Everyone has had a free ride at least once

Entitlements – programs (e.g., Medicare or Social Security) funded by taxpayers that supposedly benefit non-taxpayers. How can this be especially for taxpayers that worked and contributed towards these programs? And, why are Entitlement programs on the chopping block to balance the budget or reduce the deficit in an effort to stop people from riding free?

Free riders are from different ethnic and economic backgrounds. They’re people who cheat on their taxes or avoid paying taxes due to tax shelters buried under complicated tax codes. They’re people who can afford to pay for healthcare, but choose not to; passing their expenses to the shoulders of people strapped with the high cost of health insurance. They're executives who receive government bailouts and bonuses, in spite of their misuse or ill investments of hard working citizens who lost their life savings. They’re also celebrities indulged with expensive gifts they can afford and may not want.

What about the poor? Are they simply sitting and waiting for a free ride or an opportunity to transform their lives? Not all of them. Why are the poor viewed differently when they’re provided with free opportunities or resources to improve their lives? Is it because the benefits to help the poor haven't been deemed a great investment?

Helping people transform their lives to become financial contributors to society can benefit us all. We just have to slow down enough to give others the same ride many of us were granted for free.

Training is a waste of time and money

Another federal government agency was snubbed last week for allegedly wasting tax payer’s dollars (50 million) for training conferences over a three-year period. Training is a waste of time and money when its goals and objectives aren’t clearly defined and connected to an organization’s mission, and the actual value training will add when completed.

Government waste didn’t start in this Administration; it has been a normal way of business to avoid a decrease in appropriation dollars for each fiscal year. When an agency learns that it has an excess in appropriation dollars towards the end of their fiscal year, many government employees reap the benefits of training, conferences, and/or new equipment.

Training should never be used as a last resort to save appropriation dollars that will result in waste. This strategy decreases the value of education and training. If a government agency can operate on less money than originally appropriated, this money should be returned to Congress to bring down the deficit.

Pay attention to what isn't being said

The SOFEI Group has counseled and trained many women who seem to pay more attention to what people tell them (e.g., their significant other or spouse) and not what they show them. Remember the saying Action speaks louder than words. What keeps women clinging onto the words of their loved ones while ignoring their actions? Hope for change, fear, blind love, or their religion?

People normally show us their truth. However, some women second guess their intuition and what’s presented to them. Example, a man’s truth maybe sexual or financial infidelity – the woman’s reality is she’s living or in a relationship with a man who cannot be trusted. A man’s truth maybe, he’s married with children - a woman’s reality that dates him is she’s an adulterer and a person that doesn’t value the sacredness of marriage. Lastly, a man’s truth maybe physical, emotional, or verbal abuse – a woman’s reality is depression, fear; hope for change, low self-esteem or self-worth.

Women have to take charge of their lives and stop allowing their lives to be controlled or manipulated by false statements and be motivated by the true actions of others. Maya Angelou states, When people show you who they are, believe them. And, don’t view their truth through your ‘lens of potential’ because we all have potential, but only action creates change.

Should the Government Accumulate Debt for the Poor?

Deuteronomy 15:11 states, For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.

The Israelites were instructed by God to help the poor when they arrived to possess the Promised Land to serve as a reminder of God's gift of freedom after their enslavement in Egypt.

Some believe people that are poor brought it on themselves, and this belief makes it easy to close our hearts and hands towards them. Helping the poor demonstrates our faith in God and our country. Ignoring to care for the poor for any reason forfeits our humanitarian duty to care for our fellow citizens during their greatest time of need.

The battle between Congress and the President on strategies to serve the poor isn’t simply about the rising debt, but the different attitudes towards poverty. Not extending unemployment benefits or decreasing government entitlement programs may decrease the National debt, but it will not prevent the poor from sinking deeper into an oppressive state.

When the hearts of more American citizens become like God’s, we will give more without passing judgment or making excuses. If God can look beyond our faults to meet our needs, we should do the same.

