The Government Feed Trough

11. June 2010 by PawBill.

Do you have your place picked out at “the government feed trough?” Will you “slop” from the left, the right or the middle?  Maybe you are one of those who prefer making your own meals, so to speak; you budget, plan, purchase and prepare for your own.  Freedom or servitude is the question.  Which would you chose? 

Ask yourself this question: Am I my brother’s keeper or is the government my brother’s keeper?  Many have worked hard for every dime they have.  Why should they give up what they have earned to someone who has not worked as hard or who has not worked at all?  Should it be as Paul wrote in Second Thessalonians 3:10, “…If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” 

“Let those who are able to work but who will not work do without” could be a mantra for many. But, you say, “what about the starving children?”  As a close friend of mine use to reply when I asked, “Name one of the starving children if you are so concerned.”  Somewhere in between government charity and individual charity is the answer

Have you ever slopped hogs?  Back in the early fifties our neighbor kept hogs.  The smell was quite odorous but not unique at the time. There were other smells not too far from the old home place, the county dump and water sewage treatment plant come to mind, which produced delightful aromas during the hot summer months when the wind was blowing just right. Oh, to have air conditioning would have been ideal at the time.  

Reminiscing if fun, but now back to the hogs.  Our neighbor collected food scraps in fifty-five gallon drum containers from local school cafeterias (now no longer permitted by law).  It was usually late in the afternoon when he returned from his collecting and headed down to the hog pin.  When I heard him coming up his drive, I would often run out and follow along  as he drove to the pen and dumped the drums into the feed troughs.  As the hogs gathered and began eating there was a lot of nudging, grunting and squealing as each hog tried to get its share. After their feeding frenzy, the hogs returned to their mud.  The fenced area had been deforested of any greenery or plant life as the hogs went about doing hog stuff—only hard packed Georgia clay and mud puddles remained.

As I think about the new direction of our country, a direction of government control and equal distribution of wealth, I have to ask myself, “Do freedom loving Americans want to give up individual freedoms to eat at the government trough?”  Apparently many do, especially among the young college age group and even many baby boomers that did not adequately plan for their retirement years.  Many view freedom only in light of what their government will give them in return for their vote.  Big government does not work to promote individual freedoms and in the end only leads to servitude and a “pig trough.”  Look to history and the present state of Europe to see the damnation that is to come if America goes down the road to a socialist form of government. 

As Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing new under the sun.”  All generations have faced the same problems since creation.  So what is the right or Christian thing to do about his or her possessions?  Share, horde or is there some middle ground.

A friend posed this question, “If you have prepared for a possible time of economic hardship by storing up food, water and other necessities of life, would you be willing to share your supplies with a neighbor, friend or even a stranger if such a hardship occurred?”  To be honest, I do not know what I would do.  What about you? 

God told Joseph a famine would occur in Egypt. Joseph in turn told pharaoh, and a plan to store “grain” for the future was implemented.  When the famine actually occurred as prophesied, Joseph sold grain to those who were unprepared and were now without food. Pharaoh’s government (maybe a lesson here for America) took possession of all the land, livestock, and possessions of those who came to buy.  Some even indentured themselves for food. The Bible does not say that anyone was given grain for free. 

Families today, as in the past,  have children who have their hands out.  Should they be told to make it on their own or starve?  Is it fair to the children who have always done right by working, staying free from drugs, alcohol, debt, and laziness to be given money or lodging continuously for their entire life until there is no inheritance left by parents who cannot say no, enough is enough?

In Biblical times a disobedient child that a parent could not control could be taken to the “gate of the city.”  There the elders would pronounce judgment, and the child would be stoned to death.  I am sure some parents of today would be supportive of this method of punishment. Many others would not. At what point have you done too much for a wayward child or for that matter, a wayward citizenry?  I do not know the answer, but I believe there is an answer that can be found in the person of Jesus.

Read the story of the Prodigal Son recorded in the book of Luke, chapter 15 verses11 through 32.  A father gives a son his inheritance at an early age, and the son squanders it on wine and women.  One day the son finds himself in a pigsty, repents of his sinful acts and decides to return home.  His father welcomes him home and “kills the fatted cow” and celebrates by welcoming his son back into the family.  An older son is resentful because he feels the younger son is being treated better than he since he has stayed and worked.   The father tells the older son that all he has is his, and they should be grateful to have the younger son back. Read the story for yourself if you have an interest because the real intent is for the lost soul who finds his way to Jesus and is forgiven of his transgressions. 

The future of medical care in the United States has now been debated, if you want to call it a debate. Soon other “fundamental changes” will likewise be debated. In my opinion there is so much greed, corruption and self interest on the part of our political and business leaders that no sensible solutions will be found.  As the new saying goes, “it is what it is.”  In America’s case, it is a screwed up mess that only a national disaster in which hundreds of thousands of people will be left dead and at which time maybe enough men and women of integrity will be left to recapture the spirit of America.

I wish I could offer hope but unfortunately America is in a cesspool of evil– An evil brought upon itself by the abandonment of God.  Only God can restore America, but I am afraid that God has been cast out.  There is little hope left for a peaceful solution to be found.

In the mean time, what is the solution for the parents of a lost son or daughter? Better still, what will be the outcome for those who have not planned for self-sufficiency and have eaten at the government trough so long that they know nothing else. 

Who will survive?  Will you?  

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