Care

In the pursuit and application of Biblical principles concerning finances, generosity is certainly a key component. We can read the words of Jesus in Luke 12:
31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
32 Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Today is sometimes called Tax Day, or the day when our tax returns are due.  I think the topic of generosity is quite appropriate for today. We recognize that the government allows us to reduce our payment of taxes by deducting our charitable contributions - I think you could say that this shows that the role of faith is still recognized in the tax code.  And, face it, some of the dollars that we pay in taxes each year go to help support people in need.Today, we can take a moment to think about the needs of those around us and how God would use us to demonstrate the love of Christ, to show a tangible expression of His presence.

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In 1st John 3, we encounter a wonderful picture of how the love of God is to operate with respect to
our culture at large:
16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17 But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

The release of a framework for a budget for the upcoming fiscal year from the Trump administration ignited discussion about the role of government in caring for those less fortunate - at home and abroad.  A piece on The Atlantic website, again by Emma Green, who is a regular contributor on matters of faith, featured this explosive paragraph:

With billions of dollars worth of cuts to federal social services likely ahead, the wars of religion have begun. Bible verses about poverty have suddenly become popular on Twitter, with Republicans and Democrats each claiming to better know how Jesus would think about entitlement spending. While conservatives tend to bring religion into public-policy conversations more than liberals, the valence is often switched when it comes to the budget: Liberals eagerly quote the Sermon on the Mount in support of government spending, while conservatives bristle at the suggestion that good Christians would never want cuts.

The statement is clear: "If government steps back, religious organizations may need to step up."

But how much?  Green said that she "spoke with roughly a half dozen scholars from a variety of ideological backgrounds who study religious giving, and they were all skeptical that churches, synagogues, mosques, and other faith-based organizations could serve as an adequate substitute for the government in providing for the needy and vulnerable." But I would contend that doesn't means they should not try - she quoted David Campbell, a political-science professor at the University of Notre Dame, who put it, “No religion is on the sidelines when it comes to caring for the poor.”

The article quotes Michael Tanner of the libertarian Cato Institute.  Green writes:

For his part, Tanner imagines a world where government no longer crowds out private giving, as he claims it does now. “What’s translated as ‘charity’ in the Bible is ‘agape,’ which literally means love,” he said. “We do have a responsibility to help the poor and those in need. That means taking care of them yourself—giving money yourself, giving your time, your efforts, not someone else’s.”

And, there is certainly potential for people of faith to make a greater impact in addressing the social needs of our culture.  Even though, as it is pointed out, it can be challenging to identify how those who are not affiliated with a particular religion are or will be involved in charitable giving.

But, religious people have a tremendous propensity to give - you might say it's in our spiritual DNA as Christians.

According to the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving at Indiana University, donations to congregations, denominations, mission board, and TV and radio ministries account for roughly one-third of all annual giving in the U.S.

Based on a national survey, Duke Divinity School professor Mark Chaves found that 83 percent of congregations have some sort of program to help needy people in their communities. The median amount congregations spent on social-service programs was $1,500. Mary Jo Bane, a professor at Harvard University, is quoted as saying, “Religious congregations do a lot,” but, as she adds, “the scale of what they do is trivial compared to what the government does. Especially if you think about the big government programs like … food stamps and school lunches, or health services through Medicaid, what religious organizations do is teeny tiny.”

Here are two statements I would like to make: #1, I believe that the Bible teaches that we are to care for the poor; we are called to be in the work of charity - of caring for those in need.  That is a clear teaching of Scripture.  You can see God's heart in the principle, found in Exodus 23, that every seven years, the land would not be harvested, and the products would be left for the poor.   What form our charity takes can be varied, but there should be a component of compassion, but also of responsibility - people should not be left on the receiving end, but should also be taught to care for themselves.

The second statement is at the heart of the debate that was set up in the paragraph I quoted earlier - while we are called to care for those who are less fortunate, it is not necessarily a Biblical concept to support an ever-increasing government to bear that burden.  You could say that if there were more church involvement, there would be less need for the government to step in.  So, if you believe that the role of government should be diminished - and I believe, as it's been said, that the Biblically-prescribed role is to preserve order and punish evil - then you have to evaluate whether or not you should support programs that contribute to that state of dependency.

I am thankful that our tax dollars contribute to providing social services; but, ideally, the Church is called to fulfill more of that responsibility.  The character of Christ can be seen as we take tangible action to love as He loved, and to give of ourselves, so that others might be strengthened.