The Problem with I Believe...But...

"I believe no child should go hungry, but not if it comes out of tax dollars."

"I believe no one should go hungry, but not if it comes out of tax dollars."

"I believe no one should go hungry, but if they are on food stamps, then I should get to dictate what they can and cannot buy."

"I believe no one should go hungry, but if they are on food stamps, then they should get drug tested."

"I believe...but...." 

Stop right there!

I believe. STOP! No buts allowed. 

What would Jesus do? What does Jesus say?

Feed the hungry. PERIOD.

Take care of the poor. PERIOD.

Take care of the sick. PERIOD.

Take care of the widow. PERIOD.

Visit the imprisoned. PERIOD.

Clothe the naked. PERIOD.

Shelter the homeless. PERIOD.

Yet oddly enough, many so-called Christians try to set conditions to taking care of the least of these (Matthew 25:31-46). 

Why?

When you, a Christian, say, I believe, but, you are saying I do not believe God is capable of doing his will unless I make conditions for how His will should be done. You place limits on God. Stop doing that!

When you die, you will face your judgement. What will you say when you are asked if you believe in Jesus? Will you say, "I believe, but?" 

Let your yes be yes, and let your no be no. There is no BUT allowed. 

You either believe that no child or no person should go hungry or you don't. You cannot place conditions on how that is done. After all Jesus didn't. 

I am still trying to picture Jesus when he handed out the loaves and fish saying go pee in this cup then I will feed you. No. He would have just said, "here is your food. Peace be with you." Or, "here is your food. Now to in peace." 

To all the lawmakers, media reporters, church ministers, or other Christians out there reading this, stop demonizing the least of these. We have a voice just like you do, and we have the right to the same basic dignity and respect that you do. Either be compassionate because you do believe that is what you should do, or don't. No more half-wit attempts. 

What we do and do not eat does not affect you personally. It never has. It never will. 

Stop cutting SNAP because you think that is what God would want. Stop cutting Social Security for the elderly or the poor and the disabled because you think that is what God would want. Stop cutting veterans benefits because you think that is what God would want. Stop trying to repeal the ACA because you think that is what God would want. Just stop. If you are a Christian and involved in politics, then you have one job, and that job is to figure out a way to strengthen the social safety net programs that exist to help the least of these. And THAT is what God demands. 

No strings attached. Take care of the least of these and you will be rewarded. Fail to take care of the least of these and you will be punished. "For how you treat the least of these is how you treat Me." Jesus basically said that twice. That means it is important. 

God, I believe. When I feel tempted to say, "I believe, but," stop me and remind me that my yes is to be yes and my no is to be no. Thank You. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Seeking Perfection

Exodus 20:3 - You shall have no other gods before me.

