Liable to become a public charge

Today I was a sightseer. I usually do not like to be one for various reasons but today I put that aside and this day off of work Richard (roommate) and I went to Ellis and Liberty Island. Even though I was sightseer it does not mean that my mind has turned off, if that ever indeed happens. On Ellis Island while perusing the halls where 12 million people frightened but full of hope for a better life passed through, I came across this interesting fact. Those who did not have a trade or means of support, who were mentally or physically ill were denied entry into the United States in fear that they would become a burden upon society. They were given the label "Liable to become a public charge". At first I was passive about it, then I began to think...how do we measure the worth of a human being? While I understood why Immigration took that stance, something deep inside of me was revolted by that idea. Sometime our society can be vary utilitarian, ascertaining the value of person based upon how society views the benefits it receives from that person.

This summer I will teach kids in an area of the world that is looked down upon. Admittedly this can be a rough place in the world, I have found some evidence to that fact just by walking the streets and not walking the streets at certain hours. Yet today I talked to old Korean women who loved that I know how to use chopsticks and wanted me to know everything about Korean cooking. Today I saw kindness of person willing to help a drunk. Yesterday I saw a man work diligently, with kindness and sincerity that would make your heart joyful. All this in a city that is perhaps as liable to become a public charge as any. Today I stood at the base of the Statue of Liberty which stands for freedom, whose freedom? Could it be the freedom of all human beings, whether mentally or physically disabled or not? I think so.

I think also about Christian freedom. A freedom that is greater than any earthly freedom. I can imagine that many in this city are frightened, and have no hope. Whether they are liable to become a public charge or not, there is a message of hope waiting for them. The message waits for them because they have value, we have value in the eyes of our Lord. The greatest welfare state I can think of is the Church, and I am not only liable but definitely a public charge under God.

Am I making a political stance upon the welfare state...No, that was not my intent. I am saying welfare state should not divide the message of the Kingdom, we are men and women seeking to know true freedom. We all have worth as human beings, as being created in the image of God. And maybe next time I go sightseeing I will try to turn my mind off.