Only take what you need and share any abundance with others

We all know in our hearts God is infinite, complete, perfect, and whole. God does not have any needs or desires. And by being so, God is pure good because all evil comes from having needs and desires.

Since God does not have any needs or desires our Universe was created out of an abundance or excess of energy outpouring from God. But as we exist separate from God we are not perfect and whole. As an outpouring from God, incomplete, and separate, our Universe exists with many imperfections in nature and in our characters. It is these imperfections that are the source of all that is evil in the World.

Our excessive needs and desires are the source of why we sin against ourselves and others. We should never try to pretend we do not have any needs or desires because then we would be pretending we are God. We are not God because of our imperfections. And since each of us is not God, we must accept who we are by accepting that we do have needs and desires. So as we live our lives, in spite of our imperfections, if we want to be closer to God or to be God-like then we should try to live our lives without having excessive desires or needs.

And also, if we want to be closer to God or to be God-like then we should take any abundance we may have and share it with others. Sharing an abundance is like the way God created us and our Universe as an outpouring of abundance. Sharing with others will bring us closer to God and God's way of being.

If we interpolate this idea if you want to fight evil in the World then find a way to help others cope with their needs and desires.

This idea of sharing an abundance is like the lyrics from 1960s song Draggin' the line. The lyric reads, "Makin' a livin' the old, hard way. Takin' and givin' by day by day." I just love this lyric, "Takin' and givin by day by day". The World would be a better place and closer to God and God's way of being if we were giving to each other by day by day.



Makin' a livin' the old, hard way.
Takin' and givin' by day by day.
I dig snow and rain and the bright sunshine.
Draggin' the line [draggin' the line].
My dog, Sam, eats purple flowers.
Ain't got much, but what we got's ours.
We dig snow and rain and the bright sunshine.
Draggin' the line [draggin' the line].
Draggin' the line [draggin' the line].
I feel fine. I'm talkin' 'bout peace of mind.
I'm gonna take my time. I'm gettin' the good sign.
Draggin' the line [draggin' the line].
Draggin' the line [draggin' the line].
Lovin' the free and feelin' spirit
Of hugging a tree, when you get near it.
Diggin' the snow and rain and the bright sunshine.
Draggin' the line [draggin' the line].
Draggin' the line [draggin' the line].
I feel fine. I'm talkin' 'bout peace of mind.
I'm gonna take my time. I'm gettin' the good sign.
Draggin' the line [draggin' the line].
Draggin' the line [draggin' the line].
Draggin' the line [draggin' the line]. La la la la la la la-la-la.
Draggin' the line [draggin' the line]. La la la la la la la.

I'll just use what I need to live and save the rest till I can make sure we can support ourselves without being a burden on others in the future. We do donate to charities if we have extra money or help others when they really need our help. I am not going to go back to worrying about whether I can pay bills when they come.

a reply to: rickymouse

No judgment. It's all good! Just listen to the song and enjoy it!

Well I just got paid today
Got me a pocket full of change
Said, I just got paid today
Got me a pocket full of change

If you believe like workin' hard all day
Just step in my shoes and take my place

I was born my papa's son
When I hit the ground I was on the run
One glad hand and another behind
Give me yours, just give me mine

When I feel like workin' hard all day
Step in my shoes and take my place


www.youtube.com...



One's called socialism, the other capitalism..

a reply to: Plotus

Now you got me started!



And my favorite:

a reply to: dfnj2015

In ancient Israel there were religious law's such as leaving grain in the fields for the poor to gather, paying a portion of wealth into the state (Temple) and giving to the poor, forgiving (Cancelling) debts etc, while slavery was the norm back then everywhere in the world the slaves had to be treated like human being's, given pay and only be enslaved for just a short number of years while it was the Jewish householders responsibility to educated them in the religion of the Jews so as to try to convert them.
Of course people seldom obey the law and ancient Israel was no exception, how many debt's were not forgiven, how many slaves were worked like animal's or even castrated or raped and worse.
But the basics of a welfare state were lain down in old testament time's in the bible.
And.
Jesus said - as you treat the least of these (the poor and the downtrodden) so too do you treat me, if you have two coat's and your brother has non give him the one you are not using.
The bible goes on and on again and again which the political right wing like to reinterpret to there tastes about greed being bad, looking after the poor being good and godly and treating your fellow man with respect and helping him when he is down being right, good and just as in the good Samaritan.
And then you come to Ananias and Sapphira.
www.biblegateway.com...:1-11
No man laid a hand upon them but they lied to the holy spirit within the apostle and abused it within themselves, all with the holy spirit within them are one body in Christ and they were acting against the greater good of that body.

