This whole health care thing has gotten way out of control! And this is something that the church (that means us, the people, not the institution) needs to take notice of and do something about. But what I am about to propose to you may take you off guard.

just a billFirst let’s take a look at the actual issue that is driving this whole thing. Basically, while many people enjoy the privilege of decent medical care, there are still over 40 million people in the United States that have no coverage whatsoever.

I could provide my own commentary on this and other numbers, but there is enough of that already. What I will say is that there is a big need in our country today as it relates to care for the sick. So the government responded.

With this response by the government, many in the church are expressing outrage over such a ‘socialist’ act! And that brings us to the point that I want to make…

Why is the church surprised? After all, isn’t the government simply doing something that the church should have been doing all along?

Personally, I’m still not sure what to think of the plan itself. But where there is an obvious need like this, I would prefer to see the church step up to meet that need. If we had, then there would be no problem that the government would feel compelled to fix.

Aren’t we (the church) called to take care of the sick? (Just in case you were wondering, the answer to that question is, “yes”.) Then how have the medical needs in our country gotten so bad? The only answer that I can think of for these questions is that we (the church) have not stepped up to the call.

The good news is that I know that it is possible for the church to meet needs like this. Things like relational tithe that are designed to help people in a community meet each other’s needs are solutions that could eliminate the need for socialized health care.

Whatever it looks like, if you want to fight things like socialized health care, then the best way to do it is by eliminating the needs that government feels obligated to address. As the church we should be leading the world in finding creative ways to meet the needs of the sick (and the orphan, and the widow, and… you get the idea). We should be a light to the world.

The church that Jesus called us to be is full of people who were created in the image of the most Creative Being in the universe! And we have been tasked with taking care of this place, and each other. For once I would like to see the church BE the solution, rather than complain about someone else trying to meet a need that we have failed to address.

government health care? why christians shouldn’t be surprised

by Dan King time to read: 2 min