What Would Jesus Do? Probably Not This, Mr Luxon.
The Sermon on the Beehive Mount - Why Luxon’s Government Has Forgotten the Least of These
There’s an ancient parable about a man who claimed to follow Christ, but kept walking past the beggars at his gate, mumbling something about “personal responsibility.” It wasn’t in the Bible, of course, it was in Wellington and the man was Christopher Luxon.
Now, to be fair, Luxon says his Christianity is personal. He doesn't want to legislate from the pulpit. He believes no religion should dictate to the state, and that’s a fine sentiment, especially when your government is actively dismantling the meagre safety nets that stop our most vulnerable from falling into the abyss. You wouldn’t want to blame Jesus for that, would you?
But there’s a curious thing happening in the corridors of power. Despite all the warm tones about tolerance, compassion, and decency that often accompany Luxon’s public expressions of faith, his government’s policies tell a different story - one that reads more like the Gospel According to Ayn Rand than Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.
The Doctrine of Austerity - Starving the Poor While Feeding the Markets
This coalition government, under Luxon’s cheery CEO veneer, has delivered a masterclass in cruelty disguised as fiscal prudence. Cutting funding to social housing providers, slashing public transport subsidies, gutting the already malnourished mental health sector and tightening the screws on welfare recipients. This isn’t governance. It’s structural punishment.
And who pays? Not the private equity darlings or the property speculators or the high-net-worth donor class. No, it’s single mums. Māori families living in motels. Children lining up at foodbanks. Disabled Kiwis trying to choose between heating and eating. If this is “compassion,” then Pilate must’ve thought he was giving Jesus a back massage.
Let’s Be Clear - You Don’t Need to Be Christian to Spot Hypocrisy
I’m not a Christian. Never claimed to be. I’ve read the Bible, (actually I’ve read tiny parts before falling into a coma) though and I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t say “Blessed are the landlords, for theirs is the Reserve Bank.” There’s an awkward disconnect between Luxon’s pious platitudes about values and the policies that hammer the underprivileged into the dirt. Compassion? Where? Tolerance? For whom?
He’ll say he’s not imposing his faith on others and maybe that’s true. But if Christianity is the moral compass he claims it to be, it’s either broken, or it’s being used to navigate toward the Cayman Islands.
From the Upper Room to the Upper Crust
Luxon’s faith journey seems sincere on the surface - a man who explored different denominations, who stopped attending church regularly, who sought to live out his values quietly. But something gets lost when the sermon ends and the spreadsheets come out.
Because Christianity, at its core, is radical. It’s feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, turning the other cheek. It’s about the last becoming first, not privatising their support services and calling it “choice.”
Yet the Luxon-led government is a holy trinity of neoliberalism, cultural regression, and corporate appeasement. It’s not enough to say “my faith guides me personally.” If those values don’t show up in policy, then they’re just wallpaper in your soul’s guest room.
Faith Without Works Is Dead
Christopher Luxon might be a decent man. He might even believe in what he says. But here’s the thing: the underprivileged don’t live in his intentions, they live in his policies. And right now, those policies are sanctimonious salt rubbed into the open wounds of a country already fractured by inequality, housing injustice and intergenerational trauma.
Christianity says you’ll know them by their fruits. So what are the fruits of this government?
Child poverty up. Public services down. Corporate profits booming.
That’s not the Kingdom of Heaven. That’s just capitalism in a business suit pretending to pray.
If Luxon wants to talk about values, great. Let’s see them. Let’s see compassion in budgeting, kindness in housing policy and mercy in social services. Until then, forgive a godless heathen for pointing out that the only thing biblical about this government is the scale of the suffering it causes.
📞 Phone +64 275 665 682
✉️ Email john.luxton@regenerationhq.co.nz
🌐 Contact Form www.regenerationhq.co.nz/contact
If you’d like to read more RegenerationHQ thinking on SME business and other things, go here – www.regenerationhq.co.nz/articlesoverview
🔹 RegenerationHQ Ltd - Business Problems Solved Sensibly.
Supporting NZ SME Owners to Exit Well, Lead Better and Build Business Value.