Don't Be a Burden but Be a Prudent Judge: The Tough Love of Jesus

With the current debates as the general election of 2016 looms closer, the messages are old and tiring.  I find it very useless to hear the constipated arguments of the poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer.  It's such a meaningless statement yet powerfully incites sinfulness in all who proclaim it.

Someone out there with an agenda, (a very highly self-serving agenda) has decided what is the definition of poor and rich.  So, now we go down a long complicated road of complaining and coveting.  

Corporations are just not taxed enough. What you buy is not taxed enough. Workers are not paid enough. Where is all this magic money going to come from?

Are you fed up with it as I am? Why do we promote anger and distrust of each other?  If you're not a part of my political party you are ill informed, maybe even blind. Yes, both side are full of their own delusions.

I like the term “covet” because it sounds like an outdated word, but it is very relevant throughout these discussions. Because if you're not “giving til it hurts,” you are selfish. And if you are feeling deprived you should rightfully take from someone else who makes “obscene profit.” There we go again deciding that someone makes too much money. This means it's perfectly okay to be jealous of your neighbor and harbor feelings of resentment.

God really pinpointed our sinful nature. He didn't just throw in that commandment about coveting for no reason. "Thou shalt not steal" is an awesome commandment, but God knew we needed to recognize how we likely nurture the desire to steal through coveting.

Let's take a look at what creates coveting? Too much idle time to obsess about other people probably creates a covetous nature. Also, a foolish, careless attitude snowballs into bad outcomes that do not happen overnight. Perhaps being spoiled as a child, too?

While we are taught to bear one another's burdens, it has been conveniently left out of modern bible talk that we should not purposely become a burden to others. Yikes. How did I get to be so uncaring? Didn't Jesus teach us about “tough love?”

Take the book of Matthew, Chapter 25. The parable of the foolish virgins shows how we should not purposely become a burden to others and expect to be taken care of. The foolish virgins did not plan ahead and take extra oil for their lamps. The wise virgins took along their own extra oil because they could not predict when the bridegroom would arrive.
What were the foolish virgins thinking? Did they think the bridegroom couldn't possibly take very long to appear? Patience is a virtue, too.


And next, the foolish virgins seemed to expect the wise virgins to fix it for them. This was an important time to judge the situation and be prudent. I know we are told in modern bible talk that we should virtually judge nothing anymore. But these wise virgins knew they did not have enough oil if they gave it up. It's like a recipe for cake. If you only have half the eggs and sugar and proceed anyway, it's not going to be cake.

Now the foolish virgins were coveting. “We want some of your oil.” Their unspoken words could have been saying, “We know you'll share because it's the nice thing to do. You have more than enough ( AKA: more than you need, obscene profits).”

The wise virgins suggested the foolish virgins go to the nearest merchant and buy more oil. And while they went away from door, they missed the bridegroom's arrival and were locked out of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Thou shall not steal also comes to mind. A thief can try to connive a kind person who wants to be helpful. It's the oldest trick in the book. Lazy people prey on loving people hoping to lie to get something they want. “I will pay you back. I'll never do it again. I've learned my lesson, honey. No more gambling, drinking, cheating, etc. I'm just lucky to have you so I can take this shortcut and not be required to do something for myself.”

Jesus said:
Therefore, stay awake,* for you know neither the day nor the hour.

In the next parable in Matthew, Chapter 25, a servant who did nothing with his master's talents was thrown out into the darkness where he could wail and grind his teeth. 

 And Jesus himself said:
For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

Our own master, Jesus, gives each one of us talents and he hates to see us waste them.

I cannot predict how the election will turn out. I have no idea if the new president will inspire the country to strive for holiness to serve God rather than man. We will be waiting to see what kind of bills will be rolled out by the Congress.


We owe it to ourselves, each other, and God, to not make a mess of things here on earth. We should keep our “sin meters” well primed so we can correct our bad decisions before they blow up into huge problems that divide the country.


Jesus also said in Matthew Chapter 25:
 ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’


We shouldn't look down on ourselves as helpless and blame others in politics. We shouldn't argue which party is more evil. We need to take care of ourselves and not be a burden to others. We need to stop our sinful foolishness and trust that God didn't waste his time creating us. While evil does exist, we must not get sucked into evil with smooth talking arguments that lead us into resentment, jealousy, and coveting.

A Very Sick Game: Why Sick People Don't Stand Up for Themselves

Maybe I should call my blog, "Lisa's Rant."  Here it comes.  Hold on to your hat.

The politicians are at it again. Not only are they telling you how awful our country is, they want you to feel helpless.

I was listening to a speech today about poor people not affording their medicine while the pharmaceutical companies are making billions in profits.

Time for me to step in here with a question to turn the tables.  While the people in the audience were making sounds of shock to demonstrate their disgust, I have to ask,  why are you spending any money on drugs at all?  They are poisons given out in small doses which makes it legal in some illogical way.

Let's forget all about the money and ask the public, "Haven't you figured out by now, the drug madness has not made you healthy?"

In less than two sentences later, this politician said the USA spends more on health care than any other country.  Let that sink in.  We pay more than any other country because we allow the health insurance industry and pharmaceutical industry to push us around.

But, certain people created this legalized bullying:  the elected officials.

Oh, that hurts, because us buffoons have reelected these kooks, I mean crooks, over and over again.

If you are taking medicines and not feeling any better, have you ever asked, is there something else out there?  We are a sick nation and sick people don't stand up for themselves very well.

Sad.

How did we get sucked into the failures of the drug merry-go-round?  We listened and complied without asking any questions.  Now, ask the people who died from properly prescribed drug use what they think?  Ask the people who are dealing with long drawn out class action court cases?  Ask the people who were harmed by drugs that were later removed from the market?

I watched my Grandma take piles of drugs for as long as I  knew her.  She was in pain.  She was miserable.  She lived in fear because her health continued to fail.  Not only did her health continue to fail, it was expected, and no one ever offered her a non-drug solution. No one wonders why toxins in small doses didn't work.

Now, I see a lot of people in my office who don't like to take meds.  Some won't take pain meds, but still agree to take maintenance meds for chronic systemic problems. So, I am wondering, will there ever be a time when nearly all of the population decides that expensive medications don't work and should be tossed out?

When I hear someone say they are choosing their medications over food, or rent over their medications, I cringe.  Now it has become a weapon to create hate, angst, and disgust against our neighbors.  How can the pharmaceuticals and insurance companies be so cruel?  Really?  Just stop playing their game.

You've been lied to about creating and maintaining health.  For some people it is too late.  They will die prematurely.  I hate it.  I hate it worse than the lies about medications being expensive and people being deprived of poisons.

You think the politicians have the solutions?  Maybe stopping the drugs is a solution.  It is certainly a question worth asking.

(Before you comment and call me ignorant because there are serious diseases that require special drugs like epilepsy or mental illness, you need to consider that most diseases have common causes that are treated successfully  by diet and life style modification.  Even diseases with congenital concerns can likely be treated with minimal medication that should be fairly cheap and not burdened by an expensive patent.)

It is time to give up the twisted game of lies about health and money.

I'm not alone in this:

“One of the biggest tragedies of human civilization is the precedence of chemical therapy over nutrition. It’s a substitution of artificial therapy over nature, of poisons over food, in which we are feeding people poisons trying to correct the reactions of starvation.” — Dr. Royal Lee, 1951