Citizenship Confusion: Budget Cuts and Our Calling

A Christian group called The Center for Public Justice has publicly issued  “A Call for Intergenerational Justice.” In this document, the writers claim that their commitment is to finding a solution to the debt crisis without causing the poor to suffer:

How our governments and we as citizens together decide to reverse the trend of our ever-growing government debt is crucial. Some proposals place much of the burden on the poor. To reduce our federal debt at the expense of our poorest fellow citizens would be a violation of the biblical teaching that God has a special concern for the poor. Effective programs that prevent hunger and suffering and empower poorer members of society must continue and be adequately funded.

This “Call” has created quite a blog – buzz, and I suppose the fact that Jim Wallis signed the Call’s corresponding petition has not helped to warm more conservative Christians to support this document.

I recommend reading the “Call for Intergenerational Justice”; even if you disagree with the specific policies it outlines, it does provide an interesting Christian approach to the crisis. Specifically, it reminds us that as citizens of heaven, we are responsible to honor God and love our neighbor, not to ensure the financial stability of our nation at all costs. Our allegiance does not belong to a political party or a particular economic theory, but rather to Christ, whose lordship may demand from us a response to this debt crisis that dramatically differs from the response of our favorite political party.