Anything But That

Since yesterday I hit on a topic that I feel is largely neglected, let me continue the trend a little today.

There are two disciplines Jesus mentions that are very touchy for Christians and Baptists in particular.  He mentions them in his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6.

The first one is giving.  Perhaps this one isn’t neglected so much from the pulpit, though I’m sure that’s occasionally the case - not wanting to sound like a TV huckster and all.  But giving trends within the church are not going in a positive direction.  Americans, who are among the wealthiest in the entire world, give somewhere around 3-6% to/through their churches.  But even that is an astounding amount of money when it’s all totaled up.  American churches literally spend billions (with a "b") on buildings.  Nevertheless, the 3-6% falls short of the Old Testament standard of a tithe.

I don’t intend to debate whether or not the tithe is binding on the church.  In Matthew 23 Jesus said that the Pharisees tithed even on their herbs, but neglected the weightier matters of the law like justice and mercy.  He says that they should have done both.  Nevertheless, it is nowhere commanded in the New Testament.  But I’m of the opinion that the absence of a direct reaffirmation of the tithe in the New Testament was not so that we could feel comfortable giving less. 

As always, our example is God himself.  It’s quite fortunate for humanity in general and the church in particular that God does not give like we do.  If he did it’s quite possible that, rather than giving his own Son he would have sent some sort of not-so-holy man who preached a rather indistinct message that in the end didn’t accomplish much that lasted any length of time.  He would have used the likes of me, except without the slightest benefit of his Spirit or any other redeeming quality that I might providentially possess.  But God can’t give like that because it simply isn’t in his heart to do so.  The Bible says that God so loved the world that he gave.  When Divine love was looking for expression he did so through extravagant generosity.  When God’s love is poured into our hearts it produces a generosity like unto his.

Which says that giving is more than a spiritual discipline - though it is that as well.  I do believe we often learn profound things acting rightly even when it is against our wills.  I do believe that God loves a cheerful giver.  I also believe God can work in the heart of one who unhappily gives as well.  That sort of giving at least forces us to act outside of ourselves.  Perhaps we’ll learn something important in the process, though undoubtedly we won’t last long giving at that level.  We can only take so much.  Either our hearts will change or our pattern of giving will.  So far many hearts remain unchanged.

I’m currently reading through Genesis.  Before there was a law given, before anyone was commanded to give anything at all, both Abraham and Jacob gave a tenth of all they had to God.  They did so out of thankfulness for all that God had done for them.  They recognized their abundance to have come from the hands of God and felt compelled to give back, not because God was in need, not because the local church was in need, not because a preacher or prophet told them to, but out of thankful hearts.

I believe one of the true marks of a redeemed heart is generosity.  One who keeps strict ledgers doesn’t understand God’s accounting methods and misses a great deal of what it means for the church to be the body of Christ in this world.  We give both for the glory of God and for the good of the world.

I had a pastor friend who once said this to his congregation when they were raising money for a particular ministry: "The good news is we have all the money we need.  The bad news is it’s still in your pockets."  God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and he is never in a financial bind.  But he most often gives through his people - those who’s hearts are, like his, overflowing with generosity.

The Poor You Will Have With You Always

Sometimes I think, "If I die, I won’t have to see my children suffering as they are."  Sometimes I even think of killing myself.  So often I see them crying, hungry; and there I am, without a cent to buy them some bread.  I think "My God!  I can’t face it!  I’ll end my life.  I don’t want to look anymore!"

Iracema da Silva, resident of a slum in Brazil, (Quoted in Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, by Ronald J. Sider)

Last November I picked up Ron Sider’s book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger at the LifeWay book room set up at our state convention.  I got it for all of $4.97.  [That, dear friend, is the beauty of your local Christian bookstore.  You will have to pay full retail for Food That Says Welcome, but you can find some really good books in the bargain bin for little to nothing.]

It says something that this book, which was first published in the 70s, is now in its fifth edition.  It now has endorsements from a broad range of Christian leaders including John Stott, John Ortberg, Richard John Newhouse, Jack Hayford and Brian McLaren.

