About two millennia ago a Rabbi once said: “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matt. 6:21, NLT).
Now consider the following:
The world spends twelve times more per year on militaries and defense than it does for developing assistance for the poorest of the poor. (Source: The Hole In Our Gospel, p. 158)
And:
The United States accounts for almost half of this figure and spends more than the next forty-six nations combined.
There must be something that the Christian Church could do. My only suggestion is this: for the Church to become less bereaucatic and become more missional, that is, to incarnate Jesus’ love, not just in words but in more transformative actions, as well.
So as you go about your daily affairs, my prayer is that you’ll not dismiss what you’ve read as just another blog post.
That’s good. Preach it, my friend.
Peter, I’m rather burdened these days by a real compassion for the less fortunate among us.
There’s a place for precision in theology, but sometimes we’re too caught up at the neglect of incarnating the actions of Jesus to the needy and so on.
I couldn’t agree more, and it’s through that compassion that we will see breakthrough in other areas: healing, deliverance, miracles, even theological questions. Keep it up my friend.
Good words TC, I think you gotta be a great pastor to have. I wish I lived closer to you. I’d attend your church and be half the trouble for you as I am in the blogsphere.
Peter M: I’m reminded of the Lord’s rebuke in Isaiah 58 – the people were busy religiously but found themselves displeasing to God, because of their neglect of the things that matter most to God. Thanks for the insights.
Bryon: I’m still working on the pastor thing.
You would be more than welcome.
TC, I agree wholeheartedly that the Church needs to step up its outreach to the poor and downtrodden. I believe we have become too bereaucatic and too of the world.
However, I’m not sure what that has to do with the military spending of a country. As a Christian, I believe it is the Church’s job to care for the poor, and that the Church can do it better than the state ever could. Also, in the US at least, the Constitution has no provision for dealing with the poor, but it does mandate a national defense (although I do believe a standing army, especially one as large as ours, is an inherent threat to liberty). I think the Church and gov’t have two different mandates in this area, tasks that one can do better than the other.
I guess you could say I agree with your conclusion, but not the premise.
However, I’m not sure what that has to do with the military spending of a country.
Dave, I believe you missed this line from above: “There must be something that the Christian Church could do.”
I believe you got my point in the end.
Dave, by pointing out a country’s military spending, I was simply highlighting that the church cannot sit idly and wait for the gov’t to do what the church ought to be doing.
Ah, I get what you’re saying. I must admit that I can get easily confused!
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How strange – I was just now gearing up to blog about exactly that, but in a different light.
I hope you don’t mind but I am going to link this post in my blog.
Dave: as I said above, you were agreeing with me all along.
Jillian: there’s a spirit in the air.
I didn’t miss it, I’m just saying that by bringing up a country’s military spending and then comparing that to the amount of money spent on the poor makes it seem implicit that the money should be spent differently by the gov’t. Which was my point, the gov’t has no mandate, Biblically or otherwise, to care for the poor.