God and Freewill

A couple weeks ago I was discussing the issue of health care with a good friend of mine. At the end of the conversation I think we just agreed to disagree on this issue. There was something that he said though that bothered me a bit, I think mostly because it caught me off guard and I felt I didn’t have the time to articulate a good response. He was surprised that I don’t support the current health care legislation and government run health care in general due to the fact that I am religious. He made the comment he felt Jesus would want everyone to have health care.

Here is why I disagree with that statement. The GREATEST gift that God has given man is his agency, that is, man’s ability to decide for himself. He views this gift with such reverence that He does not interfere with it. People often state, if there is a God, why is there so much suffering in the world? Why do we have murderers and bad people, etc? It is because of God’s respect for our agency that these things are allowed to happen. He will not interfere with your free will even if your decision will adversely affect someone else. You look at some of the big examples like Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. All were mass murderers. They were allowed to exercise their agency. On the flip side, you have people like Mother Theresa who exercised her agency to help millions.

So now we come back to health care. A government run health care plan does not allow me the free will to choose my health coverage or whether or not I even want to have health insurance. The current health legislation has mandates that require you to buy health insurance or face a fee. If you don’t pay that penalty fee the IRS is going to put you in jail. There are also mandates that require businesses to offer coverage to their employees or face a fine. Both of these eliminate somebody’s free will to decide what is best for them or for their company. In a government run single payer system, the government decides what treatment is available to me based upon the cost. That does not allow my doctor to work with me to decide what is in my best interest, regardless of cost.

In the beginning of the Bible we read that God stated to Adam, “By the sweat of thy brow thou shalt eat, all the days of your life.” I believe that we have agency to make our own choices. No matter what our circumstances may be, we have the ability to pull ourselves out of them and make our own way. I do not believe it is the job of the government or anyone else for that matter to take care of me or my family, even if we are struggling. I have been in that struggling position in the past and it has just motivated me to make things better of my own accord.

This does not mean that I do not believe in being charitable and helping others out. It is through service that we learn to put others needs before our own. However, this is something that should be done individually. It is not the job of the government to take over acts of charitable service. We do a lot to help those in our community. We do it with an eye to assisting them and helping them to get back on their feet so they can be self sufficient. There is a lot to be said for the pride that someone feels in getting back on their feet and being able to take care of themselves.

I won’t interfere with someone else’s agency. Although I do not believe that several things some of my friends may or may not do are correct. I do not judge them and push them to live their lives a certain way. They are free to make their own choices. The job of the government is to protect me from enemies that will do me physical harm and impede my agency. It is not their job to provide for anyone’s social needs.

Coming back to Jesus wanting everyone to have healthcare; there is not a problem with people having access to health care in this country. Anyone can get the care that they need. The current debate is about how it will be paid for. If we allow people the freedom to make their own choices, we will have the innovation America is famous for click into effect and there will be ways found to bring down the cost without government intervention.