“And we’ll guard each one’s dignity and save each one’s pride.” –Peter Scholtes, They’ll Know We are Christians By Our Love
As many readers of this blog know, I have been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a condition on the Autistic Spectrum. The condition affects my communication and social skills, causes me to be very sensitive to sensory stimuli, and makes it difficult for me to adapt to change and the unexpected.
For a Christian, these can be hard challenges to discipleship: My neurology is ill-suited to welcoming strangers, to caring for the poor, and to be in community with other Jesus-followers. Yet, I am called to do so anyway. So I try to work with, and sometimes against, my challenges in order to follow this path.
One of the most helpful things for me in coping with my autistic spectrum disorder symptoms is the theological value/doctrine of imago dei: I believe that human beings were created with an inherent dignity that ought not be compromised. Thus, I have decided that my inherent dignity is going to be the guideline for my behavior and social interactions. For example:
- I will not engage in behavior that humiliates or embarasses me. No matter how stressed or overloaded I get, I will not have a meltdown in public. I will guard my tongue.
- I will not tolerate ill-treatment from others.
- I will not compromise the inherent dignity of others by treating them badly, humiliating them, or putting them in a bad position with my own bad behavior.
- I will not compromise the inherent dignity of others even if they are compromising their own dignity or attempting to compromise mine.
My development of what I call the “dignity baseline for personal conduct” as a way of addressing my own problems has also informed other aspects of my thinking, particularly my views on social ethics and politics.
Like healthcare, for instance.
Mental and physical health are important, when either is compromised, we experience that dysfunction keenly: We hate the way we look and feel when we are sick, we often can’t function effectively in our vocations when we don’t feel well, and we are compromised in our ability to be in authentic community with others.
Healthcare must be a priority for Christians (and historically, it has been, in the development of hospitals and medical missions). We uphold our dignity in caring for our own health, and we extend that dignity when we care for the health of others, particularly the most vulnerable among us.
(In fact, preserving the dignity of the vulnerable (and the sick are particularly vulnerable) is a pointed (and non-negotiable) charge given to the people of God throughout scripture.)
Yet under our current healthcare system, here in the United States, I have witnessed the following dignity-robbing scenarios:
- I’ve seen an elderly woman crying in a drugstore because she couldn’t afford to pay for her much-needed medication.
- I’ve known seniors who have had to consider divorcing their disabled spouse so that spouse could get the nursing home care that he or she needed.
- I’ve known people with abscessed teeth and festering sores who have spent months in agony, oftentimes battling infections, who could not pay for the simple procedure that might end their pain and prevent further compromising of their health.
I am well-aware of the concerns regarding “socialized healthcare” and the argument that government cannot solve everyone’s problems. However, I would note that the Church has not managed to stop assaults on human dignity such as those that I have described above.
Why is this? And given this situation, why are some Christians convinced that their “right” to avoid taxation in order to provide healthcare to others trumps their obligation to care for the vulnerable?
Just wondering.
This post is a belated contribution to the August Sychroblog. Other synchroblog posts are listed below:
- Jeff Goins at Pilgrimage of the Heart: A Christian Response to Health Care in America
- Phil Wyman at Square No More: Clowns to the Left. Jokers to the Right. Stuck in the Middle of the Health Care Debate
- K.W. Leslie at The Evening of Kent: Christian’s Responsibility to Healthcare
- Ellen Haroutunain: Christian Perspectives on Health Care
- Steve Hayes at Khanya: Self-evident Truths and Moral Turpitude
- Kimber Caldwell at Convergence: Is Health Care a Right?
- Beth Patterson at Virtual Tea House: Baby Steps Toward More Humane Humanity
- Liz Dyer at Grace Rules Weblog: A Christian Perspective on Health Care Reform
- Kathy Escobar at Carnival in My Head: It’s Easy to be Against Health Care Reform When You Have Insurance
- Susan Barnes at A Book Look: Carrying Your Own Load
