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A Christian Perspective on Health Care Reform
Those who have known me for any length of time know that I am no longer a Christian, however, I still know how to make an argument from a Biblical perspective. I enlisted my friend, Gary, though for a little help because he's currently a Christian Minister and I'm a little out of practice. Thanks Gary!
I ask that you please share this with your Christian friends and pass it along to as many as you can.
I'm not really sure why, but the quality on this video is much lower than my other videos. :/ I'll have to figure out why before the next one.
Transcript:
Why should I pay for health care for others? I work hard, I make a living and I provide for myself and my loved ones. Why should I give my hard-earned money to poor people? If they want health care, they should provide for themselves like I do every day. Right?
If you are a Christian, then the Bible provides us guidance on this topic and it doesn't matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican, the teachings of Jesus are not bound by your political party. The Bible is very clear that caring for the sick is a divine responsibility for any Christian who wishes to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Now, many Christians already do support Health Care Reform, but some of the intense animosity demonstrated at town halls or the Tea Party protests in opposition to Obama and the Health Care Reform movement is being provided by Christians. There are people at town halls who are holding their Bibles aloft and shouting that it is the only reform needed. I don't really understand this because, again, the Bible is very clear that caring for the sick is a divine responsibility for any Christian who wishes to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
If you would give me a few moments of your time, I would like to prove this to you. I was raised as a devout Christian and spent a great deal of my life preaching so I know my way around the Bible, but I've also elicited my friend Gary's input because he is currently a Christian Minister, so thanks Gary!
There are many different complaints that Christian citizens have when it comes to providing health care to all. We often hear the sentiment that I expressed at the beginning, "Why should I pay for health care for others?" It's a good question, because we all believe in the virtue of self-reliance and hard work. However, let's take a moment to see what Acts 20:35 reads in the New International Version:
"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”
We can clearly see that it is our duty to work hard and to give of ourselves to help the weak and the sick.
Next we can turn to Leviticus 19:18 which gives us the well-known instruction to "love your neighbor as yourself" which is also reiterated by Jesus in Matthew 19:19. In fact, Jesus continues on and Matthew 19:21-24 reads:
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Jesus here isn't saying that rich men are inherently evil or wrong, he's merely illustrating the point that greed can be dangerous and greed is often found in the wealthy. The young man who desired to know how to get into heaven was sad that he would need to part with his worldly possessions. The Bible is often misquoted as saying that "Money is the roof of all evil" but the actual quote is "The LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil." The point is that we should be willing to give of ourselves, to give our money to the poor. If we are unable to part with our worldly possessions then our spiritual priorities are not in line with the teachings of the Bible.
We see Jesus healing the sick on many occasions in the Bible. He heals a man's hand in Matthew 12:13, he heals a man's eyes in John 9:7, he heals a woman's back in Luke 13:12, and the list goes on. Some of those he healed approached and asked for assistance, but some he healed without request providing us an example that we should take the initiative and help those in need. That was Jesus though and filled with the Holy Spirit he could wipe disease away with a mere thought. How can we help? Jesus also showed us that divine power isn't required to help those in need. Perhaps the greatest example is parable of the "Good Samaritan" in Luke 10:30-37. It reads:
... Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.
A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
This Samaritan didn't have divine power to heal this man via the Holy Spirit, but he gave of himself to a stranger in need. He gave of his time, energy and money to help this wounded man. Jesus implores us to be like this Samaritan and to take care of our fellow neighbors.
Please understand, the proposed Health Care Reform legislation will not completely fulfill the high standards of charity set forth in the Bible but we must reach out and attempt to follow the instructions set forth by Jesus in the Bible. Caring for the sick is a divine responsibility for any Christian who wishes to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, so I implore you to contact your Senators and Representatives and tell them that you support strong Health Care Reform so that all Americans can have access to Health Care.
