GIVING TO GET: THE PARADOX OF CHRISTIANITY
We live in a world (especially our American society) that
encourages us to get more, secure more, and to dream to obtain all that we
want. Americans pride themselves, today in getting what we desire—so much so that,
those we admire most (and want to be like) are those that have attained
wealth and a lifestyle of being able to obtain whatever the heart desires. Our
heroes, mentors and our favorite people are not the men and women who have
attained great spiritual wealth, but the celebrities of Hollywood, professional
athletes and the most materially wealthy of this world. Even those who have no philanthropic
tendencies are placed on pedestals.
Most of us don’t view the greatest givers of this world as the
kind of people we want most to be like. We don’t view those who have sacrificed
all for the betterment of others as
celebrity-worthy. Yet, many of us practically worship the celebrities of this
world, because of their physical beauty, ability on the basketball court,
football field as well as those who grace the big screen. When is the last time
you heard someone say, “Wow! I wish I could be as loving and sacrificial as Mother Theresa,
Dietrich Bonhoeffer—or even Jesus Christ whose Name we are called by ”? But, our little boys grow up
desiring to be like LeBron James, Jimmy Rollins, Drew Brees or Wayne Gretsky. I
read an article that pointed out that once upon a time the favored careers of
young boys were: pilots, astronauts and doctors. Little girls wanted to be
teachers, nurses or doctors, and even, homemakers. Today’s kids want to be
famous, wealthy celebrities—that’s their goal. Even Christian children have
these aspirations. Thankfully, there are those few selfless children who have
more altruistic tendencies, but they are most definitely the minority.
As Christians, our ultimate and most important goal is (or
should be) to be like Jesus. We sing that, preach that—even teach it, but the
goals and dreams of those in this 21st century generation of youth still remains doing all that is deemed necessary to have those
careers that lend themselves to celebrity and wealth. Jesus however, teaches us
(by example, as well as in word) that the less we focus on ourselves, the closer we
come to being more like Him. He teaches us that giving is better than
receiving, and to achieve the Kingdom of God we must be willing to “lay down
our lives” and give up everything. That’s not a realistic message today in our culture. Most
of us, have created a vast array of loopholes around Jesus teaching, with the
thought or assumption that these sayings of Jesus are not really literal, but
simply to make us aware and provide a very general guideline regarding those in need or treating Him as if He really is most important to us. This loophole ideology has created a body of idol-worshipping, selfish, greedy people. Jesus
meant exactly what He said—literally.
Everything Jesus said in terms of
giving, following Him and forgiveness was (and is) to be taken in the literal
sense. Even a translation back to the original texts reveals this fact—the meanings
don’t change. Still, in most American churches today, we are teaching people
that faith exhibited is more about material things than the things of God. I
challenge that type of thinking, because when the whole of God’s Word is taken
in context, it is abundantly clear that faith is for obtaining spiritual wealth—to endure
hardships, trials, and difficulties so that we can reach our permanent goal of
Heaven and Home. Faith is not about temporal things that decay and have no permanence or relevance for our souls.
The paradox of Christianity is so opposite of today’s teaching and our desires
for life. We want faith to get what our flesh desires, not our spirit man. We want
an increase of faith for wealth—material, not spiritual wealth, which is indeed
its purpose. Many have become skilled in twisting and omitting the great truths
of grace, to shape the message into one that serves self and its earthy desires—rather than God and
others, and their needs. Grace is all about God and everybody else. Grace is never self-serving,
but focused on the needs of others. Grace always focuses outward as our inward man grows in love. Jesus told us
that the most important thing is love—for God first, and then others. Jesus
answered the young lawyer (who wanted to know “which kind of
commandment is great and important (the principal kind) in the Law? [Some
commandments are light—which are heavy?]”) that the most important law
is “" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul,
and all your mind. This is the first and most important command. And the second
command is like the first: 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.' All the
law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands." He
taught Him from the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18)—there could
be no mistake that these 2 portions of the command to love were meant for all
of time. It is important, but we don’t spend much time learning about and instilling this most
important principal and its true meaning in God’s people, today. Most people
have a more lenient and relaxed view of what the love of God looks like in us—one
that favors self, in personality, in personal resources and in our willingness to
help others. Our version of this love—Agape love, looks more like this: “None
of us is perfect”, and choosing which things are forgivable, and which are okay
to not forgive, since “God understands us in our humanity” and finally, giving
happens only after I have all of my desires and desires fulfilled, first. If
there is something left over after that, then I have to ability to give and
should. Hmmm…doesn’t quite line up with God’s Word, though.
