Many Years Ago , Tom Smith faced a family crisis that changed the way he thought about his work. His wife was recovering from an illness and had to relearn ordinary activity. Tom was her teacher. At the time, he had a three-year-old and an eighteen-month-old to care for on top of his work. He says, "God was there for me giving me some kind of strength I didn't believe I could have. I had to repay [this] debt, reach out to those who can't take care of themselves."

This debt of service guided him through eighteen years of working for the Ohio Senate—six of those years as Senate clerk and chief of staff—and five years working for the state treasurer, Mary Ellen Withrow (now United States Treasurer). It didn't stop there, however. After he retired, he saw an ad for the director of public policy for the Ohio Council of Churches. "In my own way," he says, "I felt it was a calling."

Tom advocates on behalf of the Council before the Ohio legislature. He finds a Biblical basis for this advocacy in Jesus' Golden Rule, which he learned growing up in his Catholic church: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets" (Matt. 7:12). This passage also undergirds Tom's work: "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

"Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? Or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the leastof these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matt. 25:34–40).

Tom points out, "Taking that to heart, we tend to do things that are positive for society." One opportunity to put this teaching into practice came when he testified before a committee on welfare reform. The bill allowed recipients to stay on the rolls for a three-year maximum, even though federal guidelines allowed two more years with evidence of good cause. At the committee hearing around midnight, Tom remembers, "I was getting grilled by one legislator . . . [who was] diminishing my arguments for good cause. . . . As I left [the hearing,] I held a sense of frustration. When I feel frustrated . . . I take the time and say to the Alimighty, I need some help here, show me the path. I ask for guidance and direction. I felt a sense of peacefulness. A voice said, 'You've done what you've done, faithful servant. Give it some time.' "

The committee called a press conference before the next hearing. At the conference the committee announced that they were going to allow two additional years for good cause. The representative who offered the good-cause amendment was the representative who had argued with Tom for a half hour at the previous hearing. "I am totally convinced," Tom says, "that it was the hand of God that reached down and touched his soul and made him see that it was wisdom [to allow good cause]. . . . This was beyond mortal man."

Tom's experience maintaining collegiality as clerk of the Senate prepared him well for his advocacy work today, which calls on him to deal with many differing opinions on issues. Separating personality from political belief is essential in maintaining a dialogue with those who disagree with you, he says. He also notes that "when you are a minority, you have to be well prepared."

Tom urges citizens to exercise their right to vote, noting that voter apathy and faith groups should be mutually exclusive. Overcoming voter apathy is a first step in jumping from the Bible into the social issues listed in Matthew, chap. 25. This is a jump that Tom feels is difficult for many church members. He advises, "We've gone away from the basic premise when we see the needy and don't see God in their eyes. . . . Look at a person, no matter what, to see God in their eyes."