Here is what I mean: My Christian faith teaches me that we must provide for those who cannot provide for themselves. We must “remember the poor” (Gal. 2:10); be open-handed (Deut. 15:11; look after the widow and the orphan (Jas. 1:27), and each of these injunctions are directed to the individual. Yet Scripture also tells us that “lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth” (Prov. 10:4),  “The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desire of the diligent are fully satisfied” (Prov. 13:4). and my favorite, for its clarity “If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (2 Thes. 3:10). This is not cruelness (anymore than kicking your 20 year-old son in the butt and telling him to get a job!) because we know that human kind is fallen and because of this state we also know that when we are given anything free for a prolonged period of time without recompense we develop an attitude of entitlement (those of you who are parents know this is true!). And herein lies the mistake (if I may call it that!) of the Christian Left. The Christian left seeks to use the power of the federal government to take, by force, whatever it needs to “feed the poor” (the definition of “poor” keeps expanding). And anyone who does not desire to work can quickly become “poor” and so qualify, thus corrupting good character. So, in socialism, we see how government corrupts behavior and discourages the traits of diligence that are so vital to our economy and crucial to the development of good character.

 

What does Scripture say about government mandated “giving” i.e. socialism? “Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). Socialism is incompatible with Christianity because charity begins in our hearts and flows from a love for our fellow man and a desire to be obedient to Christ. These virtues cannot be forced upon one from without by government. Socialism is coercive. It forcibly takes what it needs. Socialism, in Europe, has seen the death of charitable giving. And why not? When a greater and greater chunk of one’s paycheck goes to government programs, little remains to give to charity. One can then rationalize that government will take care of the poor thus relieving one of any guilt and responsibility to the truly needy. So giving out of love stops and so too, caring for your fellow man. And the welfare recipient becomes resentful of being “on the dole”.  A bad deal all around.

 

Charitable institutions in America have always been vital and thriving precisely because government had not interfered to mandate our giving. Our American founding fathers, Christians all, knew this, and so enshrined in our guiding documents limits on the power of government. But we have seen the growth of more and more government entitlement programs crushing the desire of many to be “diligent”.

 

I feel it necessary to clarify these points because it appears that when a politician runs on his Christian faith, quite a lot of you will stop asking questions about the issues. Does he believe in limited government? In lowering taxes? Ronald Reagan did not run on his faith even though he was a Christian believer but he had sound, conservative ideals which limited the size and scope of government and it’s role in our lives. Jimmy Carter ran on his Christian faith yet we suffered through some of the worse economic times in our memory. Need I say more? 

 

Remember this: When a politician makes promises to make your life better by using government programs RUN AWAY! Bigger government NEVER makes our lives better. Every new law enacted takes away another freedom. 

 

Which brings me to my mission in life. All of us have a gift and it is our Christian duty to use it in the furtherance of God’s kingdom. For some that may be teaching, for others it may be a Christian ministry and still others work in the secular world. For me, the one thing that I am most passionate about is politics and how my Christian faith intersects that arena. I love ideas. Big, grand ideas. The kind of ideas that set our founder’s hearts on fire. Liberty, freedom, honor, integrity and how God intercedes on our behalf when all is lost. That is the story of America. Only by His mighty intercession could an undisciplined, untrained group of farmers have beaten the greatest military power on earth! And patriotism, love and thankfulness pour out of the Christian heart because we are mindful of the great gift we have in America, that we have been given “...and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26).  What will we do with this great gift? Will we surrender it to the forces of secularism or will we be duped by fine sounding words while ignoring the fundamentals?    

 

I pray not.