I will probably offend some of you today. But, be that as it may.
Here in the south, whenever someone is going through a crisis or some time of trouble, inevitably some well meaning Christian will say “The Lord won’t give you more than you can handle”. I have tried looking for the scripture that supports that statement and have failed to find it. It seems it is just another of those popular platitudes that people just assume are in the Bible, like “cleanliness is next to godliness”. When I hear someone tell someone that, I am tempted to remind them that John the Baptist was beheaded and almost all of the twelve Apostles were executed as martyrs. YHVH did not even spare his own Son. Yeshua was crucified. It is a horrible tortuous way to die. God will not put more on you than you can bear is an obvious falsehood. Yet Christians continue to say it without giving it a moment of critical thought. Now, it may be true that He will give you the strength to endure it. But, endure it we must.
I do believe that YHVH is good and merciful if we obey Him. I also believe that nothing that happens to us in this world is as important as what will happen to us in the next world. So, perhaps what happens to us here is justified by the reward we will receive in the hereafter.
I am amazed and sometimes appalled at Christians that say these things that they haven’t put a moment of thought into. Christians that have grown up in the United States in the last seventy years or so haven’t experienced much persecution for their beliefs. I include myself in this group. I am no exception. We have never had to suffer for the faith. Life has for the most part been easy for us in many respects. Most of us believe that all we have to do is believe and confess “Jesus” was crucified and rose from the dead and we have eternal salvation. There is nothing we should (or even can do) to be saved. The burden is on God. We can lie back and watch it happen. The rapture will take us away before we have to do any suffering and God won’t put more on us that we can bear. We can live a comfortable life of ease because “He paid it all”.
To this I give you a word from of love from deep within my heart, I almost dare say a word from the Lord, HOGWASH!
Luke 12:35
“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
41 Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
The popular televangelists of recent times will tell you that if you plant a seed of faith (in the form of money to their ministry) God will make you prosperous. They preach that because it works. People will send them money because they think God will reward them with riches. They forget that Yeshua said “it is more difficult for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle” (Luke 18:25). Somehow wealth has become a virtue and a poor person is looked upon as unrighteous. Politicians call the poor lazy and turn the immigrant away at the border, they no longer just render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s, they want to become Caesar! The Torah mentions the Ger (translated sojourner or immigrant) about fifty times. It admonishes not only courtesy but active help and even support. Yeshua said ,
Matthew 25:31
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
This life of blessed ease and wealth and the teachings that have produced it are detrimental to the true Christian life. They are a lie from hell. You must repent of your sins. You must be born again and begin to obey the commandments. You must love YHVH with all your heart, soul, intellect and strength and you must love your neighbor as yourself. That includes caring for the less fortunate. If you do not want to help the less fortunate. If you look down upon the poor and the immigrant then stop pretending you want to live in a country guided by biblical principals because you don’t. If you confess to be a follower of Yeshua and are against abortion and are also against the WIC program ,snap benefits, and school lunches then you are a hypocrite. I admonish you not out of hatred or because of political belief but out of love. We have grown fat and careless in the way we follow YHVH. We do not listen to the words of Yeshua. He warned the people of his day to repent and change their ways, to abandon all and follow him. But they did not listen. Like the rich young ruler they went away sorrowful.
Shortly after Yeshua warned them, the Romans destroyed the temple. They were scattered to the four winds. Their house was left desolate. There were many crucifixions. The suffering was horrendous. Likewise so it will be for us if we do not hear the words of the Lord repent and obey. If He did not spare his own Son do you think you will escape?
Christianity from a Jesus Words only perspective 
Ron, I agree we should not count on rewards in this life and we should help the poor, but I don’t see how that requires we support particular government policies and programs. I have ideas about which programs might be most helpful but I could be wrong. Another person might say private charities are better than government programs and he might be right. Yeshua did not teach politics. If our hearts are in the right place and we act in helpful ways, then I think we are obeying him. The poor will always be with us.
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You wrote, “I don’t see how that requires we support particular government policies and programs. I have ideas about which programs might be most helpful but I could be wrong. Another person might say private charities are better than government programs and he might be right”. Let me first apologise for taking so long to get back to you. I have been extrodinarily busy plus, the Rosh Hashana Holy day slowed me down. Bear with me. I will try to make my point as briefly as possible. Your argument (as I understand it) boils down to Yeshua spoke to individuals , not governments. So,
1. the Romans were notorious taxers. They had been known to tax the people thet subjugated at a rate of up to 80%. yet, Yeshua said “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto YHVH the things that are YHVH’s. The modern American conservitive would have hated him.