Jesus said, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou
hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and
come and follow me.” [Matthew 19:21]
“But
if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins,
leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], neither will your
Father forgive you your trespasses.”
[Matthew 6:15, AMP]
“…the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but
to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” [Matthew
20:28]
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good
measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give
into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be
measured to you again.” [Luke 6:38]
“Stop toiling and doing and producing for the food that
perishes and decomposes [in the using], but strive and work and produce rather
for the [lasting] food which endures [continually] unto life eternal;
the Son of Man will give (furnish) you that, for God the Father has
authorized and certified Him and put His seal of endorsement upon Him.” [John 6:27]
John who taught love in a most profound way, teaching the followers of Jesus in the early days of the church wrote this, “The way we know we've been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn't love is as good as dead. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don't go together.
This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. “ [1 John 14-17, The Message]
And the apostle Paul wrote this of Agape love: “If
I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others,
I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood
all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith
that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my
body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained
nothing.
Love is patient and kind. Love is
not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is
not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but
rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and
endures through every circumstance. [1 Corinthians 13:1-7, NLT]. The motivation for which we do show love matters--even if we do good things, if the motive behind our actions isn't the love of God, they become a monumental waste of time and resources. That's pretty tight.
Of the desire to accumulate and amass wealth: “For
the love of money is a root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have been led astray and have
wandered from the faith and pierced themselves through with many acute [mental]
pangs.” [1Timothy 6:10, AMP]
Hebrews
10:24 says “And let us consider and give attentive,
continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up
(stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble
activities…”
Love is serious business. Paul even reiterated Jesus’ command in
Romans 13:9, 10 and in Galatians 5: 13-15.
James wrote these words: “Listen, my beloved brethren: Has
not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and in their position as believers
and to inherit the kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him? But
you [in contrast] have insulted (humiliated, dishonored, and shown your
contempt for) the poor. Is it not the rich who domineer over you? Is it
not they who drag you into the law courts? Is it not
they who slander and blaspheme that precious name by which you are
distinguished and called [the name of Christ invoked in baptism]?
If indeed you [really] fulfill the royal Law in accordance with the
Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as [you love] yourself, you do well. But
if you show servile regard (prejudice, favoritism) for people, you commit sin
and are rebuked and convicted
by the Law as violators and
offenders. For whosoever keeps the Law [as a] whole but stumbles
and offends in one [single instance] has become guilty of [breaking] all
of it. For He Who said, You shall not commit adultery, also said, You
shall not kill. If you do not commit adultery but do kill, you have become
guilty of transgressing the [whole] Law. So speak and so act as [people should] who are to be judged under the
law of liberty [the moral instruction given by Christ, especially about love].
For to him who has shown no mercy the judgment [will be] merciless, but mercy
[full of glad confidence] exults victoriously over judgment. What
is the use (profit), my brethren, for anyone to profess to have faith if he has
no [good] works [to show for it]? Can [such] faith save [his soul]? If a brother or sister is poorly clad and
lacks food for each day, And one of you says to him, Good-bye! Keep
[yourself] warm and well fed, without giving him the necessities for the body,
what good does that do? So also faith,
if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by
itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).
The paradox of Christian love is not only in how it behaves, but
just the fact of its existence in a world that is governed by selfishness,
rather than selfless, ambition to succeed materially and become prosperous rather
than surrendering one’s own in favor of others makes it a paradox, as well.
Christian, godly, “agape” is self-sacrificial, concerned with others more
than self and always giving, helping and sacrificing.
The question we must all ask ourselves before the mirror of God’s
Word, is how does the love I exhibit in my life match the Word of God. Is God
really first? Do I consider and place the needs of others before my own? And am
I willing to give up want I want to feed and clothe those who have nothing.
Indeed, how concerned am I about world hunger, lack of clean drinking water,
homelessness and other issues we consider to be governmental issues. Indeed,
they are our issue and our vocation.
How does what we say and how we live line up with paradox?
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