"We don't know what to do with this extra money." You don't hear such statements often from individuals, let alone churches. But the local body I am thankful to be a part of is having to say this very thing. We are blessed to have a godly group of elders at our church that seeks to be unified with one another under the Lord's direction and authority. But it seems in the present situation, God has thus far withheld an answer concerning the opportunity at hand. Such being the case, they have broadened the circle to ask for input from the congregation as to how to use the sizable funds that were left over after the budget was balanced last year.
I am not a financial adviser (I'm more likely to avoid the subject than to engage in it), nor do I have a clear idea on what specifically such extra money should be used for. But if we are to be a church that is God motivated, a church that sees God as both our means and our end in all it's activities, there are certainly principles to consider as we would look for a decision in the situation at hand. A couple of such principles will here in brief manner be explored.
1.) God blesses His people that His people might bless one another. We see this evidenced in 2 Corinthians 8-9 where Paul is encouraging the believers to have a gift ready that will be used for the relief of the saints who are in need. He tells them in 8:14-15, "...your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, and there may be fairness. As it is written, 'Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.'" Though the church by this time had spread out to many different congregations, this attitude hearkens back to what we saw in the early church in Jerusalem where they shared all they had with one another (Acts 4:32). Such a principle at first might seem to have it's end focus on man rather than God, but later in Paul's address to the Corinthians he writes, "For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!" (1 Cor. 12-15). The conclusion then of this entire discourse is immensely God-centered. God is seen as the great Giver to be thanked and glorified as He has been the ultimate motivation and motivator of all that would transpire, given their obedience. Considering our situation then, there is great value in considering the needs of the body of Christ in other places. Might it be that there is a body of believers in another part of the world where our surplus could be used to give them abundance? In this part of the world, among our limits in spreading the gospel of Christ, financial resources is not one of them; one might even argue that our abundance serves as a "padding" that hinders this commission. But might there be those Christians who, in their struggle for daily physical needs, would be much helped by a financial gift, a gift that might free them up to spread the gospel in the land where God has placed them?
2.) God blesses His people to teach them how to surrender His blessings. The more we are given, the greater temptation there is to love the gift. When this gift is money, the temptation becomes all the more dangerous (1 Timothy 6:10). An easy way to solve the "problem" of having a surplus of funds is to get rid of it, but such a method in and of itself might not be a thorough remedy. If in our hearts we fail to see God as the Lord of our abundance, we may in our giving simply be placing a band-aid on a fatal heart wound. If, for example, a person (or church) has a certain sum of money he decides in haste to give away out of the "goodness" of his own heart, there may remain in him a desire to either take pride in himself for giving such or a later desire to have back in some fashion what was supposedly freely given. But if, out of God motivation, one endeavors with humble surrender and wise consideration to give a gift to another, he is far less likely to seek his own glory or feel a sense of entitlement in the future. Indeed, having much in the way of worldly wealth increases our temptation to serve that master. So, with the increase of wealth is required an increase of surrender to the One we must treasure above (and in) all else. In short, the heart behind truly storing up our treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:20-21) is a heart of total surrender and submission to our Lord.
One of our elders, when addressing the congregation last Sunday, said it well when he reminded us that whatever we end up doing with the available funds, we must use them to God's glory and honor. This is what a God motivated church must stay focused on if we desire to be a church faithful to Jesus, instructed by His Word through the Spirit He has given us.
Lord, please grant wisdom to the men that you have put in place as under-shepherds of our local body. Please give them and all of us God motivation as we consider how to best use the great abundance we have been given.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
God Motivation and the Love of Self
I read an article several days ago that saddened me. Perhaps some of you have heard the news, but the popular Christian music artist Ray Boltz has revealed the fact that he is gay and is now living a gay lifestyle. For those who are fans as well as those who hardly recognize his name, mentioning songs like "Thank-you" ("for giving to the Lord...") quickly give many the connection. I fall mainly into the latter category, but the above song was indeed one that I was very familiar with. Not only was it on the radio constantly when I was growing up, but my little sister and one of her friends had an obsession with the tune that might have caused some big brothers to be a fairly annoyed at it's repetition (not me, of course). But those are warm memories now of a cute little girl and a simple, yet meaningful song; hence my sadness.
