The Salt of the Earth

We are the salt of the earth.  

In the days in which this was spoken, there was no refrigeration. Salt was used to prevent the corruption and degradation of food. We are called to prevent the corruption and degradation of the society in which we live. We cannot do that by remaining uninvolved in the political process. Ours is not only the right to vote and encourage others to do the same. Ours is the responsibility.

There are many who wear the label of Christian who are refusing to vote in November because they refuse to vote for a Mormon. Mitt Romney was not my first choice, but he is our only choice against Obama. Now is not the time for a misplaced sense of righteous indignation. Now is the time for unity as we stand together against another four years of the current administration carrying out a decades-old strategy to nullify our Constitution and the individual liberties it guarantees us.

If you think this is business as usual, think again. We are at a crossroads in our nation. Our freedom is at stake. Our future is at stake. With the same resolve that our founding fathers stood against tyranny as they established this free nation, so must we now unite as one and ardently fight against the forces that would strip away our liberty and move us toward socialism and worse.

They fought with guns and cannons. Our weapon is our vote. We CAN turn this ship around. There is no perfect candidate, so stop expecting one and using imperfection as an excuse not to fulfill YOUR civic duty. 

THINK! ACT! PRAY! VOTE!

No More Bodies

Several bodies have been found near water in the past several weeks in the Austin area - at least one a week. Another one was in the news this morning. I do not think this is a coincidence.

Ezekiel 47 speaks of life-giving water flowing out from the sanctuary to the surrounding area. This fresh water changes its environment, even transforming the Dead Sea into a place where life thrives. Only the stagnant waters of the swamps and marshes remain unaffected.

The natural world we see around us often reflects what is happening in the spiritual realm; I believe this trail of bodies is not to be overlooked by God's people. It is a picture of those who come to a place of refreshing only to come face-to-face with death itself - and in most (if not all) of the recent deaths in the local news, they have died alone.

So here is what I am asking: Is this a reflection of the unintended affect the Church has had on the world around us as we have directed our attention and resources on building mini-empires and internal programs? Have we failed to effectively carry the water of life that flows from the throne to those who need it the most?  Have we become stagnant swamps, unaffected by the living water that passes us by on its way to bring hope, healing and restoration where it is needed, carried by those who dare to break free from "church as usual" and follow the persistent urging of the Spirit of God who still hovers over the face of the deep?

Ezekiel clearly describes a steady stream of life-giving water (we are the water) that comes out from the sanctuary (God's presence)  that flows so freely that it restores life wherever it goes. Multitudes of fish of every kind (all kinds of people from different backgrounds) live in these waters. Trees on both banks bear fruit monthly (not just seasonally) and bear lasting fruit that never fails (discipleship) and leaves that do not wither and provide healing (regenerating resurrection power).

This is the mission of the Church. It is what we must aspire to be - a conduit of the presence of the Most High that pours out from inside the walls that would contain it into the world around us with such volume that it becomes a river no one can cross. 

Until life flourishes and no more bodies are found along our banks...

Have We Overlooked the Obvious Cure for Our Social Ills?

I had a conversation the other day with a lady who was not happy about how difficult it is for some people to get government assistance to help them with their day-to-day existence. She was also upset that millionaires and billionaires have so much while she has so little. In one candid moment, she revealed the heart of the matter when she said, "They have the lifestyle that I want." She went on to say that if you are a millionaire or billionaire, you should "do something with it. Don't show me your yacht, because I get motion sickness, and I would not enjoy it anyway."

During this same conversation, she let it slip that she has not held a job since she was laid off more than ten years ago. "But I'm not worried about it," she said. "I'm still waiting. I know that the right job will pop up in front of me one of these days." I think we just found the problem.

I find it interesting that those who begrudge others enjoying the fruit of their labor (a nice car, big house, boat or other nicety - and feel somehow they are entitled to approve of such niceties), when they themselves come into sudden or new-found monies do not go help others with it but rather make a beeline for the nearest mall and load up on as much "stuff" as they can find. It's why so many lottery winners end up broke in a very short period of time. They don't know how to manage what they have, and they resent those who do. Please hear my heart on this. I am not being critical or judgmental. This is simply an observation I have made again and again while doing outreach ministry and volunteer work with this sector of our society.

This mindset starts in childhood. Give two siblings a dollar. Little Johnny will spend a little and save the rest. Little Timmy blows the entire wad immediately on candy, gum or some little trinket. The candy and gum are eaten and chewed and the trinket breaks. This happens week after week until finally Little Johnny has saved up enough to buy himself the latest video game. Suddenly Timmy resents Johnny and feels entitled to have equal access to Johnny's game. Johnny may decide out of the goodness of his heart to share his game with Timmy, but he doesn't have to. It's his game. He saved for it and bought it so he could enjoy it.  