2. Acts 2:44 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
3. The prophets of YHVH kindled their wrath against the rich and wealth disparities are no coincidence, and they are most definitely not divinely sanctioned. No, for the prophets, there are poor people because there are rich people.
4. Another thing we need to think about is that YHVH is not okay with the disparity of wealth. Biblically speaking, rich people are going to be in deep trouble once divine justice comes to pass. Prophetic thought envisions a dramatic upheaval of the social order in which the lowly are elevated and the mighty brought low. The process is typically described with violent symbolism. The prophet Hosea says that God will meet those who do injustice “like a she-bear robbed of her cubs and tear their ribs apart.”
5. YHVH commanded the Israelites that every seven years all debts were to be canceled. Every fifty years all land reverted back to the original owners. This enshured that there would never be perpetually poor families or perpetually rich ones.
6. Leviticus 25:35 “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. 36 Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you. 37 You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit.
7. Matthew 25:31When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.
34Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, 36I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’
37Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’
40And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
45Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’
46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
So, you may be correct. It may not require that we support particular government policies and programs. But, I say it requires that we support all programs that provide a safety net for those that are least among us.
I would prefer not to have to stand before the Almighty YHVH and explain why I opposed programs that were designed to lift my neighbor out of poverty. As a parting thought, I personally believe that we will have the poor with us always. I also believe Yeshua’s statement is used very frequently quoted by those that wish to justify having the poor with us always because, in that way, it insures we also have the rich with us always. “You cannot serve YHVH and mammon”.
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The prophets were opposed to economic injustice and I agree we should help the poor. You mentioned how the Christians in Jerusalem shared their possessions but Yeshua did not say that was necessary. He did say God could take a rich man into his kingdom, an otherwise impossible feat. When it comes to particular anti poverty programs, some work better than others. A guaranteed minimum income makes more sense to me than the hodge podge we have now, but until we try it, we won’t know if it would work. For now, I pay my taxes, give to Salvation Army, and volunteer at the local hospital. I always vote third party. Nothing Yeshua said convinces me this is wrong for me to do. I am sort of a lefty libertarian.
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Ron, what does God do to unrepentent sinners? Does he say “”believe” and everything is ok? Stealing is still a sin, right?
How does God view someone who lives a life of lying and taking things which do not belong to him? Does God shower that one with gifts?
Jesus said we will always have the poor with us. It is an incurable condition that can’t be solved by taxation and government programs. It is the state of the world and even a tower of Babel, one world government will not fix it.
Government programs are not charity. They are often undertaken for the wrong reasons. A dairy subsidy or perhaps support for citrus fruit growers, etc. We are finding out that all too frequently the government appropriates tax dollars and pays them to government contractors who in turn make massive donations to the politicians in power.
God is not a fan of big government. He did not wish for Israel to have a king and be like the nations.
God is not calling us to give our money to a corrupt government. He is calling us to practice human kindness in a one on one way. Mano y mano. For we were strangers in Egypt. This is the golden rule. It is the 2nd great commandment right out of Leviticus.
Moreover God is merciful and Just. People who crash our borders are creating burdens on our citizens. Their behavior is dishonest and greedy. Is God in favor of lying and stealing? Do you believe that this class of people is exempt from costly grace? Does the end justify the means for these people but not for us?
Should we give them welfare while leaving some of our own people homeless and hungry? Perhaps such charity is only for people who have voted or will vote a certain way.
The problems illegal immigrants cause will not be borne by the wealthy, but by people living paycheck to paycheck. You saw what happened when a busload of immigrants showed up at Martha’s Vineyard! Observing the illegal immigrant situation in NY city is also instructive.
At the end of the day, are you advocating that we do not enforce laws but rather pay rewards to lawbreakers?
¹
Do you really believe God wants corrupt governments administering His laws? Paying taxes is not the same as loving your neighbor as yourself.
Ron I spent a long time mulling over this issue and at the heart of it is that we are being urged to reward a crime and a sin. I just don’t believe that is something God desires.
On the other hand we are to show human kindness to all people even our worst enemies. I believe that our person-to-person behavior ought to comply.
I fear that we are being used to advance the cloward-piven strategy for the democrat party. How cynical it is!
