Because of the weak economy the shelves of many food banks are
beginning to look pretty sparse. Although these organizations feed the hungry,
I can’t help but wonder if they aren’t also helping to feed the sense of
entitlement that so many people are coming to expect. In his warning about
people who are idle Paul said, “Such
people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the
bread they eat.” (2 Thes 3:12 NIV) Paul doesn’t specify when a person
should earn their bread, so I’m assuming it could be before, or even after,
they have eaten. I can’t say that I’ve ever actually known anyone to go hungry,
but neither have I known an organization to ask their clients to earn the bread
they eat.
1 comment:
Gail;
-----I don’t think there is anything in this world that is entirely without fault. I’ve worked with our local food bank and I know people take undue advantage of it. I also know that many people who truly need the food they receive from it will not help at all with the tremendous amount of labor required to keep it functioning. This is just human nature. And you are very right about the effect a full belly has upon the appetite. Of course it does not work that way in everyone, but I think we are all seeing a growing number of people loosing their incentive to be self sufficient as they recognize more and more resources being made available for nothing.
-----Or almost nothing. Everything costs. But those costs are not always paid in material currency. And many making free resources available are looking for repayment in non-material goods. Like votes. The Federal government is now advertising welfare benefits on Hispanic TV and radio channels, touting the ease with which they can be received, celebrating the decline of the stigma about receiving them, praising the enjoyment of them, and, of course, encouraging folks to spread the word to their neighbors and friends, too! We know what that’s mostly about. It’s an industry as old as Rome.
-----One of my biggest fears is becoming dependent on hand-outs while being physically able to work. I am too aware of the amount of labor present in everything we use and enjoy. Labor is even a big part of things made entirely by machines. The machine itself was made with labor. Somebody else purchased the machine with earned money and placed it in a building constructed by a great deal more labor. Somebody keeps the machine running, somebody dollies the finished goods to the warehouse. Somebody trucks them to a distributor where they are dollied some more before they are trucked to a store where employees put them on display shelves before other employees check them out at the register. Everything I see people using and enjoying reminds me that good folks all over the place are working hard and earning their livings by the sweat of their brows. I am too thankful for their efforts and respectful of their situations to expect to receive the fruits of their labors for nothing. If every able-bodied person receiving a handout from a food bank would turn around and repay it with the same amount of labor that made their freebie, the food bank would not have enough room to facilitate all the workers.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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