I've started another book called the 33 Laws of Stewardship by Dave Sutherland and Kirk Nowery. To be honest, I wasn't sure about it when I first picked it up - it looked kind of slick, and I was afraid I'd picked up one of those "name it and claim it" books. Well, the old adage to not judge a book by its cover applies here. It's been a good book.
I'm going to go through it very quickly, in just three posts.
1. Rightful Ownership.
This is probably the most important thing any follower of Christ should remember: none of it is really ours. It all belongs to God.
“When we are blessed with money and material things, and when we receive acclaim for any accomplishment, we’re getting not what we deserve but what God in His grace lovingly allows us to enjoy and to care for. The essence of life is not ownership but stewardship – the faithful management of all that God entrusts to us” (10).
2. Purposeful Possession
Whatever God gives us, He gives with a purpose, and we are to use it in service to Him. A good steward doesn’t hoard those things God entrusts to her.
3. Miraculous Multiplication
God can make a lot out of a little. A few loaves and fishes fed a crowd of over 5,000, and there were leftovers.
“Trusting Him explicitly, He provides for us absolutely; and we mustn’t be limited by what we see because His ways transcend human understanding” (23).
4. Guaranteed Return
While I don’t believe in karma, this is a principle that is very similar to the concept of karma. What you give will be given back to you.
“If you give, it will be given back to you. And not just an equal exchange. The return will be overflowing, super-abundant, bigger, and better” (30).
5. Hilarious Generosity
God really does love a cheerful giver. Give because God asks you to give, but do it with the right attitude, that of one who is grateful to be able to give.
6. Faithful Dependability
A true steward is trustworthy. She is faithful in small things and can therefore be trusted with large things.
7. Paradoxical Participation
Generosity is measured by the attitude of the giver, and the biggest gifts can come from those who have given very little.
8. Supernatural Supply
We can give beyond our ability through God’s power.
“The power which God gives the believer is not natural power but supernatural power. The provision He makes is not natural but supernatural. This is an absolute law in the economy of stewardship, and it must not escape our attention” (53).
9. Eager Willingness
Good stewards choose to give, and they do so with willing and eager hearts.
10. Reciprocal Supply
When we meet others’ needs, we meet our own needs as well.
“The importance of spiritual gifts must not be underestimated because without them we cannot function properly in Christ’s body” (65).
11. Constructive Contribution
The smallest job still serves God, and is as great as the greatest job.
“Sir, we are building God’s temple. Go now and read the third chapter of Nehemiah and learn that he who repaired the dung gate was counted of as much honor as he who worked on the gate of the fountain. All did their bit; you and I can do no more” (69, attributed to John Wesley).
“The work of God is to be done by the people of God according to the will of God” (69).
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Purpose Driven Life Part 6
34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[b] 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[c] 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Matthew 22:34-40
18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Matthew 28:18-20
The Purpose Driven Life is about fulfilling all five purposes that God created us for: worship, fellowship, evangelism, ministry, and discipleship. In chapters 39 and 40, Warren talks about balancing these five aspects. The two pieces of scripture above list all five purposes. Warren dissects them this way:
1. 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart’: You were planned for God’s pleasure, so your purpose is to love God through worship.
2. 'Love your neighbor as yourself.': You were shaped for serving, so your purpose is to show love for others through ministry.
3. ‘Therefore go and make disciples’: You were made for a mission, so your purpose is to share God’s message through evangelism.
4. ‘baptizing them’: You were formed for God’s family, so your purpose is to identify with his church through fellowship.
5. ‘teaching them to obey everything’ : You were created to become like Christ, so your purpose is to grow to maturity through discipleship.
We need to do all five of these things well, not just one or two. This isn’t easy. I think we are naturally given to doing one or two of these things, and letting the rest fall by the side of the road, but that isn’t how we’re to live our lives. Warren says in order to do all five things well, we need to have balance. There are two things we can do to achieve balance in the five areas. The first is to evaluate how we’re doing through journaling, an accountability partner, or the support of a small group. The other way is to craft a purpose statement for our lives.
It is good to write out your purpose. By writing something down, instead of just keeping it crammed in your brain, you can read it every day. This reinforces what you need to know. It’s sort of like taking notes from a book or lecture. Yes, you can probably remember some of the stuff you read or hear, but by taking notes, you have something to look back on. The details will be clear, not fuzzy. Sure, your purpose might be in your head, but it’s not clear until you write it down.
Writing it down also allows you to see where you’re going. It allows you to do the things you need to do and say no to the things that aren’t necessary. From my own perspective, it means I can freely involve myself in mission trips and buying food for the poor, and I can freely say no to teaching a Sunday School class or singing in choir.
This is my last post of Purpose Driven life. I’ll be moving on to another book next time.
Purpose Driven Life, part 5
Since I started in the INO program, I’ve felt the calling on my life tug in two very different directions. On the one hand, I have the vision of my working with the poor and homeless firmly rooted in my mind (a vision, as I’ve said before, I think God put there when I was 19). On the other hand, I have this interest in doing two things in the church: teaching 1) people of faith how the Body of Christ needs to be a better steward of the environment (because God created the earth and our lousy stewardship is killing the poor) and 2) spiritual gifts and motivating people to use them. In the past, I’ve tongue-in-cheek called the teaching the church thing “showing the Church how we’re screwing up.” Please note I’m not completely joking…
But I digress. As I’ve said, I’ve felt this tug in what seems like two completely different directions, though the subjects are pretty well related. I haven’t been sure how to reconcile what could be two potential careers/ministries.
Enter Day 36 of Purpose Driven Life, on which day Warren says, “God is at work in the world, and he wants you to join him. This assignment is called your mission. God wants you to have both a ministry in the Body of Christ and a mission in the world. Your ministry is your service to believers, and your mission is your service to unbelievers” (281). Ding ding ding!
This explains a lot, actually. I’m not sure how I became so textbook on this one thing in my life, but there you go.
What he says first is that ministry is about serving believers. You might be asking yourself how teaching the Body of Christ serves other believers. Put in that sense, it doesn’t. But in the sense of teaching the Body about the environment, poverty, and spiritual gifts, it’s serving believers by teaching them how to be good stewards. And by teaching people about spiritual gifts, it means other people can find and use their gifts in ministry and mission.
As I was searching for a particular Scripture, I found a web page that seems to be one of those Q&A type things. I think the Q in question here fits this ministry thing (for me) REALLY well:
Second, he calls mission a service to unbelievers. I don’t want to imply that all people who are poor or homeless are unbelievers, or that people become homeless/poor because they aren’t Christians or have no faith in God. Please don’t take that in this context. But there are many people who, because of their circumstances, find it hard to believe that God loves them. Some find it hard to simply believe in God because their lives have been so hard, or they might blame God for the hardships they or others are responsible for in their lives. There’s a lot to be said for praying for the poor, but I think there comes a time when we have to be willing to be an answer to prayer as well. James 2:15-17 says, “ Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” I believe singer Steve Camp said it best this way: don’t tell them Jesus loves them till you’re ready to love them too. This verse sums it up for me. I think that there are many times that the only way we can speak to someone about God is to help them with their physical needs. Minister to them through their stomachs and skins. Give them shelter and a hug. Only then, once we’ve shown them that the Body of Christ loves them, can we show them that Jesus really loves them too, and wants a relationship with them.
I’m excited about this. It makes my life a lot easier, in that I feel I’m not being pulled in two different directions anymore and that these things could possibly be in harmony and unity with what God wants for my life.
But I digress. As I’ve said, I’ve felt this tug in what seems like two completely different directions, though the subjects are pretty well related. I haven’t been sure how to reconcile what could be two potential careers/ministries.
Enter Day 36 of Purpose Driven Life, on which day Warren says, “God is at work in the world, and he wants you to join him. This assignment is called your mission. God wants you to have both a ministry in the Body of Christ and a mission in the world. Your ministry is your service to believers, and your mission is your service to unbelievers” (281). Ding ding ding!
This explains a lot, actually. I’m not sure how I became so textbook on this one thing in my life, but there you go.
What he says first is that ministry is about serving believers. You might be asking yourself how teaching the Body of Christ serves other believers. Put in that sense, it doesn’t. But in the sense of teaching the Body about the environment, poverty, and spiritual gifts, it’s serving believers by teaching them how to be good stewards. And by teaching people about spiritual gifts, it means other people can find and use their gifts in ministry and mission.
As I was searching for a particular Scripture, I found a web page that seems to be one of those Q&A type things. I think the Q in question here fits this ministry thing (for me) REALLY well:
Q: Does God meet ALL our needs when we give very sacrificially? My husband lost his job 5/04. I'm in my 50's disabled. We were $3000 in debt. I'd hoped yrs. for a house not renting. Now it's $20,000 debt & climbing. I've always been a great steward with God's money.
A: "My God SHALL supply all of your needs according to His riches in Glory in Christ Jesus." WHO IS IN CHRIST JESUS? The body of Christ. Why isn't your church helping you? OR individuals in your church? This is where other Christians need to reach out to you and GIVE you money and food. "GIVE and it SHALL be given unto you." WHY IS THE BODY OF CHRIST FAILING IN THIS AREA? Don't they understand they are "In Christ Jesus."
Second, he calls mission a service to unbelievers. I don’t want to imply that all people who are poor or homeless are unbelievers, or that people become homeless/poor because they aren’t Christians or have no faith in God. Please don’t take that in this context. But there are many people who, because of their circumstances, find it hard to believe that God loves them. Some find it hard to simply believe in God because their lives have been so hard, or they might blame God for the hardships they or others are responsible for in their lives. There’s a lot to be said for praying for the poor, but I think there comes a time when we have to be willing to be an answer to prayer as well. James 2:15-17 says, “ Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” I believe singer Steve Camp said it best this way: don’t tell them Jesus loves them till you’re ready to love them too. This verse sums it up for me. I think that there are many times that the only way we can speak to someone about God is to help them with their physical needs. Minister to them through their stomachs and skins. Give them shelter and a hug. Only then, once we’ve shown them that the Body of Christ loves them, can we show them that Jesus really loves them too, and wants a relationship with them.
I’m excited about this. It makes my life a lot easier, in that I feel I’m not being pulled in two different directions anymore and that these things could possibly be in harmony and unity with what God wants for my life.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Purpose Driven Life Part 4
On Day 31, Warren talks about abilities, personality, and experiences and how those things influence your ministry. He says, “God designed each of us so there would be no duplication in the world. No one has the exact same mix of factors that make you unique. That means no one else on earth will ever be able to play the role God planned for you. If you don’t make your unique contribution to the Body of Christ, it won’t be made” (241).
What abilities do you have? In other words, what are the natural talents you have that you were born with. I’ve always been fairly decent at writing, and it has always come pretty naturally to me. When I was fifteen, I decided I wanted to be a professional writer, but I’ve been writing most of my life. I have a scrapbook somewhere with a short-short story that I wrote in first grade. In fourth grade, I wrote an essay about Thanksgiving that my fourth grade teacher sent to our town’s newspaper for publishing (they did - I think that’s in the scrapbook too). In eighth grade, I won a contest for an essay I wrote for school. I wrote and submitted my first short story when I was a freshman or sophomore in high school. I’m a voracious reader, and would rather read than do anything else (most writers are). From that time when I was fifteen, I’ve developed my writing skills so that I am at this point today. I say all of this not to brag, but to tell you that this is either a huge fluke, or it’s something that God gave me to develop and use for His glory.
You have an ability that you’ve been using all of your life too, something that you’ve always done well and comes so naturally to you that you don’t understand why others have trouble with it. That ability came from God, and we all have at least one.
God also uses our personalities in ministry. Do you know what your personality type is? I’ve taken many personality type tests over the years, and none of them have told me anything I didn’t already know. I’m an introvert – also known as the quiet, shy type. If you know me, you’re laughing your head off at this part, thinking, “There’s no way in hell she’s shy or an introvert!” I can be loud, boisterous, and opinionated, it’s true. But put me in a room full of strangers, and I stay in a corner and cower. Better yet, keep the strangers for yourself and let me stay home and read a book. I hate large groups of people, and will escape to the bathroom just for some peace and quiet. I am quite happy being stuck in my office all day long talking to very few people. My husband, on the other hand, has never met a stranger. Strangers, to him, are just new friends you haven’t made yet.
God can use you, no matter how loud and boisterous or quiet and shy you are. He can use you if you’re more of a thinker instead of a feeler, or vise versa. Your personality will only affect “how and where you use your spiritual gifts” (245), not whether or not you use them.
Our experiences determine where we serve as well. Warren says we should look at at least six different experiences from your past: family; educational; vocational; spiritual; ministry; and painful experiences. All of these things combine to make us people able to serve others with similar experiences. And Warren notes that painful experiences are the ones God uses the most to prepare us for ministry. As much as some of these things hurt, as rough as it to go though them, as many times as we cry out to God, He still allows these things to pass so that we can be better ministers. And our experiences make us soft-hearted, so we can show grace and mercy to those who need it.
