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I was writing something on Uriah the Hittite the other day, and was struck by the implications for how the people of God approach the immigrant.
Now, in the case of Uriah, we see someone clearly ingrafted into the covenant community, even one of David’s “mighty men,” and yet it is still deemed necessary to identify him as a Hittite. There may be many reasons for this, but one purpose it serves is to show how this individual — ingrafted into the family of God — acts far more honorably than any of the others mentioned in the story who end up being explicitly or implicitly responsible for this honorable man’s murder.
As a country, there may be reasons for determining who can and cannot be part of the national fabric, but as Christians, we must recall that our God is not subject to borders. What’s more, our nation’s history of immigration policy is incredibly racist, with those excluded at any given point in history reflecting the prejudices of the day. Most recent policy debates would make you think the United States only had one land border with another country, as immigration policy always has far more to do with our southern border than our northern one.
As we engage in immigration policy debates, we would do well to do so with God’s heart for all His people, irrespective of nation, tribe, or tongue. As in the case of Uriah, we know of many immigrants serving their chosen country honorably…let us hope we can treat them with greater respect than Uriah was shown for his unwavering loyalty and service!
So, I return to my occasional series based on Luba Lukova’s social justice posters (see 12/30 post for brief intro/explanation) with a post on health coverage.
While I am a bit of a policy geek, health policy is not my thing, and I will not pretend to understand all the back-and-forths in this current debate. What I DO know is simple — the number of uninsured or underinsured in this “civilized” nation of ours is unacceptable; the fact that people suffer and/or die from preventable illness is unacceptable; the fact that families are bankrupted by medical bills is unacceptable. We can and must do better!
To say I do not understand all the back-and-forths in this current debate is simply to say this is one of those policy matters that concerns people’s very lives, and so should not be subject to the same political games inherent in lesser matters. It is fair to disagree, but let’s do so civilly and with the goal of coming to some kind of agreement that will better the lives of millions of Americans!
What I found particularly egregious was the first email I received regarding the so-called “death panels.” The email provided no link to verify this outrageous claim, nor even the bill number so the claims could be independently verified. (BTW, the bill is HR 3200, in case you care to look it up at http://thomas.loc.gov and judge for yourself instead of believing the spin of either side.)
Being that “bit of a policy geek,” it seemed pretty clear that no lawmaker was going to write “death panels” into a bill so obviously as was being claimed. For goodness sake, no one running for office can even run afoul of AARP for fear of losing political cache among the all-important (and voting) seniors, so this seemed like a good idea??? Wondering how such an idea was being found plausible enough for a usually sane individual to send me such an email, I looked further into the origins and was incredibly disappointed to find the source to be a widely respected organization among conservative Christians. Disingenuousness is one thing within politics, but I’ve been incredibly disappointed by some of the things stemming from such organizations beginning with the campaign and continuing through the present. It is absolutely appropriate for Christians to have a voice in the public square, but when did the worldly rules of politics trump God’s standards for the way in which such a voice should be expressed? When did it become alright for single-issue politics to stand in the way of a more just system for the most vulnerable among us? We would do well to heed God’s indictment of His people through the prophet Amos, and remember that we are called to a higher standard, and to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).
I considered several posts for today, and clearly wrote none, but all the better, as nothing could have been as striking as we enter the second decade of the 21st century as the following from Walter Rauschenbusch’s classic Christianity and the Social Crisis, written early in the 20th century:
When the Nineteenth Century died, its Spirit descended to the vaulted chamber of the Past, where the Spirits of the dead Centuries sit on granite thrones together. When the newcomer entered, all turned toward him and the Spirit of the Eighteenth Century spoke: “Tell thy tale, brother. Give us word of the humankind we left to thee.”
“I am the Spirit of the Wonderful Century. I gave man the mastery over nature. Discoveries and inventions, which lighted the black space of the past like lonely stars, have clustered in a Milky Way of radiance under my rule.
One man does by the touch of his hand what the toil of a thousand slaves never did. Knowledge has unlocked the mines of wealth, and the hoarded wealth of today creates the vaster wealth of tomorrow. Man has escaped the slavery of Necessity and is free.
“I freed the thoughts of men. They face the facts and know. Their knowledge is common to all. The deeds of the East at eve are known in the West at morn. They send their whispers under the seas and across the clouds.
“I broke the chains of bigotry and despotism. I made men free and equal. Every man feels the worth of his manhood.
“I have touched the summit of history. I did for mankind what none of you did before. They are rich. They are wise. They are free.”
The Spirits of the dead Centuries sat silent, with troubled eyes. At last the Spirit of the First Century spoke for all.
