Few things irritate me more than to hear someone misuse Scripture for personal or political gain. Bill Clinton, during one of his State of the Union Addresses, said [quote] "As Scripture says, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor mind conceived what we can do together." What the Bible really says is, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor mind conceived what God has in store for those who love Him." That's quite a difference.
Now we are hearing from Mississippi politicians that Jesus healed the sick and that we should follow His example. No argument there. But that statement is being used to support a proposal for a government-subsidized health care program. Well, Jesus never used a government grant to heal anybody, and He never indicated that that is a proper function of government.
We absolutely should be concerned about the needs of the poor, and we should give generously of our time and money to help them. But it is not government's role to force us to do that.
For more perspectives on governmen's proper role, get our booklet Governing by Principle. Go to mspolicy.org or call 601-969-1300.