After Santa Fe, More Gun Control Is Needed NOW!!

The terrible mass-shooting at Santa Fe High School points out the need for more and better gun control.  Not for more debate and more laws - MORE/BETTER gun control AT HOME!

That's right...I don't believe more laws are needed, that stronger gun control statues with "more teeth" are needed.  What is needed is more responsible control of guns at home.  The weapons used by Santa Fe shooter were "average weapons," not the much maligned "assault rifle," yet this teenager still managed to produce at least twenty casualties, including ten dead.

As expected, the talking heads on both sides are yelling about "More Gun Control" or "Guns Don't Kill People, PEOPLE Kill People." Both of these arguments are tired and so over-used, and (as the news says) "revived" at every mass shooting.  But the discussion that often "slips between the cracks" is the "how."  If the shooter obtained weapons either legally, or by circumventing all the laws on the books, then again, it is clear that no new laws are needed. We already have them!

The Santa Fe shooter broke several laws when he obtained, possessed, and carried his weapons with him.  First, he was under age.  The law limiting the age at which a person can by a gun is already "on the books."  He was too young to possess ammunition, ANOTHER law already on the books.  The shotgun he carried was "sawed off," or illegally shortened.  Yet ANOTHER law on the books that was violated, and probably not only by the shooter.  Most likely the shotgun was shortened by the owner or some other person who was "of age" to own the weapon, and chose to break the law as to barrel length.  So, it is clear beyond any further debate that no more gun laws are needed.  We HAVE THEM NOW!

What IS needed is GUN CONTROL.  No, I don't mean the illegal "damn the Second Amendment" type of gun control advocated by so many. I mean the common-sense gun control that falls squarely on the shoulders of each gun owner.  No amount of legislation can force people to use good judgment when storing their weapons, unfortunately.  But the many incidents of underage persons taking guns to school could certainly by reduced if true gun control were exercised by gun owners, many of whom I am sure are at this very moment are still decrying the atrocity committed at Santa Fe High.

It is so very simple to secure all of one's weapons at home.  There are devices and gun safes of many varieties and price ranges, so there is literally NO REASON that gun control in the home (or even in one's  business) cannot be practiced at all times.  I remember as a youngster being taught by my father, my uncle, and my grandfather, not to touch or handle the weapons that were located in our home and the relatives' homes as we were growing up.  I am not sure what was different then, or if maybe there was simply less coverage of accidental shootings then, but in any case, none of us children handled the guns without permission.  That does not seem to be the case anymore.  Also, not so long ago, many people carried rifles or shotguns in gun racks mounted inside their pickup trucks.  Again, people did not seem to trifle with such weapons in years past.

Be that as it may, however, the safe and common-sense approach is to have all your guns unloaded and locked away.  Not everyone has a gun safe, but everyone can MAKE their gun SAFE!  By the way, storing a gun in a vehicle (except if you utilize a secured rack of some kind) is not a good idea, either.  Guns left unsecured in a vehicle are presents for car burglars.  Guess what...anywhere in your car that you can think of to hide your weapon has already been thought of by the gun thief.

Back to guns in the home, it is abundantly clear that guns in the home need to be secured, now more than ever.  But wait!! What if someone breaks in while I am in my house?!  First, you need to secure your guns and ammunition the right way, THEN you can plan for what may never happen, although I and you know it does happen fairly often.  Here is a good plan for both keeping your guns secure and your family safe from attack in your own home.  First (and AGAIN) secure all your weapons.  Daytime burglaries are far more common than nighttime home invasions.  So, while you are at work and the kids are at school, you do not need access to weapons at your home...and neither do the BURGLARS.  Have all your weapons secured, even if that means chaining them to plumbing.  Second, when you are preparing for bed and feel that you need a gun close at hand and ready for action, you should remove ONLY the weapon that you would use in home defense to be ready and at close reach.  By the way, I do not advocate sleeping with a gun under your pillow.  There are just too many things that could go wrong.  But, I do advocate having the chosen weapon in a safe place near to hand, along with a very bright flashlight.  Both will be necessary if it should really come down to needing to defend your family.

