I was born in LA and left as a toddler, but I’ve spent some time these last few years. There's no place like it, both awfully good and badly bad. I’ve visited Pacific Palisades, a fabulously beautiful place with spectacular views and fantastic homes of unique design, nestled in the unparalleled California landscape overlooking the Atlantic.
I’m sure many people who live there are nice.
But let’s put this crisis in perspective, please.
The MEDIAN home price in Pacific Palisades ranges from $3.1 to $4.7 million, depending on the source. The average rent is $2900 per month.
The 2023 homeless population in Los Angeles County is 75,518, with 46,260 homeless people in the City of Los Angeles alone.
Citizens walk by and over fellow humans living on the street to get their Starbucks.
President Biden has committed to covering 100% of the fire response costs for the next 180 days and will seek more funding help when our national debt is $36.17 trillion. Damages are currently estimated at $150 billion.
Are some of those affected "innocent bystanders" collateral damage in a world gone bad? Yes, no doubt. It's a heartbreaking reality. God, help them and anyone who lets this catastrophe re/turn them to His fold.
Meanwhile, ordinary folks in North Carolina are still digging out from under with little help. More than 36 million Americans live in poverty, many in unrelenting misery. Let’s not even talk about poor immigrants or the rest of the world. Nor will we stop now to expose some of the other shameful statewide shenanigans.
What’s wrong with this picture? Too much.
To start, Jesus said:
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.” Luke 6:24-26 (NIV)
Jesus also said:
“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” Matthew 25:45-46 (NLT)
Do we think Jesus was kidding? Did He forget what He said? Does He look on indefinitely indifferent?
Umm...No.
Brother James forcefully backs Jesus:
“5:1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you.2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.[a] 6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.”
Whoa. Woe.
Use some of that prime real estate and hoarded heaps of cash to build a supportive community…for Jesus and the "least of these." Or brace yourselves for more Jesus justice. He’s had enough of the awful antics and hypocrisy that magnify the offense.
If you think it’s terrifying running from a raging forest fire, wait until you face the wrath of God. You can't outrun God’s long arm of justice...or love if you’re ready for a turnaround.
You pick.
PRAYER:
Lord, please be merciful for our indifference to the suffering around us and our grievous sense of entitlement. Please help those blinded by their excessive comfort come to their senses and re/turn to You. Please help those in authority and those who have means address losses honorably, responsibly, and generously toward others out of their pocket without further depleting national resources at the expense of those in genuine need. May this knee-buckling catastrophe draw people to You. In Your most just and holy name, we ask it. Amen. Thank You. I love You. ✨❤️🔥⚔️🕊️
Sources:
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)
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