The Christian Arsenal
Exposing the Liberal Lie
Chapter 12: The Stalk has no Head; It Will Provide No Flour
Exposing the Liberal Lie:
What the Bible Says About Political Correctness
by Jim Alexander
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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000. (see text)
Chapter Twelve:
The Stalk Has No Head; It Will Provide No Flour
Proverbs 6:6-11 -- Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest -- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. (NIV)
Proverbs 24:30-34 -- I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest -- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. (NIV)
There are many in our culture today who have come to view government as provider from womb to tomb. The word of God, however, does not endorse that view, but rather one of responsibility for one's own welfare. Government's sole function, as established by God, is to maintain order (and we shouldn't hold our breaths, expecting that, either), not encourage a nation of lethargic sluggards who've come to expect something for nothing -- whose only contributions to society are a higher crime rate and epidemic class envy.
In I Timothy 5:8, the Apostle Paul calls those who do not provide for their own families worse than an unbeliever. And, while our society today caters to and rewards the indolent, while punishing the diligent, laziness is consistently and universally condemned throughout the word of God.
Proverbs 10:4 -- He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Proverbs 13: 4 -- The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.
Proverbs 19:15 -- Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, And an idle person will suffer hunger.
Proverbs 21:25-26 -- The desire of the lazy man kills him, For his hands refuse to labor. He covets greedily all day long, But the righteous gives and does not spare.
Proverbs 22:13 -- (see also Proverbs 26:13) The lazy man says, "There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!"
Likewise, in the New Testament, the sympathy of the believer is not to lie with the indolent.
II Thessalonians 3:6-15 -- But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone's bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
Today, rather than disassociating ourselves from the slothful and indolent in order that [they] may feel ashamed, we send them checks in the mail, encouraging their shiftless behavior. If a man will not work, he shall not eat, but not today -- food stamps have taken care of that! The second chapter of Genesis records that The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15)(NIV) Even in paradise man had to work. There was no welfare state in the Garden.
"But, it just isn't fair! Some people have so much, while others have nothing at all!" That's right, and promoting class envy doesn't help matters at all. Jesus said: "For you have the poor with you always..." (Matthew 26:11 -- see also: Mark 14:7, John 12:8) And, that doesn't sanction a soaking of the rich, by any means. The word of God is very clear in that both rich and poor are to be treated alike -- without partiality, and that envy is sin.
Leviticus 19:15 -- (the LORD speaking) "'You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty.'"
Exodus 30:15 -- (the LORD speaking) "The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives." (NIV)
Exodus 20:17 -- (the LORD speaking) (paralleled in Deuteronomy 5:21) "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." (NIV)
Proverbs 14:30 -- A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones.
"But, what should we do -- let people starve?" Not at all. In as much as we are able, we are to assist the truly needy. The word of God is full of compassionate adjurations for believers to help those who are needy not through indolence, but through legitimate hardship.
Deuteronomy 15:7-8,10-11 -- If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.... You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, "You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land."
Proverbs 3:27-28 -- Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it," When you have it with you.
Personal responsibility to those to whom it is due -- not "every shiftless bum" -- is required only as much as it is in the power of your hand to do so. Also, note that the poor will never cease from the land. Neither man's nor government's best efforts will ever erase all poverty. Pouring more and more money into problems will never solve anything.
Proverbs 11:25 -- The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.
Proverbs 14:21 -- He who despises his neighbor sins; But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.
Proverbs 17:5 -- He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
Proverbs 19:17 -- He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he has given.
Proverbs 21:13 -- Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be heard.
Proverbs 22:9 -- He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor.
Proverbs 22:22-23 -- Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate; For the LORD will plead their cause, And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.
Proverbs 28:27 -- He who gives to the poor will not lack, But he who hides his eyes will have many curses.
As evidenced here and elsewhere, the word of God certainly encourages -- indeed, commands -- generosity to the poor, but never to the lazy and slothful. Also, it is not the responsibility of government to provide for the needy, but of individuals possessive of the means. The word of God is just as censurable of the greedy rich who hoard their wealth while their brothers go naked and starve.
James 5:1-5 -- Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
Now, whereas the word of God does not require governments to feed and clothe their poor (its wealthier citizens bear that responsibility), it does require them to provide the poor with one thing they're lacking: justice.
Proverbs 31:8-9 -- Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy.
Isaiah 10:1-4 -- Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches? Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain. et for all this, His anger is not turned away, His hand is still upraised. (NIV)
Justice, not welfare, is government's obligation to its poor -- maintenance of order, safety, and the protection of its citizenry, not rewards for the idler and handouts to the slothful.
Psalm 146:3-4 -- Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish.
Those who put their trust in princes, who expect government to provide anything more than order and justice (and expecting that, these days, is expecting a lot) are looking to the wrong place for salvation. Salvation for the truly needy comes from the LORD God, but as for the shiftless and indolent, do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed.
Psalm 146:5-10 -- Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them -- the LORD, who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but He frustrates the ways of the wicked. The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD. (NIV)