I believe God has given humanity the framework of government to provide for order among people. Without order, chaos would be at every level. In Judges, we read “everyone did what was right in their own eyes,” and as a result chaos and confusion followed. People did not seek the Lord. Hurt and injury, even killing each other, was prevalent.
So, accepting the premise that government is necessary in this fallen world, what should be the role of government? Collect taxes? Provide public safety and fire protection? Keep a military force? Provide roads, childcare, education and healthcare? Offer shelter for the homeless and food for the poor?
The list is extensive. We tend to find agreement in some of these areas more easily than in others. My goal with this article is to examine the practical limit of what government can do to help those in need and to challenge us as the church and as individuals to care for others as Jesus instructs.
Is it our responsibility?
Do we as individuals have a personal responsibility to help the poor and needy or can we decide that with all the taxes the government collects from us, the government will take care of the needy? The Bible is very clear that we have this responsibility.
Matthew 25:34-46 describes Christ’s expectation that we will feed the hungry and thirsty, take in strangers, provide clothing to the needy and visit the sick and those in prison. As followers of Jesus, we do these things out of our love for Jesus and not out of a spirit of “look at what I’m doing.” Doing the opposite—ignoring the situations of others— results in eternal punishment.
While the Lord also notes, “the poor you will always have with you” (Deut. 15:11, Matt. 26:11, Mark 14:7), we are directed to help the needy as much as possible. As society evolves, our opportunities of how to help may change. Different organizations may arise over time that take on the mission of providing this help. These organizations do so through seeking assistance of individuals’ time and financial resources.
I think of Mennonite Disaster Service, Mennonite Central Committee and Samaritan’s Purse as strong examples of organizations designed to assist communities that have been injured from violent storms, earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters. These groups quietly come in and do the necessary cleanup of wreckage and provide food, water and medical assistance needed by the affected residents and then they quietly leave for the next area in need of their help.
Caring for our neighbors
When we rely on our government to develop more and more ways to care for people, we are left with more time to pursue our passions for leisure and pleasure. We lose sight of what we can and should personally do to care for others. Do we know our next-door neighbor? Have we made an effort to get to know them on a personal level? Have we learned how to intentionally pray for them and seek out ways to encourage them in their personal lives?
There seems to be a limited role for government in providing some of this assistance to its citizens, but what level is reasonable?
Because we haven’t been intentional in caring for our neighbors, we have drifted into the mentality that our government, with all its programs such as Social Security, food stamps, SNAP, Medicare, Medicaid and social service providers, will address people’s needs for physical and mental care.
Some 90 years ago, the federal government established the Social Security program to make monthly payments to old-age retirees. Then in the mid-1960s, our government established the Great Society, a program intended to eradicate poverty in America. After 60 years and hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars, poverty is still present. This history offers a comprehensive test of the limits and ability of government as a strategy to meet the needs of the poor, the widow, the orphan and the hungry.
So, what then? Do we conclude that these programs do not work and so the government can back off such efforts? Good question. There seems to be a limited role for government in providing some of this assistance to its citizens, but what level is reasonable? The answer is rather elusive, especially if one does not see the need to seek the wisdom found in God’s Word.
For the most part, in the past families and neighbors accepted their personal responsibility to do what they could to meet the needs in their communities. I think in an agrarian society, people felt closer to these needs and pitched in, whether it was to help a neighbor rebuild a barn that had burned or more likely today, when a farmer suddenly dies or is stricken with a serious illness. Then, whether it’s planting crops or harvesting, multiple farmers show up with their own equipment and get a week’s work done in a matter of one or two days. And these neighbors are just happy to help and don’t accept any payment. In a more urban society, it seems to take more effort for neighbors to be intentional to see a need and give help on a personal level.
Fixing heart problems
During the past four years as I served in the South Dakota Legislature, I had a front row seat to experience and witness state government wrestling with many policy and funding issues that attempted to address moral matters, law enforcement, personal freedoms and social programs intended to alleviate suffering and injustices of its citizens. I was soon reminded that government is not designed to fix problems that are generated by the condition of people’s hearts (spiritual condition arising out of our sin nature).
Despite all the money we had available (which in these last four years was double or even triple what was normal), it was never enough. It was easier to meet the constitutional requirement to balance the state budget this past year when there was a more normal amount of revenue than when we had huge amounts of funds in the prior three years.
As a Christ follower, I understand government is necessary in a civilized society primarily for maintaining order. But it cannot take the place of the church’s responsibility or the individual responsibility that we have to meet the needs of our neighbors, whether they be poor, widowed, orphaned, hungry, sick or in prison.
We have a personal responsibility to see to our own needs as much as possible, and to daily seek the Lord’s leading and wisdom in making good choices. We are also called, as we have the opportunity, to “do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10).
Lynn Schneider has served two terms in the South Dakota State House and retired in 2017 from a career in banking. He is currently the Central District Conference chair and a long-time and active member of Bethesda Church in Huron, South Dakota.
