Recently
on Facebook I saw a minister seeking
the return of a bale of hay stolen from the end of his driveway. He
confessed it was only worth $5 but... He must have wanted it back on
principle? I posted this in response to his post: Luke 6:30, just the reference, not the
text, which reads as follows:
Give to everyone who asks of you and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.
I did not get a response to my post.
For the most part we've been taught to ignore Jesus' command in Luke 6:29-31 and Matthew 5:42. For the squeamish, afraid of telling Jesus, um, I don't think so, we've figured out, apparently by some mystic transport and face to face meeting with our Lord, what HE really meant, because, well, Jesus just couldn't mean what he said. Stress, the lack of airconditioning and our modern conveniences, having to walk the length and breadth of Palestine made the Lord of the Universe just a bit loopy.
I
have lost count over the last 36 years how many preachers and
teachers have preached the work around of the command that gave the
audience a sigh of relief. A "work around," by the way is a
way to get around a roadblock or problem. It's sort of like the
Professor was always doing in "Gilligan's Island:" making a
shortwave radio out of two coconut shells, some wire and water made
alkaline by Mrs. Howell's perfume. He worked around the problem of
not having a radio by building one. Of course it didn't work. And
neither does the work around for Luke 6:30 and Matthew 5:42.
The
Work Around
We
assume the worst of people, in violation of I Corinthians 13.
Love
is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is
not proud. I does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is
not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs, (General violation #1) Love does not
delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always
protects, always trust, always hopes, always
perseveres.(Bingo! Go Directly to Jail! Do Not Pass Go! Do
Not Collect $200! Yahtzee! Violation #1) (I Corinthians 13:4-6)
If
you need it explained, Love always trusts in good, in the judgment of
our Master. Love always hopes in the good. Yeah baby,
panhandlers/grifters/beggars may smell like roadkill and have bugs
crawling out of their clothing, make you seriously consider the reality of cooties, but you hope the money you give them
will help them. Always perseveres, that is it's always patient, long
suffering as it says in the Old Book, in the world around
you. The zombies may be rampaging, civilization has gone to Hell in a
hand basket, BUT there are survivors (among them you) and if
survivors find YOU and ask for help - YOU are going to help them
BECAUSE YOU PERSEVERE!
You
see if someone asks for money, especially on a sidewalk, at a stop
light, a freeway on ramp, it is, of course, a street person. Dirty,
smells like boiled goat, homeless, a junkie or an alcoholic - or maybe a Vet of our Middle East wars who may have found life more hospitable in the high deserts of Afghanistan than sleeping in card board boxes. OR, if
they call the church seeking money to fix their car because their car
broke down on the way to Omaha or Des Moines - garden spots of the
Midwest where nice Christians go - and they can't get there till they
get a new $1,000 transmission; these folks are generally clean, even
acceptable but we know, (wink, wink) they're con men, grifters.
Hey,
we've been panhandled/conned before so
we know (I Corinthians 13:5). We've vowed, never again! Consequently, we
don't trust nor hope nor persevere - if we see the guy coming and we
can't get away in time - we already know - this guy
is just going to buy something...illicit. At least that's what we've been told.
And
we've been preached at in church and taught in Sunday School and/or
conventions, ad infintitum, that we are to be stewards,
no, we are to be good stewards of God's money. And
these same preachers and teachers, smart enough to know they can't
simply set aside a command of Jesus, teach that there's one of two
things to look for when accosted by one of "these people":
Need and Motive. And if they strike out on one or both counts, well,
you're a good steward of God's money. Walk on, jog on, drive on with
a clean conscience, money in pocket, spared from some filthy beggar.
Chances
are excellent, these smart folk say, that all they want is money to
buy some drugs or a bottle of cheap wine. Or, if they call the church
asking for money, they're grifters. They like how they live. They are
unrepentant. (Bet you didn't know there were so many people, your
pastor included, who knew the needs and motives of every homeless
person out of 300 million people.)
