Welfare is not just a government assistance program. Its a mindset that can paralyze an individual. One definition for welfare is “for the benefit of all.” Thats really what makes it so deceiving. It begins with good intentions of aiding and assisting those in need. But welfare was meant to be a BRIDGE, not a DESTINATION.
3 Debilitating Results of Welfare Mentality
1. A Welfare Mentality provides ONLY BREAD and NEVER SEED
If you have no seed you will be in a constant state of need with no hope of supply outside of further assistance. Seed is the only vehicle that will allow for an individual to reap a supply that will be sufficient for the needs at hand. Welfare doesn’t hand out any seed, it just supplies bread. When a man believes welfare is his supply then he will forever be dependent on the produce of someone else’s field. He can never learn to rely on the God of the harvest because he will never have seed to sow for the coming harvest.
2. A Welfare Mentality enslaves a man by removing any hope for Expansion
With only bread in your hand you have nothing to sow. Sowing is the avenue that God uses to bring increase. Grace has assigned increase for every one of God’s children. God is committed to supply the increase (1 Corinthians 3:7) but it is up to me to place the seed in the grown and allow God to supply. Welfare makes me a slave to limited supply because I am reliant upon the grace of men rather than the Grace of God.
3. A Welfare Mentality Paralyzes an individual from Action
Welfare draws a distinct line between the “haves” and the “have nots.” After a period of time this corrupts both those who are the givers and the recipients of the welfare. The givers come to believe that somehow they have risen to a self sufficient place of wealth when compared to others. They become the masters of their own fate. The recipient also believes that their circumstance is due to some cosmic prejudice or at the very least an unlucky lottery. They see the world as dealing them an unfortunate hand therefore no action she takes will change her circumstances.
This leads to the constant war we see played out in American culture today. The “haves” distance themselves from the plight of those in struggle and the “have nots” cry out for more bread “for the benefit of all.”
