I pondered what to begin with and found that this one is the
easiest to walk through in my mind. I
think that by politicizing this issue those who follow Christ miss the
mark. When we turn the social need of
available and affordable health care into political game we are guilty of
letting others die at the hands of our complacency.
Can we say we are following Christ by denying any means to
heal the sick? It was one of his top
three miracles. The apostles did so as
well. When Jesus is describing those he
knows and says, “When I was sick you visited me,” he is not talking about
coming around to chat. The Greek word
for “visited” here means to care for another.
The Church should lead the charge in demanding that our neighbors have
what they need to be healthy.
By relegating the care of the sick to the government or
insurance companies we deny the insistence of Christ that we care for the weak
and the ill. One cannot deny the
commands of Christ or his example and claim to be following him. If the church is not willing to rise to the
need then we should not oppose those who do so.
I personally believe that this is too big a task for our
government and that we as Christ followers lose credibly when we do not involve
ourselves in meeting the need. My Sons
have made it their vocation to care for those in need. I am so proud of them for this. They see the needs every day and wonder why
those who claim to follow Christ do not do more.
What if the resources of the Church were poured into medicine
instead of gold domes, gilded podiums, and stained glass? I do believe that there is a place for art in
the church but not when it overrides the needs of those it is called to
serve. If we are not going to work to
solve the problem of health care for others we should not be surprised when it
is done poorly by others. We should not
complain about how they do it if we are not doing it ourselves.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer
who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home
owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store."
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I've known Christians who are against government care for the poor because that's the job of the church. That's fine, but I want to follow up with this question. If we do away with government care for the poor, are you willing to pay a greater chunk out of your paycheck to the church so it can accomplish that goal? If so, you're not being Christian, you're being selfish.
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