Jack’s Winning Words 7/19/18
“Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.”  (Aristotle)  When Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you,” I don’t think that he was giving a societal opinion…rather that he meant…there will always be a need to help people, both the poor in money and the poor in spirit.    I saw this sentence recently: “Poor people always see the problem ahead; never the solution.”  How sad!...but what really bothers me is the nagging question: How much do I care?    ;-) Jack

FROM HAWKEYE GEORGE:  How much DO I care??===JACK:  Does that mean that you DO care a lot?===GEORGE:  Yes. Two of my favorite charities are The Salvation Army, and Wycliffe Bible Translators. They both keep their admin costs at 6%, plus I've experienced their God-blessed field work.BTW, I went to a service at the old First Lutheran church on 5th Ave & 12th Street, Moline. There were ~85 persons there, mostly old folks. One very nice personality is Mary Savely, widow of a former Army military chaplain. I went because my mother, Pearl Kruse used to go there with her sisters as a little girl. She walked ~1 1/2 miles each way, from 8th St and 19th Ave. ===JACK:  I remember having a Wycliffe Bible in my collection of different translations.  "If these walls could speak..." refers to the many people who have worshipped in old First Church, and the many events that have taken place there.  Sometimes we only see it as it is now and make our judgments from that.  The same thing applies when we look at old people.===GEORGE:  That was my favorite uncle. Almost every year we would take a 20 mile canoe trip on Rock River or a river or 2 in Iowa.  We did a few other things together too. We became so close that I only called him by his first name w/o saying "Uncle."===JACK:  Everybody called him, Pete!"

FROM DR J IN OHIO:  I have friend who had signature at the bottom of his email messages that said “when I give to the poor they call me a saint, when I ask why are they poor, they call me a communist”.  What a statement! I think this explains a lot of what is happening out there today  ===JACK:  I guess that I'm obtuse.  I think I know what you're getting at...but maybe not, so... ===DR J:  I think a lot of conservatives approach poverty as something good people can help with. They give a little ( and sometimes a lot of) money here and there to help the poor - giving through their church or another organization. But a question they do not want to  tackle is  why are these people poor? Many depend on social classes and believe if we give poor people more opportunity Three social programs, that means they have less opportunity to earn wealth and power. So they want to keep social structures in place and just keep trickling down donations to the poor. Sam don’t even do that, but many of the conservatives that I know are generous, they just don’t want others to have real opportunity to earn and improve the quality of their life.===JACK:  So long as one side sees poverty as a personal issue (pull yourself up by your bootstraps) and others see it as a human issue (society needs to do something to help the underprivileged)...and both sides are somewhat equal in number, there's an impasse and the problem is not solved.  So...let's keep on doing and preaching about things that make life somewhat eaier for the poor.  But, it is frustrating.

FROM HUNGRY HOWIE:  I believe that a society is judged by how well it treats its most challenged and needy persons ===JACK:  Perhaps you've read how Daniel interpreted  for the king "the handwriting on the wall."  It was God saying to the King..."You will judged by the way you have treated the poor."  (or, something like that)  The handwriting is on the wall for America, too

FROM RI IN BOSTON:  There is that nagging question, "How much do I care?"  It concerns many of us.  We want to give to those in need, but there are so many "in need" and we can't provide for every support organization.  How do we choose, and how much are we able to give?  In other words, "How much do I care?"===JACK:  Because there are so many in need, what I can give won't help.  In answer to that excuse, Jesus pointed to widow who only had two mites and put it all in the offering for the poor.  She gave her all!  It's the spirit of the gift, not the amount.===RI:  The question I posed was really rhetorical.  It's not how much do I care that demands an answer.  The issue is am I going to show I care by giving something.  Any typical month I usually decide how much in total I can spread around, and then divide that among a list of deserving organizations.  Sometimes 10 or 15 dollars is all that goes into the envelopes.  (I subscribe to "Charity Watch" that evaluates organizations for their honesty in distributing the most of the contributions to the needy, and use the least possible for administrative costs.)===JACK:  "Charity Watch" seems like a good site.  Hardly a day goes by that I don't charity requests in the mail or by phone.  I know that requests by my Church (ELCA) and by the Salvation Army are legit, but I wonder about some of the others.  I'll have to check them out to make sure that tje money is used in the best way possible...understanding that there are always administrative costs.

FROM WALMART REV:  “Poor people always see the problem ahead; never the solution.”  -- Working with in this area of benevolence for many a year, I've been driven often in thought back to "The Garden" where Adam and Eve felt they were somehow in poverty not being able to partake of that "forbidden fruit" there in the center of their sight and lives . . . the result of their choice certainly revolutionized the world and opened the door to erroneous crimes of sort (lust, stealing, miss-prioritizing, etc.) that will lead so very often an individual and family found in poverty) 0;-/===JACK: When it comes to watching out for the poor, you are more than words, words, words.  You really help.  Thanks for your example.

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  Jack,   few people seem to understand this.  almost all revolutions were born of economic disparity.   the French Revolution  the Russian Revolution,  the Cuban Revolution, etc.   even our Revolution to a somewhat lesser extent.  this is why i always vote for politicians and programs that support the middle class.  you lose your middle class and  you will soon lose  your democracy.   soooo many people do not understand this basic principle!    p.s.  do you get Time Mag??   see page 34 of the May 29 issue.  4 pages that explain in painful detail where we are today as a society,  how we got here,  and just what the future may look like.  excellent reading! ===JACK:  Some have been looking for the "tipping point," when things get so bad that the populace and leaders agree..."Something has to be done!"    How close are we?===SP:  we are not there yet but if we don't make some corrections, we will come to regret it.  stay tuned...===JACK:  That reminds me of a saying I used to hear in my growing-up years..."I thought I'd never live to see the day when..."

FROM JB IN OLV:  Good one!

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  "I am indeed rich", says historian Edward Gibbon, "Since my income is superior to my expenses, and my expenses are  equal to my wishes." How fortunate are those who can affirm this in their own lives! Of course poverty often increases crime. Desperate people do desperate things. I've quoted Jay-Z before :"The burden of poverty isn't just that you don't always have the things your need, it's the feeling of being embarrassed every day of your life, and you'd do ANYTHING to lift that burden!" Too many have to live that life in America, as well as the rest of the world. We, in the church, try to lift that burden as much as we  can!===JACK:  Part of my guilt over not caring enough comes from being "rich" when so many are poor.  I know you know the story of Kagawa who couldn't keep a shirt on his back, because he would always find someone who needed it more that he did.

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  plenty of rich criminals. what’s aristotle’s theory on that?===JACK:  That's exactly how many revolutions start...the poor rising up against the rich.  That's what Aristotle was writing about.  BTW, in my book of people with strange names, there was a man named, Aristotle Tottle.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY::  We all care but you he question is “What do we do to help?” ===JACK:  I'd change that to read..."Many of us care."  I appreciate that each of us have our favorite charities, often based on personal experiences that we've had.