[Patrick Sheppard]

Hi all,

Just chiming in here to share my point of view on this topic.

I agree with Mr. Rubasch about attitude being a determining factor. I don’t agree with the idea that people inherently “deserve” good, because that would imply that we are perfect and are owed good things because of that, as though good were somehow due to us as payment merely because we exist. I doubt anyone here would argue that we are perfect, and if you DO think that way then frankly you’re deceived. No, I believe that the good things that happen to us are gifts of grace, given because of mercy (grace is another way of saying help). No gift is deserved or owed, but is given freely. Otherwise it is not a gift, but a wage in return for what has been worked for. Every good gift should be humbly received as such, with a thankful heart and attitude.

In general, I agree that it’s better for employers to have paid internships rather than unpaid. I had two internships in high school related to my current profession, and both of them were paid. Both of them were valuable experiences, and a blessing, and totally undeserved, especially seeing now how I was back then.

I don’t agree with some of Mr. Zelin’s point of view, though it seems understandable why he (and many people) would think that way. At the same time, I believe I see part of what may be an underlying point of his. There are a lot of “whiny babies” in this world who believe that simply because they exist means they are entitled to good things, and this simply isn’t true. Entitlement is another word for deserving something, in which case the first paragraph above applies.

I would ask a person who believes they’re entitled: Are you perfect? (Let me help you out with that: the answer is no.) Then you do not inherently deserve good things. If you ARE perfect, then you DO deserve good things because you qualify for them on the basis of justice. But again, you are not perfect, and you therefore need grace, which is a freely given gift that must be received as such.

Otherwise you are an imperfect individual who is trying to TAKE what you believe you “deserve” on the basis of justice, rather than receiving grace as a free gift and being thankful for it. Most of the world is in the former category. Such people believe they are owed good and therefore try to take good, often from other people, which results in gross selfishness and all kinds of evil against others, which in the end results in evil against the taker as well. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked: Whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” Believe what you want about what I just said. It is the truth.

As for leveling the playing field, I very much disagree with this point of view and the systems and programs in place to support it, because it is man’s attempt to use government to regulate and even force people into doing what should be their free choice to make. This doesn’t mean I’m against certain types of people having opportunities to advance. No no!!! Not at all! I’m against big government, as were our founding fathers (and if you disagree with that then I encourage you to see the wealth of information available to you on David Barton’s website wallbuilders.com).

What I’m saying is that in order to succeed in life, we must humble ourselves and acknowledge that nobody inherently deserves good, but rather that we reap what we sow in EVERY area of life. Whatever conditions a person may begin their life in, with the right vision, and with reliance on God as their source rather than man or government, they CAN come up and out of even the most adverse conditions and succeed, and do so without doing evil to others but instead actually getting to a place where they can be a blessing and a help to other people. Incidentally, such help could include providing opportunities like paid internships and employment for others with the right attitude (notice I said attitude, not skill set).

God “raises up the poor out of the dust and lifts up the oppressed from the dunghill to make them sit with princes and inherit a throne of glory.”

I have a real example of this that I personally know about: In the city I grew up in, I learned about three African American men who all grew up in the same housing project and knew each other. These three men took three entirely different paths in life. One of them became a world heavyweight boxing champion. One of them, last I saw him, was a food server at a mall eatery takeout restaurant. The third one was my former employer, which is how I came to know of this story. We’ve since lost touch, but thus far he has been my favorite employer, and also a good and generous (and very patient) friend. He used to talk to me about his drive to succeed and the things he would do to excel at the talents he had, and into adulthood he owned a very lucrative business (where I was employed at the time). We often walked across the street for lunch at the aforementioned mall, to the eatery where his childhood acquaintance/friend filled our divided styrofoam containers with our food selections.

Did these three men all have the same opportunities? Maybe yes, maybe no.

But what did that depend on? Their circumstances?

No. We’ve already established that they came from the same beginnings, and they all had different levels of success (my former boss lived quite well, and the world heavyweight champion was of course a multi-millionaire). So what was the determining factor? I submit to you that it was their VISION, and their resulting attitude (or lack thereof) of thanksgiving and their level of expectation. “Without a vision, the people perish.”

If this is the case (and I believe that it is), then the responsibility lies entirely with the PERSON, NOT with the government, to determine what opportunities that person does or does not have in life, as well as what they do or do not achieve, and what level of success they experience.

Receive that for what it’s worth to you. Whether you realize it or not, I just handed you a huge solid gold nugget. ????