So here I am, trying desperately to get some worthwhile thoughts gathered and shared before the baby wakes up from nap. I don't think I'm going to make it, but I'll give it my best shot. I've been thinking a lot about giving, lately. Specifically, I've been thinking about how I can change my lifestyle to reflect the fact that what I have is really God's, and that He gave it to me to be used for His Kingdom on earth.
Isn't it funny that the first question any group of Christians wants to answer when they begin to seriously discuss giving is always "When can I stop?" "How much is enough?" "Surely God doesn't want me to give up all my material possessions, so where do I draw the line?" Then we start coming up with all the reasons why only certain people deserve to be the recipients of our magnanimity, remind ourselves how much more frugally we already live than most, and conclude with a resolution to put a little extra in the plate on Sunday.
Of course, if you go to Brook Hollow, you already know where I'm going with this. I can just hear you now saying "Aha, Penny's finally catching up on reading Radical." Even if you aren't engaged in our study of Radical, by David Platt, if you know the Bible at all, you know that the problem with our way of thinking is that Jesus repeatedly commands people to give up everything they have and follow Him. The New Testament is full of evidence that Christ's first followers thought nothing of selling their valuables in order to meet the needs of others. Can we really be so sure that God wants us to have all the stuff to which we cling so fiercely?
Here's where I'm at right now. It's less about relinquishing things than about relinquishing control of those things. God may want you to move to a smaller house and give away what you save on the mortgage payment. On the other hand, He may want you to keep the house so that you can show hospitality to His children. Either way, the point is that the house isn't yours to be used for your purposes according to your whims. Everything I have, whether it's my material possessions, my relationships, or the air I breathe and the sun that shines, belongs to my heavenly Father, and so do I, and so do all the needy and broken people of the world. If He says to give it away, I should give it. If He says to keep it, I should do so with the attitude of one holding something in trust for another, still asking the question "How can this possession be used to serve God today?"
By the way, giving isn't the same as surrendering. I think we all know of times when someone feels that because they contribute a great deal to an organization, they are entitled to run it! As long as we continue to cling to our right to "have a say in how our money is spent," the heart-work of surrender isn't done, and the command is only half obeyed.
Obviously, knowing what God is calling us to do with His gifts isn't as easy as 1-2-3. However, I'm watching Lora learn to count right now, and it seems that 1-2-3 probably didn't come easily to me at one point in my life! What changed? I used counting every day until I figured it out. Learning to discern God's direction is a process too. It requires us to pay attention to our circumstances, opportunities, and the still, small voice of God. It requires asking not just before every purchase, but before every action, "God, is this part of Your purpose?" Don't forget that sometimes God's purpose is simply that His children might rejoice! But even when He gives us gifts so that we might delight in Him, that delight is not for us to hoard, but to share.
All of this has to do with something Chesna has been teaching about right now, the idea of needing to "remain in the Vine" (see John 15:4-5) as the only viable means of accomplishing anything Christ asks of us. I had meant to do some writing today about how our giving is kept on track when we remain in the Vine. Unfortunately, this post is already oppressively long, and I think Lora is about to wake up. I guess that just means that today is part 1 of a 2 part series. More thoughts on this to come in the future.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Just Passing By
This morning on my way to drop Lora off at school I saw something rather disturbing. Posted in the yard of a home in south Abilene was a sign reading "Vote-Muslims will." Now, I suppose this might have been intended as a catalyst for a little friendly, interfaith competition. "Muslims will vote, and so will Christians, Jews, and Buddhists and whichever religion gets the biggest turn-out wins a pizza party." Do you think that's it? Yeah, me either. As much as I hate jumping to conclusions, there are some pretty easy ones to draw here, and they're troubling to say the least. Where, oh, where do I start?
Let's start with the basic implications of the sign. I assume whoever posted that sign meant that Christians, and possibly other non-Muslims should turn out in force to vote down whatever it is that Muslims want to accomplish this year at the poles. Furthermore, they are implying that God-fearing American Christians are automatically on the opposite side of the political fence from Muslims, and I honestly don't think it's a stretch to conclude that in the mind of the sign-poster, the "Christian" side is the conservative Republican ticket.
Here's the part that does seem like a huge stretch to me. If politics are now a matter of Christians vs. Muslims, and the Christians are on the far right, that has to mean that the Liberal Left Agenda is the refuge and mission of radical Islam in America, to which I can only reply "???????" Now, I'm sure that there are Muslims who are Democrats, but on the whole, Islam is at least as conservative a religion as Christianity. I just find it hard to swallow the idea that I have to go out and vote to stop radical Muslims from pushing through gay marriage, abortion rights, and condom distribution in public schools. It seems as though this sign was made by people who simply consider Muslims to be the enemy, and therefore believe that their political enemies must also be Muslims, despite the lack of any visible evidence to support this claim.