How does this different, common-sense gun control apply to the Santa Fe shooting, or other shootings, for that matter?  Well, because in several of these shootings, including Santa Fe, the shooter took weapons from the "family armory" presumably without permission of the responsible adult (s) in the home.  Surely the parents did not hand the shooter the shotgun and revolver and tell him to take the guns to school.  Of course not.  But did they have the weapons locked away, or was the shotgun leaning in the corner of a closet, the revolver in a box on the top closet rack?  Unfortunately, these kinds of arrangements constitute "gun control" in many homes.

True gun control begins in the home, and the gun owner is ultimately responsible for the security of his or her weapons.  This is even more important when a child in the home is known by the parents to be depressed or to have some other emotional or mental issue.  I realize that parents can not know everything their children think or do, but parents DO in fact know, by the time a child is nearly fully grown, that the child has some mental or emotional issue and should never have access to weapons that are kept in the home. So please, secure your weapons.  Go to a gun shop or sports center and take a look at all the options, or view them online.  Then, BUY THEM AND USE THEM!  Please do not let your weapon fall into the wrong hands.  The life you save might be your own, your children, a police officer, or even a school full of innocent children.

May God bless you all, and God bless America

This Is America - I Refuse To Be Bound By The Laws Of The European Union - Even Just To Blog

I found the following notice pinned to my blog a few days ago:


European Union laws require you to give European Union visitors information about cookies used and data collected on your blog. In many cases, these laws also require you to obtain consent. 

As a courtesy, we have added a notice on your blog to explain Google's use of certain Blogger and Google cookies, including use of Google Analytics and AdSense cookies, and other data collected by Google. 

You are responsible for confirming this notice actually works for your blog, and that it displays. If you employ other cookies, for example by adding third party features, this notice may not work for you. If you include functionality from other providers there may be extra information collected from your users.



I reflected on the above statement for several days, and in that time I did not add any new posts to my blog.  But I am now back to post blogs until "B Blogger" takes my little (but THREATENING, apparently) blog off its website.  If that happens, I will just find a new launching point for my blogs.  Why do I feel this way?  Let's look at the B Blogger statement above.

The very first words are offensive and intolerable beyond description. "European Union laws require...."
Those first four words render the entire statement moot as far as I am concerned, and even more so on the eve of Memorial Day, a day when we honor the millions of fallen soldiers, sailors, and airmen who fought and died for OUR freedom.  The American heroes died so that AMERICANS could be free.  Yes, they died liberating our brothers and sisters across the oceans from Nazi and Japanese empirical intentions, but the ultimate aim of helping our allies defeat the Central Powers was so that the American way of life could continue.

So I find those first four words to be disgraceful.  We (you and I in the United States) are NOT under the laws of the European Union.  I understand that if I visit a member nation of the European Union (or ANY nation) that I am bound by the laws of those nations for the duration of my visit.  But how dare the hosts of B Blogger tell me that I am bound by the laws of the European Union if I choose to blog.  Readers of my blog are mostly in the United States, but some are from nations ranging from England to Indonesia.  You and I in the United States are citizens of the UNITED STATES, and therefore bound only by those laws passed by United States legislative bodies.

The B Blogger statement goes on to say that it is my responsibility to notify people in the European Union of any cookies that may be attached to my blog.  Well, attention European Union...I do not attach cookies to my blog.  If Blogger, Google, or any third party advertiser attaches cookies to this blog, I would have no way of knowing such.

Then the statement says that cookies from third party advertisers using this site may collect even more information than the blogger (me, in this case) knows is being collected by the cookie.  Well, since I don't know what information a cookie is collecting, and I may not even be aware of these cookies, I am pretty sure I could not give an educated answer as to what cookies have been embedded in this blog, and what information those cookies are collecting. 

But the main point is, the European Union has no authority over me as long as I am in the United States.  Would B Blogger have even posted the same notice if it were "required" by Russia or China?  I think we know the answer to that question.  I am sure any person would be enraged to hear that we were bound by the laws of those two nations, and the same goes for the European Union, as far as I am concerned.  

