“Conservatives, as well as liberals, would undoubtedly be happier living in the kind of world envisioned by the left.” -Thomas Sowell
I am radically in favor of social justice. If an areligious government’s plan to assist the poor and provide greater opportunity to all Americans were trustworthy, I quickly would jump on board. The trouble for me is not some elitist social agenda or deluded belief that the free market will eventually obliterate poverty (though historically it has lifted more people out of poverty than any other societal structure). The trouble for me is that I am fully convinced that even the most well-intended government will most definitely fail to do bring about the social justice it sets out to accomplish, and in its attempt will also severely stifle the creativity, ingenuity, and spirit of its people that made this country great in the first place. Even more so, as a follower of Jesus, I am especially concerned about placing the power to impact poverty into the hands of government, which will ultimately stifle the individual freedoms of socially-minded organizations to follow their beliefs in hiring personnel and structuring programming (government monies can’t be used in “discriminatory” ways, after all). When we elect government officials who wish to tax the rich in order to care for the poor, we not only elect to have our money governed by the powers that be (which sets us up for our money to be stewarded poorly), but we also sell our freedom to think, believe, and offer charity as we wish. It’s not only our money that is turned over. It’s also our freedom to creatively offer social justice in ways that we personally endorse.
On another note, was the message of Christ first and foremost directed to the government? Does it really please God more when we vote to have our government care for the poor, a commission that was clearly given to the followers of Jesus–to those who believe in and choose to follow the way of Jesus? Sure, it can be argued that the government can be used as a tool through which to fulfill the command of Christ to care for the poor. But aren’t we just giving ourselves more opportunity to shirk our personal responsibility when we concur that the government knows best how to do this work? How was it ever extrapolated from scripture that Jesus was commanding Christians to submit to heavy taxation so as to pass off their Christian responsibility to a secular government that restricts freedom of belief as it creates non-discriminatory societal interventions? And while it is true that social programs provide wonderful avenues through which the church can build relationships with the world, shouldn’t we be leading the way for societal change, rather than succumbing to the government’s way of handling things? The greatest commandment was to first love God and secondly love our neighbors as we love ourselves. But do we really need to rely on the government to help us do this? Sounds like delegation gone amuck to me.
I’ve lived in the third world, I’ve visited the poorest countries in the western hemisphere, I’ve lived in inner city Philadelphia, and I’ve worked in one of Lancaster city’s poorest schools. I know what poverty looks like and it’s truly horrible. I hate it! I dream of a world where there is no poverty, where the rich are willingly generous, where the poor are able to rise up out of bad circumstances, and where status is not measured according to a person’s possessions but according to the goodness of their heart. Sadly, I do not believe that humans have what it takes to create such a place. And I most definitely don’t believe that government—entrapped by bureaucratic inefficiencies, legislative quibbles, and group think volatilities—has the power to do it.
A reformed society—where the lame can walk, the blind can see, and the poor are liberated—sounds wonderful! I’m in favor! The question is, how do we get there? Is the government truly the best avenue to societal change? The reality is that Americans have proven their collective charity, energy, and willpower to change and improve. The American government (with the exception of military protection and NASA) has not.
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