That's my logical objection to the sign I saw. Now, here are my idealogical objections. First of all, the idea that Muslims are the enemy and have to be stopped is an absurdity to me. To be sure, there are Muslims in the world who wish or plot harm to America on the basis of their religious beliefs. However, as a minister in the Christian church (Disciples of Christ), I appreciate not being held personally responsible for the Jonestown massacre (Jim Jones was originally a minister in the Disciples of Christ). There are hundreds of good and faithful Catholic priests in this country, and we don't blame them for the abuses committed by others in their position. By the same token, I think that mainstream Latter Day Saints would not like being tarred with the same brush as their polygamist cousins. My point is this: Unless you are comfortable with personally bearing total responsibility for every wrong or wacky thing done in the name of your religion, lay off the Muslims.
Finally, if Christian votes are going to cancel out the Muslim votes, that must mean that all Christians, at least all good Christians, are going to vote the same ticket. Again, I say ???? My objection here is really too long to cover in a single paragraph of a blog. Suffice it to say that I believe that the habit of employing religious rhetoric to peddle the agenda of either political party is deeply degrading to the Christian faith. I can't bear to see Jesus reduced to a campaign slogan, and I promise you, whatever party you belong to, your political leaders are doing that very thing. Christians should participate in the political proccess to whatever extent they feel called to do so, because that is our responsibility as citizens of this country. As citizens of heaven, however, we are called to live out God's agenda in the world regardless of who is in power, not to call on the power of God to subvert our government to His will as we interpret it. In fact, I can think of someone else who believed that Christ's mission was political revolution. Jesus told him to put away his sword, and ultimately charged him not with leading a revolt, but with nurturing a flock of believers.
Maybe if we put away our political swords, our angry words, and our accusatory signs, and instead humbled ourselves and prayed, we could hope to some impact on this world for Christ. Maybe then we could see souls saved and lives changed. Maybe some of those lives would even be Muslim. Who knows what might happen if we all worried a little more about what we are doing and a little less about what everyone else is up to.
Let's start with the basic implications of the sign. I assume whoever posted that sign meant that Christians, and possibly other non-Muslims should turn out in force to vote down whatever it is that Muslims want to accomplish this year at the poles. Furthermore, they are implying that God-fearing American Christians are automatically on the opposite side of the political fence from Muslims, and I honestly don't think it's a stretch to conclude that in the mind of the sign-poster, the "Christian" side is the conservative Republican ticket.
Here's the part that does seem like a huge stretch to me. If politics are now a matter of Christians vs. Muslims, and the Christians are on the far right, that has to mean that the Liberal Left Agenda is the refuge and mission of radical Islam in America, to which I can only reply "???????" Now, I'm sure that there are Muslims who are Democrats, but on the whole, Islam is at least as conservative a religion as Christianity. I just find it hard to swallow the idea that I have to go out and vote to stop radical Muslims from pushing through gay marriage, abortion rights, and condom distribution in public schools. It seems as though this sign was made by people who simply consider Muslims to be the enemy, and therefore believe that their political enemies must also be Muslims, despite the lack of any visible evidence to support this claim.
That's my logical objection to the sign I saw. Now, here are my idealogical objections. First of all, the idea that Muslims are the enemy and have to be stopped is an absurdity to me. To be sure, there are Muslims in the world who wish or plot harm to America on the basis of their religious beliefs. However, as a minister in the Christian church (Disciples of Christ), I appreciate not being held personally responsible for the Jonestown massacre (Jim Jones was originally a minister in the Disciples of Christ). There are hundreds of good and faithful Catholic priests in this country, and we don't blame them for the abuses committed by others in their position. By the same token, I think that mainstream Latter Day Saints would not like being tarred with the same brush as their polygamist cousins. My point is this: Unless you are comfortable with personally bearing total responsibility for every wrong or wacky thing done in the name of your religion, lay off the Muslims.
Finally, if Christian votes are going to cancel out the Muslim votes, that must mean that all Christians, at least all good Christians, are going to vote the same ticket. Again, I say ???? My objection here is really too long to cover in a single paragraph of a blog. Suffice it to say that I believe that the habit of employing religious rhetoric to peddle the agenda of either political party is deeply degrading to the Christian faith. I can't bear to see Jesus reduced to a campaign slogan, and I promise you, whatever party you belong to, your political leaders are doing that very thing. Christians should participate in the political proccess to whatever extent they feel called to do so, because that is our responsibility as citizens of this country. As citizens of heaven, however, we are called to live out God's agenda in the world regardless of who is in power, not to call on the power of God to subvert our government to His will as we interpret it. In fact, I can think of someone else who believed that Christ's mission was political revolution. Jesus told him to put away his sword, and ultimately charged him not with leading a revolt, but with nurturing a flock of believers.
Maybe if we put away our political swords, our angry words, and our accusatory signs, and instead humbled ourselves and prayed, we could hope to some impact on this world for Christ. Maybe then we could see souls saved and lives changed. Maybe some of those lives would even be Muslim. Who knows what might happen if we all worried a little more about what we are doing and a little less about what everyone else is up to.
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