Should Christians support the health care bill?
Disclaimer: I think its very important that Christian groups not try to influence their government too much. Mixing the church and the state is like mixing a milkshake with manure. I don't concern myself too much with what it does to manure, but it sure ruins the milkshake. Every time that Christianity has attempted to use political and military power to spread Christianity, Christianity has been the big loser, we start by legislating morality, progressed to legislating conversions or killing those who don't convert, and always have ended up with our religion no longer looking like itself. Christianity is about the abandonment of power and the following of Christ, the servant, not creating powerful religious political conventions.
With that being said, I won't comment much on the legislation itself, but rather, I would like to talk about judgment.
God makes two clear claims about the sick and the poor:
- God wants them cared for
- God asked the church to do it, so that, by doing helping the sick and poor, we can lead others to Christ
When this works well, you have the beautiful story of someone like Mother Teresa, who became the inspiration for many.
Sadly, as a national (and international) church, we haven't lived up to the example of Mother Teresa, or for that matter, the examples of the Acts church who sold possessions, goods, and land to take care of the needy (Acts 2:45) or of the good Samaritan who paid for the medical care of a complete stranger (Luke 10:25-37).
The question has to be asked: What does God want now? -- in this context, where we haven't taken care of the sick or poor? The context where God still wants the sick cared for, but where the people He asked to do it won't do so willingly?
I have been reading the OT lately, and when Israel rebelled, God sends in a foreign government to deal with the problem. Sometimes it's idolatry and other times a social issue like slavery or the mistreatment of “the people of the land” (non-Jewish minorities in Israel).
There are many things going on in the health care bill (it is after all 2000 pages). But the resounding argument that I have heard from Christian's who are against it has been that “God wants the church to do it, so the government shouldn't.”
I support the bill, mostly because I think health care does not work in the free market as supply and demand economics cannot be applied to matters of health, especially a life-or-death decision. In other words, "When you are dying it doesn't matter how much saving your life will cost, you or your loved ones are willing to pay it." My political perspective is that free market economics just doesn't work with life or death scenarios.
I would like to state loudly and clearly, although I support the bill, that those who do not support the bill because they believe it is the church's job to take care of the poor, have biblical support to say so. You are right, the church is supposed to take care of the needy, but even more important to note is that we have failed to do so.
In this context of God wanting the sick cared for, but his people won't do it willingly, it might be helpful to see the current health care bill as a God-given judgment upon our inaction. Perhaps it is God acting in our time, in both judgment against us for not completing our mission and as “the second best way” of taking care of the poor and needy.
Again, my point is about judgment, not politics. Many people think that judgment is always a horrible thing. Burning. Anger. Gnashing of teeth.
But, indiscriminate bad news for everybody isn't God's definition of judgment.
Judgment is great news for a lot of people, most people even! Judgment is the enacting of justice, which is exactly what our world needs now most. Judgment is God (not us! our definitions of justice are always hopelessly slanted toward our own interests) setting the world to right, putting things in order, doing things like ending genocide, correcting injustice, and giving the oppressed rest and release. Yes, doing that sometimes requires that the oppressors (the bible calls them “the mighty”) be knocked down (this is the bad news part), but it also the greatest news that the poor and oppressed can get because they get lifted ups.
So this return me to the question of heath care – and more to my point, many Christian's responses to the bills.
In the days of Jeremiah, the people of God rather than correcting the problems of idolatry and injustice that Jeremiah brought up, denied they existed and tried to prepare to battle Babylon (trusting in horses, chariots, and political power). Sadly, it seems that we are doing the same thing now: instead of repenting and taking care of the needy, the church has denied that they have failed and has decided to fight against what they see as government intruding upon church turf.
Although the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) says that this bill will reduce the deficit by 138 billion over ten years, many conservatives still claim that taxes will have to be raised to pay for this bill. Although I tend to agree with the CBO and do not think that taxes will be raised on the majority of Americans to pay for this bill, I do wonder why so many Christians are so angry about the possibility of higher taxes. Considering that we have not taken care of the poor as an American church, can we say anthing other than higher taxes would be our judgment for not caring for the sick?
It seems that the problem with the health care industry -- the love of money – is the same problem with the you and me.
