Christian Worldview Concepts

Church Based Medicine

The Results of Government Programs

The modern politician's compassion is frequently measured by the amount of support he or she lends to publicly supported education, public health and welfare programs. Consider the current political season and the numerous proposals to invent new social entitlements or renovate existing ones. There is a loud political dispute among the presidential hopefuls of both major political parties over expanding the role of Medicare and shoring up Social Security, two programs viewed as examples of government "compassion." Few politicians will risk the political wrath of a populace that fully believes they are entitled to be cared for by a government all too willing to accommodate them as the price of maintaining power. Many senior citizens don't seem to care that forcing taxpayers to pay for their prescription medications today means their grandchildren will likely experience a lower standard of living in the years ahead.

The history of the so-called war on poverty shows that as government-funding and control increased, the number of people receiving services through government-run programs increased, and the involvement of local churches in programs aimed at low-income individuals and families decreased. Many evangelical churches in larger metropolitan areas, as well as rural areas, now find themselves located in communities that are increasingly populated with people whose main source of support comes from government welfare programs. This means that low-income people increasingly look to state and federal government bureaucracies for solutions to not just their economic problems, but problems in marriage, family, housing, employment and education. The result has been the growth of a government monopoly, virtually forcing the local church out of compassion ministry altogether, either through regulation or by making it financially impossible to compete.