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[__ Prayer __] remember "the least of these"

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OK. This is a general pray request, nothing specific, plus...a reminder, as much for me as for those reading.

I think sometimes, Christians forget that Jesus was poor. We also forget that He dealt not just with sinners and outcasts, but with a lot of poor people, disabled people, "society's rejects," etc. And He loved them, He sometimes healed them, etc.

I -was- definitely amongst "the least of these." I landed in a Pentecostal program for 1 year (miracle!), where they did what they could. They definitely planted seeds, and I got saved (miracle!) 5 years ago, after The Lord dealt with my heart in a big, big way.

So...now, The Lord has made me remarkably healthy, remarkably normal, I even (apparently...) have a higher IQ, which is more than a little unexpected considering how severely brain damaged I was, and...

Sometimes, --I--, of all people, can get judgmental. Verna tells me about her wayward grand-daughter, and I have nastiness in my heart now and then. I don't know what that's about, I've prayed about it, and I pray for Leslie, too, but...yeah. Not a good thing.

I got to thinking, and...I think Christians often forget how remarkably kind Jesus was (and is...) to "the least of these," the people society has discarded and destroyed. Not that I'm #1 Compassionate Christian of 2017, or anything. One reason I'm writing this is because God has been so, so good to me, and yet...I'm just now facing my own hypocrisy, my own sort of harsh, judgmental attitude. Ugh.

Its just, well...it was the Pentecostals who were there for me. ME...the deviant, devious, brain damaged flamer, lol. They saw real need, and they worked with me. So...now that The Lord has remade me and blessed me with things I probably never had before (thanks to electroshock, most of my past is sort of a mystery to me, lol), the question becomes...

will I be there for the least of these? Will you?
 
I agree. We need to remember the "least of these", always. I was also amongst the "least of these", and it was God Who was the Lifter of my head, and Who lifted me from a slippery path. Praying for all the "least of these", including the most helpless and vulnerable.
 
thanks. :) Not to sound harsh, but one thing that bothers me, even now, is how some church people are so -hard- on the least of these. Oh, you're not employed? and WHY NOT? I know its not --just-- me, but...I've been burned by church people, and it can be rough. I'm on disability for "severe mental illness," largely because...well, once you've gone mad, then you're labeled with Schizophrenia or whatever...good luck getting a job, keeping a job, etc. Seriously. Part of it is "symptoms" (tranquilizers only do so much), but a lot of it is also social and economic..."no man is an island..." we all have to live in a social and economic context.

Of course...harsh as -some- Christians have been (and sometimes are) towards me, those who are in and of the world are 110% worse. Doesn't matter if its some "progressive" or even one of the last of the "bleeding heart liberals..." people who are still in and of the world, on the broad road...despise weaklings. I think maybe its worse in America than many other nations, because we don't have social programs, safety net, etc. If you can't keep up, you're viewed as a "welfare bum," "bottom feeder," "parasite," etc.

Ugh. Sorry to ramble. Lots of people had it worse, and they did far less than I did. There -are- amazing Christians out there, of course, and a lot of them...I think a lot of them just don't realize that not everyone -can- work, its not just an issue of "laziness" or some sort of immorality.

God has blessed me, beyond measure. My parents now take good care of me (God has blessed their financial situation), so...as "mental patients" go, I"ve got a good life, definitely. Still...I think back to this one church I went to, where I overheard some young lady in her late teens talking about me "not working, living off welfare," and...wow (I was actually being supported by my parents, not that it really matters that much).

OK. I'll stop this before I really start ranting...

thanks again. And thank you for sharing a bit of your own testimony and praying for "the least of these." :)
 
thanks. :) Not to sound harsh, but one thing that bothers me, even now, is how some church people are so -hard- on the least of these. Oh, you're not employed? and WHY NOT? I know its not --just-- me, but...I've been burned by church people, and it can be rough. I'm on disability for "severe mental illness," largely because...well, once you've gone mad, then you're labeled with Schizophrenia or whatever...good luck getting a job, keeping a job, etc. Seriously. Part of it is "symptoms" (tranquilizers only do so much), but a lot of it is also social and economic..."no man is an island..." we all have to live in a social and economic context.

Of course...harsh as -some- Christians have been (and sometimes are) towards me, those who are in and of the world are 110% worse. Doesn't matter if its some "progressive" or even one of the last of the "bleeding heart liberals..." people who are still in and of the world, on the broad road...despise weaklings. I think maybe its worse in America than many other nations, because we don't have social programs, safety net, etc. If you can't keep up, you're viewed as a "welfare bum," "bottom feeder," "parasite," etc.

Ugh. Sorry to ramble. Lots of people had it worse, and they did far less than I did. There -are- amazing Christians out there, of course, and a lot of them...I think a lot of them just don't realize that not everyone -can- work, its not just an issue of "laziness" or some sort of immorality.

God has blessed me, beyond measure. My parents now take good care of me (God has blessed their financial situation), so...as "mental patients" go, I"ve got a good life, definitely. Still...I think back to this one church I went to, where I overheard some young lady in her late teens talking about me "not working, living off welfare," and...wow (I was actually being supported by my parents, not that it really matters that much).

OK. I'll stop this before I really start ranting...

thanks again. And thank you for sharing a bit of your own testimony and praying for "the least of these." :)

All throughout God's Word, it is written of His heart for the "least of these", and how we are to speak up for, and defend those who cannot speak up for, nor, defend themselves. Even in the Old Testament, God provided for those who were without provision.

He is a good God.

Praying.
 
thanks. Yeah, parts of the OT really...strike a chord with me. The Year of Jubilee, fasting to break the bonds of oppression (I think...I"m paraphrasing...), the importance of taking care of the widow, the orphan, the alien, the stranger at the gate...good, good, good stuff.

even in the destruction of sodom and gomorrah, one sees God avenging the weak and the powerless against the the wealthy and hedonistic. I mean, I'm not heterosexual, so that part of the OT is more than a little...frightening, at a personal level...but, still; even in God's wrath, one sees love and mercy, justice and compassion.

OK. finished, for now. :)
 
thanks. Yeah, parts of the OT really...strike a chord with me. The Year of Jubilee, fasting to break the bonds of oppression (I think...I"m paraphrasing...), the importance of taking care of the widow, the orphan, the alien, the stranger at the gate...good, good, good stuff.

even in the destruction of sodom and gomorrah, one sees God avenging the weak and the powerless against the the wealthy and hedonistic. I mean, I'm not heterosexual, so that part of the OT is more than a little...frightening, at a personal level...but, still; even in God's wrath, one sees love and mercy, justice and compassion.

OK. finished, for now. :)

The most profound sin and condemnation of Sodom and Gomorrah, was their utter hard-hearted-ness and lack of grace and mercy and compassion towards the "least of these", which is based in "pride". It's listed amongst the 7 things that God hates/abhors.
 
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