As our nation writhes under the most lawless administration in our history, we have become a nation plagued by class warfare, abortion, human trafficking, pornography, homosexuality, homelessness and a host of other social ills that run rampant in a fatherless society. We run around putting Barbie band-aids on gaping, bleeding, infected wounds, pop a little pill and try to forget about the pain. All the while the cancers of socialism and communism are taking over. In the same way that we ignore the symptoms and delay going to the doctor because we are afraid of what the diagnosis might be, we have ignored the societal symptoms that have been screaming at us that there is infection in the body, and we pretend not to notice. We are busy and don't have time to deal with that right now.

The cure to the social sicknesses that have snuffed the life out of other cultures in the past does not lie in government policies or regulations, more taxes, fewer taxes or any other man-made systems. The cure is in the Word of God. It always has been. 

Some who are wealthy are miserable because they thought money would fill the void in their heart. 

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”  (Matthew 4:4)

Some who are poor resent the wealthy and want what they have.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”  (Exodus 20:17)

Abortion has kept tens of millions of children from seeing the light of day.

“You shall not murder."  (Exodus 20:13)

Human trafficking uses and abuses countless numbers of young women and children every single day.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?"  (Isaiah 58:6)

Homosexuality, pornography and other sexual sins hold people in bondage.

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  (John 8:32)

Drugs, alcohol, sex, food, spending and other addictions keep Christians and non-Christians alike in secret prisons.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you."  (Acts 1:8) 

"And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you."  (Romans 8:11)

It's easy to point fingers and call people out for the things they do that are wrong, because it feeds our own carnal desire to be placed above someone else. 

"Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."  (Romans 12:3)

Our God-shaped desire for justice and liberty cries out against the individuals who seek to promote injustice and to take away our liberty. But remember:

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."  (Ephesians 6:12) 

So, you see, we have at our fingertips the very cure for every social sickness that plagues our nation. The Word of God is power that heals and truth that sets us free. The question is whether or not we dare to use it - because in order for it to be truly effective, we must apply in internally first. Don't pick out scriptures that prove your point and throw them at others like grenades in an effort to make them act right. The only thing you accomplish with that is to leave a trail of bodies and broken relationships.

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."  (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

Start with your own heart. Line up your own thoughts, words, actions and habits with the Word. Then take a few select passages, place them in your slingshot, swing that thing over your head and nail the enemy between the eyes. A single, well-placed blow to the enemy will do more to further the purposes of God than an entire arsenal of verses strewn about like scattershot at each other. 

And after all, isn't that we are all about? Isn't that what we are destined to do - to serve the purposes of God in our own generation?

"Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  

(Matthew 6:10)

Nurturing the Poor: Nanny Government or Bride of Christ?

People are talking – a lot. In the aftermath of the recent Supreme Court decision to uphold Obamacare (and the subsequent debates over the extension of Bush-era tax cuts), I have encountered several comments and conversations recently about the responsibility of working Americans to fund the lifestyles of those who do not work. What I find most disturbing are two misconceptions many Christians seem to have in regards to this issue. I would like to address both of them.

Misconception #1: Poor is poor. There is really no difference. We should give money to them all.

In my experience in outreach ministry, which for years has been largely based around those of limited financial means, I have found that there are basically three types of “poor” – (1) those who are passing through, (2) those who are camping out and (3) those who dwell in poverty.

The Visitors
In the first group are those who have lost a job or home, had a major medical situation or suffered some kind of a temporary financial setback. Most of these folks have no problem working to support themselves and their families. They want to be self-sufficient and strive to be so, but they need a little help getting over the hump until things turn around for them. These are the ones who are most often overlooked by the government and the church and too often end up trapped in poverty because they make too much to get any real assistance from the government and not enough to break out of their current situation and really thrive financially.

The Campers
These are the occupiers – they are occupying a territory they don’t really belong in, but they like it here and really have no intention of moving on. They live on government assistance by choice, because they have figured out how to work the system, staying under the radar, doing just enough to qualify for every government program they can while doing as little actual work as possible. Even though they are fully capable of supporting themselves, they simply choose not to. When these individuals are offered work that pays well, they turn it down, because their paycheck would jeopardize their taxpayer-funded income, which has come to be something they feel they must protect at all costs. They see their lifestyle as one of leisure because since they don’t work, they can spend their days doing whatever they want. They don’t want to give this up to go to work.

These are the ones who drain the resources unnecessarily and stomp all over every last nerve of hardworking taxpayers who see their tax dollars funding the lifestyles of people who believe that having others pay their way for them is somehow a right. It is this entitlement attitude that Paul addressed in the Thessalonian church when he established the rule, “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10)

The Dwellers
In the third group are those who live in poverty because it is all they know (the result of multi-generational poverty) or who cannot work for some reason (children, the disabled, the elderly). These are the ones about whom no one really complains about providing for, either through taxes, through churches, organizations and ministries or giving directly to the need.

