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Homeless with dogs
Considering Obama's impassioned plea about helping poor people who don't have health insurance, a number of thoughts have come to mind.
One of those thoughts is "The poor you will have with you always." These are the words of Jesus (in Mark 14:7 and John 12:8) and in context he was saying "don't use the concept of spending money on 'the poor' as an excuse for not taking care of other important or more urgent matters."
I would argue that a more urgent and important matter is stablizing our economy, but let's focus on this concept of 'the poor' for now.
Why would he say that we will always have poor people? Maybe we should analyze why people are poor in the first place. There are many reasons including: Some people are poor because they spend more than they earn. Other people fall on hard times temporarily. Some are poor because they do not want to do what other people do in order to not be poor. Either they don't want to work, or they would prefer to just work a little. Some people prefer to take jobs which don't pay very much. Some would rather receive handouts. Others are simply not motivated to do more in order to earn more.
There are some poor people who are just the opposite. They want to work, but are physically or mentally incapable of working. These are the people I think we as a society should strive to assist.
Each of us should, out of the goodness of our hearts, help the less fortunate. This is something Jesus emphasised repeatedly. But lumping all poor people into one big category, saying they need our help, only to have the Government mandate or force the rest of us to take care of them is neither loving nor compassionate, and it's definitely not fair. Why should everyone who has put in long hours studying to get a diploma, who then works hard to acquire and maintain a good job, pays taxes, and has part of his/her salary deducted for healthcare, have to pay the bill for someone who decided to drop out of school, not work, have kids they know they can't afford, and/or live off "the system"?
The fact is we will always have people who choose to be poor. We will also have people who are lazy, irresponsible, don't take care of themselves, and do not do their part to contribute to an overall healthy society. Therefore, I do not believe that the majority of people in our society should feel sad or be penalized for their shortcomings. We should not feel guilty for not doing more to help them if they will not do more to help themselves.
If our government really wants to help the poor, then maybe it should spend less, save more, and then find ways of using that surplus savings to provide health care for those who are incapable of earning a living. The last thing they should do is put the overall burden of responsibility upon our shoulders - the hard working over-taxed citizens of the United States of America.
(more to come)
photo: Franco Folini
Comments
Had to pray about this. It is a complex issue, and one that, once again, has Christians divided, because its root is mainly political. But, as someone who has been homeless, I could easily tell the Christian people who felt the way your article describes. They were the ones who looked at me with disgust, not knowing my situation or my heart. They were the ones saying "get a job, freak" or "You need God", but how many of them stopped and prayed WITH me? Zero. I was never asked why I was there or what I needed. Just judged. Its funny, people always equate charity with money. Money is easy. Its your time that those people need. It's a decision to move on the Godly compassion that wells up. It's about being reachable without trying to decide if they deserve it or not. Being used the way God is telling us to, without respect to what we perceive to be fair.(cont.)
None of us would be living under grace if God did everything according to what was fair. I think, many times, we try to do his job for him. Now, having said that, I don't agree that the US government should force anybody to help anyone else individually. But, to me, that is a political issue. And, again, money is not necessarily the answer anyway. How about this:
Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."
Peter did what he could, moved by compasion. That's it. I don't know if the man actually deserved Peter's attention or not in the context of that society. But I know he did the right thing by stopping and allowing God to use him, even if he was hardened and cynical by the pressures that his government put on him--even if his government told him he had no choice...why? Because before we answer to a President, we answer a King. Getting taxed sucks. But I will let God judge hearts.
oops, the following comments are not in the right order. Read the second one first. Oh, good article Rene.
Great thoughts T. Michael, and as I was writing this article I thought of writing on helping the poor. Last week I was telling people at church how I felt convicted to do more for people I see on the side of the road, and not just hand them a dollar or worse yet, ignore them.
To T. Michael. I have never been homeless and I agree it is indeed a complex issue. I struggle with this topic because I know that every good thing comes from God and that it is solely by His grace that I and many others even have the desire, the ability, the strength, and the opportunity to hold down a job and actually earn a pay check. It is solely by His grace that we live in the United States of America. What I have learned is that we simply cannot measure another person's circumstances against our own, 1) because we don't know what series of events led up to their current situation and 2) comparing your life with someone else is a waste of time. Everyone is different. God did not create us equal. We are equal only in worth as humans but our abilities vary. We live in the kind of world where certain abilities just simply enable a person to acquire more wealth. I also agree with your statement that people need our time and our help and that doesn't always mean a monetary hand out.
Also, we are all filthy sinners in need of forgiveness. I don't want a fair God, I want a gracious and merciful God! And that is what He is. We are supposed to be like Him. Our system is imperfect, but He is not and so I defer to HIM. Now having said that, I don't think it is a good idea to enable sinful behavior. If you know that the reason someone is homeless is because they have a habit which has impoverished them somehow, then handing them money would be foolish, because what they really need is spiritual help in the form of counseling from God's Word with love. But again, no one is better than anyone else simply because they have a roof over their head and food on the table. If people really understood grace they would never ever judge. We are all guilty and broken creatures. Humbling just to think about it.
sorry I got a little carried away...
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