It had been eight years since I had seen a doctor. That occasion was the birth of my youngest son; this current occasion was long overdue. “You have a stage three cell mutation, she said.  Stage four is cancer.”

Just months prior, I enrolled in college at the age of 38, shortly after which I unexpectedly became a single mom with three children still at home.  The child support was not being paid, and I was a full-time student working on a bachelor’s degree, juggling three jobs around four school schedules. 

During my 18-year marriage, I had often worked multiple jobs. My jobs were usually ones without health insurance, paid holidays, or sick leave. I worked in a publication house, in fast food, a sewing factory, a laminate factory, a grocery store, an elementary school, retail sales then management, and in direct sales for my own businesses.  I worked constantly while also doing the work of a mother raising seven children, negotiating disabilities and deaths of children, all amidst the backdrop of trying to survive my own trauma and abuse.  It was only during those 5 years in the laminate factory that I was covered by medical insurance benefits.  For most of my adult life, I was without health care or insurance unless I was pregnant.

I was one of the working poor, even as a child. I remember “lending” my mother the babysitting and lawn mowing money I earned for groceries and gasoline during the 18 months Dad was on assignment in Korea. I was a very hard-working young person and held a social security job since the age of 14 in addition to side jobs as early as 10 years old.  Even when he was home, I bought most of my own clothes and paid for any “extras” like school and church trips or class pictures.

Then I became a wife and parent. There was no reprieve or safe place as I had promised myself there would be “when I’m in charge.”

Today looks very different because of God’s grace and public help. Change in my socioeconomic status and, thus health access came in part because of jumping off the poverty treadmill where I could never run fast enough onto the education track using public funding (taxes) and scholarships (donations).  But, in full transparency, most of the changes in my life have come from being married to Tom, who prioritizes my health and has made financial sacrifices to help me recover from the first 45 years and from the most recent health struggle beating breast cancer.

I have been cancer-free for 5.5 years now. I’m healthy now, thanks to my hubs (Tommy) and the Lord. However, if Tom hadn’t come along and let me sweep him off his feet, I’d be dead by now.

Having lived in abundance and poverty, in safety and danger, I ponder the big life questions from multiple perspectives. “Is it morally necessary in the eyes of God to provide healthcare and other necessities for the poor? Should caring for others be simply voluntary, by donation and alms gifts rather than through mandatory collective means such as taxes? Is healthcare a basic human right, or is it simply the benefit and privilege for humans in certain social conditions?”

“Is healthcare the church’s responsibility or the government/state’s?”

“YES” is my answer to all the above. God did not create poverty; humans did. Thus, it is up to us (with the aid of our Creator) to make things right again, to eliminate the sins of gluttony, hardheartedness, violence, and greed within ourselves and our world. But should we do this through the church or the arm of the state?  Yes, and yes.

I am not a proponent of church-based mandatory initiatives, but I am a proponent of the “Body of Christ” doing all we can to bring about the ethic of caring for our poor and vulnerable neighbors through our voluntary benevolence AND with our tax dollars.

One of the blessings of being citizens of a democracy is that we collectively get to decide the priorities of our government and culture.  We get the freedom to worship how we choose, and to vote our conscience, to debate the best solutions, and even to disagree peacefully. On the other hand, the government does not have the right to dictate our worship or stifle our protests.

The wealthy of any nation have benefited from their culture, tax benefits, freedoms, relative privilege, and struggle. Let each person give voluntarily to needs we are compassionate towards, AND ALSO let us all contribute our fair share to society through taxation in proportion to the benefits and success gained therein. 

This principle is grounded in the scripture about the “talents” found in Matthew 25:14-30.  “Talents,” be they ancient coins of value or abilities and resources we are charged to steward, are distributed unevenly by both society and God.  One is born with more gifts, abilities, and family resources.  Another is born into poverty and may receive less opportunity for development in school, thus having less access to higher education which results in lower earnings over their lifetime. 

Jesus knew it was not possible for some people to “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” because it requires community effort.  Some are mortally wounded by illness, disability, trauma, mental illness, and sin–especially the sins of others.  That is why Jesus said the whole scripture is based on loving God and loving our neighbors as (much as) ourselves.

We all get dealt different lots in life.  However, according to the story of the talents, each person was held responsible (by God) to be faithful with their own skills and financial resources.  If we apply this to our question of voluntary benevolence or mandatory taxation, the answer “yes and yes” is not only ethical but also deeply moral.  Whether by privilege, blessing, hard work, or sheer skill, it is our reasonable load to contribute towards the support of those who need a hand up. The proportion of our contributions should match the overflow of our blessings through BOTH benevolence AND our tax dollars.

Learn more about practical ways to excel at #LovingOurNeighbors get the book, Loving Our Neighbors: A transformative communication guide, by Doc Courage!, available on Amazon.