You Blame Obama I Blame the 99

Almost every day, you can hear someone blame President Obama for something if they are not blaming Obama; it’s the Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, Wall Street, Greedy Bankers etc.

I have come to the realization they are not to blame. I am! It is me and the 99% that are to blame. We look to government to solve all of our problems, we expect government to help the poor and heal the sick. We expect all the banks, store and other businesses to give us their best for less than they do. We’re looking for that free lunch.

First let us look at what the function of government should be. The most important role of our government should be to provide for the common defense of it’s citizens. This would cover the national defense thru the military and local defense by keeping law and order and of course the courts where we can correct the wrongs that are committed against us. Somehow our Federal government has gone way beyond this and into meddling.

But where does it start. That greedy banker and the crooked politician were once little babies to young and innocent to even think about cheating us out of what should be ours. Where did they go wrong? Who taught them to be the way they are? We did! Not you and I per say, but those just like us, the 99%.

In Matthew 22:37 – 39 it says “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” This scripture says it all. You may have to read deeper into this but it shows where we have failed not the government, not the businessmen but us the everyday person. You! Your Husband/Wife! Your Children! Your Neighbor! Your Preacher! Your Teachers etc., have all failed.

As I was out driving today I saw the first evidence of this problem. I was switching from one freeway to another. While trying to go from the first off-ramp to the next segment of highway I met resistance. I turned on my right turn signal in order that other drives would see my intention to move over one lane so I could get to the next off ramp. I drove approximately 1/2 mile trying to change lanes. No one would let me over. So what is the problem? If they had their turn signal on they would have wanted me to let them over. Being the bad driver I am I finally forced my way over to keep from missing the exit and having to drive another mile just to turn around at the next exit. Other than my ill-advised choice of forcing my way over what was wrong here? Was it that important for those cars to keep me out? Were they afraid that if they let me in losing two or three seconds of time would ruin their whole day. I think not. They have become like the crooked politician and greedy businessman. They had decided that they were more important and it just would not be right to let someone get ahead of them.

This is where I and the 99% fail. (When I say 99%, I do not mean the 99% that are not on Wall Street but the 99% that consciously or unconsciously place themselves first.) When was the last time you purposely let someone over in traffic? The last time you sent money to a charity (other than your church)? Have you ever donated to an Orphanage? A homeless shelter? The Red Cross, donated Blood? Donated your time? Helped your neighbor with a project? Of course these are just an outward sign of the inward condition of our hearts. If you place yourself first you are also placing others second, and worse yet you are teaching your family/children and friends that this is the way we should be. If you placed others first by loving them as yourself it would start the change our world needs.

If we choose to serve others they would get the help they need. And as individuals we would be able to decide who should be helped. The person who is down and out or the person who is just to lazy to work for it. If we don’t entitle the lazy then maybe they will get up and do something about their conditions.

Best of all if we all teach our children the right way to behave then the next generation will have far less crooked politicians and greedy bankers to deal with.

Harry Potter and the Church

Today I was shocked to learn that some friends took their children to a birthday party, with a Harry Potter theme, being held at a Church.

It seems that in Christian circles it is now acceptable to do many things that years ago were considered taboo. My question for you and myself is; Have we strayed from the paths of righteousness or has the Church previously just been too straight laced?

Let us start with Harry Potter. Now Harry is fun to watch in the first couple of movies. There’s a cute story line and we find ourselves endeared to Harry as he tries to do the right things. But what are the right things? Do we consider magic to be right? Do we believe in magic and if we do where does that magic come from? After the first few movies the magic and themes get darker and darker and thus it becomes more evident that this may not be something that we want to be involved in.

I have several arguments against having a Harry Potter birthday party but lets start with the idea of having one in the Church building. Exodus 20:5 states that G-d is a jealous G-d. Now why do we want to bring in to the Church a spirit of something ungodly (Yes, my opinion Magic is ungodly)? When the Israelites were in the desert carrying the tabernacle around, if anyone with sin walked into the holy of holies they would immediately die. If G-d was that strict about sin, why would we want to bring even the appearance of something evil into our Church house? (I Thessalonians 5:22 tells us to abstain from the very appearance of evil) Have we learn to be a stiff neck people and decided to do what we want and not what G-d wants?

Now some of you are saying, it’s just some harmless fun. We don’t believe in magic and we just watch Harry Potter movies for entertainment and have the birthday parties for our kids and they know he is not real. Do they know that? Are we setting our children up with a seed of doubt about G-d and Magic and about what is right or wrong? Should we not steer them away from magic considering that G-d said not to suffer a witch to live (exodus 22:18)?

Let me go just a little to an extreme to explain my feeling on this matter. We are the bride of Christ. Now I personally have taken a bride to myself, a wonderful woman by the name of Crystal. Now Crystal loves me with all her heart. She treats me better than I deserve. She cares for me in so many ways and she desires me for herself and does not want to share me with anyone. Now would it be right for me to say “Well it’s my birthday and I just want to have some entertainment and a little fun, I mean no harm but I and my friends are going to the strip club for my birthday.” I can tell you Crystal is a jealous wife and what would happen after a statement about where I am going for my birthday, it wouldn’t be pretty. Remember you are G-d’s bride and you want to go to the strip club on him? Take your children to that strip club?

Now some of you may think I am going to extremes here and saying maybe it’s wrong, but it’s just a small thing. To those who would say that. My answer is read the recipe below where I just added a small wrong thing and tell me if this would be okay for you to eat after cooking? For your children to eat?

Mix together:

1/2 cup safflower oil, 1 cup white sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup unsweetened coca powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 1/4 teaspoon black tar heroin. After mixing place in greased pan and bake at 325 for 20 to 25 minutes, let cool and eat.

Remember “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump” 1 Corinthians 5:6.