At the Mission

We had quite the commotion outside the mission this week, when a truck pulled up in front and the word spread quickly about the government-supported cell phone give-away. People came out of the woodwork to get their "free" phone, complete with "free" monthly minutes.  Of course, the intended recipients were those who qualify for Medicaid, food stamps, supplemental security income, federal public housing assistance, free school lunch, temporary assistance to needy families, low income home energy assistance...at least that's what the glossy brochure indicated.  I think they forgot to list the government-sponsored internet and cable television services...but I exaggerate.  All that was required was the completion of the short form, and the phone was in hand, right there on the spot.  

Not everyone at the mission was so excited about the give-away.  One employee went outside and asked about the procedure.  When she discovered that no applicant verification was made, she said to the man, "So I could lie on the form, and you wouldn't know the difference."  He acknowledged that to be the case.  That situation spawned several discussions at work about the role of government in providing such services.  One person quipped, "Everyone is entitled to a cell phone."  Oh, really?  But many of us realize that nothing is free, and we are not entitled. Someone is paying for all those cell phones, and it isn't the President or congress.  The government cannot create wealth; it can only take money from wage earners (or print more money - inflation); therefore, it can only provide all those services by taking from tax payers to give to others, without consent.  To call it legalized theft is really not an exaggeration.  At the mission, we try to instill the proper work ethic in our clients, because so many of them come to us with the entitlement mentality. 

Work is a fundamental principle found in Scripture. We have no right to another person's income or property, so work is important to provide for the needs of our family.  Work is also necessary, so that we can provide voluntarily for the poor among us.  Ephesians 4:28 says, "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need."  Ultimately, all that we have belongs to God, and we are called to be good stewards.  In the Lord's eyes, it is good that we work, for our own benefit as well as to be a blessing to others.