“THOU SHALT NOT STEAL”
by OPOVV, ©2019
(Jun. 27, 2019) — “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to ‘The Pulse of the Nation,’ being broadcast from Bishop Dunkin’s church on Hawthorn Street. We’ve been invited to hear the sermon on ‘The True Meaning of Hypocrisy.’ Hello, my name is Roving and the crew and I will be broadcasting from the balcony, and look down there now: Bishop Dunkin is now raising his hands in supplication, so we’ll be quiet as we listen in.”
“O Lord, it is good to be able to practice our beliefs in the brotherhood of our kind; to mingle and discuss the events of the day; to gather without fear of bloodshed; and to help us along in our peace. A few of our veterans are on sentry duty so we can pray without the fear of being yet another worthless statistic. Makes perfect sense to me, so sit back and enjoy what I am about to share with you, but first please feel free to sing along with the choir.”
“Oh Happy Day” (5:55)
“Thank you, choir. What do you we applaud them to show our appreciation? Thank you, one and all. A simple thank-you goes a long way, and it’s free; didn’t cost us one red cent. As you can see, ‘Pulse’ is recording, so let’s show the world who we are.
“Today I want to talk to you about not what it means to be a hypocrite – you can look that up in the dictionary — but what the cost is to a person who says one thing but acts in a contrary way. What did I just say? I said it’s a lot easier to judge someone by not what they say, but by what they do. I have a neighbor who, every time I see him, he’s puffing away on a cigarette and he always, without fail, says to me, ‘As soon as I’m finished with this pack I’m quitting.’ He’s been saying that for the last ten years.
“Recently I attended the funeral of one of our long-time parishioners, Margaret Jackson, the little old lady who sat in the front row for over 40 years, and overheard some very distressing conversations. Margaret was a child of the depression, so she was naturally thrifty to a fault; I guess you could call her a miser, but she saved her money and only bought quality items, be it a painting or an antique clock.
“One conversation I heard was since her sons were deplorable and bigots (Trumpsters), they didn’t deserve any of their mother’s fine things. And so, because the sons voted for Trump, that automatically gave the nieces a license to steal, but of course they didn’t use the words steal, take, appropriate or liberate. No, they used such highfalutin phrases like ‘It’s for the best’ and ‘They don’t deserve these nice things; they wouldn’t appreciate them as we can.’
“Now these words came from a supposedly Christian family; they attended church; got married in one; baptized their children in one, but they weren’t Christians at all, even though they purported to be. In short, they were living a life as a lie. They said one thing but acted contrary to the teachings of our faith, starting with ‘Thou shalt not steal.’
“Of course their defense was that the items were given freely to them, that they didn’t take advantage of the lonely little old lady, and that Margaret Jackson ‘wanted them to have them.’ But I had a unique perspective which I’ll share with you: what makes a hypocrite as dangerous as a snake in the grass or, to use today’s parlance, a backstabber? And now please turn to page 78 in your hymnal, and we’ll all stand and sing.”
“The Battle Hymn of the Republic” (4:16)
“Please be seated. Thank you. Getting back to the story: two sisters, each with children; one of the sisters is dying so the other sister steals whatever she can — and this is the kicker — for her family. I’ll repeat it: one sister is acting contrary to the teachings of Our Lord to benefit her family in a financial way, and the heck with any inheritance for her dead sister’s family.
“Which brings us full circle to the meaning of being a hypocrite: someone who lies to themselves as well as others. This aunt and her daughters were ostensibly Christians, but in reality were living a life of thieves, robbers and might as well have been honorary members of the Dalton Gang, notorious outlaws who robbed and killed, or a member of the Bonnie and Clyde gang who killed 17 people.
“And that got me to thinking about people who would vote for the destruction of our Republic. So why would just a regular citizen vote for a policy that wouldn’t benefit them in any way whatsoever, and, as a matter of fact, would be harmful to them? Take the China trade imbalance, for instance. The trade imbalance was put forth to pay off bureaucrats and members of Congress for favors performed: the citizen voter doesn’t benefit. On the contrary, goods cost more if a bunch of people have to be bribed along the way.
