Who's Really Greedy?

Many people will say that the rich are greedy? And some will say that the poor are greedy? My response is both are guilty of being greedy!

Let’s talk about a couple of things. I said to myself in 2010, when the healthcare bill passed (note that I was neutral to it), why should I work? Somebody else can pay for it and I don’t have to work. Now, who’s really greedy?

It’s been said that the rich need to give more! People like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates. But you’ll never hear people say that Russell Simmons & P. Diddy need to give more. Why is that? Note that all of the above mentioned names actually have charities & foundations, but I guess the real complaint is that the money is not in YOUR hands. Now, who’s really greedy (and is the race card being thrown as well)?

Many people say there’s a class war. Here’s a question: are we blaming the rich because they are rich and you’re not?

Now don’t give me wrong, you can’t totally blame the rich for being rich, because the government (under all administrations) is helping the rich stay rich. Instead of complaining and blaming both, learn the rules to make yourself better. God can bless you with talents that will bless your life. Now what’s so hard with fulfilling your talent? Are you just too lazy to get off your behind and work towards your dream/goal/vision, whatever? It would be a tragedy to hear Jesus ask of you when you’re at the Judgment Seat, “why did you bury your talent?” With that said, you have something deep inside of you that will benefit not only you, but your realm of influence. So I ask you, are you going to continue to bury it due to fear? Are you burying it for fear of actually seeing a reality you’ve never seen before (that’s actually positive)?

It’s recorded in Scripture that the poor will be among you, and it also says (in 2 Thessalonians 3:12 – you don’t work, you don’t eat).

What I just said might have been a little off subject, but it still fit the topic.

Unfortunately, there will always be greedy rich people in this world. There will also be greedy poor people by choice. This is because they don’t want to work or they just simply want their mouths fed by someone else (even though they’re adults). It’s easy for them to be fed a fish than to learn how to fish and what it does it creates a constant cycle of greed.

Here’s something else to think about: on one show Oprah gave everyone in her audience a brand new car. Now her critics took that and said she was trying to buy popularity. Now some took it to mean that she had tremendous wealth and wanted to share it (I agree with that). Genuine rich people are generous because they know it’s not all about them. The critics got mad simply because of what I said above. If the car were given to all of her critics, they wouldn’t have been upset. But this proves my theory that they are just greedy (and are probably poor people). But here’s what I find interesting: when you have greedy poor people, they will never be satisfied. When you have greedy rich people, you have some ugly & cocky attitudes. Either way, greedy people are just downright selfish people (just like we all are when you think about it). On some level, we all are greedy people. But we have to suppress that ugly spirit of greed & selfishness.

In closing: Focus on your purpose while you’re here on earth and don’t worry about greedy rich or poor people. It would be a waste of a life if you spent it complaining and blaming because you’re not rich or guilty corrupt rich people are living the glamorous life and you’re not!

Freeloading (Part 2)

This will conclude my series on Freeloading. Now, I promised in Part 1 that I was going to discuss homeless people in this part, so here’s what I have to say on that. Most people who have signs out aren’t beggars, they’re really freeloaders. Some of them will actually work 5 days a week but some of them feel they shouldn’t have to work if they don’t want to. So, they’ll put a sign out and collect money from well-deserved people. Making a $100 a day for a beggar is really easy, and as I think about it, most beggars are just hustlers. Now let’s think about that for a moment, if you make $100 a day working 8 hours that equates to $23K a year.

I’ve heard it said, “Its better to give them something to eat versus giving them money.” Not to worry, God will deal with them even if you give them money and they go buy drugs and alcohol. Note that I’m not bashing all beggars, because some of them are really homeless and honest about it. But when it comes to the beggar who’s freeloading, they really don’t want a job and they feel they don’t need a job. That’s what you call a deep sense of entitlement. Most beggars say that the government should give more entitlements to them. A little side note: most freeloaders want a handout and their mentality is “what’s in it for me?”

I need to revisit a section in Part 1 for a moment: remember when I was referring to a woman who was being evicted (and that story), let me expound on that for a moment: it’s wrong when an 85-year-old woman gets evicted because of foreclosure but another woman who hasn’t paid on the mortgage since 1985 and owes $100k but she apparently knows the law (she’s a paralegal) and refuses to leave the house. And then we turn around and blame the banks (this causes people to trash their homes before the bank can take their homes). There are companies that allow people to walk away from their homes (such as www.youwalkaway.com) even though they signed a legal contract. Freeloading is walking away from responsibility. Some companies encourage people to live mortgage free for 8 months. Let’s take a real-life story. Someone in California buys a home for $400K, and the house is now underwater worth $300K. The website mentioned allows you to walk away without owing a penny. Is it legal? Unfortunately, yes. This is saying, “we encourage freeloading!” Most people don’t care about their moral contract when they freeload.

Corporations also freeload. General Electric restructures its company wherever the government goes to receive their handouts. In fact, the government gave them handouts to where they owed no taxes despite the profits earned. In the early days, companies made profits by investors or made profits by ideas. Microsoft (Bill Gates) is the best example, and of course the government got upset and sued Bill Gates for offering free software (interesting thought, huh).

The rich aren’t off the hook also. They freeload just like the poor. Example: flood insurance. Why is it that rich people buy a house on the beach, knowing well enough their house could be damaged by a flood, hurricane or a tide? The answer is simple, because the government requires people to purchase flood insurance (so their house is covered). If you buy a hybrid car, invest in solar power, you get a tax break from the government (or better yet, it’s paid for by the government). Farmers also get handouts from the government – example is Bon Jovi who owns acres after acres and only pays $100 in state property tax (because he raises honeybees which qualify for a honeybee subsidy). Is it unfair? Some would say yes, some would say no. Note that no laws were broken, but they qualified for a tax break. The way to stop this cycle is for Congress not to pass so many laws that encourage freeloading.

Can somebody answer this question: why is it when people receive handouts from the government, they’re worse off (and they want more handouts)? I said to some people in the beginning of 2011, because of the state of the economy, the number of panhandlers will increase for two reasons: 1-survival and 2-some just don’t want to work.

A way to stop freeloading in its tracks is simply, “stop enabling those who are capable of working!” And yes, this requires the discernment of God and knowing that we can’t judge their hearts. Some states have signs in downtown areas saying to give money to a shelter or a charity, and do NOT give money to panhandlers! What about holding people accountable and being responsible unless you’re disabled? Another way to stop freeloading is to empower people and if they don’t want it, move on! When I say empower people, I’m talking about using the Word of God and letting them know they have a purpose in this life.