The superfluities of the rich are the necessities of the poor.
Superfluities: an unnecessary thing.
I am wrestling with the economics of doing church. I have some strong convictions about the how to live out the gospel as a community and I have been reading some challenging stuff on the issue. I am purposefully seeking to get on the sharp edge of this issue even if it makes me bleed.
This paper made me bleed:
www.relationaltithe.com/EmbezzlementPaper.pdf
It left me with a lot more questions than answers but it also left a mark and that leads to change. I really think there are creative ways to challenge the status quo on this issue. The church desperately needs a new testimony when it comes to the use and abuse of the money it guzzles down it's own throat. I have never been satisfied with the answers I have been given concerning the collection of money without reference to the poor. I can not read through the Old Testament and the life of Jesus and the writings of the Apostles and not see a glaring disparity between them and our modern uses of money.
The poor are simply not the focus of our giving...we are.
We give to care for ourselves...buildings, salaries, nursery, programs and events to consume or enjoy. All good stuff and needed but is that the purpose of the "Tithe" if you think tithing is for today. Which I do not. It really is a fascinating discovery if you dig into history and the bible and really flesh out the biblical purpose fo the tithe. If you look at it's purpose, one of the main reasons is for the poor. In fact after the dismantling of the levitical priesthood, the temple, the sacrifices, the offerings...what is left to spend the tithe on?
HELLO!!!!! Doesn't anyone think about this stuff? Am I the only one that sees a glaring point here? Is the tithe really about us and getting blessed and having more or was it about JUSTICE!!! Care for the widows, the orphans, the stranger is a big issue to the heart of God and even boils right down to the way he will separate sheep from goats at the judgment. It really is important to get this right.
So many preachers talk about people robbing God...when in fact, it is the church that is pocketing God's cash for themselves.
This is one of the main reasons we are forming our church around a facility that will have an economic inflow...acoustic cafe, coffee shop and art gallery, all under four apartments that will Lord willing, someday soon help pay the bills for the running of the ministry and free us to move more and more of the "Tithe" back into the hands of the poor. We are called to care for our community in practical, creative and helpful ways but how can we do that if we consume 80% of our giving on ourselves?
There is a better WAY and we will discover it....the cry of the poor demands a bigger effort to find the way.
1 comment:
Oh, I like this way of thinking. Wish I had answers, but you have to be asking the right questions.
I watched Invisible Children last night and that is still burning on my heart. I hope when you watched the film you watched the extra scene called "Proof" It was testimonies and examples of what people have done after watching the show. What response! What action!
Surly the church that is on fire for God will be on fire for justice, have vision for the oppressed in all it's forms.
Does not God put in the heart of even the pagan a hunger to see justice, mercy and love? Then let the church of the Living God be an inferno of His love.
I think the beginning place is where you have started; simplicity. That may not be the end but it must start there.
When we have a vision it is much easier to sacrifice and live simply. Then when a group of people use their imaginations for the spread of the Gospel, we have options for actions. I can't wait to see what God will put in the minds of those attending Jacob's Well. Surly many great big little acts of love.
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