Joel Belz
Joel Belz is founder of World magazine and God's World News children's magazines. He writes a weekly column for World, and is co-author of Whirled Views, a collection of columns, with Marvin Olasky.

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Freedom from fear

Elderly Christians could have a unique voice in the healthcare debate | by Joel Belz

Even at the age of 88 my friend Bess Gilmore is sprightly, direct, and efficient. So when she called the other night, I wasn't surprised that she got right to the point.

"Joel," she said, "the doctor tells me that I've got cancer. And I'm not upset about it. In fact, I'm thinking maybe this is the vehicle God is designing to take me to heaven."

I'd spent a good part of that day reading up on some of the competing ideas that Congress, the Obama administration, and others are suggesting for the revamping of our nation's healthcare system. But in all that I'd read, nothing approached the boldness or simplicity of what Bess Gilmore was suggesting. Maybe, I thought, there's something profoundly important here that we've been leaving out of the national healthcare discussion.

Worldview matters. If you live your life preoccupied with getting sick, fearful of getting old, and terrified of dying, those concerns will radically affect your thought life, your schedule, your budget, your diet, and yes, even your voting inclinations for all of your later years.

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