AMERICA:
It isn't working!
I'm
tired of hearing politicians say things like, “We must get America
back to work.” Fact is, last time I heard a Presidential candidate
say something like that, I was stricken by how faint the applause
were that interrupted him.
Problem:
As I see it, the Government has made it too easy for Americans to
HAVE to work.
Why
should we bother working?
A
recent study showed the average annual disposable income is lower
than the average amount the Fed shells out to recipients of what it
refers to as Federal Dependency programs.
Welfare,
in other words. Uncle Sam, by continuing in this way, is encouraging
Americans to live off the Government Dole rather than work for a
living.
Imagine
that!
Is
THIS the NEW American Way? Man, that sure doesn't line-up with what
MY Bible says! In 2 Thessalonians 3:10, Paul writes, “Even
while we were with you, we gave you this command: "Those
unwilling to work will not get to eat."
Before
you read another word, I feel I need to say this: When I was a young
father, a coworker and I were terminated on the same day when the ad
agency we worked for closed its doors. Together, we drove to the
welfare office that very hour and completed the paperwork for the
Food Stamp Program - now
called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the card
itself being referred to as Electronic Benefit Transfers (EBT's) -
and Unemployment benefits.
I had four children and a wife and I didn't know how long I'd be
unemployed. My friend was a single mother of two. Though I wound up
being unemployed the next six months, in all honesty, I enjoyed the
time off and did the bare minimum required by the Government to find
another job. In fact, I only got REALLY serious about job hunting
when my Food Stamps were about to expire.
In
truth, I had very little motivation to look for work. I rationalized
I had been working since I was 15 and paid into the system, by golly.
I deserved this hand-up and I was “getting mine”! Slothfulness
and mediocrity crept into my life and, when I recollect who I was
becoming in those days, I'm not very proud nor pleased with myself.
But
I didn't know the Lord then. All I knew was the example I'd been
shown by the world I lived in. I had become little more than a
product of my environment. Years later, when I was tormented by a
crippling spinal disease, I worked my corporate job on the 8th
floor until I could hardly walk, even with a cane. I spent my nights
sitting in a chair, unable to lay horizontally due to the extreme
pain. I went in late almost every day, but I stayed late and my boss
appreciated that.
When
I finally had to quit my job, on two occasions I had welfare papers
in my hand along with all the information I would need to get on
Federal assistance... but after praying and seeking God's will, I
tossed that information in the trash, convicted to trust HIM alone
for my healing and with my future.
God
honored that step of faith as, from that day forward, He sent ravens
to tend to my needs, kind people with a heart burdened to help me. I
saw miracles, too. Many of them. In time, miraculously, my healing
manifested. Eventually, my chiropractor told me I had “a textbook
spine.” God's been so gracious and good to me!
That
being said, I wonder, how many of the 40 Million SNAP recipients
receive food stamps who could be working instead? Did you know EBT's
are accepted by most Fast Food joints these days? Though I don't
agree with legislating what foods people choose to buy with their
EBT, A Big Mac and fries just doesn't “feel” right to me.
When
Paul wrote about those who won't work not eating, I wonder, what
happens when we don't eat? WE DIE, that's what! Was Paul really
writing those non-working Believers off as dead meat? I believe he
was. He knew they'd get busy when they couldn't think over the sound
of their own bellies growling.
I
Got Mine!
Many
say, “I paid into the system all my life, I have it coming!”
Truth is, the system may not even exist by the time our kids retire.
Be not deceived! It may not even be there by the time Baby Boomers
retire. Goodness knows, we don't put into the system anywhere near as
much as we expect to receive since we live for 30 or 40 years longer
than when the Social Security system was originated.
Is
the Government trying to see how many they can give college loans to?
It seems as if they actually WANT kids to graduate with so much debt,
they'll work forever just to pay back those loans.
Is
it some sort of weird Governmental goal to see how many people they
can get on Social Security as early as possible? Personally, I
believe we would do well to adjust Social Security for our improved
life expectancies; most people DO want to remain productive members
of society, don't they?
We
don't need to retire so soon. Frankly, I don't plan on retiring at
all. Ever! Abraham didn't. Neither did Moses. Me neither! I believe a
Follower of Jesus can either re-TIRE, or re-FIRE! I plan on stoking
my spiritual fire and making a difference in my world until, well...
until I can't.
Just
the facts...
It's
a statistical fact, half the people in the country receive some form
of Government aid, mostly the same half who don't pay any federal
income taxes, I might add. Many have become dependent, are using the
system's parameters to the max as well as blatantly cheating the
system, and will never be in favor of cutting back.
