Thought of the Day 05.13.09

Recently on the program, we had a discussion about whether the government should be trying to help the poor. Most people seemed to think that the government is justified if it can have a truly beneficial effect. And this help is especially right if it goes primarily to the people who suffer loss and poverty due to circumstances beyond their control, such as children.

Although I sympathize with this distinction, part of me isn’t yet convinced. On the one hand, I fully understand the preference to give aid to those who suffer unjustly. But is suffering any less painful just because you deserve it? Isn’t it actually more painful because you have only yourself to blame?

I realize that helping people out of a pit they’ve behaved themselves into may hinder them learning to change. But at the same time, I notice that Jesus extends His love and salvation to sinners who don’t deserve it, all of whom have behaved ourselves into the suffering He rescues us from. And if His government applied our distinction as a guiding standard, where would any of us be?