I've been reading so many YA books in order to beef up my library's book review blog that it has been awhile since I sat down and read a serious Christian book. Yesterday I started reading Sub-Merge by John Hayes, who is the guy who founded InnerChange (the missions organization that Rebekah Warner is about to start serving with, and which has as its goal incarnational ministry to the poor).
And oh my word. Christian books about awesome Christian ideas are affecting me. It is reinvigorating my call to missions. And more specifically....I really want to work with InnerChange. They go to the poorest places in the world, emptying themselves of wealth and prestige and respect, because they serve a God who left Heaven for Earth, emptying Himself of godhood in order to put on flesh. I want to be a part of that.
It is also good to hear someone teach me and affirm my radical ideals, but then back up the truck and be nice about it. What I mean is, I have a very hard time differentiating between what God is teaching me and what God wants the whole world to do. So when God worked on my materialism, I went to work on everyone else's (and my mom had to point out that I needed to stop that, what with people likely to start hating my "oh really, you're going to spend money on that? isn't that frivolous?") And I know I sound annoying and stuck up a lot of the time, but....I hold myself to those levels. I try to, at least. So I assumed everyone should live at those standards too.
But Jennie pointed out once upon a time that maybe God told me to give away all my books because I, specifically, was going to live a life with few material possessions, and that was step one of preparation. Maybe the whole world doesn't have to live super frugally (but I will not back down on my belief that American culture is extremely materialistic, and the more you own, the more difficult it is to truly follow Jesus--not impossible, just more difficult).
Anyway. I also tend to think that since God has so impressed me with the missionary need, that surely everyone else needs to be pressed with that same need. And again, not gonna back down on the Church's need to give and support and GO. It's far easier to stay home and spend money on ourselves. But...maybe not everyone is called to be missionaries.
How did I realize these things? From people who disagree with me? Psh, no. I have a very hard time accepting the opinions of people who disagree with me (I acknowledge that this is a flaw). What changed my mind was John Hayes, who gave up everything to live among the poor and the dirty and the dangerous. He says things like this that make me go "YEAH PREACH IT":
"After finishing the story of the rich fool, Jesus continues in verses 22 and 23 to clarify that not only greed but also anxiety about security can undo us. 'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.' Suddenly we see that Jesus is not simply addressing those of us who succumb to greed; He is also addressing those of us who build bigger barns for financial reassurance."
And then he says things like this that make me go ".....mrph":
"Voluntary simplicity is not a sign of God's special favor. It can minimize distraction in our devotion to God and can help us identify with the poor, but we must not congratulate ourselves for pursuing a simpler life...There is no room for spiritual arrogance in any form, and we are wise to distinguish between feeling affirmed and feeling prideful."
And then he gets all logical by pointing out:
"One reason there are not more full-time mission workers among the poor is that there are not enough mission senders."
Which I know. But I get very single-minded. It actually reminds me of something else I read that encouraged people to make and make and make as much money as possible...then give it away. (Maybe that was Radical? Been awhile.) I guess that still fits into my worldview of materialism. So that, apparently, hasn't changed! Stop with with money self-love (myself and everyone else)! But the missionary work thing....yeah. Not everyone can go. Some people have to stay in the States and make the money to support the people out and about.
I'd just rather be the out and about. How does everyone not want that? (See, I don't learn.)
Oh my word. OK. I'm going to someday, hopefully soon, start posting these "yay! awesome!" comments to all your posts, BUT . . . this is so much what I've been going through. I'm like "I want to live super sacrificially with my monies," and then I see Christians spending money on "frivolous" stuff and I get angry. And I realize that God calls us to different lifestyles for different ministries and works on different things at different moments . . . but then I think "if it's in the Bible, shouldn't we expect it of everyone?" And I get confused. But my pastor always said that financial sacrifice means different things to different people--it's just important that you're living in such a way that your not spending more money on you than you need to and that your using the rest for awesome things for God's kingdom. So I'm trying to remember that.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, this ended up more a comment about me than you. How selfish :-P Basically, I was trying to say . . . I agree. Haha.
I'm so glad you feel the same confusion! Because really, I cannot understand how to reconcile the Bible's pretty fierce stand on money with the modern idea of "just don't spend outside your means." Which--what are your means!? Rich people have crazy high means. Does that mean they get to buy a pool and five cars so they can fit into their neighborhood? I dunno. It would be a lot easier if all Christians lived in shacks, but still worked really hard to make lots of money, and then gave that money to missionaries or directly to the poor.
ReplyDeleteHaha-first of all, I just realized that I wrote "start posting" instead of "stop posting" at the beginning of that comment. Which kinda makes it sound like I'm hoping to become an even creepier blog stalker or something :-P
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. I really like in Crazy Love the story of the couple who lives on one income and drives really crappy cars so that they give half of what they make to missions and ministry. Seriously, I think it changed the way I've been using money. But the other thing I'm realizing (very slowly and not without a lot of angry moments at people) is that money is very embedded into the way we're raised, so what seem extravagant to us might feel like making a really hard sacrifice to someone else. Not that it makes it right, but I try to remember that so that I act lovingly and don't get all "ggrrrrr!" and bitter at people.
But it would be easier if we just lived in shacks, wouldn't it? Also, it would make support raising a lot easier for those of us doing missions :-D