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Cookies for Prisoners?
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Anonymous
| So we (DS and I) took a tag off the tree at church Sunday morning. We already bought an outfit for a little girl in need. It wasn't a lot of money so I told my son to pull another tag. It's for 3-4 dozen baked cookies in a container for the Prison Ministry. My husband is totally against me baking the cookies. Thoughts? |
Anonymous
| Bake the cookies. This is Christmas. |
Anonymous
| Didn't Jesus say "let he who has one less sin cast the first stone"? |
Anonymous
Just don't include any nail files 
|
Anonymous
| I wouldn't give cookies to prisoners, ever. |
Anonymous
|
The rate of recidivism for prisoners in this country is ridiculous. I say bake the cookies... even though it's a small thing it will help the ministry and the good people trying to help these men (or women).
I usually hate that trite saying- What Would Jesus Do?- but in this case it's apt. |
Anonymous
|
Oh, I dunno...I think I'd do it.
You mentioned you picked this up from the prison ministry tree at your church. Ideally, the folks serving their punishment in prison want to turn from their evil ways and return to society fully functioning and contributing once they are released. If I were the prisoner and got some cookies from 'church people' who took the time to do something kind for me that I absolutely did not deserve, I might start to think about how Jesus also came to earth to pay the penalty for my sins, something which none of us on earth deserves. Sure, you could skip it, but going ahead and baking the cookies would probably result in good--in your heart or in the hearts of those who receive your gift. It's a gamble because you do not know the outcome, but I'd take it. God took the risk with me that I might reject, spurn or disdain the gift of His Son...glad he didn't lock me away and throw out the key because it took me a while to figure things out. Okay, reading this over I realize that I might have sounded SUPER-preachy. I am not advocating that prisoners should escape the consequences of their choices, just that it won't kill us to be kind to them as they, ideally,"reform." I apologize if this is offensive or hard to clearly grasp my intentions, but hope you get the 'gist' of what I'm suggesting. Wish I had more time to clarify, but my mommy-duties are calling! |
Anonymous
|
This is Exactly what Jesus says to do.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Checkmate, Jesus! |
Anonymous
That's really sad. |
Anonymous
| I would bake them. Your husband is being dramatic. What do you want to do? |
Anonymous
| My brother is in prison. He became addicted to drugs and made a bad choice (stole drugs from a pharmacy.) He will be in prison for the next 7 years. It is going to be 7 very sad Christmases for my family. I would be very grateful to you for doing something kind for someone like my brother. And there is no reform in prison. The prisons in this country do not offer anything to their prisoners to help them recover. It's hard to believe but some prisons in this country do not even allow their prisoners to have books. If we do not do anything to help these people we can't expect them to change. |
Anonymous
|
I'd do it - they are paying their due for their crimes, might as well give them some chocolate chip cookies. Perhaps they came from a childhood where no one cared for them - maybe it would be nice to get something from a random, caring stranger.
Oh, and you'd be really dicking the prison ministry over by taking the tag and then not following through. |
Anonymous
| If the cookies are going to the prison ministry, it means the people there to minister to the prisoners will be handing them out, likely at a prayer meeting or Bible Study. They won't be roaming the halls of the prison looking for the worst offenders to hand them out to. In other words, whatever your feelings about criminals in general, the people getting these cookies are people who have shown they are open to the message of the prison ministry. Taking the next step to show them Christian love and concern could make a real difference in their faith journey. I would do it in a heartbeat. |
Anonymous
Ditto. |
Anonymous
| It's a COOKIE, for crying out loud. You're not giving them parole. |