The news also left me frustrated. The conclusion to the article was as follows: “This is what it really comes down to,” he says. “If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live. It’s not like God made me this way and he’ll send me to hell if I am who he created me to be … I really feel closer to God because I no longer hate myself.” My feelings after reading this were not about the "ickiness" of homosexuality that many who oppose the lifestyle speak of. My frustration was in Mr. Botz's reasoning. From his statement, it seems he apparently believes that people are created perfect (at least in their sexuality) and that God only sees as sinful the performance of those things which are against our nature. Now I do believe that there are a number of reasons that might contribute to someone having gay tendencies, some of which are probably genetic, but does that mean that one is warranted in acting out on such tendencies? What about those who have a tendency toward theft? What about lying? Pedophilia? "Well, those are different!" people might say. Their reasoning is probably two-fold. 1. Being gay is who you are inside. 2. Living a gay life doesn't hurt anyone.
Dealing with the first, we must understand that in our time sexuality has become much more of an identity link than it should be. We are all about sex appeal, sexy, sexual freedom, and sex entertainment. As important as sexuality is, we need to face the fact that we're obsessed as a society and assume that our obsession somehow translates into a permit for sexual freedom. The reality is that someone who is a liar may really get a thrill out of lying or a thief from wrongfully aquiring. But we generally don't have a problem with saying that such things are wrong.
Concerning the second, well, it's just not true. What of Mr. Botz's wife of over thirty years, his children, the church? Whether or not you agree with the positions of those he has affected doesn't nullify the fact that he has done them harm. And to the response "they only feel harmed" I would pose another scenario. What if a pedophile is careful not to physically harm those that he acts out with? Does that matter? Have the child and/or his parents only felt harmed? Such an example probably causes most people to shudder and perhaps even get flush with anger. And well it should, but this is the logic that we're dealing with if we really want to be honest.
No, this is not about homophobia. This is about confronting the reasoning of a man who claims Christ as his Savior, a reasoning that more and more people herald as something wonderful. To respond directly to the quote (see above) from Mr. Boltz, I would say the following: "Yes, God has made you, knit you together in your mother's womb as a matter of fact. He has designed you with tendencies as well, unique from every other person ever made. But no, being born into a sinful world where our inherent tendencies will constantly tend us toward sin against the One who made us, does not mean that we simply live out those tendencies. And then, yes, God does send us to hell for our unrepentant sin, homosexual acts being one of those sins (1 Corinthians 6:9). Concerning your previous hatred for yourself, that is indeed troubling, but might it be that some of that hatred you felt was for the sin that was within you, a hatred that we should all have as Christians? And finally, what god is it that you are actually feeling closer to now since we are told that our sin (as clearly defined by the Bible) separates us from the God of the Bible?"
The hard fact in this situation is not that Ray Boltz is now free because he feels his struggle is over but that he loved himself so much that he quit struggling against his sin. And lest we single him out any further at this point in our minds, every time we sin against our Lord, we are just like him. And if we make ourselves OK with our sin, we reason just like him as well and should fear punishment. God Motivation is what we all need to free us from the love of self that so impairs our judgment and understanding about justification before God. Such motivation will not necessarily free us from our struggle against sin, but we will constantly be reminded that He is what we need and will be satisfied with instead of the thing that our sinful nature is desiring.
Lord God, be my motivation in my struggle against sin. And dear Father, please give Mr. Boltz God Motivation that he might be freed from his sin and be refreshed in You.
The news also left me frustrated. The conclusion to the article was as follows: “This is what it really comes down to,” he says. “If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live. It’s not like God made me this way and he’ll send me to hell if I am who he created me to be … I really feel closer to God because I no longer hate myself.” My feelings after reading this were not about the "ickiness" of homosexuality that many who oppose the lifestyle speak of. My frustration was in Mr. Botz's reasoning. From his statement, it seems he apparently believes that people are created perfect (at least in their sexuality) and that God only sees as sinful the performance of those things which are against our nature. Now I do believe that there are a number of reasons that might contribute to someone having gay tendencies, some of which are probably genetic, but does that mean that one is warranted in acting out on such tendencies? What about those who have a tendency toward theft? What about lying? Pedophilia? "Well, those are different!" people might say. Their reasoning is probably two-fold. 1. Being gay is who you are inside. 2. Living a gay life doesn't hurt anyone.
