"Happy those concerned for the lowly and poor; when misfortune strikes, the Lord delivers them...
The Lord sustains them on their sickbed, allays the malady when they are ill." [Psalm 41:2,4]
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." [Matthew 23:23]
If we are to engage in honest, Christ-focused debate amidst crafting truly comprehensive health care legislation and retake the lead in ensuring that a bill emerges that will reduce costs to businesses, protect human life at ALL stages, and encourage further medical technology innovation, we must restrain our urge to communicate solely via cable news soundbites and caustic blog postings.
Jesus valued LIFE...ALL life. We tend to focus so much upon the blight caused by abortion that we neglect to speak to the truths of those already born and suffering (children, seniors, etc.). Jesus cared for and encouraged others to care for the poor, the children, the sick, the widows.
He did not employ a partisan litmus test before administering healing. Jesus did not come only to heal one party, one gender, or one economic class to the exclusion of others, and the Lord's message as told to us through Scripture is no less poignant and clear today than it was thousands of years ago: "Do unto others as you would have done unto you." Be not a modern day Pharisee, but be a Light upon the Hill.
Instead of fighting AGAINST health care legislation, why don't we Conservatives retake the high ground in the debate and restore our principles to the legilation in a manner that will allow us to go back to our Districts and be able to share with our constituents our pro-active efforts on their behalf. Cancer doesn't evade conservatives' children, nor does dementia evade their elderly parents. Being uninsured after a job loss is not limited only to members of the liberal caste. Wouldn't we benefit more if we could stand before our constituents back home, men and women, young and old, Republican and Democrat, business owner and retiree, and tell them of our SUCCESS in fighting for ALL OF THEM.
Personally, I wish Ronald Reagan and Lee Atwater could have been with us longer...Why don't we retake the initiative on this legislation, build consensus around God-fearing, pro-life, fiscally responsible free market principles, and be heralded in history as the party that governed our citizenry with compassion and delivered REAL HEALTH CARE REFORM. Or, as I heard a pastor say once, "Be Jesus to others in all of your affairs, as you may be the ONLY Jesus that someone encounters today."
TODAY'S QUESTION: How can YOU embrace the Lord's Word in the health care debate so that YOUR principles are encompassed in the final legislation in a manner that benefits ALL of God's children?
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
HEALTH CARE: ANGELS AND DEMONS
The current multifaceted and very visible debate surrounding the proposed health care overhaul legislation provides us an excellent opportunity to further explore our theme of PRINCIPLED COMMUNICATION. If a fiscally responsible, market-based solution that reduces cost and reduces the number of uninsured American citizens is to prevail, then we shall all have to focus more upon what the sensible individuals (and their constituencies/organizations) on each size of the issue AGREE upon. We must all appeal to our better angels and defy the demons of doom if that solution is to emerge. Put aside petty partisanship and focus upon the basics.
1) America is a Pro-Life nation. The Declaration of Independence spoke of the "the separate and equal station to which...nature's God entitle them...We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life..." We would be hard-pressed to find a Christian, Jew, or Muslim who would condemn a stranger to death simply over economics. Thus, to be a pro-life nation, we must look beyond economics and recognize that access to health care is congruent with God's command many times over in the Bible to look out for the poor, the widows and the orphans.
2) Access to Health Care reduces costs associated with absenteeism. Some 85% of American citizens participate in a health care plan. Preventative care detects warning signs of early-stage disease, allowing for the timely application of lifestyle changes, medications, and medical technology to prolong life. Most employers provide access to health care plans because it is humane, but also because healthy employees show up for work more often, have higher morale, and manufacture/sell more products/services. Contrast that forethought with the obscene costs thrust upon private citizens and companies when uninsured individuals seek last-minute chronic care at America's emergency rooms. Like our grandmothers told us, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
3) America is a free-market nation whose business ingenuity can overcome any challenge. Malicious slander and venomous lies won't attract stakeholders to the table. Whether applied to putting a man on the moon in less than a decade or curing cancer, our free market economy can often provide timely solutions to critical problems when dialogue is dignified. While government can certainly be a partner with private industry through appropriate legislation (i.e. the Interstate Highway System, NASA, Medicare, the Armed Forces, university research & development), government shouldn't be running the businesses themselves.
Thus,
TODAY'S QUESTION: How do we reframe the dialogue surrounding a divisive issue to (1) increase consensus, and (2) to reduce non-essential cacophony, so that a majority will embrace our sensible solution?
