Have you been made to feel guilty for your beliefs on restricting government aid? Have your emotions been manipulated or bullied by liberal arguments? What you have probably heard is:
How can you believe_______and call yourself a Christian? If you really care about _____; if you really respect people________; if you're really compassionate_______; or if you're really a Christian, you'll_______.
With recent discoveries of fiscal mismanagement
by DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency DOGE) and requests for cut-backs in pet program funding, wails of injustice and cries of harm to people are being raised, and you may be caught between opposing views. Empathy does not mean that we must fund every social program; after all, government is not the answer to every issue. And waste in government spending results in less money to fund legitimate causes. Liberals are using fear tactics to wrench emotions by proposing dire and unfounded consequences in health care, Medicare, education, military, etc.
Answers may lie in the powerful book Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion by Allie Beth Stuckey Stuckey's Home Page Stuckey presents cogent, well-researched, and Biblically-based information which will bolster your positions and provide munition to withstand these attacks on our sympathies.
Stuckey lauds empathy
but states that "empathy alone is a terrible guide" for making decisions. Instead the answer is Truth, not feelings. She says, "Empathy has been hijacked for the purpose of conforming well-intentioned people to particular agendas. Specifically, it's been co-opted by the progressive wing of American society to convince people that the progressive position is exclusively (emphasis mine) the one of kindness and morality."
Stuckey's book courageously addresses what she calls "five lies":
- abortion is health care,
- trans women are women,
- love is love
- no human is illegal, and
- social justice is justice.
Each chapter begins with a true story which grips our hearts, but she then refutes any arguments for that viewpoint. Stuckey contends that toxic empathy "tells us that we can be more loving and wiser than God by affirming sin." Instead, genuine love is fulfilling Truth rather than merely validating someone's personal view or selfish desires.
Children are often the most (unconsentingly) defenseless in progressive social experiments, and Stuckey argues that Christians "must wade into culture and politics" rather
than avoiding these issues. As she writes, "Christians must always lead the charge on behalf of the most vulnerable by advocating for order and true justice."
Stuckey concludes, "Our job is to simply do the next right thing, in faith, with excellence, and for the glory of God. At all times, in all places, that is all the Christian is called to do. That requires us to be brave, thoughtful, discerning, reasonable, hopeful, cheerful, grateful, and steadfast...we cannot do God's work as cowards."
Expansion of the federal government has paralleled the growth of the progressive movement as our emotions have been played. At the same time, our compassion has been used to cover the greed and corruption of these same politicians.
Will you have the courage to promote Truth? Will you use your reflective and reasoned sympathies for service outside of government dependence? Will you harness your passion for restoring our nation in finances and virtue by supporting The Convention of States? Go to conventionofstates.com and sign the petition or volunteer to get involved.
