"Treating Symptoms"

In our family recently a cousin had a problem with her eyes and had to have an eyesight saving operation, but no money, no insurance and no hope.  She was at the end of her rope and was resigned to going blind.  My wife’s sister took the bull by the horns and sent out a letter to the family members.  She told of the need and asked that we help.  And help the family gave! Carol and I immediately sent a check and more help poured in.  One family member said he would pay for the operation right now so she did not have to wait for the contributions to come in, with any contributions replenishing his up front gift.  She had the operation, can now see and also has a changed heart.   Not only does she have a changed heart, we do too!

 However, one family member said… “Seems like there ought to be a fund for something like that.”  Meaning that the government should have a special fund to help out in these situations.  Over the years we have been trained to look to government for help and we bypass the family and in the process we have reaped the “rewards” of misplaced “help”.  And this process has denied the great feeling of helping out someone in their time of need.  Paying taxes does not quite replace that feeling.

 Another great thing happened as well.   The surgeon, when he heard about the situation and the gifts of family members, he donated his services.  Had there been a “fund” it would have been used.  There would have been multiple tests and other consultations and specialists would have been utilized with the resulting with the cost escalating. 

The second problem is that in many cases the government cannot really help… but they “do something” because the voters want it.  Indeed they  “do something” but in many cases they treat the symptom, not take care of the cause.  In fact these “do something” things may actually prevent the real cause from being treated.

 My wife (Carol's Letter) recently had a letter in this newspaper outlining all the “help’ for children.  The parents don’t have to talk to their kids about sex and drugs… somebody else will do it.  We have before school care, after school care and summer care for kids. We have breakfast lunch and I am sure dinner will not be far behind.  So parents don’t have to be parents.  Go for the gold…. The school will teach values and feed that hungry soul. 

Parents get deeper and deeper into a problem knowing full well that someone else will bail us out or at least say they will.  The government has a program!  All these programs have done just great, Right?  Wrong.

The unwed pregnancies are getting younger and younger.  The number of guns in schools is more and more.  As we get richer and richer from those two incomes the kids pay and pay and we wonder why they don’t turn out the way we would like.  They are hyper active, demanding, impolite.  Oh,  we have a program for that, too… Ritalin.    A pill and it is all well.  Kids are concerned; they don’t have the “hangin’ out” time with parents (oh, but we give them “quality time”.)  Give me a break.  We can’t give quality time in 15-minute bursts.  Sometime it takes an hour of time before the kids gets around to saying what is on his mind.

 Symptoms.  We treat the symptoms, not the cause and wonder why the band aide is not working.  To many unwed mothers, we will give them a course on safe sex.  No one to take care of the kids… we will give them kid care.  To many kinds shootings, we will have another law on gun control.

 Many of these “programs” supply the band aid, but they also rob us of good feeling of “helping others” and providing the family or community of support.  

Mom and dad and the family, step up to the plate.  Do as you were commanded to do by God.   Ooops, we can’t say that!