I have no doubt that Warren is right about the painful experiences part. I feel like I make examples of my own life a lot, but I think we learn from others' experiences, and I want to show you how experience applies in my own life and ministry. Bear with me, you've probably heard a lot of this before.
Jeff and I married when I was 19. We moved to a little town in GA called Jenkinsburg, where Jeff pastored three UMC's in the county as a student pastor. After we'd been there about seven months, we were run out of the churches by two people. This was essentially a firing, and having reviewed this situation more than a few times, I think I can honestly say that we weren't at fault here. There were some local church politics that came into play, as well as a specific situation that someone lied about. Yes, there were probably a few minor things Jeff could have done differently, but what it really came down to was church politics (and a lot of work by the Evil One). We moved to Atlanta and lived there for 6 months before moving back to Illinois and in with my parents and brother. Would we have been homeless then? If not for our parents - most certainly. Jeff's mom paid our rent while we lived in Atlanta and my parents provided us with a home until we could move to Springfield.
Yet we weren't homeless in GA, and I found it more difficult to feel sorry for myself after I saw a truly homeless person for the first time. This was a painful time in our lives, but without it, I wouldn't be where I am today. It seems so trite to say that, especially in a blog, but I think you'll find it true in your own life as well. Nothing in my family, my education, my past ministry, my plans for vocation, or anything spiritual could have truly prepared me for this particular call and vision.
So what you've learned about me here is that I can write, I'm shy, and I have a vision of working with the homeless because of being kicked out of a home once. Now I just have to think of how to really combine those things. Maybe in another post this will come together with my spiritual gifts and heart.
What abilities do you have? In other words, what are the natural talents you have that you were born with. I’ve always been fairly decent at writing, and it has always come pretty naturally to me. When I was fifteen, I decided I wanted to be a professional writer, but I’ve been writing most of my life. I have a scrapbook somewhere with a short-short story that I wrote in first grade. In fourth grade, I wrote an essay about Thanksgiving that my fourth grade teacher sent to our town’s newspaper for publishing (they did - I think that’s in the scrapbook too). In eighth grade, I won a contest for an essay I wrote for school. I wrote and submitted my first short story when I was a freshman or sophomore in high school. I’m a voracious reader, and would rather read than do anything else (most writers are). From that time when I was fifteen, I’ve developed my writing skills so that I am at this point today. I say all of this not to brag, but to tell you that this is either a huge fluke, or it’s something that God gave me to develop and use for His glory.
You have an ability that you’ve been using all of your life too, something that you’ve always done well and comes so naturally to you that you don’t understand why others have trouble with it. That ability came from God, and we all have at least one.
God also uses our personalities in ministry. Do you know what your personality type is? I’ve taken many personality type tests over the years, and none of them have told me anything I didn’t already know. I’m an introvert – also known as the quiet, shy type. If you know me, you’re laughing your head off at this part, thinking, “There’s no way in hell she’s shy or an introvert!” I can be loud, boisterous, and opinionated, it’s true. But put me in a room full of strangers, and I stay in a corner and cower. Better yet, keep the strangers for yourself and let me stay home and read a book. I hate large groups of people, and will escape to the bathroom just for some peace and quiet. I am quite happy being stuck in my office all day long talking to very few people. My husband, on the other hand, has never met a stranger. Strangers, to him, are just new friends you haven’t made yet.
God can use you, no matter how loud and boisterous or quiet and shy you are. He can use you if you’re more of a thinker instead of a feeler, or vise versa. Your personality will only affect “how and where you use your spiritual gifts” (245), not whether or not you use them.
Our experiences determine where we serve as well. Warren says we should look at at least six different experiences from your past: family; educational; vocational; spiritual; ministry; and painful experiences. All of these things combine to make us people able to serve others with similar experiences. And Warren notes that painful experiences are the ones God uses the most to prepare us for ministry. As much as some of these things hurt, as rough as it to go though them, as many times as we cry out to God, He still allows these things to pass so that we can be better ministers. And our experiences make us soft-hearted, so we can show grace and mercy to those who need it.
I have no doubt that Warren is right about the painful experiences part. I feel like I make examples of my own life a lot, but I think we learn from others' experiences, and I want to show you how experience applies in my own life and ministry. Bear with me, you've probably heard a lot of this before.
Jeff and I married when I was 19. We moved to a little town in GA called Jenkinsburg, where Jeff pastored three UMC's in the county as a student pastor. After we'd been there about seven months, we were run out of the churches by two people. This was essentially a firing, and having reviewed this situation more than a few times, I think I can honestly say that we weren't at fault here. There were some local church politics that came into play, as well as a specific situation that someone lied about. Yes, there were probably a few minor things Jeff could have done differently, but what it really came down to was church politics (and a lot of work by the Evil One). We moved to Atlanta and lived there for 6 months before moving back to Illinois and in with my parents and brother. Would we have been homeless then? If not for our parents - most certainly. Jeff's mom paid our rent while we lived in Atlanta and my parents provided us with a home until we could move to Springfield.
Yet we weren't homeless in GA, and I found it more difficult to feel sorry for myself after I saw a truly homeless person for the first time. This was a painful time in our lives, but without it, I wouldn't be where I am today. It seems so trite to say that, especially in a blog, but I think you'll find it true in your own life as well. Nothing in my family, my education, my past ministry, my plans for vocation, or anything spiritual could have truly prepared me for this particular call and vision.
So what you've learned about me here is that I can write, I'm shy, and I have a vision of working with the homeless because of being kicked out of a home once. Now I just have to think of how to really combine those things. Maybe in another post this will come together with my spiritual gifts and heart.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
PDL Day 32
Day 32 Thinking about my purpose
Point to ponder: God deserves my best.
Verse to Remember: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
Question to Consider: How can I make the best use of what God has given me?
I think that’s the question I keep asking myself. As sure as I am about my gifts, abilities, and calling, I still have those moments when I take a step back and wonder if that’s really what God wants me to be doing. How does writing fiction help the church? How does writing about the environment help the church? Would someone else be better qualified to talk to the church about stewardship than I am? Am I just reinventing the wheel and saying what Sider, Warren, others, and the Bible have already said?
I think the only thing I can do is to use what God has given me, use it to the best of my abilities, and for His glory. I think that’s all he asks.
Point to ponder: God deserves my best.
Verse to Remember: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
Question to Consider: How can I make the best use of what God has given me?
I think that’s the question I keep asking myself. As sure as I am about my gifts, abilities, and calling, I still have those moments when I take a step back and wonder if that’s really what God wants me to be doing. How does writing fiction help the church? How does writing about the environment help the church? Would someone else be better qualified to talk to the church about stewardship than I am? Am I just reinventing the wheel and saying what Sider, Warren, others, and the Bible have already said?
I think the only thing I can do is to use what God has given me, use it to the best of my abilities, and for His glory. I think that’s all he asks.
PDL Day 31
Day 31 Thinking about my purpose
Point to ponder: Nobody else can be me.
Verse to Remember: “God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings.” 1 Peter 4:10
Question to Consider: What God-given ability or personal experience can I offer to my church?
I have a couple of these.
First, my abilities. I can write well, I’m a good researcher, and I love to learn/talk about stewardship. I think those things would benefit any church.
Second – my experiences being hurt by the church can benefit the church. People inside the church need to understand that a church is different from the outside world. Churches aren’t businesses and shouldn’t be treated like businesses. Churches ARE families, and we should treat the people in them like families. I’m not sure that has ever been my experience in a church, and it’s sad to think that others have been treated the same way I have been treated.
Point to ponder: Nobody else can be me.
Verse to Remember: “God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings.” 1 Peter 4:10
Question to Consider: What God-given ability or personal experience can I offer to my church?
I have a couple of these.
First, my abilities. I can write well, I’m a good researcher, and I love to learn/talk about stewardship. I think those things would benefit any church.
Second – my experiences being hurt by the church can benefit the church. People inside the church need to understand that a church is different from the outside world. Churches aren’t businesses and shouldn’t be treated like businesses. Churches ARE families, and we should treat the people in them like families. I’m not sure that has ever been my experience in a church, and it’s sad to think that others have been treated the same way I have been treated.
Purpose Driven Life Part 3
On day 30, Rick Warren begins explaining how we are made to serve God. He says that each of us is uniquely designed, or SHAPEd to do certain things. SHAPE stands for Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experience. According to him, and I think this is a really good thing to remember, it is not just our spiritual gifts that indicate where we should minister to others, but what we might enjoy doing, our skills, personality, and what we’ve done, seen, and lived.
Are our spiritual gifts the most important part of these variables? Personally, I would say yes. Determining our gifts narrows down the ways to serve pretty quickly. And yet, the other variables are almost as important in determining your ministry, because two people with the same gift might not be happy serving in the exact same place. For instance, one person with the gift of administration might want to serve in a homeless shelter and another with the same gift might want to serve at a school – the first person might be really uncomfortable around kids, while the second might not enjoy working with the homeless. But both ministries are equally as important.
For this day, he talks about the first two letters in SHAPE: spiritual gifts and heart. In discussing spiritual gifts, he points out three very important points. First, every follower of Christ has at least one spiritual gift. Period. Some might have only one, some might have three, some might have five. No person has every single gift, and no believer is without a gift. Second, he addresses two common problems: gift envy and gift projection. “The first occurs when we compare our gifts with others’, feel dissatisfied with what God gave us, and become resentful. The second problem happens when we expect everyone else to have our gifts, do what we are called to do, and feel as passionate about it as we do” (237). Third, our spiritual gifts were given to us to serve others. When some people don’t use their gifts, other people get cheated. I also want to point out that if you or I don’t use our gifts, it makes it that much more difficult for the Body of Christ to function.
Warren says, “The Bible uses the term heart to describe the bundle of desires, hopes, interests, ambitions, dreams, and affections you have. Your heart represents the source of all your motivations – what you love to do and what you care about most” (237). He also calls heart passion. What motivates you? What drives you? That’s your passion. It’s a really good indicator of where you can use your God-given gifts. God wants us to love and enjoy the ways we serve Him. Ministry shouldn’t be a drudgery, something to get out of the way because you think it’s the right thing to do. Instead, ministry should capture your heart and drive you to laughter and tears. Don’t serve just because you think you should. Serve because it is something you might be interested in doing.
The catch here, at least for me personally, is remembering that not everyone shares my passion for certain things. Taking care of the poor and homeless around the world is really important to me, and many times I get wrapped up in wondering why not everyone is doing something to combat poverty and homelessness. Conversely, there are quite a few people in this world who love ministering to single mothers and helping them take care of their (unborn) children, and they wonder why I’m not doing the same things they are. It’s not that we’re blind to some of these needs, it’s that we each feel passionate about one thing over another.
At first glance, this kind of reasoning seems contradictory to the command we all have to take care of the poor, the widow, and the orphan, but I don’t believe that it really is. The heart and purpose of ministry is about bringing people to God through Jesus, and we minister to people by taking care of their need – not just spiritual, but physical, emotional, and mental needs. Many times, I would say most times, ministry takes place in places where people are in poverty, when we show people the love God has for them by feeding, clothing and taking care of them.
Are our spiritual gifts the most important part of these variables? Personally, I would say yes. Determining our gifts narrows down the ways to serve pretty quickly. And yet, the other variables are almost as important in determining your ministry, because two people with the same gift might not be happy serving in the exact same place. For instance, one person with the gift of administration might want to serve in a homeless shelter and another with the same gift might want to serve at a school – the first person might be really uncomfortable around kids, while the second might not enjoy working with the homeless. But both ministries are equally as important.
For this day, he talks about the first two letters in SHAPE: spiritual gifts and heart. In discussing spiritual gifts, he points out three very important points. First, every follower of Christ has at least one spiritual gift. Period. Some might have only one, some might have three, some might have five. No person has every single gift, and no believer is without a gift. Second, he addresses two common problems: gift envy and gift projection. “The first occurs when we compare our gifts with others’, feel dissatisfied with what God gave us, and become resentful. The second problem happens when we expect everyone else to have our gifts, do what we are called to do, and feel as passionate about it as we do” (237). Third, our spiritual gifts were given to us to serve others. When some people don’t use their gifts, other people get cheated. I also want to point out that if you or I don’t use our gifts, it makes it that much more difficult for the Body of Christ to function.
Warren says, “The Bible uses the term heart to describe the bundle of desires, hopes, interests, ambitions, dreams, and affections you have. Your heart represents the source of all your motivations – what you love to do and what you care about most” (237). He also calls heart passion. What motivates you? What drives you? That’s your passion. It’s a really good indicator of where you can use your God-given gifts. God wants us to love and enjoy the ways we serve Him. Ministry shouldn’t be a drudgery, something to get out of the way because you think it’s the right thing to do. Instead, ministry should capture your heart and drive you to laughter and tears. Don’t serve just because you think you should. Serve because it is something you might be interested in doing.