The government shouldn’t accumulate debt to help the poor, but it should build a compassionate approach to handle it.

If You Think...

If you think you can’t accomplish your dreams and aspirations, renew your mind with “I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)

If you think you’ve been defeated, you are “more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:37)

If you think the world’s system has control over you, remember “greater is He that’s within you, than he that’s in the world.” (I John 4:4)

If you think you’re not loved and no cares for you, “God cares.” (I Peter 5:6-7)

If you think you’ve been cursed and nothing good will ever happen to you, “there is no good thing God will withhold from those who walk upright.” (Psalm 84:11)

If you think your efforts are going in the wrong direction, “the steps of a good [wo]man are ordered by the Lord.” (Psalm 37:23)

If you think your hard work is going unnoticed, “do not grow weary in well doing for in due season you shall reap!” (Galatians 6:9)

If you think your spouse will not surrender his will and life to God, they can become saved by the way we live (I Corinthians 7:13-14).

If you think it's impossible for a loved one’s life to be transformed, “all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27)

If you think God forgets to bless you when others are being showered with blessings, “God is no respecter of persons.” (Acts 10:34)

If you think your sins can’t be forgiven, confess them to God, because “He is just to forgive us of all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

If you think you can become saved based on good deeds, “it’s by grace that we are saved, not because of our works.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

If you think you have no purpose to live, God created us for His glory. (Isaiah 43.7)

If you think you’re unattractive, you came from the mind of God and “He fearfully and wonderfully made you”. (Psalm 139:14)

If you think it’s pointless to pursue your dreams or desires, “delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of our heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

If you think your enemies have the upper hand, don’t fret because “God will make your enemies your footstool.” (Psalm 110:1)

If you think everyone is against you because you’re a Christian, “if God is for us He is more than the world is against us.” (Romans 8:31)

If you think your job is drudgery, try completing your tasks “heartily unto the Lord and not unto men.” (Colossians 3:23)

If you think your gift is nothing compared to others, “every good and perfect gift comes from above.” (James 1:17)

If you think your life is headed for a dead end, “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

If you ever feel alone, God will “never leave us nor forsake us!” (Hebrews 13:5)

If your life is in turmoil and without peace, “keep your mind stayed on God and He’ll keep you in perfect peace.” (Isaiah 26:3)

The correlation between the window and the mind

While sitting in traffic one morning, a woman looked and commented about a dirty white car in her passenger lane. To further validate, she rolled her window down and discovered the white car was clean, and her car window was dirty.

This experience is a valuable example about our minds. Our minds can be as clean or dirty as car windows depending on the environment or the number of times the car or windows are cleaned.

Here are a few suggestions to get a clean mind:

• If you're a habitual negative thinker, get real with yourself and discover the root cause(s)
• Separate yourself from negative people and environments - even family members
• Watch what you feed your mind and determine its impact
• Read God’s word and meditate daily
• Become a non-conformist to the trends of the world
• Eat right and exercise to exert negative energy and get proper rest
• Forgive people that have wronged or hurt you and realize their actions could be a result of unhealed wounds or pain
• When a negative thought comes to mind, immediately replace it with a positive one

Finally, Proverbs 23:7a states, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.The way you think and feel about yourself and others will be reflected in your behavior. A transformed life starts with a transformed mind.

Now's the Time

Now's the time to not dwell on mistakes of the past nor worry about what the future may hold. It's time to live now. Today, Relishing every beautiful moment; making the most of every opportunity to grow and to serve.

Now's the time to quit wishing that things could have been different yesterday, last month, last year. Today is the day to express your best. Today is the day to express love. Today is the day to be free and happy, at peace in mind and body, successful in all you undertake.

Instead of wondering how things can change, instead of wondering where you can begin, realize the time is now!

You're not bound by old thoughts, old fears, or old beliefs that once held you in bondage.

In Christ you can be free. In Christ you can become new. In Christ you can do all things.

You can be a blessing and live joyously. You have the power to change things now. What are you waiting for? Time is ticking.