Here is something to chew on while I take my 3 day break.
I had the opportunity to visit LifeChurch.tv while in Oklahoma this last weekend. I’ll be honest. I heard one of the best messages I have heard in a long time. It was amazing. This is only a snippet of it, but watch the whole thing here.
While this was extremely challenging, it really challenged me in the way I thought of things. There is obviously a large movement in the church towards social justice. I love it. I heard a great man once say, “we should measure the effectiveness of a church by its surrounding community, not by how many people they have on their membership roll.”
Let me give a disclaimer. I think we can all agree that the point is to be so content with God that stuff doesn’t matter. I am not questioning that. If we are content with God, the stuff does not matter. I am not asking this b/c I am worried about having stuff. I am asking these questions because I want to make sure I’m thinking Godly and not religious. I want to make sure it is what I believe b/c I believe it. Not because it is what I heard or that is the way I was raised.
Okay, so here is the ?. When I think of sacrificing so I feel it, I automatically think that it means having less stuff. I think that when I give sacrificially I will have less. While I agree we have to genuinely be okay with giving it all up, does it necessarily mean we will have less? I know God blesses in many more ways than finances, but I am talking about financial blessing. Is it okay to have a nice house and live a nice lifestyle from God’s financial blessing when there are people all over our world starving? Should we all live like Mother Teresa or Shane Claiborne? Does giving sacrificially mean living in poverty? Among all the blessings He gives us, should we enjoy God’s financial blessing as well?
Craig mentioned a scripture about being faithful with a little and you will gain a lot. All throughout the Bible it is obvious that when someone sacrifices, they gain more. The correct response is to give more when you get more, but how should our lifestyle reflect this principle? Where is the line of enjoying what God gives us financially and abusing what God gave? Is it okay to enjoy a nice life when God keeps giving you more?
Let’s say we try to give more b/c we get more. Then God just gives more and more. Can we really outgive God?
Craig is sacrificing. However, I don’t think we will see Craig wearing some raggedy clothes and his kids running around looking like orphans. Sometimes, if we really evaluate our beliefs on this issue, that is what we expect. In fact, after seeing his heart, I think he will only gain more. Then he will give more, and then gain more. His lifestyle may not stay proportionate with the increasing amounts he is given, but should it decrease?
This is not about Craig Groeschel and if he is doing right or wrong!
I hope his message rocks the whole Church, not just LifeChurch.tv. This is about evaluating what we really believe about this issue. As the church continues to move into social justice, I honestly believe it will be crucial for Christians to have a strong foundation for their belief on this issue.
So, what do you think?