If we wish to act according to Biblical principles and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we should be sincerely eager to give of ourselves and help those less fortunate. Now is our time to act. Now is the time to treat our neighbors as ourselves and show mercy to those in need.
I ask that you please share this with your Christian friends and pass it along to as many as you can.
I'm not really sure why, but the quality on this video is much lower than my other videos. :/ I'll have to figure out why before the next one.
Transcript:
Why should I pay for health care for others? I work hard, I make a living and I provide for myself and my loved ones. Why should I give my hard-earned money to poor people? If they want health care, they should provide for themselves like I do every day. Right?
If you are a Christian, then the Bible provides us guidance on this topic and it doesn't matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican, the teachings of Jesus are not bound by your political party. The Bible is very clear that caring for the sick is a divine responsibility for any Christian who wishes to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Now, many Christians already do support Health Care Reform, but some of the intense animosity demonstrated at town halls or the Tea Party protests in opposition to Obama and the Health Care Reform movement is being provided by Christians. There are people at town halls who are holding their Bibles aloft and shouting that it is the only reform needed. I don't really understand this because, again, the Bible is very clear that caring for the sick is a divine responsibility for any Christian who wishes to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
If you would give me a few moments of your time, I would like to prove this to you. I was raised as a devout Christian and spent a great deal of my life preaching so I know my way around the Bible, but I've also elicited my friend Gary's input because he is currently a Christian Minister, so thanks Gary!
There are many different complaints that Christian citizens have when it comes to providing health care to all. We often hear the sentiment that I expressed at the beginning, "Why should I pay for health care for others?" It's a good question, because we all believe in the virtue of self-reliance and hard work. However, let's take a moment to see what Acts 20:35 reads in the New International Version:
"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”
We can clearly see that it is our duty to work hard and to give of ourselves to help the weak and the sick.
Next we can turn to Leviticus 19:18 which gives us the well-known instruction to "love your neighbor as yourself" which is also reiterated by Jesus in Matthew 19:19. In fact, Jesus continues on and Matthew 19:21-24 reads:
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Jesus here isn't saying that rich men are inherently evil or wrong, he's merely illustrating the point that greed can be dangerous and greed is often found in the wealthy. The young man who desired to know how to get into heaven was sad that he would need to part with his worldly possessions. The Bible is often misquoted as saying that "Money is the roof of all evil" but the actual quote is "The LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil." The point is that we should be willing to give of ourselves, to give our money to the poor. If we are unable to part with our worldly possessions then our spiritual priorities are not in line with the teachings of the Bible.
We see Jesus healing the sick on many occasions in the Bible. He heals a man's hand in Matthew 12:13, he heals a man's eyes in John 9:7, he heals a woman's back in Luke 13:12, and the list goes on. Some of those he healed approached and asked for assistance, but some he healed without request providing us an example that we should take the initiative and help those in need. That was Jesus though and filled with the Holy Spirit he could wipe disease away with a mere thought. How can we help? Jesus also showed us that divine power isn't required to help those in need. Perhaps the greatest example is parable of the "Good Samaritan" in Luke 10:30-37. It reads:
... Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.
A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
This Samaritan didn't have divine power to heal this man via the Holy Spirit, but he gave of himself to a stranger in need. He gave of his time, energy and money to help this wounded man. Jesus implores us to be like this Samaritan and to take care of our fellow neighbors.
Please understand, the proposed Health Care Reform legislation will not completely fulfill the high standards of charity set forth in the Bible but we must reach out and attempt to follow the instructions set forth by Jesus in the Bible. Caring for the sick is a divine responsibility for any Christian who wishes to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, so I implore you to contact your Senators and Representatives and tell them that you support strong Health Care Reform so that all Americans can have access to Health Care.
If we wish to act according to Biblical principles and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we should be sincerely eager to give of ourselves and help those less fortunate. Now is our time to act. Now is the time to treat our neighbors as ourselves and show mercy to those in need.
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