Families First; America First

Why do we take care of our families so well? Is it to keep adding blessings to our families or is there another reason?

  We take care of our families, and serve each member as best as we can, so that each member can, in turn, help others.

  We can only give away what we have been given.

  One of the directions we have for the church, is to 'edify' the body of Christ. We don't just have people 'come to Christ' to just go out and tell others how they can 'come to Christ'. The body of Christ needs to be edified in order for the people to be effective in ministering to one another. Each member of the body of Christ needs edification and discipleship before they can give quality ministry to others.

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 1 Corinthians 12:14-20 ESV

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10 ESV

  It might look selfish on the outside to take care of one's self or family first, but in the end, it makes sense. When we are edified, we can be used to help other's be edified. If we are blessed materially, we can give materially to others. We work hard so we can share our abundance with others.

  If I am sick, I cannot take care of my children or family effectively. If I am weak, I cannot be strong for others. I am not in a place to help them until I am helped first. I cannot financially help others if I do not have a job or a means of bringing in money. If I believe that 'money' is the root of all evil, and I refuse to work because money is an idol, I am certainly not going to be able to help others who have physical needs.  If I get sick, I won't be able to help others who are sick, because I am too weak to help others and I won't have money to get medical help if I don't have an income. 

  When America was started, one of the reasons that many believe, is that God would use this nation to ultimately bless others. As people worked hard and built a society, then as they prospered, this prosperity was to be shared with others. 

  The Left doesn't understand many things and they make wrong assumptions on things. One wrong assumption is that wealthy people are greedy. I agree that wealthy people can be greedy. Many are. But not everyone who has money is greedy. The Left would say that the wealthy are bullying the poor around. This is nothing more than judging a group of people. There may be some who are bullying others who don't have money. They should be dealt with by the Law. People who are bullies should be penalized. But that doesn't mean that everyone who is rich is greedy. Greed is a heart issue. It is not resolved with political maneuvers. Greed is resolved in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But if a group of people have rejected God, I guess this wouldn't makes sense to them anyway.

  We edify ourselves, so we can minister to others. We edify the body of Christ, so those in the church can minister effectively. We build our nation up so it will be equipped to help other nations in need, when the time arises for that need to be met. 

   We work hard so we have resources to help others with. One day, we will give account of all that was entrusted to us. Let us be faithful with what God has given us. Let us become everything that God wants us to be, so we can serve others in order for them to become everything God wants them to be. 

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.  1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV

Note: I just read about the phrase, America First. I realize that the President used this phrase as well as members of the KKK in the 20s. The meaning of the phrase simply means that we need to take care of our country instead of trying to take care of all the other countries in the world, at our expense. I'm sure the KKK would like to have made a powerful America without having black people as citizens. That is extremely sad and wrong. Nothing that the President has said has indicated that he wants any race or people of color exterminated. The phrase America First is just a simple way of saying that we need to take care of our country first. The same way we would take care of our families or churches before we would take care of others. We take care of our own, with the goal of our own being able to ultimately serve others. We are not myopic. It's just not a good idea to try to help others without taking care of ourselves first. That's all it means. Nothing more.