the basic message #E227
12/25/03
It's Christmas Day, 2003. I live in the United States of America, which, if not the greatest country in the world, is certainly in the top echelon. We claim to be a Christian nation, and we're reminded of our Christian heritage by George W. Bush on a regular basis. Why then, is there still so much need in such a great country? Perhaps our "all grace" preachers in this country have neglected to remind their congregations of how the earliest Christians lived. For those of you who have "selective" pastors, let me provide some background:
Acts 4:32
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
What happened to the concept of sharing? Once again, some modern preachers will argue that the original believers thought that Jesus was about to return at any time, therefore the believers lived each day as if it were their final day on earth. So? I regularly hear preachers say that "we're in the final days. Everyone should see that Jesus is about to return." That is about the most empty preaching I've ever heard, simply due to the actions of the pastors who say this and the actions of their congregations. If they're so sure that Jesus will return any day now, why are they continuing to build new buildings, buy new buses, and generally spend money on many things that have no real effect on the needs of poor Christians? Some of you will remind me that even Christians have personal needs that must be met. Oh? Let's see how the earliest Christians handled their needs:
Acts 4:34-35
There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
Imagine that- "there were no needy persons among them". For all of you "yes, but" people out there, save your breath, because neither you nor I can talk our way around our lack of concern about the poor and needy. Would you or I even consider selling our homes and sharing the proceeds with the needy? The sad fact is that we don't even know what the percentage of the homeless and downtrodden are fellow believers. Do we care? One of our local TV stations recently ran a story about a poor family whose home was burglarized. The mother stated that the burglar took all of the children's Christmas presents and how the kid's wouldn't have a Christmas. The station reported several days later that about 50 people had called to help the family. That's wonderful, but..............what about all of the other needy families that had too much dignity and pride to call the TV station? For every high-profile tear-jerking, heart-tugging story that people rally around, there are hundreds, if not thousands of other families that continue in need. The chances are that the family shown on TV ended up with more toys and presents than they needed. They probably went from need to excess, simply because of the lack of organization among believers.
How well have I done in the past year in terms of helping out fellow believers in need? Not nearly as good as I would like to have done. But here's another factor I observe- I don't care if they're fellow believers or not. Why? It's very simple- the best evangelization we can do is to help people who aren't believers. By showing Christian love to non-Christians, we live out our obligations to Christ. If we only help "our kind", we aren't doing much to spread the love of Jesus. Think about it for a moment- if a needy person professes a belief in Jesus, they already have the love of Christ although they may not have many possessions. In theory, at least, they are already taken care of. Should we attend to their needs? Sure, but the spiritual needs of unbelievers is more important. If a homeless person freezes to death, that's a tragedy, but if that homeless person is a true Christian, they proceed to paradise. If a homeless person is lost and dies, they have no hope of paradise, at least according to our common Christian belief system.
Have I confused you or depressed you by now? Both emotions have their place, but rather than continuing to kick ourselves, let's get busy and help the needy in this wealthy country of ours. All of you war hawks can applaud every time a million dollar missile kills the enemy, but for those of you who would prefer to preserve life, rather than kill, please join me in sharing with the less fortunate. I work with some local charities that are overrun with donations and offers during Christmas, but once New Years' Day passes, the giving falls off. This is a regular phenomenon for the charities in America, so please start giving in January, not in late December.
I firmly believe that we will one day give an account of our lives to Jesus Christ himself. When he asks what you did to help the poor, what will you say? "I paid my taxes" isn't going to cut you much slack. As Christians, we're called to connect in a much more direct and personal way to the needy in our world. Forget about the glory and the pat-on-the-back, just do it and forget about what you've done. Move on to the next need, fill it, and move on. Jesus will be proud of you.