Who gives a damn about the poor, the sick, the hungry and the needy? According to Pastor John Pavlovitz, it is not the Republicans who voted unanimously on a budget to cut 2 Trillion dollars from aid programs for the needy. It is not the Evangelicals who Pastor John says put altar calls and prayer ahead of any direct aid to the “marginalized.” It is also not the many Conservative Christians who say that the Government should not be responsible for the poor and needy but who have yet to devote any money to help those in need, unless of course they be friends or family members.
Pastor John writes, “We’re not witnessing an overwhelming outpouring of compassion from Conservative church folk who have declared that they’re going to repair the homes and make the lunches and pay for the surgeries and watch the children for the tens of millions about to be kicked to the curb by this Conservative leadership—and we shouldn’t be holding our breath.” — “The Christians Mocking Jesus and Defunding the Least of These” — John Pavlovitz, 2-25-25
Tribalism reigns supreme among Conservatives. My first responsibility according to VP Vance is to take care of my family, then my friends and then my immediate social network. To hell with the needy who I do not know or who do not live in my social circle. It is out of sight, than out of mind.
You might argue that we cannot afford all of these social causes. That is a lie. It is a matter of priority. Consider that our military budget is greater than the next highest nine military budgets in the world. Consider that we have given billions in foreign aid to the Ukraine and Israel to arm themselves with guns and bombs. Consider that our tax breaks for the rich have resulted in a situation where the rich are worth hundreds and sometimes thousands of times what even the average middle-class American is worth.
Average Wealth: The mean household wealth for the top 0.1% is more than $158.6 million.
The Average American Family: The mean income for all American families is $136.000
Top 1% Wealth: The top 1% (including the top 0.1%) holds a staggering $49.2 trillion of wealth. That is 31% of the total wealth of America.
The Bottom 50% of American Families, own just 1% of the wealth in the U.S., with 13.4 million of these families having a negative net worth.
But who gives a damn about income inequality. These people are losers. They are lazy or stupid. Too many of them sit home all day expecting a handout. All they need is motivation. A good kick in the ass would get them going. No one gave me anything! All I ever needed was a hand-up not a hand-out! Why should I have to take care of them. Some of these people make a fortune on government handouts. Let them win the lottery. I have a hard enough time paying my own bills.
I walk down a typical American street. Today I pass by an old woman dressed in the latest “unfashion.” She is not carrying a Gucci handbag. In fact, she does not even have a handbag. She is pushing a shopping cart. Everything she owns is in a shopping cart. It is not a Mercedes shopping cart either. She is moving from one side of town to another so that she can find a new place to set up for the coming evening. She has learned not to stay in one place too long or the police will move her out.
Yesterday, I passed a homeless Veteran on the streetcorner carrying a sign that reads, “Veteran needs money for food.” I volunteer a few days each month at our local Veterans center. I am there to help Vets that come in with problems. Recently, I spent three days trying to help an 80 percent disabled Vietnam veteran get some state assistance under a mobility grant so that he could afford a walk-in shower. We never got to complete the online form required by the grant. Every other page had some type of document required to complete the form.
Joe (the Vet) has been asked to provide Proof of Service, Proof of Home Ownership, Proof of Homeowners Insurance and several other proofs. He has had to come back three times to the center. Each time he wonders why they just did not state all the forms needed before we started. A question that I have no answer to. I have to scan all these forms in as Joe does not have a computer at home. As I write this, we still have not completed all the paperwork. He has not returned yet with the remainder of the forms needed.
We can send Israel 3.5 billion dollars a year, but we can’t make it simple for a disabled war veteran to obtain a walk-in shower. For the amount of money we send to Israel each year we could build 350,000 walk in showers. But who gives a damn about the poor and needy. And now some idiot with a chainsaw is going to cut thousands of jobs in Social Security, The VA and other government organizations to improve efficiency. I worked for fifteen years with Dr. W. E. Deming, and other quality greats. Dr. Deming always said you improve a process with a scalpel not with a meat cleaver. When you use a cleaver you cut the muscle and bone along with the fat. This is no way to improve the efficiency of any process or organization.