“We all spoke proudly when we came here in the flush of our deeds, and thou more proudly than we all. But as we sit and think of what was before us, and what has come after us, shame and guilt bear down our pride. Your words sound as if the redemption of man had come at last. Has it come? Read the rest of this entry »
Given the shared interest, I thought I’d use Luba Lukova’s social justice posters as jumping-off points for some posts. By way of giving credit where credit is due, following is some more about the posters:
Social Justice 2008 is a powerful portfolio that features 12 thought-provoking posters by world-renowned artist and designer Luba Lukova [with] themes that include peace, war, ecology, immigration, privacy, health coverage, media, corruption, censorship, and Sudanese poverty. …Lukova’s portfolio captures many of the complex issues our society faces…and yet each poster speaks to the viewer in an accessible and honest way.
Starting with the income gap, I’ll revisit my particular dumbfounderment at one of the 2008 Presidential election’s later attacks. While a background in political science tells me that seizing upon the idea of “spreading the wealth” in the United States is sure to play well, my Christian identity was stunned by some of the response to this attack.
I’ve always been a bit confused how some seem able to find a basis in Christianity for capitalism when the book of Acts is perhaps as close to a socialist manifesto as many Christians will ever read. The problem with any man-made economic system, of course, is that it necessarily involves men (in the generic use of the term, of course). While communism may look great on paper, it falls apart when sinful human beings enter the equation.
Never mind Acts – if you really want to talk about “spreading the wealth,” how about that Jubilee Year, where everyone is freed from their debts and bondage? I dare say that looks pretty good to a lot of Americans right about now. Read the rest of this entry »
‘Tis the season for giving…for our annual provision of any number of “baskets” for the less fortunate…for our reserving for ourselves the “more blessed” position of giver, as Robert Lupton asserts in Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life: Rethinking Ministry to the Poor
There are definite power dynamics in the way we tend to “do charity.” Even the phrase used in the previous paragraph — “the less fortunate” — implies a relationship between those that have to give and those in need…the “haves” and the “have-nots,” if you will.
There is blessedness in this kind of giving, to be sure. But there is also power in it — which can be dangerous. Giving allows me to retain control. Retaining the helping position protects me from the humiliation of appearing to need help. And, even more sobering, I condemn those whom I would help to the permanent, prideless role of recipient.
When my motivation is to change people, I inadvertently communicate: Something is wrong with you, but (quite subtly) I am okay. If our relationship is defined as healer/patient, then I must remain well and they must remain sick in order for our interaction to continue. Since one does not go to the doctor when he is well, curing, then, cannot long serve as the basis for any relationship that is life-enhancing for both participants. …
These relations of power are exacerbated through the ways we tend to meet peoples’ needs — by having them stand in line for all to see to receive a Thanksgiving basket; by establishing limits on the number of items to be obtained from a community clothes closet; by investigating the “worthiness” of requests for assistance.
Anyone who has been given the unfortunate task of dispensing free (or nearly free) commodities will soon have familiar war stories to tell. Something seems to go wrong when one with valued resources attempts to distribute them to others in need. The transactions, no matter how compassionate, seem to go sour in the gut of both giver and recipient. A subtle, unintentional message slips through: “You have nothing of worth that I desire in return.” The giver remains protected by his one-up status while the recipient is exposed and vulnerable. Little wonder that negative attitudes surface. It becomes hard to be a cheerful giver — and even harder to be a cheerful recipient.
Ancient Hebrew wisdom describes four levels of charity. The highest level is to provide a job for one in need without his knowledge that you provided it. The next, lower level is to provide work that the needy one knows you provided. The third level is to give an anonymous gift to meet an immediate need. The lowest level of charity, to be avoided if at all possible, is to give a poor person a gift with his full knowledge that you are the donor….
Betterment to Development
…the first year I sat in living rooms with needy neighbors when the gift-bearing families arrived, I observed something I had never seen before. The children, of course, were all excited at the sight of all the colorfully wrapped presents. The mothers were gracious to their benefactors but seemed, to me at least, to be a bit reserved. If there was a father in the home, he simply vanished. At first sight of the gift-bearers, he disappeared out the back door. It dawned on me that something other than joyful Christmas sharing was happening here. Although the children were ecstatic, the recipient parents were struggling with a severe loss of pride….their impotence as providers was exposed before their children. The mothers would endure this indignity for the sake of their children, but it was often more than the fathers could take. Their failure as providers was laid bare. It was destroying what shreds of pride they were managing to hold on to.
It was obvious that this charity system had to change….
Is it any wonder that community is so hard to foster within such a system of charity? Within a system that does not recognize what both parties have to offer the other, both having God-given gifts to share for the betterment of all with whom they come in contact?
It is disquieting to realize how little value I attribute to “the least of these,” the ones deemed by our Lord to be “great in the Kingdom” (Matt. 5:19, NIV). I have viewed them as weak ones waiting to be rescued, not bearers of divine treasures. The dominance of my giving overshadows and stifles the rich endowments that the Creator has invested in those I have considered destitute. I selectively ignore that the moneyed, empowered, learned ones will enter this Kingdom with enormous difficulty.
On Social Justice, and other musings... 