The catch here, at least for me personally, is remembering that not everyone shares my passion for certain things. Taking care of the poor and homeless around the world is really important to me, and many times I get wrapped up in wondering why not everyone is doing something to combat poverty and homelessness. Conversely, there are quite a few people in this world who love ministering to single mothers and helping them take care of their (unborn) children, and they wonder why I’m not doing the same things they are. It’s not that we’re blind to some of these needs, it’s that we each feel passionate about one thing over another.
At first glance, this kind of reasoning seems contradictory to the command we all have to take care of the poor, the widow, and the orphan, but I don’t believe that it really is. The heart and purpose of ministry is about bringing people to God through Jesus, and we minister to people by taking care of their need – not just spiritual, but physical, emotional, and mental needs. Many times, I would say most times, ministry takes place in places where people are in poverty, when we show people the love God has for them by feeding, clothing and taking care of them.
PDL Day 30
Day 30 Thinking about my purpose
Point to Ponder: I was shaped for serving God.
Verse to Remember: “God works through different men in different ways, but it is the same God who achieves his purposes through them all.” 1 Corinthians 12:16
Question to Consider: In what way can I see myself passionately serving others and loving it?
I guess I’m fortunate that I can see quite a few ways.
First, there’s writing. Writing’s one of those things that it’s hard to get started, but once I do the words just come to me. I enjoy helping others see another side of things or feeling another emotion. And I could use it to help me…
Teach people about spiritual gifts. In one way, this serves only the church and the people in it, but in another way, it serves others because it makes them aware that they need to be in ministry to others.
Third, serving the poor and homeless and helping them make better lives for themselves.
Fourth, teaching stewardship. I think it would be the same as teaching about spiritual gifts, but followers of Christ need to be made aware of stewardship issues. It’s imperative. And it’s not just spiritual gifts that need to be taught, but people need to learn about time, finances, and the environment too.
Point to Ponder: I was shaped for serving God.
Verse to Remember: “God works through different men in different ways, but it is the same God who achieves his purposes through them all.” 1 Corinthians 12:16
Question to Consider: In what way can I see myself passionately serving others and loving it?
I guess I’m fortunate that I can see quite a few ways.
First, there’s writing. Writing’s one of those things that it’s hard to get started, but once I do the words just come to me. I enjoy helping others see another side of things or feeling another emotion. And I could use it to help me…
Teach people about spiritual gifts. In one way, this serves only the church and the people in it, but in another way, it serves others because it makes them aware that they need to be in ministry to others.
Third, serving the poor and homeless and helping them make better lives for themselves.
Fourth, teaching stewardship. I think it would be the same as teaching about spiritual gifts, but followers of Christ need to be made aware of stewardship issues. It’s imperative. And it’s not just spiritual gifts that need to be taught, but people need to learn about time, finances, and the environment too.
Friday, November 14, 2008
PDL Day 29
Day 29 Thinking about my purpose
Point to Ponder: Service is not optional.
Verse to Remember: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which god prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
Question to Consider: What is holding me back from accepting God’s call to serve him?
NOTHING!!!
Now admittedly, I don’t think I’m serving exactly in the capacity God wants me in right now, but I’m trying to do small things along the way so that I can get there.
I think it would be so cool to do a missions small group. Instead of doing Bible study every week, the group gets together and does service stuff. I’ve wanted to do this for about two years now, and was in the process of setting it up in Alton before Jeff left the church. I don’t know what my future looks like as far as church is concerned, but I’d love to set this up. I think this is something I need to think about doing apart from a church home because I don’t know when I’ll have a church home again
Point to Ponder: Service is not optional.
Verse to Remember: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which god prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
Question to Consider: What is holding me back from accepting God’s call to serve him?
NOTHING!!!
Now admittedly, I don’t think I’m serving exactly in the capacity God wants me in right now, but I’m trying to do small things along the way so that I can get there.
I think it would be so cool to do a missions small group. Instead of doing Bible study every week, the group gets together and does service stuff. I’ve wanted to do this for about two years now, and was in the process of setting it up in Alton before Jeff left the church. I don’t know what my future looks like as far as church is concerned, but I’d love to set this up. I think this is something I need to think about doing apart from a church home because I don’t know when I’ll have a church home again
Purpose Driven Life Part 2
I have a confession to make about Purpose Driven Life: I’m actually way ahead of where I should be. I decided when I started rereading it that I’d read two days at a time instead of just one. As I promised myself and all of you, I’m writing the question for every day, even if I’m not posting it to this blog. But I’m ahead of the readings, mainly because I wanted to hurry up and get to the last two sections that talked about service and ministry.
I wish I could just scan all of Day 29 here without getting socked with a copyright violation! This is the point in the book that got me so excited the first time I read this book, and it’s no different this time.
I’ve often wondered why more Christians don’t use their spiritual gifts when God gives them to us for a reason and Jesus told us to go out to all the nations of the world to tell them the Good News. But this brings up my first recollection of learning about spiritual gifts, and to be honest, I’m not sure when I first heard about them. I can only tell you that my first experience serving in the church happened before I became a Christian. When I was sixteen, the fifth and sixth grade Sunday School class at my church needed a Sunday School teacher. Don’t ask me why, at the age of sixteen, I decided to take on a bunch of ten and eleven year olds, I just did. I suspect I had my own motives for it, but I also felt a push to do it, a drive, if you will. I’ve often hoped that I did little spiritual damage to those poor kids as I rambled my way through such subjects as friendship and school.
I taught that class for another year after I became a Christian, until I graduated from high school. At that time, the high school teacher decided he didn’t want to teach anymore, so I got a wild hare to teach the high school kids for a while. Yes, some of them in my own graduating class (though all at a different high school, the one in our little town), people my age who I’d grown up with, been friends or not friends with, guys I’d had crushes on, girls I’d fought with, people I’d laughed with and at.
Have I mentioned I’m crazy?
I taught high school all that summer and the following fall. I had to give it up when I started college in Indiana that Spring Semester. I didn’t teach Sunday School again until I was 25, which is fine by me. It’s not something I ever really enjoyed a lot, but I did it because I wanted to serve and felt driven to do so in that capacity.
So I served, but I don’t remember hearing anything about this thing called spiritual gifts until I was 21 and we moved to Springfield. One of the Sunday School classes we were in at First UMC at the time had a segment on spiritual gifts. We were given a spiritual gifts inventory and told to fill it out.
I don’t think it will surprise any of you that at that time, one my gifts was teaching. It also shouldn’t surprise you that it made a huge, life-changing impact on who I am. A year later when I got hired at another church as a member of the program staff, I used what I’d learned in that Sunday School class to teach other people about spiritual gifts.
It’s spiraled from there. I’m not going to tell you that I eat, breathe, and live spiritual gifts and stewardship, because I don’t. There are times when it doesn’t even occur to me to think about either thing – like when I’m reading to Liam or making him laugh his head off, or spending time with Jeff, other family, and friends. But even in those times, when they seem so far from my mind, they are never more than a thought away for me.
Because it makes so much sense to me, and it’s RIGHT THERE in the Bible, I don’t understand why so many Christians aren’t serving in their churches and in the world. But that begs the question: do any of us really practically apply every word in the Bible? I mean, seriously. And maybe that’s part of the problem. Maybe we think that we’ve applied the “important” parts, like the part where Jesus says we need to be saved and we need to spread the Good News. But have we applied the parts about forgiving those who sin against you (I fail at this)? Have we applied the part that says we need to tithe (hint: if we all would do this, churches wouldn’t have to do “stewardship”/financial drives every fall.)? Have we applied the part where Jesus told us to feed the widow and the orphan?
Yeah, I though not. It’s easy to apply what we learn in school. We use math to balance our checkbooks, we use science to figure out various things (I like to look at pretty pictures of planets and then help my mom figure out why it took my brother longer to get home from Germany than it did to get there in the first place – and this had nothing to do with the amount of beer he drank at Oktoberfest), we read all day long (even if it’s just comic books). It’s easy to apply English when composing a letter or out-trivia-ing your husband, but when was the last time you deliberately forgave your best friend for forgetting your lunch date? When was the last time you loved a stranger or bought a pizza for a homeless guy?
It’s not easy to apply things that demand we make life changes, and using your spiritual gifts makes you change your life, whether you like it or not. So maybe there are lots of Christians out there who have read the Bible oodles of times, and think nothing much of it when Paul mentions apostles, prophets, teachers, and healers. Maybe they think that talking in tongues is crazy. Maybe they want to be a leader or administrator instead of a giver or a helper. I don’t know the rationale behind it, I just know that there are a lot of well-meaning Christ followers out there who want to save the world and have no idea that there is a way for them to go about it. Or maybe that have no idea that being saved is just the beginning, not the end. The race starts the day you get saved and doesn’t end until you stand before the great throne of God. I can only pray that one day I will hear, “Yeah, Steph, you fed the poor, took care of the widows and the orphans. When you did these for the least of these, you did them for Me. Well done, good and faithful servant.” We all want to hear these words, but we have to obey God to hear them. And that can change our really comfortable lives.
In Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren says, “You were put on earth to make a contribution. You weren’t created just to consume resources – to eat, breathe, and take up space. God designed you to make a difference with your life. While many best-selling books offer advice on how to ‘get’ the most out of life, that’s not the reason God made you. You were created to add to life on earth, not just take from it. God wants you to give something back. This is God’s fourth purpose for your life, and it is called your “ministry,” or service” (227).
Warren makes four major points for Day 29: you were created to serve God; you were saved to serve God; you are called to serve God; and you are commanded to serve God. Serving God isn’t optional; it’s in our blood, our bones, and our souls. If God made us specifically to serve Him, why would we want to do anything else? Why would we ignore that call and command on our lives?
Warren also points out that “Another term for serving God that’s misunderstood by most people is the word ministry. When most people hear “ministry,” they think of pastors, priests, and professional clergy, but God says every member of his family is a minister. In the Bible, the words service and ministry are synonyms, as are servant and minister” (229). Pastoring is a spiritual gift; ministry, on the other hand, is a command.
I mentioned several gifts above. Some of them look pretty glamorous and like they’d get a lot of attention from other people. Some of them, on the other hand, make you look like, well… a servant. You might think it’s way cooler to be an apostle than someone who helps, but that’s the world’s view, not God’s. In the eyes of God – who created all these gifts, in case you forgot – every gift is equal. Warren says, “There is no small service to God; it all matters. Like wise, there are no insignificant ministries in the church. Some are visible and some are behind the scenes, but all are valuable… There is no correlation between size and significance. Every ministry matters because we are all dependent on each other to function” (230).
I’ll talk more about this in depth, I’m sure. For now, I’ll leave you with the same question Warren leaves for his readers at the end of Day 29: What is holding me back from accepting God’s call to serve him?
I wish I could just scan all of Day 29 here without getting socked with a copyright violation! This is the point in the book that got me so excited the first time I read this book, and it’s no different this time.
I’ve often wondered why more Christians don’t use their spiritual gifts when God gives them to us for a reason and Jesus told us to go out to all the nations of the world to tell them the Good News. But this brings up my first recollection of learning about spiritual gifts, and to be honest, I’m not sure when I first heard about them. I can only tell you that my first experience serving in the church happened before I became a Christian. When I was sixteen, the fifth and sixth grade Sunday School class at my church needed a Sunday School teacher. Don’t ask me why, at the age of sixteen, I decided to take on a bunch of ten and eleven year olds, I just did. I suspect I had my own motives for it, but I also felt a push to do it, a drive, if you will. I’ve often hoped that I did little spiritual damage to those poor kids as I rambled my way through such subjects as friendship and school.
I taught that class for another year after I became a Christian, until I graduated from high school. At that time, the high school teacher decided he didn’t want to teach anymore, so I got a wild hare to teach the high school kids for a while. Yes, some of them in my own graduating class (though all at a different high school, the one in our little town), people my age who I’d grown up with, been friends or not friends with, guys I’d had crushes on, girls I’d fought with, people I’d laughed with and at.
Have I mentioned I’m crazy?
I taught high school all that summer and the following fall. I had to give it up when I started college in Indiana that Spring Semester. I didn’t teach Sunday School again until I was 25, which is fine by me. It’s not something I ever really enjoyed a lot, but I did it because I wanted to serve and felt driven to do so in that capacity.
So I served, but I don’t remember hearing anything about this thing called spiritual gifts until I was 21 and we moved to Springfield. One of the Sunday School classes we were in at First UMC at the time had a segment on spiritual gifts. We were given a spiritual gifts inventory and told to fill it out.
I don’t think it will surprise any of you that at that time, one my gifts was teaching. It also shouldn’t surprise you that it made a huge, life-changing impact on who I am. A year later when I got hired at another church as a member of the program staff, I used what I’d learned in that Sunday School class to teach other people about spiritual gifts.
It’s spiraled from there. I’m not going to tell you that I eat, breathe, and live spiritual gifts and stewardship, because I don’t. There are times when it doesn’t even occur to me to think about either thing – like when I’m reading to Liam or making him laugh his head off, or spending time with Jeff, other family, and friends. But even in those times, when they seem so far from my mind, they are never more than a thought away for me.
