I’m an avid political watcher. I get news about both sides and from a variety of sources. In my heart, I’m a liberal who believes we, as a society, need to take care of everyone. I also believe everyone should be able to earn a good profit for a good life, and I also believe anyone in the top 10% of income earners should pay higher taxes along with having no caps on what one must contribute to Social Security (which I also believe should be means tested to be eligible to draw benefits).
What does that have to do with believing oneself to be a Christian? Everything.
The Jesus I learned about taught me to love my neighbors as I love myself, to turn the other cheek (the hardest of them all), and to help care for the needy among us. The Jesus I learned about did not believe in someone becoming obscenely rich and not wanting to pay their fair share back into society. The Jesus I learned about would be quite unhappy with politicians and citizens who are trying to harm the poor, the sick, the elderly.
If you are pro…
- Having insurance as a profit business
- Cutting Social Security
- Limiting Medicaid/Medicare
- Cutting aid to those who need assistance with heating, food and living costs
- Treating women as chattel
- Anything that limits caring for the needy or treating anyone as less than
…then you can no longer truly call yourself a Christian, because the Jesus I learned about would not have agreed with any of these things. I firmly believe he would be at the forefront of the protests against cutting/limiting any measure that does harm to another human being, be they gay/straight, rich/poor, married/single, sick/healthy, and so on.
So my friends and readers, if you want to continue to consider yourself a Christian, then I strongly urge you to go back and read the true teachings of Jesus in your Bible. Then look at yourself in the mirror and answer this question very honestly:
Am I truly living up to the Christian ideals of the teachings of Jesus?
If you aren’t, it’s not too late to do so.
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 