W.W.J.D.

I may be stirring the pot here, but this is a question I feel needs to be asked: What would Jesus do?

The GOP and the right have traditionally been the more religious of the two major parties (see: abortion).

Now, I have no problem with religion. I’m kind of religious myself. I’m not the first one through the doors on Sunday morning or anything, but I have a relationship with my God that I’m comfortable with.

I do, however, have a problem when it comes to mixing politics and religion. They’re like oil and water – they just don’t go together, and one of them will always float to the top.

That being said, why is the GOP working so hard to make sure that people in the US can’t be healthy?

They work their butts off to make abortion illegal for religious reasons. Let’s not kid ourselves here; if any politician tells you they’re anti-abortion for any reason other than religion, odds are they’re lying to you. They’ll use talking points and soundbites that demonize abortion. And that’s human, so it’s kind of forgivable. If you’ve been raised and have deep-seated beliefs that tell you abortion is evil or what have you, then that will bleed over into your political beliefs.

So why is it that when it comes to taking care of sick people, the GOP are hell-bent on making sure it doesn’t happen?

Matthew 4:23 – And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

Matthew 4:24 – And his fame went throughout Syria: and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with diverse diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and He healed them.

Matthew 8:16 – When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils; and He cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick.

Matthew 9:35 – And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and disease among the people.

Matthew 14:14 – And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and He healed their sick.

And these are just a few examples from the Book of Matthew. I could go on, but I believe you can kind of get what I’m saying just from those few verses.

Jesus went around healing sick people. He didn’t make sure that they had a job that provided health care insurance for them. He wanted everyone to be healthy. And while we may not have the ability to make everyone healthy, we can at least make sure that it’s easier for them to get that way.

The ACA means that more people will have access to doctors for “well visits” (what we always called checkups back in my day). If you can go for a regular checkup, you can catch stuff before it gets bad. If you can catch stuff before it gets bad, less people will be filling up emergency rooms when they get so sick they have no other choice.

It’s not rocket science, folks. Everyone deservers the chance to be healthy without having to bankrupt themselves.

I don’t claim to speak for Jesus, but I’m pretty sure He would agree with me on this one.

Best,
Clyde O. Watson