Selfishness is the root of all evil.
Jesus speaks constantly about serving our fellow man.
We are told to put our own selfish interests aside and serve others--regardless of how it feels at the time.
And, with these principles in mind, I first began posting to this blog. I've always been haunted by verses such as, "Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for Me [Jesus]" "Care for the widow and orphan," "Look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others..." It can't be denied: after preaching the need for salvation, Jesus talked most frequently about sacrifice, love, and service. (All three are almost interchangeable in definition.)
I may have shared once that I interviewed author Lisa Samson in college, and was impressed by the way writing books was distinctly second place in her life. She talked much more readily--much more animated--about her inner-city ministry than she did about being an award-winning novelist. I'll never forget when she said, "Just because I may write words that bring people closer to God, that doesn't mean I don't have to lift my finger to help someone less fortunate than me." ....It's a beautiful truth. But it was haunting for a college Sophomore--stuck on campus, writing lots of words all the time, yet totally unsure of where to begin my own acts of service...
Then, I got married and began work in a daycare for special needs children--which were two extremely challenging responsibilities from the very beginning. It was tough. And it was difficult to be positive at times. But it occurred to me, I can take on the attitude of service in my life right now. My major ideology was, "if we all put personal needs aside and practiced Christian love, the world's problems would shrink." Divorce rates would drop. The truly needy would be cared for. And, although we would be sacrificing our own desires--we would end up being a happier people overall. That's what happens when we practice the always-true, made-for-our-good laws of God.
So, naturally, what really irks me is when people take the Bible verses above, upon which I've built my beliefs, and uses them to challenge my sincerity. I'm called a hypocrite. I've been told repeatedly, because I don't support a certain political party, that I "hate the poor" and fail to do my part in "taking care of the least of these." Mostly, these attacks come from non-believers who only know Jesus' words out-of-context and, furthermore, only revere them when it suits their political agenda. BUT, some Christians also think a "poor-conscious" individual must surely vote Democrat or else admit to being a self-centered jerk...
Apparently, Economist Dr. Mark Hendrickson has run into these same people, which inspired him to write a marvelous article, Christian Charity and the Welfare State, to explain why less government is better government, even when that government claims to care for the poor. Now, I know it's popular in Christian circles to chant "Jesus isn't Republican or Democrat....blah, blah blah." But, as the chasm between the two parties begin looking more like Freedom vs. Socialism, I argue there is a better choice for the political direction of our country. Technically, Jesus would be politically neutral even if Hitler came back from the dead, took control of the world as a Supreme Leader, and began killing off various groups one after the other. But that doesn't make it an ideal situation. Also, carrying signs that read "Jesus isn't a genocidal dictator" won't help much.
Read the article! And the next time a liberal tries to corner the market on "compassion" just because he or she advocates taking money from the evil rich and handing it to the "always-deserving poor," well....I still haven't figure out exactly what to do in that situation other than roll my eyes.
But, in the meantime, I vote in favor of the right to choose selfishness or service.
And then I'm going to choose service.
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ReplyDeleteOne of my former Second City mates posted this in his facebook status. I'm sure he meant it to make fun of Christians, as most of my second city chums oft do, but it was so sadly accurately jarring that I had to copy and paste it to a sticky note on my macbook to remind me of what we show the world.
ReplyDelete"Liberal Christians interpret the creation myth non-literally, claiming it's meant to be read as a poetic metaphor rather than taking its words at face value. Conservative Christians take a similar approach to Jesus's teachings on wealth, compassion, and social justice."
I agree to an extent.
ReplyDeleteIt's much, much easier to talk about service than actually getting our hands dirty, which was the point Lisa Samson made. She wasn't going to let herself off the hook like too many Christians do.
However, statistics show that conservatives largely DO put their money where their mouths are, at least as far as data can track. When examining charitable giving on IRS forms, researchers found conservatives generally outgive liberals by a lot.
Is it enough? Nope. As the Matthew West song says, "I throw a twenty in the plate, but I never give until it hurts." We can do more. AND, even still, Jesus says we always will have the poor. But, I'm encouraged by newly-emerging data that shows there IS a lower divorce rate among Christians, they ARE caring for the orphan through increased fostering and adoption, and they ARE giving of their money....
1. It frustrates me so much when I hear the numbers about how much of our welfare dollars actually go to the poor. The difference between government welfare and charitable giving isn't just that the charities are working directly with the poor (though is a big difference), but also that they are held to a much higher standard.
ReplyDeleteCharity watchdogs suggest you only give to organizations that give a minimum of 60% of their funds to the designated cause. The government falls somewhere around 30-40%--so basically, none of us would give to them if they were a non-profit.
2. Another thing he should have noted about communalism is that it was among Christians, not just... everyone. I don't think we should limit our charity to Christians, but having "all things in common" requires that, well, we have *all* things in common. Otherwise we're going to be upset when people in the community use our money to support morally corrupt things (like abortion, evolutionary education, etc.).
3. When he talked about negative law vs. positive commandments and how someone could get in trouble just for sitting on his hands, all I kept thinking of was this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPnK0NCn_MQ
HA! If I had remembered that episode, I would have included it in the post! It's a perfect example of the whole problem because they criticize those who refuse to help as being lazy/mean-spirited. ("Isn't that what the Red Cross is for?!") It's true, we should WANT to help. But, at the same time, they point out that you can't arrest someone for NOT doing what you believe they SHOULD.
