I came across this post on my pastor's blog yesterday.
I should say that I think that it's a lot easier to criticize an entity (the U.S. government) than it is to think critically about our individual decisions and the difference that we can make in our world by making changes on a personal level. And, I'm not convinced that everything is as cut and dried as we like to think it is.
But I'd be lying if I didn't say that this made me think long and hard.
10 comments:
That was a great post, really gets you thinking. Although I'll be honest... the extra money will be nice to pay off some debt... pay a student loan bill or two....
Interesting. I'd like to see the documentation for his numbers, though. The US spends millions in humanitarian aid (both domestic and abroad) every year. In fact, no other nation spends as much as ours does. He neglects the fact that if we don't keep our own economy afloat, we won't be able to continue doing what we already do.
There is also a contingent of people (I may be on the edge, but I haven't figured it out yet...) that firmly believe that it is not a government's job to feed the hungry, etc. That is the Church's job, and the government only took it over because we failed to do so.
Although I will say this: I think that when the Dems and the Repubs agree on something, is is usually a worse idea than what either party could have come up with on their own. lol
Hi, I think that it would be great to give some of it to the church. As Bob and Larry stated, "Larry how much stuff do you need to make you happy?" "How much stuff is there Bob?" WOW ain't that the truth sometimes!
Ben and I were talking about it and we decided this is how we feel.
We think his heart is in the right place, but the fact of the matter is...that really isn't our money. It is the government's money and being American's we need to use it to keep our own economy afloat.
There is no way the government can just put it into the economy. The consumer has to be the middle man. If they could do it themselves, I'm sure they would leave us out of it.
So Basically we would have no problem donating 52 dollars as suggested, however giving it all away would defeat the purpose of the Stimulus Package itself.
To really help America we are going to go buy 500 dollars worth of Grandma's Apple Pie from Ma and Pa's country kitchen. yum.
Oh and thanks for posting this...it's good to really think about why you believe something or where you stand on certain issues. I'd be curious to hear how you feel about it all.
Wow...thought-provoking issue. I have two things to say:
a.) I love that you make me think about things in a different way. I think that's one of my favorite things about you. You don't take things that people say as truth...you think about it and make it your own...you've challenged me to do that...and I love that.
(wow, that sounded real president-of-your-fan-club of me)
b.) I think that his heart was in the right place, but I completely agree when you say it's not that black and white...nothing ever is. Sounds like a neat idea, but...
I want to put an addendum on to my last post...I'm not saying that you ALWAYS play devil's advocate, I just admire the fact that you are not a bandwagon jumper like I tend to be. Kudos.
When I read this, I wasn’t really thinking about how to spend an extra $600 or whether or not we should “do our part” to stimulate the economy. I guess I’m more concerned about the fact that it's relatively cheap to feed the hungry and it isn’t happening. I won't weigh in on whether or not I think it's the government's job to feed the hungry, but like Mailee said . . . as the church, we’re failing.
So, the point isn't really about what to do with an extra $600. It’s about how we spend ALL of our money and our resources. Do we really see ourselves as stewards of what God has given us? Do we see all of what we have as His? Or do we see it as ours and we allow Him to have a piece of it (isn’t that nice of us)?
This doesn’t mean that we should or shouldn’t give all of our rebate money away, or that we should or shouldn’t buy a Canon 40D (did I tip my hand at all there?), but I think it does mean that we should be spending what we’re given wisely . . . not just in May, but all year long.
Like I said, it’s a lot easier to criticize the U.S. government for how they’ll be managing their (our) finances instead of looking at the condition of our own individual checkbooks.
How come you didn't tell everybody else to leave you alone while you got back to your friends DVD?
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