This is from a blog by Monte Asbury (Nazarene Pastor, Least First blogger) titled, "A Bible Argument for Government Aid to the Poor." You can find it at:
http://masbury.wordpress.com/2007/10/18/a-bible-argument-for-government-aid-to-the-poor/
"...[T]he poor, sick, and rejected
are easily Jesus’ main preoccupation, getting more space than prayer or the new
birth or the end times or evangelism or Bible exposition or worship or family
or immorality or any of those things men and women in my position have so
frequently preached about. Jesus goes so
far as to suggest that caring for the poor -- or neglecting to do so -- is
caring for or neglecting him. He plainly suggests that merely ignoring
the poor is cause for eternal loss (see stories of sheep and goats [Matthew
25.31-45], and Lazarus and the rich man [Luke 16.19-31]). And brother, that doesn’t
fit our theologies!"
Okay, it's clear we need to take care of the poor, but is it
our job? Or the government's job?
The other day I heard an interview with Sister Simone
Campbell of Nuns on the Bus. She cited
some figures. If churches were to take
over the current budget for the programs that help the poor, each congregation
in the country would have to come up with another $50,000 above and beyond
their current giving budgets. Clearly,
we can't do it. Government has to, but.... what does the Bible say about that?
Psalm 72.4: "He [the king] will defend
the afflicted among the people and save
the children of the needy; he will crush
the oppressor." ...
verse
12: "For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no
one to help."
verse
13: "He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from
death.
verse
14: "He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is
their blood in his sight.
Then in Isaiah 1:
verse 15: "When
you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!"
even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!"
verse 16: "Wash
and make yourselves clean. Take your
evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong."
stop doing wrong."
verse 17: "Learn
to do right; seek justice. Defend the
oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the
widow."
The evangelicals
have the first part right -- we need to stop
doing wrong. But they have failed
miserably and disastrously on the second part -- we need to learn to do right! And what is right? To take care of the poor.
Franklin Graham, in
the article "Can an Evangelical Christian Vote for a Mormon?", says
that we God-fearing Americans need to "restore" America. He states, "We must use our influence to
elect those who will govern with respect for the sanctity of marriage between
one man and one woman; the sanctity of life; and yes, the protection of God's
beloved nation Israel." What
happened to Jesus's emphasis on the poor?
Jesus never said anyone would
go to Hell for marrying someone of their own sex. He never said anyone would go to Hell for
having an abortion. But he did say a person who hurt the poor would
go to Hell, Matthew 25.31-45 again. So
why don't we put some emphasis on that?
In the Book of
Leviticus, God laid out the plans for an economy in the Promised Land. All the land given to the Israelites was
parceled out equally to all the people, so everyone had a chance to take care
of their family and grow the economy.
But as happens among humans from time immemorial, once a chicken was put
in every pot, it didn't take long before some had two or more chickens, and many
had none.
But, and this is a
big "but", every 50 years, everything went back to the original
owners and everyone had one chicken in their pot again! See Leviticus 25.10. So no one got too rich. And no one remained poor forever.
So did God intend this only for the Israelites? A theocracy is a government that is based on a theology, a religion. Saudi Arabia is a theocracy. All its laws are based on Islam. So should we in America promote a Christian theocracy? I don't think so, because our founding fathers were fleeing a theocracy in England, and wanted to make sure that never happened again!
But God holds even non-Christian and non-Jewish governments accountable for their treatment of the vulnerable. See Daniel chapter 4:
verse 27: "Therefore, O King [of Babylon], be pleased to accept my
advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being
kind to the oppressed. It may be then
that your prosperity will continue."
And in the New Testament, notice what Paul
writes in Romans 13, that all governments are "established by God,"
and accountable to him to do good and to punish wrong. Again, the
charge to secular government is two-fold. And remember, in Jesus’ eyes, standing by
while the poor suffer is wrong, and he sternly warns the rich
that they may be punished for it.
So even if the US
government is a secular government,
which is fine with God, God still holds us accountable for "doing
good" and "punishing wrong".
So we should stop abortion and throw gays in jail, right? Not according to Jesus. According to Jesus we should help the poor
and throw the rich oppressors in jail ("crush them" -- Psalm 74.4) .
See Matthew 19.21: " Jesus answered, "If
you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven. Then come,
follow me." The guy went away upset
because he didn't want to give up his many
possessions.
Today we justify our
marvelous wealth by saying God has blessed us.
But Jesus didn't come down among us as a wealthy man. He came to the people he identifies with,
those he came to help and save, not those who didn't think they needed
him. "It is
not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ... For I have not come to
call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9.12, 13.) The "righteous" wouldn't have listened
to him anyway. They didn't want anyone listening to him. So they had him killed. So much for wealth being a blessing from God!
No, hurting the
poor is sin. Wealth is evil unless it
results in sacrifice for the poor.
What is Republican or conservative about that? Nothing.
It's liberal. It's progressive. It's radical! Go and sell what you have and give to the
poor, and then BE poor, like Jesus was. Buddhist monks do this. Buddhists are more Christ-like than Christians. Remember what the Hindu saint Gandhi said?
"I like your Christ. I don't like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
The Hindus too are more Christ-like than Christians.
God doesn't care if
you were born liking your own sex better than the opposite sex. He cares if you're taking care of the poor
and the vulnerable. And he expects
rulers and government to do that!
Now on the issue of
abortion, my views are the same as Vice President Biden's. I believe life begins at conception, and I
don't believe there should be abortion on demand. However, I am "pro-choice". I just think the choice should be made before intercourse. If the woman who is pregnant had no choice in
becoming that way, then she should be allowed to terminate the pregnancy. If she did
chose to have intercourse, then she should be helped to carry the child to term and the child should be cared for after birth by those with the means to do
so. This is something my brother and
sister-in-law did for a young lady in their community. They used their relative wealth to help and
protect the mother, the father, and the newborn. God bless them!
I just have no
good-darned stomach for people who have such great respect for the unborn and
no respect for people after they're
born.
So here's what I
say. When you go to vote this
election, ask yourself, What would Jesus do? Would he vote for the guy who would allow
abortion and gay marriage? Or the guy
who would starve the hungry, withhold water from the thirsty, strip the ragged,
deport the alien, abandon the sick, and execute the prisoner? You find all of these in the Republican
platform even if you don't find the word "God" in the Democratic
platform. Lip service is one thing. Show me what you're going to do to see that
the "least of these, Jesus's brothers and sisters," are taken care
of.
Randy Jones
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