Welfare falls short of Christian charity
The favorite example of Democratic righteousness is the party’s support of the welfare system. They claim that if conservatives really cared about Christian values and helping fellow Americans in need, then the Republican Party would favor policies that tax the rich and redistribute wealth to the poor. Liberal Democrats point to government assistance and the welfare state as a model of Christian charity in action. In reality government welfare is at best a pale reflection of true Christian giving.
Admittedly, the welfare system was designed for a noble purpose - to assist the less fortunate either financially or through other means including food, housing, and work programs. Certainly this type of assistance benefits many people. And those who work for or support government sponsored welfare programs generally have the best intentions at heart. They genuinely want to make a positive difference in the lives of those who receive these services. I do not doubt the honesty of their convictions, nor should we discredit the good they do accomplish. But in the end government bureaucracy does not fulfill the demands of Christian love of neighbor.
Liberals correctly point out that Jesus commanded his followers to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and care for the sick. The Sermon on the Mount and the command to love our neighbor form the basis for the liberal argument in favor of the “Christian” welfare state. Liberals argue that Christian Conservatives neglect this key element of their faith when applying Christian principles to their own version of public policy. Supposedly conservatives have no heart when it comes to the down-trodden and do not heed the words of Jesus about those in need. In truth, conservatives are not heartless or dismissive of human suffering or ignorant of basic Christian ethics. Conservatives know that the poor suffer and need our help. But they also know that making charitable work an integral function of the government actually diminishes the goodness of charity and reduces its spiritual impact.
Charitable acts, when they are truly “Christian,” not only alleviate the suffering of those in need, which is a great good in itself, but goodness is also found in the giver who makes a willing sacrifice. Jesus tells Christians to help the poor because in doing so we not only help our neighbor, but we too benefit spiritually by strengthening our own faith and by building communal bonds with others. Government welfare on the other hand creates a barrier between the giver (the taxpayer) and the receiver (those in need) that filters out any spiritual context. The poor receive benefits from a faceless and faithless bureaucracy; and taxpayers pay taxes, not out of charitable goodwill or faith in God, but because the force of law compels them to do so under strict penalties. That is not Christian charity; it is simply doing your duty to Uncle Sam.
This is not to say that the government should never play a role in assisting the poor. The government has an obligation to regulate certain variables within the economy to prevent or correct social injustices including poverty. But the primary responsibility for ensuring basic human rights and assisting economically oppressed rests with individuals and private organizations such as churches and civic groups which meet the spiritual and emotional as well as the physical needs of those they serve. A partnership with government that allows faith-based organizations to do the job that government is not equipped to do would be in the best interest of all involved.
Making “charity” a function of the secular bureaucracy, rather than a genuine outpouring of love between individuals, contradicts the true spirit of the Christian message. Authentic Christian charity is given out of compassion and love for humanity, and as an act of obedience to God. From a Christian perspective, our charitable good works belong to God. If we make government the primary facilitator of charity, in effect forfeiting our Christian duty to love our neighbor, is this not in effect giving to Caesar what is rightfully God’s? That is a concept no “party of Christian values” should ever proclaim.
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