Taking on the Poor

[teresaq]

If the church were to take on the poor what would medicaid alone cost each congregation?

If the church took on medicaid alone would we end up having even more elderly dying in the streets?

[LynnDel]

Probably impossible to answer, but since there is already not enough state care for the poor who fall through the cracks of the system, we should be doing more right now for those we can. How much money do we spend on evangelistic series for how much return? Should we refocus a good portion of those funds? Jesus cared for those He met along His way. We should do more of the same, caring for those within our own ranks who have lost jobs and home, and for those in our community who are in the same boat.

LD

[abelisle]

Ooops

That's a big no-no for the Adventist organization.

It's called congregationalism.

Great idea, though.

Alex

[Tom Wetmore]

Here is my rough calculation.

Total annual Medicaid spending (Federal and states) = $580 billion.

Total number of Christians in the US = approx. 240 million

Per Christian annual cost of Medicaid = $2417

That would mean that a congregation of 100 members would need to budget $241,700 for their share. The total membership of the SDA Church in the US is approximately 1.1 million. The collective membership of the SDA Church in the US would need to budget $2.7 billion to cover their share. That is around 160% of the total giving to the Church in North America.

Looking more broadly, total giving to all Christian causes in the US is about $545 billion dollars. That is still short by $35 billion. And what of all the other programs ministries, personnel costs for which current giving covers?

[Gail]

Is there something practical that churches can do healthwise? Some do CHIP programs, others do home remedy courses. That is not the same as paying someone's medical insurance premiums but are also a help.

[CoAspen]

My perspective is that we focus to much on the 'who' rather than the principle of caring. We too often take the words of the Bible and try to make specific instuctions out of them without taking into considerations the context. Yes, the Bible speaks to taking care of the poor, but to whom was it speaking and what did Christ mean in those circumstances. Belivers were to take care of their own, they were to help others when need was appreciated. Christ words, to me, go beyond the specifics to an attitude of caring. Even the parable about the seperation of who He knew and didn't know speaks to this. When we have an attitude of caring we just simply act on it because that is who we are. We do not need to filter the 'who', have a set or rules defining 'who', have long discussions on the 'who' or worry about the results of the help. If Followers of Christ beleive 'good' comes from God, then why all the wailing and knashing of teeth over 'who' should be helped? That is Gods concern! His decision to make, not ours!

Have an attitude of caring, be aware of those around you and reach out! It won't hurt you and will certainly take away all the anguish of deciding 'who' is worthy!

[phkrause]

I do agree, I believe every single person would come under that heading. All are worthy of help. And we can do this one person at a time, not try to solve everything at once. And not pick and choose who is worthy and who is not. Who are we to decide? Like CoAspen says, only God knows who's worthy. It kind of reminds me of the tithe situation. Since some feel that the church isn't putting the money where we think it should go, well we just wont pay any or give it to the church. Just as the tithe, those that are worthy of our help, is God's problem to deal with. We will all answer to him at the judgment.

[cardw]

There is all this rhetoric on the unworthy poor not doing enough work. Don't get me wrong, I think there needs to be more accountability in the system. And it's not because I think it is unfair to those giving, but because it is unfair to enable people. Too often accountability is seen as punishment. In actuality it is a great tool to help people become self sufficient, which is a lot happier place to be.

We have about a 9 percent unemployment rate and that is a rate that is derived from people who want to work. Now if the people who want to work can't get jobs, what chance do the number of unskilled, mentally challenged, and disabled have in getting work?

The only options they have are entrepreneurial and that takes brains and connections, along with hard work. There are some very difficult social problems that need to be solved and money isn't going to solve them. It takes people engaging in these communities. Most Christians are too afraid to do this.

It is far easier to blame the poor to distract from our own shortcomings. There are some very successful programs that have been instrumental in fixing gang and broken ghetto communities. They are simple in concept, but they require an understanding of the complex relationships between law enforcement, gangs, and the law abiding citizens in the community.

These programs have come out of a lot of personal intervention.

Here is one example. You can read about it or listen to the Fresh Air episode.

Interupting violence