To be or not to be...rich

 

Image by S K from Pixabay

“There’s Mr. Smith. I wonder how he made all his money?”

“God alone knows!”

“Ah, that’s why he always looks so worried.”

Business is all about making money, profiting, and increasing one’s wealth. If ever there was anything that evokes un-Christian thoughts about a successful person, it is business. The joke at the start of this article is typical of what people think of successful businesspeople – they must have done something wrong to get where they are, or, nobody can make money doing business without doing something wrong. They must have committed some other sin to get where they are, or as someone once said to me, ‘I must remove my Christian jacket before going to my place of business or people will walk all over me and I won’t make any money’. But it is written:

Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. (Isa 48:17)

It's not how much we give

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

 Giving can be a pain and extremely hard to   do. One Sunday during a service some years   ago, at collection time, I found myself nervously   fingering the money I had brought. How much   should I give? The collection plate was being   passed along the pews and I needed to do my   sums quickly. What did I need to buy at the   shop on the way home? How much could I give and not feel guilty? What about later in the week, would I have enough to get through? I made my calculations and never gave that week or the next. It was only later, a long time later, that I took the time to consider my dilemma in church, and it dawned on me that while considering my own needs, I gave no thought to the needs of the church or congregation. Every Sunday I sit in relative comfort, in a clean building, with electric lights and running water. How many of these things could be maintained with the paltry amount I had held back? It had never occurred to me that the preacher might not have enough to feed his family or service his car. What about the cleaner, the groundsman, the property tax, electricity, and water accounts, all these needed to be paid, and the building needed to be maintained.

The Christian Militant

The martyrdom of St. Stephen
 by Juan Correa de Vivar 

...for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Mat 26:52

From the outset, the Christian church has been under attack. Stephen was stoned, James beheaded, and the apostles beaten and imprisoned, yet there was no retaliation, no revenge, and no counterstruggle, at least not a physically violent one. Their methods of combat were prayer, compassion, and preaching because they believed:

2Cor.10:4  For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, and yet:

Acts 6:7  And the Word of God was increasing. And the number of the disciples in Jerusalem was multiplying exceedingly; even a great crowd of the priests obeyed the faith.

For the next three centuries Christians were persecuted, murdered, used for circus entertainment, set alight as human torches, and fed to wild animals, and yet:

Acts 12:24...the Word of God grew and increased.

Over the years Christians were attacked by Romans, Jews, Persians, Muslims, Vikings, pagans, and even other Christians, and yet:

Acts 19:20  So the Word of God grew mightily and prevailed.

Christianity has been at war since the birth of Jesus when Herod sent his army to kill the babes of Bethlehem. Its weapons of resistance have always been the Word of God and prayer. It was a war won with the blood of martyrs, some of whom gave their lives voluntarily. The endless attacks eventually spilled over into physical retaliation. 

Traitors

The characters in this drama:

Judas Iscariot, self important goes with the flow for his own profit

Peter's loud mouth hid a weak heart and uncertainty

Caiaphas the legalistic senior pastor who refuses to have his traditions challenged

Pontius Pilate the politician who avoids difficult decisions by trying to please everyone

The crowd like all crowds follow and do as others because they can't all be wrong, right?

I am an example of all the above.

The Bickering Church

 

Jesus’ disciples were a varied group about which we know not much. Among them was a tax collector, a zealot, fishermen, and a thief. They all had different backgrounds, upbringing, temperaments, and status in the community.

The majority of the disciples were quiet and unassuming but Peter was the opposite, belligerent and demanding. John was loved and demonstrated his love. Matthew was wealthy. Thomas was a skeptic looking for proof. Simon was the fundamentalist zealot. And Judas, not Iscariot, is unknown except for the one question he asked. I can imagine him asking it while sitting among his companions and listening to their arguments and questions.