I think the problem is that most of the time, we group all these people together and call them “the needy” or “the poor”. Doing so incites an emotionally charged argument over the roles of government and the church in helping them. Some see only the genuinely needy and feel that those who want to cut funding to them are heartless and selfish. Others see only the “frequent flyers” who abuse the system and are sick and tired of seeing their hard-earned money going to fund their lazy lifestyles. What we often overlook is that we are, in fact, talking about three distinct groups of people, and I believe that as stewards of what God has entrusted to us (it all belongs to Him), we need to address each group individually.

We should assist the “visitors” in getting them over the temporary hurdle so they can return to supporting themselves and their families. They in turn are able to become a blessing to others. This is what they want, what we want for them, and what society needs from them.

The “campers” may require a more “tough love” approach as we perhaps help with immediate needs but insist that they become productive in some way, cutting off the permanent assistance plan. If they are unwilling to work to earn what they receive, are we really being wise and faithful stewards when we continue to feed and provide for them, which leaves less in the coffers for those with legitimate needs who cannot take care of themselves? It is for the good of themselves, their families and society as a whole that they learn the Biblical principles of work and reward. We are to lead them to a place where they are willing to allow God to change their hearts from being takers to being givers and in turn be a blessing to others.

The “dwellers” are where we all agree that we (the CHURCH) should have stepped up a long time ago. This is where the cheerful giving of whatever we are able to give comes in. They are the widows, the orphans, the helpless, the sick and wounded, the elderly and those unable to care for themselves. These are the ones we cannot turn our backs on. These are the needs that we are moved by the Lord’s compassion to meet, whether directly or indirectly. When we are obedient in meeting these needs, we receive not only the immediate blessing of the joy that comes from being able to help someone but an even greater reward awaits us on the other side of eternity.

Unfortunately, however, the Church has not adequately stepped up to the plate to fulfill this part of her mission. We as the Body of Christ in America have abandoned this part of our destiny in pursuit of other more self-gratifying endeavors, leaving the meeting of these needs to someone else.

Enter the government (aka We the People). We pay (not give) our taxes to a government entity to redistribute a portion of what we earn to provide money to those who have not earned it (whether or not they are able to try). Unfortunately, our government has a history of mishandling those funds by redirecting them to other places and by not implementing a system by which true eligibility can be determined and verified. So people learn how to work the system and collect money they have not earned from those who did, leaving not enough to adequately care for those with legitimate need. This in turn motivates the government to raise taxes and take even more money from those who earn it to give to those who don’t, and the cycle continues.

Our government is not the vessel by which the Word of God instructs us meet the needs of the widow, the orphan and the poor. That vessel is the Church. If local churches would adequately channel our gifts to these individuals and families, their needs would be met. But most churches spend too much on buildings, staff salaries, utilities, media and sound equipment, advertising and “stuff” to have much left over to actually meet any needs. In fact, most churches, when approached by someone in need, will turn them away because they don’t have the resources in the church budget to help them. This is a shameful fact about the Church in America today.

We faithfully bring our tithes and offerings into the storehouse thinking we are furthering the kingdom of God, when all we are actually funding is the building (which spends more time closed than it does open), staff salaries and a handful of social events that promote not the kingdom of God but another man-made empire. Think I’m being too harsh? Ask to see a copy of your church’s books for the last year. Look at how much came in through tithes and offerings. Now take a good long look at the expenses and how much was spent helping those in need as opposed to the other expense categories. We run our churches like a business rather than like a living organism. We have applied the world’s concepts of business management to an organism that was never intended to function like a business, but like a family.

So we are left with individually meeting the needs directly. When we see someone in need, if we have it in our ability to meet that need (in whole or in part), we are instructed by God’s Word to do so. Period.

Give to Caesar what it Caesar’s – absolutely. But let our tax dollars be used for providing services that benefit ALL our citizens and for defending our country against all enemies foreign and domestic. Tax less and leave more money in the hands of the people who earn it so they (we) can meet the legitimate needs of those around us. This brings us to the second misconception.

Misconception #2: Paying taxes is the same thing as giving a gift.

Here is where I have heard many confused Christians lately reprimand other believers who oppose higher taxes; they immediately start quoting scriptures about giving, mistakenly equating paying taxes with giving to the kingdom of God. One of their favorites is:

“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7

Here in this one verse is actually found the answer to this misconception. It is in the two words, “under compulsion.” A tax is something we are commanded by the laws of man to pay (under compulsion). Failure to do so results in a penalty. Giving a cheerful gift to further the work of God’s Kingdom on earth is something we are commanded by the principles of God to do (cheerful giver). There is a huge difference. Let’s not confuse the two.

Finally, I challenge all of us to stop giving to get a tax deduction. Making sure we get that tax receipt is too often at the forefront of our thinking as we give. We are to give out of obedience to the Lord, with a cheerful and thankful heart and because we have the ability to do so – for therein lies the blessing.