Apologia

Hospitality and charity are important ideas in God’s command for us to love our neighbor. The Old Covenant laws concerning our neighbor were fulfilled in Christ, but under the New Testament, Christ told the disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35, emphasis mine). Rather than merely loving our neighbor as ourselves, Christ commands us to love one another as He has loved us. How has Christ loved us? He gave Himself up for us. Our love of one another (those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ) should be self-sacrificing.

In his apologia of the early church to most excellent Theophilus (the Acts of the apostles), Luke offered proof that the disciples took this command seriously. In order for the early church to remain in Jerusalem for a time to learn from the apostles, people sold lands and shared all that they had with one another. After the dispersion at the stoning of Stephen and the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles, the churches throughout Asia Minor (which were mostly made up of Gentiles) took up a substantial collection to help care for their Christian brothers and sisters  in Jerusalem who faced tremendous persecution and poverty.

Because of these acts of sacrificial charity, there are those in the church today who argue that God would be in favor of social welfare programs, especially since He established His own such program in Leviticus 19:9-10. “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:9-10)

Although gleaning was a means to supply the needs for the poor and sojourner, it preserved the dignity of the recipient because they had to work for their supply. It also allowed for the generosity of the landowner because he was able to decide what constituted the edge of his field. I would argue that the government social welfare programs in our world today destroy the spirit of hospitality and charity.

I have worked with many charitable organizations over my years as Chief Nerd of 3nerds.com. One thing that I have observed from them is that every volunteer and every donor is cherished and appreciated by the organizations as well as the members who receive their benefits. The organizations primarily show their appreciation by an expressed gratitude and a personal dedication to being good stewards of the resources provided. The recipients also show their gratitude by sending notes of appreciation and being heralds of the organization in the community. If possible, they also show their appreciation by volunteering their own time to help others. Every volunteer and donor is invested in the organization with their spirit of generosity, and they feel deeply connected to the idea that they are helping others and supporting an organization that aligns with their personal values. This is the very essence of hospitality and charity that God loves.

Contrast this with a government social welfare program. Because the programs are funded by the government, they have employees rather than volunteers. They are not invested in helping others and are not rewarded for their performance or stewardship. In fact, most will do everything in their power to spend every dollar they receive in order to maintain their annual budget. Those that fund the government which supplies these dollars are taxpayers that get no choice in how the money is spent and may even be in opposition to the purpose of the program. Because they are obligated to pay these taxes, they do not do so with a spirit of generosity but of bitterness.

The recipients of the social welfare program do not see their benefit as coming from hard-working individuals who have been generous with their resources, but from their government. Therefore, instead of receiving the resources they need with gratitude, they have a spirit of entitlement which is wearisome to everyone involved. There is also no dignity in receiving such welfare for free, and those who advocate for these programs tend to treat the recipients as helpless chattel instead of fellow citizens who need a hand up from a dire situation.

When I speak out against such programs, their advocates will accuse me of being uncharitable. However, with the stated reasons above, I do not think the government should be used for charity, and the money taken from taxpayers for these programs should be returned so that they may support those who align with their values, will be good stewards of their generosity, and will help those who will be grateful to receive it.