Say it Isn’t So — FEMA to Reimburse Churches for Aid?

The Washington Post and other papers are reporting that the Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to use taxpayer money to reimburse churches and other religious groups for aid suppied in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
This is a horrible precedent that distorts Christian charity and wrongfully entangles churches and the government. With the tax-funded reimbursement will inevitably come government intrusion and all the rest. Christians should give the aid out of love and concern, without expectation of reimbursement. The reimbursement plan threatens to turn the Christian agencies into extensions of state action — mere service agencies functioning on behalf of the government.
Bravo to Bob Reccord, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board, who told The Washington Post: “Volunteer labor is just that: volunteer.  We would never ask the government to pay for it.” May others follow his lead.