C'mon,
man... 99 weeks of jobless benefits encourages people to hold out for
the perfect job rather than simply getting busy. We've given our
citizens too many motivations to stay at home than to go out to work
or start their own business.
During
one stretch of unemployment, I made flyers offering my services
cleaning ovens. I only got 13 assignments before a “real” job
came along, the last client offering me $100 to clean his oven that
“looked like hell,” as he said. It did, too! While serving as an
Assistant Pastor of a church of 300, never taking a salary in seven
years, I once worked three janitorial jobs with three different
uniforms, occasionally getting confused as to which one to wear.
Did
you know 28% of Federal spending went to “dependence” programs in
1962 while that number's up over 70% today? What are we thinking?!!
We're going the way of Greece, people, that's why we need entitlement
reform, before it's too late.
So
many people believe they're “entitled” these days, convinced
somebody “owes them” something! Why bother working when the
government benefits are there for anyone who chooses NOT to work?
Social
Security, Medicaid and Medicare are critical concerns and becoming
bigger as Baby Boomers retire, 10,000 reaching age 65 every day.
Wouldn't families, churches and charities step in to help if
someone's income came to the end after 99 weeks? They USED to.
If
we really want to solve this problem, we MUST deal with it. What
we're doing now simply isn't working. Since judgement begins in the
House of the Lord, Pastors, how are YOU handling this? An old
Minister used to encourage young men in his congregation to “get
ANY kind of job because you never know who you'll meet as a coworker
or customer. I guaranteed you'll meet no one while sitting at home
watching TV.”
Yes,
we are in awful economic times and, logically, we would have to
expect more welfare. Obviously, dependency spending is a huge
problem. Seems to me, if we left the money in the hands of the people
who earned it, taxed them less and devalued the dollar less, we'd see
more free enterprise in action with new jobs and wouldn't need so
many government programs.
There,
problem solved.
It's
beginning to look more and more as though the Government is motivated
to control the citizenry, even to the point of shredding our
Constitution. But who will want to push back and, in essence, bite
the hand that feeds us? All flesh DOES tend to seek after its own
comfort, after all.
Work-related
Scriptures. The message is clear.
“Whatever
you do, work at it with all of your heart, as working for the Lord,
not for men,”
Colossians 3:23 (see Colossians 3:22- 4:1)
Does
the Word of God admonish us to work hard while we still can?
Ephesians 6:6 tells us, “Work hard, but not just to please your
masters when they are watching. As slaves of Christ, do the will of
God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were
working for the Lord rather than for people.”
In
the Old Testament, we read, “...every man should eat and drink, and
enjoy the good of all his labor, it is the gift of God,”
Ecclesiastes 3:13. A gift? Work is a gift? Have you ever looked at
your job that way?
Sometimes
I wonder if, by choosing NOT to work, we are actually waving a white
flag. “I tried to get rich, failed... that's it. I quit!”
Maybe
the reason so many seem to fail is because they served the wrong
boss. Proverbs 16:3 advises us, “Commit your work to the LORD, and
then your plans will succeed.”
Obviously, from Heaven's vantage
point, it doesn't matter who the check-signer is.
In
2 Chronicles 15:7, we read, “But as for you, be strong and do not
give up, for your work will be rewarded.” As I said, for far too
many, retirement is equivalent to waving the white flag of surrender.
Something
else we should consider as Followers of Christ is the way we treat
co-workers, employers, employees, customers and vendors, other
people's spouses, sons and daughters while we are working with them.
“The LORD demands fairness in every business deal; he sets the
standard,”
Proverbs 16:11. We reap what we sow, after all. Maybe
we weren't as excellent at what we did as we thought we were.
Another
thought to consider is this: What did we do with what we earned? Did
we invest it wisely? The best investment I can think of is our
investment in PEOPLE. Ephesians 4:28 supports this notion. It says,
“He must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that
he will have something to share with one who has need,”
Ephesians
4:28.
We
must not forget what 1 Corinthians 10:31 declares. “Whether you eat
or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” One
glance at our checkbooks and calendars can be quite revealing in
regard to who our “god” really is. Where we spend our money and
time is very telling.
Where
our treasure is, that's where our hearts will be, too, Luke 12:34).
And all the world will see.
Deuteronomy
8:18 declares, “But you shall
remember the LORD your God: for it is he that gives you power to get
wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your
fathers, as it is this day.”
Translation:
God gives you power to attain wealth and His Covenant will be
established as you do.
How's
that workin' for ya?
Every
blessing,
Michael
Tummillo
Founder,
The Church @ Work