So, on the eve of Memorial Day, the day we choose to honor our dead soldiers, I choose to honor those soldiers by ignoring the statement from B Blogger.  I am NOT going to attempt to find out what cookies are embedded in this blog, nor will I attempt to find out what information such cookies are collecting.  I blog from the United States; therefore I will make no attempt to comply with laws of any other nation.  Of course I know that this blog can be seen by anyone around the world who follows it, or accidentally stumbles across it.  Of course I know (now, at least) that someone is attaching cookies to my blog, as my "payment" for using the B Blogger platform.  But here is one other thing I know, and believe.  If my blog, or the website that I blog on, is offensive to, or in violation of, a nation's laws, it is up to that nation to censor my blog or the website responsible for allowing such offensive blogs as mine access to the Internet.  

I am thankful and grateful for the sacrifices made by our American heroes, 

and may God bless America.

PS: I will continue to blog until B Blogger cuts me off.  I appreciate everyone of you who read my blogs.  If this blog goes away, I will eventually find another and be back on the net again.

J.J. Watt Opens His Heart To The People Of Santa Fe

Another mass shooting at a school, this time at the high school at Santa Fe, Texas.  Fortunately, this time the evacuation of the students got most of them out of harm's way, while a quick and effective response by multiple law enforcement agencies resulted in the quick capture of the shooter.  Tragically the shooter killed ten people before police were able to arrest him.  Several students and a couple of police officers were injured.

Another mass shooting...

I find I really don't have much to say about it, nothing to add, that hasn't already been said about these killings.  I certainly don't have anything that could provide insight on how a man, really a teenager, can just wake up and decide to kill a bunch of people.  I wonder even if we as a society knew why a person would do this thing, would then be able to predict when and where the next massacre would happen, and which possible shooter would commit it.

Another mass shooting...

I find that no words I, or anyone, could say will really comfort the survivors and the loved ones.  Only the Good Shepherd can do that, and only with time.  There have been so many mass shootings that words of sympathy are so inadequate anymore.  It will be weeks or months before those that lost their children, their loved ones, will even begin to heal.

Another mass shooting...

Sadness, anger, outrage, just as with all the others, but then...a glimmer of light in the darkness.  Out of the blue, Houston Texan football player J.J. Watt felt a calling.  He has offered to pay for the funerals of the ten victims.  No, this won't bring back the dead or undo the lasting pain, but...a gesture of love and compassion in the midst of all the pain and sorrow.  The cost of ten funerals could easily reach over $100,000, yet J.J. Watt stands ready to do what he can with what he has to come to the aid of people, fellow Texans, whom he most likely does not know.  But what an act of kindness, Mr. Watt.

No, I have nothing to add to this sad thing, but I do want to honor J.J. Watt for what he is doing for these hurting families.  Yes, there are and will continue to be monsters out there who are able to kill others, even their fellow students, but there are also people out there like J.J. Watt, who demonstrate the best in humanity right in the ashes and rubble of the worst in humanity.

May the Good Shepherd comfort the people of Santa Fe, especially the families that lost their children, and those that lost their adult loved ones.  May the Lord bless J.J. Watt for what he is doing for those hurting families in Santa Fe.

Peace Officer's Memorial

It seems like the years fly by, and now Peace Officer's Memorial Day (and National Peace Officer's Week) has arrived once again.  At this point in the year, not even halfway through, fifty-four police officers have perished in the line of duty.  Last year at about this same time, forty-nine officers had died in the line of duty.  Unfortunately it appears officer deaths this year will closely mirror last year's numbers.

The late winter and spring months of 2018 proved to be double-digit months, as far as deaths were concerned.  Gunfire has been the most common cause of police officer death up to May 15.  The second most frequent cause of death for officers this year has proven to be traffic accidents, not including deaths resulting in accidents related to police pursuits.  Three officers have died this year of complications from illnesses caused by 9-11 related duties.

Police deaths are not just numbers on the Officer Down Memorial Page.  Each officer who is memorialized was a person who had loved ones, relatives, friends, and colleagues.  Not only that, but each officer who perished in the line of duty was mourned by fellow officers both known and unknown to him.  And I know that many people across the nation are saddened as well to read of fallen officers they never knew.

