To Whom Much Is Given...

President Obama spoke recently at the National Prayer Breakfast, quoting several Bible verses instructing us to take care of the poor. They were good verses, and something that I'm going to try to internalize to a greater degree.

But he also said that these verses are why he believes in raising taxes, so the government can take care of everybody, because "From to whom much is given, much will be required." In coming to this conclusion, he's missed a couple of subtle but crucial points, ones I find nearly all Christians unable to articulate. Instead, I hear Christians verbally floundering around, quoting irrelevant verses--contradictory or otherwise--as if the act of demonstrating they know as much about the Bible as the advocates of big government will invalidate the original verses. I cringe when they do that.

So here are the right answers:

First, when Jesus said, "much will be required," he wasn't talking about Barack Obama or the US Federal government. In that statement, it is clear that GOD is doing the requiring, not other people, because he said "will," not "is," indicating the requiring will take place at a future event: death.

Second, Jesus commanded us to give what we have to the poor. He did not command us to "Take what your neighbor has BY FORCE, and give that to the poor." He didn't intend to say this, because it doesn't work very well.

For the recipient, gifts from a faceless government increase irresponsibility and a sense of entitlement. Huge amounts are wasted by government inefficiency (trust me, I've been a government employee.) The transaction also increases class resentment among the people from whom the money is forcefully taken.

As a Christian, I have an obligation to take care of the poor and to love my neighbor. I do not have an obligation to make sure you take care of the poor and love your neighbor.

There's no virtue in forced charity.

In Acts, the Christians lived together and shared all they had, but the sharing was clearly voluntary.

Though God did not instruct us to forcefully redistribute, He did command us "Thou shalt not steal."

So, by all means, let's try to persuade the rich (and everyone else) to give. Let's have TV commercials, public opinion campaigns, and a fund for voluntary contributions to the poor. But the choice to give must remain with the giver, or we'll end up with ... well, what we've got, and worse.