"the thing that makes me sad is how a reactionary capitalist mentality has flooded christianity. the mentality of be-prosperous-successful-take-care-of-me-and-my-family-only is more pervasive than we’d like to think."
Makes me sad too.
"Jesus calls us to care for the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, the rejected, the oppressed, the unprotected. what this means is we are supposed to give some of ours to help. we are supposed to make sacrifices that we don’t necessarily want to make but are wiling to because Jesus reminds us of that life-here-on-earth-is-not-about-gathering-wealth-and-taking-care-of-only-our-own-needs. it’s about sacrificial love. it’s about taking care of others needs. it’s about seeing gaps and filling them. it’s about humbling ourselves for the sake of others. it’s about offering our coats, our food, our hands and our feet in a tangible way even when it costs us time & money & energy.
when it comes to a christians’ response to health care, my take is that we should be leading the charge. we should share our resources. we should give a rip about our brothers & sisters who do not have what we have. Jesus called us to lay down our lives for our friends and i don’t believe he meant “ friends just like us.” i think he meant friends we might not see outside our living room window. we have a responsibility as Christ-followers to bring the kingdom of God here on earth—now. this means we will need to lay down our lives for others –men, women & children across all shapes & sizes & backgrounds—so that they can live.
God, give us eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts to respond."
And just today I was complaining about the slowness of the Finnish Public Health care system.. in my home city in here (it depends on your location - varies). At least I have access..For a very low price - nearly free- and obviously if in an emergency have access straight away. So in time of need - I certainly have access. But it is impossible to get an appointment to see a GP (general doctor for my Finnish readers.. :)) quickly in this city. It annoys me - considering the NHS and the GP system in the UK - I am starting to love them! Even if not always I've thought my gp was the best, at least I get to see them sometimes straight away even (for I lived around the corner) or normally the next day or the day after that. That is good! And on the same day ALWAYS if in emergency. That's good service!! So aye aye for NHS Scotland!!! :-)
Obviously, if you've got the dough, you get to access a private doctor in Finland pretty quickly. Generally the quality of doctors in Finland has been good, but the speed of access is MUCH better in Scotland. And when it's health, you don't really want to wait around too long.
But to think - there are LOTS of people in this world without access, properly anyway or without leaving them crippled with debt.
