Our discussion today was based on a real-life story of sacrificial service to others and our failure as a society to meet the needs of the most vulnerable among us. Do I have to be my brother’s keeper?
My thoughts this morning are not answers but rather learning to ask the right questions. We need to think deeper about issues rather than just labeling others, making judgmental statements, and not being politically engaged. How can we improve?
1. What is myth and what is our definitions of the following terms?
a. Capitalism is associated with Christianity: What is good and bad about this association?
b. Individualism valued over Community: Why is our society so uniquely individualistic?
c. Western culture equates to Christianity: How does money and power affect our values?
d. Socialism equates to bad government: What defines good government?
2. As people of faith, is our role to be providers of care, advocates for better policies, push for more personal responsibility, or all of the above? How do we best do that?
3. If your church was put on trial for caring for the least, lost, and lonely, would there be enough evidence to convict?
A couple of summary statements
1. Money makes money. Struggling families continue to struggle. How do we make a more just society?
2. The church has historically embraced the concept of separation of church and state or in more recent times the church has been co-opted by a political party. Where is the salt and light? I love Bread for the World, a non-partisan organization advocating for the poor.
3. No nation is a “Christian Nation” even Israel of the Old Testament, but we are all called to be one, and we are citizens of the Kingdom right now. As citizens of the Kingdom, we have obligations.
Matthew 25: 31 – 46
…”for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. The king will say, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you form the foundation of the world.’”
4. Our nation’s government has created some policies which are incredibly helpful and efficient and “Christian.” One example is social security where the overhead is only 3.5%
5. Earth is not a waiting room for heaven.
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