David Berg
—By Father DavidDFO 10339/7/81
—Schools for handicapped?—See "Rotten Apples‚" No.1023 & "Let The Dead Bury the Dead No.1," No.153.
1. I HAVE NEVER BEEN IN FAVOUR OF TAKING SEVERELY HANDICAPPED CASES INTO THE FAMILY, cases so severely handicapped that they should be in a hospital or in an institution. We are a fighting Army with a more important job to do than caring for the handicapped, the fruit of the sins of this World. Let them take care of their own! (Lk.9:60).
2. WE HAVE TO GO INTO ALL THE WORLD & PREACH THE GOSPEL & we can't do it very well if we're dragged down by a bunch of time–taking‚ energy-draining, spirit-depressing‚ retarded & handicapped people, children or otherwise! Let the World take care of them, & they will! They pity them & they have nothing better to do than to take care of them. Our main business is preaching the Gospel!
3. WE CERTAINLY DON'T MIND PREACHING TO THEM IN THE INSTITUTIONS where they are kept & cared for by the System‚ but we haven't got the time nor the strength to care for them ourselves, & they become a drag on the whole Army!
4. THIS HAS BEEN AGAINST OUR RULES FROM THE VERY BEGINNING! (See Letter No.S:7.) Not everybody is fit for this Army, & certainly not the severely handicapped whom the World has provided for with institutions & people especially trained to care for them & paid for by the System‚ & I certainly don't think it's right to let them drag down our own children and hold back our own work & act as a drag & a drain on all of us!
5. I'M SORRY, BUT THIS IS AN ARMY & WE'RE FIGHTING A VERY TOUGH BATTLE & there's very little room for the severely handicapped. We have a few but most of them are fullgrown, mature & fairly well able to take care of themselves & witness as well!—Not entirely helpless, retarded, blind, crippled & diseased children!
6. WE CAN CERTAINLY PRAY FOR THEM & SING & PREACH TO THEM IN THE INSTITUTIONS or families where they are kept in the System, but we ourselves do not have time nor strength to take care of them! We need to devote all of our time & energy to preaching the Gospel to the World!
7. I THINK IT'S A WASTE OF OUR PRECIOUS TIME, the few of us there are who are willing to preach the Gospel, to take our precious time for things which the World can do for itself, & can do well & are paid for it! It's expensive & time- & energy-consuming & is robbing God of His labourers for the harvest field so white!
8. I'M SORRY, YOU MAY THINK THAT'S A HARSH STAND‚ but it's a tough Army & a tougher war & I'm a tough Commander & we have not got time to nurse the weaklings who need to be in an hospital or an institution for the handicapped where they'll be well cared for by those who made them that way and who should suffer for the fruits of their sins to teach their parents the lessons they need to learn for which God permitted their children to be handicapped—not in our schools!
9. IT'S ALMOST LIKE CHEATING IN SCHOOL FOR US TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR PROBLEMS & supply the answers they need to learn from the trials of taking care of their own handicapped & the punishments of their sins! We have enough trouble taking care of a few of our own, thank God not many!
10. THERE ARE PLENTY OF PEOPLE IN THE WORLD WILLING TO TAKE CARE OF THE HANDICAPPED FOR MONEY, who are not willing to preach the Gospel for any reason, so I don't believe in robbing God's Work of labourers by doing the job of the System in taking care of its own sad fruits & robbing the System of the lessons they need to learn from it!
11. WE CAN COUNSEL THEIR PARENTS & CARETAKERS & TRY TO LEAD THEM TO THE LORD wherever they may be, but we should not waste our own time & strength & spirit & money trying to physically care for these fruits of the World's sin which they need to take care of themselves!
12. I DO NOT APPROVE OF HAVING OUR OWN SCHOOLS FOR THE WORLD'S HANDICAPPED CHILDREN! Sorry! We are needed to preach the Gospel to both the handicapped & the able throughout the World, & we can't do that if we're loaded down with the heavy burden of the continuous time- & energy-consuming care of the World's handicapped! Sorry, but that's always been my feeling & our policy from the very beginning of the Family!
13. WE NEED SOLDIERS, NOT PATIENTS! Let the World take care of its own patients while we take care of the calling & work of God to go into all the World & preach the Gospel to every creature, not spending all our time on one handicapped person when we could have been preaching the Gospel to thousands!
14. I'M SORRY, BUT OUR CALLING IS NOT TO BURY THE DEAD BUT TO FOLLOW JESUS! The World is very sympathetic toward them & well able & willing to care for them, so why should we waste our time on them? Let the World bury their own dead while we follow Him in the calling that very, very few are able & willing to do!
