Monday, October 7, 2013

Even So...


Praise the LORD!  Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.  Who can list the glorious miracles of the LORD?  Who can ever praise him enough?  There is joy for those who deal justly with others and always do what is right.  Remember me, LORD, when you show favor to your people; come near and rescue me.  Let me share in the prosperity of your chosen ones.  Let me rejoice in the joy of your people; let me praise you with those who are your heritage.  Like our ancestors, we have sinned.  We have done wrong!  We have acted wickedly!  Our ancestors in Egypt were not impressed by the LORD’s miraculous deeds.  They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them.  Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea.  Even so, he saved them— to defend the honor of his name and to demonstrate his mighty power.                     Psalms 106:1 - 8 (NLT)
The children of Israel were a foolish and fickle bunch (kinda like a committee meeting).  

They’d been saved so many times and offered God’s friendship and care.  But each time they thought they could do better on their own.  Scripture says “Even so, he saved them”…AGAIN!  
In the midst of their biggest failures and fear, God saved them.

The battleground of whether or not to fund “Obamacare” has been the most polarizing of political posturing we’ve seen in a long time.  The debate is raging back and forth across the partisan aisles of Congress, and the front porches of churches.  I’ve not seen much worse, even in the most acrimonious church committee meetings!

The polarization, very simply stated, is between two ideals:
·        First are those who demand fiscal responsibility, seeing an unsustainable flow of cash drain on the American economy, amounting to an Uncle Sam freefall giveaway, which will eventually destroy our ability to maintain the kind of world market and benevolence leadership which is our history and heritage.
·        Second are those who see the economically-disadvantaged as deprived of access to healthcare – an opportunity unevenness which, in contemporary culture, is intolerably oppressive.

Both sides have a reasonable point, and, I honestly believe, there is well-meaning and honesty (to a degree) on both sides of the aisle. 

But there are also (besides the 535 elected members of the House and Senate and one president framing the current crisis), about 316 million other people in this country who are getting increasingly angry and impatient that the argument has reached such an impasse.  This bog is sufficient enough to become a financial burden and problem all its own!  The baby is in serious danger of being tossed out with the bath water!

On the one hand – and in my humble opinion, the more pressing – is to do what is just and helps those who are without fair access to the healthcare system.  The Scripture affirms that it is a Godly and right thing to care for the poor.  In the long run that also brings joy to the soul.

On the other hand – giving something cheaply destroys both the gift and the recipient. 

When I was ready for my first day of kindergarten it was a chilly morning.  Mom made me put on a light jacket with a zipper.  She wanted to zip it up for me.  For what seemed like hours we battled – Mom wishing to zip me up; Russell demanding independence – nobody’s gonna zip my jacket.  Well, I couldn’t, so we finally struck a bargain – Mom got the zipper connected and I pulled it up the rest of the way (while Mom tried to keep a straight face).

This was Mom’s “even so”.  She put up with my six-year-old petulance and I went to the bus with a zipped-up jacket.

Point

Digging-in of heels over which political party will come out postured well for the next round of elections isn’t noble governance – it is not idealism and patriotism; it is agenda-driven and belligerent selfishness.  

And it reeks of evil when lives are being played-with.  

It’s time to pray for sanity in the Senate and cooperativeness in Congress.

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