Because it makes so much sense to me, and it’s RIGHT THERE in the Bible, I don’t understand why so many Christians aren’t serving in their churches and in the world. But that begs the question: do any of us really practically apply every word in the Bible? I mean, seriously. And maybe that’s part of the problem. Maybe we think that we’ve applied the “important” parts, like the part where Jesus says we need to be saved and we need to spread the Good News. But have we applied the parts about forgiving those who sin against you (I fail at this)? Have we applied the part that says we need to tithe (hint: if we all would do this, churches wouldn’t have to do “stewardship”/financial drives every fall.)? Have we applied the part where Jesus told us to feed the widow and the orphan?
Yeah, I though not. It’s easy to apply what we learn in school. We use math to balance our checkbooks, we use science to figure out various things (I like to look at pretty pictures of planets and then help my mom figure out why it took my brother longer to get home from Germany than it did to get there in the first place – and this had nothing to do with the amount of beer he drank at Oktoberfest), we read all day long (even if it’s just comic books). It’s easy to apply English when composing a letter or out-trivia-ing your husband, but when was the last time you deliberately forgave your best friend for forgetting your lunch date? When was the last time you loved a stranger or bought a pizza for a homeless guy?
It’s not easy to apply things that demand we make life changes, and using your spiritual gifts makes you change your life, whether you like it or not. So maybe there are lots of Christians out there who have read the Bible oodles of times, and think nothing much of it when Paul mentions apostles, prophets, teachers, and healers. Maybe they think that talking in tongues is crazy. Maybe they want to be a leader or administrator instead of a giver or a helper. I don’t know the rationale behind it, I just know that there are a lot of well-meaning Christ followers out there who want to save the world and have no idea that there is a way for them to go about it. Or maybe that have no idea that being saved is just the beginning, not the end. The race starts the day you get saved and doesn’t end until you stand before the great throne of God. I can only pray that one day I will hear, “Yeah, Steph, you fed the poor, took care of the widows and the orphans. When you did these for the least of these, you did them for Me. Well done, good and faithful servant.” We all want to hear these words, but we have to obey God to hear them. And that can change our really comfortable lives.
In Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren says, “You were put on earth to make a contribution. You weren’t created just to consume resources – to eat, breathe, and take up space. God designed you to make a difference with your life. While many best-selling books offer advice on how to ‘get’ the most out of life, that’s not the reason God made you. You were created to add to life on earth, not just take from it. God wants you to give something back. This is God’s fourth purpose for your life, and it is called your “ministry,” or service” (227).
Warren makes four major points for Day 29: you were created to serve God; you were saved to serve God; you are called to serve God; and you are commanded to serve God. Serving God isn’t optional; it’s in our blood, our bones, and our souls. If God made us specifically to serve Him, why would we want to do anything else? Why would we ignore that call and command on our lives?
Warren also points out that “Another term for serving God that’s misunderstood by most people is the word ministry. When most people hear “ministry,” they think of pastors, priests, and professional clergy, but God says every member of his family is a minister. In the Bible, the words service and ministry are synonyms, as are servant and minister” (229). Pastoring is a spiritual gift; ministry, on the other hand, is a command.
I mentioned several gifts above. Some of them look pretty glamorous and like they’d get a lot of attention from other people. Some of them, on the other hand, make you look like, well… a servant. You might think it’s way cooler to be an apostle than someone who helps, but that’s the world’s view, not God’s. In the eyes of God – who created all these gifts, in case you forgot – every gift is equal. Warren says, “There is no small service to God; it all matters. Like wise, there are no insignificant ministries in the church. Some are visible and some are behind the scenes, but all are valuable… There is no correlation between size and significance. Every ministry matters because we are all dependent on each other to function” (230).
I’ll talk more about this in depth, I’m sure. For now, I’ll leave you with the same question Warren leaves for his readers at the end of Day 29: What is holding me back from accepting God’s call to serve him?
Sustainability Forum at UIS 11/13/08
This week has been sustainability week at UIS, and because I work full time, I haven’t been able to participate in anything until last night’s Sustainability Forum.
I was expecting a few faculty speakers from the environmental studies department to lecture for a few hours, which would have been fine. Instead, we had what turned out to be a huge conversation, led by Drs. Ti-Fen Ting (Head of Environmental Studies), Amy McEwan (Biology), and Bill Carpenter (English). As it was one big dialogue between the professors and the students, I don’t have a lot of notes to go by as I write this, but it provoked some good thoughts.
The three professors first defined what sustainability means to them:
Ti-Fen: Three aspects must come together and be balanced for us to be sustainable – environmental well-being, social justice, and economic equity.
Amy: Any action that can be repeated over and over again in the future, from a scientific perspective, is sustainable
Bill challenged us with this Devil’s Advocate thought: What if all the commercials we see and hear about the environment and doing our part in recycling are just a front to get us to do small things that make us feel better, while getting us to ignore the larger political, social, and economic issues that are challenging people all over the world?
Dr. Carpenter’s questions prompted a great discussion, and I think it went hand in hand with the definitions Dr. Ting and Dr. McEwan gave as well. My own thoughts on this are probably pretty clear after reading through this blog, but I’ll put them out there anyway. I don’t necessarily think all the ads for being green are a front, but doing things like recycling and consuming less are sort of the easy things to do. And please don’t get me wrong – I don’t think any less of someone for doing only those things, because I think that doing those things alone saves resources and gets someone in the frame of mind to possibly make some bigger changes. If someone spends the rest of her life recycling everything she can, reducing the amount of resources she uses, and reusing other things, then she’s made a huge impact on the world in which she lives. We need to encourage people to do these things, however small they may seem, because if everyone were to do these small things, imagine how huge it would be!
But there are some people who are not content to leave it at the small things, those who want to move on to revolutionary things, like changing economic systems and the ways we think about social justice. As you can imagine, to me this is a huge stewardship issue, and I’ve written as much. Environmental health, social justice, and economic equity all feed into each other, and as such, according to Dr. Ting, we won’t have a sustainable planet until we have true balance in all areas.
This semester in my environmental ethics class, we’ve been studying the different arguments people make for saving the planet. I mention this because most of the arguments, no matter what lens one is looking at the issue through, have been about saving the environment for the environment’s sake. Last night, Dr. Ting mentioned that in one of her freshman seminars, the one thing she hears repeatedly from her students is that “we have to save the environment.” But last night, she asked us, “Why? The environment can take care of itself. The earth functions well enough on its own without humans around. So who are we really trying to save by saving the planet?”
Us. We’re trying to save our own butts. It’s all well and good to want to save the planet, but in the end, we have to realize that the beings who really, truly benefit from us trying to save the planet are the human beings. And for me, it was really good to hear professional academics say that we have to be concerned not only with the environment, but with other people in that environment, for us to be truly sustainable. It’s good to hear them say that our lack of sustainability is causing people all over the world to live in sub-human conditions, and that we need to fix those conditions while we fix the ecological issues.
I haven’t talked about the most recent election much at all, and I’m glad it’s past. One of the things that annoyed me about both of the candidates, and about politicians and the media in general, is how they say that clean coal is a great thing for our country’s energy future. Bullcrap. Coal is coal, and we don’t have the technology to sequester carbon yet. I live in Illinois. We are rich with coal mines here, and we use the coal for most of our electricity. Federal law mandates that power plants using coal have the right scrubbers to get as much of the sulfur and nitric oxides out of the emissions before we shoot them off into the air, but we don’t have anything that will allow us to sequester all the CO2 we’re releasing. Ergo, there’s no such thing as clean coal. Every time Obama or McCain brought up clean coal, I would rant about it, much to Jeff’s chagrin. But last night, Dr Ting said this: “Clean coal is an oxymoron.” Yes!
In closing, the three professors gave us their perspectives on what would change minds on the issue of sustainability. From the rhetoritician, language will change minds as we become more persuasive. From the biologist, we need to realize that we are all part of nature – we are not separate from the animals, because we ARE animals. And finally, from the environmental scientist, we need not only policy to change laws, but we need to not be so greedy and wasteful with our resources.
I was expecting a few faculty speakers from the environmental studies department to lecture for a few hours, which would have been fine. Instead, we had what turned out to be a huge conversation, led by Drs. Ti-Fen Ting (Head of Environmental Studies), Amy McEwan (Biology), and Bill Carpenter (English). As it was one big dialogue between the professors and the students, I don’t have a lot of notes to go by as I write this, but it provoked some good thoughts.
The three professors first defined what sustainability means to them:
Ti-Fen: Three aspects must come together and be balanced for us to be sustainable – environmental well-being, social justice, and economic equity.
Amy: Any action that can be repeated over and over again in the future, from a scientific perspective, is sustainable
Bill challenged us with this Devil’s Advocate thought: What if all the commercials we see and hear about the environment and doing our part in recycling are just a front to get us to do small things that make us feel better, while getting us to ignore the larger political, social, and economic issues that are challenging people all over the world?
Dr. Carpenter’s questions prompted a great discussion, and I think it went hand in hand with the definitions Dr. Ting and Dr. McEwan gave as well. My own thoughts on this are probably pretty clear after reading through this blog, but I’ll put them out there anyway. I don’t necessarily think all the ads for being green are a front, but doing things like recycling and consuming less are sort of the easy things to do. And please don’t get me wrong – I don’t think any less of someone for doing only those things, because I think that doing those things alone saves resources and gets someone in the frame of mind to possibly make some bigger changes. If someone spends the rest of her life recycling everything she can, reducing the amount of resources she uses, and reusing other things, then she’s made a huge impact on the world in which she lives. We need to encourage people to do these things, however small they may seem, because if everyone were to do these small things, imagine how huge it would be!
But there are some people who are not content to leave it at the small things, those who want to move on to revolutionary things, like changing economic systems and the ways we think about social justice. As you can imagine, to me this is a huge stewardship issue, and I’ve written as much. Environmental health, social justice, and economic equity all feed into each other, and as such, according to Dr. Ting, we won’t have a sustainable planet until we have true balance in all areas.
This semester in my environmental ethics class, we’ve been studying the different arguments people make for saving the planet. I mention this because most of the arguments, no matter what lens one is looking at the issue through, have been about saving the environment for the environment’s sake. Last night, Dr. Ting mentioned that in one of her freshman seminars, the one thing she hears repeatedly from her students is that “we have to save the environment.” But last night, she asked us, “Why? The environment can take care of itself. The earth functions well enough on its own without humans around. So who are we really trying to save by saving the planet?”
Us. We’re trying to save our own butts. It’s all well and good to want to save the planet, but in the end, we have to realize that the beings who really, truly benefit from us trying to save the planet are the human beings. And for me, it was really good to hear professional academics say that we have to be concerned not only with the environment, but with other people in that environment, for us to be truly sustainable. It’s good to hear them say that our lack of sustainability is causing people all over the world to live in sub-human conditions, and that we need to fix those conditions while we fix the ecological issues.
I haven’t talked about the most recent election much at all, and I’m glad it’s past. One of the things that annoyed me about both of the candidates, and about politicians and the media in general, is how they say that clean coal is a great thing for our country’s energy future. Bullcrap. Coal is coal, and we don’t have the technology to sequester carbon yet. I live in Illinois. We are rich with coal mines here, and we use the coal for most of our electricity. Federal law mandates that power plants using coal have the right scrubbers to get as much of the sulfur and nitric oxides out of the emissions before we shoot them off into the air, but we don’t have anything that will allow us to sequester all the CO2 we’re releasing. Ergo, there’s no such thing as clean coal. Every time Obama or McCain brought up clean coal, I would rant about it, much to Jeff’s chagrin. But last night, Dr Ting said this: “Clean coal is an oxymoron.” Yes!
In closing, the three professors gave us their perspectives on what would change minds on the issue of sustainability. From the rhetoritician, language will change minds as we become more persuasive. From the biologist, we need to realize that we are all part of nature – we are not separate from the animals, because we ARE animals. And finally, from the environmental scientist, we need not only policy to change laws, but we need to not be so greedy and wasteful with our resources.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
PDL Day 16
Day 16 Thinking about my purpose
Point to ponder: Life is all about love.
Verse to remember: “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Galtians 5:14
Question to consider: Honestly, are relationships my first priority? How can I ensure that they are?
Honestly, no. Not even my relationship with my son, and I recognize my utter selfishness every day. For me, I have to remind myself that the people in my life and family are people I care about and love, and I sometimes have to force myself to spend time with them. But in doing so, I’ve not only done the right thing, I’ve connected personally to the person.
This is something I am working on, and given that I like my alone time and am becoming more and more of a hermit, it’s not an easy thing for me to work on, but I’m trying.
Point to ponder: Life is all about love.
Verse to remember: “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Galtians 5:14
Question to consider: Honestly, are relationships my first priority? How can I ensure that they are?
