Charity and the Role of Government
I was just reading this post over at Mac's place. Mac had some, um, differences with some folks in this post. Here's what I posted in Mac's comments:
I think people are failing to see that there is a difference between governments and individual people.Governments represent people. All the people, not just Christians. And not just Christians who follow your particular interpretation of Christianity.
Saying that you believe gov't handout programs have gotten out of hand is not the same as saying you are against helping the poor. All you are saying is that it's the calling of each individual (whether they be Christians or not) to help the poor...that it's not the government's job. If a person doesn't want to help, well, they may be a jerk, but that's their right.
This is why we have a non-establishment clause in our Constitution. It is not up to the government to fulfill someone's idea of Christian charity. The Christian religion is not the state-approved religion. No religion is. And I'm grateful for that.
If someone wants to give to the poor, let them do it of their own volition, and not because they've pawned the job off on the gov't.
And I would like to add: I'm not totally against welfare programs. I do believe there should be a safety net to help those who have fallen upon hard times to get on their feet again. However, if you think that our welfare system is not being milked for all it's worth by those who don't want to work, if you think there aren't people who scheme to stay on the system as long as they can, if you think the system hasn't become a way of life for some, then I have some oceanfront property in Nebraska to sell you.
That being said, I think that it's a shame that so many Christians have decided to abdicate the responsibility of taking care of the poor to the government.
Update: Lee Anne Millinger has left some excellent comments on this post (she says things so much better than I can) and has expanded on her thoughts in this post on her blog.
Update 2: Joel Fuhrmann also has some thoughts on this subject.
Posted by Susan B. at 10:55 PM to Politics
Well said, Susan. I read Mike Todd's post and the comments thread. My feeling is that we can't really expect grace from a government. We don't have a theocracy, and government's by their very nature are more interested in power than in grace. Expecting a government to dispense grace is like expecting lemonade from a turnip. It's simply not in its nature.
But the church, and individual Christians who make up that church (universal and local) is another matter entirely. As the recipients of God's lavish grace, we should be the first ones to give it. We should be fountains of grace.
"Safety net" programs are important for people who need to get back on their feet. But I think that human labor, working for a living, is Scriptural, and we should try to help people who are down on their luck to find work. I don't think God designed us to sit around on our duffs and be supported by the labor of others.