Posted by
Bob Wood aka TrekTek on Sunday, November 09, 2008 12:52:11 AM
Let me start by saying that I am not a Biblical scholar by any stretch of the imagination. In my day job, I am an engineer and salesman. I am also a Christian, and I do believe what I know from Biblical teachings to be the Truth.
Several months ago, I flagged this article and commented on it at a bulletin board forum of which I am a member. Joseph Farah, the Editor of World Net Daily, published this column "
A Bible Study on Poverty" on March 8, 2008. In that column, he dissects the liberal theology of Tony Campolo, the noted evangelist, theologian, and spiritual guru to Bill Clinton, and author of the book "
Red Letter Christians," which Farah takes apart in a previous column (and I recommend this column to you as well, although it is beyond the scope of the following comments.)
Joseph Farah is absolutely right, in his March 8 essay.
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Jesus did not suggest those listening to Him lobby Herod to take care of the poor. Notice Jesus did not suggest this was Caesar's responsibility. Notice Jesus did not suggest people, listening to His words then or reading them 2,000 years later, should mug the rich and distribute their wealth to the poor.
Jesus didn't suggest anything remotely like that to help the poor and truly needy. Instead, he speaks to each of us individually. He lets us know about this because it is the best prescription for both the poor and for us who make the sacrifice to help. |
The poor are not government's responsibility. Both the Bible and The U. S. Constitution agree...
Let me be a little more specific. I believe this is what Farah was saying.
We are required to do what we are equipped to do to help our fellow man when he needs help. By dealing with the poor on a face-to-face basis - feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, assisting those who are sick - it should be our objective to show God's love through our actions, not our own love. We do that through our sacrifice (giving) of our time, our possessions, and our caring for their situation.
When government inserts itself, it robs us as individuals of the ability to willingly sacrifice a portion of what we are or have earned for the betterment of someone who needs that support. Government, through confiscatory taxation takes away so much of what we could give, keeps a large portion of it for administration costs, then puts government's name on what remains, and takes credit for helping in a way that no one else can - which is a lie. As Farah says:
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There's nothing compassionate about taking from those who have and redistributing it. In fact, it would deny the Zacchaeuses of the world (Luke 19) from the gifts of repentance, forgiveness and salvation.
Would that be biblical?
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Many doctors, clinicians, hospitals, and other health-care providers give a substantial amount to the poor in terms of truly free healthcare. In our litigious society, it has become very difficult for these folks to give away their talents and training without running afoul of the law or insurance regulations.
When you or I give our outgrown or slightly worn clothes to agencies like the Salvation Army or Goodwill Industries, we are a step closer to the individual who needs our help. When we give our time to help provide manpower, we are truly face-to-face with those we are trying to help.
Many years ago, as a single young adult, our Sunday School Class had a project we called "The Grocery Bus." Every other Saturday (we alternated with another class), about ten of us would take our church bus into a lower-rent duplex neighborhood and take several older ladies to the grocery store. A few of the ladies were not physically able to get on the bus and go with us, so they gave us their grocery list and their money to buy their groceries for them.
For the ladies that went with us, we helped them find the things they wanted, get through the checkout, and back onto the bus. We did the actual shopping for the ladies who could not go.
When we took them home, we carried their groceries in and helped put them away (if they wanted us to.) We delivered the groceries to the others, and helped put them away if necessary. And although each of the ladies lived a far more meager lifestyle than any of us, we never saw them count their change in our presence.
I was never quite sure who was more blessed on those Saturdays - the ladies or us. They were always so grateful that we had come to help them. We were grateful for the opportunity, and the fact that God blessed us with the ability to help them do something which would have been very difficult - if not impossible - for them to do for themselves.
If the government had required this action from us, or if we had been forced to pay someone else (a bureaucrat) to do this job for us, the blessing of God would have been lost to both us and the ladies. I am sure the same must be true of the health-care providers I mentioned above.
By the way, I should point out one additional fact which we never thought about during these years. All of these ladies were black; we were all white. It did not matter to any of us.
I don't necessarily believe that the United States is a "Christian" nation, but it was founded by Christians of various sects. The overall reason for leaving everything they owned and the familiarity of their surroundings, they risked everything - including their lives - to try to build a better life in an unknown land? They were seeking freedom - freedom to determine their destiny without the heavy hand of the king.
Unfortunately, the king has been replaced with a Congress and a bloated bureaucracy the ignores the Constitution that each member swears to "preserve, protect, and defend." And with the swearing of that oath, its members forget all about the words of the Founders.
And THAT is what drives me wild with anger. As we all know, words mean things. Specific things! And the Founders chose their words carefully to preserve the right of each American "to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." We were not guaranteed happiness - only the right to pursue it.
Anything that gets in my (or your) way of the pursuit of happiness is in direct contradiction of the Founders' intent. Freedom was their major interest in the design of our government. With every additional tax or regulation, we lose a bit of that freedom.
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. ---Winston Churchill
Churchill was exactly right. Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried, including in the early colonial settlements of our country with the Mayflower Compact. And socialism - not capitalism - will eventually be the downfall of our country if we let it gain more of a foothold. Socialism is where we are headed with the philosophy of "spread the wealth around" and any other law that comes down the pike in contradiction of the United States Constitution.
As always, I welcome your comments...