Universal Health Care

Both sides of the debate have authored cartoons...

So where do I stand on Universal Health Care?

#1 I do not believe in entitlement.

I think giving something to someone for free when they have chosen against it by their actions (i.e. a person who receives welfare or free health care when they choose not to work), encourages more people to not work.

#2 I believe in people.

I think we communicate this belief in people when we expect much out of them.

I think we expect much out of people when we refuse to give hand outs. This expectation can push people towards the greatness and capacity for which they were designed.

This post is about those who have received something undeserved. It’s meant to highlight the lack of “fairness” and justice exhibited when people receive something they’ve never worked for.

But this post is not just about them.

It’s more about me.

And it’s also about grace.

Grace freely given to me, when my actions and sinfulness did not warrant so precious a gift. When God made grace available to me, I wonder if the Angels were counseling Him not to.

“But Lord, if you give grace to him, anyone will be eligible, no matter how undeserving they are!”

Here’s an excerpt from my journal where I believe God was especially harsh (and insightful) on my pride.

Those who have made or built something in life by sacrificing (me), tend to see the general waste of other people and assume a level of indifference/arrogance in relationship to them. It is so much like the people who worked in the field all day getting paid the same as those who worked for an hour (Matthew 20)!

I have gone without, dang it, and you want my success without matching my blood, sweat and tears! No way!

While this is true in some degree, it can easily lead to ugly thoughts in my heart. Thoughts of control, thoughts of mastering another person, thoughts of turning them into myself instead of into Christ. It can also lead to some pretty damaging views about them. They’re not smart (like me), they’re not committed (like I was), they’re not capable (like I am).

I need to spend a little more time thinking about how entitlement has crept into my life in this regard…I saved when no one else was saving, therefore it’s mine. I was frugal when everyone else was partying, therefore, I should have control. I drank free water when everyone else was drinking $2 Cokes, therefore, I am more self-disciplined than they are.

This is sick.

Lord, help brew a spirit of generosity in me that is glad I was given the ability to sacrifice so that others could thrive; to be the one that is dependable so that others can depend; to have every act of restraint and frugality not be about myself and my self-righteousness before men, but so that every decision to not indulge myself would be a smiling act of love on those who might need my resources in the future.

Lord, teach me how to sacrifice for someone other than myself.

Ouch.

Okay. So maybe this post doesn’t tell you exactly where I stand on Universal Health Care, but I hope it does give you insight into how God is breaking down the pride that would normally influence my thoughts on this hotly debated topic.

Workers in the Vineyard