According to the World Bank there are 1.2 billion people in our world who live in abject poverty, not in the American sense, but in the real sense.  No TV.  No telephone.  No cell phone.  No computer.  No carpet.  No central heat and air.  No refrigerator.  No means of transportation outside of the means God gave them at birth.  No electricity.  No indoor plumbing.  No outdoor plumbing.  An income of around $1 per day.  The World Bank counts 2.5 billion people to be what they consider low-income where the average annual income for the country is $735 or less per year, or about $2 per day.  An additional 2.4 billion are considered lower-middle income living on something between $736 and $2935 per year.  That’s nearly five billion people.  That’s the overwhelming number of those alive on this earth.

I, on the other hand, am in the top 1% of the world’s wealthiest in terms of annual income.  (See where you are here.)

Micro loans are helping the world’s poor improve their economic standing in life.  A few weeks ago a friend turned me on to an organization that helps individuals participate in the micro loan process.  That organization is Kiva.org.  The average loan sought by a person in a family of five is $500.  98% will repay the loan.  Most are women.  For example, Mary, from Kenya, has applied for $300 to diversify her textile stock and increase her customer base.  She has a 12th grade education and training in business management.  Grace is a fishmonger in Ghana who will use the $750 of her loan to buy more fish to sell in her thriving business.  These are just two examples.

Christians today have a total annual income of over $16 trillion.  How will we respond? 

Conflicts II

Dave Ramsey calls
himself a "stuff-aholic."  By the way, I recommend his
"stuff."  It’s helping a lot of people in our church right
now.  It might help you, especially if you’ve just finished buying your
Christmas with plastic.  My best money advice is this:  Get out of
debt and stay out of debt.  If you’re a pastor do not lead your church
into debt.  There you have it.

But once that happens how do we live economically?  I’m not asking if
capitalism is Christian.  My concern isn’t with macro-economics and the
virtues/vices of free economies vs. tightly controlled ones, open vs. closed,
etc.  My question is how should we as the people of God live economically
both toward one another and toward our world?

It’s hardly debatable that the evangelical church in America does more to mirror the economic values of society than to challenge
them.  Just look at our church buildings and then look at the accompanying
price tags that come with them.  We have a church building, by the
way.  Ask Rick Warren how much the 40
Days of Purpose will cost you.  Ask Lifeway how much the FAITH Sunday
School Evangelism Strategy®
training will set you back.  Spirituality is no longer merely about a changed life.  In America it is also about a changed bank account.  If not yours, someones.  The "seed faith" charlatans on TV are just the most obvious and egregious offenders.  Most of the rest of the American church offends in more subtle ways.  Every week I get offers in the mail to market our church through personalized pens, calendars and key rings.  There are dozens of companies through which we might buy a new sign, choir robes or communion cups.  If you want to learn how to lead more effectively you can give John Maxwell $249 to tell you how (that is, if you get in early).  The church is now big business right down to the trinkets that we wear and the music we listen to.

But beyond the church as marketplace, most members of the church live out of the economy of the American Dream.  I’ve known good Christian people where both parents worked and dad worked two jobs so they could maintain a nice home with a swimming pool, state-of-the-art appliances, leather furniture and expensive automobiles.  I’m not against that stuff, in and of themselves.

But I am conflicted when I see so many with so little.  As someone noted recently, the poor in America are some of the wealthiest people in the world.  I recall a friend who did some missions work in the Philippines.  Their cost for one pastor to sit through their training was $30.  But in the Philippines that amounts to a month’s wages for most pastors.  80% of the people in the world live in substandard housing.  50% suffer from malnutrition.  17% don’t even have a safe water source from which to drink.

As I write this I sit in the kitchen that I remodeled for somewhere around $1600 (it would have cost much more if I hadn’t done the labor).  Re-textured walls, new paint, new tile, fresh paint on the cabinets, new trim, a new sink and a new stove top.  I’m glancing over at the lighted Christmas tree which we bought for somewhere around $100 several years ago.  We have a 54" rear projection TV and surround sound.  We’d like new furniture (we’ve had what we have for about 10 years and it was at least that old when we got it).  We’ve spent several thousand on new windows.

We’re living out the economics of the American dream.  And I often feel guilty about it.  If I saw a fellow on the side of the road, beaten, robbed and left for dead, I wouldn’t have the wherewithall to pay his medical bills no matter what my heart might be telling me.  I couldn’t be the Good Samaritan if I wanted to.  I’ve priced myself out of obedience.

It’s one reason I’ve said that the best advice I could give is to get out of debt and stay out.  I’m not there, but I’m making progress.  I hope the day comes that I have the means to sell a field if I see a brother in need, so that I can meet his need.  Until then, I live in conflict.