Honestly, no. Not even my relationship with my son, and I recognize my utter selfishness every day. For me, I have to remind myself that the people in my life and family are people I care about and love, and I sometimes have to force myself to spend time with them. But in doing so, I’ve not only done the right thing, I’ve connected personally to the person.
This is something I am working on, and given that I like my alone time and am becoming more and more of a hermit, it’s not an easy thing for me to work on, but I’m trying.
PDL Day 14
Day 14 Thinking about my purpose
Point to ponder: God is real, no matter how I feel.
Verse to remember: “For God has said, ‘I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.’” Mark 12:30
Question to consider: How can I stay focused on God’s presence, especially when he feels so distant?
Ah, this I can do, because I rarely feel the presence of God. I just keep thinking about the path He’s set me on and follow it the best I can. I try to remember that I won’t always feel His presence, but that He’s always there. At least this I can usually do.
Point to ponder: God is real, no matter how I feel.
Verse to remember: “For God has said, ‘I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.’” Mark 12:30
Question to consider: How can I stay focused on God’s presence, especially when he feels so distant?
Ah, this I can do, because I rarely feel the presence of God. I just keep thinking about the path He’s set me on and follow it the best I can. I try to remember that I won’t always feel His presence, but that He’s always there. At least this I can usually do.
PDL Day 12
Day 12 Thinking about my purpose
Point to Ponder: I’m as close to God as I choose to be.
Verse to Remember: “Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.” James 4:8
Question to Consider: What practical choices will I make today in order to grow closer to God?
Based on day eleven, I need to talk to God more, but I’ve known that for a long time. I just don’t know if I can talk to God like I talk to Holly or Erin or Jeff. Not that I haven’t before, but I normally “pray” instead of “hold a conversation with” God. And I know that’s my biggest problem. I wonder if I’m afraid of sharing every single facet of my life with God. I know, I know, he knows everything already, but in a relationship with God, that’s really not the point. But I have parts of my life that I don’t share, even with those people closest to me, and I couldn’t hold anything back from God.
Point to Ponder: I’m as close to God as I choose to be.
Verse to Remember: “Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.” James 4:8
Question to Consider: What practical choices will I make today in order to grow closer to God?
Based on day eleven, I need to talk to God more, but I’ve known that for a long time. I just don’t know if I can talk to God like I talk to Holly or Erin or Jeff. Not that I haven’t before, but I normally “pray” instead of “hold a conversation with” God. And I know that’s my biggest problem. I wonder if I’m afraid of sharing every single facet of my life with God. I know, I know, he knows everything already, but in a relationship with God, that’s really not the point. But I have parts of my life that I don’t share, even with those people closest to me, and I couldn’t hold anything back from God.
PDL Day 8
Day 8 Thinking about my purpose
Point to Ponder: I was planned for God’s pleasure.
Verse to Remember: “The Lord takes pleasure in his people.” Psalm 149:4
Question to Consider: What common task could I start doing as if I were doing it directly for Jesus?
Again, all of them. The two things that really come to mind are work and school.
Work is a struggle sometimes. I like my job. I enjoy the research, and even if I don’t think I’m making a difference with what I write for the members, I am gaining knowledge that can help people in other parts of my life. So it’s rewarding. The problem I have is when we have slow times and I don’t have anything to do. This isn’t a problem in itself – it’s a problem when work picks up again and I get assignments. I find I get used to the slow times and doing things other than work, and I have trouble getting motivated to work when there’s work to do.
School is another area where I should concentrate more on doing it for Jesus. I think I’m supposed to be in school, but I’m not putting my whole effort into it. In fact, I’m kind of tired of being in school right now. I’ve had moments where I think I was nuts for going back for a master’s, and moments where I don’t know what I’m going to do with this degree after I’m done. I have moments where I think that maybe I should have just gone to seminary after all – but then I just know I wouldn’t enjoy seminary as much as I’m enjoying the INO program, and I wouldn’t really get the education I want out of it.
Point to Ponder: I was planned for God’s pleasure.
Verse to Remember: “The Lord takes pleasure in his people.” Psalm 149:4
Question to Consider: What common task could I start doing as if I were doing it directly for Jesus?
Again, all of them. The two things that really come to mind are work and school.
Work is a struggle sometimes. I like my job. I enjoy the research, and even if I don’t think I’m making a difference with what I write for the members, I am gaining knowledge that can help people in other parts of my life. So it’s rewarding. The problem I have is when we have slow times and I don’t have anything to do. This isn’t a problem in itself – it’s a problem when work picks up again and I get assignments. I find I get used to the slow times and doing things other than work, and I have trouble getting motivated to work when there’s work to do.
School is another area where I should concentrate more on doing it for Jesus. I think I’m supposed to be in school, but I’m not putting my whole effort into it. In fact, I’m kind of tired of being in school right now. I’ve had moments where I think I was nuts for going back for a master’s, and moments where I don’t know what I’m going to do with this degree after I’m done. I have moments where I think that maybe I should have just gone to seminary after all – but then I just know I wouldn’t enjoy seminary as much as I’m enjoying the INO program, and I wouldn’t really get the education I want out of it.
PDL Day 6
Day 6, Thinking about my Purpose
Point to ponder: This world is not my home
Verse to remember: “So we fix out eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18
Question to Consider: How should the fact that life on earth is just a temporary assignment change the way I am living right now?
Well, I guess I’m trying to change the way I’m living right now and align my values to God’s. I’m trying to consume less and be less materialistic, while being a better steward of the people and things God has trusted me with. I’m trying to use the gifts He’s given me with the opportunities He’s given. I know there’s always room for improvement, but I’m trying.
Point to ponder: This world is not my home
Verse to remember: “So we fix out eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18
Question to Consider: How should the fact that life on earth is just a temporary assignment change the way I am living right now?
Well, I guess I’m trying to change the way I’m living right now and align my values to God’s. I’m trying to consume less and be less materialistic, while being a better steward of the people and things God has trusted me with. I’m trying to use the gifts He’s given me with the opportunities He’s given. I know there’s always room for improvement, but I’m trying.
PDL Day 5
Day 5, Thinking about my Purpose
Point to ponder: Life is a test and a trust.
Verse to remember: “Unless you are faithful in small matter, you won’t be faithful in large ones.” Luke 16:10
Question to Consider: What has happened to me recently that I now realize was a test from God? What are the greatest matters God has entrusted to me?
Maybe it’s because I’m a pessimist, but I think I view most every situation as a test, though maybe while I’m not going through it. As a mom, my greatest test is how I behave when Liam’s not behaving. I’ve asked God for patience many times, forgetting that God doesn’t give us patience, but gives us opportunities to be patient. God gives me a lot of opportunities to be patient…
When Liam’s having a meltdown, I can choose to let his tantrum and his abundance of “NO!”s drive me to the edge, or I can choose to remain calm and rational. That doesn’t mean I don’t punish or don’t spank, but it means that I try to see Liam’s side of the situation and don’t react like I’m angry. Wednesday night is a good example, I that he didn’t obey me, enough so that not only did he get spanked, but when he still wouldn’t change his choices (and he did get choices), he ended up with an earlier bed time than normal. While I was trying to get him ready for bed, and he was kicking and punching me, he still got spanked for his actions, but he was told why he was being punished and I was able to remain mostly calm. And he was able to calm down and turn back into the cheerful little imp we love so much.
Sometimes I fail royally with him though, and I know it as it’s happening.
The greatest matters God has entrusted to me are my family and my finances. I’m not the best financial steward, but I’m becoming more aware of my choices, and that awareness had helped me make better choices in some situations. And of course, my family is the greatest matter of all. As far as Jeff is concerned, I haven’t been the best wife, but I have stood by him faithfully through every trial he’s gone through. How I react to those trials has gotten better over the years too. I’m not sure why God gave us an autistic son, but I know I wouldn’t trade Liam for the whole world. The absolute joy he has brought us is more astounding that I ever thought would happen, and though I fail as a mom many times, I just want to be the best mom I can and teach him about Jesus.
Point to ponder: Life is a test and a trust.
Verse to remember: “Unless you are faithful in small matter, you won’t be faithful in large ones.” Luke 16:10
Question to Consider: What has happened to me recently that I now realize was a test from God? What are the greatest matters God has entrusted to me?
Maybe it’s because I’m a pessimist, but I think I view most every situation as a test, though maybe while I’m not going through it. As a mom, my greatest test is how I behave when Liam’s not behaving. I’ve asked God for patience many times, forgetting that God doesn’t give us patience, but gives us opportunities to be patient. God gives me a lot of opportunities to be patient…
When Liam’s having a meltdown, I can choose to let his tantrum and his abundance of “NO!”s drive me to the edge, or I can choose to remain calm and rational. That doesn’t mean I don’t punish or don’t spank, but it means that I try to see Liam’s side of the situation and don’t react like I’m angry. Wednesday night is a good example, I that he didn’t obey me, enough so that not only did he get spanked, but when he still wouldn’t change his choices (and he did get choices), he ended up with an earlier bed time than normal. While I was trying to get him ready for bed, and he was kicking and punching me, he still got spanked for his actions, but he was told why he was being punished and I was able to remain mostly calm. And he was able to calm down and turn back into the cheerful little imp we love so much.
Sometimes I fail royally with him though, and I know it as it’s happening.
The greatest matters God has entrusted to me are my family and my finances. I’m not the best financial steward, but I’m becoming more aware of my choices, and that awareness had helped me make better choices in some situations. And of course, my family is the greatest matter of all. As far as Jeff is concerned, I haven’t been the best wife, but I have stood by him faithfully through every trial he’s gone through. How I react to those trials has gotten better over the years too. I’m not sure why God gave us an autistic son, but I know I wouldn’t trade Liam for the whole world. The absolute joy he has brought us is more astounding that I ever thought would happen, and though I fail as a mom many times, I just want to be the best mom I can and teach him about Jesus.
PDL Day 3
Day 3, Thinking about my Purpose
Point to ponder: Living on purpose is the path to peace.
Verse to remember: “You, lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3
Question to Consider: What would my family and friends say is the driving force of my life? What do I want it to be?
Poverty, homelessness, and the environment. Hopefully they’d also say that those things are the driving force because of the purpose God gave me.
I want my driving force to be whatever God wants it to be. Since I was 17, I’ve wanted to do nothing more with my life than what God wants me to do. I don’t see the point in doing anything else.
Point to ponder: Living on purpose is the path to peace.
Verse to remember: “You, lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3
Question to Consider: What would my family and friends say is the driving force of my life? What do I want it to be?
Poverty, homelessness, and the environment. Hopefully they’d also say that those things are the driving force because of the purpose God gave me.
I want my driving force to be whatever God wants it to be. Since I was 17, I’ve wanted to do nothing more with my life than what God wants me to do. I don’t see the point in doing anything else.
PDL Day 2
I'm behind in posting from Purpose Driven Life, though I'm not behind in reading it.
I debated whether or not to post this one, but thought that maybe if someone else saw the struggles that I have you might be more open to sharing your own. Please feel free to not comment on this post, or to comment critically instead of sympathetically.
Day 2, Thinking about my Purpose
Point to ponder: I am not an accident.
Verse to remember: I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born.” Isaiah 44:2
Question to Consider: Knowing that God uniquely created me, what areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?
Most of it. I have a difficult time believing that God created me with so many physical struggles, or at least the potential to have so many physical struggles. My back is a constant worry and fear, and while I realize that much of the problems I have now are my fault, the initial problem – premature degenerative “disease” – is not. What was the purpose in creating a human body that would start to destroy itself at the age of 13? Now that I’m taking much better care of myself than I was even three years ago, it’s doubly frustrating and doubly hard to accept that I am never going to be able to do some things. I’m afraid to travel and some days, I’m even afraid to tie my own shoes.
That’s not really part of my appearance, and I struggle with my appearance as well. Sometimes when I look in the mirror, I think I’m not so bad looking; I might even say I’m pretty. But then I see pictures of myself and can’t believe I ever thought I might be pretty.
I still struggle with how we’ve been treated by the church over the past 15 years. Maybe I shouldn’t struggle with it. I’m sure that other people have struggles more with the church’s action than we have. But I still hurt, and think sometimes that maybe if we hadn’t been treated the way we were by Jenkinsburg and England Chapel that maybe our lives would be a little easier right now.
At the same time, I struggle with the knowledge that we might really be homeless someday so that I know what it’s like to be homeless. Can you help the homeless and poor without being homeless or poor yourself? Can you really understand what they’re going through?
I don’t like my personality, and I’m in no mood to discuss it.
I debated whether or not to post this one, but thought that maybe if someone else saw the struggles that I have you might be more open to sharing your own. Please feel free to not comment on this post, or to comment critically instead of sympathetically.
Day 2, Thinking about my Purpose
Point to ponder: I am not an accident.
Verse to remember: I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born.” Isaiah 44:2
Question to Consider: Knowing that God uniquely created me, what areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?
