Searching for Meaning and Purpose...

As I look at all the ways the government is moving in to "take care of the 'least of these,'" I'm struck by some of the unintended consequences. Do the poor need an advocate? Yes! Do they need people to actually "do" something? Absolutely! Is faith shown by what we do? It needs to be! But, if the government steps in (a la healthcare, welfare, etc.) what does it actually do to the people who receive help? What kind of culture does it create? What unintended consequences do these people with good intentions create? First, if you look at the end result of welfare at its extremes there are two choices: become successful and get off welfare or become entitled to a lifestyle beyond your means and never do anything. Now, if you ask anyone in a major relief organization who works with people (for instance, World Vision's Haiti team), they set definite timetables and expectations. In fact, World Vision already has a date when they will no longer be...

So, how easy is it to drop a habit? Relatively simple! I had been regularly posting and writing up a daily devo for our student ministry, but have since dropped both. Why? I can blame time, with the master's classes causing me to have way too many late nights and not enough sleep. Or I could go with my family and work, both demanding time and effort that I cannot spend elsewhere. The idea of either excuse being written down seems to me to be rather distasteful! But, even with those being true in part, the real answer is priorities. I spend my time fighting for things that are "more urgent" and allow other things to slide into the background... Should this have slid into the background? Probably not! It gives me a place to vent, to put thoughts into cohesive form, and tell people about what matters most to me. So, I realized it was time to get things rolling again and put my thoughts out there for the world to see... With that in mind, I've been jamming the ...