Though
they've probably never said it, maybe they've thought it to
themselves, or told their wives but what it boils down to is
this: There's THEM and then There's US!
So
the Work Around works like this:
If
the person says they're hungry and are asking a $1. Huh uh. You DO
NOT give the person what they are asking for lest the person
spends it for booze or drugs, etc. Instead, take the person somewhere
and buy them a meal. And if they don't want to dine with you? Well
you then KNOW that the request is for illicit purposes and you may
put away your wallet and move on, confident that you have saved God's
money. Besides, that dollar you may have given to an alkie or junkie,
or grifter might be needed for tax on the Pizza Hut pizzas
you're picking up for the family.
But
here's where the Work Around collapses, like the Professor's coconut
and perfume water shortwave:
No
where in the surrounding context of Luke 6:30 or Matthew 5:42 is
there a qualifier to the simple command/sentence:
Give
to everyone who asks of you and whoever takes away what is yours, do
not demand it back.
No
where in the Gospels does Jesus put a qualifier on the command. No
where in the Pauline letters or the letters of Peter, John, James or
Jude does the Holy Spirit qualify the command. No where are we to
assess need or motive. Notice the command. Notice its simplicity:
Give
to everyone who asks of you and whoever takes away what is yours, do
not demand it back.
Give.
What is asked. No qualifications.
Most
Christians perceive the first part of the verse (Give) as Jesus
commanding us to give to the poor. We highly esteem ourselves, don't
we, eh? While we're afraid to give our, er, um, God's money.
But
I think this is a test for the disciple. A test to judge our maturity
level in Christ. To see whether we've really dumped the old human and
have begun thinking and acting like the "new creation" we
are supposed to be.
Filthy
Beggar asks you for $5 bucks do you gladly reach into your pocket and
give it to him OR, no cash in the wallet? No, really? Then do you
tell the filthy beggar to hop in the car with you and the kids and y'all will go to the ATM
and give him a $20? (Because ATM's only give out $20's)
Or
do you avert your eyes, mumble "Sorry" as you shake your
head and breathe a sigh of relief that you "got away?"
You
see we're all disciples (at least we're supposed to be) in the
process of becoming like our MASTER, Jesus. Disciple,
Mathetes in Biblical Greek. It means, "a learner,
indicating thought accompanied by endeavor." - Vine's Expository
Dictionary of New Testament Words. Vine's says a disciple is not
only a pupil but an adherent and hence a disciple is spoken of as an
imitator of their teacher or Master. (John 8:31; 15:8)
As
disciples of Christ we have to be mature before our Lord may get full
use of us. In terms of Confederate Slavery, the Massa gets no use of
a baby or child. Massa needs strong slaves to do as they are told.
As
disciples, do we do what we're told? Or do we just put in the
"minimum payment," do we "do" church as we've
been shown: go to church on Sunday. Don't even have to dress for the
occasion. I don't know why. Well, actually I think it was a marketing
gimmick of Bill Hybels at Willow Creek in Chicago. But, for the most
part, we've forgotten (If you ever knew) why we seem to think we can
come to worship the omnipotent Creator of the Universe in a Polo
shirt, khaki shorts and boat shoes (no socks). If there are small
groups, attend one. Give to the congregation and when asked for
people to volunteer for this or that, you volunteer. Sign their
membership "Covenant" to prevent you from challenging the
congregational leadership, etc. (It's like you don't know squat to be
questioning how this church is run so, relax, we've taken that heavy
weight off your shoulders. I think that's a Rick Warren gag.) That is
pretty much the "minimum payment."
Probably
don't know a lot about the life of Christ, who is your Master, and
consequently, how do you know how to think like Him, develop the Love He has for the world, filthy beggar and grifters alike; how do you know how to act like Him? And the kicker?
It's not your fault you don't know about the life of Christ and that
you are to think differently and emulate His life.
But.
Do
we bear the same love toward those in this life as He does toward us?
And
there's the rub.
May
the Peace of Christ be with you,
† Scott,
V.D.M., ev
No comments:
Post a Comment