Article: Greed is just one our problems…

He who loses money, loses much; He who loses a friend, loses much more; He who loses faith, loses all. – Eleanor Roosevelt

 Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves.” ― Horace Mann

 In a society governed passively by free markets and free elections, organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy. ― Matt Taibbi

 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. – St. Paul of Tarsus

 No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. –Jesus of Nazareth

Unless you gave up the following the news for Lent, you already know about the tragedy that occurred in Parkland, Florida yesterday. There are 17 families grieving the loss of a loved one because they were killed by a disturbed lone gunman.

It causes me to shudder when I think about Christians receiving ashes yesterday with the words, “remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return” for some in Florida it was prophetic.

It leaves us asking that same questions that we have already asked several times already in 2018, “Why?” and “How can we end this?”

The status quo is not acceptable. Cold blooded murder is not acceptable under any circumstance as a Christian. Not that I need to say that, but I guess I do.  The killing of innocent people is not the “trade-off” for the constitutional right to bear arms. There is no such thing as acceptable losses in order to preserve the freedom to own an automatic or semiautomatic weapons from a Christian point of view.

Some people will want to tell you that this is only a “mental health issue” and not a gun issue. Others will say that if someone wants a gun bad enough, they will procure one. Still others will say, it is “too soon” to talk about solutions knowing that it is never the right time. Another group will tell you that it is the time for “thoughts and prayers” and we should not try to “problem solve” in this moment or at the time of other tragedies in our recent past. All of these arguments are excuses for inaction.

As you know, we have a school at Bethel and we are located across the street from Cupertino High School. I suppose that makes me think about these things a little more seriously. As I write this, I can hear our children playing on the playground.

Is there a solution to this madness or should we expect a new normal or violence in the United States?

I refuse to believe that school violence or mass shootings is our new normal. There is no doubt that there are many things that contribute to the increase in violence: family and societal breakdown, the lack of political compromise, a mental healthcare system where people are not receiving the care they need either from a lack of personal assets or community funding and the list goes on.

And there is one more thing contributing to this ongoing problem: greed. Greed has the ability to make you do and say things that are contrary to your core values. The promise of more money can cause your moral compass to spin. A person who has traded their morals for money have lost their way.

The amount of money being spent by organizations to support politicians directly or indirectly is staggering and disheartening. It is the kind of money that will make a greedy person drool. I am not singling out the “gun lobby” on this. There is way too much money in politics period. This type of money prevents honest discussions and compromise on a whole range of issues including common sense gun laws, background checks and the sale of deadly weapons at unregulated gun shows in various states.

Money gets in the way of fixing a lot of things at the national and state level because lawmakers are beholden to their donors whether directly or indirectly.

Greed is not the only problem  but it is a big problem in finding solutions that protect people especially when we elect and trust lawmakers to work for the good of the community and not just special interests.

Within the first amendment of The United States Constitution it states that the government shall not abridge “the freedom of speech, or of the press…” yet we have libel and defamation laws. Even the Supreme Court once ruled that yelling “fire” in a crowded theater does not constitute free speech because it is “dangerous speech” (Schenck v. United States, 1919). Can we not have stronger protections as it pertains to the second amendment?

Is it not time to put the sixth commandment above the second amendment?

Everything I have written about are “heart issues.” As a nation we have a serious heart condition. It is time to do some soul searching and problem solving.

Last night at Ash Wednesday service I said that “Love is the most powerful force in the universe.” I stand by that statement because it is love that raised Jesus from the dead and love that turned Saint Paul from killing and persecuting Christians to becoming Christianity’s greatest theologian. It will take our active love and concern to slow this cycle of increasing violence.

Let us pray…
Lord of Love,

We pray for everyone affected by gun violence, domestic violence and senseless violence. We sense there is something really wrong with the ways things are in our world. The problems seem insurmountable and never ending. We despair at the mess humanity has created for ourselves.  Fill our hearts with your love so that we are protected from the sin of violence and greed in our own lives. We ask that you use us as your children to bring real change and lasting peace to our communities, our nation and your world. Please show us the way. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.

God bless you all,
Pr. Ben

 

 

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2 thoughts on “Article: Greed is just one our problems…

  1. Thank you Pastor Ben for these insightful words and thoughts. As one person I feel helpless to impact the current state of our gun control issues. It seems like it would be so obvious that we have way too many guns in this country and something needs to be done to control that piece of the puzzle. But, nothing happens and we go back to our apathy in moving this forward. So sad and tragic and I pray this won’t continue.

    1. Thank you once again for the kind words. It is a difficult subject because there is not universal agreement. However, the current state of affairs is not acceptable. I hope the Church in the United States continues to stand for Christ and his non-violent ways and command to love one another.

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