Most of it. I have a difficult time believing that God created me with so many physical struggles, or at least the potential to have so many physical struggles. My back is a constant worry and fear, and while I realize that much of the problems I have now are my fault, the initial problem – premature degenerative “disease” – is not. What was the purpose in creating a human body that would start to destroy itself at the age of 13? Now that I’m taking much better care of myself than I was even three years ago, it’s doubly frustrating and doubly hard to accept that I am never going to be able to do some things. I’m afraid to travel and some days, I’m even afraid to tie my own shoes.
That’s not really part of my appearance, and I struggle with my appearance as well. Sometimes when I look in the mirror, I think I’m not so bad looking; I might even say I’m pretty. But then I see pictures of myself and can’t believe I ever thought I might be pretty.
I still struggle with how we’ve been treated by the church over the past 15 years. Maybe I shouldn’t struggle with it. I’m sure that other people have struggles more with the church’s action than we have. But I still hurt, and think sometimes that maybe if we hadn’t been treated the way we were by Jenkinsburg and England Chapel that maybe our lives would be a little easier right now.
At the same time, I struggle with the knowledge that we might really be homeless someday so that I know what it’s like to be homeless. Can you help the homeless and poor without being homeless or poor yourself? Can you really understand what they’re going through?
I don’t like my personality, and I’m in no mood to discuss it.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Questions for an Interview with three Pastors
I am interviewing the pastors of my church Tuesday afternoon. Here are some of the possible questions I'll be asking them:
What do you think the Church's response should be to environmental problems?
Is overconsumption a "real" problem in the spiritual life of a Christian? If so, how can we deal with it in the Church?
Why do some Christians not use their gifts to serve inside or outside the Church?
How do we set Christians free in the church and the world to do what God has called them to do? Or how do we help them understand that they are set free to minister in the world?
What does it mean to keep the Sabbath? (in other words, what can we do and what should we avoid? Does keeping the Sabbath mean that we spend all day either in church/worship, or can we do anything that help us relax and rest?)
What happens during a spiritually fallow time (vs. a spiritually productive time)? Would this fallow time be comparable to a Sabbath, or is it something different?
How do we maintain a balance between giving and accumulating (things/money)? What level of giving or sacrifice is a burden to people?
Do you think we must live in affluence to evangelize the wealthy?
Is it necessary to spend millions of dollars on church buildings when there are so many people in the world who have virtually nothing? Instead of building buildings, could the church use tithes and gifts to take care of more poor people, much like the ancient Israelites and the first Christians did?
Sometime next week, I'll probably post their responses. It should be interesting - I've known two of these pastors since I was seventeen, and one of those two I met at summer camp. So I'm pretty excited to talk to them.
What do you think the Church's response should be to environmental problems?
Is overconsumption a "real" problem in the spiritual life of a Christian? If so, how can we deal with it in the Church?
Why do some Christians not use their gifts to serve inside or outside the Church?
How do we set Christians free in the church and the world to do what God has called them to do? Or how do we help them understand that they are set free to minister in the world?
What does it mean to keep the Sabbath? (in other words, what can we do and what should we avoid? Does keeping the Sabbath mean that we spend all day either in church/worship, or can we do anything that help us relax and rest?)
What happens during a spiritually fallow time (vs. a spiritually productive time)? Would this fallow time be comparable to a Sabbath, or is it something different?
How do we maintain a balance between giving and accumulating (things/money)? What level of giving or sacrifice is a burden to people?
Do you think we must live in affluence to evangelize the wealthy?
Is it necessary to spend millions of dollars on church buildings when there are so many people in the world who have virtually nothing? Instead of building buildings, could the church use tithes and gifts to take care of more poor people, much like the ancient Israelites and the first Christians did?
Sometime next week, I'll probably post their responses. It should be interesting - I've known two of these pastors since I was seventeen, and one of those two I met at summer camp. So I'm pretty excited to talk to them.
Purpose Driven Life, Day 1
Day One – Thinking about my purpose
Point to ponder: It’s not about me.
Verse to remember: “Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him.” Colossians 1:16b
Question to Consider: In spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself?
I’ve lived in big cities, and I’ve traveled in big cities. There are billboards and businesses everywhere. And in the middle of all this wealth, there is a lot of poverty. In Chicago, just down the street from Saks Fifth Avenue, there are homeless people who beg for help and money.
I remind myself that life is living for God by thinking of the homeless people that are everywhere, by thinking of the people in Haiti whose lives and homes were destroyed this summer, accumulating poverty on poverty. By thinking of the children in Africa and Asia who are dying from easily treated illnesses and hunger. By thinking of the way we are destroying the earth for the sake of being independent.
Point to ponder: It’s not about me.
Verse to remember: “Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him.” Colossians 1:16b
Question to Consider: In spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself?
I’ve lived in big cities, and I’ve traveled in big cities. There are billboards and businesses everywhere. And in the middle of all this wealth, there is a lot of poverty. In Chicago, just down the street from Saks Fifth Avenue, there are homeless people who beg for help and money.
I remind myself that life is living for God by thinking of the homeless people that are everywhere, by thinking of the people in Haiti whose lives and homes were destroyed this summer, accumulating poverty on poverty. By thinking of the children in Africa and Asia who are dying from easily treated illnesses and hunger. By thinking of the way we are destroying the earth for the sake of being independent.
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, Part 5
Luke 4:14-21
14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."[e]
20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
It’s always been clear that there is a lot of injustice in this world. What has not always been so clear is how we might fix it.
Rich Christians has made me think more about the injustice that happens in the world. I am more aware of my choices and how some of them – especially my choices as a consumer – contribute to the amount of injustice present.
Do you know where your clothes come from? Have you ever paid attention to that detail? I think I’ve always looked, but it’s never really made a difference in my life until now. Clothing is a good example of a place where numerous injustices happens. Sweatshops employ people and pay only a few dollars a day. The workers labor long hours. Some sweatshops force their employees to live there. They get few work breaks. We pay a lot of money for clothing in this country, but very little of the profits are going to workers who make our clothes.
The garment industry isn’t the only place where people are treated unfairly, but when we spend money, we often support many cases of injustice and abuse. As followers of Christ, we are called to do justice and love mercy. Sider says, “God wills justice for the poor, not occasional charity. And justice means things like the Jubilee and the Sabbatical remission of debts. It means economic structures that guarantee all people access to the productive resources needed to earn a decent living” (Sider 100).
This “occasional charity” thing has really made an impact on me. Is what I’m doing right now just occasional charity? How do I, how do we as a nation, contribute to true justice – or not?
It seems like such a big thing, the task of righting social structures. It’s bigger than you and me combined; in fact, it’s bigger than a lot of groups and nations, but it’s something we should aspire to.
The Founding Fathers of America, in deciding how the States would be represented in the House of Representatives, said in our Constitution, “Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.” Africans and African Americans were only counted as three-fifths of a person in 1791, and they weren’t counted as free people. Slavery was an institution that became part of our nation before we were even a nation. Yet there were men who wanted to see slavery abolished at that early time in America’s history:
“In 1830, John Quincy Adams was elected to Congress as the representative of the 12th District in Massachusetts. He was outspoken about nationalism and abolition of slavery. He attempted to introduce amendments to the Constitution in 1839 which would prevent any person born in the U.S. from being born a slave. He additionally became involved as a proponent for the Amistad Africans in writings of late 1839 forward. He eventually joined the team defending the Africans and helped win their freedom in arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court.” (http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/amistad/AMI_BADA.HTM)
On September 22, 1862, President Lincoln, who was in favor of abolishing slavery in the United States, issued the Emancipation Proclamation:
"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
“And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God.”
(http://www.usconstitution.net/eman.html)
On December 6, 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified and legally abolished the practice of slavery in the US:
1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
On February 3, 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified and gave all men the right to vote:
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Though our country gave African Americans freedom and the right to vote, racism still existed in this country. We coined the phrase “Separate, but equal” and had to use military force to allow desegregation. But on August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Junior, spoke these words at the Lincoln Memorial:
But one hundred years later [after the Emancipation Proclamation], the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
(http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html)
King’s words prompted the Civil Rights Act in 1964. And still this country struggled with racism. Since then, the struggle against racism hasn’t gotten better; we have legally freed people who were in bondage, but we still keep many of them in chains because of our social policies.
Here is the point to this history lesson though (and thanks for indulging me): It’s a process. God asks us to contribute to the process of justice. We may never see the end results, but we are expected to make the changes we can. In 1830, John Quincy Adams supported abolition, and probably dreamed of the day when all people in America would be free. And though he worked to see it happen, he died before it did. In 1862, Abraham Lincoln freed those in bondage, but I doubt he thought that they’d be equal because of it. Martin Luther King, Junior died before he saw some of the extraordinary changes we’ve made here.
In Luke 4:14-21, Jesus announced that He was the fulfillment of prophecy and the One to set the captives free. While He only quoted part of Isaiah 61, I would argue that he fulfilled all of the words of the ancient prophet, who wrote:
Isaiah 61
The Year of the LORD's Favor
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.
5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests of the LORD,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of their shame
my people will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
they will rejoice in their inheritance;
and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,
and everlasting joy will be theirs.
8 "For I, the LORD, love justice;
I hate robbery and iniquity.
In my faithfulness I will reward them
and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the LORD has blessed."
10 I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all nations.
The last verse says that the Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up like the soil makes a sprout come up and the garden causes the seed to grow. Seeds don't grow overnight, and righteousness is a process. Out of the process, we must begin the process of justice for all of God's children, not matter the color or culture - and even at the expense of our own comfort.
Thought for the Day
Jeff subscribes to an email list called "Mikey's Funnies/Thot for the day". I though today's "funny," while not so funny, would be a good addition to this blog. Enjoy!
today's"FUNNY"=============================
An investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The banker complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The fisherman replied, "Only a little while."
The banker then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?
The fisherman said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.
The banker then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a nap with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I play guitar and sing with my friends. I have a full and busy life."
The banker scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to a big city where you will run your expanding enterprise."
The fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"
To which the banker replied, "15-20 years."
"But what then?"
The banker laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions."
"Millions...Then what?"
The banker said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a nap with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could play your guitar and sing with your friends."
today'sTHOT============================
If you are not content with what you have, you'll never be content with what you want.
today's"FUNNY"=============================
An investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The banker complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The fisherman replied, "Only a little while."
The banker then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?
The fisherman said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.
The banker then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a nap with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I play guitar and sing with my friends. I have a full and busy life."
The banker scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to a big city where you will run your expanding enterprise."
The fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"
To which the banker replied, "15-20 years."
"But what then?"
The banker laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions."
"Millions...Then what?"
The banker said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a nap with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could play your guitar and sing with your friends."
today'sTHOT============================
If you are not content with what you have, you'll never be content with what you want.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Purpose Driven Life
I read this book for the first time when I was 28. I mention this because reading this is an important part of what got me to this moment in time.
When I was 28, I was working as a bank teller. From past posts, you know it wasn’t my favorite job in the world. I am fortunate enough that I’ve known from a youngish age what I’m supposed to be doing with my life, and being a bank teller isn’t it.
Even though I thought I knew what God was calling me to do with my life and what my purpose is, I was sort of stuck in how to get there. I was in a dead end job, didn’t have a bachelor’s degree, and didn’t have any plans to go back to school anytime soon. But I was really feeling the void in my life of not being in ministry somewhere, and I hoped that reading this book would give me some insight and kick-start some motivation, if I had any left.
The author, Rick Warren, recommends that the reader do this book as a study; instead of reading it from end to end, take it one chapter a day, reading slowly and thinking about what’s just been read. So I did that. I read one chapter a day for forty days, and at the end of that time, I was excited to start the journey back to ministry.
Since I’m probably going to be working with the poor and homeless most of the rest of my life, I decided that I would volunteer at our local Salvation Army shelter. I met with the person in charge one afternoon after work, got a tour of the building, and filled out all the paperwork that night. The sooner I got it in, the sooner I could start volunteering. The next morning, I woke up excited and with a plan to move forward.
Have you ever heard God speak, and you just knew it was God? I have. Most of the things I hear aren’t really words but impressions. But there have been 2 or 3 times when I’ve heard God say something quite clearly, and this next day was probably the first time I remember hearing it so clearly. It was a quiet day at work, and I was reading a book between customers, but thinking about the next step in my “Stephanie saves the world” plan (hahahaha). Out of nowhere, I hear, “It’s time to go back to school.” I’ll be honest; if it had just been that, I probably would have laughed it off and not paid attention, but the words were accompanied by an intense desire to get back into school. Remember, I started that day uninterested in going back to college, so this was a complete 180.
I never did follow up at the Salvation Army. But I looked at going back to school and finishing my education as the more important way for me to get back into ministry, and in the years since then, I have felt a very deep peace as confirmation of that choice. Right now, furthering my education is going to help me get back into ministry.
So that’s part of how I got to where I am right now. And starting today, I’m going to revisit this book – not because I need another kick-start, but because I need to read it as someone studying stewardship. This book covers (if I remember correctly) everything I’m studying this semester.
