Who are the Least of These?
Matthew 25:40 New Living Translation
Matthew 25:40 New Living Translation
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
Many years ago when I was failing to understand the King James Version of the Bible which had been presented to me when I was baptized, I learned about a different, newer translation called The Living Bible. It was then that I began to easily understand what Jesus was saying... In this case, "the least of these," was those like me... My mother was a recent widow when I was born. She had three other children for which she received a minimum amount of government support. What I remember most of all was that my Mom seemed to be working all the time... to ensure there was money to feed, clothe, and shelter us. We were considered poor for many years. It was only when each of the children were old enough to begin work to be able to contribute to the household that our lives became a little easier. For me, the youngest, my memory was of hand-me-down clothes as a major part of my younger years... Yet, we had family to help us through those times. Were we the least of these?
Today, my mind immediately goes to those in Ukraine, Gaza, Iraq, Iran, and so many other countries which have been bombed/attacked by others who destroy the homes of those who had nothing to do with the actions of those in charge and with money to seek vengeance or retribution... Those women, children, old people who I see walking on the roads moving away from a crumbled land where once they had lived. They have nothing except what they can carry on their backs or carts. They depend upon anybody who has the heart to give them, at least, food to eat... These, then, are the least of these...
And those who have destroyed their lives? They are those who squeeze out many for some obscure reason, decide to attack one or more people... No matter in what part of the world we live in, this goes on daily... But right now, we look at what was once the United States of America. Land of the Free... Right???
It was before I was born when a new song was presented:
At that time, we were a country who sang of praising God for our new land of freedom... But even then, the world was at war, either in the past, or in the future... WWI, WWII, et.al. There has always been somewhere where some men had chosen to raise arms against another group of people...
In the meantime, nearly all of those people also believed that it was "their" god that was the real god and that they were working to bless them through battle... For many, however, it was even worse. They believed that their god had sent his son to die for us--to save us from all anger, pain and fear... Somewhere along the line called those people were called christians. But then those individuals started breaking off from each other, even going to war to force their religion, their christianity on others--whether they wanted it or not... And so, thousands of years went by...some living in peace with their god; some fighting to have their god higher...Who really owns the democracy that is now called the United States? It is OUR TIME to ask the right questions...
You know folks, I'm opposed to having AI being used uncontrolled, for surely it will be used to create videos such as the one above, which clearly is not real... Yet it tells the story, doesn't it? We know from his own actions that this president is striving to be king over as much of the world as he can get. We also know that while during that, religion is being used as a tool in that process, to attempt to gain support from people in a religion which he can barely speak of... This, then, is where America is right now... Wondering, is it secretly being stolen from we who believe it is our country, land of the free?
Senator Warnock takes readers exactly where we need to be. Pointing out how the evolution of the government has been slowly moving toward where power and money is the most important part of the United States.
If you didn't know about the following, know that I didn't know either. I've revealed that before 2015, I was mostly involved in daily living--at work and at church. As long as things were moving forward, I wasn't paying much attention. Even in 2010, the highest court acted on a case: Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which upended campaign finance reforms that restricted the amount of money that corporations and other outside groups could spend on political campaigns! It was a 5-4 decision which reveals that at that time, there was not a majority of one party on the Supreme Court. As we now know that has changed, to the detriment of the country. Soon money was flooding into campaigns for any party who was supporting candidates. And various groups were formed so that the amounts of moneys and the sources were kept secret... But there are always those watching and soon what was happening was revealed in the first book.
You know folks, my family background was with the republican party. When they talked about conservative, the first thing they mentioned was not believing in abortion. When you begin to really pay attention, you begin to see that even with this subject, there is a contradictory point of view... That is, how can you support pro-life, when at the same time you, as a party, oppose social programs for food, schools, the poor... Get the idea that conservative may well mean that those who are in that party want the government out of their businesses and money-making? Because that is exactly what was approved in 2010 by a conservative-leaning Supreme Court... And it's gotten worse since then! And it is the republican party that has led the conservative manner in which money has come to control political planning... Rather than the other way around...
This has dramatically altered the political and legal landscape to suit the self-serving conservative agenda. "As the prophet Isaiah warned during Israel's dark days long ago, when a nation's leaders are corrupt, society's most vulnerable suffer. Your rules are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow's case does not come before them. (Isaiah 1:23, NIV)."
The question then becomes: Who will defend those who are called the Least of These? Who will help those without power and influence? You know, those of us who our God gave His Son so that we in turn would Love and Care for our neighbors???
Reverend Warnock shares the work of his church Ebenezer Baptist in these efforts... As a young girl who also joined a Baptist church, I am aware of all that can be done through the efforts of church members. But Warnock points out that both the church AND the political part of our lives are called upon to respond to the needs of all those within the sphere of our reach. In the political world, that means the entire nation is responsible for all those who dwell within our land...
And we have responded to that call until the changes that began and are now being implemented against those who are the least! And, let's face it, we are now in a position where we can only be divided between the Have's and the Have Not's... That has become especially true during the years in which the republican party had a majority control. We have seen the devastation. We have seen people pulled out of their homes to be placed into detention facilities who, without any type of legal support, are left to those who can profiteer from the least of these, while at the same time, those individuals suffer from poor food, sickness, and loss of freedom for no reason other than that those in the government want to punish, to lord over those who are different in some way, and, especially, with the fact that they are poor... Or in need of sanctuary...
Warnock shares how a federal program, Head Start, was the first support his family was given so that he could have the chance to move forward... We now see that, as one who received, he is now working to ensure that that gift is passed on to others who also need a start to a life, that can only be found by the support of those who are able...and willing...to pass on support that was once given to them...
So, how did we get to this point in America where only those with so much money that they could feed the entire nation, still want to keep those in need from any type of support... A few claim it is about race and some not being "like them..." How do YOU justify not helping as you are able?
And, yet, that is just what is happening. The rich who have gotten into the political world now work to ensure that the rich get more and better tax breaks. That the rich can gain power through donating large amounts in order to gain favor from those in politics. Instead of We the People, Of the People, and For the People... We must ask! Who really owns our democracy? And...if it really a democracy as it is now being run by the rich? Certainly with there being no longer a congressional separation, that there is no longer a separation of the Justice area of government... And that lies are being used to create a reality that serves only those who are already rich and who do not want for anything. A specific example was used as it relates to the DeVoe family, one of whom became Secretary of Education in the 2016 term of office. We watched as an individual who gave major contributions to the candidate was then given a position for which she was not qualified, and who strived to create public funded private schools for the rich while never even being willing to visit public schools and support them financially...
Matthew 19:23-26 KJV (King James Version)Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
It should be noted that the founder of Citizens United, Floyd Brown, was well-known in right-wing circles as a political consultant—some might call him a campaign hit man—who specializes in digging up dirt on political opponents, or at least exploiting a sensitive issue in hopes of destroying the opposition’s election chances. So I have to ask just why the republican party would choose this type of man to pull together a group called Citizens United... As we have seen since 2016, this type of dirt flinging was to be a main method of campaign destruction for that party and is now so bad that even some republicans are beginning to speak out against this president's actions.
The Tillman Act in 1907 was the first recognition that there was a problem in having money become a major issue during campaigns. That Act lasted for about 100 years. And we are surely feeling the difference in so many, many ways! Corporations are not part of We The People!
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