Government ruined the Christian heart

I have been watching the deterioration of the Christian heart for years. It seems, to me, that we have abdicated our responsibilities as Christians to the government. I don't know when this started, but I know that it has happened. There was a time when the community gathered around the helpless and needy and stood them up. There are still glimpses of this today, but it doesn't strike me as the normal reaction or process anymore.

How did that happen? How did we give the responsibility to care for our family, friends and neighbors over to the government? It is pretty clear in the bible that we are to help those in need. In fact, it says so in many places within the bible. Of particular note is the way we treat the elderly and widowed. Specifically in the bible if states that the elderly widow should be taken care of by the church, while she also helps the church. It is first and foremost the obligation of the family to take care of their own, but for the church to also support the family of the needy.

In 1 Timothy, the bible gives clear direction about how we are to help others:

3 Take care of the widows who really need help. 4 But suppose a widow has children or grandchildren. They should first learn to put their faith into practice. They should care for their own family. In that way they will pay back their parents and grandparents. That pleases God.

5 The widow who really needs help and is left all alone puts her hope in God. Night and day she keeps on praying. Night and day she asks God for help. 6 But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she is still living.

7 Give those directions to the people also. Then no one can be blamed. 8 Everyone should provide for his own relatives. Most of all, everyone should take care of his own family. If he doesn't, he has left the faith. He is worse than someone who doesn't believe.

9 No widow should be put on the list of widows unless she is more than 60 years old. She must also have been faithful to her husband. 10 She must be well known for the good things she does. That includes bringing up children. It includes inviting guests into her home. It includes washing the feet of God's people. It includes helping those who are in trouble. A widow should spend her time doing all kinds of good things.

Notice that these verses includes three main points. We are to help our families and to help those in need. It also tells us that if you are in need, that you should also be helping the church.

Do you think that this happens today? Do you think that we help our families, that we reach out and help those in need? Do you think that those in need help the church? I don't think that this happens. The question is why.

Well, as the title of this blog suggests, I believe that the reliance on government has ruined the Christian heart. We no longer feel the need to be part of the church or to support the church. We no longer feel the need to help our family, to help our friends or neighbors. I would argue that the reason we don't do that as we should is because we have adopted the philosophy that the government owns this responsibility.

We give when it's tax deductible, we give what's mandated by the tax code. We don't give from a caring heart, we don't give out of love. We no longer give because we are Christians, because we believe it's the right thing to do, because God has asked us to.

In the United States, we often hear talk about the separation of church and state. Primarily when you hear this it's a reference to the use of God or religion in government. What's missing from this argument is that we as Christians have become inexorably tied to the state. We expect the government to take over our responsibilities, we have let the government step in and assume our role as Christians.

I know that this doesn't apply to all of us, that this doesn't mean that there is no good work being done by the churches, by the people of the church. But I do believe that by and large we (Christians) are not taking the primary role here. We eexpect the government to play the majority role.

Do you agree and if so how do we change this?