Entitled

I just read an email that featured an opinion of what really happened in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina visited.  A Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson was listed as the author.  I don't know anything about Rev. Peterson but my suspicion is that his opinion is being passed around on the internet because it says what many people are thinking about "lazy, welfare-dependent" people. And, because Rev. Peterson is black, white people can't be accused of provoking racial hated. This excerpt sums up his argument: "When 75 percent of New Orleans residents had left the city, it was primarily immoral, welfare-pampered blacks that stayed behind and waited for the government to bail them out".  The resulting chaos, death and finger-pointing between governments is simply an example of entitlement run out to its natural end, as some people would want Rev. Peterson to conclude. I am very unhappy with both the culture of entitlement fostered by government and by the racial undertones that cannot be masked by the fact that a black man raised the question here.  If there is an argument to be made for why entitlements are good, I don't know what it could be. However, I know there is an argument against racial association with entitlements.  What I would prefer to see is an argument for a solution that isn't as superficial as 'stop giving out welfare'.  If the Christian Church were to spend as much time coming alongside their dependent brothers and loving them as we profess Christians should do, we may find the that need for entitlements will go away.  Hand-outs from Christians are no better than hand-outs from the government - in fact, they are worse. Our dependent brother expects the government to have no face, no capacity to love and engage in a personal relationship.  He (and God, by the way) does expect us (Christians) to have this capacity.  When we elect to drop off the food and clothing and go back to our comfortable homes in the suburbs, we are saying as plainly as the next five words: you are not worth knowing.  The dark truth that this leads to is the reality that Christians believe this and would rather spend their valuable time arguing the hopelessness of trying to engage in relationships and truly helping our dependent brother than engaging.  Here's some truth: The relationship is worth having. It is the best end we, as Christians, could be seeking so that all the other good can flow out from it: the end of entitlements, the end of abandoned neighborhoods, racial reconciliation, the beginning of obedience to God's laws concerning justice, grace and mercy.