We all live out stewardship in different ways. As Christians, we have some of the same mandates, but the way we go about it can be quite different depending on the person. God tells each of us to spread the Gospel, but not everyone can be a Billy Graham. Some people, like my friend Erin, share Christ with people on airplanes bound for Ukraine. Some people, like my friend Holly, share the Gospel with people trying to stay sober by helping them work through the twelve steps. How each of us goes about doing the work God has prepared us to do is up to God. The Purpose Driven Life isn’t a book that gives you the steps to take to get to the goal. It’s a book that helps you discover what you need to do to discern and live out your purpose. There are no right or wrong answers and no definitive steps, except to love God and love your neighbor.
Over the next forty days, I’ll be sharing this journey with you as well. Think of it as a journey within a journey, because I’ll still be posting about the other books I’m reading too. I haven’t said nearly enough about Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, so I’ll be posting about that again in the next few days. I’m not going to promise to post every single question that Warren poses, because some of them are pretty personal. But I promise to post at least every few days so you can get an idea of who I am and what my purpose is, beyond what I’ve posted about the books I’m reading.
When I was 28, I was working as a bank teller. From past posts, you know it wasn’t my favorite job in the world. I am fortunate enough that I’ve known from a youngish age what I’m supposed to be doing with my life, and being a bank teller isn’t it.
Even though I thought I knew what God was calling me to do with my life and what my purpose is, I was sort of stuck in how to get there. I was in a dead end job, didn’t have a bachelor’s degree, and didn’t have any plans to go back to school anytime soon. But I was really feeling the void in my life of not being in ministry somewhere, and I hoped that reading this book would give me some insight and kick-start some motivation, if I had any left.
The author, Rick Warren, recommends that the reader do this book as a study; instead of reading it from end to end, take it one chapter a day, reading slowly and thinking about what’s just been read. So I did that. I read one chapter a day for forty days, and at the end of that time, I was excited to start the journey back to ministry.
Since I’m probably going to be working with the poor and homeless most of the rest of my life, I decided that I would volunteer at our local Salvation Army shelter. I met with the person in charge one afternoon after work, got a tour of the building, and filled out all the paperwork that night. The sooner I got it in, the sooner I could start volunteering. The next morning, I woke up excited and with a plan to move forward.
Have you ever heard God speak, and you just knew it was God? I have. Most of the things I hear aren’t really words but impressions. But there have been 2 or 3 times when I’ve heard God say something quite clearly, and this next day was probably the first time I remember hearing it so clearly. It was a quiet day at work, and I was reading a book between customers, but thinking about the next step in my “Stephanie saves the world” plan (hahahaha). Out of nowhere, I hear, “It’s time to go back to school.” I’ll be honest; if it had just been that, I probably would have laughed it off and not paid attention, but the words were accompanied by an intense desire to get back into school. Remember, I started that day uninterested in going back to college, so this was a complete 180.
I never did follow up at the Salvation Army. But I looked at going back to school and finishing my education as the more important way for me to get back into ministry, and in the years since then, I have felt a very deep peace as confirmation of that choice. Right now, furthering my education is going to help me get back into ministry.
So that’s part of how I got to where I am right now. And starting today, I’m going to revisit this book – not because I need another kick-start, but because I need to read it as someone studying stewardship. This book covers (if I remember correctly) everything I’m studying this semester.
We all live out stewardship in different ways. As Christians, we have some of the same mandates, but the way we go about it can be quite different depending on the person. God tells each of us to spread the Gospel, but not everyone can be a Billy Graham. Some people, like my friend Erin, share Christ with people on airplanes bound for Ukraine. Some people, like my friend Holly, share the Gospel with people trying to stay sober by helping them work through the twelve steps. How each of us goes about doing the work God has prepared us to do is up to God. The Purpose Driven Life isn’t a book that gives you the steps to take to get to the goal. It’s a book that helps you discover what you need to do to discern and live out your purpose. There are no right or wrong answers and no definitive steps, except to love God and love your neighbor.
Over the next forty days, I’ll be sharing this journey with you as well. Think of it as a journey within a journey, because I’ll still be posting about the other books I’m reading too. I haven’t said nearly enough about Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, so I’ll be posting about that again in the next few days. I’m not going to promise to post every single question that Warren poses, because some of them are pretty personal. But I promise to post at least every few days so you can get an idea of who I am and what my purpose is, beyond what I’ve posted about the books I’m reading.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, Part 4
People are funny when it comes to money.
I learned this when I started working as a bank teller. Banks are regulated by federal laws, and the people who enforce these regulations in your local bank branch are usually your friendly neighborhood tellers. Most people are ok with the regulations, but about once a day, there was usually one person who didn’t want to show his ID, or expected us to cash a check after she’d forged her husband’s signature in the endorsement (in front of the teller, I might add), or wanted us to not file a CTR.
People want their money and they want it now. Customers expected us to cash checks against accounts that had no money in them or give them money that was still unavailable to them. The unspoken saying among the bank tellers I worked with was “It’s not your money until I give it to you.” Banks might hold customer accounts, but if you look at the fine print when you open that account, you’ll probably read something like this: money in those accounts belongs to the bank until such a time as the customer makes a withdrawal that follows all the rules. In other words, money in your bank account isn’t yours until it’s in your hot little hands.
When it comes to money, we’re funny. We think we possess it, but more often than not, it possesses us. The power of money is really only the power of potential, because money, in itself, can’t do anything. It won’t feed your kids. It won’t get you to work. It won’t clean your dishes. But with money you can buy groceries, a car (or a bus pass), and a dishwasher (or a maid). Money can’t buy happiness, but it has the potential to buy things that will make your life easier and maybe give you a facsimile of happiness. And that is where it possesses us, in its potential to give us more and better happiness.
Why do we get so weird about money? It’s only bits of paper or metal that have been marked as currency. And the whole world is weird about money, lest you think it’s just certain individuals. Think about it this way: Anything that money can buy can usually be made at home with the right tools and resources. You could build your own dishwasher or make your own clothes. You can’t make your own money at home. Let me rephrase that – you can make money at home, with the right tools and ink. Making your own clothes or building a dishwasher won’t get you anything but new clothes or a dishwasher if someone finds out. Making your own money at home is a federal offense that will earn you jail time if someone finds out. I’ve dealt with counterfeit money before, and it gets sent straight to the FBI. All of this fuss happens over something that only has potential
But here’s the thing: even though we are in possession of wads of cash, we don’t own it. It’s not ours. Sider says, “God, the landowner, permits his people to sojourn in his good earth, cultivate it, eat its produce, and enjoy it beauty. But we are only stewards. Stewardship is one of the central theological categories of any biblical understanding of our relationship to the land and economic resources” (Sider 68).
In ancient times, land was capital. But among the ancient Israelites, there was an understanding that only God was the landowner. They could use the land (within reason), but they would never own it.
Here in America, we still value land and trying to own it, but we have traded land as the main currency for money. And God owns all of that, too.
Christians who are normally pretty sane about financial matters can get kind of funny about money in the church. One of the reasons I wanted to do this independent study is because of my experience of what “stewardship” means in the church. Generally, when the topic of stewardship comes up, most churchgoers think of money. I can’t blame them, to be honest. The only time I’ve heard of stewardship in most church settings has been at the beginning of a stewardship campaign – also known as the church’s yearly drive to beg for money from the congregation. Churchgoers have been trained to think of stewardship in financial terms. And so we get a little funny when money is mentioned inside church walls. Those of you who tithe and give offerings get offended because you are being hit up for yet more money, and might be made to feel guilty if you choose not to give more. Those of you who don’t give enough get mad because you’re tired of being hit up for money all the time.
Financial stewardship in the church is pretty simple. In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to tithe:
As has been mentioned in previous posts, the tithe was used to take care of the poor and the Levites:
Those of us who follow Christ don’t necessarily have to tithe – but we do have to give, and we have to do it generously and with a grateful heart. Sider says, “The early church continued the pattern of economic sharing practiced by Jesus… Whenever anyone was in need, they shared. Giving surplus to needy brothers and sisters was not enough” (77). Consider this: When asked by spies if they should pay taxes to Caesar, “He [Jesus] said to them, "Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
When we get funny with money in the church, we are forgetting to give unto God what is God’s - and it’s all God’s.
I learned this when I started working as a bank teller. Banks are regulated by federal laws, and the people who enforce these regulations in your local bank branch are usually your friendly neighborhood tellers. Most people are ok with the regulations, but about once a day, there was usually one person who didn’t want to show his ID, or expected us to cash a check after she’d forged her husband’s signature in the endorsement (in front of the teller, I might add), or wanted us to not file a CTR.
People want their money and they want it now. Customers expected us to cash checks against accounts that had no money in them or give them money that was still unavailable to them. The unspoken saying among the bank tellers I worked with was “It’s not your money until I give it to you.” Banks might hold customer accounts, but if you look at the fine print when you open that account, you’ll probably read something like this: money in those accounts belongs to the bank until such a time as the customer makes a withdrawal that follows all the rules. In other words, money in your bank account isn’t yours until it’s in your hot little hands.
When it comes to money, we’re funny. We think we possess it, but more often than not, it possesses us. The power of money is really only the power of potential, because money, in itself, can’t do anything. It won’t feed your kids. It won’t get you to work. It won’t clean your dishes. But with money you can buy groceries, a car (or a bus pass), and a dishwasher (or a maid). Money can’t buy happiness, but it has the potential to buy things that will make your life easier and maybe give you a facsimile of happiness. And that is where it possesses us, in its potential to give us more and better happiness.
Why do we get so weird about money? It’s only bits of paper or metal that have been marked as currency. And the whole world is weird about money, lest you think it’s just certain individuals. Think about it this way: Anything that money can buy can usually be made at home with the right tools and resources. You could build your own dishwasher or make your own clothes. You can’t make your own money at home. Let me rephrase that – you can make money at home, with the right tools and ink. Making your own clothes or building a dishwasher won’t get you anything but new clothes or a dishwasher if someone finds out. Making your own money at home is a federal offense that will earn you jail time if someone finds out. I’ve dealt with counterfeit money before, and it gets sent straight to the FBI. All of this fuss happens over something that only has potential
But here’s the thing: even though we are in possession of wads of cash, we don’t own it. It’s not ours. Sider says, “God, the landowner, permits his people to sojourn in his good earth, cultivate it, eat its produce, and enjoy it beauty. But we are only stewards. Stewardship is one of the central theological categories of any biblical understanding of our relationship to the land and economic resources” (Sider 68).
In ancient times, land was capital. But among the ancient Israelites, there was an understanding that only God was the landowner. They could use the land (within reason), but they would never own it.
Here in America, we still value land and trying to own it, but we have traded land as the main currency for money. And God owns all of that, too.
Christians who are normally pretty sane about financial matters can get kind of funny about money in the church. One of the reasons I wanted to do this independent study is because of my experience of what “stewardship” means in the church. Generally, when the topic of stewardship comes up, most churchgoers think of money. I can’t blame them, to be honest. The only time I’ve heard of stewardship in most church settings has been at the beginning of a stewardship campaign – also known as the church’s yearly drive to beg for money from the congregation. Churchgoers have been trained to think of stewardship in financial terms. And so we get a little funny when money is mentioned inside church walls. Those of you who tithe and give offerings get offended because you are being hit up for yet more money, and might be made to feel guilty if you choose not to give more. Those of you who don’t give enough get mad because you’re tired of being hit up for money all the time.
Financial stewardship in the church is pretty simple. In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to tithe:
Leviticus 27:30-32
30 " 'A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. 31 If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it. 32 The entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod—will be holy to the LORD.
Malachi 3:10-12
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.
As has been mentioned in previous posts, the tithe was used to take care of the poor and the Levites:
“Yahweh is the Lord of all, even economics. There is no hint here of a sacred law of supply and demand that operates independently of biblical ethics and the Lordship of Yahweh. The people of God should submit to God, and God demands economic justice among his people” (Sider 68).
Deuteronomy 14:28-29
28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Deuteronomy 26:12-15
12 When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. 13 Then say to the LORD your God: "I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them. 14 I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done everything you commanded me. 15 Look down from heaven, your holy dwelling place, and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey."
Those of us who follow Christ don’t necessarily have to tithe – but we do have to give, and we have to do it generously and with a grateful heart. Sider says, “The early church continued the pattern of economic sharing practiced by Jesus… Whenever anyone was in need, they shared. Giving surplus to needy brothers and sisters was not enough” (77). Consider this: When asked by spies if they should pay taxes to Caesar, “He [Jesus] said to them, "Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
When we get funny with money in the church, we are forgetting to give unto God what is God’s - and it’s all God’s.
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, Part 3
10 "For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, 11 but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12 "Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed.
Exodus 23:10-12
1 The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD. 3 For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. 4 But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. 5 Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. 6 Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for you—for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, and the hired worker and temporary resident who live among you, 7 as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.
Leviticus 25:1-7
There are so many dimensions to the above Scriptures that I’m not sure where to start. So I'll just start where my brain lands.
