The Scriptures, in Hebrews 13, and Matthew 25, put a real standard up to us that Jesus is the Stranger and the homeless poor among us...
I don't care what anybody's motives are! I don't care what theological tweaking we may need or what hypocrisies we may still be enslaved to, right now. I care that Christians realize that there is a claim placed on them by the God who inspired Scripture.
The claims of Scripture about the role of the homeless and the stranger and the sick and the prisoner and the hungry and the thirsty are so RADICAL...
YOUR DINING ROOM
YOUR EXTRA BEDROOM
YOUR EXTRA THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS
these are claimed by God for PHYSICALLY HELPING PEOPLE.
1 John 3 says that we are to love with deeds. I don't care about hypocrisy. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 7 that evil is with him when he's doing good! I don't care about motives so much anymore! I see that CHRISTIAN BEHAVIOR INCLUDES ACTIVE INTEREST IN AND RELIEF OF TEMPORAL SUFFERING.
I'm SCARED that we may miss the point with how snarled up things are getting.
One of the big problems is how rare this kind of behavior is.
We all ought to be employing our resources more and more constantly to relieve the suffering of those in need, especially believers who are in need, but not limited to them. I mean, isn't that the POINT of what Zach is trying to communicate?
It's just far too rare.
We should be kinda "ho-hum" about these things by reason of our experience with them. Rather, we are all knee-jerking about the implications of theological nuances and issues about motivation...
Would to God we all got less sophisticated, more childlike, and busied our lives intently with the activity of redemption that is born out of intimacy with Love, himself.
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> "I don't care what anybody's motives are!"
ReplyDeleteBut the entire sermon on the mount concerns the motives. What's behind actions in the heart are what God is concerend with. Been looking at women lustfully? Gouge out the eye. It's the motive for which you look, not the acutal looking (or whatever) that God seems to care about.
> "I don't care what theological tweaking we may need"
Without Paul's theological tweaking, we get left with:
"For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."
We are all screwed. It was Paul who correctly identified the Sacrafice of Christ by the Grace of God as the emotive force through which we are made rightous at all. That (identifying Christ as the Ram for Issac) is theological tweaking.
But if you are doing it, why in the hell are your worried about the heathen in the world hummm?
Just let all the "churched hertics" go burn in hell, and devote yourself to sevice of the poor. The others can read, and if they don't get this "clear call" becuase they are so wraped up in theological tweaking, then the blood is on them.
By the way, where is the line drawn?
$200,000 extra (what is "extra" anyway)
$100,000
$10
$0.10?
-Why do you even have a house? Doesn't a tent work just as well?
-What about your computer? How much could you make to feed the poor if you sold it?
-How many pairs of underware do you have anyway?
-You got any extra plates?
-How many pens do you own? Could you have looked harder for one, and not spent $1.00 for a pack, that'll buy someone a burger, you know.
-How many cars are in your community?
--
Take yourself to task, and get the plank out of your eye, first. Or are you OK becuase your MOTIVES are pure?
-A simple bench chemist that has extra money to put a new roof on his house.
that's some bold bloggin' for an anonymous post! Whoah! you peeled a layer or two of skin off on that one...
ReplyDeleteNaaw, seriously:
I really am not as concerned about motives, other than my own, lately. I see a TON of folks with GREAT motives, who haven't been TAUGHT what the scriptures say about these issues.
The "theological tweaking" that we need is toward orthopraxy. the practise of hospitality and deeds of love is neglected in the demands of church teaching. We have a theology of faith without works. Corporately, as a national church, we have a strong leaning toward that dead faith of which James spoke.
As for devoting ourselves to the service of the poor... Not a bad direction for those commanded as we are. Not a bad move for those who are to be separated as sheep and goats. Not a shaky foundation for a house near the beach...
Our religion is to look after the orphan and the widow. What??? why all the invective? I don't get it. What am I undermining? Why so harsh??? Where's the patience and the time?
We're to be judged as sheep or goat as to how we dealt with the thirsty, hungry, stranger, prisoner, naked... What? I mean, what is so strange or heretical or separatist or elitist about this? This is just scriptures!
We're not to lay up treasure.
We're to remember the poor.
We're to associate with the lowly.
We're to share with the brethren.
We're to care for our family.
This stuff is love.
We're to loose the prisoner, heal the broken... I mean, what's so wrong with what I'm writing? I KNOW there are flaws in my language, but doctrinally, I'm very sure I'm sound.
As for all the "churched heretics":
those aren't a quote of my words and you do wrong by putting those words and the ones that follow,in my mouth.
As for "where is the line drawn":
Hey, if the shoe fits, wear it. If your lifestyle doesn't have this stuff in it, "turn your joy to mourning". Read the book of James. We will be judged for turning down the good we knew to do and didn't. If a good, thorough scrutiny of your life shows that you aren't really a Christian (and I hope it doesn't), then BECOME ONE!
REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND.
As for houses and tents...computers, underwear, pens...plates and autos...
GIMME A BREAK. I mean, this is almost silly, whoeveryouare. talk about red herring.
I own none.
you own none.
and we'll be held to account for their use. you can tell which car is mine because it's full of guys with no legs and someone else is driving it! Get real.
You can tell which car is mine because it's dented by kids all climbing over it because I love in a neighborhood where there are no fathers to spank them!
As for my underwear, it's in a dresser that was GIVEN to us by someone, since all our substance goes into living gospel.
Geez.