Stop Using Jesus To Justify Welfare

25 Mar 2016

It’s amazing how many people quote Jesus when it comes to feeding the poor. And I’m sure you’ve seen the memes making fun of Republicans, Christians, and conservatives who supposedly don’t care about the poor.

But did you know that he said other things as well?

So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” (Matthew 19:17-19 NKJV)

Where’s the outcry against adultery?

Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, (Luke 14:12-13 NIV)

How many people do you know that throw parties and invite the homeless instead of their friends?

How about this one?

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV)

Here’s my proposal:

Since so many people are more than happy to justify the use the government to do what Jesus said, i.e., feed the poor. I think it’s time to start another government program aimed at spreading the Gospel. We can shorten the saying to just “Save the Lost.” Quite honestly, there are probably more lost than there are hungry since Jesus also said, wide is the path to Hell, and narrow is the path to Heaven. And I would argue that this is true, because Jesus also said He is “the way, the truth and the life.” (emphasis mine).

Based on that, we should be able to earmark a truly massive amount of taxpayer money for this effort. We can establish a bureaucracy that is too big to be efficient, and fiscally irresponsible, just like most other government entities.

But what about Separation of Church and State, some may ask. Liberals and Democrats are already using Jesus’ commandment to further their agenda, so they don’t have a leg to stand on. They’re already pushing for more irresponsible spending in order to help the poor, in the name of Jesus, so precedent is set. We can set up more irresponsible spending to save the lost.

Um, no. When Jesus said to help the poor, He meant for YOU to help the poor. Not push your responsibility onto some nameless, faceless, government agency. He didn’t say set up a Robin Hood government to take from the rich, and give to the poor. He didn’t say redistribute wealth. And He didn’t say, demonize the rich.

He did say, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15 ESV). There is no Gospel in welfare, which means there’s no Christ in welfare, which means welfare is not a Christian program.

Tagged: Jesus poverty the poor theology welfare