Jeff Foxworthy has made a name for himself with his jokes and comedy tour based on poking fun at rednecks. We all recognize the line “You might be a redneck if … ” If you can fill in the blanks, then you might indeed, be one.

“You might be a redneck if … the TV that works sits on top of the TV that doesn’t.”

“You might be a redneck if … you have been married three times and still have the same in-laws.”

“You might be a redneck if… your home still has the ‘wide load’ sign on the back.”

“You might be a redneck if …you carried a fishing pole into Seaworld.”

“You might be a redneck if … you think a quarter horse is something you ride in front of Walmart.”

OK, so maybe the redneck jokes have run their course. I think I have had enough, how about you?

I read with interest an article about Foxworthy’s recent appearance at the Hearts and Hands Gala, which benefits the Ronald McDonald Houses, where families of children undergoing treatment at Atlanta hospitals can stay. Foxworthy also volunteers once a week at the Atlanta Mission, a facility in downtown Atlanta that serves homeless people. He quipped, “I’m two decisions away from making french fries for a living. I’ve always had a heart for the underdog, whether it’s the homeless or the Ronald McDonald House. At the (Atlanta Mission), you get to learn their stories and you’re like, ‘I might be a crackhead if I had grown up like that.’”

Foxworthy gets it. “You get to learn their stories,” he says. Instead of making generalizations about the poor, why don’t you spend some time hearing their stories? On second thought, if you don’t want your heart broken, then stick with the stereotypes. They are way easier.

In Matthew 25: 31-46, the passage about “the least of these,” Jesus divides the world into the haves and the have-nots. “You might be a have if … ” “You might be a have-not if … ” There are some who are hungry, He said, and there are those who live at the all you can eat food bar. Some are thirsty and others drink a 64 ounce Big Gulp. Jesus said there are those who have no place to lay their head, and there are those who live in spacious homes. Some are naked and others have closets full of clothes. There are those who are sick and then there are many who are healthy and have health insurance. There are those in prison, Jesus said, and those who are not (by the grace of God).

That is what Jesus says. It is not a joke though. This is serious business. Fill in the blank. “You might be a have if …”

Let me fill it in for you: (1) You might be a have if … you have your health. So many don’t. “I was sick and you visited me.” (2) You also might be a have if … you have life’s essentials. “I was naked and you clothed me.”

Foxworthy is also, by the way, the host of “The American Bible Challenge.” In his Bible study he must have been reading about what Jesus said. That, and listening to “their” stories, will change your perspective and your life.

Davis is the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Carrollton.