I’ve seen this Chron article about Rick Perry’s ungenerous giving to his church shared all over Facebook since it was published, usually accompanied by a healthy dose a schadenfreude. I’m not particularly interested in jumping on that bandwagon, as I believe one needn’t give to a church to be a charitable person, though I daresay the evangelicals that Perry is so ardently courting might see it differently. I was moved by this passage from the story, however, and think it’s the key point to the whole thing:
Perry’s leading role in organizing a national day of prayer and fasting on Aug. 6 in Houston is taking the governor’s Christian faith further into the public square. And it opens him up to closer scrutiny, particularly since he is considering a presidential run and has scheduled the prayer gathering one week before the Iowa Republican straw poll.
Perry’s Reliant Stadium prayer gathering “just automatically raises deep questions for thoughtful citizens about what is he up to?” said the Rev. William K. McElvaney, a retired Dallas-area United Methodist minister and professor emeritus of preaching and worship at Southern Methodist University. People serve their faith in many ways, he emphasized, adding that a person of Perry’s means could contribute significantly – if he wanted.
“I can forgive him for that if he were really strong on public policy from a faith standpoint,” McElvaney said. “If his public policy really showed care and support for our children and single mothers and aging people and all the most vulnerable people …. that Jesus Christ was most concerned about.
“If he would encourage public policy in that direction, then I would be less interested in how much he gives, although I wouldn’t say it’s totally irrelevant,” he said. “The influence comes through the public policy issues, and when that doesn’t square with one’s faith, then, yeah, it ought to raise some very deep questions for the public.”
I can’t sum it up any better than that. Jesus was pretty clear about what it took to get into heaven. Things like feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and sheltering the homeless were featured prominently on his list. I’ve never quite understood why it is that we don’t have more discussion about how the actual teachings of Jesus compare to the preferred public policies of those who claim to govern in his name.
Keep in mind that Protestants believe that good works do nothing to get you to heaven, it is faith alone that determines your fate. Remember that and you understand why Perry and his ilk don’t care one whit for others.