The Affordable Care Act is coming and it is causing quite a bit of panic. From elected officials to health officials to owners of businesses, there is fear about the impact of Obamacare. I try to read a lot of news from a variety of spectrums and I have struggled to find anyone who is genuinely happy with this mandate. Perhaps, most telling about this law is how many people are trying to get exemptions. Did you know that over 700 businesses already have an exemption? If you would like to see the list, here is a link http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2900475/posts, although I doubt you will have the time for it. Even more disheartening is the fact that although Congress and their staff will have to enter the insurance exchanges, they will have a large percentage of their premiums paid by the US Tax payers. If our president really wants to know how good and effective this law is, he should allow any America to sign up to be exempt from it. My guess is, there wouldn't be a whole lot of Americans lining up to join this new monstrosity. The same probably goes for Social Security. If Americans were given the choice to opt out, quite a few would sign up. Of course, our elected officials are already exempt from Social Security, so they have no fear about the system being broke.
As always, this is not a political commentary, just stating the obvious. The most obvious point to these laws are that those who enacted them are exempt from them. If these laws are so good, shouldn't they apply to every American without any exemptions...elected officials included? This is the "Do as I say, not as I do" philosophy. No wonder Americans have no faith in their government to accomplish anything meaningful. Too much not practicing what they preach. This is the ultimate level of hypocrisy and most Americans are disgusted by this. Lawmakers keep exacting their pound of flesh from the tax-payers, while fattening themselves on these very laws.
It's easy to pick on our government because it is an easy target. Too many lawyers as elected officials and not enough common sense will do it every time. But the point of this blog is for those of us claiming to follow Jesus. I think the world is tired of the hypocrisy of the Church. Jesus at the end of the sermon on the mount says, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it". Too many in the church live like this isn't a reality. They go along with whatever is culturally acceptable and expedient, even misusing the Bible to justify their compromises. The world looks at us and they see nothing inviting about our lives. We have the same divorce rate, cohabitation, single pregnancies, cheating, lying, cussing, trashing dressing, etc. as the rest of the world. Even more than that, they see our critical spirit, defeatism, bitterness, unresolved anger and lack of purpose. They see our hypocrisy and avoid any meaningful discussion with us. The Bible draws the line in the sand for our heart and behavior, but we keep moving the line or the impact of crossing the line. So rather than pick on our elected officials, we should probably pray for them. Rather than try to fit in with our culture, we should prepare to be mistreated for living a holy life. Rather than grip and complain about all that is wrong in the world, we should reflect hope and grace. Rather than crush those who oppose us, we should show grace and forgiveness. Maybe we should stop looking for exemptions to holy living and focus on the testimony that arises from such living.
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