Finally, these people are being ill-used as a political toy. Many are being harmed in the process. Human trafficking of women and children is taking place, hidden among the throng, as are other crimes.
For all of these reasons I believe we should oppose and end illegal immigration. We must refuse to enable it and reward it. If we want to undertake programs to help them, let’s do it in their countries of origin, not here under emergent conditions.
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You wrote, “I don’t see how that requires we support particular government policies and programs. I have ideas about which programs might be most helpful but I could be wrong. Another person might say private charities are better than government programs and he might be right”. Let me first apologise for taking so long to get back to you. I have been extrodinarily busy plus, the Rosh Hashana Holy day slowed me down. Bear with me. I will try to make my point as briefly as possible. Your argument (as I understand it) boils down to Yeshua spoke to individuals , not governments. So, 1. the Romans were notorious taxers. They had been known to tax the people thet subjugated at a rate of up to 80%. yet, Yeshua said “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto YHVH the things that are YHVH’s. The modern American conservitive would have hated him. 2. Acts 2:44 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. 3. The prophets of YHVH kindled their wrath against the rich and wealth disparities are no coincidence, and they are most definitely not divinely sanctioned. No, for the prophets, there are poor people because there are rich people. 4. Another thing we need to think about is that YHVH is not okay with the disparity of wealth. Biblically speaking, rich people are going to be in deep trouble once divine justice comes to pass. Prophetic thought envisions a dramatic upheaval of the social order in which the lowly are elevated and the mighty brought low. The process is typically described with violent symbolism. The prophet Hosea says that God will meet those who do injustice “like a she-bear robbed of her cubs and tear their ribs apart.” 5. YHVH commanded the Israelites that every seven years all debts were to be canceled. Every fifty years all land reverted back to the original owners. This enshured that there would never be perpetually poor families or perpetually rich ones. 6. Leviticus 25:35 “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. 36 Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you. 37 You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit. 7. Matthew 25:31When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.
34Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, 36I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’
37Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’
40And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
45Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’
46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” So, you may be correct. It may not require that we support particular government policies and programs. But, I say it requires that we support all programs that provide a safety net for those that are least among us. I would prefer not to have to stand before the Almighty YHVH and explain why I opposed programs that were designed to lift my neighbor out of poverty. As a parting thought, I personally believe that we will have the poor with us always. I also believe Yeshua’s statement is used very frequently quoted by those that wish to justify having the poor with us always because, in that way, it insures we also have the rich with us always. “You cannot serve YHVH and mammon”.
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No Ron I didn’t write that. This response doesn’t answer the questions I raised at all.
The apostles told Paul to “Remember the poor.” Were they asking him to give alms on his travels? No. They were asking him to bring them money, as they called themselves the ebyon, i.e. “poor.”
What? There were so many destitute people in those days. Why didn’t they tell him to give the money to them? Were they being selfish?
Jesus allowed the woman to wash his feet with a precious oil, and the apostle complained. It could have been sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus said we will always have the poor with us but the son of man only a little while.
What? Jesus was not in favor of giving the money to the poor? How can that be?
Obviously just the fact that there are poor people does not preclude looking after yourself. Anyone who feels guilt about that when living paycheck to paycheck should be liberated from it. The majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Yet it is these people who will bear the cost that wealthy politicians impose while virtue signaling and encouraging more border crossings.
It is wrong to break into our house and steal from us. It is wrong to pitch a tent on our doorstep and demand that we feed, clothe, nurse and educate them. It is obscene to do that when we have countrymen who are not afforded that care.
This is a political strategy at play. These people are willing pawns. There is no charity motive driving this issue– only dominance. See Cloward-Pliven strategy.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman He was not here for her but for Israel. She said that even the dogs get the crumbs that fall off the table, and He was moved to help her. However, He showed us that His baseline value was to take care of His countrymen, excluding the ger.
The command is to love your neighbor “as yourself” not better than yourself.
Sorry Ron, I think it is just not as simple as you portray and the response is not as “cut and dried” either. Peace.
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As my grandmother used to say “every pot has to sit on it’s own bottom”. You answer to YHVH for your actions and I’ll answer to him for mine. Peace
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“The Lord won’t give you more than you can handle”. I thought that was in the Bible too all my life. I also was confused over the contradiction. You are right. We are never to deny Yahweh regardless of torture or any horrendous death. So, much of this i do not understand. I cannot imagine myself ever that strong. It seems many are saved without gruesome endings. I just need to study deeper.
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