How Can I Help?

The problems of poverty, sickness, and injustice present a brokenness that is overwhelmingly widespread, intricately interwoven, and hopelessly complex. If and when we get a glimpse of the whole picture, it's very difficult for us to get ourselves out of the shock-induced paralysis that results, and out of the apathy of learned helplessness.

Maybe we should reconsider how God probably sees these problems. His omniscience is fully aware of the whole picture all of the time, but I suspect he approaches it differently.

First, God takes it personally. He sees not only the mass of billions barely getting by, but also counts the hairs on the head of each forgotten child. In today's culture of global communication, it is easier than ever to get involved an assistance programs at a personal level, whether it involves local service or the support of a special child around the world.

Second, God addresses it locally. God's plan to change the world started with 12 disciples making a different where they were, growing churches that were spread wide, but deeply rooted in their communities. Again, we have unprecedented opportunities today to partner with organizations that have a long-term, sustainable presence in the communities that they serve - whether they're down the street or in another hemisphere.

Third, I think God changes from the inside out. God sacrificed himself, so that we could be reconciled to Him - but that's only the beginning of the story of restoration and transformation that he wants to write on our lives. The rest depends on our own willingness to surrender our own misguided ways and follow His with hope and perseverance. In the same way, we should aid in ways that enable, give hope, and build up others to be deeply involved in their own restoration.

First Fruits

Yesterday, Bryce and I made leek and potato cakes (without the ham) to take to our family's Sunday dinner. They were excellent.

This morning, washing the pans and bowls from the weekend's cooking, I washed a bowl I inherited last year. This bowl was part of a processor set, re-gifted because the older relative replaced it with a newer model. It was offered because the newlyweds already had a processor and didn't need the ancient artifact.

When we got the contraption home, we found its quarks and the reason it was donated. I must say this experience reminds me of the year I worked with World Concern, sorting clothing donations to send overseas. The saying is: Kids say the darnest things. The reality was: Why do people donate unusable junk? Almost every session of sorting uncovered an item (or a bag full) that was complete garbage - rotted, moldy, dusty, in pieces.

In his book, The Hole in Our Gospel, Richard Stearns brings up the unpopular subject of tithing. Personally, tithing is a direct challenge to my statement of trust in God. If I say I believe in and follow Him (also known as loving Him), I will do what He commands (Jn. 14:15). Leviticus 27:30 says: "A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD." The first ten percent, not the last, not the diseased, not the unusable.

Stearns goes on to paint the reminding picture that Israel was a nation of subsistence farming. Giving the first ten percent of the crop was a HUGE act of faith (pg. 211). In the past year, I've done a lot of gardening. It takes most of a day, sometimes closer to a week, to get new crops in the soil of my little patch. My trip to the grocery store is so far removed from the idea of tilling for my food, trusting the seeds are good, that rain will come, hauling water around when it doesn't, vigilantly watching for pests and their larvae. I am a long way from supporting myself on what I can coax from the ground.

My situation is different than ancient Israel's, yet, my taste of raising crops and the work it requires sharpens the faith it takes to tithe. Perhaps that's why only about five percent of American Christian households tithe at all. The average American church goer, in 2005, gave of a whopping 2.58% of their income (use his web reference). Of that 2 percent, the average American church doles out only 2 percent to overseas missions.

I don't know about you, but I need God to break my stubborn heart. It's so tempting to keep His blessings to myself; but I am meant to use my blessings to bless others. World Vision's founder, Bob Pierce, often prayed that his heart would be broken by the things that break God's heart - that he would be filled with God's compassion and perspective.

But we can be forgiven and transformed. If we humble our hearts, He is faithful and will heal our land (2 Cor. 7:14).

And: Thank you for thinking of giving to people in need. I certainly testify to the relief it is to Give Away, declaring that my Stuff has No Power over Me, declaring my dependence on the Only One who is worthy of Glory and Honor and Power. However, when donating, please evaluate whether the item is actually usable, or if it belongs in the trash.

Secret Giving, WIL 14

I mowed my neighbor's lawn this week. I did it because their mower was in the shop (I asked last week if I could borrow it, since mine won't run longer than 2 minutes at a time). I also had the time and the energy, although I was sweating through my layers due to the sunshine and their extra-large yard. I felt good afterward; tired, but satisfied.

I was satisfied because I was able to serve them in that way, to deepen our miniscule connection, to tangibly love my neighbor as myself. Through my small act of kindness, I felt a part of God's great love for them - a shadow, really - and it was easier to pray for them.

Wow! I got all that out of mowing a lawn?! Well, I got it from being available to God's suggestion while I was doing laps around my yard.

I certainly didn't do it for a reward. However, they are decent people - one more notch in my prayer to love 'people' more - and insisted on a formal Thank You.  Jesus teaches to us serve those who cannot repay you (Luke 14: 12-14), to please and seek God's approval, not men's (Gal. 1:10), to give in secret to receive God's greater reward than earthly acknowledgment (Mt. 6:1-4), to lay your treasures in Heaven (Mt 6:19-21).

I once hear a sermon about Secret Giving. This pastor regularly went out to breakfast looking for someone's breakfast to buy for them. He always gave instructions to the waiter to not reveal whom was paying the bill. Inevitably, some people insist on knowing their benefactor and pressed to know. The pastor was disappointed every time the person he was trying to bless found out that he paid their bill because, he reasoned, that his Heavenly reward was truncated by the earthly 'thank you' he received.

I'm not sure I completely agree with his conclusion, but it was interesting enough to stick in my memory for a few years. Is it really one or the other?