In my years with the Waco Police Department we were relatively lucky.  Although from 1981 to 1990 several officers were wounded, injured, or criminally assaulted, only one officer was killed in the line of duty.  Sergeant Bobby Vicha was murdered in his own home by his brother-in-law, who had just murdered Sergeant Vicha's elderly parents as well.  The animal that committed those three murders has been on Death Row since 1989, and UNBELIEVABLE as it is to me, this animal lost another appeal in 2018!  There are several cases on Death Row in which evidence may be questionable, but this is NOT one of them.  Instead, what is questionable is WHY this animal is still breathing some twenty-eight years later!  The only positive to this situation that I can see is that this animal was held and never allowed to leave prison, thus not able to kill anyone else.  Sergeant Vicha was well-liked by those officers who knew him, and the pain of his loss has only been compounded by the justice system's lack of power to put down an animal so that he could never hurt anyone again.

In the winter of 1994, just over two years after I left the Lamesa Police Department, a friend and fellow law officer was killed in Big Spring, about fifty miles south of Lamesa.  Trooper Troy Hogue was killed by a DWI suspect after responding to a traffic accident on I-20 in Howard County.  The suspected drunk driver was seated in a patrol car but apparently had not been searched by officers at the scene.  After Trooper Hogue spoke with Howard County officers, he approached the suspect, who fired a single shot from an undiscovered handgun, killing the trooper.  Trooper Hogue was one of those officers that police officers admiringly call "an officers's officer."  This was a way saying that Trooper Hogue constantly went above and beyond what was expected of DPS troopers as far as assisting and advising city and county officers, and jumping in to help whenever he was needed.  As tragic as his death was, it was even more so because it was most likely a preventable death.  A too-oft repeated scenario occurred that night in Big Spring.  Officers who first arrived on the scene and knew that the suspect would be arrested failed to exercise even basic crime scene security, and committed the nearly unforgivable omission of failing to search a suspect.  Unfortunately, time and time again the officer or officers who make the mistake are spared, and an officer arriving later on the scene pays the ultimate price for other officers' failures.

I was working as a security surveillance officer at a certain West Texas hospital on October 9, 2014 when I saw Sergeant Mike Naylor, Midland County Sheriff's Office, walk into the hospital emergency room.  Sergeant Naylor headed the local mental health police task force, made up of both city and county officers.  In this position, Sergeant Naylor had created a mental health task force that truly protected and served the mentally ill in the county, using minimum force to restrain and detain these persons, and doing all possible to calm and assure these people that no one was going to hurt them, that help was being provided to them.  Sergeant Naylor truly excelled in this position, and took pride in this service, yet, he was foremost a police officer.  When the call came in that afternoon that a sexual predator (wanted on a felony warrant) was barricaded in a residence in the county, Sergeant Naylor never hesitated.  Within seconds he was out the door.  The last thing I and several others said to him was, "Be careful, Mike.  We'll see you later."

Less than an hour later Sergeant Naylor was back in the emergency room, this time as a critically injured patient.  The suspect had suddenly drawn a concealed weapon and fired one time, striking Sergeant Naylor in the head.  He never regained consciousness.  Doctors and nurses worked feverishly to save their friend, but the damage was too great, and Sergeant Naylor succumbed to his wounds within a few minutes.  Like Trooper Hogue, Sergeant Naylor was one of those officers who was routinely called "a cop's cop."  After shooting Sergeant Naylor, the wanted man, a couple of hours later, meekly surrendered to other officers on the scene.  The killer eventually plead guilty to Sergeant Naylor's murder and is currently serving two life terms.

Three men I knew, three men who were not just numbers on a page of statistics.  And since these men were killed, so many more officers have died in the line of duty.  Cops ambushed at public demonstrations or at service stations while fueling their cars, cops killed while stopping traffic violators, or while trying to prevent family violence, or even while working accidents or directing traffic.  Regardless of what the officers were doing at the time of their deaths, they were doing their job, neither backing down nor refusing to act in dangerous or hazardous situations.

I was proud to serve with Bobby Vicha and Troy Hogue, and was blessed to have known and worked with Mike Naylor in a different circumstance.  These men were not "just numbers," and neither were the many men and women who gave their lives as peace officers, both before and after these men.  All of these officers were men and women who were loved by someone, who were both parents and children, who mattered so much to their loved ones, their relatives, their friends...and of course to the fellow officers who were left behind to carry the badge another day.

