Can the U.S. fight poverty with policy?

I saw this posted on Facebook and I had to stop and ponder the magnitude of the question. Can the U.S. Government give enough money to eradicate poverty completely? The answer is not simply a yes or no.

The government can appropriate monies to assist people in need and help them through difficult times. But I am not convinced the government can be a replacement for a brother helping another when there is a need. Jesus directs us assist the poor. In Luke 14 HE tells us to invite them to eat with us when we have a FEAST. YET, in Mark 14 he tells people to make sure they have their priorities in order. HE says that we will “ALWAYS” have the poor with us. Could it be that some want the Government or the RICH to do what GOD has instructed “US” (not the U.S.) to do?

Could it be that, in an effort to do what is perceived as good, the government has tried to do what it can not? Sometimes “We try to be more than what GOD intended for us to be.” A pastor friend of mine shared that with me almost a year ago and never does it ring more true. We can not make the poor's problem's go away by giving them money. “The poor is hated even of his own neighbor: but the rich has many friends.” Proverbs 14:20. Your poverty is a RUT that only you can decide how long you stay in. CHOICES we make have inevitable consequences.

Scripture is infallible. Being rich and being poor is subjective. To a Millionnaire, I am poor. To a Billionaire, I am a peasant. To a person living in POVERTY, I am rich! My mom and dad divorced when I was four years old. My dad moved to Canada and did not pay any child support. My mom was left to raise three children on her own. For a while, we lived in a house with no running water in the bathroom. We did not stay in poverty because we had a desire to do better.

I believe the desire to do better is part of what makes a person a success. You may not ever have a billion dollars but IF you still have the desire to do better, to improve, then you are achieving something. The children of Israel watched when GOD parted the Red Sea for them. HE did not carry them across the Sea! HE even dried the land for them, but THEY had to walk across the dry land.

Being in POVERTY when I was four years old did not mean I was there forever. I am not where I need to be yet. I have a DESIRE to be better! But, if the government tries to assure that POVERTY stricken people will not stay in poverty, then it will be like trying to make the children of Israel WALK across the RED SEA. You have to WANT to succeed in life! If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got!!