Budget - What Would Jesus Do?

The poverty rate has remained statistically unchanged for the last 45 years. In view of the billions of dollars the government has spent "helping" those in poverty, it is surprising that the percentage of those below the poverty level has not decreased at all, let alone substantially. What would Jesus do?

A group of ministers called The Circle of Protection, led by Rev. Jim Wallis, would have you believe that the bible commands us to continue these government programs no matter what the cost. I believe that they are misguided, thought well meaning, because they have focused on portions of scripture that have been taken out of context.

This religious lobbying group based in Washington, D.C. faithfully quotes the "least of these" phrase found in Matthew 25. Then they suggest that the government is responsible to obey their interpretation of this phrase.

Setting aside the fact that the full context of Matthew 25 describes a scene of each individual on the day of judgment, as opposed to entire nations standing in judgment, - there are other places where the "The Circle of Protection" becomes skewed.

Luke 4:18-19 is Christ's own description, first revealed in Isaiah, of His mission. ¹⁸ "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,  ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

When you include Jesus' command to His disciples found in Matthew 28:18-20 you have the mission of the church. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

In condensed form, the mission of the church contains eight objectives: Preach good news to the poor, Proclaim freedom for the prisoners, Proclaim recovery of sight to the blind, Release the oppressed, Proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, Make disciples, Baptizing them, and Teaching them.

The Circle of Protection focuses on just one of these objectives - Preach good news to the poor. If that was the only objective of the church (even though they extend this obligation to the government) then their stance regarding the current budget crisis could be justifiable.

But can anyone look at the history of government assistance programs since the mid 1960's and say that they also accomplish the objective of proclaiming freedom for the prisoners, or that they release the oppressed? In fact the record suggests that, for most individuals who are in poverty, government programs actually keep them enslaved and continue to oppress them.

Another fact that fails to come to light is that the federal government can only provide these services by use of compulsory giving (i.e., taxes). This flies in the face of Paul's direction to the believers in Corinth, "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

I acknowledge that the bible says that the government can tax its citizens and that the citizens do have an obligation to pay taxes. But this presupposes that the government is only fulfilling its God-given role and is not usurping the role of God's people.

It would be un-Christian to advocate for a program that for nearly half a century has claimed to be good news to the poor, but in reality has oppressed them and held them captive.

The Circle of Protection has asked "What Would Jesus Do?" in relation to the budget crisis. I think He might point to the church and ask, "Why are you demanding that the government take money from your neighbor to do something that I commanded you to do and gave you the resources to accomplish it?"

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It's Time To Think . . .

Courier-Times Article for June 6th, 2009

It's time to think . . .

Earlier this year, a prominent U.S. politician said , "Our moral authority is derived from the fact that generations of our citizens have fought and bled to uphold these values, [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness], in our nations and others. And that's why we can never sacrifice them for expedience's sake."

The statement sounds thoughtful and profound, but is it? It sounds like a truth that spans generations, but is it?

As Americans, we've gotten lazy. We don't like to think much. Just go with the flow; live and let live; my truth may not be your truth. Unfortunately, in many cases, the church has stopped thinking as well.

We used to be called people of the WORD, but now we spend much of our time debating whether that word is TRUE. Should churches ordain homosexuals or bless homosexual unions? After all, THOSE parts of the bible might not be true. Should we be more concerned about babies who were aborted or those chained by poverty? Let's pick one and ignore the other . . . That's the content of many of our discussions.

The Word of God is the Law that governed the Israelites, and the foundation that birthed the church. At some point, many in the church have become untethered from the Word of God and have now turned around and questioned its veracity. This behavior would have utterly confounded the Christ-followers in Berea.

Dr. Luke records that the believers in Berea, after listening to the preaching of Paul, examined the Scriptures every day to determine that what Paul said was true. To the Breans, scripture was the source of truth, the measuring stick to determine whether the greatest preacher of their time was speaking truth. Moral authority was found in holy scripture, not in the sacrifice of fellow citizens.

The Bible speaks very clearly about the sanctity of life; about our responsibility to the poor, the orphaned and the widow; about God's view of homosexual behavior. The church needs to rediscover the authority found in the Word of God and stand on it. However, that kind of stance could become something more than politically incorrect, it could become illegal.

The U.S. Senate is considering a Hate Crimes Bill (S.909) which could be used to prosecute ministers for declaring God's truth on homosexuality. Will the church "search the scriptures" to find the truth, or will we poll the people to find out what is acceptable?

If we fail to think through all of these issues, and instead follow "thoughtful and profound words" blindly, we will end up in places we never thought we would be. After all, if our moral authority lies in the sacrifices made by our fellow citizens, then both the Palestinians and the Israelis have moral authority. The Nazis and the Japanese had moral authority during World War II, just like the Allied Forces. If shedding blood is the only prerequisite for establishing moral authority then gangs like the Bloods, the Crips, the Mafioso, the MS-13, and the Yakuza each have the same moral authority as the fighting men and women of the U.S. military.

Moral authority can only be found in the author of morality. It's time to learn from the Christ-followers in Berea. It's time to search the Word of God for timeless and time tested truth. It's time to think. Don't ya' think?


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