health care reform

Health care reform is everywhere. TV, radio, internet, every medium is streaming the ongoing debate. So the last thing you want is to hear more about it. So I don’t want to offer my opinion on the subject, instead I want to look at the issue from a different perspective, not considering the opposing sides or even other’s ideas, instead I want to think about the importance of the issue of health care reform as a whole.
In the Bible there is a parable from Jesus about a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. The rich man lived in luxury, wearing purple and fine linen, one translation says he “fared sumptuously.” The poor man was very poor, he was a beggar, he ate what fell from the table, he was covered in sores which were licked by dogs.
This is a good point to start talking about the right of everyone to health care, but I don’t want to, that is beside the point. The story continues that both men died, this is the wonderful part of the story because we can all relate to it, poor or rich, republican or democrat, liberal or conservative; death comes for us all, we are all united on this plain. After death we are told that the poor man went to Heaven and the rich man went to Hades. What I want us to see follows next. The rich man could see Lazarus in the heaven and begged that he might be sent to him to relieve his torment but he was told this was not possible. Since nothing could be done for the rich man he begged that Lazarus might be sent to his brothers that were still living, that Lazarus might warn them of what was to come, this to was not a possibility.
What does this have to do with health care reform, well, nothing really, like I said, I want to look at the issue from a different perspective. What was it that the rich man wanted Lazarus to tell his brothers, was it that they should take better care of the poor or renounce their riches or live more socially aware, was it that one political party was superior to another? No, the rich man wanted one thing and that was to warn his brothers of what was to come.
Living in the technological age, the information age, we are bombarded by a constant barrage of everything; entertainment, news, sports, twitter, we are connected 24/7. Everything is vying for our attention and our focus, we are consumed by so much, and yet, by so very little. The things that consume our lives are empty pointless things in the face of death. No one will wish they watched more TV or read more tweets or surfed the web more or even fought harder for a political party or social reform, no, in the face of death that which really matters becomes quite evident.
The rich man wanted one thing, to warn his family of what is to come. The last words from the rich man in this story, referring to his brothers, is that if one came from the dead to warn them of the reality of eternity they would repent. And that is the last word to us also. If we would be ready for eternity it is not is social reform (though that is good), it is not in party affiliation (though that can be good) but it is in repenting. Simply put, it is turning from ourselves and to Jesus.
So as I said, I want to consider the importance of health care reform as a whole, and my consideration is this: as important as the issue may be, it pales in comparison to the significance of your soul. For what does it gain a man to win the whole world and lose his soul?