“Members of Congress start serving as middle-class and leave as multimillionaires. Happens every day: go in poor, come out rich. Does the ignorant voter benefit? No, they don’t. So ask yourself, why would anyone behave in such as way as to be harmful to him or her? It goes back to the teachings of the Bible: feeling good about yourself doesn’t mean what you do is good for yourself. Many lie to making this a better world when in fact all they’re doing is to facilitate yet more theft, bribes and kickbacks.
“Okay, then, where are we in our discussion about hypocrisy? So forgive the murderer, the rapist, the torture, and child molester? And what if it were your own child who was abducted, tortured and murdered in the most brutal way? What if you were the parents* of Adam Walsh: would you forgive those two monsters who took your son’s life?
“Now you heard me say many times that being a Christian doesn’t mean going through life stupid. Here I am, standing before you, and I have a weapon of self-defense upon my person. When you see me in the grocery store, I will be armed to protect myself and others as well. And as I’m giving this sermon; as you sit there and listen, we are being protected by armed guards who carry weapons of war, because we are in a war, even if CNN and MSNBC won’t tell you.
“In conclusion, to say one thing but to do another; to say you’re a patriot yet vote for the dissolving of our Republic; perhaps you’re ignorant on what ‘honor killings’ are all about; or maybe you believe in the words ‘moderate, peaceful and misunderstood.’ Maybe you believe Islam is a religion and not a political philosophy; maybe you look the other way while your congressional representative is taking money under the table while you get less for more; and maybe you act as a do-gooder but your actions are detrimental to the welfare of your neighbors: just ask the citizens of Venezuela who they voted for and see how the gullible freely admit their grave error (pun intended) in voting for Socialism. Think One World Order; amnesty; DACA; Open Borders; and Muslims, not only in our country, but in our Congress, such as ‘some-people-did-something’ Ilhan Omar. The epitome of stupidity: to have the ability to figure it out but refuse to accept facts over falsehoods is the same as worshiping idols before God. But then perhaps the ignorant are to be pitied as they walk to the gas chambers. So be it, but leave the rest of us behind. Amen.
“Wait a minute, now; I know I’ve been long-winded, but there’s a few announcements I’d like to make before you’re all invited to the back yard where we’ll do dogs and burgers. First off, there’ll be a showing of the Professor’s and the Chief’s new movie, ‘The Dandelion War,’ Tuesday at 7:00 pm. Tickets will be handed out at the door while you leave.
“Secondly, these Muslims who kill people, either by a vehicle, saw, fire, rope, pushing people off tall buildings, bomb, gun or knife, always plead ‘not guilty,’ even when it’s right there on film. Aren’t there any Muslims with honor, or are they all liars and cowards? I served in the military and not once did I ever cover my face.
“What do you think the chances of HRS enforcing our bigotry laws with regard to Muslims? What are the chances of the illegal immigrants deported from our country? What are the chances of voter fraud during the next election? Now here’s my take on it, and then we’ll call it a day: we have a Constitution that we regard as the law of the land, and if that law isn’t enforced then I guess we don’t have a land. And think about the why and the how of it all and then study the aftermath of World War II in Germany and Venezuela today and ask yourself if our indoctrination centers – that we call universities – should continue to receive tax dollars. Be seeing you out back, but first let’s sing along as we walk out the door.”
“America the Beautiful” (4:08)
“Wow, and off walks the Bishop, and we’ll do the same. And so, on behalf of the crew, I’ll be wishing you all a goodnight: Goodnight.
“Let’s pack it up. Burger time out back: Dunkin’s treat.”
[*Parents: if we were indeed a Christian nation and followed the laws of the Bible, the judge should have given the parents the final say on what was to be done with the murderers of their child. And the same goes for the father of Polly Klaas; justice would have been served had the father been given the responsibility of the executioner. Remember this: at no time in the teachings of Jesus Christ does it say you have to take it: let that be a lesson to us all.]
“Let’s Live for Today” (2:57)