Work Harder

"WORK HARDER...millions are depending on you!"

That's the bumper sticker on the back of the car in front of me while I'm sitting at the corner of Airport Road and Boardman Road. I've seen it before...several times just today and I'm pretty sure there are several cars bearing it, or something similar to it, in the parking lot at church each Sunday. I've also seen it posted as a "postcard" on Facebook by many friends, both Christian and not.

I'm looking back and forth between the bumper sticker and the guy standing at the side of the road with a sign that reads, "Help...2 kids to feed. $20 or $30 would really mean a lot." He's not looking at the cars...just standing there, staring at the ground, shuffling his feet, and occasionally glancing to his left, at the highway.

The King will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." - Matthew 25:40

This is what the Lord Almighty said: "Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other." - Zechariah 7:9-10

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:17-18

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. - Acts 4:32

The list goes on and on and on. Balance...it's all about balance...which it doesn't feel like we have these days...and for which I don't have the solution. This feels like a very unbalanced situation to me.

In no way am I endorsing our current welfare systems, the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act, communism, socialism, etc., etc. I believe our current government systems, especially those with a focus on social welfare, are far too "corrupt" to be sustainable. We need lots of reform...across the board in the private, public, and government sectors. However, my experience today ignited a fire under the questions that have been brewing in my heart and head about these issues for a long time.

When did "The Church" abdicate social welfare to the government? Why does it feel like those of us screaming the loudest about how unfair things are are the ones who should be bending over backwards to help our fellow man? Can people of faith (all faiths) reclaim this responsibility, prying it out of the government's hands? If we do, will we do it better than the government? Is the job too big for "The Church"? Too big for God?

Meijer was right around the corner...I rolled down my window and told the guy with the sign to hop in. He didn't try to buy booze, he didn't buy cigarettes. We got milk, cereal, bread, fruit, veggies...staples. He just moved to Jackson a month ago. He got a job at McDonalds but won't get his first paycheck for another week, not that I expect his first paycheck to do much in terms of being able to buy groceries. The kids are 2 months and 18 months old...Miranda would have been 18 months old yesterday.

Abba, I bring my brokenness to you and lay it at your feet. Soften my heart, open my eyes, give me wisdom.