Government welfare? Not in my Bible

Many politicians in both major political parties have a lot of government proposals to take money from our wallets and distribute it among "the poor," including, apparently, illegal immigrants who have no right to be in this country – mostly through government programs, of course, run by overpaid bureaucrats with Cadillac health care plans (while the average taxpayer struggles daily to make ends meet).

Tragically, so many people have been inspired by Sen. Barack Obama's neo-Marxist utopian falsehoods from the campaign stump that some members of the religious left recently began another campaign to make the nation's "elected officials" end poverty, thus spending even more money on worthless government programs stealing hard-earned wealth from the pockets of millions of American citizens. Worse, some self-described conservatives and Republicans, including President George Bush and presidential candidate John McCain, still believe in using taxpayer money to help the poor. They even endorse such measures!

Apparently, these people never read Jesus Christ's comment in John 12:8 that "the poor will always be with you."

This left-wing doctrine of using taxpayer money to help the poor and needy sometimes crops up in Hollywood movies, such as "Dave," "Bulworth" and the recently released Kevin Costner movie "Swing Vote." In the Costner movie, the message pushed at the end is that the government must do something to help the poor, including the working poor and the unemployed.

Naturally, of course, these politicians and filmmakers never consider what the God of the Bible actually says about helping the poor and needy.

God presents us with three general ways in the Bible to take care of the poor and needy: 1) through the family, 2) through the church, and 3) through individual charity. The applicable passages for these three ways are Deut. 14:28, 29, Numbers 18:24, Matthew 6:1-4 and 1 Timothy 5:3-16.

Now, the first two ways are pretty clear.

People's first obligation is to the needy, poor, widowed and orphaned in their own families. Then, they have an obligation to the needy, poor, widowed and orphaned in their local church organization.

God established the pattern for this kind of church giving in Numbers 18:24 and Deuteronomy 14:28, 29. As David Chilton points out in "Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators," the bulk of Christian giving to the local church should be geared toward financing professional theologians, experts in biblical law and church discipline, teachers of God's Word and leaders skilled in worship. It was only every third year that all the giving was set aside to help the needy, poor, widowed and orphaned, including full-time religious leaders who don't have a regular job. Even then, the money was not given just to anyone who showed up. Those able to work but don't do not qualify for help. Also, those who have families to take care of them don't qualify, nor do widows under age 60 qualify, according to 1 Timothy 5:3-16.

Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh, talks about the third way in Matthew 6. He tells His listeners that they should give individual charity. He also says they should give such charity secretly: "Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."

Despite what Barack Obama, John McCain or George Bush and their supporters think, in none of the Bible passages just cited does God cite the government as the means by which the poor, needy, widowed and orphaned are housed, clothed and fed!

Thus, a simple, straightforward reading of the Bible, God's Word, including the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, clearly shows that the American government's welfare state is unbiblical, if not immoral. In other words, Christians and their church leaders have an absolute duty to verbally rebuke, discipline or shun any Christian who advocates such a government welfare system.

If this is true (and it is), then any members of any political party, including Republicans like John McCain, George Bush and Democrats like Barack Obama, who advocate such a system yet still claim to be Christian should be reprimanded by their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and by all church leaders – and repent! If they refuse to repent and change their ways, then their names should be posted at their church and throughout the whole land so that all Christians in the United States can know that these people are not fit for public office.

At the same time, of course, all Christians should tell their family members to help out the poor, needy and disabled among them. They also should tell their churches to give at least one-third of their income to help the poor, needy and orphaned, as God commands us.

We must stop the ungodly, immoral stealing from American citizens by the welfare state! We must establish a proper and godly system of family, church and private charity. All Americans should follow God's clear guidance in this matter; He will reward them mightily for their obedience. May God have mercy on those evildoers who don't obey these holy commands!