I am proud to have been a police officer, and I am honored to lift up the men and women of law enforcement on this simple page, and in this simple way.

May God bless and watch over all peace officers everywhere...

And may God bless America.

End of Watch: April 27, 2018 - Officer Charles Whites, Round Rock Police Dept., Round Rock, TX

Officer Charles Whites, Round Rock PD, died yesterday of injuries, and complications of those injuries, he received when he was struck by a drunk driver while working a fatal accident scene on February 25th.  The driver was arrested and charged with intoxication manslaughter.

Officer Whites suffered severe head injuries and numerous broken bones.  He remained mostly unconscious and unresponsive in the days after his injuries although at times signs of improvement were noted.  Nonetheless, the officer eventually succumbed to his injuries.

My personal observation as an one-time peace officer, and as a private citizen later, is that somehow traffic accidents seem to attract drunk drivers almost in the same vein that flame and light bulbs attract moths.  I never understood if it was the flashing red and blue lights that seemed to draw drunk drivers right into the accident scene, or just the confusion of having to maneuver through a street or highway obstructed by one or more disabled vehicles.  Once I read a study that showed that patrol cars, fire trucks, etc., that were equipped with bright, flashing yellow lights to the rear were not struck as often as those equipped only with red, or with red and blue lights.  Apparently yellow lights actually cause a drunk driver to (TRY to) exercise caution, and to fear police attention more than do red and blue lights.

Regardless of the reasons drunk drivers seem attracted to road side hazards, driving drunk is both illegal and  STUPID.  The deaths and injuries drunk drivers cause is senseless and so needless.  Police officers are endangered by drunk drivers, but then so are all others who are on (or even NEAR) the road when drunk drivers pass.  Not only that, but anyone who chooses to ride with a drunk driver is also tempting fate.

Just two nights ago out on a highway just northwest of Midland, a drunk driver managed to hit not one, but THREE bicyclists who were, as usual, riding on the shoulder, NOT in the road.  Two of the cyclists were dead at the scene, one is still alive and in a local hospital.  These two deaths were just the latest in a constant stream of fatal "accidents" caused by drunk drivers in the West Texas area.  And deaths at the hands of drunk drivers continue unabated across the state and the nation.

Officer Whites was taken from his wife and family, and his friends, needlessly, in what was one of the most preventable tragedies of all.  One person, a fifty-five year old man in this case, could have made the decision not to drink and drive.  The decision not to drink and drive has to be made BEFORE one gets intoxicated, because once a person is "ten feet tall and bullet proof," that person can easily drive a car, right?  What's the big deal?!  Everything is alright, until a drunk driver causes a wreck and kills someone or injures someone.  The drunk driver is rarely killed or injured in the wreck he causes.  I have personally witnessed a wreck in which the drunk driver did not even know why his car would not "work."  He had no idea he had caused a wreck and killed a man...not until he woke up in jail the next morning.

Officer Whites gave his life in the line of duty, not trying to catch a murderer or bank robber, but while directing traffic around an accident that involved, ironically, a fatality, a person who was walking along the shoulder of the roadway and a car, probably operated by a drunk driver, swerved onto the shoulder and knocked the man out into the grass.

Officer Whites' death is particularly tragic because it appeared, at least for awhile, that the officer was improving from his injuries, and might have had a long and hard, but successful recovery.

My prayers for Officer Whites' family and friends, not only in his death, but also in the long, hard road they all traveled while hoping for this officer's recovery.

And may God bless us all.

End of Watch: April 25, 2018 - Patrolman Rogelio Santander, Dallas Police Department, Dallas, TX

On Wednesday, April 25, Officer Rogelio Santander, a patrolman with the Dallas Police Department, Dallas, Texas died as result of being shot in the line of duty on Tuesday.  Officer Crystal Almeida was also shot, along with loss prevention officer Scott Painter, who works for Home Depot, the location where the shooting took place.

On Tuesday, Officers Santander and Almeida responded to the Home Depot in northwest Dallas, where an off-duty Dallas officer and the store’s loss prevention officer were holding Luis Juarez, who had been arrested by the private officer and the off-duty police officer after leaving the store with items for which he had not paid.  Juarez was brought back into the security office at Home Depot and on-duty Dallas officers were called to transport Juarez to jail.

