Neighborhood Ministries

The government spends large amounts of money to help people and they think they are better off because of all the services the government provides them. They send their money to Washington and are happy for all the government does for them. However, they don’t realize that for every dollar they send, they only get a quarter in services so they are really seventy five cents poorer since government bureaucracy absorbs three out of every four dollars paid in. In addition, the government can’t really solve the problems, it can only make them invisible so it appears they are solved. In spite of all the money the government has poured into helping the poor, the number of poor continues to grow because it isn’t helping people get back to work, it is only providing food and housing so the people no longer feel the need to work. Since they have food and shelter, people think they aren’t poor anymore. Yet if the government money ends, they will be worse off then before because many gave up low paying jobs to get government assistance because they can make more off welfare than many low paying jobs. While the government has finally realized that and put term limits on welfare, it continues to support people in other ways. If taxes were cut, we could save the four dollars and use part of it to meet our own needs and use the rest to help others in need.

Down through history Christians have reached out to those in need and helped them. As a result, the church has always been highly respected in the community, even among unbelievers. However in recent years, the church has turned that over to the government which now distributes the vast amount of aid to those in need and new programs are being developed constantly. As a result, people feel the government is the solution to all their problems and many people, including Christians vote in people like President Obama who used government money to provide services to people to get them to vote for them. People see all the gifts and services they get from the government and think it can solve all their problems but forget that that is our money it is giving to us. For every dollar we give to the government, we only get a quarter back. Meanwhile Christians say they care about those in need, but when people turn to the church for help, the church often sends them to the government to get help. It is no wonder that people, including Christians, turn to the government in times of need and many non-Christians despise the churches who say they care but who won’t help them when they need it.

People wonder why Christians are so hated today. Part of it is the way many act, who call themselves Christians. I have seen many leave the church because of lying, cheating, and stealing by church leaders. That is regrettable, but it is more than that, it is the way Christians are seen by unbelievers. Part of it is that liberals engage is trying to smear the reputations of Christians by spreading lies but people wouldn’t believe the lies if they really knew Christians. Today many people isolate themselves and only communicate as needed. Unfortunately many Christians do also, so unbelievers never really get to know them. As a result unbelievers are willing to believe the lies. However, a big part of it is the image we project. In the 1970’s, Russia and the U.S. were fighting for the hearts of the African and South American nations. Russia supplied the governments with guns and tanks to oppress the people while the U.S. supplied them with food, yet the people of those nations rioted in the streets calling for the Americans to leave. It was found that the U.S. sent the food but it sat on the docks because the governments couldn’t distribute it so the Russians delivered it. As a result, the people thought the Russians were supplying it. The Russians told the people that Americans were rich but would not share with them. The people believed them because they saw the Russians helping them but didn’t really see the Americans helping them. As a result, the people hated the Americans and wanted them to leave. When the Americans started to deliver the food themselves, the people turned on the Russians and threw them out. The church has turned social services over to the government. People see the government helping but they feel the church doesn’t care.