Taking Advantage

There are few things that truely get me "fired up", and one of them is cheating. I am not talking about people who hide cards, or move a game piece when you aren't looking, but instead those people who do whatever necessary to circumvent set rules.

There are certain things about the way I was brought up that I take issue with, but there are 2 things that were instilled in me that I am very thankful for. 1. I consider myself to be a generous person and 2. I follow the rules - to an almost anal extremeness. I don't exactly know where the latter came from (I think my grandmother) but I can't stand violating even the smallest insignificant rule - just ask Yousef, he will tell you how annoying I am about it. The first I do have to say is from my father. I remember once when he was a gym teacher for the high school students where I attended elementary, and there was a kid who didn't have tennis shoes. My dad had mabie a few pair of shoes himself b/c we didn't exactly have much money, but I remember he had a new pair of tennis shoes and one day he came home with out them. My mom asked him about it and he told her that he had given them to a kid who didn't have any. It was little things like that which I believe engrained my sense of generousity.

Because of this, I have become so infuriated with the actions of some people I can hardly keep myself from vomiting in their presence. Yousef has long told me that I am too generous and that I should adapt a more "do unto others, only according to how they do to you" attitude. I never in a million years thought that I would begin to subscribe to his theory until lately. I am honestly becoming so jaded, I am having a hard time putting my feelings aside when I see certain individuals who I feel are - shall we say - less than generous.

You see I have some friends who do everything by the book the way they are supposed to and have gotten completely screwed and can't get the help they could so desperately use. On the flip side I have these other friends who cheat the system and get help they don't need and do some very shady things along the way. What is even more astonishing to me is that both these friends are "good christians", and I suppose that is what fires me up more than anything. How can you call yourself a Christian with your words, but yet your actions are not. Especially if you almost pride yourself on having been able to cheat. I don't mean to be all high and mighty on this, but I was just brought up differently. Furthermore, if God had blessed me with something I didn't need, I have always felt that it was my duty to make sure that someone who was in need instead got it, not try to make a little change off of it. Anyways, I have gotten to the point of ranting and am starting to feel my blood pressure rise, so I will close this subject with one last thought.

Ps. 112:5-9 - Good will come to him who is generous and lend freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.