Journal: Government Mandates and the Gospel

Yesterday the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the health care mandate known popularly as "Obamacare".  The fact that Obamacare and the Court's decision concerning it divide the people of our nation politically is no surprise.  That this division, fueled by confusion of the two kingdoms, is taking place in the American church is troubling.  But it is also no surprise.  The church is already torn by division over theology, practice, and purpose.  We could not have expected such a fragmented church to come together over such a divisive issue except by a miraculous act of God.  Without that divine intervention, the church remains divided over this issue.  Why?

In the first place, the church is divided because of our sins of neglecting the poor and needy.  In many ways and on many levels, we Christians have abdicated our responsibility -- our calling -- to care for the least among us.  Misguided by our love of capitalism, shaped by the darkness of social Darwinism, and consumed by our pursuit of the American dream, we have blissfully allowed the government to become the advocate of the poor, the widow, and the orphan.  Our chief concern over this alien role for our government has largely been how it affects us economically.  For the most part, God's people have been woefully silent while the government has proven itself to be a poor steward for those in need.  When we do speak up, its in our self-interest.  We rave on about our freedoms while government programs entrap the poor.  We insist on our rights while the government sanctioned the genocide of the unborn.  We demand tax relief while the government reneges on its promises to those depending upon Social Security for retirement.  We have much for which to repent.

Compounding this problem are those Christians who recognize the needs of the least of those in our society and think that supporting government mandates are the faithful response of the church.  Self-righteous condemnations of Christians who oppose government mandates are riddled with references to the Biblical call to care for the poor, the widows, and the orphans.  This too demands repentance.  The call of our Savior to intercede for those in need is a call to the individual and corporate action of His people as an expression of our love for Him and thanksgiving for what He has done for us.  He did not make this call to a loving response a mandate and it cannot be replaced by a government mandate.  Even a casual reading of Matthew 25 will not find the words, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you supported the food stamps program and WIC. I was thirsty and you were an advocate for the Clean Water Act.  I was a stranger and you lobbied for Section 8 housing.  I needed clothes and you showed me how to apply for welfare.  I was sick and you backed Obamacare ..."

It's been rightly observed that the Court's ruling is a wake up call.  Specifically, it has been called  a wake up call for the political right to come together and take a stand against Obamacare.  But do we, the church, see this as a wake up call for us?  Not a call to renewed political action (either on the right or the left), but a wake up call to repent of our dependence on the kingdom of the left (i.e., our government) to care for the least of those in our society and to respond to Christ's call to share the Gospel in deeds as well as words.  There is no place for mandates in answering this call.  It must come from hearts miraculously changed by the Gospel.  May our hearts be so changed.