Poverty: The result of the love of money . . .

I am taking the time to preach on issues this season that seem relevant to the national agenda, to the political process, and to the election in a little over six weeks. Nothing grandious, just a title "What the Bible has to say about . . . war, racism, the social safety net, and, this week, poverty.

My scriptures are from Amos, condemning those who oppress the poor, and Luke 16 where Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, both who die and go to hell and heaven respectively.

$700 B to bail out bankers who screwed up in the face of children in America who will go to bed hungry tonight is obscene! More obscene is the money that the bottom five percent of Americans bring home is more than the majority of the "Third World", although that term is passe.

$700 B. would go a long way to feed the hungry and lift the poor out of poverty. It might fund the entire UN initiative designed to cut poverty in half. It might even cover the other half. It might prompt Jesus to say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

$700 B. went down in flames today in the House of Representatives. I really don't know whether to feel sick over the future of my 403(b)-that is the not for profit equivalent of a 401(k) or to rejoice that there is still some backbone in Congress.

The amazing thing is that the people who got lousy mortgages out of this and are either being foreclosed upon or are hanging on by their fingernails are not even the poorest people in this country. There is a whole other layers of victims of the free market economy who don't even get to show up at the table to complain, much less have any chance of a government bailout.

Sunday last, I preached on racism, and I looked a lot at the life of Martin Luther King Jr. to prepare the way. He was organizing the poverty march on Washington when he was martyred for his faith. Lord, how can we pick up the mantle of the mighty whose fallen?

Seven Hundred Billion?

"Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's"

Do we really need to render so much cash unto the financial institutions that screwed up so royally? I was going to say stupid people making bad investments, but these are not stupid people. These are well educated, highly motivated, prime shakers and movers of the financial system. And they let their love of money outstrip all other considerations.

And now the government wants to bail them out-maybe. We don't know the final price tag. I heard in one report that all the insurance that has been written on all these financial investments is in the neighborhood of $62 Trillion (CAPITAL T), of which $700 Billion seems a drop in the bucket.

How much is this government in debt and how much more would this initial investment force us to add? It is more than 700 B. because there will be borrowing fees and interest and a cut for everyone along the way. In the end, do we sign over California to China and the Middle East to make good?

The absurdity that tickles me the most is that the presidential campaigns are saying that the people want to make this decision. No, they want to make the decision for the people. We are a representative democracy. If they really want the people to decide, make this a national referendum question on the ballet in November.

Jesus calls on us to pay our taxes, but I don't think it extends to this.

For more, google "Kansas Senate Prayer"

Don't know if it is an 'e-myth', but it stirred my heart when I got the email.

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.

We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleans us from every sin and set us free.

Amen!