SO YA THINK YOU CAN ONE UP JESUS! REALLY?

Throughout the Bible, there is verse following verse, given by authors inspired by the glory of God, which compel us to allocate our wealth and our gifts to those less fortunate and in need. As you see in Exodus 23:4, “If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again”. The command by God is not just directed at the poor, but the needy as well.

In many cases the biblical authors explain to us the special place God has set aside for the poor in His kingdom. But it is not just those who have not acquired material goods but in other areas as well. In the famous Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:3, you will read those legendary words of Jesus, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The command goes far beyond the rich mans ability to spread his wealth. In Luke 4:18 Christ quotas the prophet Esaias “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised”. James reminds us in chapter 2, verse 5, “Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?”

But in Matthew 26:11, Mark 14:7, John 12:8 Jesus says (quoted from Mark) “For ye have the poor with you always.”And in 1 Corinthians 13:3 Paul writes, “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing”. You ought to discover a bit about how the Bible speaks to charity on your own. And in verse 10, “But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away with.”

So my friends, no amount of vast government spending will alleviated the suffering of the poor. Instead we should be good stewards of the resources we have available locally to produce the best and most desired effects. Strive to be a quality parent and family member. Join community not for profit organizations and give abundantly to those on which you can keep a watchful eye. Use your talents to expedite the unleashing of a unifying spirit that will spread to the four corners of the earth.

And PLEASE!, leave to government that which the founders so clearly outlined and guard against its gobbling up of power that only afflicts the poor and weak. I would never suggest that my opponents in this debate have an ulterior motive in using government. I just believe they are using the wrong methods to achieve goals we all desire.

That would be to answer Christ’s call to do all we can to help those in need.

The Constitution created a federal government with only enumerated powers. All powers not listed were reserved to the states and the people. During the debate over adoption of the Constitution, the Constitution’s advocates also enumerated powers the federal government absolutely would not have. Therefore. The Bill of Rights-including the Tenth Amendment-was adopted.

The Tenth Amendment reads: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

In a variety of speeches, articles, letters, and pamphlets, the “enumerators”, including, among others, Alexander Hamilton, James Wilson, John Marshall, and of course, James Madison, listed some powers they solemnly promised would be outside the federal sphere.
The one’s we are interested in for this discussion but not limited to, are: family affairs, control of personal property outside of commerce, education, and oh my, here it is, services for the poor and unfortunate.

I bet they knew all about Jesus’ claim that the poor would be with us always and were determined to leave the federal government out of trying to make Jesus a liar. Any such attempt by those who adore big government can be witnessed as an abject failure.

And so it will be until the end of time.