Over the years this statement taught as truth about the ‘idle’ in the Bible (Scriptures) is being passed as to who the ‘idle’ in the Bible are. Thus in a recent email once again the subject was broached – and I’ve thought to address it – c/ork “… the Bible teaches that he who does not work, does not eat” The emphasis is that the ‘idle’ (or he who does not work) referred to are the ‘poor’ and this is wrong! Only in one place when dealing with the word ‘idle’ does the Bible refer to hunger and that’s in Proverbs 19:15 – however in the Doctrine and Covenants 42:42 we find the scriptures most are alluding to with this thought and condition.
As found in the Scriptures:
“Proverbs 19:15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
Doctrine and Covenants 42:42 Thou shalt not be idle; for he this is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer.”
To determine that the ‘idle’ referred to are the ‘poor’ as to the things of this world is incorrect – the idle in the Scriptures refer to the idle rich or those not being anxiously engaged in doing good work in the service of others (as in James 1:27) – not the idle poor. Mostly the world chooses the poor over the rich and most religions harp on this to define who’s worthy and who’s not. The idle poor in the US are a new class developed from the welfare system of the Government in the 1930’s. There were no idle poor ‘per se’ prior to this. There were those who could not find work – could not get to work – were too sick to work – but as the word ‘poor’ references a ‘state of mind’ and not a condition – there were very few – never enough to make a class of people. We’ve always had those who were ‘broke’ which is a temporary condition – but very few who either did not want to work or could not – other than the ‘idle rich’.
With the advent of the Theory of Evolution which was quickly followed by Survival of the Fittest (Herbert Spencer “Principles of Biology – 1864*) – we then (in England first) referred to the ‘idle poor’ as those who could not work because the ‘idle rich’ shut down their businesses because of cold weather and then other excuses. The workers in the mines and industries of Europe and especially England were extremely harsh – debilitating and dehumanizing. The hours were very long and there were no breaks for lunch or other necessities – if one had Sunday off they worked a double shift on the following Sunday especially the children in the mines. People were used up by their 30’s if they survived that long – many were embarrassed to go out and certainly they couldn’t go to the parks or the churches of the day. Thus the media/press (owned by the rich) would label them as ‘lay bouts’ or worse. With only marginal pubs to go to the story of them being drinkers, etc. who forced their children to work sounded good and was passed on to those who could read and write as being idlers and poor and costing the nation in resources – thus expendable to some. They had debtors prisons and impounded many aboard their ships either for war or trade.
The quest for labeling the idle poor then grew in the US after the Civil War – many were freed – many had been pressed into the military (this is not just about blacks or whites) and after the war found they had neither work nor homes to return to – either on the North or the South. Many went to the West – never heard from again but were productive in raising to life that part of our nation. They worked on ranches – building towns and most especially the mines. One must remember the working conditions at the turn of the 19th to the 20th Century were among the worst in the Northeast and in any of the major cities of the East Coast. This caused the Unions to strive for better conditions – where upon more were unemployed in the rage of the owners who protested any chip in their profits to provide for the safety of their workers.
In both Europe and the US in the 1800’s and early 1900’s the owners demanded life and soul of their workers – comes to mind of Tennessee ‘Ernie’ Ford’s song, “16 Tons.” At the same time workers tired eek out – some use the word ‘steal’ time and or resources from the owners. This was not a win-win situation and the owners were never punished while workers were punished wickedly. Add to this the manmade wars – depressions – and the sicknesses associated within the workplaces along with fires, etc. and the mass of people involved causing many to be treated worse than slaves ever considered. Ownership was held in the paycheck – the paycheck provided no room or board – it only meant you had been paid whatever the owner determined to pay and nothing more.
What changed in the early 1900’s – first the Depression of 1906 where the ‘idle rich’ got richer by creating money out of nothing while at the same time taking over more and more ownership of land, stock and markets. By the time of Great Depression (where again the idle rich got richer paying five (5) cents on the dollar for stocks) we had large segments of our population with everyone in the work place – and the advent of a new rich class called mobsters. But let’s return to the time of 1906 – recall the movie the ‘Newsies’ and the number of children in the work force. This changed with the ‘public school system’ and the work laws denying those under the age of 16 to be in the work force. Thus any of the families who were creating new opportunities – now were forced to put the mother in the work force and the kids in forced education. Yes it looked good on paper but still today in most major cities the dropout rate continues to climb and the crime in the schools continues to grow – while some get a quality education most continue to get little or none of much value.
