Madeline Crabb
An America divided?
By Madeline Crabb
The Bible says a house divided against itself cannot stand; and if a divided house cannot stand, then how can a divided nation or divided church stand?
Some politicians are exploiting the division between the rich and the poor, turning it into a game of class envy. A good example is John Edwards and how, in his first bid for the White House, he used the term "two Americas." He was referring to the fact that in one America, the poor have to struggle to make ends meet, and in the other America, the rich have it made on easy street. Oh, by the way...did you know that John Edwards reportedly hasn't worked since he left the Senate and is building a multi-million dollar mansion? Isn't it funny how he is one of those nasty rich people enjoying spending all that detestable money? Can anyone say hypocrite?
Yes, there is a difference between the rich and the poor. And yes, the rich have more money than the poor. So what? I've been extremely poor, but now I'm not. One of the most wonderful things about our country is that the poor don't have to remain that way. Since our nation's founding, millions of immigrants (the legal kind) have flooded to our shores for the American dream.
Wikipedia.org defines the American dream as the idea (often associated with the Protestant work ethic) held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage, and determination one can achieve prosperity. These were values held by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to subsequent generations.
Do we ever stop to consider how very hard it was to establish settlements in the New World? We've somehow gotten a distorted view of what the Pilgrims and other pioneers had to endure to make this the United States of America. Wasn't there even a Civil War in there somewhere? We indeed have had to fight with everything in us to become this great United States of America. And we did it because we were blessing God, and he was blessing us.
But do we now have a realistic view of what that dream is? Many so-called poor people in America live like kings compared to those in other countries. Scores of our poor have one or two cars, color TV's in every room, stereos, computers, DVD players, and on and on. Conversely, citizens in many Third World countries are glad to live in cardboard shanties.
Many times the government keeps our poor in that condition by all their handouts, which is exactly what politicians want to do. If politicians can keep people beholden to them, these people will keep voting for them. And the cycle of poverty continues...
Jesus said the poor would always be among us. He allows this for some reason. So as a Christian nation we need to help those who genuinely need help. Furthermore, we need to remember the Apostle Paul's admonition that if we don't work, we don't eat. We need to support and applaud missions and organizations that help people get people back on their feet so they can provide for themselves, and thus get out of poverty. Government handouts won't do what God called his people to do, but it will require a work ethic, courage, and determination. If we unite as Americans and Christians in this endeavor, how can the politicians keep the proverbial wedge between the rich and the poor? America, are we up to the challenge? To anyone willing to hear....
© Madeline Crabb
The Bible says a house divided against itself cannot stand; and if a divided house cannot stand, then how can a divided nation or divided church stand?
Some politicians are exploiting the division between the rich and the poor, turning it into a game of class envy. A good example is John Edwards and how, in his first bid for the White House, he used the term "two Americas." He was referring to the fact that in one America, the poor have to struggle to make ends meet, and in the other America, the rich have it made on easy street. Oh, by the way...did you know that John Edwards reportedly hasn't worked since he left the Senate and is building a multi-million dollar mansion? Isn't it funny how he is one of those nasty rich people enjoying spending all that detestable money? Can anyone say hypocrite?
Yes, there is a difference between the rich and the poor. And yes, the rich have more money than the poor. So what? I've been extremely poor, but now I'm not. One of the most wonderful things about our country is that the poor don't have to remain that way. Since our nation's founding, millions of immigrants (the legal kind) have flooded to our shores for the American dream.
Wikipedia.org defines the American dream as the idea (often associated with the Protestant work ethic) held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage, and determination one can achieve prosperity. These were values held by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to subsequent generations.
Do we ever stop to consider how very hard it was to establish settlements in the New World? We've somehow gotten a distorted view of what the Pilgrims and other pioneers had to endure to make this the United States of America. Wasn't there even a Civil War in there somewhere? We indeed have had to fight with everything in us to become this great United States of America. And we did it because we were blessing God, and he was blessing us.
But do we now have a realistic view of what that dream is? Many so-called poor people in America live like kings compared to those in other countries. Scores of our poor have one or two cars, color TV's in every room, stereos, computers, DVD players, and on and on. Conversely, citizens in many Third World countries are glad to live in cardboard shanties.
Many times the government keeps our poor in that condition by all their handouts, which is exactly what politicians want to do. If politicians can keep people beholden to them, these people will keep voting for them. And the cycle of poverty continues...
Jesus said the poor would always be among us. He allows this for some reason. So as a Christian nation we need to help those who genuinely need help. Furthermore, we need to remember the Apostle Paul's admonition that if we don't work, we don't eat. We need to support and applaud missions and organizations that help people get people back on their feet so they can provide for themselves, and thus get out of poverty. Government handouts won't do what God called his people to do, but it will require a work ethic, courage, and determination. If we unite as Americans and Christians in this endeavor, how can the politicians keep the proverbial wedge between the rich and the poor? America, are we up to the challenge? To anyone willing to hear....
© Madeline Crabb
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