Scripture

Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker,
    but helping the poor honors him.

~Proverbs 14:31, NLT

Quote

“When a man lives in destitution, he is at the mercy of all who wish to oppress him.”

~Victor Hugo

In America, unemployment is a myth. Oh yes, we have unemployed people but that is because they refuse the jobs that are available. Practically every fast food restaurant in North Alabama has a sign in the window, HELP WANTED. There are some legitimately poor people, but I don’t know any. Of course I speak of Rocky Ford, Morgan County and North Alabama area. There are some poverty stricken areas where employment cannot be found. Of the top ten poverty stricken countries in the world, eight are found in Africa and the Sudan is number one. After reading Proverbs 14:31, I was prompted to do some research. John Philips believed that urbanization is one of America’s greatest promblems. World wide 55% of the population lives in rural areas but in the United States 83% of the population lives in urban areas. The large cities {one million or more} are a real problem and this is where 47% of Americans and illegals live. Would you like to guess where we find the most crime and poverty? Its not Wyoming, Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, Maine, Montana, Vermont, New Hampshire, Delaware, Kansas, Mississippi or Alabama. These are the states that do not have any large cities.

What is the Christian response? This is not an easy question. I dread going to Huntsville Hospital because the beggars hang out at the intersection of the Parkway and Governors. I don’t mind giving them a dollar or even a five, but how many of them are on drugs? Should I enable them? Is is right for me to give simply to ease my conscience? I keep hearing some of our locals refer to Guatemala as third world and I keep telling them that is is not. These folks have never been to Africa or India, but Guatemala has legitimate poverty. In Guatemala 2% of the population owns 75% of the land. Trust me, they are not lazy people, they are hard workers. They simply do not have the freedoms and opportunties that Americans have. I believe their poverty is legitimate.

Our missionary there is asking for 200 pairs of shoes. I suppose these are for the students at the private school that she superintends. You can buy a pair of shoes for 25$. What family among us cannot afford to buy a pair of shoes? You can give this money through Grace Point or DBC. Just mark shoes on your offering envelope. How many of you need a pair of shoes? You don’t; if you do call me and I will get you a pair of shoes. I will send June to get them and they will be on sale and probably not a name brand, but if you are barefoot, you’ll be tickled to get them. A truely hungry person will eat whatever you put before them and be thankful to get it. Had you rather need shoes or be able to buy someone else some shoes, someone who needs them?

Extra

If you want to send the money directly, mail it to SLAM, P.O. Box 513, Grand Bay, Alabama 36541.

I hope all of you had a good TG. We got together as Hannah’s but I never counted. June’s family comes from West Limestone to join us. All our children were present and all nine grands. I think the nine greats were all present. I think all total, we had 37.

I hope you have a good Black Friday. We have a car load at Martins and Big Mama is headed to Wally World. I am in the study and plan to stay here. I have no desire to go anywhere.

Grace Point: you told me to spend my PA money on myself; I did, June ordered me a grapple last Tuesday. It will be in Monday.  You  can  use  them  for  moving  brush.

 

Extra/Extra

This is a Thanksgiving story. I have a nephew named Jason. I saw him briefly yesterday. When he was a small boy, he had a hard time eating everything his mother put on his plate. For some reason, she made it manditory for him to eat every bit. When she wasn’t looking, he would give me what he didn’t want. The boy was both healthy and normal. I told his mama a hundred times, “Leave the child alone. When he gets hungry, he will eat. When he gets 14 you want be able to fill him up.” My mother had a classic answer for kids who slide their plate back and said, “I don’t want that.” She would say, “Then you are not hungry, you may leave the table.” A man was complaining to a friend about the price of dog food. His friend said, “I feed my dogs turnip greens.” The other guy said, “My dogs will not eat turnip greens.” His friend said, “Mine would not either for the first thirty days.”