Thanks, Toadrax Lighten it up a bit!

However, I'm down with 2 Thess 3:10. I see it as a verse in which Paul chastised the Christians there for complacency due to a hardcore belief in the very-soon second coming of Christ. His charge to them was to not be lazy, to work and be good Christian examples. I don't think we can hold the homeless or otherwise poor to the same standards of holiness that Paul expected of the Thessalonian Christians. An example of that would be that Jesus helped and healed beggars. Although some/many beggars are scammers, I'm sure Jesus had seen them enough on a day-to-day basis to know if they were legit or not. The difference is that he was around them and saw their lives - seeing a man on a corner for 25 secs every evening is not "in someone's life" and I wouldn't expect anyone to just toss cash at a guy like that!

At verse 6 we find that Paul is telling them to "keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us."

In this case a brother is a Christian. Unruly means undisciplined or deviating from the prescribe rule of order. Paul and those with him worked and paid for their food because it's not right to be a burden on anybody.

As Christians we can't expect the 'world' to be as we are, or as we should be. Being Christlike is our job.

Hey, I'm not talking about the panhandlers....."Cut them Off". I saw one at I-40 and Eastern with a sign "why lie, I need a beer and a cigarette". I asked him if he got the two would he tear the sign and leave street for the day? He agreed, I bought him a six pack, pack of cigarettes and a lighter....$ 9.87. Took it to him, he tore up the sign and agreed not to let his buddies have any of it. I went to a friends business that was close, borrowed his car, went back there he was drinking the beer and gloating to his friends. He saw me, waved said I promise...Wheteher he did or not is immaterial to me......he stopped for a while. What I'm talking about is the people who could really use your help. Try it, you'll either be "Scared out of your britches" or realize there are needy people....Some need help , some will accept help and some are just like you and I, they have their pride......Quit griping and standing on a soap box......get a friend and go down town and pick out a couple and try to help them. What is non-useful to you (an old suitcase) is a prized possession to those who don't have one......Try it, you'll like it.

See ya next time:........................

You're right about the laziness. That's exactly what Paul meant.

Jesus knew the heart of those he helped. After all, he was God.

Empathy is not something you give to someone else.

Empathy is not compassion or sympathy.

Empathy is the ability to understand another person's position - putting yourself in their shoes - as one says.

I wish you could empathize with homeless individuals because you would come to see that even the most responsible people can fall on hard times, no matter how hard we try, we can not control everything and everyone around us, and that once you are in the hole, it's really really hard to climb out.

Some 90% of pet owners talk to their pets. There are 11 million pet birds in the country. Guess that makes a whole lot of crazy people? No.

Have you read some of the threads on OKCTALK? It's a more common topic than you think.

Likely are, but so is everyone else.

Approximately half of all adults in the US drink alcohol.

Approximately half of all adults in the US report having used illegal drugs at least once - 10% in the last year.

Don't forget that Tobacco is a recreational drug. Alcohol is a much worse drug than Marijuana.

Growing up.. I always found it odd that people told us not to do drugs.. that all did drugs to make themselves feel better.

Alcohol being a much worse drug than marijuana is, to some extent, a myth. It is different, certainly, but you are comparing apples or oranges. But it is a drug and like alcohol, has specific effects and can effect people/ages differently. Children smoking pot is extremely detrimental to their brain development. When you meet someone who is 34 and is at the emotional maturity of a 16 year old - ask them when they started smoking pot and you'll find out... age 16. It halts emotional development in its tracks. I am not sure what it does to the mature adult brain but for children and teenagers, it frequently has a horrible effect. One of the most frustrating thing about dealing with pot smoking young parents (20 - 35 years old) in my line of work is that they are just so darn immature. I am not being snarky.

The parents in question have issues outside of their pot use. If they drank as much as they smoked they would be in far worse condition.

There are plenty of well adapted people who smoke pot and have since they were teens. Smoking in moderation is more healthy than drinking in moderation.

Alcohol can kill you and it is addictive. No one has ever died from pot and it does not cause physical dependence.

For the record.. me personally, I don't even drink coffee.

I really wish my mom would smoke pot though....

And ironically enough people in San Francisco, such as members of Food, Not Bombs, have been arrested for giving out food to the homeless without prior authorization.