Entitlements and What?

Entitlements

“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. George Santayana 

Today there are people who want to eliminate Social Security, Medicare, and all regulations for business. There was a time when that is what we had in this county.

Under President Herbert Hover Business did what ever it wanted to and they polluted the water ways and land. [Love Canal] They called out police against labor unions. People died because of callous profit seeking companies who denied employees a safe place to work.

We may have some over zealous regulations but there are reasons for most of our regulations.

We did not have the Social Security safety net – people were encouraged to invest for them selves in a stock market with NO regulations. Most poor working class people did not save anything.

Then the stock marked crashed and Hover did nothing. The market is self correcting. A recession followed and Hover did nothing. The Depression followed and Hover did nothing.

Health care? There was none for most people and the average life span was 45 at best.

Do we really want to go back to the good old days of Herbert Hover?

A Single Life

The life of a single human can be compared to a single letter in the alphabet.

Living alone it can feel almost meaningless. A person can feel lost with out direction or a goal. Every one of life’s challenges is a struggle and each defeat spirals down to depression.  A life focused inward can be good for spiritual awareness for a time but can also be a source of self criticism.

Like a letter in a word a single human involve with others can be part of a greater meaning. Life’s challenges met with others have greater possibilities for success. Having others with you in support and correction can produce an upward spiral of joy and meaning.

For me having my life joined with my total opposite has completed me. Having my life involved with church, clubs and other groups given me focus beyond anything I could do alone. There are resources in the people around us that open our eyes to new things and a greater life.

Being open to the Holy Spirit of God has empowered me in ways that excel my efforts and fulfill my dreams. Being involved with the Holy other is the essence of meaning, focus and love. Life is good with God.

Taking God's Name in Vain

In Bible Study I was asked the question,

  “What does it mean to take God’s name in vain?”

To begin with it is not a casual curse asking God to bring damnation on someone or something. It is a serious sin and in some cases a serious crime.

It is an act you do on purpose and with understanding that it is wrong. A person takes God’s name in vain when he or she swears an oath in the name of God knowing at the time that it will not be kept.

One example is making a marriage vow in the name of God while planning to commit adultery is taking God’s name in vain. I have known people to do just that.

 Another example is swearing in court in the name of God that you are going to tell the truth while you know that you are going to tell a lie. That happens to be serious crime as well as a sin. It is called perjury and you can get jail time for that.