15. BUT IF YOU DON'T FEEL THAT GOD'S HIGHEST CALLING IS TO GO IN TO ALL THE WORLD & preach the Gospel to every creature, then you shouldn't be in this Family anyhow, so go on back & care for the World's sick & bury their dead with them! You don't belong in this Army if you feel that's your highest calling! You can't do both! It's impossible!
16. YOU CANNOT SERVE TWO MASTERS, for each one wants all your time & devotion! You're going to love one or hate the other, one way or the other! You cannot do both! You cannot serve God & mammon! (Mt.6:24). You haven't time nor strength nor facilities to properly care for the pitiful fruit of the World's wicked flesh & still do your best for the Lord. It's impossible! Sorry, but I just don't agree with it!
17. WE HAVE BATTLES TO FIGHT, A WAR TO WIN & WE NEED TO BE TOUGH ABLE SOLDIERS TO DO IT & not be burdened with the wounds of the wicked! I realise there are going to be folks who disagree with me, & if so, I suggest you join some Worldly institution where you can give your full time to taking care of handicapped & get well paid for it, & get out of our way so we can win this war in Jesus' name, amen!
18. WE ARE LIKE JESUS' TWELVE DISCIPLES OR EVEN THE SEVENTY, and there's no record whatsoever of any one of them being handicapped physically in such a way that they had to have special care & could not spend their full time witnessing. We are the Army!—Not a hospital for the handicapped nor a church for the retarded!
19. LET'S LAY ASIDE EVERY WEIGHT & THESE FRUITS OF SIN THAT DO SO EASILY BESET US & let us run the race & not sit down spending our full time taking care of a bunch of handicapped who will never be able to truly serve the Lord as well as we! Don't let the Devil deceive & sidetrack you into something less than the best!
20. "LET THE DEAD BURY THEIR OWN DEAD" & COME FOLLOW JESUS & go ye into all the World & preach the Gospel to every creature! ( Lk.9:60). Sorry, but we're in a hurry! If you can't come with us, so long! We'll see you in the Rapture where all will be well forever, praise God! TYJ! In Jesus' name‚ amen!
21. IF YOU HAVEN'T GOT THE FAITH TO HEAL THEM so they can join the Army‚ then you'd better let somebody else take care of them, not us; we're too busy serving the Lord!
22. HE ONLY TOLD US TO VISIT THE SICK & THE IMPRISONED & clothe the naked & feed the hungry! He didn't tell us to take care of them for the rest of their lives in such a way that it would stop us from going into all the World & preaching the Gospel to every creature or even slow us down!
23. WE ARE NOT A HOSPITAL FOR THE HANDICAPPED!—We're a tough, fighting Army & we hardly have time to even waste on our own wounded and backslidden & deserters, much less the World's! "Onward Christian soldiers marching in our war!" Sorry‚ but if they're unable to march, they'll have to be left behind with someone who has nothing better to do than care for them!
24. WE ARE GOD'S ELITE TROOPS WHOSE HIGHEST CALLING IS THE BATTLEFRONT & whose greatest love is to die for others‚ to give our lives to win their souls‚ not spend most of our time caring for their bodies. Let someone else do that who has nothing else better to do!
25. "AS FOR ME & MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD" ON THE BATTLEFRONTS OF THE WORLD, not the hospitals. We're happy to visit them there & give them the Gospel, but let others take care of them who have nothing better to do! We must serve the Lord & save men's souls! Like the Good Samaritan, we will give them passing help if we can, but we must then move on & be about our Father's business. "We must work the works of Him who sent us while it is yet day‚ for the night cometh when no man can work" (Jn.9:4).
26. ARE YOU IN THE ARMY?—OR A MERE CIVILIAN? GBY‚ civilians are needed too, & there are billions of them, but we are an Army of only a few thousand to fight this war & we cannot be dragged down & defeated by civilian jobs! Let the World care for its own & the dead bury their own dead, & you come follow Jesus!
27. WE HAVE FISHING & FIGHTING TO DO! GBY & make you a fisher & fighter for Christ! Let someone else nurse the others! We must be strong, able & unencumbered to attack the strongholds of Satan, not weakened & worsened by the choking‚ unfruitful cares of this life & the thorns of this World! Let the gardeners of this World & the doctors & the nurses who care for the civilian population take care of the sick & disabled!
28. WE ARE WARRIORS & MUST KEEP MOVING & FIGHTING & DYING FOR JESUS & OTHERS & their eternal salvation, not their mere physical existence! Let someone else take care of that. Let the dead bury the dead! "Onward Christian soldiers!"—Amen?—GBAKY! Marching & fighting for Jesus!—Amen?—WLY!—Dad.