I am a Christian. I believe God calls us to be charitable, giving to those in need. Helping those who cannot help themselves is an act of obedience. Lately I have been seeing a lot of that doctrine twisted and used against the christian community. People are saying if we are Christians, why are we so against using tax money to help others? Let me interject my opinion and then clarify, what I think, is fueling the hesitation.
When I think of charity, I think of a personal decision. And outreach of ones own resources to those around them segwaying into an opportunity to witness, show God's love face to face, to be a blessing and to be blessed. Now this can also be done on a large scale like fund raising, donations and the like, but this is still done according to the individual decision to act in obedience to God's word.
Where the problem lies, well at least for me, is government mandated 'charity'. I believe that as a Nation, a christian nation, we should all be willing to have a safety net in place for those who cannot help themselves. But not to the degree it is now, or that people are trying to get it. A redistribution of wealth is not charity. A government deciding to whom and how much we give, is not charity. Jesus did say that to whoever much is given, much is expected, but He also said give what is Caesars to Caesar, and what is God's give to God. Caesar being the government, and giving to God as in our personal tithe/love offering/neighborhood charity. What we have now is a pooling of funds, forcefully taken and distributed under government authority. We have minimal say is where this goes, or how much we give. We have no way to discern between the CAN NOTS and the WILL NOTS. I don't think we should completely get rid of the systems in place. Lord knows my family growing up would have had a hard time without them, but I think as a culture we are putting too much faith in the government, and not enough faith in God.
When the government steps in and takes control of our charitable acts, it completely takes God out of the equation. When is the last time you viewed paying taxes as tithing? Or, even worse, decided NOT to give because your tax dollars already pay for welfare? I think we are less likely , as a whole, to give individually because we can't afforded it anymore, or because we feel the governments got it and we no longer need to be involved. What difference would it make in someones life to get a personal hand up verses a government hand out? I believe this is causing a moral decay in the person which in turn causes moral decay in our society. When we give out of obedience, we are blessed. When it is mandated we are resentful. When we give as Christians, we witness that God should get the glory. When the government gives out checks, it's the system that gets the praise.
Also this give a fish rather than teach to fish system has caused a strangling dependence in our country. Many who take advantage of these programs are unwilling to live without them. I know there are many cases where there really is no way of living without them, and I am not talking about them. I am talking about those who feel no need to seek self sufficiency because they feel they don't have to. Those who truly view charity as entitlement. Those who claim they cannot afford basic necessities, yet their kids have a cell phone, a Wii, Xbox and vacationed at Disney world. All of which my family doesn't have and my husband works 50+ hours a week. (And I'm not making this up, I actually know and love these people) I feel God has called us to provide help to the helpless in order to give the giver an opportunity to show His love and be blessed in obedience and also to show the recipient His provision in their lives. Now I know there are those who say "thank God for welfare" and actually mean it (speaking from personal experience) but then there are those who would be ANGRY if they didn't get the 'free money' from the government they have been using to live a lifestyle that the average working class family cannot afford. I don't have a problem with charity. I don't have a problem with taxes. I do have a problem with the will nots demanding more from my family in the name of christian obedience. When my husband works harder and longer hours than the majority of the people I know and we still cannot afford the same things for our kids that a parent on welfare can for their children, I have a problem. When people say I don't support a tax hike because I just don't want to give, it's insulting. What I give, and to whom I give it is between me and God. Providing an Xbox and a Disney vacation to for my neighbor is not my charitable responsibility. If I can afford that lifestyle, I think it should be provided for my own children and there isn't anything unchristian about that.
