Thieve's reasons (John 12)

During the early days of Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society," one of the newly-minted apprentice messiahs was touring Appalachia. He sat at a gas station rolling the powered windows on his expensive car up and down. A local yokel came up and asked his business. "I'm with the war on poverty," the parasite explained. "Looks like you're winning," the hillbilly replied.

Yes, folks, the war on poverty has been won -- by the poverty warriors -- who have managed to talk the rest of us into bankrolling their comfortable lives in the name of "the poor." In the course of consuming more than 90% of all the funds allocated for "poor relief," these geniuses have found ways to safeguard their incomes. Ways to make sure that the poor stay poor, and raise their children with the same aspiration to suckle from the government tit.

Thieves normally justify their confiscation of other folks' productivity with some kind of rationale. Let's look at today's selection:

Joh 12:3 Meryem, çok değerli saf hintsümbülü yağından yarım litre kadar getirerek İsa'nın ayaklarına sürdü ve saçlarıyla ayaklarını sildi. Ev yağın güzel kokusuyla doldu.
Joh 12:4,5 Ama öğrencilerinden biri, İsa'ya sonradan ihanet eden Yahuda İskariot, "Bu yağ neden üç yüz dinara satılıp parası yoksullara verilmedi?" dedi.
Joh 12:6 Bunu, yoksullarla ilgilendiği için değil, hırsız olduğu için söylüyordu. Ortak para kutusu ondaydı ve kutuya konulandan aşırıyordu.
Joh 12:7 İsa, "Kadını rahat bırak" dedi. "Bunu benim gömüleceğim gün için saklasın.
Joh 12:8 Yoksullar her zaman aranızdadır, ama ben her zaman aranızda olmayacağım."

Let's look at a few words:

• Ama öğrencilerinden biri -- but / from among the disciples / one
  
• İsa'ya sonradan ihanet eden Yahuda İskariot -- to Jesus / afterward / traitor / became / Judas Iscariot
  
• parası yoksullara verilmedi -- money / to the poor / could be given
  
• Yoksullar her zaman aranızdadır -- the poor / every, all / time / in the midst of, among, you there is
  
• ama ben her zaman aranızda olmayacağım -- but / I / every, all / time / in the midst of, among, you/ I will not be.
  

Jesus had raised Meryem's brother Lazarus from the dead in the last chapter. For this reason, as well as out of adoration for the person of Jesus and the God revealed through his life, teachings, and character, she poured upon his feet her most valuable posession, a liter or so of precious oil. The thief saw resources wasted that should have been in his keeping. Congress critters today sometimes mumble about "tax expenditures" when discussing charitable contributions. Money given to private agencies, and churches, represents funds that they can't handle.

Pragmatic people, secular people, people who cannot see beyond this life to the next, will always begrudge sacrifices made by believers to honor their God. Yet, in the big picture, as Jesus told the devil, "Man does not live by bread alone." We need to have a transcendent meaning to our lives, a way of positioning ourselves in a larger story, or we are no different than beasts. Or, in some cases, far worse. Consistent socialism depends on terror and labor camps.