Maybe this should be the test of tax reform as well…just a thought. From all I’ve seen, the Republican Tax Bill does just the opposite.
We really don’t need to”help” our already profitable corporations and the wealthiest of the wealthy in our country. This tax plan doesn’t move us forward as a nation. It rewards the rich and ignores those needing help the most.
The Republican tax plan doesn’t make our country great, and it has nothing to do with progress. It is simply another demonstration of those in power paying back their wealthy backers. It is shameful at best, and morally repugnant to the core.
I once had the opportunity to spend some time with the president of the West Sahara people. We met in the Sahara desert at a time when his nation was at war to regain the land they were driven from years earlier.
One of the memories I have of that conversation which I’ve never forgotten was hearing that he would not accept the presidency until the laws were changed to allow the president to take part in combat (he had already been wounded several times before being elected), and that the law would also demand that every elected official must serve one month a year in direct operations.
I cannot help thinking that such enlightened thinking might slow down our own elected officials’ casual attitude and easy acceptance of the real bottom line of war.
Gracious and loving God, we come before you this beautiful day with thanks for all that have given us. We are humbled in recognition of a love greater than we can ever comprehend, and we offer you our worship and our praise for a perfect creation and the unending grace which sustains it.
Grant us, we pray, the desire to be good stewards of this planet. Help us to be better caretakers of all you have created and so freely given to sustain us. Help us protect our planet as a precious gift given to all generations. Give us the courage to stand against the greed and short-sightedness of all corporations and governments that seek only to plunder and pillage the earth’s resources.
And as we begin to celebrate this special season of Advent, help us to remember who we are celebrating and why this is such a joyous time of the year. Help us to reflect the love of Christ in all we do, but most especially in our gift giving. Help us to gift all those most in need, and not just our family, friends and loved ones. Let us actively seek to change our consumptive patterns of behavior, putting more emphasis on real and loving relationships rather than material stuff we do not need.
May we be especially aware of our poor and homeless brothers and sisters during this colder season. Help us to do all we are able to provide food and shelter during the coming months to those without the warmth of homes and families. And may we always be striving to correct the injustices that allow such miseries to exist in a perfectly created world.
Thank you, Lord for this season now upon us. Help us to prepare our hearts to once again welcome your birth.
