What Are Our Obligations to the Poor? – Part 15
July 20, 2010
Dear Friends,
4. What is the right balance between preaching, helping the poor, doing right by your own family and your ecclesia?
This is one of those questions which, when asked, sounds logical. We all struggle trying to find balance in our lives. The problem comes as we see things through our filters (life experiences, how we were taught, etc.)
Christianity is, in its purest form, an extremely radical religion. Think about some of the radical things Jesus said.
- He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. (Mt 10:37-38)
- Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. (Luke 18:22)
- And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. (Matt. 5:29)
I am not sure that balance is all what it is cracked up to be! Maybe what we need is a little less balance and a little more radical discipleship.
My friends, Kim and Cam Beeler, lived a comfortable life in Fayetteville, Arkansas with their young three kids and lovely, middle-class home. Cam was a manager at Wal-Mart’s headquarters there. They had a nice life and a local ecclesia. Deep down inside, though, Cam felt a burning desire to live more fully for Christ than his 9 to 5 job allowed. Cam applied for White Fields funding from WCF and now lives with his family in a small apartment above the Durban, South Africa ecclesial hall. He preaches full time in the model of Touch and Teach that the brethren there have developed based on the preaching style of Jesus.
Now you have to step back and ask yourself, is this balanced? Did he do right by his family? I would say that his family is getting a wonderful experience. Is he helping the poor? You bet he is each and every day. Is he doing right by his ecclesia? Well, he is no longer a member of the Fayetteville ecclesia, but I would hope that the example that Cam and Kim give is an inspiration for all of us to strive to put more effort into our discipleship.
I wrote to Cam to ask his permission to use him as an example and this is an excerpt from his reply which I thought I would share with you.
We are so utterly blessed, and have received so much more in our spiritual lives than we gave up in our daily lives, it is hard to compare. As Paul says, it’s not worth comparing…(while this is a bit out of context, it is still valid) It is odd for me, and truly humbling to be at the grace of my brothers and sisters having the opportunity to serve in a full time capacity. It’s hard to describe or adequately express my gratitude for the opportunity.
One thing I’ve learned, and keep learning about our preaching effort is that God wants us to commit our lives to Him and the way we do it is to commit ourselves to a participation in His Body. What this means is that we show His Compassion, Grace, Patience, Kindness, Forgiveness and Love to all of those around us.
This realization and growth in understanding is experienced by me, Kim and the kids, each at their own level, and has helped us all to experience a life being transformed by Living in God’s Way. As an example, Kim and the kids were helping at the Lamontville Creche (preschool) the other day. Shiloh saw some of the boys playing with homemade cars made of hanger wire, and he commented how they have so much less, but appreciates so much everything they have. He then went on to say that having so much less here has been a blessing and he enjoys his things more here than all of the stuff he had when we were back in the States. My 10 year old is ‘getting it’, and it’s more what he’s observing, being part of our mission work than it is what his Mom and I are teaching him. Isn’t this Amazing??
I used to believe that I Had to “Give up” the fun in this life so that I could live “The Right (no fun) Way of God”. Boy was I wrong. I find more peace, Joy, Love and pure Fun in God’s Way than I’ve ever experienced living in the “Old Man”. Experiencing this intensely in the mission field just helps to recognize it so much more clearly. I haven’t given up anything really. I’ve gained in every way.
The point is that we seem to worry about overdoing the “discipleship thing.” The prevailing problem, however, seems to be underdoing the “discipleship thing.” Look, there is nothing wrong with holding a job, raising a family and having a comfortable lifestyle. These are blessings God gives us to enjoy. At the same time we need to make sure our easy lifestyle doesn’t translate into lazy, passionless discipleship. Most of us need to push ourselves a little more. We need to get out of our comfort zones. The vast majority need to preach a little more, shine our light a little brighter and try to be a little more generous and stop using “balance” as our excuse.
Have a great week,
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