It's time you faced some things about yourself; some core requirements for having the right to dare to say you follow Christ.
You
CANNOT
serve both God AND mammon
"Mammon" is not some demon or any being. It is aramaic for Wealth. Worldly Things.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Jesus isn't opening a negotiation here. That's just the reality.
What this means is you see a beggar and it creeps you out and instead of giving them something you set yourself up as some kind of Defender of Virtue, whether you look at them with kindness, pity, or contempt, but bottom line?
You find some excuse to keep hold of your money.
All your resentments of the poor and unlucky in this country; all your "teach a man to fish," "pulling bootstraps" patter is about you keeping your stuff. And the worst of you feel superior (whether you'd admit it or not).
Any doctrine anyone makes up to throw sand in your eyes about the "God or mammon" requirement; well that's just plain self-serving bull hockey. Christ said the following and it's plain and clear as can be:
Matthew 25
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
This IS how you get to Heaven; or get cast to Hell.
There's no 'knowing the scriptures by heart' to get you into heaven. There's no 'making other people behave,' no thinking about what other people might or should do.... it's all down to how you treat the least among us. Stop making up crap to get yourselves out of that obligation, please!
Think about Matthew 25. Every single thing in there is about you choosing to help God (who looks like your neighbor‡) AT PERSONAL EXPENSE! See, there's a choice implicit: God or your Worldly Things.
Yet you dare call yourself a follower of Christ while you fight, and moan, and complain, belittle and hold in contempt, invent doctrines which 'interpret' what Christ's plain words meant, do everything you possibly can to hide and diminish the poor, hungry, homeless, sick, gone wrong in American society.
Here's a proof that you guys are using the Name of the Lord almost with contempt. A self-serving alibi you have to keep and get things, all the while feeling above others.
All around this country cities have been making it a crime to feed the hungry on the street. Yet, for all your screaming about deadbeats and demons and the damned and what women should do with their bodies and what choices people make in love and....
For all that noise you guys make, there's not one major push to restore the right of Christians to feed the hungry on the streets of our cities in this country.
And where's the push to immediately end homelessness from you guys. Probably not, might hurt your investments and property values? Nothing can, or should be done, for their own good, is it?
Listen, all this doesn't mean you are hate-worthy. But you certainly haven't earned any credit or respect by just name-dropping Jesus all the time.
Just, please, for your sake and the sake of all, look yourselves in the mirror -- and make your choice. Then, if you change and choose Christ, then, you can be Christians with a capital "C".
Otherwise, you might be found wanting. Nobody's really saved until they are actually in Heaven, whatever people say about themselves. The key to getting there, well you have it in plain words.
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‡neighbor. Listen, did you fall for that trick which makes 'neighbor' mean 'people like me, like my beliefs, my kind'? Because that was a pretty nasty trick Old Nick pulled, he makes up doctrines which explain things so everyone can limit their goodness. I hope you didn't buy it.