Opus 2026-209: On the Street: Slow Food

As I was grocery shopping I noticed a sign in the soda aisle sign saying “No longer snap eligible”. I consider that progress. I have no problem with churches and synagogues having food pantries. If you want to leave a box of groceries on your neighbor’s porch I would applaud you. What I feel is destructive are government programs that hand out largess to anyone who can fill out a form. It creates dependency because the government has no real standards except the votes politicians want to buy.

There is a meme I enjoy. It is based on the signs that you see in the natural parks that tell you not to feed the bears because it creates a dependency. The same thing is true of people. If you do it for them when they can do it themselves you are beginning a cycle that will destroy them. It isn’t about the money it is about destroying initiative and the need for hard work. It removes pride from the mix and makes people into parasites.

It might not be possible to wean people all at once. Limiting what you can get without working is a good beginning, thus soda is not subsidized. I would suggest making only basic covered and no possibility of getting money out of the system. Peanut butter and crackers any one? If the menu gets too boring then there would be more encouragement to get a job.

If you need a better authority, try this,

(2Th 3:10 KJV)  For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-022: Uber Bugs

I am previewing an album from the Gaither Vocal Band and in the song that I’m listening to they mentioned the little birds that God feeds. This of course was reflecting upon the verse,

Matthew 6:26 (KJV) Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

The point was that if God takes care of the birds, won’t he even more so take care of you?

Of course, my rabbit trail brain goes off on a tangent.

You should consider what the birds eat.  Generally speaking they eat bugs and seeds, at least the birds that are being discussed in this verse.  That’s not a lot of variety.  I mean there are many kinds of bugs but don’t they all taste the same?  I’m not sure I would flourish on that kind of a diet, which brings up the second point that I want to make and this one is probably the significant one.

If you’ve ever watched birds as they are going through their day, they are constantly in pursuit of food.  Yes, God provides the bugs and the seeds, but they have to go looking for them.  The bird does not just find a nice comfy spot in the grass and expect the bugs to come to jump in his mouth.  The bounty of God is there for him, but he has to reach out and take it.

So part of this lesson is not just that God is the ultimate provider, but that he expects us to do our part.  We are not on celestial welfare.  He gives us our health and our abilities and we are expected to go out and work.

Consider the words of Paul,

2 Thessalonians 3:10 (KJV) For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

As a man who thought he was wise said, “God does not play games.”  He expects you to put them away too.

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-351: Middle Class Morality: The Protestant Work Ethic

It is sometimes called “The Protestant Work Ethic”.  When you want to be insulting you call it “The Puritan Work Ethic” because we know what narrow minded haters the Puritans were.  In reality we should call it the Biblical Work Ethic.  The Bible presents work as noble and worthwhile.  It presents sloth as a sin.

Americans tend to work more and vacation less than people in other developed countries.  It is expected, or it used to be.  We are now seeing two extreme.  At one end we have the idle rich.  They live extravagant lives on money made by their parents.  At the other end we see the idle un-rich.  They live in a reliance on welfare and government handouts that have undermined the expectation to work.  That is un-American.  Americans are expected to work and pay their own way, not to be owned by their social worker or local party boss.

The strongest statement on this is

(2 Thessalonians 3:10 KJV)  For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

There is provision for orphans, sick and widows.  There is none for sluggards. 

So get a job.  Be American and also be Biblical

Viva la middle class morality.

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-275: The Little Red Hen and the Apostle Paul

Harry Reid had an interesting response to the sweeping losses by the Democrat party on Tuesday.  He said that this was an indication that the country wanted us to work together.

Now, let’s see.  When the Liberals (Progressives, leftists, elites, Democrats, socialists, Rinos, etc) win it is a mandate by the people to push their agenda.  When they lose it is an indication that we are supposed to cooperate.  Hmmmm...

Sounds like the “half loaf” theory of politics that is so common with the left.  In this theory we are told it is only fair that we compromise and divide our loaf of bread with them.  In the spirit of compromise and because of Biblical mandates to share, we give them half of our loaf.  They immediately move the line of scrimmage and now focus their attention on our half of the loaf.  They say that we need to learn to share and demand half.  We resist.  They get the news media talking heads to begin a smear campaign accusing us of every evil thing in the book and some that are not.  They finally wear us down and they get half of our half.  It is now time to move the goal posts.  They look at our bread and call for fairness and an end to partisanship.  They demand half of our loaf. 

Do you see where this is going?

When are we going to learn to adopt the Little Red Hen as a role model?  When it came time to eat the bread she quoted the apostle Paul,

(2 Thessalonians 3:10 KJV)  For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

I say that if we can find a place where the Little Red Hen and the Apostle Paul agree it behooves us to pay attention. 

If you are still not convinced, remember the words of our Golfer in Chief at an early meeting designed to give the impression of being bipartisan, “We won.”

Beware the Ides of Bipartisanship.  I urge the Republicans in congress to act like winners and not whiners.  The country did not vote for cooperation, they voted for Change and a chance to Hope.

homo unius libri