Deuteronomy 24:17-22

Deuteronomy 24:17-22 "Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this. When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this."

There's alot in this section of scripture. I'll try to be brief.

First, we see three groups of people that are supposed to be given help, and that special effort is to be made not to allow them to be taken advantage of: The alien, the fatherless, and the widow. I think the one thing that is common about these three groups is that they have no social capital, no network to fall back on. These are the people that don't have the resources to help themselves and are the most deserving of help.

Next, we see the word remember used twice. This point was doubly important. "Remember where you came from, remember what it is like to be a slave, remember..." This returns to problems with our compassion for the poor is that so many of us either don't remember what it means to not have money for anything else besides macaroni and cheese, or remember what it means to work a 10 hour shift at a fast food restaraunt and then spend the rest of the evening at a laundromat.

I remember those things. I remember smelling of burgers, and grease and my feet always hurting. I remember eating ramen noodles for most meals and hoping there was food left at closing time.

Without remembering, or at least trying to imagine the plight of the poor, we will always be lacking in real programs to help them.

Thanks for reading,

AC

Deuteronomy 24:11-15

Deuteronomy 24:11-15 "When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into his house to get what he is offering as a pledge. Stay outside and let the man to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. If the man is poor, do not go to sleep with his pledge in your possession. Return his cloak to him by sunset so that he may sleep in it. Then he will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the LORD your God. Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin."

The biblical commands concerning doing business are very foreign and strange to western ears. It's not that they are against all of the ideas of capitalism, they are really just capitalism kept in check by virtue. The ideas of self-determination, and self-empowerment are still there, the ideas of a person receiving reward for working hard is there. But the ideas of profit at the expense of human dignity and causing pain and suffering to those less fortunate is not.

We do not see the callous pursuit of the bottom line above all else. Biblical capitalism does not consume the poor, it gives them the opportunities to get out of poverty.

In my heart I have always wondered the problem with poverty is not really as much of a political problem, as it is a spiritual problem. If the heart of capitalists was brought more in line with these ideas, they would affect the sort of changes that would change the world one family at a time, besides ultimately being more profitable in the long run to the bottom line.

AC

Oh Canada...

A couple of weeks ago I asked Andrea from "Tales of a Farmwife" to write up something about Canada, socialized healthcare, and poverty. I'm not going to comment any more than to say this is an excellent essay that speaks for itself. Here it is:

"Oh Canada..."
When I hear of horrors (terrorism in Beslan, Sudan attrocities, 911,
widespread poverty and desperation), I cannot help but be so thankful to
live in Canada. But that doesn't keep me from envisioning a different and
better Canada.

We love our identity as 'peacekeepers' but we don't hate injustice and
cruelty enough to fight for the oppressed in so many global situations - we
think diplomacy is the answer to terror. As if we have any answers to peace
in a country so divided that Quebec and Western Canada feel completely
alienated and view separation as an attractive alternative.

We believe we need to 'live and let live' and so we'll fight for the
changing the definition of marriage to support homosexuality (why not, if
it's not hurting us) but we willingly overlook the rights of the unborn and
think we're making society a better place. We are afraid of standing for any
morals so we stand for nothing and become amoral and think it's wonderful to
be so 'politically correct'.

We love the Robin Hood mentality of taking from the rich to give to the poor
without a thought for economic realities that keep businesses from being
viable in a tough global marketplace. We don't seem to understand that
socialism creates a sense of entitlement to those who are not willing to
work hard for what that great standard of living we believe we should all
enjoy. We believe that seniority is more important than hard work when
granting promotions and don't seem to realize that initiative is thus
destroyed. And yet when the business giants are in danger of collapsing due
to huge inefficiencies and problems, we willingly throw money at the
situation because we realize that many jobs are on the line and we can't let
that happen. I think it is erroneous to think that socialist thinking is
more Christian because of its noble sounding cry for the poor and minority
peoples just as I think it is erroneous to believe that Capitalists don't
have great compassion and concern for those same people.

We think tolerance is a virtue but isn't it about what we're tolerant?
Tolerance of criminals and pornographers is considered compassionate.
Tolerance of Christian ideals is not tolerated, however.

We pat ourselves on the back for funding extensive social programs without
asking if those programs are really effective or if more money is propping
up the bureaucracy than is getting into the hands that need it.

