NEWS PROVIDED BY
Fair Park Bible Fellowship Church
April 15, 2025

DALLAS, April 15, 2025 /Standard Newswire/ — The following is submitted by Pastor Stephen Broden of Fair Park Bible Fellowship Church:

What is rhetoric? The New Oxford American Dictionary defines it as “language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience but often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content.”

The progressive left engages in much rhetoric, which is compelling, impressive, and seductive. The idea of an equalitarian redistribution of wealth is appealing, especially for those on the receiving side. It seems beautiful to have free resources without labor, without putting anything in the pot to receive. When the word is out, only show up to get as much as you want, and don’t worry about contributing anything whatsoever; you can be sure it is not a hard sell.

The notion that the government will feed, clothe, house, and meet all your family's needs simply because you cannot make ends meet provides a powerful stimulant. This idea is not easily overcome with the content of conservatism. Conversely, the conservative thrust comprises personal duty, responsibility, self-determination, and hard work. This point, when lined up side-by-side with the progressive philosophy: I’ll give you everything you need—from medical care to food stamps—makes an acute, black-and-white contrast.

Is it any wonder those in need opt for the broad path to total dependence? When your circumstances have been challenging, and you live in a sea of bad choices and situations, when a smiling politician shows up and promises you the American dream without work, it would be difficult for most folk to reject the offer. The recipients of government handouts are trapped in a dependency, and the government expands its role in the culture.

Seduction by the left takes the form of a “Big-Daddy Government,” meeting all the wants of those in need. This potent potion acts to anesthetize black urban centers across America; it renders them insensitive to the freedom of self-sufficiency.

The liberal progressive litany has captivated generations of men, women, boys, and girls in government programs. From food stamps, housing allowances, and other government subsidies, the rhetoric of something for nothing has consigned communities to ruin.

There is a nexus between years of government programming and economic stagnation. This recession and its devastation to the sociological plight of urban districts are only symptomatic of a “something for nothing” mentality created by years of failed, big-government programs. The net effect of government handouts and dependency programs is evident in the steady evaporation of creativity and innovation, which are the fuel that drives self-reliance and self-sufficiency.

How do we overcome such a potent elixir that renders those who drink its poison dependent on others? How do you counter an enticement (sorcery?) that freezes the soul with a kind of impotence that first seeks government aid before helping oneself? The Bible teaches that truth sets you free. The truth of the effects of government dependency is evident in the social, physical, and moral decadence permeating most urban localities across America.

Why haven’t black communities awakened to the lies of the left? Partially because of the habit of dependence, where truth is lost in the temporal pleasure found in the benefit itself. Free food, housing, and healthcare give a sense of living the good life. An illusion is created of “making it” and arriving at a level of success. Every month, money coming in the mail allows access to unobtainable things before Big-Daddy Government showed up with a "dependency check." However, a cursory look would reveal the truth, which is still in plain view. The government check acts like an addictive drug that robs the neighborhood of its potential. Someone needs to point the people towards the truth and explain it. When the truth is known, it will set one free from the false illusion that liberals and big government execute.

Just as the teachings of the Holy Scriptures can be a freeing catalyst for those who believe, it can also be a protective agent for those who appropriate its power and purpose in their lives. Psalm 119:11 says, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.” Notice that it is the act of storing the word of God in one's heart that provides the means of protection. In other words, knowledge of biblical principles and the corresponding appropriation of those principles act as a filtering agency that supplies a barrier that adverts sinning against God. I submit that the only way to overcome the “something for nothing” syndrome entrenched in black urban centers across America is to make a hard turn right back to solid biblical teaching.

To challenge the left's “something for nothing” mentality, Bible teachers must juxtapose the philosophy of socialistic progressivism against the clear teaching of scriptures, particularly concerning personal duty and responsibility. The Bible teacher must communicate to the people the danger of depending on man rather than God and putting the government above their relationship with God.

Unfortunately, the church's communique has been virtually drowned out and ignored primarily because of the size of the government's megaphone, which trumpets every election cycle of government giveaways. A sugar-coated narrative chock-full of sweet nothings that trap and infect all who partake with the disease of dependency.

Part of the challenge for Bible teachers and spiritual leaders will be to overcome the amplification given to the progressive voice by the bias of left-leaning media. Their bias is in the one-sided proffering of progressivism and their blatant refusal to cover and or report alternative voices. The progressive press deliberately bypasses, ignores, or besmirches conservative leaders and churches altogether. This elevates the liberal voice as the only option to address the citizenry's challenges. Overcoming the media is a hurdle that must be crossed to break the yoke of big government.

Mark Styne, a conservative columnist, once wrote that the worst thing the media could do to you is to ignore you. Well, this is precisely what left-leaning media have perpetrated on black conservatives for years. However, the power of Sunday morning pulpits cannot be underestimated, especially in the black populace.

Another challenge for Bible teachers is to face the reality that there is a segment of black church leaders who have developed an appetite and affection for government handouts. Their desires and affections have caused them to disregard the effects of decades of government dependency and what that addiction has produced among black people. Those leaders, like many black elected officials who are nothing more than advocates for progressivism, have sold out their faith and black families for filthy lucre, that is, the love of money.

Bible teachers must understand that the perverse impact of political correctness has muted the voice of reason and common sense. Political correctness has shouted down biblical correctness and constitutional correctness with the false idea that wrong is right and right is wrong. The philosophical trap of political correctness undergirds the something-for-nothing mentality that is devastating to the black community. The antidote to this smooth deception is a complete turn back to the Bible and biblical correctness. Teaching the Bible will recast God’s view of work and His view of parenting and the family. God’s view of money and marriage will help to reestablish a moral compass needed to navigate the minefields of secularism.

A filter is used to remove impurities; it protects against any harmful substance. Progressivism is a deleterious pollutant, sugar-coated and packaged to be the cure, the answer to poverty. The facts reveal that it's a pathogen that robs individuals of incentive, self-reliance, and liberty. A filter is required to protect; that filter is the word of God.

SOURCE Pastor Stephen Broden

CONTACT: 214-826-0018, pastorbrodencocs@gmail.com