Who Are “The Least of These”?

When Barack Obama was asked at the Saddleback Forum what he considered to be his greatest moral failure, he included America in his reply,  “We still don’t abide by that basic precept of Matthew — whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you do to me,”  referring to a verse in the Bible recorded in Matthew 25.

 

Mr. Obama, do you realize “the least of these” is not Matthew’s precept?  It is Jesus Christ’s.  And since Jesus concluded the Olivet discourse with an admonishment to care for the least of these, it begs the question…Who ARE the least of these?

 

America has long sought to address this question.  Ask a hundred different people to define the least of these, you’ll get a hundred different responses…the persecuted church, victims of war, the poor, hungry, homeless, unemployed, disabled, elderly, mentally ill, terminally ill, uneducated, imprisoned, widows, minorities, those who are struggling financially, someone who cannot afford a college education or a home, a car, a cell phone? 

 

When Obama elaborated who he thinks the least of these are, he continued, “That basic principle applies to poverty. It applies to racism and sexism.  It applies to not thinking about providing ladders of opportunity for people to get into the middle class.”  Somehow, I don’t think Jesus was talking about ladders of opportunity for entrance to the middle class.  But if we concede that He might have been referring to people in poverty, then who gets to define poverty?  Is poverty delineated by American standards?  Or is it characterized by the world’s standards?

 

My 13 year old son & I had been in China less than 24 hours when he asked me this question, “Mom, are we filthy stinkin’ rich?”  My initial thought, “of course not”, had almost crossed my lips before I considered the squalor my son was seeing all around us.  My reply quickly changed to, “Yes, we are.  And so is everyone else in America compared to this.”  Most of us are not wealthy but we have more than we need compared to people of third world countries. 

 

Wes Stafford, President of Compassion International said it best, “The opposite of poverty is not wealth.  The opposite of poverty is enough.”  Enough food that you don’t have to go to bed hungry every night.  Enough shelter that you don’t have to be exposed to the elements.  Enough love that you realize that you are made in the image of God.   By those standards, America is the wealthiest nation on the earth.

 

With hundreds of social programs in place…covering everything from public health, hunger, homelessness, substance abuse rehab, tuition assistance, prisoner re-entry to society…this country has a plethora of resources to address the needs of practically anyone’s definition of the least of these.  Based on this assessment, I would surmise that it would be very difficult to assume that the least of these applies to any resident of America.

 

But what if Jesus wasn’t talking about mere poverty as we know it? Or what if NONE of the people groups already mentioned are the real least of these? 

 

As we speculate on who are the least of these consider this question, what group of people in this nation has fewer rights than animals on the endangered species list?  Who are the most vulnerable, not just in this country but around the world? 

 

In my humble opinion, whoever else the least of these includes, it surely must take into account the unborn.   Over 40 million babies have been slaughtered in this country since Roe v. Wade became the law of the land.  Mr. Obama stated in the Saddleback Forum that “a lot of evil has been perpetrated in the name of doing good.”  Unless we speak up for them, the unborn have no voice to protest evil & the violence perpetrated against them in the name of personal choice.

 

In my home state of Colorado there is a ballot initiative to define when someone becomes a person.  When Obama was asked the question by Rick Warren, “at what point does a baby get human rights?”, he responded, “answering that question with specificity is, uh, is above my pay grade”.  When asked if he had ever voted to limit or reduce abortions, Obama did not answer.  Small wonder he skirted the issue.  The church where Obama attended services for nearly 2 decades operates Christ Hospital in Chicago, a medical facility that allows for the practice of babies born with disabilities to die of starvation & neglect.  Physically imperfect babies who survive abortion attempts are left exposed to the elements, to die alone.  I defy anyone to argue that this practice is not evil. 

 

I would submit that the debate to define the least of these will rage on for decades to come.  It may very well include issues of poverty, racism, sexism.  But to overlook the unborn is to invoke the wrath of a God of justice who will not hold us unaccountable. Jesus said, “WOE unto the world because of offenses…woe to that man by whom offenses come.” {Matthew 18:7}

 

Whoever wins today’s election needs to know that the issue of protecting the unborn is not going to go away.  Today, Norma McCorvey, the woman who was “Jane Roe” in Roe v. Wade is making an impassioned appeal to hold our next President of the United States accountible for the reversal of Roe v. Wade. 

 

She is asking all of us who care about the least of these to join her.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_J1c8y_7FE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_MUUvcvjEg 

 

 

 

 

 

Spreading the Wealth & other forms of socialism in America

It appears Americans need a reminder that this nation began as a socialist society. 

 

After 6 months at sea, a group of English entrepreneurs reached land at Cape Henry in May 1607.  They moved inland approximately 40 miles and established their colony on the James River.  By that winter, Jamestown Settlement was well on its way to extinction much like the 18 attempted colonial settlements before it.

 

Populated by European aristocrats who perceived manual labor as beneath them, the expectation was that a few would do the work for all…America’s first attempts at redistribution of wealth.  Problem was, no one thought they should be the few that had to work.  Facing starvation and extinction, changes were implemented, as evidenced by Captain John Smith’s edict that “if you don’t work {today}, you don’t eat {today}. The work was now communal with very little incentive for productivity. The colony continued to flounder. 