Dealing with the first, we must understand that in our time sexuality has become much more of an identity link than it should be. We are all about sex appeal, sexy, sexual freedom, and sex entertainment. As important as sexuality is, we need to face the fact that we're obsessed as a society and assume that our obsession somehow translates into a permit for sexual freedom. The reality is that someone who is a liar may really get a thrill out of lying or a thief from wrongfully aquiring. But we generally don't have a problem with saying that such things are wrong.
Concerning the second, well, it's just not true. What of Mr. Botz's wife of over thirty years, his children, the church? Whether or not you agree with the positions of those he has affected doesn't nullify the fact that he has done them harm. And to the response "they only feel harmed" I would pose another scenario. What if a pedophile is careful not to physically harm those that he acts out with? Does that matter? Have the child and/or his parents only felt harmed? Such an example probably causes most people to shudder and perhaps even get flush with anger. And well it should, but this is the logic that we're dealing with if we really want to be honest.
No, this is not about homophobia. This is about confronting the reasoning of a man who claims Christ as his Savior, a reasoning that more and more people herald as something wonderful. To respond directly to the quote (see above) from Mr. Boltz, I would say the following: "Yes, God has made you, knit you together in your mother's womb as a matter of fact. He has designed you with tendencies as well, unique from every other person ever made. But no, being born into a sinful world where our inherent tendencies will constantly tend us toward sin against the One who made us, does not mean that we simply live out those tendencies. And then, yes, God does send us to hell for our unrepentant sin, homosexual acts being one of those sins (1 Corinthians 6:9). Concerning your previous hatred for yourself, that is indeed troubling, but might it be that some of that hatred you felt was for the sin that was within you, a hatred that we should all have as Christians? And finally, what god is it that you are actually feeling closer to now since we are told that our sin (as clearly defined by the Bible) separates us from the God of the Bible?"
The hard fact in this situation is not that Ray Boltz is now free because he feels his struggle is over but that he loved himself so much that he quit struggling against his sin. And lest we single him out any further at this point in our minds, every time we sin against our Lord, we are just like him. And if we make ourselves OK with our sin, we reason just like him as well and should fear punishment. God Motivation is what we all need to free us from the love of self that so impairs our judgment and understanding about justification before God. Such motivation will not necessarily free us from our struggle against sin, but we will constantly be reminded that He is what we need and will be satisfied with instead of the thing that our sinful nature is desiring.
Lord God, be my motivation in my struggle against sin. And dear Father, please give Mr. Boltz God Motivation that he might be freed from his sin and be refreshed in You.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
God Motivation and Ownership
It is said that we have a lot in the United States. True. But I would venture to say that we are owned by a great many things as well. When our human race was born, we were given the instruction to have dominion over and subdue the earth that we were placed in (Genesis 1:26-28). How have we been doing? In some respects I would say that we've done very well. We have learned how to harness resources, to build, tame, and cultivate. But what can we say of many of the products of our creative minds that we feel we must have as part of our lives? Are we really having dominion and subduing? What are the things that we have made and purchased that so beg and even demand our attention to the extent that we are often distracted from the One who has made us and given us the charge to exercise ownership of His world? In our endeavor to have things which we think will make our lives happier and easier, we find that there is much that is required in the way of maintenance--repairs, monthly payments, special sleep aides to relieve us from thinking about our stuff, etc.
Personal examples: There are probably dozens of home improvement/maintenance projects that I can think of right now which will take many days to accomplish. My cell phone has been ringing incessantly with people interested in a cheap old car that I have listed in the classifieds. My dog sheds about 1 hair every 2 seconds of every day (How does he have any left?!) for the vacuum to eat. I have a bit of exercise equipment I purchased that I feel very compelled to use as if I can cover the cost by spending time with it. Will that food in the fridge go bad if I don't eat it soon?...here comes the exercise equipment guilt again. And the list goes on.
