Health and Wealth

James 2:5 says, "Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?"

I have been to Rome three times, and vividly remember my first visit. I was on a bus tour that took us to the Vatican in the morning and the catacombs in the afternoon. I was overwhelmed by the magnificence of St. Peter's--an awe-inspiring display that was designed (around the time of the Reformation) to remind faithful Catholics of the magnificence of the One True Church. As a Protestant, I was duly impressed--but not converted (even though I did catch a glimpse of the Pope and even though some of my faithful Catholic friends were praying God would use that trip to bring me home to Rome).

What moved me, that day, was my visit to the catacombs. There, in those ancient corridors carved out of living rock, I saw hand-painted symbols of my faith. I visited the tombs of some of the very first bishops of Rome--the earliest popes--and I did feel "at home." These were my brothers. This was my church.

This is not to say that rich Christians aren't Christians and poor Christians are. It's just that what Christians need isn't more money, but more of Christ. That's true even when we're talking about really expensive propositions like healing the sick or feeding the hungry.

Let's talk about feeding the hungry first. Mark 6 tells how five thousand men (not counting women and children) got so hungry that Christ's disciples begged Him to send them home. Jesus answered them, “You give them something to eat.” 

Some theologians think the "miracle of the loaves and fishes" wasn't a "violation of the laws of physics." They suggest that people started sharing the little they had hoarded for themselves and it turned out there was more than enough for all. Without taking any theological position on how the loaves and fishes worked, it's clear that healthcare needs might be met if many Christians shared the little they have with others in need.

Jesus didn't need a billion dollars or a government program to feed the hungry. He doesn't need a corporation or federal agency to heal the sick. He does need followers who actually follow Him, however--and that means us.

One Liberal's Critique of Church

A thoughtful, self-proclaimed "liberal" named Robert posted this on my Facebook page last night:

Churches in our society have been given special privileges, a kind of "welfare for institutions," in return for the direct social welfare services they used to provide for far more of than they do today. They don't pay taxes. The rest of us pay for their use of the country's infrastructure, health, safety, and other services. "Freedom of religion" individual rights are also extended to the institutions, giving them latitude to ignore some laws that the rest of us must follow.

I'm forcing myself to skip a history lecture here so that I can explore Robert's concept of "direct social welfare services." I grew up in an area of extreme poverty--we didn't have running water, but where I came from, it wasn't the people with outhouses who were poor, it was the people without outhouses... and we had plenty of poor people in Boone County, West Virginia. The local economy consisted of food stamps, welfare checks, black lung benefits, and a little moonshine.

My father coordinated VISTA ("Volunteers in Service to America," one of the legal alternatives to the draft) in Boone County, and we had a constant supply of bright young college graduates in our home. Dad also worked for the West Virginia Mountain Project, an inland mission of the Presbyterian church, and entertained an endless stream of seminary students who were looking for ways to serve the poor. Dad eventually got the job title of "mobile minister to the poor" (essentially a Presbyterian social worker) and spent many of his days visiting people in jail, putting roofs on widows' houses, and helping people fill out government forms.

I say all that to say this--from what I observed in Boone County, government programs feed the body but kill the soul. My liberal friend Robert may not believe in "souls," so I'll use other terms--welfare as we know it alienates the recipient. It makes people feel less human. Some (but by no means all) of the "direct social welfare services" that churches offer, by contrast, make people feel more human.

This blog exists to explore the healthshare alternative to free-market health insurance and state-funded Medicaid. From my research so far, healthshares appear to heal the body and feed the soul. Can anybody say that about Blue Cross or Medicaid?