I love being outside. Something about it is magical, holy, - being in creation reminds me that this world is better than the movies and the media make it out to be, that there is still some beauty that we have not ruined.
I think I also love it because being outside reminds me that the world is so much bigger than me. It is enormous, a vast expanse that I cannot control and that will do what it was created to do whether I am there or not. The rocks will still be massive, the trees will still be moved by the wind, the flowers will still bloom, the grass will still whisper quietly…Being in creation reminds me that it is all not ultimately about me.
It is this perspective that helps me when I listen to reports about the healthcare situation. How did we get to the point where we think it is a valid argument to say that some people should not have even a basic level of coverage because the quality of our’s might decrease? What makes my life more important than my neighbor’s? How did this mindset become so pervasive? It is not ultimately about government control vs. my control, my personal finances, my ability to decide what I want – it is about human life. The message of our world that I am the most important has poisoned our thinking to the point that now we would deny mothers and their children even the most basic treatment simply so that I can have all that I “deserve.”
“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” – Isaiah 1:17
If we all realized that there is more to this world than us, that we are held to a standard that calls us to take care of the poor, the widow, the fatherless, the child that can not care for himself – then I think we might think twice about arguing against providing for these people. There are some standards that apply to ALL of us – no matter our personal views, lifestyles, or callings.
Jesus tells his followers over and over in His Word that the way He would recognize if they truly know Him in their hearts is by the way they care for others. Matthew 25 makes it clear that if we truly know and love Jesus, we will love and care for the poor and the oppressed around us. In the book of James, the author says that pure religion is one that visits orphans and widows (James 1:27). Later on James says that if one truly has faith, good works will follow – and what is the first thing he lists as these good works that should follow faith? “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled.’ Without giving them the tings needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:15-17).
How can we say the politically correct, “War is bad, help the poor and needy, love everyone, etc…” and then in the next breath deny our neighbors even the most basic form of healthcare? The Church can be one of the most powerful tools in this world to bring Christ’s love and salvation to people – if the Church speaks up, the government will listen. Helping provide basic coverage to our brothers and sisters is a means to provide the “clothes and daily food” James is talking about! Spreading Christ’s message of salvation goes hand in hand with showing Jesus to those same people – telling them they should know Jesus while at the same time telling them they are not worth basic health coverage is blatantly contradictory and, really, not the true Gospel. We are called to live out the love of Christ, to show Jesus while we are preaching His name. Let’s examine our lives and make sure we are doing that in our every belief and action – are we truly living like we know this world is not all about us?
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