At some point, the off-duty officer left the security office, leaving Juarez in care of Officers Santander and Almeida.  The off-duty officer went to out to one of the Dallas patrol cars to confirm whether Juarez had an outstanding felony warrant for his arrest, which in fact proved to be the case.  When the officers attempted to handcuff Juarez, he retrieved a pistol from inside his pants and shot Officers Santander and Almeida, and the Home Depot loss prevention officer. The off-duty officer heard the shots fired call over the police radio and returned to the Home Depot security office but Juarez was no longer there.  Juarez was captured later that night after a high-speed chase through Dallas.

My prayers and deepest sympathy to the family of Patrolman Rogelio Santander and to his colleagues at the Dallas Police Department.  Also my prayers for the swift recovery of Officer Almeida and the Home Depot loss prevention officer, Scott Painter.

May God bless and protect all police officers as they do their jobs every day in spite of all the dangers involved.

The Good Shepherd's Story: The Rich Man And Lazarus

In the New Testament, in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 16, starting at verse 19, we are told by the Good Shepherd himself the story of "certain rich man" and a beggar "named Lazarus."  My own "un-religious schooled" opinion is that this story is not necessarily a "parable."  I believe that there was indeed a certain rich man living in Jerusalem, or parts nearby, at the very time that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, left his father's occupation as a carpenter and began his ministry.  I also believe that there was a poor man, a beggar, also alive at that time, and Jesus literally KNEW Lazarus.  Some more knowledgeable than me might argue the points just mentioned, but that is not the point of this post, so I will move on.

Lazarus, the beggar that the Good Shepherd knew by name, had lain at the gates of this certain rich man's property for a good amount of time, possibly for years!  The rich man was so wealthy that he "dressed in purple and in silk" and passed by Lazarus, who was "covered in sores, longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table."  Furthermore, Lazarus apparently had few or no human friends, and his only comfort were the dogs who came to him and licked his sores.  One thing that Jesus tells us by his silence on the matter, in my opinion, is that the rich man never gave Lazarus a single crumb from his "daily feasts."  As my preacher pointed out, this certain rich man had a "Thanksgiving feast" every single day, thus he pretty much ceased to be thankful for all his blessings, if he ever was.

As we know, a time came when the rich man died, "and was buried," and Lazarus died also.  Did you notice, though, that the Good Shepherd did not say that Lazarus was buried.  It was possible that he was found dead, maybe by one of the rich man's servants, and was simply carried out of town and dumped in a ditch or ravine, since he obviously could not afford a funeral.  I am sort of going out on a limb with this opinion, but remember, the Lord said outright that the rich man was buried.  He could have easily added that Lazarus was buried as well, but he did not.  Nonetheless, both men died at about the same time.

When next the rich man is conscious, we find that he is in some sort of spiritual "holding area" or maybe hell itself, I am not certain, but we are told by the Good Shepherd that the rich man, now in  burning agony, can see across a "great chasm" Abraham, the patriarch.  Lying in Abraham's bosom, who should the rich man see but Lazarus, whom the rich man recognized immediately!  How do I know this?  I know because the rich man, now so very poor and in torment, begged Abraham (whom he somehow recognized as well) to send "Lazarus" to dip his finger in water and cool the rich man's tongue.  The rich man knew exactly who Lazarus was.  He could see that Lazarus was being comforted by the great patriarch himself, after a life of receiving nothing but bad in the world, especially receiving nothing, no help at all, from the rich man who passed by him, maybe stepped OVER him as he came and went through his gate.  He had every opportunity to help Lazarus, but chose not to do so.

Realizing that the chasm divided him and the place of torment from the place of comfort and rest in Abraham's bosom, the rich man made what to me seems a very strange request.  He asked Abraham to send Lazarus back to the rich man's home to warn his five brothers of the torment that might be waiting for them as well.  Apparently NOT ONE of the rich man's brothers had lifted a finger to help Lazarus.  But the rich man believed that if Lazarus went back from the dead and told the brothers what awaited them, his brothers would perhaps change, maybe start doing good by sharing their riches.  But Abraham told the rich man a truth, one that you and I should heed and understand.

