i will say this with as much tact as i can muster, so my apologies if this offends anyone – i’m really just trying to understand, not throw rocks. why are some followers of Jesus so angry about the stimulus package? it seems the root of the problem is that folks don’t want to give handouts to people who made irresponsible decisions about their mortgages. and i’ve also heard that folks would rather keep more of their tax money than let it go to the government. and some have claimed that they would prefer to choose what charity / good cause their money goes to, rather than let the government decide.

i understand the arguments, certainly. counter arguments abound – helping out the struggling homeowner ultimately benefits us all; and the federal government is the only entity large enough, (supposedly) objective enough and with sufficient resources to help the most people. those points could be (and are) endlessly debated – that’s not where i am struggling.

at what point did followers of Jesus care so much about what happens to their money? why is it given any more thought than ‘pay the bills, feed our family, give a percent to the church, have a little fun, and save’? it might demand our attention briefly; it certainly shouldn’t call forth our outrage.

i get the concept of being a good steward, but (1) if it’s not in our possession (i.e. it’s in the government’s account being doled out) and (2) we trust the authority God has enstated, as mentioned in romans 13, isn’t it out of our hands at that point? shouldn’t we just move on and focus on something more worthwhile?

i’m sure someone could present a compelling, maybe even Biblical, argument to this point. but i’d be afraid it would still sound the same: greedy, self-serving, cruel. a bunch of people who follow the guy that talked about dying to yourself and told a rich guy to sell everything he had – what do the people who are hurting, struggling, desperate for help, facing homelessness, job loss, etc – what are those people supposed to think when we start saying “you don’t deserve help”? i certainly don’t feel qualified to judge that. what kind of message does that send?

with my struggles to free myself of the grip of comfort and selfishness, i have found that the bulk of the fight is reminding myself that i need to care a whole lot less about my ‘rights’, what i am ‘owed’. the more i can do to distance myself from that frame of mind, the better off i am.