Not the Government's Job.

First off, a thank you to Iowa for making NO clear choice last week, let's see if New Hampshire will do better tomorrow.

Okay, now on to my topic for today. And before I start, I want to say that I realize there are people in this country who truly need help to get by and survive. People who have had a low life husband walk out on them leaving 4 or 5 kids. People who have been hurt or disabled and can't work a full time job. But there are also so many people today living off the government (a government hat is 15 TRILLION dollars in debt) who are simply to lazy to find work, or realize they can make more by just having babies and letting the government pay for them.

Many people seem to think that the government owes them a decent life. It is, according to some, the job of the government to insure that everyone lives the American Dream. The first problem with this is that everyone seems to think the American Dream is having whatever you want whenever you want it. When I was a child I believe the American Dream, as my parents understood it was to be able to work and supply a house and food and clothes for your kids, and offer them a chance to have things a little better than they had it.

Here's the problem, most of our parents (I'm speaking of the senior citizens of today) were able to give us a better life than they had. And my generation and those a bit younger than me began to feel like we deserved everything. And so we started charging to get everything, and to give our kids everything. And now we have a generation of kids who just walk into a store say they want something, and get up set if no one is there with a credit card to get it for them NOW!

But I'm trailing away from my real topic, which is whether or not welfare is the government's job. I say it is NOT. The job of the government should be to uphold law and protect the citizens, not to hand them everything they want/need. I'm going to throw out a word that is bound to stir up fiery emotions from friends on the right or the left. Socialism... this is a word the left tend to embrace, either openly, or at least ideologically. It is a word that generally makes the skin of those on the right crawl with fears of a Marxist regime moving in. I am a conservative, right-wing Republican who says there is a place for socialism. Please don't shoot me now, please don't burn my blog.

Let me explain myself please. One of the things left-wingers love to throw out is that "Jesus was a socialist" and that "early Christians lived in a socialist society". And if you look at the book of Acts, there definitely seems to be a good case at least for the later statement. The early Church lived in a very communal way, helping each other, and providing each others' needs. And throughout the New Testament we are told to help those around you in need,care for the fatherless and the widow.

But here is where I must differ from my left-wing friends who wish to extrapolate this in to saying we need a socialist government to supply our needs, to make sure everyone is taken care of. You see, in the New Testament it was the Church coming together as a group and taking care of each others' needs and burdens. It was not some group of officials, elected or otherwise telling everyone that you need to give your money to him/her, so they have the same.

One thing I find interesting is that liberals tend to be in favor of human rights, and are opposed to governments who violate there citizens human rights. And yet most of these governments are the result of socialistic government taken to far. China is a prime example. And yet they left continues to want to give our government more and more power. And as the government get more power to control more areas of our lives, then they give themselves the power to become the corrupt human rights violators that they claim to oppose.

What my point here is, is that socialism should not be a style of government, in that the people running the government will undoubtedly corrupt it, and get it wrong. But socialism in the form practiced by the early church is something that could make life better for many. Welfare should not be the job of the government...It should be the job of the church! Many churches has outreach programs to help feed and clothe the needy in there communities, and this is wonderful, but many do not. With America's economy in a mess, I think it is time for the Church to step up and say "We are here to minister not only to your spirit, but to your body as well". This is a call out to Christians, myself included, to step up and help out those who are less fortunate, those who need a hand, those who are struggling to get by. Let the Church do the job it is called to do, so the government can get on track to do what it is here to do.