Charity

“. . . be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Matthew 16: 11

This is a caution that what what we hear from our leaders, religious and secular, may not necessarily be in keeping with the truth. Jesus is talking about religious teaching in particular but I believe it also applies to secular guidance. What our politicians tell us isn’t necessarily even accurate, much less truthful or in keeping with the law or the Constitution.

A lot of what we get fed by the press is someone’s “interpretation” of the law, events, circumstances, or other happenings. It’s up to us to ascertain, as best we can, the accuracy of their commentary. It isn’t intelligent to always presume that any particular person is always lying or that another is always trustworthy. There are times even the most prolific liar is truthful. I refer you to the story of the boy who cried wolf.

Unfortunately, many in positions of power use our innate trust against us. We trust what they say and accept it without any real examination.

“Healthcare must be accessible to the most vulnerable, not only because their dignity requires it but also to prevent injustice from becoming a cause of conflict. It is an essential condition for social peace.” Pope Leo XIV

The Catholic Church is one of the wealthiest organizations in the world. How many hospitals or clinics are they building in the third world? How many medical schools are they funding to graduate health care professionals to care for the poor? What do his words mean?

A person is homeless, cold, hungry and decides to break into my home. According to some Christian theologians, once this person gets into my house, I am to house, feed, clothe, and provide care for this person. At least if I profess to be a Christian.

The foregoing will be denied, of course. Yet, that is exactly what we are being told on a national scale. We are supposed to welcome those who come across our national border illegally; care for them, provide for them, and to do so indefinitely. There are some illegals who have been here for many years and are still on welfare—which means taxpayers continue to support them.

Sharing is supposed to be an individual effort and obligation. It’s not expected or demanded of Caesar or his government. In the parable about landowners, they are exhorted to share the leavings and pay their workmen. The government is not involved.

Hospitals, universities, poor houses, and numerous other social support organizations were started and managed by charitable institutions. Gradually, government bureaucrats edged their way in and took over each and every such effort, if not directly then through regulation.

This is part of the ever increasing secularization of our culture. God made us male and female. Our culture has re-defined those two terms so as to render them meaningless. Such confusion doesn’t serve anyone but the bureaucrats who seek to enhance their own power. And the constituents who gain power themselves by pushing such confusion.

Unfortunately, resistance requires time, effort, and likely approbation. It’s much easier to accept the gradual secularization and related modifications than to argue and be called names. There won’t be anyone to argue against you with sound reasoning or theological truths. The only thing they have is vituperation.

Nowhere does Jesus talk about accepting abortion, or multiple sexes, or becoming one with multiple others, or supporting the lazy, or most of the other stuff that many are saying we must accept if we follow Jesus! Pretending things in the Bible support what is going on in society is called syncretism. And that is rampant throughout many so-called Christian theologians’ teachings today.

Read your Bible. See what it says for yourself. Read what Jesus actually said. Quit relying on some Reverend’s self-serving interpretation. When Jesus talked about answering your prayers, he wasn’t referring to the new Mercedes you want.

Nowhere does he exhort all Christians to give everything they have to the poor and become an itinerant preacher. He told one young man, but that doesn’t mean the same to everyone else. If you read about early Christians helping and caring for each other, selling their land, etc., they were meeting in other Christian’s homes—so somebody still had to have a home!

We’re told to accept immigrants because Joseph and Mary were immigrants. Well, it’s not the same. Joseph and Mary did go to Egypt but Egypt did not have any kind of welfare system to support them. There was an established Jewish community at that time and it’s most likely they joined that community, where Joseph continued working as a carpenter, supporting his family. If they got any help, it was from their fellow Jews. Egyptians at that time tolerated Jews but did not readily accept them.

Much of the coverage regarding illegal immigrants is a combination of emotionalism and syncretism. Since support for the poor comes from government, the emotional response is to just let it flow to everyone who needs it. Unfortunately, the reality is government has nothing it hasn’t taken from someone else and, like all Ponzi schemes, eventually other people’s money is gone.

Claiming it’s Christian to help the unfortunate is accurate. Saying America is obligated to support the world is an ideal but idealism soon smacks into reality and there isn’t enough money in America to take on the world’s poor. Besides, some of these “poor” came across the border with harmful intent and are already causing harm to both individuals and the country.

We have yet to see the full impact of our open borders, strategically or financially. It may seem harsh to deport the so-called poor and downtrodden but we actually have no real choice if our nation is to survive. Many who support these poor really don’t want our nation to survive and this is their chosen means to end it. If you examine the consequences of their decisions, that’s the result, regardless of those “good feelings” they inspire.