35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ – Matthew 25:35-40
Yesterday I asked my husband to stop at the Commissary and pick up kitty litter. The Commissary was closed. I felt sad. Kitty litter can be bought elsewhere and to me it is only a minor inconvenience. However, I have always had a fear of hunger and homelessness. When I see waste and excess it makes me sad.
In a press release Joseph Jeu, Defense Commissary Agency Director and CEO said, “We are acutely aware of the hardships placed on all our customers if we cannot deliver their commissary benefit.” Many retired and disabled veterans shop at over 200 Commissaries nationwide. The cost savings is approximately 30%. While active duty members are getting paid many of those with commissary privileges are not. It is bad enough to not pay people, but then to take away their access to the Commissary increases their expenses. But, that isn’t what made me sad.
I’m sad because the Commissary is full of food. Food that isn’t purchased will spoil. Sure, it is a ridiculous waste of government money to let food go bad, but more than that it is sad when we know there are people who are hungry and poor to whom the food could be given. I’m sad because I imagine it will all be thrown out. While Congress isn’t passing the budget to fund WIC, Meals on Wheels, Head Start, and other feeding programs Congress is also causing food to be wasted. I’m rapidly coming to believe that these men are women are without compassion and the Christian values on which the country was build are lost in a House that is so caught up in worldly desires that they have forgotten to care for least among us first.
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