TOGETHER: Balance church & government duties

Posted: 3/31/06

TOGETHER:
Balance church & government duties

Why do you suppose people say they admire Jesus and believe he is a great model for their life and then have so much trouble following him? Why is it that about the time you think you have him all figured out, you turn a corner in Scripture and your assumptions are turned on their head?

Matthew 25 is a good example of how this happens. It illustrates several themes: The responsibility of being ready when great moments arrive, the responsibility of using what is trusted to you courageously, the responsibility of caring for the poorest among us, and the frightening consequences, in each case, when we fail to be responsible.

Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

This theme makes some of us pleased that Jesus is so strong on holding every person accountable. But if you take it seriously, then the people who ought to work the hardest to serve the “least of these” should be those who believe everyone is responsible for their behavior and there is hell to pay if we neglect to serve society’s most vulnerable citizens.

Do you see how this makes everyone uncomfortable? People who believe we ought to take care of the “least of these” often don’t insist on the principle of personal responsibility. They treat people in need as objects of pity rather than as full human beings worthy of respect. And those who insist on the importance of personal responsibility often don’t see that the poor and the needy are part of their responsibility. Rather, they look on the poor and make the judgment that there must be something wrong with them, it is their own fault, and thus relieve themselves from any responsibility to care.

Jesus gives us a way forward, both in doing church and in conducting public policy. The help we give ought truly to help. It ought to alleviate the most pressing and desperate dangers people face. It ought to encourage and expect people to develop. It ought to open doors to a better future. Government can use tax money to help with the larger and more expensive parts of this. Churches should not use tax money, but using tithes and offerings, they should do God’s work among the people in the name of Jesus.

Those who claim government has no role to play in meeting the needs of people—that the churches ought to take on all that task—neglect to comprehend the situation. The needs of the citizens of a country have a claim on all the citizens because the welfare of some people affects the welfare of all the people. Since only half of the citizens of this country claim any relationship to a church, and 20 percent of those are the ones who give 80 percent of the tithes and offerings, then what is being asked of the churches is that 10 percent of the people of this country would be funding the human needs of the entire citizenry.

Many people do not trust government to use money wisely. But what will happen to churches’ reputations if they take government money to do the work all citizens ought to be doing and do not use it well? The criticism then will detract from the gospel of Christ and bring reproach to the church. And when the church uses public funds, its gospel of Jesus must be muted, and the motivation of its own members to give will be lessened.

There are ways for government, business and churches to work together for the common good. We ought to keep developing those approaches, respectful of what each can bring to the table, encouraging one another in doing what is good, just and merciful (Micah 6:8).

We are loved.

Charles Wade is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.