Jack’s Winning Words 9/24/14
“Be charitable before wealth makes thee covetous.”  (Sir Thomas Browne)  Are you one of the “rich” people in America?  Are you a 1%-er?  Before we pride ourselves in what we have, we ought to read about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) which says that the roles of rich and poor will be reversed in heaven, especially when the rich ignore the poor.  I advise my grandchildren…“Remember the poor!”    ;-)  Jack

FROM EDUCATOR PAUL:  Sometime ago, I was out with best friends having breakfast. We were talking about the economy and how hard it was "to make ends meet." They were surprised to learn ( I actually had to prove it to them) that the people sitting around that table were in  the upper 10% of wealth on a national level.  They just couldn't wrap their minds around that and it's implications. "Poor" is one of those words that have so many shades when not in the extreme.====JACK:  It's just a matter of perspective.  During the Great Depression I remember being sent to the bank to cash a check for 3 cents, because we needed the money.  Loretta Lynn sings of her childhood..." Well, I was born a coal miner's daughter   In a cabin on a hill in Butcher Holler   We were poor but we had love. That's the one thing that daddy made sure of   He shoveled coal to make a poor man's dollar."

FROM LB IN MICHIGAN:  Did you see Warren Buffett's comments while in Detroit?  He tells billionaires to give away half their money.  He talked about writing a book called "How to manage on $500 million".====JACK:  Warren seems to be a "conscience" for those with extra-ordinary wealth.  The super-1%-ers listen, because he puts his checkbook where his mouth is.  The rest of us could benefit from a similar book, because covetousness seems to be endemic.  Maybe that's why "Thou
shalt not covet" was included as one of the Ten Commandments..

FROM PAUL IN ST. PAUL: i always liked the line: what am i doing with my wealth and what is my wealth doing to me??====JACK:  Oooh!  That hurts.

FROM TARMART REV:  If my memory serves me well this morning, I believe this was one of the prerequisite for including Paul's ministry among that of the apostles: "Always remember the poor." ====JACK:  People named, Paul, have a lot to live up to.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  ANYONE WHO HAS TRAVELED, ESPECIALLY IN UNDER DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, REALIZES THAT EVEN THE "POOR" IN U.S. ARE RICH IN THE EYES OF THE WORLD, WITH ENOUGH TO EAT OF A WIDE SELECTION OF FOODS, A ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS, AND TRANSPORTATION AT THE READY.  I HAVE SEEN THIS FIRST HAND, AND NEVR FORGET HOW WELL I AM ABLE TO LIVE, AS A MIDDLE CLASS AMERICAN!  WE NEED TO BE GENEROUS!!====JACK:  I think that most of us would be more generous if we saw the conditions of the poor 1st-hand as you have.  Reading about it in the papers, or seeing it on TV, doesn't have the same impact.  Jesus's Parable of the Talents is a biting one...Then the righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and not feed you? Or thirsty and not give you something to drink? Or a stranger and not show you hospitality? Or naked and not give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and not visit you?’  And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did not do it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were not doing it to me!’

FROM MICHIZONA RAY:  I think like everything, wealth is a blessing. Health is a blessing. Intelligence is a blessing; and so on... The challenge that besets those of us who have been so richly blessed, is that we cannot credit ourselves and "all our hard work" and the "timeless hours spent" in the fruitful management of those blessings. "Success" is the lure and seduction of evil that whispers a sort of self-idolatry into one's ear. A person who is blessed with much might come to believe in it, by virtue of the fear of losing it. It isn't the "success" that pulls one into the lure; it is the belief that it is one's cure. For this seems to be the main reason that it so difficult for the rich man...(s)he can't "let go" of his/her stuff. For those who are not rich, they get to pretend that they are okay and free from such things.====JACK:  I like that scene from the movie, THE JERK, where Steve Martin (who's been poor, then rich, then poor, again) is deciding what he needs to keep...ashtray, paddle game, remote control, matches, lamp, chair, magazine and dog.  "Do you think I'm some kind of jerk?"  What is it that we really need?

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  jobs are the best cure for poverty. jobs build self-esteem, self-sufficiency, & are the foundation of a functional society.  w/all the gov't provides our poor - food, phones, medical care, etc - it's really not all that dire, is it? not like other countries' poor, who don't eat.
what i hate to hear is how cities now are forbidding the feeding of homeless (usually mentally ill) people...cruel.  to be generous because one is angling for a spot in heaven is selfish, in actuality.
just my humble opinions...====JACK:  With regard to "angling" for heaven, the Parable of the Talents is the response of Jesus to one who asks, "What do I do to gain eternal life (heaven)?"  So, it is Jesus giving the answer....to care for the needy.  It was the Church that pioneered caring for the sick and the poor.  In some places it has become a political issue, but there are still people who care, because they do care.  I'm sure that you're not in the "caring" business just for the money.====LIZ:  believe me, there is no money in what i do for a living, but i am happy to have a job that is rewarding & helps people.====JACK:  That's my point.  The world is better off because of people who care, not thinking of it as quid pro quo.

FROM SBP IN FLORIDA:  For me, the concept of "poor" is mostly lack of material wealth. However, (This being another thought-provoking WW.) ,,upon further reflection ...we can be, can witness, can help in instances of impoverishment in many other facets of life. Poverty as in health, educational opportunities, hearing, eyesight, comprehension, ambulatory skills...on and on. And, as well, as, assisting monetarily...there are many additional ways to "be good to the poor". Thanks, again.====JACK:  One of the meanings of poor is...needy.  Obviously the poor who have limited (or no) funds need things, but are unable to buy them.  People in poor health need medical attention.  A grade school teacher once gave me POOR in deportment.