my response to the whole Obama healthcare thing...

And, yes, you are about to get a healthy dose of my personal opinion. But, hey! This is MY online journal, so stop reading if you're scared. Here it is, my response to Obama's healthcare plan: Put up or shut up. I'm going to quote a friend now and I'm not going to tell you who she is or she'll stop saying wise things around me because she doesn't to have attention drawn to her. She's silly like that. Here it is: "i have been thinking that this could be God's answer to the church's lack of charity to widows, orphans and the poor and to the lavish and wasteful lifestyles that americans live. if the church were doing its job, there would be no need for the entitlement programs like welfare, medicare, medicade, healthcare reform, etc. though socalism through the government is a really bad idea, the concept is somewhat biblical, if you think about the fact that we should be giving generously to the church. "

So, yes, although I think this plan is foolish and it's going to cost my family a lot, and I'm scared at the way it looks like our nation is headed toward socialism... I certainly think that if every believer were even tithing faithfully (the WHOLE 10% that is required!) that this "plan" of Obama's to fix everything wouldn't be necessary. And something is necessary. We are required, as believers of God, as partakers in the inheritance of grace, as those promised eternal life - to take care of those who can not take care of themselves. The church is the institution that should be carrying out any "programs" that might be necessary to facilitate this. And if the church doesn't have the funds it needs, it can't help those in need.

So, put up or shut up. If you are not even puttin' your monthly check in the plate when it is passed, then hush. When you have started doing what is required of you that could be a viable solution to the problem, then we can start talking about how foolish Obama and his cronies are. Until then, get smart, get wise, and start obeying.

Comments

Lindsey said…
I completely agree!! The one hair in the soup though, is discerning those who CAN'T take care of themselves and those who WON'T take care of themselves.
Robin Stevens said…
Agreeing with the first comment.
rich said…
Don't take any of my comments as being upset with you. I'm just peeved at our nation and at many Christians' response to this situation right now, so when Liv talked to me about this, I felt the need to respond.

So is universal health insurance the church's responsibility? Do you have a more thorough proof text for your assertion than just the idea that we are required to take care of those who can not take care of themselves? Are you aware of any particular cases of widows and orphans that have serious health problems that they can't treat because your church is unwilling? Have they made their needs known to the church? Where is the biblical connection between giving generously to the church and "socialism through the government?" Are people in the U.S. really dying all around us due to the lack of necessary health care, or are we merely relatively rich kids with a well-developed sense of entitlement?

We will still be bringing the full tithe into the storehouse no matter what. On the other hand, the government's theft will (and is intended to) deplete our (and the wealthier Christians we know) ability to give more. We would love to give in the name of the Lord, as would the Christians we know (you included). However, the government wants to give in the name of Marxism and humanism instead. Universal healthcare given in the service of Satan is not better than less plentiful healthcare given for the glory of God.

Additionally, health deform (my term for the bill) was not done as a response to true health needs in our nation. It was done in the service of a Marxist agenda. Therefore, its goals will be those corresponding to that agenda. Just as the world and God define love in two very different ways, so also does the government's definition of generosity differ greatly from that of the Bible. Consider George Orwell's Ministry of Love.

Was this nation moved in compassion toward those poor souls (such as my mother-in-law) who do not have health insurance? Or were our leaders appealing in such a manner? Isn't it true that the much more prevalent (and potentially politically successful) appeal was made to our discontentedness, covetousness, and envy? Is an entire sector of our economy (the health insurance industry) so deplete of Christians that it is nothing more than the slime of the earth? Isn't it more true that this health care appeal works because most folks believe they deserve better and that they're getting the short end of the stick (it is those other Christians whose lifestyles are lavish and wasteful, isn't it)? In fact, I don't believe that this legislation is a mercy ministry that puts the church to shame (though the church has much to be ashamed of). It is more a reflection of our culture's sense of entitlement and lack of reverence for God.

I see people with physical and medical needs in our church regularly, and I see God providing for those needs through his people. These events are a regular reason for me to praise God, not the federal government or the will of the people. What I love to see is God's ordained means of provision carried out, and I do not see acts of rebellion against this ordained means as acceptable, palatable, or even halfway pleasing in God's sight.

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