The first aspect of this is being a good steward of our time. Exodus 7:12 mentions the Sabbath day, the day of rest. We all need a day of rest, even the type A’s among us. I’m not really a type A, but I don’t relax or rest very well. God expects us to work, that much is clear, but he also expects us to set aside a whole day to rest and relax. He also expects us to allow the other people in our households to rest. He ALSO expects us to allow any animals we keep to rest. And finally, God expects that we will allow others to rest, even those who are foreigners to our land. Good, creative, productive work doesn’t come out of working ourselves without a break, and we aren’t built to go, go, go without a stop, stop, STOP! I’ll talk more about limits at a later time, but let me just say that if this wasn’t so important to God, it wouldn’t be Commandment Number 4.
Examine Exodus 23:10-11 and Leviticus 25:1-7. These two passages are both talking about the Sabbath year, yet they have very different messages.
Exodus 23:10-11 speaks about helping the poor. Of course, the Israelites were to help the poor anyway, but this Sabbath year they were to go so far as to let the land rest, and whatever the land produced on its own was to be left for the poor and the wild animals. If I’m not working the land, and you’re not working the land, and no one else is working the land, then no one can claim as their’s what the land produced on its own. What belongs to no one can be used by everyone. Economists call this concept the commons, but here, it goes beyond economics in that it allows a whole community to take care of its poor.
Leviticus 25:1-7 looks at the Sabbath year from an environmental point of view. Every seventh day, God tells us that we need to rest so that we can rest from the week behind us and gain strength for the week ahead. The same is true for letting the ground be fallow. When we use land continuously, nutrients in the soil are used up to grow crops. If we use the land too many years in a row, all the nutrients will be leached from the soil and the land won’t be able to produce anything. Letting the land lie fallow for a season allows the nutrients to build back up so that crops will succeed. Don’t believe that this is an environmental mandate? Ask an organic farmer how s/he grows crops. Crop rotation – letting land rest for a season – is a big part of organic farming. In this passage, the land isn’t exactly lying completely fallow, but the farmer wasn’t to do anything to work the land – no sowing, no pruning. Just as the body doesn’t rest itself when you’re resting (you’d be dead if it were), the land doesn’t really rest when we’re not working it. The land, like our bodies, is using its energy to heal and restore what has been lost, without having to expend that energy on something else, like actively growing crops.
Sider says, “God’s law also provides for liberation of soil, slaves, and debtors every seven years. Again, the concern is justice for the poor and disadvantaged as well as the well-being of the land” (70). What would happen if we truly practiced Sabbath today? Not just a day of rest, but a year of rest, of healing for the land, and allowing the poor to benefit from it?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, Part 2
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
Luke 11:3
Have you ever given thought to what you need to live?
Three years ago during a summer semester, I took a class about hidden messages in advertising. The point of the class wasn’t just that we are bombarded with advertising every single day, but that every ad was trying to make you see a need for something you didn’t already have. One of our major projects was to analyze a 30 second commercial and point out all the messages the viewer would see, frame by frame.
We have a lot of wants in this world. If you lived in a family like mine, you tried to really distinguish needs from simple wants, and maybe you still try to do that. The line between needs and wants is sometimes blurred, though. I heard a conversation in an elevator recently where one young woman was telling her friend that she needed a black coat. Ok, I get that. Then I heard her friend say, “But you just told me you have a brown coat and a grey coat. Why do you need a black coat too?”
The young woman, who was wearing black dress pants, said, “Because I need something to go with all my black pants. I can’t wear brown or grey with them.”
We have a need for warm clothes, yes. But does anyone needs three coats? Really?
In this advertising class, we learned about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and how advertisers use this Hierarchy to get us to buy things.
Physiological Needs
These are biological needs. They consist of needs for oxygen, food, water, and a relatively constant body temperature. They are the strongest needs because if a person were deprived of all needs, the physiological ones would come first in the person's search for satisfaction.
Safety Needs
When all physiological needs are satisfied and are no longer controlling thoughts and behaviors, the needs for security can become active. Adults have little awareness of their security needs except in times of emergency or periods of disorganization in the social structure (such as widespread rioting). Children often display the signs of insecurity and the need to be safe.
Needs of Love, Affection and Belongingness
When the needs for safety and for physiological well-being are satisfied, the next class of needs for love, affection and belongingness can emerge. Maslow states that people seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and alienation. This involves both giving and receiving love, affection and the sense of belonging.
Needs for Esteem
When the first three classes of needs are satisfied, the needs for esteem can become dominant. These involve needs for both self-esteem and for the esteem a person gets from others. Humans have a need for a stable, firmly based, high level of self-respect, and respect from others. When these needs are satisfied, the person feels self-confident and valuable as a person in the world. When these needs are frustrated, the person feels inferior, weak, helpless and worthless.
Needs for Self-Actualization
When all of the foregoing needs are satisfied, then and only then are the needs for self-actualization activated. Maslow describes self-actualization as a person's need to be and do that which the person was "born to do." "A musician must make music, an artist must paint, and a poet must write." These needs make themselves felt in signs of restlessness. The person feels on edge, tense, lacking something, in short, restless. If a person is hungry, unsafe, not loved or accepted, or lacking self-esteem, it is very easy to know what the person is restless about. It is not always clear what a person wants when there is a need for self-actualization.
(from Psychology - The Search for Understanding by Janet A. Simons, Donald B. Irwin and Beverly A. Drinnien, West Publishing Company, New York, 1987)
We have these really basic needs for air, food, and water. Without one of these things, we die. After we have all these needs met, we are free to look for the “higher” needs of shelter and safety. Without shelter and safety, we may or may not live, but our chances of life are better if we have them. After that are the other higher needs, those of love and affection, esteem, and self-actualization. You aren’t going to keel over from a lack of self-esteem or self-actualization, but to have the basics in these departments certainly makes life better. The need for love is a tricky one. As an adult, it’s great to have someone to love and to be loved in return, but a lack of love won’t cause an adult’s death. Children are another story; they seem to have a need for love and affection to flourish and thrive.
Think about the commercials you’ve seen just in the past day. Lipstick? ‘That’s just to help me look pretty,’ you think. But why? Why do you want to look pretty? Do you want to feel better about yourself, or attract a mate (esteem or love)? How about those commercials for cruise ships? Well, they might be trying to sell you love (you could find a mate on a ship), esteem (people might be impressed when you tell them you’re going on a cruise), or self-actualization (hey, you were BORN to sail the high seas!).
Advertisers are trying to get us to meet our wants, but Jesus calls us to live differently. In the Lord’s Prayer, He tells the disciples to ask God for their daily bread. And now we’re back to the first question I asked: Have you ever given thought to what you need to live?
Obviously, we need air, food, and water to physically survive, and a safe place to live to protect us from the elements and those who might do us harm. But even within our needs are a range of things we need vs. those we just want. Let’s start with food, shall we? The three basic building blocks of nutrition are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats (any chemistry book will tell you this). You need protein, but does that mean you need to eat pheasant and steak every night when chicken and hamburger will do? If you want to go to an even more basic level, do you need animal proteins when vegetable proteins will do just as well?
So here’s part of my point: sometimes we confuse our standard of living for our basic needs, but only when it comes to ourselves. We have a much easier time telling others what their basic needs are.
Sider has a different view of a person’s basic needs. In Rich Christians, he talks about the life of the ancient Israelites and how they lived. They weren’t poor farmers struggling to survive. On what God thought as “necessary for life,” Sider says, “ ‘Necessities’ is not to be understood as the minimum necessary to keep from starving. In the non-hierarchical, relatively egalitarian society of small farmers... Families possessed resources to earn a living that would have been considered reasonable and acceptable, not embarrassingly minimal” (67). Later, he says, “Proverbs 30:8-9 is a marvelous summary: ‘Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say, ‘who is the Lord?’ or lest I be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God’” (98).
While our most basic needs are for air, food, and water, what I’ve read over the past two months leads me to believe that God doesn’t want us to survive – He wants us to live and thrive. He wants us to have not just what it takes to survive, but a basic level of comfort that allows us balance, so we neither deny nor profane Him.
He doesn’t just want you and I to have that level of comfort though. God wants every other person He created to have that same level of comfort. Sider asks, “Are we not guilty of greed when we demand our ever-higher standard of living while neglecting millions of children who are starving to death each year?” (96). So when we give blankets to the homeless, when we ourselves have a spare bed at home, we’re being greedy. When we stockpile food so that we don’t bore our palates, but put only generic rice and dried beans in the food drive at work, we’re guilty of greed (I’m guilty of this one). We need to help others get to this basic level of comfort, but it’s going to take some sacrifice on our parts to do it:
“God’s people must practice self-denial to aid the poor and share the gospel. But we must maintain a Biblical balance. It is not because food, clothes, wealth, and property are inherently evil that Christians today must lower their standard of living. It is because others are starving. Creation is good. But the One who gave us this gorgeous token of affection has asked us to share it with our brothers and sisters” (98).
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, Part 1
“Faith without works,
Like a song you can’t sing,
It’s about as useless as a screen door on a submarine.”
Screen Door, Rich Mullins
Of all the books I’ve read so far for this study of stewardship, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger is the one I’ve not only enjoyed the most, it’s also the one that has had the most impact on my own thoughts about stewardship. I’ll make a guess right now that of all the books I’ll read about stewardship this semester, this will be the one that impacts me the most.
Rich Christians looks at just about every aspect of stewardship through the lens of how our stewardship – or lack of it – affects the poor people of this world. The author, Ronald J. Sider, leaves no stone unturned in his quest to show the reader how what we do in the industrialized North either blesses or curses those in the developing South. In fact, this book is so complete, and everything I’ve ever wanted to tell people, that I’m wondering if I shouldn’t just buy all the copies I can find on Amazon and give them to people, instead of trying to write my own version. Sider covers the environment, finances, spiritual gifts, and time, and pretty much does away with any excuses we might have for not helping those in need.
We walk a fine line when it comes to a theology of salvation. By that, I mean that there are those who believe that they’re going to heaven simply because they’re good people. Romans 3:23-24 says “23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” So those people of the world who believe that they’re “good enough” on their own are, quite simply, wrong. Salvation comes through Jesus, since no one is “good enough”: “8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). The great thing about this is that all you have to do is have faith in Jesus (that’s a little simplistic, but my intent is not to go into a whole explanation of how one becomes a Christ-follower) and God wipes the slate clean and one becomes as sinless as Jesus.
But for those of us who have been following Christ for a long time, we often forget that while our salvation isn’t based on works, how we demonstrate our faith is: “…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17).
I don’t know why we forget this so often. I’m guilty of it too. The weird thing is that we look to Paul and James to teach us these things, but they are just telling us what Jesus already did:
25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'[a]; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[b]"
28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
(Luke 10:25-29)
Jesus goes on to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan, in which a Jew traveling between Jerusalem and Jericho is robbed and beaten by thieves, who leave him for dead by the side of the road. A priest and a Levite both pass the victim and decide not to help him, but a Samaritan sees the man and takes pity on him. The Samaritan takes care of the Jew, putting him on his own donkey to get to a safe place to tend to the Jew’s injuries.
This is a radical concept for the Jews listening to Jesus right then: the Jews and the Samaritans hated each other at this time, and helping a Samaritan would probably have been worse than helping a Roman at the time (and you know how much the Jews liked the Romans, since they were occupying Israel at the time). If I understand the law correctly, just touching a Samaritan would make a Jew unclean, something that requires significant ritual and sacrifice to amend.
At the end of the parable, Jesus asks:
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
(Luke 10:36-37)
Jesus redefines the word “neighbor” in that moment, rescuing it from the warped, earthly notion that we have created for it. What Jesus is saying to the Jews, and to us, is that it doesn’t matter what we think about other races, colors, and cultures. It doesn’t matter what we think about someone’s religious beliefs. Our neighbor isn’t just our friend or the person who lives in the same homogenous neighborhood that we live in; our neighbor is whoever shows mercy on us.
Left to my own devices and mentality, I probably wouldn’t show mercy to many people, so I wouldn’t be a neighbor to many. You might be thinking that no one has been a neighbor to you, in that no one has shown you mercy. But Jesus, God Incarnate, has mercy on you, every single moment that you ask for it. Jesus picks us up from the side of the road, saves us from those who would harm us, and is our neighbor. And then he tells us to show mercy to others, to be a good neighbor to them.
John 13:34 puts it this way: “34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
All people will know that we follow Jesus because of what we do, not through the faith we profess with our mouths. We are saved by grace through faith, but faith without works is dead. Jesus calls us to be neighbors to all, to love one another, and we show our love by doing things for others.
Rich Christians takes on the argument that what we believe is more important than what we do, and Sider explains that faith and works must work in tandem in our lives. In the next few posts, I’ll show you what he says about the typical American Christian and how we can be better stewards. We are to be neighbors to the poor people of this world – as God has shown us mercy, so must we also show mercy to them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)