... if people see the government [providing health care] and they start thinking they can just stop reaching out to those in need, that's a mistaken perspective, and I think God will hold them accountable for leaving the loving to the government."This refrain is oft repeated and I need to address its problems.
Just how much can the average person do, Christian or otherwise? Can they prescribe medications? Can they set a broken arm? Treat cancer? Perform surgery? Extensive education and training are required for people to provide this level of care. Even if all Christians were giving all they could, they could only provide a small fraction of the care required. Further, do Christians hold jealously to love? Must people suffer so that Christians can provide insufficient and untimely medical care? Holding your neighbor's hand while they die is an act of love, but how much greater is the love if you join together with all your other neighbors to pay a doctor to provide treatment.
We can view the sick receiving care paid by the government in several ways. We can view it through the eyes of a jealous love, wishing the government out of the way, the sick remaining sick, so that our help, however limited, is felt directly. We can view it through the eyes of someone disjoint from society, where the government is "them" and "they" take our money to provide care to people we don't know. We can view it through the eyes of someone engaged in society, where our tax dollars pay trained professionals providing the care a patient needs.
No doubt there are other ways to view government paid health care, but of these three, I choose the last. It is the one that provides the best care to the patient, and is thereby the one most expressive of genuine love. Here, love is not left to the government, but rather, government can be the means by which we, the people, love our neighbors.
