As we return from vacation and I get back up to speed on the news, I’m trying to wrap my head around the implications of the “Big, Beautiful Bill” that just passed through Congress. Here’s what I do know:

It cuts Medicaid, putting more vulnerable people at risk. It increases financial advantages for the wealthy.

I’m someone who stands to benefit individually from this recent legislation, and yet I see this bill as a loss personally and collectively because it does not seek the common good. Our economy in general operates from a perspective of Winners vs. Losers and Givers vs. Takers.

It feeds a collective attitude of:

• Taking what we want—rather than receiving what we are given
• Giving only to those who deserve it—rather than assuming we all belong to each other

What might it look like to lovingly resist the assumptions of this zero-sum game?

Walter Brueggemann writes:

“piety can imagine an alliance between the needy poor who refuse to be submissively silent in a context of exploitation and the prosperous wealthy who refuse to be defined by their wealth.”

Brueggemann urges us to consider: What if we were defined not by wealth or power, but by love of neighbor and a belief that generosity helps us all flourish?

Okay, but what does this have to do with political legislation and tax reform and Medicaid? I’m still working that out, but one thought I’ve had is that even if our government doesn’t operate from abundance, we can.

In our homes.
In our churches.
In our communities.

What could that look like? One way that people will be denied Medicaid coverage, for instance, is through cumbersome paperwork requirements. What if churches and other civic organizations offered free clinics to help people navigate that paperwork? Or what if people like me—who receive a tax break through this legislation—look for ways to invest what would have been paid in taxes in opportunities for more vulnerable people to flourish?

What if we refused to be defined by what we have, and chose instead to be defined by love?

Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging where everyone matters. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and subscribe to my Reimagining the Good Life podcast for conversations with guests centered around disability, faith, and culture.