In the 1930’s we get the Welfare System – whenever it created jobs the workers came and worked hard and well. As then and in the past men/women have never been adverse to working to help themselves and their families. With WWII – many went into the military but many more went to work in the industries. Yet Welfare didn’t go away – and some found it more advantages’ than to work. In the 1950’s and 1960’s Welfare and the idea of getting something for nothing continued to grow as did the new class of rich the mobsters. Drugs were introduced nationwide – till today our streets, prisons and school are a harvest place of this new culture glamorized by Follywood and music.
Thus by the end of the 1960’s we indeed had a new class of people in the US – the idle poor – a group whose soul was generated by welfare and narcotics – aided and mothered into adulthood by Congress, Judges and special interests. There’s a whole industry just to give services to this new and still growing class of people. Never before has the world in all its history had a class such as the one which now exists in the US. Still being given new life – new programs – new incentives to stay in this major class at the will of those who demand their votes in appeasement. The Congress enacts laws to punish them if they go out and earn income – get job training – and now with the advent of the illegal immigrants it’s only going to get worse.
Therefore the usage or any recognition to the Bible or the Savior or the Prophets referring to the ‘idle’ it’s not the poor never has been – but the rich who live off of the slavery or sweat of others and do nothing and give nothing in return. However in today’s terms we now have two groups of idlers – one among the rich – those who inherited wealth – and those who have inherited the welfare culture – the drug culture and the sickness of poverty instead of a desire to raise above these chains. One is exalted by the media/press – Follywood while the other is condemned and yet paid to stay where they are – and to give power to those who entitle them.
This will continue to get worse – one need only to read and understand the Scriptures – and then see the greed and lusts of those who desire increased power. c/ork
*A whole other essay could be written on this as accepted as it’s found it’s not true either in the real world or the world of evolution.
“The Idle”
(Rich or Poor)
cji
10/14/08
To forsake learning
condemned to pelf
feeding on another
a sister or brother;
Ignoring the law
feelings supreme
the idle then drift
none thus to lift;
To some in wealth
to some in spirit
which to be found
worldly then bound!
Copyright © 2008 – cji
As found in the Scriptures:
“Proverbs 19:15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
Doctrine and Covenants 42:42 Thou shalt not be idle; for he this is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer.”
To determine that the ‘idle’ referred to are the ‘poor’ as to the things of this world is incorrect – the idle in the Scriptures refer to the idle rich or those not being anxiously engaged in doing good work in the service of others (as in James 1:27) – not the idle poor. Mostly the world chooses the poor over the rich and most religions harp on this to define who’s worthy and who’s not. The idle poor in the US are a new class developed from the welfare system of the Government in the 1930’s. There were no idle poor ‘per se’ prior to this. There were those who could not find work – could not get to work – were too sick to work – but as the word ‘poor’ references a ‘state of mind’ and not a condition – there were very few – never enough to make a class of people. We’ve always had those who were ‘broke’ which is a temporary condition – but very few who either did not want to work or could not – other than the ‘idle rich’.
With the advent of the Theory of Evolution which was quickly followed by Survival of the Fittest (Herbert Spencer “Principles of Biology – 1864*) – we then (in England first) referred to the ‘idle poor’ as those who could not work because the ‘idle rich’ shut down their businesses because of cold weather and then other excuses. The workers in the mines and industries of Europe and especially England were extremely harsh – debilitating and dehumanizing. The hours were very long and there were no breaks for lunch or other necessities – if one had Sunday off they worked a double shift on the following Sunday especially the children in the mines. People were used up by their 30’s if they survived that long – many were embarrassed to go out and certainly they couldn’t go to the parks or the churches of the day. Thus the media/press (owned by the rich) would label them as ‘lay bouts’ or worse. With only marginal pubs to go to the story of them being drinkers, etc. who forced their children to work sounded good and was passed on to those who could read and write as being idlers and poor and costing the nation in resources – thus expendable to some. They had debtors prisons and impounded many aboard their ships either for war or trade.
