Filed under: Christian Living | Tags: charity, economy, generosity, recession, stewardship
I listen to National Public Radio like it is my job. I listen to it when I’m driving in the car, I listen to podcasts of various shows on my iPod, and I even bought a little tiny radio so I can listen to it when I ride my bike to school. Perhaps I’m a little obsessed, but that is not what this post is about. Obviously, as I have been listening over the last few months probably the most talked about subject — next to Barack Obama’s election — is the economy. Regardless of the intended subject matter of the show I’m listening to, it all comes back this recession we now find ourselves in. Now I am not suggesting that they should not talk about it, as it is an extremely pressing issue, but I feel as if I do not need the news to teach me about the recession and its implications. In fact, I think it may actually be important to recognize not what we can learn about the recession, but what we can learn from the recession. Now I’m not going to write about sub-prime mortgages or money market mutual funds, but I have been learning some things recently.
First and foremost, I’ve been learning that Jesus was right when he said:
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
(Matthew 6:24)
Now you may be thinking, “That is so obvious,” but let us examine this closer. Jesus is not just insisting that we choose God or money and whatever one we choose shall bless us accordingly. That is why Paul said:
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
(1 Timothy 6:10)
Therefore, Jesus is saying that you may choose to serve God or money. One will be blessing and the other will be a curse. People, even some claiming to be Christians, have spent a long time justifying why their lives are so motivated by mammon. Perhaps they just need to get to a place of “financial stability,” which for many involves the hording many things they do not need. Or perhaps it starts with people who are only being greedy with the little they have, so one day they might be generous with much. I believe they need to be reminded that in the Parable of the Talents, the master says to the good servant:
Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.
(Matthew 25:21)
If we cannot be faithful with the little God has given us, how can we expect Him to trust us with much? My guess is that Bernard Madoff did not suddenly come to the realization that he should steal from everyone who trusted him. My guess is that his sin began in small ways, but Satan was faithful to multiply it.
The Bernard Madoffs of the world are not my primary concern. If I could speak with anyone, it would be the churches. I do not say this out of some self-righteous pathology, but out of a heart that recognizes its own sinful nature and desires to help others. There are four lessons I believe we the church should learn from the recession. I will list them here first and then expound upon them.
- We Christians value the immaterial over the material.
- Security and comfort are illusions.
- If we neglect generosity, generosity will neglect us.
- We will trust God and seek His will in bad times and in good times.
We Christians value the immaterial over the material. I am not a dualist or a gnostic, believing that matter is evil and only the spiritual is good. In fact, I usually lean towards the policy of, “What God has made clean, do not call [unclean]” (Acts 11:9). However, I still believe that we as Christians do not place ultimate value on material things. Paul was making this point when he wrote:
as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
(2 Corinthians 4:18)
Paul is writing about the eternal, but more remote reward that is promised for those who are faithful. However, I do not think he was only referring to such a heavenly reward. We deal with unseen gifts on a daily basis. No one has ever seen love, or peace, or patience. No one can see the joy that comes from a loving family, we may visualize our own experience, but not in its abstract nature.
One thing that troubles me the most about our society is the fact that the “good life” is synonymous with having a lot of stuff. The societal proverb tells us that “Money cannot buy happiness,” but people still equate happiness with nice house, an expensive car, and a flat panel television. The message the world needs to hear from the church is this: “Money cannot buy happiness. Only Jesus brings fulfillment.”
Security and comfort are illusions. One of my teachers in high school once claimed that the purpose of life is “long-term financial security.” Probably the most far-fetched part of that theory is the illusion of security. Paul writes about this:
For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
(1 Thessalonians 5:2-3)
For the follower of Jesus, this passage should speak of amazing hope. If you have centered your entire existence around Jesus, then His return should be cause for celebration. However, if you placing your trust in anything else this verse was intended to be frightening. Paul is trying to emphasize the fact that people will be lulled into a false sense of security by money and power, but their peace is only an illusion. If the recession can teach us anything, it should be that possessions are not dependable. David clearly knew what he could depend on when he wrote:
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
(Psalms 73:25-26)
If we neglect generosity, generosity will neglect us. In times of economic crisis, the agencies of goodwill will be overwhelmed as a much larger part of the society feels the burden of poverty. I recently heard someone say that they were thankful that this sort of crisis was happening in the United States where people can always fall back on the Rescue Mission or Salvation Army. This way of thinking is incredibly circular. Organizations that offer relief always depend upon the generosity of those who have. What I really wish my acquaintance would have said is, “Thank God this is happening in the United Sates, because there are so many generous people who help one another.”
I wholly believe that our society has a serious illness called entitlement. One of my biggest frustrations is when I hear my Christian friends laud over capitalism as if it were handed down to us by God himself. It is not that I really care about economic systems, but I am fairly confident that the Kingdom of Heaven does not embrace the free market system. As we’ve already discussed, money should not be the source of a Christian’s happiness, so why are we so concerned about holding tight to what is “ours.” I’m not saying we all need to live in Christian communes where we share all things in common (although it would be cool), but we need to be more openhanded with what we have.
Jesus really says it the best:
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
(Matthew 25:34-40)
Whenever you give what you have to serve others, you are doing it to Jesus himself. And what is almost scary about this passage is that Jesus makes it known that when we decide to not serve others, we are choosing to not serve Jesus. But God doesn’t really care about this does he? I mean not everyone can be Mother Teresa can they?
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
(Matthew 25:41-46)
God in his grace and mercy has shown us the ultimate generosity. If we are serious about following Christ, we must be generous towards those in need.
We will trust God and seek His will in bad times and in good times. One thing that becomes clear to me as I read the Bible, God is begging for His people to seek him always. The problem is that people seem to forget the “always” part. People love to depend on God when it seems like they have no other hope, but when they are delivered, they just want autonomy. There are probably many people asking for God to help them get through this economic crisis. God loves his children and he will provide as always. What is of the utmost importance is that people continue to rely on God after they have achieved economic stability again. God is big enough to deal with our problems, but we cannot figure that he is important enough to always be at the center of our attentions.
I think my fourth point actually sums what we really need to learn from the recession. As Christians, we cannot afford to live life in rebellion to God when we think we have things under control. Right now the world is looking for hope. The hope is not an economic stimulus package. It is not a politician. It is not the possibility of one day being able to buy what we want to buy. The only hope the world has is the Gospel. Christians must be the example to the world.
One of my favorite authors, Graham Tomlin, uses the analogy of Robin Hood to describe how Christians should operate in the world. We are like Robin Hood. We are followers of the True King. Things may not be as they should be and the forces of evil think they are in control. But we are here to enact signs of the Kingdom to remind the world that there is a true king. Perhaps we are not supposed to rob from the rich and give to the poor (although we should do the second part), but we must do something. Paul and Silas were described as having “turned the world upside down,” (Acts 17:6) and if we show the world that money is not God, the same will be said of us.
