My church, Zion Covenant of Jamestown, is sponsoring a refugee family with seven kids. The father works as a janitor in a public elementary school making $16 an hour. Why is our government threatening their SNAP benefits?

Some say the Democrats are at fault, but why is a federal judge ordering the Trump administration to release the contingency funds for SNAP benefits, and not the Democrats? Massachusetts US District Judge Indira Talwani is telling “the administration [that it] must access the contingency funding to pay the benefits and had until (November 3) to report back to the court on whether they will authorize at least partial benefits for November. According to the United Way statistics, 40% of Jamestown residents receive some form of SNAP benefits.

Why is it okay to give tax cuts to the rich with the big, beautiful bill but not extend premium tax credit for families to get ACA healthcare insurance? Why is R-Rep Marjorie Taylor Green speaking up for poor people, but not the rest of the Republican House of Representatives?

We have some of the richest billionaires in the world living in the U.S. and they easily contribute hundreds of millions of dollars for political campaigns, White House ballrooms and lavish Halloween parties. They could just as easily contribute $8-$10 billion a month to see us through this crisis of SNAP funding as well as healthcare costs!

If Republicans want this nation to be Christian, there is no reason why the government should be shut down. In Matthew 25:35-36-46 Jesus speaks of all the nations that will be judged based on how they have supported the poor, 36 “for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I need clothes and you clothed me, I was in prison and you visited me…, 40 Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” 45 “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

The only thing stopping us from helping the poor is our misguided thought that they don’t deserve it because they are lazy. This is when we need to look in the mirror and realize we don’t deserve God’s grace either because we, too, are very lazy about following His word to love the poor as ourselves.

Democrats are not stopping Republicans from being Christian and charitable to the poor. Republican pride is preventing Republicans from helping the poor in a Christlike manner. Isn’t helping the poor to get affordable healthcare just as important as SNAP benefits? Why would the richest Christian nation in the world not cover healthcare for the poor when Christ speaking in Matthew says we must.

Edward Vos is a Jamestown resident.