I'm tired of being owned by the things I'm supposed to own and I fear that God isn't happy with the situation either. The apostle Paul said that he would not be enslaved by anything (1 Corinthians 6:12) even though he said it wasn't necessarily wrong for extra things to be introduced to our lives. Slavery?! Americans scoff at the thought applied to this situation, seeing as how getting more stuff is one of our primary aims. But again, though it is perhaps speculation, I wonder if we're not a bunch of smiling schmucks enslaved by the lives we've decided we need. In the church we (and I include ME) talk about how little time we have for meditating on the Scriptures, for prayer, for service, etc. But boy don't we love that "family friendly" theater room we're still setting up and paying off...and don't we love talking about it with our friends when we're at church.
I'm making a resolve. I don't want it unless I can own it. I want to subdue so that I can learn submission. I want to dominate in order to further understand dependence. I want to own so that I'm ready to be used. This doesn't mean that I don't want to take care of things that God has entrusted to me, but that I want to be wise in discerning between stewardship and slavery; and I acknowledge that this will every day be a difficult walk. But, I want my life to be one where I am God motivated, having Him in my sights, carried along by His Spirit over the mounds of stuff that I would otherwise be carrying as a burden which casts a shadow all around me and loses pieces along the way that I think need to be picked up.
Lord, help me to be God motivated in ownership. Help me to understand what it means to have dominion, to subdue, and to stay out of slavery except unto Jesus. Thank-you for being a loving and perfect Master.
Personal examples: There are probably dozens of home improvement/maintenance projects that I can think of right now which will take many days to accomplish. My cell phone has been ringing incessantly with people interested in a cheap old car that I have listed in the classifieds. My dog sheds about 1 hair every 2 seconds of every day (How does he have any left?!) for the vacuum to eat. I have a bit of exercise equipment I purchased that I feel very compelled to use as if I can cover the cost by spending time with it. Will that food in the fridge go bad if I don't eat it soon?...here comes the exercise equipment guilt again. And the list goes on.
I'm tired of being owned by the things I'm supposed to own and I fear that God isn't happy with the situation either. The apostle Paul said that he would not be enslaved by anything (1 Corinthians 6:12) even though he said it wasn't necessarily wrong for extra things to be introduced to our lives. Slavery?! Americans scoff at the thought applied to this situation, seeing as how getting more stuff is one of our primary aims. But again, though it is perhaps speculation, I wonder if we're not a bunch of smiling schmucks enslaved by the lives we've decided we need. In the church we (and I include ME) talk about how little time we have for meditating on the Scriptures, for prayer, for service, etc. But boy don't we love that "family friendly" theater room we're still setting up and paying off...and don't we love talking about it with our friends when we're at church.
I'm making a resolve. I don't want it unless I can own it. I want to subdue so that I can learn submission. I want to dominate in order to further understand dependence. I want to own so that I'm ready to be used. This doesn't mean that I don't want to take care of things that God has entrusted to me, but that I want to be wise in discerning between stewardship and slavery; and I acknowledge that this will every day be a difficult walk. But, I want my life to be one where I am God motivated, having Him in my sights, carried along by His Spirit over the mounds of stuff that I would otherwise be carrying as a burden which casts a shadow all around me and loses pieces along the way that I think need to be picked up.
Lord, help me to be God motivated in ownership. Help me to understand what it means to have dominion, to subdue, and to stay out of slavery except unto Jesus. Thank-you for being a loving and perfect Master.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
God Motivation and a Minivan
We've done it. Today we bought our first minivan in anticipation of baby Marin coming into the world this December. I must say that I'm not much of a shopper, either for groceries or for houses, but we're working class Americans so we've done both and much in between.
