime.  So if you’re hungry and I truly want what is best for you am I going to give you a fish and walk away because my obligation as a Christian is satisfied?  Or am I going teach you to fish?  Am I going to take care of the need the you have right now or am I going to teach you to take care of that need for the rest of you life?

Now that I’ve finished ranting I have some challenges for you:

If you don’t agree with me: Tell me why!  Give me scripture and verse and show me I’m wrong.

If you have a job:  Help someone who doesn’t.  Take them to dinner.  Give them money for their bills.  If they’re a single parent, watch their kids while they go on job interviews.  Instead of passing the buck to the welfare system, get involved and help someone.  This isn't about not helping people.  This is giving people the help they need.

If you don’t have a job:  Do Something!  Anything!  Don’t sit around and don’t feel sorry for yourself.  Man up!  If all you can find is part time work and you need full time work, get two part time jobs.  If you need $15 an hour and all you can find is $10 an hour work for $10 an hour until you find a job for $15 an hour.  If the only work you can find is to volunteer at church cleaning the toilets then humble yourself and clean the toilets.  Put your hand to something.  One place you can volunteer right now is in Nashville.  Go to  serviceinternational.org to find out about flood relief trips.

Numbness & Worship

So I was late to church on Sunday.  This isn't an unusual occurrence when you have a toddler and a baby.  And every time I think to myself “I'm just missing worship.”  But this past Sunday I realized it was something else to which I've become numb.  I'm not just missing worship.  I'm missing a chance to connect with God and to prepare myself for Him to speak to me.

Have you ever noticed how much worship prepares your heart to receive?  As I began to think about it I realized that the church services where I was able to truly worship I learned a tremendous amount from the sermon.  I felt like God was speaking directly to me through our pastor's words when I had the chance to prepare my heart to hear from God.  But recently, more times than not, I'm late or distracted during worship and end up struggling to stay awake, let alone hear from God.

Have you ever been to a service where the worship time felt lifeless?  It's unbearable.  During my freshman year of college my parents had started going to a different church while I was away at school.  But the youth group was a strong connection.  I stayed at our old church and helped out with the youth group.  And then one night during the youth service worship everything felt wrong. I was standing in the crowd singing and I could tell that there was no life in the room.  It felt cold and oppressive.  It wasn't worship.  It was a group of kids hanging out.  I had to get out.  I went to the bathroom to get away from the feeling of emptiness that was in the room, regrouped and went back to the service.

I was able to feel the difference because whenever I visited my parent’s new church that there was a joy in praising God that I couldn't feel that night.  The members of that church were truly praising God.  They weren’t there to socialize or make an appearance.  They loved God and were truly worshiping Him.

Worship is not just a time to allow the late-comers a chance to sit down without having everyone look at them funny.  Corporate worship in a church service ushers in the anointing of God on that time.  When the congregation joyfully praises God he is able to do so much more.  Hearts will be touched.  Lives will be changed.  Worship is vital to our time with God.  Without true worship bringing God to the service, despite any attempt of the pastor, preaching becomes lecturing.

God is always trying to speak to us.  But any type of communication is two-way.  Not only do you have to be clear in the message you are trying to convey, they have to understand the message.  You may be an eloquent speaker in all situations, but if the other person is not listening you aren’t communicating.  If they can’t hear you because of noise, you aren’t communicating.

When you’re hardly trying or not trying at all, you’ve become numb to God’s message.  In that youth service, the kids weren’t trying to listen for God.  No matter what God would have tried to say to them, they were not going to hear it.  Last Sunday, I was partly trying to hear from God.  I was letting too much of the “noise” in my life get in the way of God talking to me.

No one is immune from the noise of life getting in the way from hearing from God.  Satan will do everything he can to distract you from God’s voice.  It takes an effort to make certain you are listening to God even, sometimes especially, in church.  Take advantage of the worship time in church to help to wipe away the noise in your life.  Stop singing loudly to show off your voice to the people sitting around you.  Stop singing softly because you’re self-conscious about your voice.  Don’t think about anything other than singing to God.  Praising Him for all He has done for you.  Worshiping Him for Who He Is!  The more your focus leaves the noise in your life and locks in on God, the greater the volume that still small voice take on.

