Ridgell's Originals

Church support has never been enough to avoid catastrophes for the poor. Before Medicaid and Medicare, the health of the elderly and poor in the United States was as bad as in any impoverished country. Social Security has made it possible for people who can no longer work to live without starving or living in squalor. Yet these three programs initially were opposed by conservatives who argued that assistance should be a local matter and that spotty and often ineffective aid by religious groups was sufficient. Today, of course, you have a bunch of "conservatives" railing against attempts to cut OUR Social Security. Practically, in a densely populated area like the one I live in, you have dozens of different religious groups who are all over the spectrum in their beliefs and capabilities. How do you reach consensus in such an environment on how assistance for the poor should be handled? The answer is you can't. So before the creation of nationwide, federally administered programs, assistance to the poor was often predicated on a vote for the politician who provided it. Vote for me, and you'll get a turkey at Thanksgiving and a poll watching job at election time. Try to survive until then. So, to you key point, I do vote for politicians that recognize that loving your neighbor as yourself requires more than tithing to your church or handing a couple of bucks to the homeless panhandler on the corner. To their credit, both parties seem to support a substantial government funded safety net. It's usually just how that safety net will be funded and administered that is part of the debate. Yes, religious and other non-profit groups can do charity more efficiently and often better than government programs, but they do not and never have met what Christians should consider as the minimum standard for feeding and caring for the poor. Left with this reality, the only course I consider Christian is to make it clear to any politician I meet that they must not underfund or eliminate aid to the poor.
 

Good post, Andy. We cannot limit our care for people only if it's in the name of Jesus, we must care for people period, without an agenda. Sometimes only an agency like the government can reach some people, as the church can't do it all, unfortunately.