To take you back a couple weeks, I found myself contemplating what would be the wisest course of action (if needed) for us vehicle-wise. Our main vehicle has been a '95 Maxima for 2 or 3 years, and for about the same amount of time, I've driven an '89 Park Avenue for my work car. The miles have racked up a bit and although both are still getting us from A to B (most of the time), I found myself concerned a bit for my family's safety this winter. After talking this through some with Gen, it seemed proper to start shopping around a bit. Unfortunately though, given the way that I'm wired, "a bit" isn't how I tend to go about these sort of things. Right away I started looking, praying, looking, thinking, calling, looking... There are so many factors to consider: older verses newer, advice from others verses/combined with the Spirit's leading, 7 seats verses 8 seats, private party verses dealership. I can't keep up this kind of search for long. I need to work through it and finish it with God Motivation.
Now for me, having God Motivation in this situation means that I need to ultimately keep my focus off of the vehicle classifieds and more on serving the Lord. This requires wisdom. Again, because of the way my mind seems to work, I can put a lot of time and energy into finding our dream minivan (oxymoron?), but this will mean the sacrifice of other tasks and a lack of attention given to those things that I would otherwise deem worthy of regular attention. I must be quick as possible to get back to the point of doing the core things that God wants me to do. So when it comes to the minivan, it's time to get it done and behind me, trusting God with the outcome. Better is the end of a thing than its beginning (Ecclesiastes 7:8). What a wicked thing it would be for me to draw out the process when I know I'll be tempted toward consumption with it while neglecting in some measure my relationship with the Lord for any extended period. I need to be loving Him, studying Him, and living for Him completely.
Lord, help me to be God Motivated in this life where there are so many things that would take my focus away from You and your desires for me. And Lord, please help us to use this minivan as a tool to help us live this life for You and not for stuff.
Postscript: God is working things out by the way. My brother and I are planning to swap cars tomorrow, him paying me the difference in value between the two. Lord willing, he'll have a good car for a young, single guy, and I'll get a slight upgrade (reliability-wise) in my work vehicle. All that will need to be accomplished after that is to find a new home for the old Buick. Sell it cheap; move along.
To take you back a couple weeks, I found myself contemplating what would be the wisest course of action (if needed) for us vehicle-wise. Our main vehicle has been a '95 Maxima for 2 or 3 years, and for about the same amount of time, I've driven an '89 Park Avenue for my work car. The miles have racked up a bit and although both are still getting us from A to B (most of the time), I found myself concerned a bit for my family's safety this winter. After talking this through some with Gen, it seemed proper to start shopping around a bit. Unfortunately though, given the way that I'm wired, "a bit" isn't how I tend to go about these sort of things. Right away I started looking, praying, looking, thinking, calling, looking... There are so many factors to consider: older verses newer, advice from others verses/combined with the Spirit's leading, 7 seats verses 8 seats, private party verses dealership. I can't keep up this kind of search for long. I need to work through it and finish it with God Motivation.
Now for me, having God Motivation in this situation means that I need to ultimately keep my focus off of the vehicle classifieds and more on serving the Lord. This requires wisdom. Again, because of the way my mind seems to work, I can put a lot of time and energy into finding our dream minivan (oxymoron?), but this will mean the sacrifice of other tasks and a lack of attention given to those things that I would otherwise deem worthy of regular attention. I must be quick as possible to get back to the point of doing the core things that God wants me to do. So when it comes to the minivan, it's time to get it done and behind me, trusting God with the outcome. Better is the end of a thing than its beginning (Ecclesiastes 7:8). What a wicked thing it would be for me to draw out the process when I know I'll be tempted toward consumption with it while neglecting in some measure my relationship with the Lord for any extended period. I need to be loving Him, studying Him, and living for Him completely.
Lord, help me to be God Motivated in this life where there are so many things that would take my focus away from You and your desires for me. And Lord, please help us to use this minivan as a tool to help us live this life for You and not for stuff.
Postscript: God is working things out by the way. My brother and I are planning to swap cars tomorrow, him paying me the difference in value between the two. Lord willing, he'll have a good car for a young, single guy, and I'll get a slight upgrade (reliability-wise) in my work vehicle. All that will need to be accomplished after that is to find a new home for the old Buick. Sell it cheap; move along.
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