1) America is a Pro-Life nation. The Declaration of Independence spoke of the "the separate and equal station to which...nature's God entitle them...We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life..." We would be hard-pressed to find a Christian, Jew, or Muslim who would condemn a stranger to death simply over economics. Thus, to be a pro-life nation, we must look beyond economics and recognize that access to health care is congruent with God's command many times over in the Bible to look out for the poor, the widows and the orphans.
2) Access to Health Care reduces costs associated with absenteeism. Some 85% of American citizens participate in a health care plan. Preventative care detects warning signs of early-stage disease, allowing for the timely application of lifestyle changes, medications, and medical technology to prolong life. Most employers provide access to health care plans because it is humane, but also because healthy employees show up for work more often, have higher morale, and manufacture/sell more products/services. Contrast that forethought with the obscene costs thrust upon private citizens and companies when uninsured individuals seek last-minute chronic care at America's emergency rooms. Like our grandmothers told us, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
3) America is a free-market nation whose business ingenuity can overcome any challenge. Malicious slander and venomous lies won't attract stakeholders to the table. Whether applied to putting a man on the moon in less than a decade or curing cancer, our free market economy can often provide timely solutions to critical problems when dialogue is dignified. While government can certainly be a partner with private industry through appropriate legislation (i.e. the Interstate Highway System, NASA, Medicare, the Armed Forces, university research & development), government shouldn't be running the businesses themselves.
Thus,
- Let's first acknowledge that all of God's children should have the opportunity to access health care as needed.
- Then let us stop beating up on doctors, insurance companies, and employers, and instead invite all stakeholders to brainstorm and recognize their many points of agreement.
- Finally, let the stakeholders, both public and private, work together without the venomous rhetoric to develop a market-based system that will allow (but not mandate) all American citizens to access affordable health care and the doctors/hospitals of their own choosing in a fiscally responsible manner.
TODAY'S QUESTION: How do we reframe the dialogue surrounding a divisive issue to (1) increase consensus, and (2) to reduce non-essential cacophony, so that a majority will embrace our sensible solution?
Friday, February 27, 2009
LIFE: Fully Lived
"LIFE: Fully Lived"
...that's how I want it to read when my name is being checked in St. Peter's book. I certainly will not know the day nor the hour, but I am confident that when my time comes, there will be an opportunity to review the impact that my life (in deeds and in words) had upon my family, my friends, and my community at large.
Wouldn't it have been a shame to show up to meet our Creator face-to-face on that glorious day, only to then have to admit to Him that I only used 25, 50, or 75% of my life's purpose? Hence, I'm aspiring to have that entry read as above: Fully Lived.
I believe that many of the other entries on my page in the book will be of lesser importance. I don't anticipate that our Creator is going to praise a workaholic attitude toward work...a perfectly tidy home...an enviably manicured lawn...a large retirement account...
No, I have a much simpler outlook on how that glorious dialogue will pan out. I believe that our Creator will look at my wife, my daughter, my parents, my neighbors, my community, my city as the living embodiments of areas in my life that I left an indelible impact. People -- not property, titles, bank accounts, plaques. In the hearts of those individuals with whom I came into contact, did I leave them better than I found them or did I serve my own ego by taking something away from those relationships without nurturing and growing those relationships?
Today's Question:
When YOU arrive at the threshold of death and see YOUR name in the book, what entry will YOU find beside the category of LIFE?
...that's how I want it to read when my name is being checked in St. Peter's book. I certainly will not know the day nor the hour, but I am confident that when my time comes, there will be an opportunity to review the impact that my life (in deeds and in words) had upon my family, my friends, and my community at large.
Wouldn't it have been a shame to show up to meet our Creator face-to-face on that glorious day, only to then have to admit to Him that I only used 25, 50, or 75% of my life's purpose? Hence, I'm aspiring to have that entry read as above: Fully Lived.
I believe that many of the other entries on my page in the book will be of lesser importance. I don't anticipate that our Creator is going to praise a workaholic attitude toward work...a perfectly tidy home...an enviably manicured lawn...a large retirement account...
No, I have a much simpler outlook on how that glorious dialogue will pan out. I believe that our Creator will look at my wife, my daughter, my parents, my neighbors, my community, my city as the living embodiments of areas in my life that I left an indelible impact. People -- not property, titles, bank accounts, plaques. In the hearts of those individuals with whom I came into contact, did I leave them better than I found them or did I serve my own ego by taking something away from those relationships without nurturing and growing those relationships?
Today's Question:
When YOU arrive at the threshold of death and see YOUR name in the book, what entry will YOU find beside the category of LIFE?
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