Sure, we shouldn't harden our hearts to the suffering of the poor or
the
disabled, that's a horrible thing to do...but why is it the
government's
job to deal with that, rather than the work of private charity? Why
can't
we help without being forced at the point of a gun (and do not deny
that
it is at gunpoint, else what would the IRS' own SWAT teams for, and why

does the US government arm IRS agents?)

***********

Private charities can and should relieve some of the immediate
suffering.

The role of government is to create and ensure a just society. Only
government can do that.
Example: Until the government passed anti-discrimination laws, certain
groups of people were relegated to 2nd or 3rd class status without
recourse or equitable opportunity for advancement. It was the way
"things have always been". Churches had been "preaching" against
discrimination for 100 years, all the while distributing basekts of
food and worn out clothing to the very same populations the parishoners
were discriminating against on a daily basis.

To say, "Those folks who choose to go to church can deal with the
social problems and the rest of us shouldn't have to worry about them
at all" is a very narrow viewpoint.