Of course the bankers would laud them, put it all away into our bank, ignore the poor dying guy on the street give us your money instead and then you can be like the rich fool.
www.biblegateway.com...:13-21&version=NIV
biblehub.com...

Of course this was the early - true - church and greed find's it's way even into the sanctity of the faith so that once being a bishop had status the greedy, corrupt and downright evil sought to infect it and use it for there own goal's.

The first, second and third century bishop's would likely have been working alongside other men, poor as they were and living just like them but following the elevation of our religion into a state control mechanism they ended up in palaces with servant's, silk robes which the argument is to glorify God but of course when the mass of people were in rags it was all the more seemingly opposed to the words of our Lord himself.

And there ilk still exist today, TV evangelists, some of them are genuinely servants of God but other's have there Ferrari's and Gucci leathers, there mistresses and alimony's paid from church fund's and yes if they are still converting people then you can argue they are paid servants of the Lord but very well paid while the bulk of the body of Christ on earth is needy and wanting, hungers and thirsts and is still up on the cross because of them.

I remember a story about a missionary in south america not long after the Spaniards and Portuguese had invaded, he found a Mayan tribe in the jungle and converted them all, he had them living without money and sharing all they had, practicing and believing in a perfect form of Christianity were there shared work was for all the people - which is fundamentally already a tribal trait anyway but now they understood it to be serving there God to do so, some years later after he had created this Utopian society which grew and blossomed getting ever larger the local silk robed Spanish Bishop heard about it and some of his friends needed SLAVES to work there field's so he went to visit and gave permission to his friends to enslave the people, the society vanished, the people were probably all or mostly worked to death in those plantation's as greed and wealth in the hands of the corrupt trumped the word of God and the work of Godly men on this earth anyway but not for ever, no matter how rich they get they are working for nothing, we are working for a new world and an eternal life but they.
www.biblegateway.com...
Psalm 127

a reply to: Plotus

Till I've spent my wage! Lots of ways to give!



Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Cars and girls are easy come by in this day and age,
Laughing, joking, drinking, smoking,
Till I've spent my wage.
When I was young people spoke of immorality,
All the things they said were wrong,
Are what I want to be.
(Hey)
Over under sideways down,
(Hey)
Backwards forwards square and round.
(Hey)
Over under sideways down,
(Hey)
Backwards forwards square and round.
When will it end, when will it end,
When will it end, when will it end.
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
I find comment 'bout my looks irrelativity,
Think I'll go and have some fun,
''cause it's all for free.
I'm not searching for a reason to enjoy myself,
Seems it's better done,
Than argued with somebody else.
(Hey)
Over under sideways down,
(Hey)
Backwards forwards square and round.
(Hey)
Over under sideways down,
(Hey)
Backwards forwards square and round.
When will it end, when will it end,
When will it end, when will it end.
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Over under sideways down...

a reply to: dfnj2015
First thought...
Metallica vs Napster.
Hmmmmmmm!

a reply to: dfnj2015

This thread got turned over, sideways, upside, and down:

a reply to: dfnj2015

"She takes my money and I'm in need"

originally posted by: Hammaraxx
a reply to: dfnj2015
First thought...
Metallica vs Napster.
Hmmmmmmm!

a reply to: LABTECH767

Sorry the thread got derailed. I love your thoughtful post.

I'm not sure you can legislate charity (or morality). I think people have to choose to be moral.

I think government and money should be separate from religion. My original post was not designed to be a public policy or law.

a reply to: dfnj2015

You are correct you can not but putting there as a religious law was an attempt to rule Israel for the greater good of it's people by the ancient leaders and the moral idea's behind it are as relevant today as they were then.

We see ourselves as Christian's and we have taken a lot of Good from our lord's teachings which helped to shape our world, today those tradition's are in danger of being destroyed by a secularist age that has dawned on us and without equal basic rules to follow they are walking into a bottomless pit in which dog eat dog will over come any basic idea of a meritocratic system - which itself will not work as all meritocratic system's end up falling to family based aristocracy's that then arise out of them and indeed do in all system's.

We are flawed, empathy is the rule to see other's failures and weakness as our own and not to penalize them for those but to help them for our own enlightened self interests - actually if self interest is the goal then the lesson has failed anyway since selflessness is the ideal in which we live not only for ourselves but for all around us.