It may only be for a short while, but in that time God will speak volumes.

Self-Forgiveness

They’ve forgiven you.  Now you can move on.  Or can you?  Have you forgiven yourself?
No!  You can’t forgive yourself yet!  You haven’t suffered enough.  You haven’t wallowed in self-misery long enough.  You need to keep feeling guilty about what you did.  You can’t forgive yourself until you’ve fully punished yourself…
Why?
Too many times we hold on to the sins of the past.  We continue to feel guilty about what we’ve done.  Regardless of the fact that the person we wronged has forgiven us, we can’t let go.  Regardless of the fact that this particular sin was a minuscule part of the sins of Humanity that Christ upon himself when he died on the Cross
By not forgiving yourself you are rejecting God’s forgiveness. Can you claim that your opinion of sin is of more value that God’s?  If God forgives you, why can’t you forgive yourself?  If he deems that you are worthy of forgiveness then you are worthy of forgiveness.
You must ask forgiveness of God as soon as you repent of your sin.  If you ask for forgiveness you will be forgiven.  1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins…”  There is no sin that will not be forgiven if you ask for forgiveness.  
Maybe you are too ashamed to bring it to him?  Is what you did so horrible that you should never be forgiven?  How does your sin compare to the sins of the most evil people in history?  Nero, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer.  These are people whose sins defy description.  Each name evokes a thought of horror.  But Christ took all of their sins upon him when he died upon the cross.  All it would have taken for each of these men to be forgiven of all their sins would have been to repent and ask forgiveness.  In fact, there are stories that Jeffrey Dahmer did just that and became a Christian before he died.  When Christ died it was for all of your sins, past, present and future.  There is no sin that you or anyone has committed or will be commit that cannot be covered by the death of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago.
The crux of the issue is the sorrow that you feel for the wrong you committed.  By allowing yourself to feel guilty you think you are somehow atoning for your sin.  But the atonement for your sin was accomplished with Christ’s death on the cross.  There is nothing left to atone for.  And God’s forgiveness for your sin means that you are no longer guilty.  Do not let your sorrow anchor your spiritual life to that sin.  Let yourself move past that point and progress forward.
But remain sorrowful.  Remind yourself of the hurt you caused the one you loved.  Remind yourself of that sorrow any time you are tempted to commit that sin again.  Use that sorrow as your means of escape from temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).  Learn from that sorrow and make certain that you do not commit that sin again.  Yes, God will forgive you if you commit that sin again.  But the one you love is human.  And they may not forgive you if there is a next time.  And even if they do forgive you a next time, they may need to remove that sin from their life…

Numbness & Forgiveness

Most of us have heard the story about how to boil a frog. If you take a frog and put him in a pot of boiling water he’ll jump out pretty quick. But if you put a frog in a pot of room temperature water and slowly turn the temperature up to boiling, pretty soon you will have a boiled frog.

Call me a frog.

I’ve been a Christian all my life. I cannot remember a time where Jesus was not a part of my life. I was raised going to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. I remember making the decision to be baptized when I was 12. But I cannot remember a specific moment of accepting Jesus as my Savior. He just always was. But recently I realized that constantly being in church had made me numb to some aspects of Christianity. One aspect in particular that I took for granted was the value of forgiveness.

I am a sinner. I’ve never believed I’m perfect because I am a Christian. Being a Christian just means that I’ve accepted the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for my sins. I’ve accepted the forgiveness that he has offered. Yet it took an act of human forgiveness for me to truly understand the value of that forgiveness.

Looking through your tears at the tears in the eyes of someone you have wronged impacts you. It hits you deep in the gut, in a place that paralyzes your emotions. I’m not saying you can’t feel anything. Your emotions are frozen in a wretched, helpless mess. You are at the mercy of someone that you have wronged. Nothing can change what you’ve done. It’s their turn to respond.

Human nature tells them to make you squirm. To scream and yell. To make you feel every bit as horrible as they feel. You know that is what you would want to do as you wait for their response But that's not what they do.

They forgive you. And you realize the gift they have given you. And you remember how precious the gift of God's forgiveness is. And you start to wonder what other things in your faith you have become numb to.