H,
There is always the problem
with practicality. How do we feed our children? How do we make a way in the
world for our voice to matter? How do we become the exception to that old quip
about lazy Christians and poor church rats?
with practicality. How do we feed our children? How do we make a way in the
world for our voice to matter? How do we become the exception to that old quip
about lazy Christians and poor church rats?
Now only the first may have
any real significance. We do not need to have a voice in the world beyond being
more and more like the things we profess. The old slanders hold no water when
one is really engaged in the business of heaven.
any real significance. We do not need to have a voice in the world beyond being
more and more like the things we profess. The old slanders hold no water when
one is really engaged in the business of heaven.
Still, there is a material
reality that has to be faced. The world, like Caesar, demands its coins. This is
a difficult one to answer because words cannot capture the desperation, fear
and compromise that poverty may bring. There are so many questions that money
can answer quite well. It is a lie to say otherwise. In our own experience we
can only point to the esoteric nature of our walk and say: we got by somehow. There
is not one single practical answer to the question of how to live the spiritual
life with material awareness. This is the wisdom we are given though. We are to
walk the higher path of having but not having at the same time. The things that
we have must be seen as transient so we can truly appreciate the things that we
will always have.
reality that has to be faced. The world, like Caesar, demands its coins. This is
a difficult one to answer because words cannot capture the desperation, fear
and compromise that poverty may bring. There are so many questions that money
can answer quite well. It is a lie to say otherwise. In our own experience we
can only point to the esoteric nature of our walk and say: we got by somehow. There
is not one single practical answer to the question of how to live the spiritual
life with material awareness. This is the wisdom we are given though. We are to
walk the higher path of having but not having at the same time. The things that
we have must be seen as transient so we can truly appreciate the things that we
will always have.
Jim Elliot said it best: “He
is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” And he paid the ultimate price for that
belief. We have no answer to that. There are no half measures here. The Spiritual and material must merge in our minds
so effectively that the former always leads the latter. Not in tithes and
offerings and silly “prophetic seeds” but in how we value the wellbeing of our
family, how we balance the books in favour of the needy and how we treat money
and wealth as a tool and not a destination.
is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” And he paid the ultimate price for that
belief. We have no answer to that. There are no half measures here. The Spiritual and material must merge in our minds
so effectively that the former always leads the latter. Not in tithes and
offerings and silly “prophetic seeds” but in how we value the wellbeing of our
family, how we balance the books in favour of the needy and how we treat money
and wealth as a tool and not a destination.
Our ambition and destiny is
to be more like a person we know and have come to accept as way, truth and
life. Once we grant that first premise, the rest will follow suit.
to be more like a person we know and have come to accept as way, truth and
life. Once we grant that first premise, the rest will follow suit.
We will not be perfect in
anything at the start. This is a lifelong thing. We should not give up because
we will fail at it many times. We must keep our eyes on the prize of becoming that
other person written into our hearts as forever. We will learn to share as they
did. We will learn to feed each other. We will learn that sacrifice is the
great currency of the kingdom. We will learn that love takes everything and
purifies it and gives us everything back again.
anything at the start. This is a lifelong thing. We should not give up because
we will fail at it many times. We must keep our eyes on the prize of becoming that
other person written into our hearts as forever. We will learn to share as they
did. We will learn to feed each other. We will learn that sacrifice is the
great currency of the kingdom. We will learn that love takes everything and
purifies it and gives us everything back again.