Health Care Reform - The story of two kingdoms
March 22, 2010
Tomorrow President Obama is scheduled to sign into law the historic health reform bill passed by the House of Representatives Sunday night. We can debate on what this bill will mean concerning the future of our country. I believe this is a defining moment for the church. It provides us the opportunity to see which kingdom we truly belong to. Christians should & must be involved in the political process by voting and running for office. God has established the governing authorities of our land (Rom 13:1-7) and we should pray for those who hold office (1 Tim 2:1-2).
Politics is important. However, Christians need to remember that politics is not ultimate. What primarily concerns me about the response that Christians have to the current economic climate is this: We are most passionate about the kingdom we are at home in. Christians are simultaneously, citizens of this present earthly kingdom & citizens of the heavenly kingdom.
Paul speaks to this in Philippians 3:20, "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." Paul is speaking to people who were extremely proud to be citizens of Philippi. Because Philippi had its privileges. The privilege that caused the people to swell with pride was that Philippi was a Roman colony, therefore it could offer to its citizens the honor & privilege that was associated with being a citizen of Rome. When Paul reminds the Christians that their citizenship is in heaven, he is saying, "you haven't forgotten this have you? Your not starting to feel at home here are you?"
What if Christians were as passionate about health care reform as they were the salvation of their neighbors, friends, family, & coworkers? Along with outrage, many Christians are also expressing deep fear over what may comes as a result of health care reform. Russell Moore has a great post on this today, here is a quote:
"The United States House of Representatives just passed a health care reform bill that I and lots of other Christians opposed. Such legislation should concern us. There are some bad consequences for the weakest and most vulnerable among us, principally unborn children. But should it also concern us that so many of us are talking today about how afraid we are?
Is it a problem that some of us who are tranquil as still water about biblical doctrine and ecclesial mission are red-faced about Nancy Pelosi and the talking heads on MSNBC? Is it a problem that some who haven’t shared the gospel with their neighbors in months or years are motivated to vent to strangers on the street about how scary national health care will be?
It’s not that I think Christians should be disengaged from issues of justice (God forbid!). It’s just that I wonder if we wouldn’t represent Christ and his kingdom better if we did it with a certain tranquility of Spirit, a tranquility that signals we’re not afraid of the rise and fall of temporal kingdoms and their policies."
Christians should be involved, they should speak up. In no way am I arguing that Christians abandon the convictions they hold about our country. However, I am calling for Christians to be far more committed to the kingdom of God than the kingdom of this world. Trusting in his sovereignty in the face of uncertainty, seeking to make disciples, standing up against injustice motivated by the knowledge that one day the kingdoms of this world will become "the kingdom of our Lord and and of his Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever." (Rev 11:15)
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