By the way, I am not against aid programs to other countries in need. However, the aid we send to Israel does not help the sick and needy. Mostly it is used to build guns and bombs or buy guns and bombs. But our President stops aid to countries where people are starving so he will have more money to give to his rich supporters.
Losers and more losers. How come so many people need a handout?
A few years ago, I happened to catch a glimpse of a popular TV show called Bridezillas. The prospective bride was shopping for a $20,000 bridal gown and screaming, “It’s all about me! It’s all about me!” I suppose many people watched this program and enjoyed seeing the little spoiled brat ranting and ranting. This is a “reality” show. The real reality is that fifty percent of Americans today are this little spoiled brat. How many people ranting about Immigration have ever been molested by an immigrant? How many people wanting to build a border wall have ever lost their jobs to an immigrant? How many people complaining about illegal immigrants want to do the hard menial work that I see so many immigrants doing all over the USA. From Arizona to Michigan to Rhode Island to Wisconsin, I have seen dozens of migrant workers doing work that Americans feel is beneath them or does not pay enough.
We complain about poverty and people taking handouts, but our kids are not willing to work anymore because they are too busy playing video games. We complain about taxes, but we can buy designer clothes, designer shoes, designer weddings and designer handbags. We complain about inflation, but it does not stop us from eating out at expensive restaurants. We complain about the price of eggs and gasoline, but we drive $85,000 gas guzzling pickup trucks so that we can be cool.
I inquired of a few people I met recently “How could you vote for a man who is vindictive, unethical, lies like crazy and loves to humiliate other people.” I was told the same thing by each person I asked, “I don’t care about his personality as long as he gets rid of the immigrants and lowers my taxes.” Who are the selfish greedy spoiled brats in America? As Pogo said, “ We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
The Conservative Evangelicals have bumper stickers and wear t-shirts that read, “What Would Jesus Do.” I don’t claim to be a Christian and I don’t claim to be a very religious person, but I don’t think Jesus would kick the immigrants out, kick people out of their jobs and stop aid for the people in America and the world who are most in need of help. The pastor at our church always says, “Give me Jesus, they can have all the rest.” I don’t think he would want a Jesus who said, “It’s all about me! I want my taxes lowered and these lazy poor people put to work right after we get rid of the immigrants”
I repeat my question: “Who gives a damn about the poor, the sick, the hungry and the needy?” Are you proud to say that you are not your brothers keeper?
“The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of the evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and goodwill, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper, and the finder of lost children.” — Ezekiel 25:17
This week, you will hear from one Jesus of Nazareth. He has been called by many names including: Messiah, Emmanuel, Christ, Lord, Master, Logos (the Word), Son of God and by himself more often The Son of Man. He is often credited with being the founder or perhaps foundation for a popular religion called Christianity. Today, it is difficult to see the link between the teachings of Jesus and many of these so-called Christian religions. I have it on good authority that Jesus never ever preached killing anyone and yet many of these so-called Christian religions are continually waving a banner of mayhem and destruction at those who think differently than they do. Anyway, it is time to let Jesus speak for himself.
I am talking about greed here. I am talking about wanting more and more regardless of the effects it has on the earth. I am telling you that happiness does not come from having more of things. The only true happiness comes from helping others. It is better to share with others who are needy than to amass a fortune that you cannot take with you. Those who berate the tax collector and call him a sinner and cheat are no better than the tax collector. Indeed, those who refuse to pay their fair share for the life they are given are worse than the tax collector. 
I am talking about sin here. I am talking about grieving your mistakes and injustices towards others. No one can walk in this world without hurting others either deliberately or by mistake. But the people who will be comforted in the next world are those who regret their mistakes and injustices and ask for forgiveness. They are the people who acknowledge their sins and mistakes and try to make amends. I was not perfect, and no one born of this world is perfect. The good and just man admits his vices and tries to overcome them. The good and just man tries to make amends to the people he has hurt or abused.
