Prayyior's God Talk

Greed will take us down…..

Have you ever noticed someone who was “greedy”…just wanted everything for themselves and would not entertain a thought for a stranger or even a friend or family member? You probably know someone who is like this….they stand out in a crowd. You can spot them by their comments. It usually starts with blaming someone else for their problems, and it goes from there to I will take care of me and to hell with everyone else.

In principal it is good to take care of ourselves. We ARE the one who is responsible for ourselves. When a disaster strikes, that is exactly when we understand the need to take care of ourselves and those we are responsible for.

We have just experienced and continue to experience a “disaster” to the Valley of the Mouse, it came as a flood. It came because of mistakes, and weather that brought too much rain at the wrong times. It came as part of a plan to prevent what happened from happening.

Now it is time for the rebuilding of a home, a street, a city. Lives have been devastated by it all. Many people will move on, and not try to stay. Some will have no choice but to deed their property back to the bank/lender who is carrying the loans on property. Many want to stay, but see no way to provide the funds to rebuild and still continue to pay on their loans, they can see no way to keep their finances in a stable position. They are responsible for themselves and their families. It is a tough position to be in.

Unfortunately, when times like these come to us, we have choices to make, and some are not, and never will be acceptable to us. We have believed in honor. We take care of our families, and we pay our bills, and we raise our children “right”, so they respect others, and treat people like they want to be treated.

Greed changes all this! Greed comes out when we forget about those around us. It comes out when someone is handing out money or did hand out money and we didn’t get any of it, or we got less than our neighbor. In any event, it is most likely that we will all have to fight ourselves to prevent becoming greedy about what we have and what we are going to do with it.

There is a story of hell, in which you see a big table with delicious food in the middle, just waiting for someone to eat it. No one smiled and each person was mad at someone else. Each person has their own spoon to use, but unfortunately the handle on the spoon is so long that even though they can reach the food, they can’t get it back to their mouths to eat it. Everyone was starving to death.

The same table was in heaven and the people at the table all were smiling and happy and well nourished. They too had the long-handled spoons and could get the food, but could not get it into their mouth. What this group did was to spoon the food using their long-handled spoon, into the mouth of someone on the other side of the table. Each person fed someone else and in return was fed by someone else.

Getting through this flood will require that we help one another….sometimes before we can receive help for ourselves.

When I was growing up, you had to rely upon your neighbors to help you. If you didn’t, then you were done for. How many houses were built by neighbors helping neighbors. When a neighbors barn burned, the whole community got together and built them another barn. Everyone worked free and people donated what they could. It still happens today…someone is hurt on their farm and the neighbors come in and plant their crop for them. Or harvest the crop. Each of us has a role to play in helping each other through this incredible crises.

We cannot rely upon the Government to help us. There may be some funds to assist, but it appears there will not be enough for any one of us to restore our home on the funds we receive. So What Do WE DO?

Can we form a co-op of people who can assist one another without the full cost of hiring someone to do something. Can we find an Electrician who will oversee the wiring of our houses, can we find a carpenter to do finish work? Can we find a heating and plumbing company who will buy our furnaces and sell them to us for a little over cost, and assist us in getting them in? Can we find someone who will negotiate a large purchase of sheet rock or siding or light fixtures? Can we find someone who will sell us a large quantity of breaker boxes and breakers at a little over cost? How about someone who can cook for a large group while this is going on? How about sharing in the labor. If you can’t pound a nail or put in a screw perhaps you can be the person who is coordinating the build.

I am remembering how quickly a house can go up, even today, after watching or being a part of making dreams come true….we all can hear the sound of “Move that bus”. and a new home fully furnished is revealed.

No….this is not the time for greed. It is not a time to think solely of ourselves. Each of us knows someone who is worse off than we are. Each of us knows someone who without help, cannot do it alone. Each of us knows someone who has given so much to others, that needs a helping hand now.

Do I have the answers….No…and may never have them.. but what I do know is that together we can accomplish what we cannot do alone. What I do know is that North Dakotans are strong and resilient people capable of making a plan and making it work. What I do know is that there are thousands of people who would like to help us, if we give them a chance. I also know that if we rely solely upon ourselves and become a greedy people we will lose.

We will lose in that our houses won’t be rebuilt, we will lose in that our character will suffer, and we will become people we don’t like. We will lose in that the lessons we learned from our parents, will be wasted and our Children and Grandchildren will not know the value of “doing for” or “helping” others. We can’t let that happen. If we want the American Dream to continue then we have to do something about it today. We have to begin to make right decisions and the first is how we are going to behave in this crises. We are Americans, and we are Citizens, and we are honorable, we are trustworthy, we are courageous, we are powerful when we stand together, and weak when we fail to stand. We are people who proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, and as Christians we are united to be as He is.

Today is the day for giving HOPE to each other. It is the day for “thinking” about how to make this work. It is the day to begin anew, trusting that God will be there for us, and with him NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE! Believe….Trust…. Just Trust….

Blessings to you all…. Prayyior