Well, on Facebook it seems like the “debt in real life numbers” caused quite a stir. Not so much the post itself, but the ensuing discussion about who’s right and wrong and how to fix the problem. It seems like a lot of people point at Washington, and rightly so. There is a significant problem there that needs to be fixed. I’m not smart enough to know all that kind of stuff, so I’m not going to try. Here’s what I do know.
There’s a bigger problem than Washington. It’s us.
Here’s what I think happened. By and large, the church has begun to neglect the call of God to serve the poor. We’ve found other things that we believe are more important. Many times, they are very good things. But they’ve also taken our focus away. I’m not advocating that every dollar of church offering should go directly to the poor. But, it’s my understanding that many years ago, the church offered significant, comprehensive help within the community. Sunday School start as an opportunity to help educate people, not simply feed one another doctrine. People regularly were out among the homeless, serving physical and spiritual needs. I’m not saying that we don’t do any of this any more. It does seem to me that there’s a very small amount being done locally.
Then, a vacuum arises. Nobody is helping, or at least the need is far greater. Then, in order to prevent chaos, the government steps in. Unfortunately, they’re a machine that can’t handle it, but they’re trying. Then some people get in there that are either incompetent or self serving, and things get more messed up (yes, there’s always people that know what they’re doing and/or are good workers for their cause…just not enough of them). Then, you wind up with a government where we are today (mixed in with spending on wars and other very expensive propositions).
The reason I mention social services, is because this is one area that often gets criticized extra. However, if people on their own did more to solve the problems (immediate assistance plus training/long term help), we’d have less of an issue there. I take responsibility as an individual, and as a part of the church. It’s our job to be out there, helping to make the change. Before we blame the government for being incompetent, let’s make sure we’re doing right ourselves.
*This post is not aimed at anyone. It is just some general observations and thoughts after observing many communities of people over an extended period of time.