ReplyDeleteOh, man, that's a great concept... eventually, would we be REQUIRED to give a cup of cool water to the homeless, every time we walked by? (And, if the water became warm on the way, would we still be breaking the law?) What if we made it law that EVERYBODY had to take at least one missions trip in their life, to a third world country. This would be called the "Go Ye Law," I think.
I'm sure Christians are very charitable. However, that's a very broad category that encompasses a lot of different beliefs (ABC News Poll 2008 found 76% of Americans self-identify Christian). That's Southern Baptists, Catholics, Unitarian Universalists, etc. There are liberal Christians who know the Bible just as well as you do. So I'm not sure why/how you think you are so much better as far as interpreting God's word. Are you really going to argue that you can read God's word better than someone else? This is the exact arrogance I'm talking about. People will always have significant differences in how they interpret things. The question to ask is why.
ReplyDeleteBut my previous comment was not about Christians in general. It was about you specifically.
What's hypocritical is that you have all this talk about what you interpret God/Jesus to say about many things (based on your interpretation of the Bible and the world) and yet you talk very little about compassion and actual service. You talk a lot more about judging people (for real, re-read your blog). You don't seem to ever talk about getting to know the people you are judging. Tell me about conversations you have with poor/immigrant/etc. people in which you actually listened to their perspective. Because you sure don't talk about those conversations on your blog. You seem to make a lot of assumptions.
You also use statistics about Christians in general, as if that justifies your own behavior. I thought you were all about personal responsibility. Nowhere in my posts have I said that Christians as a whole aren't charitable (I don't believe that at all). I just don't think YOU are particularly charitable and use your religion as an excuse. That's not even a liberal/conservative issue. You talk about the poor taking responsibility but you don't take responsibility for what you say. I've read enough of the Bible to know that Jesus preached compassion. I don't have to read the entire Bible (didn't you JUST do that? so before you read the entire Bible you had no idea about any of it?) or consider myself a Christian to know about Christianity. I also know a lot of Christians who DO know the Bible very well who disagree with you on a LOT of issues.
So I do think you're arrogant and I do think you're hypocritical. I think I can be those things as well, but I am not the one writing a blog about what God wants for everyone. You're putting yourself in a position to be criticized and then act outraged when you are. I've pretty much concluded you just really like a) your own voice (who doesn't) and b) attention. I feel icky continuing to read and comment on your blog when you don't even consider the real people you judge. I don't know how to talk to you. This makes me very sad (in a societal sense especially... dialogue is so necessary and yet we struggle with it so much), but I realize that there isn't anything I can do about it. Good luck.
My dear friend,
ReplyDeleteYou once again allowed your anger toward me to corner you. At first, you claim I'm wrong for judging according to the Bible, because “interpretation" is an issue, and THEN you say, "I've read enough of it to know Jesus talked a lot about compassion." If I were interested in name-calling and personal attacks (rather than your eternal well-being), I'd call you "arrogant" immediately. Also, I might demand to see your "Compassion Track-Record" as if your good deeds impacted mine whatsoever.
But I don't think like you. In fact, you are neither arrogant nor are you "judgmental"—though ALL OF US make judgment calls according to some standard. There is a difference between judging something right/wrong and condemning a person. There is a different between saying "You’re incorrect!" and "You are a terrible, horrible person for this." In my posts, I write about what's wrong with the world--judging according to God's standard in the Bible. You have told me I don't measure up in compassion, by the same standard.
And you're right.
Are you asking for my personal charitable giving record? Actually, I think you're just frustrated and venting, but that's fine. You caught me. I'm not good enough. I could be so much more charitable--so much more loving. In my comment above, I lamented with a sister in Christ that the Church can do more. And, if you read the Bible, you might be delighted to know there are LOTS of examples besides humility and compassion in which I fall short. You could point out my flaws all day long! I don't hide behind the "Your truth is different from my truth" balogna. I'm accountable to Jesus, and I'm constantly being judged by his Word. I only become outraged when a non-beliver stoops to childish insults and uses the Bible hoping to "trap" me, but claim "interpretation" issues when they don't want the responsibility of reading it themselves.
Have you read any of the Harry Potter books? Would you let me get away with claiming they are textbooks designed to teach people how to shape clay? ("Potter." Get it?) You would tell me I’m wrong, and the books are about wizards... AND IT WOULDN'T MAKE YOU JUDGMENTAL. If I started saying things like, "That's your interpretation," you would know I’m hopeless. Likewise, anybody who reads Jesus' words knows He DOES talk about compassion. Even you, who do not revere Him as God, can understand it. Unfortunately, you've chosen to criticize me about it rather than research for yourself.
I'd ask that you read my latest post before giving up on my blog entirely. It explains the REAL difference between me and you, which is that I’ve been forgiven for the things I’ve done wrong. I hope you'll look into my claims before time runs out to do so.
P.S. The definition of "Christian" (hence the first six letters) is that one who calls himself this reveres the words of Christ. So, I'd love to chat with your friends who disagree with me so strongly. We should be able to have an interesting dialog, using Scripture as our common ground. That's what the author of the article in this post did. He appealed to a mutual authority. I have no problem discussing political differences of opinions with "Catholics, Southern Baptists," or anybody else who realizes the Bible is true. Whether to vote Democrat or Republican is a secondary issue--after salvation from sins. So, if they are already Christians, it would be a fun topic. Send them this way!
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