I just have two simple questions for self-examination.
- If you are against the premise of the legislation, what have you been doing up until now to personally help those who can't get health insurance no matter how hard they try to earn their own keep?
- If you are for the legislation, are you abdicating anything to the government that really should be the ministry of the Church or jurisdiction of God?
My point is simple: The entire issue can make us so insanely polarized and argumentative that we fail to examine ourselves against Christian principles on the issue. We are so sure "the other side" is wrong that we don't feel the need to take a deep look at ourselves.
The biggest issue is not really which healthcare plan we have or who's in control of it. As important as those issues are, the biggest issue is this: Are we, as the Church, helping the helpless in our society?
If you oppose this plan, you are not excused from personally helping the helpless.
If you favor this plan, you are not excused from personally helping the helpless.
(I prefer the word "helpless" rather than "needy," in order to reflect the biblical principle of not sharing much charity with those who are unwilling to work.)
Let this debate give you pause to reflect: Regardless of how I feel about this plan, am I personally fulfilling the biblical claim on my life regarding the helpless?
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1 comment:
Good post! The only thing I would add is that we should be careful when judging a person's willingness to work- or not. Some apparently able bodied people have underlying mental and emotional problems that we may not see. Many of these people end up in jails and most don't get the help they really need to become self-sustaining individuals. This is always on my mind when confronted with someone who seems to be unwilling to work. There is also the very real possibility that the person is just lazy, which is what you are speaking to.
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