Comments by Bush

I was impressed by a few comments of President Bush regarding alcohol and drug abuse.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/11/bush.alcohol/index.html

When a professional baseball player gave his testamony about his struggle with drug addiction and how it was the words spoked to him by his grandmother that touched his heart and allowed Jesus into his life, Bush responded:

"I'm a faith-based guy. Sometimes, to help change a person's behavior, you have to change their heart. Government's not really good at that."

I couldn't agree more, while the government can provide many of the physical needs of the people, it is quite difficult to provide the people with what is really lacking, mainly Love. The difference between what Bush referrs to as Faith Based programs and government programs is that for the former their service provided is a means to give Love to the people while for the latter the service provided is the end in of itself. There are obviously exceptions to my observations, many agencies and individuals do not hold true to my observations, on both sides. This also calls to mind the statement that I've read a few times recently from Pope Benedict (then Cardinal Ratzinger), "Wherever politics tries to be redemptive, it is promising too much. Where it wishes to do the work of God, it becomes not divine, but demonic. "

Another comment that Pres. Bush made that I really like was:
"One of the most striking aspects of being president is the power of prayer in my life. I feel it," Bush said. "Some days are happy. Some days are not so happy. But every day is joyous."

I like how he made a distinction between 'happy' and 'joy'. Being happy is more of an emotion and depends more on external situaltions, the things going on around us. While being joyous is not based on emotions and it depends more on our interior situation; it's more foundational. I feel that the Christian life is a life of joy. Regardless of how we're feeling or what's going on around us we have Hope is Jesus, and that's cause enough for "every day to be joyous", as Bush proclaimed.

Brendan