Dear Lakeland City Commission:

 

As a property owner and taxpayer, this is a complaint about the bums in Lakeland.  I refuse to use the politically correct “homeless.”  A bum by any other name is still a bum: homeless, hobo, tramp, vagrant, loafer, idler, drifter, etc.

 

The lazy - bums – oppress decent and hardworking folks by taking over Downtown Lakeland. The Lakeland Public Library and other places in Lakeland are unsightly and smelly. And there is no sound reason why we should tolerate bums to be willfully defiant of common decency.

 

In a 1988 interview, President Reagan said there are always going to be people who live in the streets by choice. The bums in Lakeland are homeless by choice.  Bums are homeless because they choose drugs, alcohol, idleness and other sins over work and their duty to be good citizens.  The first duty a man owes to society is to support himself and his family so that the state will not be burdened. But bums demand rights and refuse responsibilities.

 

Bums demand the right to be a public burden instead of a public blessing.

 

Last year, a Salvation Army Captain in Polk County told me he quit trying to help the "homeless" men in the community because these men didn't want a helping hand...they wanted a handout. They refused the Army's efforts to help them get back on their feet.

 

It is unjust that the hardworking should bear the social and financial burden of the lazy in Lakeland. The Bible says we must not be a respecter of persons: we must not favor the poor over the rich.

 

Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment:
thou shalt not respect the person of the poor,
nor honour the person of the mighty:
but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
 Leviticus 19:15

 

Righteous judgment declares the lazy must not be rewarded for their idleness. Rewarding them for laziness is unjust enrichment and an offense against public justice. To favor the lazy and give them what they do not rightfully deserve is unrighteous judgment.

 

But in Lakeland we comfort and encourage the lazy!  We comfort and encourage the lazy by giving them free food!  We comfort and encourage the lazy by giving them free housing! We comfort and encourage the lazy by giving them free medical care!

 

And we allow them to accost us and intimidate us in parking lots and on street corners, and beg for money for booze, cigarettes, drugs, and so forth.
 

It is an outrage that bums – those who refuse to work and live off others – are taking over the Library and Downtown Lakeland.

 

Specifically…

 

First, the Lakeland Public Library is a hangout for bums and the smell is nauseating. The other day, the stench was so bad in one area I could not sit there. When I moved to another area, a bum came and sat down at the next table. He had a library magazine with a perfumed strip advertisement. He rubbed the perfumed strip all over his filthy arm and then replaced the magazine on the shelf! This is disgusting!

 

I have been a library patron for over 50 years. I am outraged that taxpayer dollars are being wasted to provide a hangout for bums. I hate to sit in the plastic chairs because of the bums’ filthy and smelly clothes. And I refuse to sit in the unsanitary upholstered chairs. It has come to the point that I refuse to work there.

 

And people snack and even eat meals in the Library. Today, a couple that daily camps out in the Library was eating crackers and drinking soda. Of course, they were dropping crumbs all over the floor and table. Also, two women were sitting at a table boldly eating a meal. As you know, food draws bugs. And bugs cause damage! Besides, food stains on upholstered furniture are unsightly and unsanitary. Food and drink should be banned for the protection of the building, furniture, equipment, and collections.

 

Second, Munn Park has historically been a traditional community gathering spot, but now is a traditional gathering spot for bums.

 

Abraham G. Munn, the founder of Lakeland, donated the land to Lakeland in 1898 for a public park.  And in the early 1900s, Munn Park was featured on postcards as a city attraction, and local residents and winter visitors gathered there.

 

However, now bums gather there and their presence drives out residents and winter visitors. The historical importance of the Park should be remembered. Indeed, it is dishonoring to Mr. Munn’s gift to let bums rob the public of their enjoyment of Lakeland’s oldest park. 

 

It would be nice for local residents and winter visitors to be able to say with pride and pleasure, “Meet me at Munn Park!”

 

Unfortunately, so-called “ministries” have made Lakeland a mecca for bums. And taxpayers foot the bills for increased crime and other bad consequences of those who choose to live irresponsibly.

 

These so-called ministries reward the lazy and encourage them to disobey the Biblical work ethic. In II Thessalonians, Paul writes: “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat” (3:10).  Paul didn’t suggest it, he commanded it.

 

And John 6 records Jesus rebuking the people for seeking Him for bread:

 

26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for the meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

 

Clearly, Jesus reproved the multitude for following Him because he fed them on several occasions. Jesus made it very clear that His ministry did not consist of handouts. His ministry was concerned with their spiritual needs, not their physical needs.  

 

Irrefutably, Jesus did not feed the idle. Neither Jesus nor His disciples ever went about feeding the lazy. Unquestionably, Jesus could have done so as evidenced by feeding the multitudes more than once. He didn’t.

