I had a pretty elaborate post prepared on the whole economic crisis/bailout proposal that I was ready to publish, (instead, I will just point you to this great segment from This American Life, “The Giant Pool of Money,” which clearly and insightfully spells out just how we got in this mess) when another thought struck me - this great opportunity for the Church to shine. It was this bit of Jesus’ teaching that came to mind specifically.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
This economic crisis is a great heart-check for the Church. Where… What… Who is our treasure? What a fantastic opportunity for the Church to witness to the watching world - to, in the midst of economic fright and despair, to be MORE generous, MORE sacrificial, MORE giving; to not “conform to the pattern of this world,” but to put on display a hope and a joy that is no way threatened, but is rather emboldened in times such as these.
But I wonder… will we shine? I fear that the extent to which the Church in the West has so wedded its identity with that of the American dream will make this very, very difficult. Thankfully, we worship a God who desires to work miracles amongst a repentant people.
6 responses so far ↓
1 sarah // Oct 1, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Great perspective JR. That passage of scripture is pretty straight forward. What stands out to me the most is that the eyes - or the way we view and use our money says everything about who we serve and who we trust. It reminds me of something Gib said recently at church, that “everytime money passes through our hands, it’s a spiritual decision” If our priority is serving God with all He gives us, He will not only use what we have to bless others, but I believe we can trust Him to meet our own needs and continue to bless us in His own way and fashion so that we become a continual blessing to others. When everybody takes, everybody loses, when everybody gives, everybody wins…
That “Jesus saves” coin bank is terrifying!
2 Danny // Oct 1, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Yes I agree, but how do we make this action instead of rhetoric about a failed church?
3 JR Rozko // Oct 1, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Great question Danny, though a blog (a rhetorical tool by design) is hardly the place for action and despite my best attempts at suggestions (which I am about to offer), the context in which to answer this question is the local church.
Local communities of faith could take it upon themselves to…
– reconfigure their budgets to help bailout those who were taken advantage of in the sub-prime mortgage loan fiasco
– launch initiatives to create jobs
– offer financial planning courses (for free)
– pool and share resources (sell and share, sell and share, sell and share)
– live much, much, much more simply
Oh, and in the midst of all that, helping people to biblically differentiate between the good news of God’s inbreaking Kingdom (a new reality into which we are invited) and the American dream wouldn’t hurt, yeah?
4 wildflower // Oct 3, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Yes! Deciding then acting. Many of us have decided to give tithes and offerings for example, and we carry out the action, but it would be cool if local churches (and some might do this already) would not only collect a morning offering, but explain where it’s actually going. Would we do more? I think so! Who are we as a church body helping with our finances? Tell us! On a more personal level, working with our friends in small groups to give our time and our labor to established community programs who give aid to the poor, homeless, imprisoned, sick, and those with special needs is a great way to build closer friendships and be a blessing where needs are the greatest. Doing things like the above with a group of friends is so effective and joyful for everyone involved. One thing our small group has decided is to come up with a way to reach out as a group… we’re still quite new and working on getting to know each other better, but great ideas are already on the table… I’m excited about our group and its leaders. This kind of talking breeds excitment and excitement breeds actions!
5 shawn graham // Oct 7, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Love the bank.
But why does it have Liam Neeson on it?
6 JR Rozko // Oct 7, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I think the better question is - why would it not have Liam Neeson on it? Am I right?
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