A number of people have recently told me they can’t understand
why we’re asking everyone to give generously in The Christmas Offering. They
tell me they’re struggling with their own finances. They say they’re already
being taxed for the poor. They say the government welfare system has their
money already. And the staggering tax implications of trillions of dollars of our
ever-increasing national debt are weighing heavily on their hearts and minds.
(A review of the CBO report seems to indicate the proposed levels of government-run
health care our politicians are voting on tomorrow will increase our deficit if
the cuts to Medicare are assumed to extend the government program and create
money for new entitlement programs, because both can’t be done without
increasing our taxes.) In a society facing double-digit unemployment, some
folks are saying to me, “The government is now handling welfare and healthcare.
If our taxes aren’t enough, too bad. I’m not giving more. I’m done.”
Where have I heard that before? Oh. I remember. I read something like that in Charles
Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Let
me give you a completely inadequate overview of this literary masterpiece from
Victorian England.
It all begins with Scrooge. He’s selfish, cold, mean and
completely without compassion. Exactly seven years after the death of his
business partner, three nightmarish visitations deliver Scrooge a few hours of Christmas
eve “spiritual shock therapy.” Apparently the miraculous interventions were
necessary. Since he believed he’d already discharged his obligation to help the
poor – thanks to government mandated welfare in the form of tax-supported workhouses
– Scrooge was obstinate, refusing to donate to private charity. He’d already
paid for the poor, he asserted, through his taxes.
Scrooge’s miserly inhumanity and lack of charity may be the inevitable
consequence of pervasive governmental oversight. Scrooge makes the reasonable
assumption his taxes provide relief for the poor. What else should we expect? Should
we expect Scrooge to support private relief agencies too? He’s already been
taxed by an obtuse government, acting without transparency or financial
constraint. When asked if he’s personally seen the inner workings of his
government’s welfare system Scrooge answers, no, he hasn’t. Why would he bother
looking into the operation and management of government run programs? Their
tax-funding insulates them from private reform. And Scrooge undoubtedly knew he
wouldn’t be allowed to withhold his taxes if he found the poor-houses badly
managed, so what’d be the point of questioning government?
Anesthetized by the government’s control, Scrooge was not likely
to engage non-profit philanthropies that might have improved the work, elevated
the issue of indigent care, and opened up Scrooge’s life to real meaning, joy
and purpose. How sad. How unfortunate.
Scrooge’s soul shriveled as he disengaged from love,
friendship and community. His heart became unbreakable and small through a
life-time of neglect. Rich in worldly possessions, he was a very poor man. We
all are. We’re just poor in different ways, and rich in different ways.
Scrooge’s hard heart turned to stone over time, and eventually he lost all
compassion….and that’s when Marley’s ghost came to admonish him about the
eternal consequences of his actions, his choices and “his business” on earth.
The revelation prompted new understanding and, as a result, Scrooge changed his
ways – making a large anonymous donation to relieve the suffering of the poor.
But appropriate responses to the problems of homelessness,
hunger and poverty involve more than seasonal philanthropy. Even though
Ebenezer Scrooge learned to “keep Christmas well,” and Tiny Tim was rescued from
his miserable fate, Dickens makes no suggestion that ten thousand other Tiny
Tims were not still languishing, and needlessly dying, in wretched poverty.
Ol’ Scrooge gives evidence of his own salvation through his
generosity toward the Cratchit family, but Dickens offers no indication the
once emotionally distant Scrooge hoped in big government’s solutions for
society’s greatest problems. If Dickens was trying to say Scrooge began to
agitate for the repair of failing government welfare programs, he buried the
lead so deep I couldn’t find it. I can’t imagine a civilized person arguing
against better oversight and fiscal integrity in the government’s programs, but
that didn’t seem to be Ebenezer’s plan. I’d like to believe it would have been
his plan, if Dicken’s would have had more ink and paper with which to continue
the story.
In addition to his personal philanthropic endeavors, maybe
Scrooge would have brought his obvious business expertise to bear on the
management of the poorhouses, almshouses, prisons and horrible institutions
we’re now well rid of. He might
have noted these governmental solutions to homelessness and unemployment looked
good on paper, but the corrupt way the system was administrated – with
overseers pocketing what they skimmed from both government money and money
earned from the labor of workers – only served to provide the operators with
real money while the poor laborers worked as hard as possible for minimal
shelter and unending, grinding, hopeless poverty. Had Dickens continued the
story, Ebenezer might have come to recognize these abuses. He might have
contributed a brilliant critique of abusive government leaders, with insights honed
sharp by years of industry, success and business savvy.
I would have enjoyed seeing Dickens continue the story of
Scrooge’s redemption. I’d like to read about Ebenezer’s ever-increasing (and profoundly
personal) joy, love and generosity as he lavished it on every Tiny Tim he
encountered. And it’d be wonderful to see how his personal transformation
brought his business skills to bear on the “Victorian” way of dealing with the
least and the lost. He was up against a corrupt system so evil its reputation
carries a stench that still lingers today. What might the redeemed Scrooge have
done to change the state-sponsored systems of social welfare? We can only imagine.
But this we know…
The collective will of good and decent people establishes
their corporate response to ignorance and want. If their governance of
poverty’s circumstance lifts the wretched and broken, they can rejoice. If,
instead, their governance perpetuates cycles of generational ignorance and
illness, they are doomed. No people can long escape the judgment of God if they
fail to act on behalf of the desperate poor – whether their neglect is
intentional, prideful or borne of apathy. God won’t tolerate it. The Christ
will no more accept a society’s sins than an individual’s – and one will not
always suffice for the other (Though God did say he’s stay His Hand of judgment
against Sodom if He found even 50 “righteous” men in the city, I mean, 45…umm,
how about 40? Uh, 30? 20? Will 10
“righteous” men suffice? Apparently, a little yeast in the loaf is enough…but
more is better.)
Whatever the number needed to save a society, I’d like to be
counted in that number. So, I’ll be personally giving for the Christmas Offering
this year. I believe it will help the poor – and that includes me. It will
soften my heart to give. It’ll advance God’s Kingdom and the fly-wheel of
generosity will spin faster in my soul. But I’m not planning to stop there.
I intend to continue my efforts to call for fiscal integrity
in government.
I intend to call for fiscally sound, strategic, institutional
responses to the problems government can, and should, address.
I intend to call for governmental restraint in matters of
personal responsibility – where obedience should be neither compelled nor
coerced.
And I intend to lovingly speak truth to power, with confidence
that understanding leads to redemption, for all of us.
So, I say again, “Be a good citizen.” God establishes
governments to do what individuals cannot, so render unto Caesar what is
Caesar’s. And, “Be a good person.” Never expect the “collective will” to supersede
your personal responsibility as an image bearer of God. Live right. Be loving
and generous – to a fault, and watch what God does to redeem your story so it
gives Him glory.
I intend to discharge my responsibility to address pain and
suffering in this world, personally and politically. The old dream of “peace on
earth and good will toward men” is not merely a seasonal fantasy. It is the
direct consequence of Christ’s advent. And with our understanding of His
lordship comes our responsibility to align our lives with His Way: personally
and corporately.
Each of us can make a difference. You can give to Jesus in the
Christmas Offering at the Christmas eve service with a check, cash or debit
card swiped through the Giving Kiosk. Or you can give on line here. Either way, don’t assume the government
is going to cure the society’s ills.
Government can’t do what individuals can.
We are the people of God.
This is our time.
We are responsible.
Matthew 25:37-40
- Then the righteous will
answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give
you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or
needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to
visit you?” The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for
one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
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