dear mr. pittinger and board members,
i did not send a vote on the increase. 2 reasons: 1) i have very little $ and every .44 counts. i don't know how many giving units you have but if we say about 5000 the vote costs the group about $2200 just in the sending. would it be possible for a system to be set up where vote could be tabulated by email (others would send by mail) limiting it to one vote per email and even putting the vote taken (yes/no) on the next month' prayer letter to each voting unit asking for confirmation by phone if inaccurate/made by another party (?). this could even be expanded to have prorata and other contributions to the ministry to be made automatically by email, thus saving everyone $ over time (a penny saved is a penny earned).
2) i feel that in the last half century or so health care costs have been driven up, in part, by the frantic attempt to avoid the inevitable. i say frantic for any given individual, if allowed would willingly use all the resources they could to save their own life...or such is the general impression given. this is understandable when a person who has no other hope. but our group is different. we all look forward to being with the Lord. death is not a thing we fear but rather welcome. our death is precious in the sight of the Lord for it brings us face to face with the One who loved us and gave His life that we might live with Him forever. if we relate to death no differently than those around us who have no hope, what kind of testimony do we bear? how does the grasping for a few more days in this fallen world magnify not only our trust in God's appointed time for us here, but also the absolute goodness of what awaits us?
one thing i have appreciated about the samaritan ministries approach is that it has a real element of faith. personally, i see the increase of maximum coverage from 100k to 250k as a bit of a movement away from this. is it not possible for us to do the best we can with a finite amount of resources. in francis schaeffer's book on ecology i only found one principle he espoused and that is to limit self. self-limitation in the midst of plenty is hard but i believe moral and right. in the area of eating and sex, lack of self-limitation leads to gluttony and adultery. is this any different? the billions around the world that for the most part live and die with little or no health care...does not God call us, if anything, to share with them rather than take more for ourselves? in other words, we, i believe, are currently in an unreal bubble of time and circumstance that erroneously can lead us to believe in the myth of unending supply FOR OURSELVES. i do not believe this to be reflective of reality (ie. righteousness) but rather a part of what might be called, for want of a better term, the Lie. would it not be possible for us to limit ourselves, trust in the Lord for our physical existence and rejoice in our imminent departure?
before all this medical technology came about how has mankind, both believers and unbelievers, dealt with sickness and death? after some very meagre efforts (judged by today's medical standards), which in the best cases, were heavily weighed AWAY FROM the purely medical TOWARD the quantity and quality of human compassion and caregiving -THE PERSON DIED.
the savour i get from the proposal for increasing the maximum coverage is that of seeking, as believers, to be doing things very similar unbeliever who have nothing to cling to but physical existence. i sense a subtle movement away from an inner transformation (romans 12.1f) into increasing trust in God's time for us here to being more pressed into the mold of worldly thinking - i need to do all i can to stay here as long as i can. i believe this disproportionately increases our importance while decreasing God's.
the president and those who take his ideological approach are desirous of moving americans to a place where, outside those very few who in the future will be able to pay unlimited cash , medical care will look much more slanted toward decreasing trust in medical technology and increasing trust in God! i would say, as is usual with the way God works, the outcome will not please the human agents who unwittingly brought it about! God may be using His servant, human government, to bring people to God. 'trust' in medical means will de facto be replaced by hopelessness and uncertainty, both more conducive to trust in God.
most people, including many believers i know, are not good stewards of the body that God has given them. why? i believe our trust is largely in the magic pill of medical technology. it's 'easier' than to take sole responsibility for one's health. to be honest, do you or i have 1) an absolute trust in God for our physical existence and its extent? are we full of peace and joy no matter what is happening to us physically! i, for one, can answer 'no'. i'm trying to inch forward toward a place of no insurance and full dependence on God. most in our circumstances would say that that is insane. again, that is the way most of humanity, past and present, have lived and died. 2) a habit of regular exercise. the spartans had a maxim to sweat every day! 3) regular sleep that is sufficient to give us the restorative energy we need to live conducive to maximum strength and health each day. 4) a total absence of foods in the diet that are processed and thereby unfit to provide the daily nutrients the body requires for strength and health. i know very few who buy, and fewer still who, organically grow their own supply of food (fruit, vegetable, animal). we all have our excuses. we want to cheat and get away with it. trust in medical technology is the splintering reed we all are leaning on.
i realize that these viewpoints are not common but, nevertheless, they are mine and i thank you for listening. based on them i would encourage consideration of the development of a website that would 1) direct those in the group interested in alternate (to the current ama model) health care sources without necessarily feeling it has to endorse all but rather in the spirit of what is out there, 2) enable the group to interact. that is to have place for comments, opinion, other related info for truly in the MULTITUDE of counsellors there is wisdom. each one who is involved observes caveat emptor and complete personal responsibility for their choices being educated by samaritan ministries toward increasing self-diagnosis and self-care. i am moving in this direction myself. 3) give a growing corpus of information on natural healing techniques, such as you did in your recent excellent article, 'how to use dietary supplements to avoid 10 common surgical procedures', which people can access. i do not propose that samaritan ministries devote a huge amount of time to this but use it more as a gathering and sharing place for self-help medical information. if this would take off the savings over time would possibly be significant. you may find members who would give time and expertise to develop this part of the ministry or, with any savings, pay for such with a joseph-like person exceptionally gifted in this area. you may not have to reinvent the wheel, so to speak, but simply bring together a corpus of all other types of sources into a readily usable format...again, in a continuing, growing and developing way as God would bless and lead.
i would also like to encourage consideration of some type of tiered approach to maximum coverage per incident, each person deciding their max and pay, pro-rated, in accordance with their desire. socialism and christianity are similar in the proposal that all the needs of the individual are covered by the group. their difference is mandated help vs. voluntary help. i guess its very difficult if not impossible to draw the line where the one ends and the other begins and maybe that leaves it with each individual to make the choice, in the case of belonging to samaritan ministries, how long to be a part of the group.
just some thoughts. i appreciate you all very much and thank God for all you have done and are doing to show Him through the commitment to obedience of galatians 6.1 in this way. may He continue to be your guide and joy. sincerely, steve paine
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