To some, it seems we have a conundrum on our hands. To others, the passages seem both straightforward and crystal clear.
From the Book of Mormon in Mosiah 4:16 - 27, we read:
16 And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.
17 Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—
18 But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.
19 For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?
20 And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.
21 And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.
22 And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth; and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done.
23 I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance shall perish with him; and now, I say these things unto those who are rich as pertaining to the things of this world.
24 And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not and yet have sufficient, that ye remain from day to day; I mean all you who deny the beggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your hearts that: I give not because I have not, but if I had I would give.
25 And now, if ye say this in your hearts ye remain guiltless, otherwise ye are condemned; and your condemnation is just for ye covet that which ye have not received.
26 And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.
27 And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.
Sounds pretty good, right?
Then there is this verse from the Doctrine and Covenants Section 42:42 -
42 Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer.
How about this passage from the Old Testament in Proverbs 12:27 - The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.
Or this one from Timothy 5:8 in the New Testament: But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
Then there is the parable of the talents which can be interpreted in a few different ways. In Matthew 25, we read about a steward/Lord who gives a responsibility to three different men. They are given 1, 2, and 5 talents to manage in his absence in the hopes that they would live up to their potential and increase that which had been entrusted to them.
What am I driving at with all of this?
I find myself thankful at the blessings that have been granted to me and my family and friends and most frustrated as well.
Our government, whom we elected and keep the jackasses in office, has institutionally created an entire culture dependent upon others for everything they need to survive mortality. While there are notable circumstances in which our legitimate needs must be met by outside sources, there seems to be a movement to provide the livelihood for those who are simply UNWILLING to do what they COULD do for themselves.
Instead, we should be insisting that they bear SOME responsibility for themselves and for those who depend upon them - if for nothing else than an example of how to live. Laziness and sloth ARE catching...
Wanting to help those who are downtrodden is a laudable thing. In my heart, I hope my attitude is right - I try to do all I can when I am able, and physically, I try to do all I can with supplies and materials when it is mortally possible. But I can't take on their mortal salvation from financial ruin, more especially so when they do nothing to help themselves!!
I can't judge the circumstances that people have in their lives in any adequate measure. The job of the Common Judge in Israel is already spoken for and the job of the Judge of us all is in God's bailiwick. And for that I am sure we are ALL thankful. God alone is able to temper His mercy and His justice.
He sees the circumstances that I do not.
My struggle isn't so much with those on the outside of my skin and with the one within who judges, condemns and offers harsh reality about 'how it should be' without one thought for what might really be going on beneath the surface which I can neither see nor comprehend.
In an attempt to keep my own personal pride out of the equation, I wrestle with the concepts of whom to help and how. And, I admit that I become frustrated with those people, who, when offered a REASONABLE choice to improve their circumstances and lot in life (in my judgement) make NO EFFORT to take on work, responsibility or a budget that just might cut back on their idea of what they are 'entitled' to.
I've been told all of my life that the idler will not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the worker, yet I see efforts within our nation to FORCE just that. Those who work should be somehow compelled to support those who don't, can't and won't.
Let it be said here that I am not discussing the legitimate needs of the disabled, the widow and the fatherless.
But I am concerned about the people who have generationally received some form of government assistance every month for as long as they have drawn a breath and everyone else in their family lives the same way without making a single contribution to the work-force simply because they feel it's beneath them to do so when they can get all these benefits without hitting a lick at a snake.
Where do we draw the line?
Today, an acquaintance stopped by begging. This person basically asked for us, or someone we know, to sign on and be responsible for their bills and payments with the promise that it's only to last "until I get caught up".
HORSEFEATHERS!!
I politely and firmly told this person "no".
I felt guilty about it for a little while. Not because I was in a position to give and refused (I wasn't in any position to help), but rather, the guilty feeling came from wondering if any of my previous help had seemed like I was a "soft touch" who could be played.
Then I felt guilty for feeling guilty!
For Pete's sake, if the party involved felt even one round of the guilt I was feeling, he'd drag his sorry ass out and get a JOB (there are companies hiring ALL OVER TOWN!) - and then, having obtained said job, he would sacrifice his 'personal time' (which has presumably been employed in scratching his indecisive ass), and do what it takes to get up, be on time, be diligent and be responsible!
But now, we come to the crux of the matter - that nasty word which should be a four-letter word: RESPONSIBILITY.
We have an entire microcosm of society that believes fervently that the world owes them a living just because they showed up with their hand out.
How do we convince them that the world was here FIRST, to borrow a thought from Mark Twain?
My highest ambition in life had nothing to do with cleaning up the dive and prep area and flipping Big Macs all day, but I damn well worked at McDonald's to pay my bills when I was in college! And I mopped floors, cleaned toilets, washed windows and painted walls to at least make a contribution to my own upkeep.
I am sick to death of able bodies sitting around as if they are 'too good' for a job! Holy Hannah! Work is ennobling and truly builds a type of character that the lazy and slothful will NEVER comprehend.
We have all, at one time or another, been recipients of the 'kindness of strangers' or the loving bounty of friends. And I hope in my own case, I have showered them with my thanks and gratitude for what has been offered to me.
Needs are one thing. We all have them.
But this constant drip, drip, drip of pity for self is making me a bit crazy.
There isn't enough in the world to help those who do nothing to help themselves because for them, there is never enough to satisfy their eyes of greed.
But for the needs of the world, there is enough and to spare. We have an abundance, if people will exercise some restraint and employ a healthy dose of personal responsibility.
Life doesn't always work out the way we planned. The unforeseen CAN AND DOES HAPPEN. It isn't that it happens that is the issue. It's how we HANDLE it when it does.
We are all beggars in this life. We are dependent in various stages and times in our lives and we are also sometimes those who are depended upon to meet the needs of others.
We vacillate between being the helpful temporal savior of another soul in need and being the capsized sailor tempest tossed just hoping to see a rescue line shoot out of the darkness to save us from our misery. But when do we see the true job description we were sent here to learn?
Our mortal experience isn't meant to be a free ride on the backs of our brothers and sisters who toil in our behalf without a word of thanks escaping our lips. Nor were we meant to sit in opulence and look down upon the workers who make possible our wealth and privilege.
There is a middle ground!
When we forget how to work, we lose an essential part of self that keeps us able to hold up our head and look any man in the eye as an equal in this world. When the only lazy motion we make with our slothful hand is to reach for the next hand-out, we have lost our ability to feel the needs of those who truly have no choices but to sit immovable on the sidelines of life.
We need to work in order to be useful, not only to ourselves, but to our fellowmen.
We need to help those less fortunate, lest by choice and inclination we become as unfortunate and unwelcome as the leper who had to cry out as 'unclean' before the world.
There aren't any clear cut guidelines printed on the foreheads of the fellow travellers who share our world. And while we don't get to judge every motive and intent, I do believe that there are some circumstances in which we have to say "NO" to the people who are holding out for a free lunch.
When pride prevents someone who COULD do from even making an effort to drag themselves out of bed to even make an attempt at doing better for themselves, it's pretty hard to feel comfortable assisting them to do nothing at all.
I think the word for that is ENABLING.
And that's a concept I'm not comfortable with at all.
Bertolt Brecht said it well, "None will improve your lot if you yourself do not."