"But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them."

The rich man made one more attempt to save his brothers. "No, Father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent." 

Yes, I am fairly sure that the remaining brothers were not the least bit more generous than their lately departed brother.  Else, why would they need to change?  But Abraham said, "If they will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead!"

The Bible tells us in both the Old and the New Testaments that we will always have poor people with us.  Many times the poor exist right beside the rich, the "blessed" if you want to call it that.  Jesus knew that there were poor people throughout the world in His day, and that there would be poor people in our world today.  I am not talking about people who are too lazy to work, even though they have the ability to do so.  I am talking about those, like Lazarus, who are not able to work either because of physical disabilities, mental problems, or for other reasons are not able to, and cannot be expected to, get and hold jobs to provide for themselves. 

The story of the rich man and Lazarus is challenging to me personally, and maybe to you as well.  For one thing, I know that the Creator, and the Good Shepherd, had and have the power to end poverty or to otherwise create a situation where no one would ever have to be poor, except through the poor choice of not working for a living.  But God and Jesus did not do so.  Not only that, but I did not receive that wisdom it takes to know for sure whether some person who appears to be a beggar is actually a "con artist."  Oh, sometimes I can pick out a poor con artist (by that I mine a person who is a poor actor, not monetarily poor) but most of the time I do not know WHY a person who is on a street corner begging is poor or homeless. 

Have I ever been "ripped off" when I helped someone? Probably, because I know that there are some good con artists out there.  But have I ever FAILED TO BE BLESSED when I helped someone?  No, I have not.  First, in my ignorance of not knowing for certain whether or not a person to whom I gave money or food was actually "in need" I still had the satisfaction of believing I had helped someone, that is I had acted as the Lord's hands.  Second, I invariably received a blessing of one kind or another after I helped some poor person.  Not that I help with the intention of "getting paid back," but that I received some unexpected blessing shortly after helping a person in need; a blessing that I did not expect and did not ask for. 

But the point of the story (the TRUE ACCOUNT OF AN ACTUAL HAPPENING, in my opinion) is that you and I should take every opportunity to help people in need.  And there is a somewhat sobering, in not downright frightening, aspect of this story, that is that we who have the means should help in accordance with our means.  Even a "poor" Christian has enough that he may share with someone less fortunate.  How much more should the wealthy share with those in dire need.  And how frightening is the prospect for those who indeed step over poor people every day and never lift a finger to help, never share a scrap.  The rich man that Jesus spoke of fed his animals MUCH better than he fed Lazarus, whom he apparently never fed at all!  My own opinion is that Lazarus, had he been given a few left-overs from the rich man's table, would have generously shared his food with his only companions, the dogs who licked his sores.

Is this story directed mostly at "the rich?"  I don't believe so, but I could be wrong.  I believe the Good Shepherd wants all of us to help others, especially the poor, as much as we are able, but even more so if we have been blessed to the point that we are "rich."  Unfortunately, when a person becomes "rich" (that is has lots of money and possessions) it is very easy for that person to become somewhat arrogant, to forget from where the wealth actually came.  Yes, the rich man probably was a shrewd businessman, or maybe he inherited his fortune.  But somewhere along the way he began to believe that he alone, or maybe with some help from his equally selfish brothers, had become a "self-made man" who owed nothing to anyone, even to God.  And that was his undoing.

Don't let a lack of generosity and sharing be your undoing,  Yes, I think there are times when it is apparent that a "beggar" is actually a con artist, but if you worry about this possibility, you may NEVER help anyone!  Better to share, and occasionally be "taken in" than to never take the risk, and the OPPORTUNITY OF DOING THE LORD'S WORK.  I think one of the easiest ways we have of doing the Lord's will is simply sharing what we have with those who do not have as much.  But be warned, it is also easy to ignore the beggar, to step over him, and go about your business.  In so doing, you may well one day find yourself in that place of torment with the (not so) rich man, while you see the poor there with Lazarus, in the comfort of Abraham's bosom.

Take the Good Shepherd's words to heart...

And may God Bless you all...