Saturday, January 02, 2010

Community Centred Welfare

Christian families are required by the scriptures to provide financial support for family members who fall on hard times. However, a family-centric welfare system is not a total solution. Some families have sufficient resources to care for the weaker members of their families, but many other do not. The problem is that dysfunction does not strike evenly, but is concentrated in some families. They will need from the outside. Many like Jack have no family or have fallen out with it.


Charitable institutions are not the answer. Donations to institutions are not the solution either, because people in need to not want to be dependent on institutions.

The only real solution is the community-centric welfare, but that needs real communities, which we currently do not have.

3 comments:

Haydn said...

What is your view then of welfare such as I am receiving in benefit for my four children. It is currently double the amount that I am currently paying in PAYE tax. I am not entirely comfortable with receiving this as other tax payers are now contributing at least a portion of the costs of raising my family. I kind of justified it by saying that if the government wants to consider us entitled to this money (even though I don't agree that I should be) then I'll take it but I like to think that I'll be able to forgo it when we get better established, As I am not as well prepared to provide for my family as I would like to be (or I would like my son to be when his time comes). What do you say?

Anonymous said...

Amazing as always

Ron McK said...

Hayden
I have no problem with you receiving the payments that you are currently entitled to.

Our society will have to change more dramatically, before the community-centric welfare will work. You will not be part of a Christian community that can provide the support that you need. In the interim, we have to make do with what is available.