 

In 1611 Sir Thomas Dale, deputy governor, assigned a 3 acre plot of land to each settler with the incentive of consuming for themselves or selling whatever they produced.  Smaller plots were also allotted for those who came to the Settlement later. 

 

Socialism had failed miserably in European attempts to colonize the New World. 

 

Capitalism was introduced. 

 

Within one year of Dale’s change promoting personal accountability, Jamestown residents had completely altered the way they conducted themselves.  Their entrepreneurial spirit was reborn and the colony began to grow and prosper.  Today we know that Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in this country, following a string of failed European attempts to colonize North America with a system based in socialism that fell flat on its face.

 

This week in Colorado Springs where I live, and, dare I say in cities all across this great nation, socialism is being revisited with attempts to resurrect the failures inherent in such a system.  A local college hosted “Fireside chats” complete with an actor playing the role of FDR, no doubt  intent on convincing the “socially aware” that poverty & injustice can be conquered simply by expanding government and the US Constitution to include “guarantees” of housing, and jobs, and education.  And heaven knows what else…all compliments of U.S. government coffers. 

 

The Obama camp would have us believe that a redistribution of wealth…spreading the wealth around…is good for this country.  This current battle cry of Democrats has a familiar ring to it.  “From each according to his ability to each according to his needs”, Karl Marx’s avocation of socialism inspires and invigorates the Obama campaign.  Mr. Obama’s ties to socialism are real.  One need only to visit http://nicedeb.wordpress.com/2008/05/05/reds-who-support-obama  to discover the depth of Obama’s nefarious Anti-American connections. 

 

Interestingly enough, Karl Marx denied he was a socialist just as Obama does.  But if Obama is not a socialist, why does the New Party Publication print that Barack Obama was a member when he won in the IL State Senate?  http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78945

And why was Obama’s campaign kicked off in the home of his closest socialist buddies?  http://www.usasurvival.org/ck05.22.08.html

 

 

The Progressive Congressional Caucus currently has 60 members seated in the Democrat controlled Congress.  The Democrat Socialists of America, an extension of the Socialist Party USA was formed with the specific intent of influencing the Progressive Congressional Caucus and promoting socialism from within our legislature.  With Barack Obama in the Oval Office their success is virtually guaranteed.  What communists and socialists could not advance with guns and bombs, they seek to usher in at the ballot box.

 

Contrary to what the Democrats would have us believe, socialism is NOT the answer to our woes.  Over 60 years after the New Deal was touted as deliverance from poverty, America’s poor are no better off.  Welfare reform only served to deepen the entitlement mentality.  People became enslaved by the very system designed to free them. 

 

This country has only a few days to wake up and smell the rhetoric. When will disciples of social change recognize the huge gulf between social conscience and socialism?  The truly socially conscious will continue to promote eradication of poverty, defense of the defenseless, care for the infirmed to the benefit of individuals downtrodden, destitute and underprivileged.  Meanwhile, the socialist will continue to enlarge government and expand the power of elected & non-elected officials to their own enrichment and at the expense of those most in need, the impoverished and the weak, keeping the weak forever enslaved. 

 

 

Woe unto you who call evil good!

 

When will voters understand that a socialist society can exist only as long as people are at the mercy of their government?  Socialist leaders require weakness to thrive!  Why do you suppose Capitalism, entrepreneurialism and profit by personal responsibility have become the great threat?

 

Whether we look at Marxism, socialism, communism, the New Deal of FDR, the Great Society…wherever you find the Robin Hood mentality, you find failure.  Robbing from the “rich”, which has now been extended to include the middle class, might appeal to the “have nots” of this country for a time.  But ultimately reality must set in.  ALL OF US ARE BEING ROBBED BY THE DEMOCRAT HOOD.

 

We are robbed of opportunities to start our own business without overbearing government regulations.  We are robbed of the notion that we can become anything we desire.  We are robbed of unlimited earning potential.  We are robbed of the dream of a comfortable retirement on OUR terms.  Because every country steeped in spreading the wealth around…or any other gussied up version of socialism… has removed the impetus for excellence, we are robbed of excellence in work product, education, medical attention, innovation, technological advancements.  Ultimately, we are robbed the few things our Constitution guarantees us…our way of life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness.  America is at risk of going the way of mediocrity in the name of “social change” and we will all be the poorer for it.

 

When citizens fail to take personal responsibility for their provision and success, when we fail to acknowledge and act on the truth that WE are our best resource, suffering abounds.  That was true in Jamestown Settlement and it is true today. 

 

Make no mistake, this election is a turning point in the history of this nation.  Will we return to the failed socialist behaviors of early Jamestown Settelement?  Or will we strive with excellence to build a nation of prosperity where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts?  As voters we will determine if self-reliance will surrender to socialism, if Liberty will be eradicated by limitless government, if Democracy will be replaced by dependence on government, if opportunity will give way to more oppressive government regulations. 

 

Being enslaved isn’t always the result of being dragged away in shackles.  Sometimes it comes voluntarily in the form of a ballot.  On November 4, 2008 Americans have the power to say NO to the slavery of socialism disguised as social change.

 

We would do well to recall the words of Thomas Jefferson, later echoed by Gerald Ford… “Any government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have.”

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