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I can't remember the last time I went to a church service where I was not asked for money.
Sometimes it's the traditional ushers "passing the plate" and giving you the stink eye if you don't contribute--other times it's the more hip, "we can't do what we do and reach the people that we reach without your money" line. Televangelists, traditionalists, emergents--it doesn't matter--you all share the same common denominator. I always get the same implicit message: "God wants you to give us your money". The whole thing bothers me. It frustrates me because I feel like somehow God is being sold to me--like a used car.* However--all of my frustration aside--as I study Christianity it's hard to deny the fact that Jesus was (and Christianity should be) all about giving. If we are truly following our founder, then we Christ-followers should be giving away as much of ourselves and our possessions as we can (and that includes our money). We are called to be radically, irrationally generous; our view of material things should be diametrically opposed to selfish ambition. While many are trying to attain as much money as possible; our goal should be to give away as much as possible. Christ gave everything (including His life); I think we can afford to reach into our wallets. So, to all you preachers, teachers, and church leaders--may I humbly submit a prayerful suggestion? Talk about money more, not less. Preach about giving; teach about money; ask us to give more. Challenge us, not only to give---but to give sacrificially, to give until it hurts. But do it for the right reason. Ask us to give because it's healthy for us and good for the world--not because it's funds your church. Ask us to give--not because you need our money--but because giving makes our hearts more like Christ. Do you want an easy way to check your motives? Do you want a fool-proof way to confront those sceptics who suspect you of being a religious gold-digger? Here it is: Ask us to give to that church or charity across town that you are totally unaffiliated with. *At the risk of sounding like bragging--but solely in the interest of preemptively answering a very legitimate response to my frustration--I should say that my wife and I currently set aside 10% of our income for God's work. For the vast majority of my life (with one notable period of exception) I have always faithfully tithed. This post is not about me justifying my selfishness (although God knows there is plenty of that in me).
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 The state of our higher education system annoys me. It annoys me because often the people who would most benefit from college are the ones that are NOT in college. The converse of this is also true: the ones who ARE in college or university are often the ones least likely to benefit from it.
Example 1: A hardworking middle-class (maybe middle-aged) worker with a life-long passion for learning is unable to go to school because she is supporting a family and can't afford the ridiculously high tuitions that most of our universities now charge. She would LOVE the opportunity to further her education but she doesn't have the resources. Common sense dictates that she not abandon her responsibilities to her family in order to further her education. However, because of her insatiable desire to learn, she will end up either a) educating herself on her own time, or b) go deeply into debt because she sees no other option. However intelligent she may be (and often she is), she is forced to make the choice of either taking on extravagant amounts of student debt, or being shut out of jobs where a degree is required. Example 2: A young, free spirit with no idea (yet) what he wants to do with his life, is more or less forced into going to college by his well-meaning, well-to-do parents who believe that their son "will never amount to anything" unless he has a college education. He doesn't really have an interest in learning, but doesn't feel like he has any other options. The result is that he often doesn't do well in his classes and spends his time in college on "non-academic endeavors". For him, college is just a way to delay the responsibilities of adulthood while living on his parents' dime. He's been subtly indoctrinated with this ideology his whole life by his unwitting parents and by our culture. *deep breath* Huh? What's that? What's the answer to this conundrum? I dunno...I'm still working on that part... |
Boyd Allen
The random thoughts of a passionate moderate who is incurably addicted to music, practical philosophy, and learning new things. Categories
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