...Are they really my responsibility?
Sometimes I wonder if we don't deflect our responsibility to help the poor and the oppressed on technicalities. Sure - Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all his stuff - but me? I'm middle class. I'm exempt.
Sometimes I wonder if we ignore the calling we have where God has placed us to serve, because we feel the only way we can serve is to sell all of our possessions. Get rid of it all, move on, become poor.
Perhaps the question then becomes, if you're working on Bay Street, do you need to use your money in the same way "Bay Street People" do in order to be an effective witness - or do you look at things differently? What does the incarnated gospel look like in a Bay Street investment firm?
To understand that affluence has a profound effect on the gospel’s communication is to understand that the gospel is not merely communicated as a set of propositional statements, but in a more holistic fashion that encompasses the entirety of the communicator’s life. That encompasses not only the way one acts, or the god one points to, but the way in which one uses her money, as well.
In general, people's understanding of both messenger and message is powerfully—if indirectly—affected by the way in which the messenger (in this case, a Christian Messenger) utilises her money. Medium and message, words and deeds, theory and practice, faith and works cannot be separated in the life of the one who would remain a credible Christian
As Christians, in no matter what context we serve, we must be cognizant of the way in which our relative affluence affects the message we seek to proclaim. In seeking to follow Christ’s own example, we must not look merely to our own interests, but to our relationships with others. One area in which our relationship with others is affected, is our attitude towards money.
The writer of the letter to the Philippians calls us to minister with the same mind that was in Christ Jesus:
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8; NASB)
Seeing our affluence in the context of this passage, and in the context of Christ’s humiliation, we find ourselves called, like Christ to sacrifice position and affluence for the sake of building relationships where we seek to minister. We must strip ourselves of the trappings of western affluence, and the pride that can creep in from this position. We must, in all ways, seek to humble ourselves like Christ, becoming obedient like Christ, and like Christ, pursue humility even to the point of death.
For the Christian, humility and obedience could mean many things. In the context of finances, humility should force us to ask what we are to give up. Are we called to give up the appearances of wealth, or are we implicated in a much more daunting task? What are we willing to give up in order to follow Christ?
What does it mean to carry one’s cross? These are all questions that we must consider as we recognise our implication in the call to minister as Christ Followers. Furthermore, these are questions we must ask when considering the means by which our ministry should proceed.
When we consider Christ, and the way in which he sacrificed his very life to minister amongst us poor and broken people, we are forced to question our displays of affluence. We are not called merely to refine the outward appearances of affluence, but also to enter into the reality of Christ’s sacrifice.
It is Christ’s sacrifice that we celebrate each time we take the Eucharist (communion). It is Christ’s sacrifice in which we are implicated each time we come to the Lord’s Table. As the body of Christ, we too are called to break ourselves for the life of the world. It is this paradigm that the Philippians passage so beautifully illustrates.
The Church must see the real, and even frightening implications of her call. In our communal celebration of the Eucharist, not only do we proclaim the historic life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but we are also drinking death on ourselves, giving ourselves to brokenness for the good of other people.
Financial sacrifice must be a part of our mission. If we are to do more than merely appear to identify with or have concern for the spiritual and physical condition of those amongst whom we minister, and if we find ourselves called into Christ’s mission to the world, then we must demonstrate this in our own sacrifice. How this plays out may be different in different circumstances, but as members of Christ’s body, we are called to a life of sacrifice
I think Missiologist Jonathan Bonk has a great point:
“The affluence-based mission of the Western Church – in contrast to the Incarnation-based mission of her Lord – most naturally serves as an ecclesiastical springboard for moving up, not down; her independently secure missionaries find lording both more natural and more immediately effective than serving, although many have convinced themselves that domination is service. The great marvel of living in the technological age is that one’s mission can be speeded up, rather than – as in the case of Christ – slowing down and finally coming to a complete halt on the cross.” (Missions and Money 82) |
Ericka and I visited Cafe Taste for the first time about a month back. We'd walked past this little gem in Parkdale any number of times. We'd even stopped to check out the menu. But we'd never gone in. Then, one Wednesday night we decided to go in for dessert.
