Fallen and Flawed

We risk losing the approval of man only if it is counted as loss in view of something much greater. As Al pointed out to me last night – some humans are more prone to think long-term than others, but no one is naturally prone to think on an eternal scale.
You’re right on, Demian. We need to look to Christ, in light of eternity, and take risks in the expression of our worship. Go beyond the short-term, cheap worship that costs us nothing and protects our earthly interests.

So many I work with (in my “secular” job) do not understand why churches ask for any kind of tithe. Or why missionaries live on a scant budget to make sure they can do what they are called to.
Sacrifice does not make much sense to the world. We are blessed when it makes sense to us.

I think the sentiment of the post is wonderful and appropriate… but, and I don’t mean to sound like a downer, as believers we need to think carefully before “giving extravagantly”.

Much can be accomplished through our tithing some large sum of what God has given us, but might we do even more by carefully managing those gifts God has granted us? Like the servant entrusted with monies, we must invest what we have to grow the kingdom.

I believe the key is to have a proper attitude about what we think we own, and fully appreciate that we are simply caretakers of God’s property. Sometimes extravagance is needed to fully display our love and appreciation for the Lord, but at other times we must be steady and discerning in order to display the constance, dependability, and faithfullness of our Lord.

This is a bugaboo for me, because I’ve seen a train of thought in modern christian circles that somehow suggests that those who sell all they own, making themselves paupers, are somehow more holy than the dependable steady giver. I’ve found that train of thought to be dangerously close to being full of false humility and something I don’t believe Christ would honor.

Odi has brought out some poignant thoughts for our consideration:

as believers we need to think carefully before “giving extravagantly”.

What could be more true? And our careful thinking must be in light of God’s expressed Word, which implies the necessity of James’ admonition to pray for Wisdom from God in properly understanding and applying the holy Scriptures.

I believe the key is to have a proper attitude about what we think we own, and fully appreciate that we are simply caretakers of God’s property.

This is the crux of the matter– we are not owners, but stewards of all God has placed at our disposal; our investments of money, time and energy, are not for our own sakes, but for His honor, glory and pleasure. Therefore, all the more, it behooves us to apply our thoughtful assessments to earnestly asking Him to direct our decisions for His name’s sake.

It is in finalizing our conclusions and implementing them into our living that the whole business gets tricky. It is here that we must remind ourselves that the topic under consideration is worship, and not merely what to do with a meager portion of our income or time. We are not to be found in the case of the unfaithful servant who buried his bit in the ground out of fear (Mt.25:18,24-25) but rather, if our fear of our Lord is genuine as it ought to be, we should invest ourselves for His sake, to the best of our Holy Spirit-reinforced understanding (vv.26-29).

It is not our money, our strength, or our time that God wants, because, as Odi has so adeptly stated, none of those are ours. What Jesus bought with His most precious blood was not what appears to be ours, but us! I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom.12:1-2)

Please see, then, that
[1] Our spiritual worship of God is that He should receive from us our voluntary surrender to Him of our very bodily selves, which implicitly includes all over which we exercise control. This can, but certainly might not, mean that we are to give away everything– it must, however, mean that ALL is to be invested in His kingdom.
[2] We are not to model our worship of Christ after the examples of this world [age] in drawing attention to ourselves by flamboyant giving and serving. Instead, our donation and service is to constitute that which is truly sacrificial on our part, but privately so, demonstrating only before God that our faith is fully in Him to provide for our needs. [In Mary's case, above, the "privacy" was her utter lack of concern for the criticisms of others. Not knowing how her Lord would defend her, she simply trusted that He would understand, approve and accept her offering.]

[3] The transformation of us each, from lost sinner to saved sinner, to follower, to disciple, is effected by God’s renewing of our minds from the thoughts of the dead in trespasses and sins to those of the alive in Christ Jesus. We are tested, and in being tested we also test both our thoughts and our circumstances. These are litmus tests, by which we use God’s Word to determine which situations and which of our thoughts characterize God’s good, and acceptable, and perfect will.

Isn’t it wonderful how He gathers us from the East and the West, the North and South, to congregate at such places as blogs for mutual edification to His glory as the body of Christ grows toward becoming His spotless eternal Bride!

Odi: I do, indeed, agree with you that conspicuous giving on behalf of the church is wrong. If that is what we do, then this is our reward: the applause of men.

I can’t help when I talk about this subject of men like Calvin and Wesley who died owning nothing when they could have had so much…yet it’s not that they gave away so much…they lived WITHOUT so much for the promotion of the gospel.

Al: I agree with you that it is positively wonderful way to discuss and encourage other believers like this. The benefits of a blog. I wonder what Paul would’ve made of the blog. Peter. Any early apostle. I think they would’ve used the heck out of it.

Thanks for all your wonderful thoughts, guys.