Other streams of Christianity are engaged in perpetual crises arising from the omnipresent threat of the enemy of our souls and see a 1:1 correlation between physical maladies and spiritual oppression. Other believers live in nervous fealty to the political powers that be, sometimes seeing a 1:1 correlation between the agenda of heaven and the respective agendas of the Republican or Democratic Party. Others of us worry that people like Jim Wallis, who criticizes the aforementioned groups, are not worrying enough about the old-time, propositional theological truths of penal substitutionary atonement and the inerrancy of Scripture.
It goes on. Theological wonks feverishly parse Greek verbs and awkwardly introduce words like "genetive" and "koinonia" in conversations that have nothing to do with the linguistics of the Bible. The rest of us are nuerotic about having quality devotional time with God and Oswald Chambers.
I have to own up to having all of these anxieties in some form or another, but the anxiety that plagues me most often is the ethical tension of being so wealthy in a world of such poverty.
This wouldn't be such a problem if Jesus had simply just gone to bed instead of staying up and talking with that rich young ruler. Nevertheless he did, and he spoke often about money and in doing so revealed the economy of the Kingdom of God.
But did Jesus say what he said so that I would be guilt-ridden and conflicted everytime I plunk down $1.65 for a cup of coffee? Do I do anything to honor him by being nervous and frustrated about the relative affluence I experience? I doubt it.
Jesus plunked down his life at Calvary, and in doing so he ransomed God's people. But he did it for "the joy set before him." Joy. Ultimately, for those who have ears to hear, all of Jesus teachings and examples are supposed to bring us joy as we remain in him. The only answer for the myriad neuroses of Christian life (and in particular, the anxiety of wealth) is to remain in him and to find our joy in him. I think this is the only way to effectively call each other to live more sacrificially in light of Jesus' words. We need to feel the responsibility of our blessings, yes; but we will only discharge those responsibilities well if we are happy in the process.
So, for those of you who visit this blog and wonder if I live in some sort of tormented preoccupation at the evil in the world - I don't. But I do live with some anxiety about how to be a compassionate steward of the wealth that God has given me. And I will take any suggestions or advice you may have for me on how to stay vivdly aware of the needs out there while remaining joyfully passionate about meeting those needs in the name of Jesus.
By the way, here's a good article by Doug Hayes on "Suburbia v. Social Justice"
3 comments:
Interesting and well stated.
I think you hit the nail on the head--the issue is to (re)align our joy so that the same things that please God please us. Of course, this is ultimately what Justice looks like--the making right of all things (as God would have them).
I don't think you neurotic, Nate. At least not neurotic enough to be scary. You'll have to try harder. Normal people scare me.
Stupid and inarticulate.
Just kidding, I just thought it might be fun to have someone completely contradict the previous comment and spice things up a bit.
I had to laugh because as I was writing my most recent post, I checked yours out as I wanted to link to your Darfur post. Immagine my tizzy and pattering when I realized our posts were frighteningly similar. That being said, I am unsure of how to implement your conclusion. How would remaining in Jesus allow me to feel less guilty about that $1.65? Dont get me wrong, I love my coffee and rarely suffer from more than a milisecond of regret when forking over 'needless' cash. However, regardless of how close I am to the straight and narrow, that $1.65 still could have gone to someone in much more need than me. I feel like the more I read the Bible the more anxious I become about my wealth. Of course, that would suggest that I actually READ my Bible...looking forward to further discussion.
This post is a bit schizophrenic: On one hand it is trying to comment on general Christian anxiety; and on the other it trying to offer a vague solution to a specific dilemma.
I agree with you, Josh - my conclusion is not implimentable. Rather, it (joy) is the likely effect of implementing a real solution. I think the presence of joy is one sign that you have, indeed, found some sort of solution.
But I don't know the solution itself, and I definately don't feel the joy that I assume would accompany it.
Tim, I think you have hit on something there - the realignment of joy. But what if you don't have joy to realign? (I mean joy specifically in regarding to the way you handle wealth)
Whatever the case, I want to please God, and I know as part of the bargain I am made joyful. And I also know that unless I am joyful, my zeal for justice can easily come across as bitter and frustrated. (Just witness the gloomy herds of whiny, angry, bleeding-heart social activist whimpering and moping around university campuses today)
If I suddenly get Fransican, and yet have no joy, and will probably not advance the cause of radical obedience to Jesus in any way. And I probably won't really encourage my friends.
So, if I do find some sort of ethical solution to my riches, I think it must include an decadent helping of joy. What say you guys?
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