There are people like that and not only followers of Christianity but those people are seemingly too few these day's or else this world has worked to suppress there humane tendency's as economic and social pressures have taken precedent in there lives, people are therefore living more like corporate - or as the case may be for a third of the world population state - slave robot's these day's and losing there humanity, there social foundation and there family values all of which contribute to a soulless morality devoid society that we may very well be slipping into as we go forward into the future.

a reply to: dfnj2015

"God does not have any needs or desires."

This is a false statement.

The god of abraham needs and desires worship. if you do not give it, you go to hell. 'nuff said.

a reply to: dfnj2015
Great concept... and I believe many of the pioneers lived that way.

( That song has been a fav of mine for decades.. and have often posted it here in various threads 👍🏼)

a reply to: stormson

I disagree, God gave Moshe the ten commandments and first among them was to have no other God.

This was necessary since we have this habit of going off after thing's that are bad for us, people placing baby's into the arm's of brass statues with fires in them so that the screaming baby's being cooked alive were seen as a sacrifice and God did not like seeing humanity behaving in such an abhorrent way.

What he need's is for us to be good, WHAT WE NEED is HIS guidance and the only way he can give us that is through a religion which we time and again failed to follow, time again twisted to create power cult's and abused to gain power in this world.

God just want's us to be good, to be like him - walk with him and if worship is the only way we can do that then yes to worship because it seem's we need to be led or else we take ourselves into some pretty dark places.

Religion - the real one - serves this purpose, to instill knowledge of his will and what we should be into us, to show us there is only the one way since we keep walking off after willo the whisps and to keep reminding us so that we will build our house with him in it, not because he want's that but because WE NEED HIM and he as a father - that is what God is - will not abandon us but let's be fair he has his hand's full with the human race doesn't he.

The devil while very real is also an example of all we are NOT supposed to be.

Unfortunately there are indeed many that are very real devil's in this world, they live for greed, enjoy other's suffering and even use the concept that to be rich someone else has to be poor to justify there greed and selfishness.

PRIDE the always I am Right and You are wrong attitude that leads us after our own ego's and into those dark places.
Greed often for excess beyond what we need and cruelty as some enjoy the suffering of other's which boggles the mind of any sane human being but they are all around us.

Understanding that you are not wise is the beginning of wisdom.
biblehub.com...

It only.works if everyone is willing to play the game.
There will always be those that take what isn't their's. It's disgusting human nature.

a reply to: dfnj2015

a reply to: hombero

I live in the woods. I am about 30 to 45 minutes away from what I think of as the city, and about 10 minutes away from what I would call suburbia. This is in drivetime.

Just about five years ago, you could put bags of fruit and produce out on the roadside, free for the taking, when you had more than you could use, and your neighbors had more than they wanted.

It used to be people would come by and take one bag and leave the rest for others. Now you have way too many of the greedy people that snatch them all up. It is not uncommon for them to then try and sell them.

Over time the area has grown from backwoods country to the construction of a full new city spitting distance from where we live. It is not completed yet and already the area is changing. I have been out here for near twenty years and you never heard of robberies or breakins, now they happen weekly.

People are changing. I can only think that the anonymity of the Internet is fostering the lost of compassion for each other, because of its isolation of us from each other, while promoting the lie of inclusiveness and social connections.

The Internet does not connect us, it divides us. There is no true way that you can connect with some one through a virtual connection. You can buy into the lie mentally, but your conciousness is not into the game.

No matter how many followers you have, the human connection cannot be digitalized. As the void grows larger, the divide grows with it. I only see a change possible, when people disconnect from electronics and reconnect with each other.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

Same the world over I am afraid, sad to hear that though and your community sound to be genuinely lovely people not so much your new neighbors which is a shame (of course there will be good among them as well).

I hope you and your community survive this encroachment and all the problems it bring's but it may be time to look for a home similar to the one you have always had but more like the way it used to be somewhere not too far away from that sprawl but far enough, wishing you well.

In a small community everyone know's everyone else business more or less and they all know or think they do who the bad guy's are so they tend not to get away with it but in a city you have to take the bad with the good.

Your America is the one most of the rest of the world want's to live in, the America that is encroaching upon you is the America most of the rest of the world do NOT want to live in but that is how the world changes sadly.

originally posted by: stormson
a reply to: dfnj2015

"God does not have any needs or desires."

This is a false statement.

The god of abraham needs and desires worship. if you do not give it, you go to hell. 'nuff said.

Then maybe the God of Abraham is not the one true God. An omnipotent God does not need to be worshiped.

My faith is in an all-powerful all-loving God who does not have any limitations. My God is complete, perfect, and whole.