This is shaping up to be quite the unusual summer. It seems to have no intention of keeping the usual pattern of years past. Locally, the weather still remains unpredictable. We went through the early heat wave in June and July. That was followed by the brief monsoon season that is very rare for July. Now we are at least in the normal routine of hot weather with occasional showers. We experienced our fair share of storms to be sure. But this is nothing like the fireworks across the country.

Perhaps you noticed the recent turmoil during congressional town hall meetings. You cannot watch the news without some commentator sharing opinions or labels on both sides of the political spectrum. To paraphrase Shakespeare, "to health care or not to health care, that is the question." It seems to me that we haven't seen this depth of anger since the summer of 1968. Someone once said that the occasional revolution is healthy for a society. We should be at our healthiest after observing some of these events.

There are some in the religious world who offer opinions on such matters. Some who may be to the left speak of health care as a near biblical fact. Some who are to the right speak out with an inherent suspicion of anything that remotely resembles government intervention. I am not sure that Jesus would have opinions in either direction. But we must attempt to deal with the current situations from a perspective of faith. This isn't easy seeing as the health care issue is complex and filled with bias. No doubt we all want a better quality of life in terms of our approach to being treated by doctors. Surely we all want those who cannot get health insurance to receive quality care by trained professionals. But is there a place for us as believers in the debate?

My perspective is skewed by the fact that my father is a doctor. I see this struggle in slightly different terms than most. I am old enough to remember him making house calls. Yet today there is such a threat of lawsuits that far too many doctors play it safe rather than push hard for a diagnosis and treatment. Many do not also realize the incredible amount of waste and fraud within the already existing government system. Now, not everyone is mean with a wart on their nose but there are some. I remember seeing a huge stack of checks to him from the government for a penny a piece! Here lies the enormous problem. How do we get a group that tends to waste money to actually create a system that saves it? Anyway, the above is simply written to help us get a view on how difficult health care reform will be.

The following are my opinions alone. They do not reflect on my church or anyone else. First, the shouting and violent behavior of a few are going to make it more improbable that people like you and I are heard. No one enjoys being the target of outbursts, not even congressmen. People should take a stand to be heard. But no one on either political wing needs to let discussion dissolve into a steel cage match. Second, real reform calls for drastic change. Isn't that the meaning of reform? I do not want to see a system here that remotely resembles the ones in England, Canada, or France. However, to just take a piece from here or there ends up making only a monstrosity. If the left desires a "single payer" system which is government controlled medicine then say it and promote it. If the right resists such a measure then let it do that. My great fear is we will end up with the usual government program that neither drives down cost nor insures those with true needs. We do need changes. Doctors, patients and others will tell you that there are too many problems now. I saw this as a doctor's son and now I see it as a parent. But we do not need to trade one set of troubles just for another.

Ok, so what do we do as believers? For one thing, we can be informed with intelligent facts about what is happening. We are to be responsible, godly citizens of our nation. We can take our stand on either side without becoming uncivilized in our approach. We can also think about what a church can do to help others. The social liberal side of me cringes thinking about the millions some congregations spend on cathedrals for the comfortable. Did we forget that the real church is about people and not extravagant buildings? Ever wonder how far those millions of dollars would go to treat adults and children who cannot afford a doctor's care? Jesus might not be as impressed with our architectural prowess when there are needs around us. Last, it could be that we could try to live healthier lives. Many of the top illnesses that cost so much can be prevented to some degree by a better lifestyle. I traveled over 100 miles this summer on foot. This happened without me leaving town. This is in no way bragging but is mentioned mostly to say that if I can do it so can most anyone. We don't always need our food fried or that second helping. Seems to me if Jesus walked so much that it might not be a bad habit for us.

There is so much left to say but we will stop here. No doubt we neglected to mention more than a few things about this topic. In the end, let's be informed but let's also be intelligent too. Don't let the emotions over such an issue push us into unchristian behavior. We get enough bad behavior at business meetings as it is!

Bro. Trey