 

Our Christian forefathers obeyed the Biblical command against idleness. For example, godly men met at Jamestown in 1619 to establish a new government for Virginia.  This body, the first representative assembly in the colonies, enacted laws against acts detrimental to the public welfare.  These men wisely discouraged idleness:

 

    First, in detestation of idleness, be it enacted that if any man be found to live as an idler, or runagate, though a freedman, it shall be lawful for that incorporation or plantation to which he belongs, to appoint him a master to serve for wages till he show apparent signs of amendment.

         John Pory " The Work of a Colonial Legislature," Annals of American History. 
            <http://america.eb.com/america/print?articleId=385140>

 

Certainly, wise men simply do not tolerate the idle living off the labor of the workers. 

 

But we replace sound judgment with politically correct redistribution of wealth disguised as “compassion.” We embrace the hippie theology of "don't judge," and smother the lazy with good works – welfare.  Government and church welfare – redistribution of wealth - allows the lazy to spend their money on cigarettes, booze, drugs, prostitutes, technology, and so forth.

 

Many years ago, I observed a murder trial at the Polk County Courthouse.  The victim was a local "homeless" man who lived in his van.  He and the defendant frequented Talbot House Ministries.  The victim was robbed of a huge roll of cash and murdered.  At the trial, it was brought out that the victim was on welfare and dealt drugs; and since his necessities were provided by this "ministry" he spent his money on drugs, prostitutes, and other sins.  

 

Winter will soon be here and Lakeland will be swarming with bums because of homeless “ministries” that encourage them to willfully live in defiance of their duty as citizens to be a blessing to the community instead of a burden. These “ministries” - not taxpayers - must be accountable for the financial and social burden they thrust upon our community.  Bums are a public nuisance and a public burden. 

 

Shame on bums for willfully being detrimental to the public welfare instead of contributing to the public welfare of our community.

 

And shame on us for rewarding them. 

 

Politically correct “compassion” – redistribution of wealth -  is destroying our community.

 

No one is exempt from their Biblical and civic duty to work for the public welfare of Lakeland.

 

It’s time for Lakeland to return to what is Biblically correct: “if any would not work, neither should he eat.”

 

Karen Pansler-Lam, J.D.
Liberty Advocate
http://www.libertyadvocate.com/   
Lakeland

 

Here is an old postcard of Munn Park...

 

 

Shame on us for encouraging bums to be a public burden instead of a public blessing!

 

Shame on church and civil government for robbing the diligent to support the lazy!

 

Shame on us for encouraging bums to demand their rights and refuse their responsibilities!

 

Shame on us for not denouncing these acts contrary to Biblical law!

Instead of allowing the lazy to suffer the consequences of their sloth, hippie theology has hoodwinked the church into providing them with free food, free medical care, free clothing, free housing, etc.; and the state provides them with a welfare check. Since the church provides the necessities, bums spend their money on booze, cigarettes, drugs, prostitutes, and other sins.

It’s time to declare a return to Biblical law…

For even when we were with you,
this we commanded you,
that if any would not work,
neither should he eat.
2 Thessalonians 3:10

Matthew Henry comments on the Biblical work command:

It was a proverbial speech among the Jews, He who does not labour does not deserve to eat. The labourer is worthy of his meat; but what is the loiterer worthy of? It is the will of God that every man should have a calling, and mind his calling, and make a business of it, and that none should live like useless drones in the world. Such persons do what in them lies to defeat the sentence, In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread. It was not the mere humour of the apostle,who was an active stirring man himself and therefore would have every body else to be so too, but it was the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness we work, and eat our own bread, v. 12. Men ought some way or other to earn their own living, otherwise they do not eat their own bread. Observe, There must be work or labour, in opposition to idleness; and there must be quietness, in opposition to being busy-bodies in other men's matters. We must study to be quiet, and do our own business. This is an excellent but rare composition, to be of an active yet quiet spirit, active in our own business and yet quiet as to other people's.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/2Th/2Th_003.cfm

Rewarding sloth and other sins must be denounced.

Welfare is not Biblical.  Even church widows had to meet strict qualifications for charity (1 Tim. 5:9-11). And  Paul explains that widows are to be cared for by their families, not the church (5:16).  Clearly, for churches to hand out food and clothing on a regular basis - church welfare - is not Biblical. 

Read the following Scriptures that clearly condemn laziness and entitlement, and command diligence:

Gen. 3:19

Ex. 20:9

Prov. 10:4,5; 13:4; 24: 30, 31; 27:23; 28:19; 31:27,28

Eph. 4:28

2 Thess. 3:10-15

1 Tim. 5:8

And, of course, there are many other Scriptures commanding work and condemning laziness.

Stand up!

Speak up!

Preach sermons.

Confront supporters of church and state welfare. 

Write letters to the editor.

E-mail public officials.

...and so forth.

We just can’t sit in silence and let God’s Law be disobeyed. This not only dishonors God, but it is ruining our nation.  Disobedience always brings destruction. Disobedience brings upon us both His judgment and our self-destruction.
 

Irrefutably, we will have to account to God for our cowardly silence.
 

Arise, Christian, lift up your voice!