The narcissist and the man full of hubris will do injustice to all they meet. The narcissist thinks that the world revolves around his needs, wants and desires, and is content to ignore the needs and wants and desires of others. The man of hubris is overly prideful and arrogant and thinks that he has earned the right to have more than others. Both feel that everyone else is there to serve their needs and that their needs come before the needs of anyone else. The injustice done by these beliefs amounts to a mountain of intolerance and discrimination towards anyone who is perceived as inferior or beneath their consideration. For this reason, I say “Do not look upon yourself as being better than others. Remember that there but for the grace of God, would you go.”
world. No one who is not seeking righteousness and justice can expect to find peace. I say that your task is to look for justice where there is injustice. To look for goodness where there is wickedness. You can never complete your search. Your hunger will never be sated. Your thirst will never be quenched. Each generation must take up the search because evil is in our own hearts. Only by looking to replace evil with justice and righteousness can the evil that is within us be banished. We are all born with original sin, but the righteous man is the one who overcomes their sinfulness by replacing it with a goodness that transcends earthly needs and desires.
Those who show mercy towards others will have mercy shown towards them. I lived in a time when lepers, Samaritans, non-Jews and many others were thought to be unworthy of mercy. Mercy was always for those in our own tribe. This meant mercy for Jews if you were a Jew. Mercy for Romans if you were a Roman. No mercy was to be shown to the poor for they were lazy. No mercy was to be shown to the sick because they were sinners. No mercy was to be shown to those of other religions because they were “non-believers.”
I say to you that the pure of heart are those with integrity and character. They are without selfishness and seek primarily to do good for others regardless of the cost to themselves. They are not opportunists who try to squeeze the most for themselves at every turn of events. Neither are they sycophants who yield their ideas and actions to others so they can creat more profit for themselves. The pure of heart are not greedy. They are not profit driven. They are not out for fame and fortune. The pure of heart care only about the good they can do for others. Others include the entire human race and not simply those who belong to their tribe or religion or country. Those who put humanity above patriotism, humanity above family, humanity above friendships and humanity above self will surely see God.
Rage, jealousy, ingratitude, intolerance, bigotry and fear are the enemies of peace. Those who want peace must be willing to beat their swords into plowshares. If you follow my Beatitude, you will disarm yourself. You will throw down your guns. You will deactivate your nuclear weapons. You will turn your armies for war into armies for education. There is no peace possible in aggression. There is no peace possible in hatred. There is no peace possible in defensiveness. The only path to peace is to turn the other cheek. How many times have I said you must do this to find peace?
Actions speak louder than words. All those who cry out “Lord, lord” will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. What good is the salt if it has lost its taste? Those who speak beautiful words will not enter my kingdom without beautiful deeds to match their words. I spoke out my ideas and thoughts. I challenged the powers that were corrupt. I was taken up to the mountain and promised fame and fortune and power by Satan if I renounced my beliefs, but I remained steadfast. I was persecuted and crucified, but I never renounced my beliefs. How then do you think you will be saved by being nice to others and by silencing your thoughts in the face of evil? No one who speaks my name should expect to escape persecution. There is no change without struggle and oppression.
Production Manager: Jesus Christ, you are fired. I have told you repeatedly that your job is to help us make a profit, not to take care of the sick and needy. I am sorry but I am going to have to let you go. I wish I could give you a good reference but you just don’t belong in the business world.
Advertising Manager: Jesus Christ, you are fired. You can’t tell people the truth about our client’s products. Your job was to make this stuff look good. But no, you kept telling people the truth. You are too honest and you will never make a good marketing person. I suggest you find another outlet for your talents.
Employment Counselor: Well, Jesus, if you were asked about your future plans and what you wanted to aspire to, could you maybe forget about the sacrifice thing and just talk about how hard you can work?
Aging Capriciously 