I mentioned last week in our chapel service at World Vision’s U.S. headquarters about a recent Christianity Today article I read that I can’t seem to get off my mind.
In the article, a recent survey (pdf) by the Pew Research Center showed that American evangelicals were more in favor of cutting federal spending to “aid the world’s poor” than any other area. Second and third to cutting foreign aid were “government assistance for the unemployed” and “environmental protection.”
As World Vision urges Congress right now to reconsider its possible budget cut that will greatly affect foreign disaster assistance by more than two-thirds, I wonder how Christians in Jesus’ day would poll in a survey of this same sort.
From Polling Evangelicals: Cut Aid to World’s Poor, Unemployed on Christianity Today:
The top choices among evangelicals for the chopping block are economic assistance to needy people around the world (56 percent), government assistance for the unemployed (40 percent), and environmental protection (38 percent).
In each of these categories, evangelicals were more supportive of decreasing spending than are other Americans. In fact, evangelicals were more supportive of funding cuts in every area except military defense, terrorism defense, aid to veterans, and energy.
Cutting foreign aid and support for the unemployed while favoring increases in defense and police are not priorities of all evangelicals.
Robert Zachritz, government relations director for World Vision in the U.S., said in a statement that U.S. programs help save lives worldwide.He said 8 million children die each year — lives that could be saved with low-cost aid programs to provide malaria bed nets or child immunizations.
“World Vision recognizes the need to make tough decisions addressing the present fiscal crisis, including budget cuts, but these should not fall disproportionately on the poorest of the poor,” Zachritz said. “Congress is considering an overall budget reduction of 8.8 percent from the FY2011 presidential request, with cuts disproportionately made to the most cost-effective humanitarian programs saving children’s lives.”
Join World Vision’s fight to preserve funding for humanitarian programs that save lives. Contact your members of Congress today.
For more from World Vision on U.S. Budget Cuts that threaten the poor:
I know it probably doesn’t account for much, but government needs to evaluate wasteful spending and some of the perks Congress has (discretionary spending). How about the money that is spent on political slam ads being sent to the world’s poor instead? I don’t think there is a taxpaying soul out there who wouldn’t appreciate those commercials disappearing. One CA candidate spent MILLIONS and she lost. Imagine the impact she could have made with just a donation to a worthwhile charity?
Maybe the problem is that you look at the US federal budget as a bottomless resource for money. It is not. The federal budget has included many things that are blatantly unconstitutional for years. Where does the constitution give the federal government the authority to be a charity? No where that I can find, and I’ve studied it carefully. You seem to have adopted the socialist view that it is government’s responsibility to take care of everyone. It is not. It is a personal responsibility. Jesus didn’t tell the Roman government, nor the Sanhedrin to take care of their neighbor, he told individuals to do that. The Good Samaritan didn’t lobby the government to take care of the man by the side of the road. He took care of him out of his own pocket. So much foreign aid hasn’t actually reached the poor. It has only enriched corrupt individuals (like Arafat for one). It is time to re-examine what Jesus actually said and did, rather than assume your worldly based ideas are correct.
I understand where u r coming from. But it is the responsibility of the church (the BODY of Christ) to help. And that is also why I give to world vision. It doesn’t help when statistically we also over spend in the institutional church also. Statistically only 20% of tithes goes to the needy, the rest goes to salaries, building expenses, and programs. Maybe we should also evaluate where our money goes in the church an then we could give more to the needy and they won’t need the government to help them. The Church can help them.
Jesus said “There will always be the poor” – not as a surrender to the fact, but certainly not to “force” people’s contributions, as the disciples were trying to force the woman using her oil. My family makes the bulk of our contributing (after to our church) to World Vision. Were it NOT for taxes being charged us – taxes that go for ABORTION, AID that benefits only the country’s highest echelon, and AID that is unaccounted for such as all the MILLIONS poured into HAITI – we would give more to our favorite charity, World Vision. You cannot FORCE generosity. Obviously, God is not blessing that way of supporting the World’s poor. It is a silly question because the disciples were fallible and actually not too bright until they were given their powers of the Holy Spirit. Maybe ask what JESUS would think about taxes to benefit the world’s poor and I believe He would counsel that people should be allowed to make their own decisions with their tithes, not some govenment!
My family has supported a child through World Vision for many years. We have done it voluntarily because we have agreed with the ministry’s objectives and have felt reassured about the integrity of the ministry. However, I am convinced that our federal government spending is unsustainable. Where would you have the Congress cut the budget? It is unreasonable to say continue to spend money on any certain program without offering other solutions to our Nation’s fiscal problems. If this ministry becomes an advocate for increased federal spending, we will find other ministries to support.