Psalm 37:4 - Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Dear God, no other gods. Money is a god for some people. I think it is a god for most republicans. They have it. Others don't. Because money has become their god, they treat those who don't like they are not even people but objects. That is what they do when they threaten to take healthcare from people or when they threaten to discriminate against people who receive SNAP by trying to dictate what they can and cannot eat or drink when the real culprit is one ingredient: high fructose corn syrup, and the reality is that there are more fat rich people than there are poor fat people. And in the south, it is more of a problem of the obsession with fried foods. But this belittling of the poor and judgment of the poor whether it comes to trying to dictate what they can and cannot buy because they assume there is "rampant" fraud - I am pretty sure that less than one percent fraud is nowhere near rampant because rampant means widespread and there is more fraud in congress than in SNAP or Social Security combined! - or whether it is trying to deny healthcare to people just because they are poor (congress keeps trying to repeal the ACA or Bentley is blocking Medicaid expansion which is forcing hospitals in rural communities to shut down in Alabama because they can no longer handle the financial burden of the uninsured poor) has become their god. Duck Dynasty guy was telling the republicans to get more godly, and now I understand what he means. The anti-abortion and anti-homosexuality fixation they have developed alongside the anti-poor and hate the president mentality they have has become their god. Money has become their god. They get paid $174,000 per year and yet they do nothing for the people anymore. They even shut down the government because of their sick obsession with trying to keep people from gaining access to affordable healthcare. They have it, so why shouldn't everyone else? Not every job provides insurance. And insurance used to illegally discriminate against people. Now they want government to discriminate against people who receive SNAP by dictating what they can and cannot buy when there are already restrictions in place. Discrimination - denying a group of people something others can have for some reason. Insurance used to deny people with pre-exciting conditions. Many places still discriminate against the disabled. Many of the pre-existing conditions can be disabling. Places used to discriminate against people of color and some places still do. If banning the purchase of soda is good enough for people who get SNAP, then they must ban purchase of soda for ALL of the people, or else it is called discrimination. Instead of a ban on purchasing it with SNAP, they need to ban HFCS which has banned in other countries already, is no longer needed, and is more directly tied to obesity and diabetes than anything else. Don't believe me? Do some research about when it became the main ingredient in sodas and when fast food restaurants began showing up on every corner. You also will find that that is around the time girls entered puberty earlier and earlier. Another thing to consider is that the cost of healthy foods needs to be brought down in price and grocery tax needs to be repealed in all states with the exception of the proposal to tax products containing HFCS. The ban of HFCS or the special grocery tax on products containing HFCS will go further and be more effective than dictating what SNAP recipients can and cannot buy which then has to be a sweeping restriction on all of the people to prevent illegal discrimination. Look, God, I know You already know these things, but Bentley and DeMarco and that Palmer guy they said will be in some runoff do not seem to get it. Another god? Guns. They are obsessed with guns to the extent that some idiot actually tried to carry his (more like flaunt it) into a church that was serving as a polling place. All the polling places are subject to federal guidelines which prohibit guns or any other weapon. The church does and maintains business on a daily basis and I believe offers childcare and it is private property. The man was disrespectful and arrogant. Now he is threatening to do it again, which I hope police will just take action at that point because if he wants to break the state law and the local law, then he should have to deal with the consequences. But they are so obsessed, I have seen people claim that it is a "God-given right." When asked to point to where it says it is his God-given right in the Bible, he said it isn't in the Bible. So I said, well then it isn't your God-given right; it is a man-made right, and not even one intended for the general populace. But it is my God-given right to live and have food and healthcare if I am sick and to be treated with respect with dignity. After considering a lot of things from the past few days, I now know why Christians should not be involved in government. As congressmen or senators though. One of them is out on the radio saying if he wins, he will impose his religion and his beliefs on everyone. Well, that is a violation of the First Amendment. Little wonder why America is so messed up right now. They lost focus and their moral compass has shifted too far into legalism. And that is what the Pharisees did. When a pope who exemplifies what Jesus did while on earth actually commends the president for his efforts to help the poor in regards to access to food and healthcare, you know he must doing something right. When the pope actually criticizes what congress is doing, you know they are doing something wrong. I am not even catholic, but even I like what the pope is doing! By the way, if Bentley or DeMarco happen on this, I do not care how good a Christian you claim to be but if you block access or take away access to healthcare from someone because you hate the president so much, then you are not a Christian because a true Christian would not do that. Matthew 25:31-46 and Romans 13:1-7 guys. As long you disrespect the president, you disrespect God. And I do not support anyone who disrespects the president of the country my mother and my ancestors served. Furthermore, DeMarco, if you hate the president so much and have no intention of actually working with the president who will basically be your boss in D.C., then why are you even bothering to run? If I went to apply for a job with your attitude, I would not be hired. Period. God, five more months until November. Give me peace and comfort and most of all wisdom. I am now finally gaining understanding of what some of those lessons I have been taught actually mean! Now if Tom would just exemplify You and seek restoration with me like You say he is supposed to have done to start with. Sigh. God, thank. You for lessons learned and revelations of Yourself. In Jesus' Name, Amen!