We are so proud of our health care system that gives equitable, free
treatment for every citizen. But who gave us the idea that it is free? And
what about the quality of that service? We pay for it and do not get the
benefits unless we live in the right neighborhood. I live 20 min from the
hospital that services the entire Southwest corner of our province and we
can't even get a broken bone set there without being sent another 2-3 hours
to a 'central' hospital. We can't even keep enough doctors and for a time I
was not sure if I'd even be able to have my baby here because there were so
few doctors available. And everyone knows that cutting edge medical
technology is very often found in the States. Why is that iniative so often
found there and not here?

We pride ourselves on not being Americans and yet we are so comfortable to
ride on their shirtails in matters of global economics and national defense.

Socialism breeds mediocrity (Jean Chretien was a good example - not a leader
I ever respected ). There is such a careless attitude about politics. No one
demands integrity, and upright moral character from our leaders. We expect
and accept that our politicians don't mean what they promise - that
everything is just an election game and has little to do with reality. And
we're willing to believe whatever told by media - how conservatives that
favor capitalist ideas are a danger to our society. And a leader who does
not hide that he attends church and has faith in God is a real threat.

We're proud of democracy and yet many have no voice. Because our voice is
only represented by population without the balance of representation by
area, my voice is effectively silenced at the polls. But I will continue to
vote and I will continue to care deeply for this great nation of ours.

Good Stuff Coming...

Hey, keep your eyes peeled to this space for an excellent series of posts about socialism in Canada by a guest writer. More to come...

AC

Deuteronomy 15:4,11

Deuteronomy 15:4 "However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you..."

Deuteronomy 15:11 "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land."

These two scriptures are not contradicting each other. The word that explains it all is "should" in verse four. It's not God's best for people to be poor. He is a good God that wants his children to be well taken care of, and not go hungry.

That said, the earth is under the power(right now) of Satan. In Corinthians he is called the "god of this world", the greek bears it out as the god of this world system. If you remember, Satan was the one that offered Jesus all of the kingdoms of this world if he would bow down and worship him.

This is actually a much larger subject than can be covered in one post, so I will not go into more detail. I believe that there are three reasons people are poor even though it's not God's best for their lives.

1. Not knowing how to deal with finances.
2. Satan's influence in their lives keeping them from being blessed financially.
3. People were supposed to bless them, and help them, and did not-could have been fellow Christians or bad employers, or bad politicians.

Being poor is not a sin. Poor people should not be marginalized or made to feel guilty. Everybody bears some of blame for poverty. So everybody should make some effort to fix it.

AC

Leviticus 25:39

Leviticus 25:39 "If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave."

Those who are in a bad situation and had to become an endentured slave were meant to be treated with dignity and respect. I think this still applies to the equivalent that we have today, the minimum wage worker. I worked in a fast food restaraunt for several years. I remember feeling like a slave. No one should have to live like that.

AC

Leviticus 25:35

Leviticus 25:35 "If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you."

Not only do we see that we are to help the alien or temporary resident in our midst, but if one of your fellow countryment hits a rough spot, you are to help him until he gets on his feet.

I know that many times the first word out of hard-core Republicans to thoughts like this is, "But the poor can't get a free ride! They have to work!". I'm not disagreeing with that, not one bit. The book of proverbs is full of admonitions against "sluggards"-(that means slacker in modern english). But I believe that the number of true "leeches" is highly exaggerated.

AC

Blog Explosion

I had been noticing on my sitemeter all of these hits from a place called "Blog Explosion". I finally went and checked it out and signed up for it. Wow...it's really worth checking out. You surf other people's blogs to gain points that are used to direct people to your blog. You can also use it to put up banner ads for free. So....in the spirit of shameless self promotion....click below to tell them Anonymous Cog sent you and earn me some free hits-Thanks!

**Click here to join Blog Explosion***

AC

Leviticus 19:15

Leviticus 19:15 "Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly."

While this directly speaks to judicial matters, I think it also speaks in general to the equal treatment for all men no matter how high or low they may be. In applying to political matters, it makes me wonder what is the right way to tax the rich and poor? It's true that the poor should not be saddled with high taxes, and that the rich can afford higher taxes. We also need to consider the real possibility that leaving people with more money in their pockets is a catlyst for the growth of small business.

For many years people have been asking for a flat tax, without the complicated deductions and regulations of our present system. I know in my own life I always felt that the present system is unfair. When I have worked overtime, the total taxes have been more than 20% at times, working extra doesnt always mean extra money in our present system. I think its time for something simple that is fair to everyone.

Any comments?

AC