I started a comment to Ellen’s post on health care that grew so lengthy I just cut and pasted most of it here. I will be the first to admit that I do not understand all the technical details of the current debate and this rambling post below will demonstrate that. I am the least qualified person to offer any opinion on any of this. But that has never stopped me before.
Ellen,
I love your tone and language here. Well written and thought out. I agree with you that the Church should lead the way (not just here but in other areas as well) but I struggle in seeing the connection between the role of the church and Medicaid/Medicare.
I spent over ten years working in Denver Human Services as one of many responsible for determining who was and who was not eligible to receive Medicaid. I have no doubt that 2 things are true with Medicaid.
1.)Many people receive health care who otherwise would not. And,
2.)It is a very inefficient program where a large part of the money does not go to health care but to poorly managed government bureaucracy. (I may be wrong but my understanding is that we already spend more tax dollars towards public health care than other countries but have less to show for it.)
So I can agree with people who want to see some form of “public option” and I also agree with those who don’t think we need increased tax revenue to provide it. But neither of those things are really my main question or concern.
How should the church leading the way here? Should we spend less of our resources on bigger buildings, better sound and light systems and invest instead in medicine? Maybe instead of paying teaching pastors (who in many cases do neither) we could employ doctors, nurses, and other health care providers? It seems just a bit disingenuous to say Christians and the church need to lead the way when so much of our own resources go towards our comfortable Sunday morning worship gatherings. Maybe we should spend as much of our Sunday offerings on health care for the needy as we do on just putting on the Sunday morning services?
Certainly more people can become active in the United States political process but is that a form of the church leading the way? I am not trying to be argumentative here but I do have some growing concerns that just as so many conservative evangelicals hitched their wagons to a conservative USA political party, many more progressive Christians seem to by hitching to the alternative USA political party. While I am very aware that the US political process can make things better or worse for differing demographics based on which party has control, I do not believe that US politics, regardless of who is president and which party controls the congress, will be the source of salvation.
There are may complex and interrelated things that contribute to the problems we face and none of them will be solved quickly or easily with United States legislation. If the public option wins the day and we are all taxed to pay for it, rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s will not be a choice for law abiding citizens. But can we narrate that as the church leading the way? I am hoping that we don’t think the Christian ethic is embodied by campaigning for our side of the political debate. I guess what I am saying is that it should not matter to the church which way the USA health care debate ends in the political process. I wonder if instead of joining either side of the debate we should create our own alternative.There is no secret that the members of the US Senate and House will not be on the receiving end of any health care plan they approve. Those who make the laws of our land don’t have to live with them. I am hoping the church can do better than that.
Hi James,
Great thoughts, friend. I agree that I was not clear. I do think the church should lead the way on justice and compassion issues – and I was thinking perhaps in this case, that more of us (hopefully with far more expertise than I on the logistical issues) could be offering solutions and possibilities within the dialogue as to what a public (government run) option should and could look like instead of simply pressing one’s own political-conservative-liberal-progressive agenda. The Christian mandate to reach out to the less privileged is (hopefully) a motivating factor to find a solution.
Creating our own alternative is an intriguing possibility. We have plenty of health care workers! This could be fun to dream and imagine.
Blessings, dreaming bro!
Great thoughts James. I just had the opportunity to hear Tim Keller speak extensively on social justice. He cautioned ministries to not get sucked into the long term political process and I agree completely.
There are plenty of opportunities on the relief side where we could invest all we have and there would still be needs unmet. And at the same time we would avoid alienating large groups of people by becoming tied to political movements.
JR,
You said what I wanted to say… but you said it 100 times better and in two sentences!
Peace,
JM
James,
well thought out, and well said.
It is all so confusing to me that I have decided that serving the ones within my reach is the answer. That means, those who are right in front of me, whenever, and wherever that is. It also means supporting those doing the same in far off places to the degree that I can.
As for political solutions, I hold no hope for them AT ALL. As for the “church”, I don’t know what that is anymore, except for people throwing in with each other to re-present the “Servant King” to those around them.
Peace, Skip.