The quest for labeling the idle poor then grew in the US after the Civil War – many were freed – many had been pressed into the military (this is not just about blacks or whites) and after the war found they had neither work nor homes to return to – either on the North or the South. Many went to the West – never heard from again but were productive in raising to life that part of our nation. They worked on ranches – building towns and most especially the mines. One must remember the working conditions at the turn of the 19th to the 20th Century were among the worst in the Northeast and in any of the major cities of the East Coast. This caused the Unions to strive for better conditions – where upon more were unemployed in the rage of the owners who protested any chip in their profits to provide for the safety of their workers.
In both Europe and the US in the 1800’s and early 1900’s the owners demanded life and soul of their workers – comes to mind of Tennessee ‘Ernie’ Ford’s song, “16 Tons.” At the same time workers tired eek out – some use the word ‘steal’ time and or resources from the owners. This was not a win-win situation and the owners were never punished while workers were punished wickedly. Add to this the manmade wars – depressions – and the sicknesses associated within the workplaces along with fires, etc. and the mass of people involved causing many to be treated worse than slaves ever considered. Ownership was held in the paycheck – the paycheck provided no room or board – it only meant you had been paid whatever the owner determined to pay and nothing more.
What changed in the early 1900’s – first the Depression of 1906 where the ‘idle rich’ got richer by creating money out of nothing while at the same time taking over more and more ownership of land, stock and markets. By the time of Great Depression (where again the idle rich got richer paying five (5) cents on the dollar for stocks) we had large segments of our population with everyone in the work place – and the advent of a new rich class called mobsters. But let’s return to the time of 1906 – recall the movie the ‘Newsies’ and the number of children in the work force. This changed with the ‘public school system’ and the work laws denying those under the age of 16 to be in the work force. Thus any of the families who were creating new opportunities – now were forced to put the mother in the work force and the kids in forced education. Yes it looked good on paper but still today in most major cities the dropout rate continues to climb and the crime in the schools continues to grow – while some get a quality education most continue to get little or none of much value.
In the 1930’s we get the Welfare System – whenever it created jobs the workers came and worked hard and well. As then and in the past men/women have never been adverse to working to help themselves and their families. With WWII – many went into the military but many more went to work in the industries. Yet Welfare didn’t go away – and some found it more advantages’ than to work. In the 1950’s and 1960’s Welfare and the idea of getting something for nothing continued to grow as did the new class of rich the mobsters. Drugs were introduced nationwide – till today our streets, prisons and school are a harvest place of this new culture glamorized by Follywood and music.
Thus by the end of the 1960’s we indeed had a new class of people in the US – the idle poor – a group whose soul was generated by welfare and narcotics – aided and mothered into adulthood by Congress, Judges and special interests. There’s a whole industry just to give services to this new and still growing class of people. Never before has the world in all its history had a class such as the one which now exists in the US. Still being given new life – new programs – new incentives to stay in this major class at the will of those who demand their votes in appeasement. The Congress enacts laws to punish them if they go out and earn income – get job training – and now with the advent of the illegal immigrants it’s only going to get worse.
Therefore the usage or any recognition to the Bible or the Savior or the Prophets referring to the ‘idle’ it’s not the poor never has been – but the rich who live off of the slavery or sweat of others and do nothing and give nothing in return. However in today’s terms we now have two groups of idlers – one among the rich – those who inherited wealth – and those who have inherited the welfare culture – the drug culture and the sickness of poverty instead of a desire to raise above these chains. One is exalted by the media/press – Follywood while the other is condemned and yet paid to stay where they are – and to give power to those who entitle them.
This will continue to get worse – one need only to read and understand the Scriptures – and then see the greed and lusts of those who desire increased power. c/ork
*A whole other essay could be written on this as accepted as it’s found it’s not true either in the real world or the world of evolution.
“The Idle”
(Rich or Poor)
cji
10/14/08
To forsake learning
condemned to pelf
feeding on another
a sister or brother;
Ignoring the law
feelings supreme
the idle then drift
none thus to lift;
To some in wealth
to some in spirit
which to be found
worldly then bound!
Copyright © 2008 – cji
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