Federal Government Pulls Aid to Food Pantry Becaus

From the time the first settlers arrived on our shores until several decades ago, charity and aid to those in need was supplied by the local community and the church.  If there was an illness, injury or loss of a family member, the church was there to help provide meals, watch kids, etc.  If a barn needed to be raised, the church members brought their tools, the women brought the meal baskets and everyone pitched in to help.  The same was true of harvest time.  Church families would help each other bring in their crops and in the process, there was usually a lot of sharing and trading of produce.

Back in Arizona, I had the honor of serving on the Board of Deacons.  We helped out the elderly and families in need.  We would organize meals, help pay bills when necessary and even help others from outside our church who came looking to keep their lights on or to put a meal on the table for their families.  It was always a blessing to help our brothers and sisters in need.

Times are changing and fewer churches are providing that vital help to people and families in need.  Part of the problem is that today’s people are too busy with themselves to worry about others and in a struggling economy, some churches no longer have the resources to help.  

Yet others have become so liberal in their theology that they have no concern for the needy.  After all, and I’ve heard this on more than one occasion, let them turn to the government for help. What many churches and Christians fail to realize is that attitude is playing into the government’s hands.  

Our federal government doesn’t want Christian charity to be the norm in America.  Instead, they want everyone, and I mean everyone, to turn to the government for all of their needs. This is socialism 101 to its core.

A good example of how the government is doing its best to shut down Christian charities is what happened to the Christian Service Center in Lake City, Florida.  For the past 31 years, the CSC has been helping out the low income residents of Lake City by providing and distributing food to those in need.  It was established as a Christian outreach from the very beginning. Some of the food they get to distribute is from the government, just like many other food banks.

The food came from the USDA and CSC has been receiving USDA food for years.  However, with Obama’s war on Christianity, the government help has ended .

The Christian food bank received notice from the USDA that unless they stopped all Christian practices at the center and took down their pictures of Jesus and the Ten Commandments, that they would no longer be eligible to receive USDA food contributions .

Currently the USDA makes up 30%-40% of CSC’s food contributions. Kay Daly, Executive Director of CSC met with USDA officials and tried to explain that their Christian witnessing was purely voluntary.  She explained their process to the Christian Post saying: GA_googleFillSlot("PO_300x250_2"); "When we meet with them to get an understanding of the crisis or need, we ask them if they know Jesus Christ and if we may share with them. If they decline, we don't. If they do want to, we share the Gospel with them.  Sometimes we lead them to the Lord and sometimes we don't."

The USDA officials told her that under a new contract, any Christian practices, images or anything else that reflected their faith was a violation of the church and state regulations.  If they wanted to continue to receive USDA food, they would basically have to do so as a secular entity instead of a Christian outreach.

Daly said that CSC refuses to stop functioning as a Christian outreach and that they will rely on God, local churches and organizations to help make up the loss of USDA support.  She commented: "We also will trust God.  I don't say that lightly. We will trust Him day to day to meet our needs." "How do you comprise? We would deny what we stand for, which is Jesus Christ, which is why we are.  The USDA has drawn the line in the sand. If they are going to put stipulations on the use and distribution of the food, we make a choice and our choice is to stand with Christ."

This is one of many examples of Obama’s war on Christianity and his striving to do away with Christian and church based charities. His government is counting on CSC to run short of food and not be able to help many of the people in the community.  You can be sure that the government will have their people standing by to draw those in need to the various government programs like food stamps and welfare.

A socialist country requires that everyone except the wealthy and elite few turn to the government for all of their needs.  The government assumes the role of the church and in time they want the people to worship the government instead of God.  The huge rise in Americans receiving government aid of some kind and the harsher restrictions and regulations being placed on Christian charities, churches and business owners are clear indications that Obama is well on his way to his socialist nation. Unless Christians quit being so passive and get off their butts and do something about it, the rest of the transition is going to take place pretty soon!