I won't waste time quoting Scripture to prove that God's Way is that we care for people, and that He expects us to step up to our responsibilities to care and sacrifice for those around us, especially our relatives. You know that's what He wants, just as I do; this Law is sown into our hearts by threads that can't be broken.
I also won't waste a lot of time expounding upon the fact that dependance fosters further dependance. It, too, is a kind of law of nature.
Consider the birds. You, a perfect stranger, feed them a few times, and there they'll be waiting forever after. As long as the perfect stranger continues to show up and hand out food, the same birds (and the friends they've told) will be there to receive, with mouths agape. After all, they've been conditioned by the process.
Consider the birds. You, a perfect stranger, feed them a few times, and there they'll be waiting forever after. As long as the perfect stranger continues to show up and hand out food, the same birds (and the friends they've told) will be there to receive, with mouths agape. After all, they've been conditioned by the process.
But Man is not a bird and should not be dependent upon strangers, nor anyone else, unless it is absolutely necessary to his survival.
I say that it's time to change (or return) to the perfect social security system. It's time we do it God's Way.
Here's a quick, instructive exercise: grab a pen and paper and write down the first names of your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, children, and first cousins. When I did this I came out with a total of 21 individuals. Now hold that number off to the side and add to it the number of nieces and nephews you have. My count added 10 more people to my list, which is a total of 31 close family members. And by "close" I mean "blood" family members. Imagine, 31 people of blood and DNA so close to me that they would be considered the first, viable group of individuals to look at for the donation of an organ that my body would not reject. That's a good number of people!
Do you see where I'm going? Sure you do.
Now, lets do the math. Flip over your paper and multiply $29.00 times the total number of immediate family members (the first number, the one without the nieces and nephews). For me, 21 times $29.00 equals $609.00. That could be $609.00 per month, or it could be $609.00 per week depending on the situation. If it were $609.00 per week then this would equate (given 4 weeks) to over $2,400 per month. Not too shabby. Certainly this is more than enough to enable me and my family to survive.
If you and I were to have a relative in need, we could surely contribute $29.00 per week to their welfare. Why $29.00? Because that figure amounts to just 10% of the total income for a person working 40 hours per week at minimum wage. So, even if you just make minimum wage, and work full-time, your minimal contribution is going to go a long way towards helping your OWN RELATIVE, YOUR BLOOD! And for those that earn more per hour, the number increases, of course. Accordingly, the more relatives - the less the burden on each contributor - the more the total contribution to the needy relative.
Now, considering that some of the people on your immediate family list are too old (like your grandparents and parents) or deceased (as some were in my case), the number of contributors would decrease, of course. But most people doing this exercise will find that they have at least an average of 6 to 10 people. That's at least enough money per month to purchase medical insurance for the needy family member. And, these days, that's the biggest expense that needs to be covered. As far as a roof over their head and food and water, there is always room for a cot in the basement, and there are always scraps of leftovers from the dinner table. They can drink water from the spicket outside the garage.
Okay, so we see, clearly, it CAN BE DONE by US, the family, not US, the United States. And done by caring family, not strangers. Granted, our needy family member may not live in luxury, keep a car and go on dates, but they will be provided for in their time of need. They will experience the love that they deserve. This is God's Way of providing social security!
Now take a minute and consider the savings. Savings, you say? Yes, savings!
Don't take my word for it. Do the quick investigation and math for yourselves. Look at your pay stub and see if you're having more than $29.00 per week taken out for social security and social medical care taxes. Have you looked at your pay stub recently? You'll be amazed. See if I am not correct. See if your directly caring for your Cousin Vinny or your brother, mother, sister or aunt wouldn't cost you a lot less of your money per year. You'll find that it would cost you a TON LESS! So, we would not only please God and love our family members properly by doing social security God's Way, we would also keep more hard-earned dollars in our wallets and purses!
In conclusion, let me say that I realize that this way of doing social security requires that we actually take a genuine interest in the welfare of our family members. I also realize that it is harder to do this than it is to simply have the money taken out of our paychecks every week. We human beings, especially in our American culture, don't like to be bothered with other people's concerns and problems, even if they are our own family members. We like, and have long gotten used to, the current, impersonal social security system, in which I open my wallet and the government puts its hand in, takes out greenbacks, tells me that I don't need to be concerned, and hands it over to the waiting birds with gaping mouths.
Long ago in this country, because we didn't want to be bothered, to be vulnerable, to take upon ourselves responsibility, and to willingly sacrifice for our families and others, we chose this diabolical, dependant-making, impersonal and failing system of providing social security to others. Back then, we chose to have our money forcibly removed from our wallets, because it is easier on us (even though it's more costly), than lovingly, willingly, sacrificially engaging and giving money to our hurting, needy, blood relatives. Shame on us all, for now we are trapped in a system from which it seems impossible to extricate ourselves!
Will the whole government change and stop taking money from you because you tell them that you will be giving now to Uncle Arthur? Well, you can try, but don't count on it.
It's true, the IRS will not say to you, “Oh, that's okay, you don't owe us any money for Social Security and Medicare because we can see that you've been giving $29.00 to Aunt Bee every week.” Nope. You will still have to pay for these things, via taxes. But, who knows? You may get the attention of others, who will also do it and then they will get the attention of still others. Before we know it we could start an epidemic in which everyone is back on board with God's Way of handling social security! Then the government will have to reduce our taxes because they won't be able to substantiate keeping them the same or increasing them. It can be done, over not much time. Little changes, done in the millions, have a dramatic and fast impact. Let's start!
Long ago in this country, because we didn't want to be bothered, to be vulnerable, to take upon ourselves responsibility, and to willingly sacrifice for our families and others, we chose this diabolical, dependant-making, impersonal and failing system of providing social security to others. Back then, we chose to have our money forcibly removed from our wallets, because it is easier on us (even though it's more costly), than lovingly, willingly, sacrificially engaging and giving money to our hurting, needy, blood relatives. Shame on us all, for now we are trapped in a system from which it seems impossible to extricate ourselves!
Will the whole government change and stop taking money from you because you tell them that you will be giving now to Uncle Arthur? Well, you can try, but don't count on it.
It's true, the IRS will not say to you, “Oh, that's okay, you don't owe us any money for Social Security and Medicare because we can see that you've been giving $29.00 to Aunt Bee every week.” Nope. You will still have to pay for these things, via taxes. But, who knows? You may get the attention of others, who will also do it and then they will get the attention of still others. Before we know it we could start an epidemic in which everyone is back on board with God's Way of handling social security! Then the government will have to reduce our taxes because they won't be able to substantiate keeping them the same or increasing them. It can be done, over not much time. Little changes, done in the millions, have a dramatic and fast impact. Let's start!
And even if the government doesn't come around, love, and stewardship, and Jesus require us to do social security God's Way! Just give the minimum $29.00, talk to your fellow family members about joining together, and watch God begin to work in manifold ways!
God bless you!
