How Much Is Enough? (V)

“For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack – that there may be equality. As it is written, ‘He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.’” 2 Corinthians 8:12 – 15.

Equality in community in Christ is a central thread of 2 Corinthians Chapters 8 and 9. We may dilute it, we may skip over it, and we will tend to rationalize it away – however, it is the nature of Christ to care for others, and it is the nature of a body to care for itself, for its members. When we close our hearts and resources to our brothers and sisters we close our hearts and resources to Jesus Christ. As the Apostle John asks, “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:17). This is a question that churches should be asking; it is a question that most of us should be asking (I write “most” for I have known some unusual people who have lived sacrificial lives, embodying 1 John 3:16). When we do not meet the needs of our brothers and sisters in distress we are denying the nature of Christ and we are denying that we are His body. What are we saying to the cosmos, to “the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies”? What are we saying to our generation? What is our witness?

Paul makes it clear that no one should be forced to think and act in accordance with this teaching, “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). There should be no pressure. This does not mean that there should be no challenge – for Paul has challenged the Corinthians with the example of the Macedonians, and he has challenged them with Israel in the Wilderness. It is a fine line – it is the nature of Christ to care for others, it is our calling to care for our brothers and sisters, now you need to decide how to live.

This idea of careful tension between compulsion and obedience is, I think, unique to the issue of money in the New Testament. Caring for our brothers and sisters is clearly woven into the Gospel, “…they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all…” (9:13). So why doesn’t Paul say, as he would in other areas of life, “Just do it”?

I think the answer lies, at least in part, in Paul’s general approach to the subject of money, he doesn’t want to do anything that might give others a reason to accuse him of being focused on money, of questioning his motives. Another likely component is that God really does love a cheerful giver, and since money is closely tied to the heart (for many of us) Paul doesn’t want someone to fall into hypocrisy by just going along with the program, nor does he want someone to harden his heart by resentfully giving what he does not freely want to give. There is a reason the Bible talks so much about money and possessions, they are dear to our hearts – alas, we cannot serve both God and money and therefore (hopefully!) we have a tension.

On the other hand, Paul is challenging the collective church in Corinth and we are good stewards of the Gospel if we challenge congregations, and if congregations challenge themselves. Note that this is about giving to others, not about lining the coffers of our own congregations. Just as individuals can justify not giving by seeking their own financial security, so can congregations and other ministry organizations. Considering the size of some endowments one would think that the God of today is not the God of tomorrow – He may have provided in the past but we aren’t sure about Him providing for the future. How much is enough before we sacrificially give to others? Why it is “just a little bit more!”

If context should rule our interpretation of the text, then the idea of God loving a cheerful giver ought to be taught in the context of giving to others in need and not in the context of sustaining our own organizational apparatus. It ought to include the context that God is our provider and that we are on pilgrimage together and that there should be equality in community. Consider that the Corinthians were to be participating in “fully supplying the needs of the saints” (9:12) – we aren’t talking about sending a few bags of dried beans.

2 Corinthians Chapters 8 and 9 is an indictment of the church as most of us know it, and I must also admit my own guilt. The question is, will we have the courage to do anything about it?

Do we consider these two chapters the Word of God? If so, will we respond in obedience?

Wisteria and Wall Street - I

The Apostle John writes:

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will God lives forever. 1 John 2:15 – 17.

When I was a young Christian I was with a church that thought of the “world” exclusively in terms of outward image and display and certain actions. The way people looked and dressed was vital. Whether folks drank alcohol or smoked or used swear words was critical. These were signs that you either were or weren’t a Christian. Things were oriented to the external and little was said about the heart or about the thought-life.

The other end of the pendulum is that the outward doesn’t matter one wit, that you can do and say anything you like but that at the end of the day it’s your motive and heart that matter. Both approaches – as old as philosophy and religion, miss a number of points which I’ll forgo in order to narrow my thoughts to wisteria and image and deceit and our society – especially in the midst of economic depression and uncertainty. 

There is a connection between the inward and outward, that’s why there is Madison Avenue – create images for the consumer to desire, to lust after; create images for the consumer to give himself to in the form of money and lifestyle.

But in addition to Madison Avenue we have not an avenue but a street, a street that has a history older than Madison Avenue’s, a street that creates its own images and provides its own rationales for lust and desire – Wall Street.

Wall Street radiates images of wealth, power, control, prestige; it radiates images of an “in-crowd” that those in the know should desire to join.

Wall Street has crashed and burned to varying degrees throughout our history. It occurs in every generation to some extent. I recently read an early 20th century sermon in which the speaker made the same point, proving once again, as Solomon wrote, “There is nothing new under the sun.”

Every country has its Wall Street; it is as old as fallen humanity.

In Revelation Chapters 17 and 18 we have either two Babylons portrayed or one Babylon with two distinct elements to it – John saw an entity (or two entities) characterized by 1) spiritual promiscuity and 2) economic promiscuity. Or, if I may be so blunt as to use Biblical imagery, John saw a whore (or two whores) who traffics in religion and economics.

In Revelation Chapter 13 we see that a primary characteristic of the Beast is economic control (Rev. 13:16 – 18).

Economics is a distinctive thread in Revelation. It is even more so if we consider that early Christians were economically persecuted if they were members of guilds, for members of guilds were required to participate in pagan ceremonies in honor of the particular guild’s idol-patron – and failure to participate led to revocation of membership, which usually led to the inability to practice one’s trade.

So again, as I wondered in a previous post, where has been the voice of the North American church in the midst of our collective greedy and lustful pursuit of wealth? Where have our warnings been to those who have pursued wealth the way others pursue sex or drugs? How have we taught Christians about the relationship between the Cross and wealth? We lament the prevalence of pornographic addiction within our churches, but do we lament preoccupation with the promiscuous pursuit of wealth? If not, is it because one can’t tithe pornography but one can give to the church a portion of one’s money?

More to come on this…