“I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on our own selfish short-term needs.” — John Edwards, in an interview with Beliefnet. (Hat tip: Breitbart, via Drudge.

It always makes me laugh when liberal politicians and Hollywood celebrities try to imprint their own personal philosophies and agendas onto Christianity and Jesus Christ whenever it suits their purposes. That John Edwards (or any Democrat running for the White House, for that matter) does it every election cycle – and only every election cycle – ceased to surprise me a long time ago.

Look, I understand what Edwards is trying to communicate here. And the fact is, I’m sure we’d all agree that there’s a LOT of things Jesus would be appalled at were he to appear next door, on the next street, in Washington, Iraq, or Tahiti, or anywhere for that matter. But, I believe, He wouldn’t be surprised, either. For, as much as civilization has advanced both sociologically and technologically over the past two millennia, the sad truth is, the basic human condition hasn’t changed very much at all. There are still wars being fought all over the place, the sick are still sick, the poor and working poor still struggle in their daily existences among us, and the end of the world – or at least the world as we know it – is always at hand (or nearly so) in one form or another.

But this shouldn’t really come as a surprise to John Edwards; neither should it be a surprise to anyone, for the state of world as it is now, was in Jesus’ day, and will be until the end of time as we know it all has to do with the human condition and (hold on to your hats, non-Christians!) the fallen state of our human existence through Original Sin. That’s right, sin. The “S” word. The word you rarely hear spoken of anymore in mainline Protestant churches, lest, of course, anyone be offended. Can’t have that, right?

This isn’t a question of whether human beings are basically good or basically evil. Christians believe the world (as God created it) was, and is, ‘good’ – reflective of the glory of God’s Creation and our capacity to do works that reflect God’s love for His Creation and each of us. Nevertheless, I think we’d all agree that we who call this floating ball of rock home are, by our very nature, selfish and looking out for ourselves. And this is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as one’s “selfishness” is kept in moderation (for example, the adage that, if you’re “living on the edge” you’re probably taking up too much space). How much wealth, or houses, or land, or McDonalds ‘happy meals’, or X-boxes, or vacations, or anything is too much? At what point does one become ‘greedy’ or ‘selfish’?

Selfish, greedy, or not, numerous studies have shown that Americans (and I’m not talking about the American government here) are the most generous people in the world. If you don’t believe me, look at the sheer outpouring of generosity in terms of both money and materials whenever some tragedy happens on the other side of the world. It’s always – and I mean always – Americans who are the first (or among the first) to queue up and offer whatever assistance they can. This should come as no surprise; as a nation we have been blessed to have the most to offer those in need. This, I believe, it is not only a gift, but an obligation in return for the many blessings God has bestowed upon us, both as a people and a nation.

Of course, if you’re a dyed-in-the-wool liberal like John Edwards (he of the that 28,000 sq. foot mansion gained from his success as a ambulance-chasing trial lawyer), nothing that’s ever done in the dreaded private sector is ever enough – it is the government that must do more (as if “the government” were its own self-supporting entity). You see, Edwards, Hillary “I’m gonna take those profits” Clinton, and Barack Obama are not really iberals, but actually budding socialists who want to redistribute income and wealth so that everyone exists on some even plane, materially and sociologically. Well, I’m no economist, but it seems to me the last time that was tried on a large scale was a miserable failure, and there are 20 million long-dead souls from the first 50 years of Soviet Communism who would testify to that.

Mr. Edwards’ WWJD comment is just as silly and misguided as if someone were to say that Jesus telling His disciples that “they’d always have the poor among them” (Matthew 26:11) meant that, because poverty will always be a part of the human condition, to try and change it would be a waste of time and effort. Anyone can pick and choose any quotation from the Bible, a book, or a quote from somebody and mold it and shape it to further your own personal and political agenda – heck, even a ambulance-chasing trial lawyer like John Edwards ought to be able to understand that. But for him, of all people, to play the “Jesus card” and chastise an already over-taxed electorate for their supposed greed and selfishness is both inane and absurd.