NormsMilfordBlog

The Best of Jack’s Winning Words 11/27/23

“You can’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.”  (Maya Angelou)  Giving Tuesday is today, a reaction to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. As we spend for holiday giving, let’s not forget the charity needs around us.  😉 Jack

 Originally sent December 1, 2020. These posts reprise the work of Pastor Jack Freed.

There really shouldn’t be a need for a Giving Tuesday, but I suppose it does serve to give people pause in this season of excess to think about those in need. Maybe we can assuage whatever sense of guilt we have about our excess by throwing a buck or two into a red kettle. Perhaps it makes us feel good about ourselves (however temporarily) because we emptied our pocket of change to give to some cause or person. But are these acts really throwing something back or just covering over our feelings of guilt?

There is a convenient comfort in thinking that just throwing money at the problems is the answer. That seems to be the approach that many so-called Liberal politicians have to the problems of poverty and disadvantage in America. At least it is better than the approach of the so-call Conservatives which is to say, “I got mine, you get a job and get your own.” Both approaches turn a blind eye to the underlying causes and offer no long-term solutions.

So, what can we throw back to really help solve the problems that cause poverty and disadvantage. The answer may be based more on the Conservatives call for work over charity; however, their “solution” stops there without offering supporting programs of education and training to help put people to work. For too many it is easier to budget for places to lock people up than it is for places to educate and train people. Our society cannot just stand piously saying, “Get a job”, without providing some support for job training and placement.

On an individual level what we can throw back may be an opportunity for some disserving, but disadvantaged person. Most of the time that help starts by just taking the time to listen to them. By understanding how they go where they are you can more easily formulate a plan of assistance to get them where they need to be to get back on their feet. Just the fact that you probably have access to the Internet, and they might not, equips you to help them.

Some get swept up in vicious cycles involving drugs or alcohol and a key to breaking those cycles is found in intervention and rehabilitation programs. That person may have the necessary education or skills to succeed, if only they can break out of that drug or alcohol cycle that has kept them a prisoner for some time. Your throw back in those cases might be to direct them to such programs (use the Internet for that, too) and to support and encourage them as they progress through the program.

The important point of all of this is that you should be more than just a taker in life.  You can and should throw something back. What will you do to throw something back?