As I indicated in the first "Radical Truth " blog, there are two commands by Jesus that form this radical doctrine, and I’ve only covered one--Matthew 6:19-21:
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven….
The other command is in Luke 12:33. In the NIV it is very plain:
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
These verses are paired in giving us God's will regarding money and assets: note the "thief" and “moth” illustration in both. So here is our combined doctrine: In Matthew 6, we were told not to accumulate wealth assets. Now, if we have been accumulating assets, the Luke verse tells us to what to do with them; we are to sell them—and give the money to the poor. This doctrine will radically change how you handle your finances—if you’re interested in obeying every command of Jesus, and really WANT to have this kind of treasure in heaven.
But when I mention this doctrine to church folks, they get quiet and mildly uncomfortable, evidently not excited about building treasure in heaven. Overall, based on dollars given, it seems the plain fact about America is this: There are a lot of middle class people who call themselves Christian who really don’t care a bit about giving serious money to the poor. (They may be thinking domestic poor, but I’m referring to the worldwide poor, those who die tragically early, without clean water or enough to eat, or in refugee camps, or suffering from easily preventable disease). Most peoples' giving will go to their church, so lots of it gets spent boosting the facility and the programs and salaries. But little tithing goes for the worldwide poor, per se.
Does the images of starving folk bother church people? Does anybody in a Christian group say, “The Holy Spirit is definitely beating me up about something in my daily prayers—how many of these poor people worldwide dying every day from malnutrition or sickness could have been, or could be, my brothers or sisters? It just blows my mind that I could actually save their lives but I’m wasting my money on the unnecessaries instead. Let’s get together and discuss fasting on occasion and living frugally and pool the savings and give it to them. We could save lives!” Music to our Lord’s ears! But rare. Very rare.
American “Christians,” wake up! Consider again Luke 12:16-21, covered in Part 1 of this study, about what happens to a man whose sin was "he lays up treasure for himself:"
“The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Are we that rich fool? Could God be angry at us--maybe even eternally angry--because we waste money? We consume it, we stock it up, and are not thinking much about helping the poor. Read Luke 16:19-25:
“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell[a] from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
The rich man is in hades, flames and excruciating pain and all, and don’t you think Jesus wants us to know what one of his major sins was that got him there? Of course! Are you going to say, “We don’t know because He doesn’t say?" On such an important issue, paradise vs hades, is God going to be silent? That doesn't make sense. No, the ONLY conclusion is, the rich man is in hades because he had no compassion for the suffering poor man, the only other person in the story. The problem is, he knew the man was there, “at his gate.” But he walked right by him whenever he left home, and whenever he returned. But he didn’t help. Well, are we churchgoers in America a step above this today? Maybe you’ll say, “None of them are at my door.” But they’re on your TV, they’re on the internet; you may even get calls from charities on the phone or in your mail. Those are your "gate." Do you walk by too? Will you end up, surprised as this man was, at the same horrible final destination?
Jesus makes another related radical statement in Matthew 19:23:
Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
He even stresses the point by saying it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. The disciples were shocked at hearing that; they assumed (as we tend to do) that wealth is proof that God loves you. Jesus says completely the opposite. Jesus is really saying wealth will almost certainly distract you, obsess you, and tear you away from God so much that it's more likely you won’t make it to heaven. Think about that. That really makes gathering riches like gathering venomous snakes; here you are, perceiving something as precious when in fact it will hurt you--that's distorted thinking. (I’m not saying a high income is a curse. I’m saying plowing it into personal expenditures is a curse). Would you grasp at something if you knew it would almost wipe out your chance at heaven? You’d think, “Nooo way.” But we do that very thing in desiring wealth. Now of course you might say, throughout this paper, “No problem; I’m not rich, in fact I have credit card debt, so I don't have a problem with this verse.” Well, in the Big Picture, almost all Americans are rich. We are the richest society, by far, in all of world history—in fact, our poorest 5% are richer than India’s richest 5% even now, to just give one perspective. So, you who are reading this—even if you’re middle class, even just below middle class, in America—you’re rich by world and historic standards. If you have credit card debt, it simply means you not only spent what God has lavishly given you all on your family, but you overspent and have not saved for short term emergencies. (There is no problem with saving a reasonable amount for short term emergencies). The big problem with relative wealth is, we tend to more likely forget the horrible lives that many people live.
Now unlike what many Christians rationalize, most of the truly poor are not that way because they're lazy. Should we let them suffer malnutrition because we think they'll just waste it on laziness? Really? Let's talk about the world poor, and you'd like to see supplies flowing to them to keep them alive and in good health. If you're rationalizing that the corrupt government will prevent it from going to the poor people, so I won't give, forget that idea: It's a proven fact that the government will allow safe transport to the proper destination--unless they are coldly practicing genocide (which doesn't happen often). It may have been a bad farm year, it may be that government's ideas about the economy were wrong, and the economy doesn't work (like Venezuela); it may be that water is compromised for some reason. Not "lazy," or "it'll never get there."
Maybe you decide not to give to a Communist country or a Muslim country thinking that's patriotic. These are enemies; letting them die, that'll teach them a lesson! But which does Jesus require--revenge, or love? But when you don't give from your true excesses, you are deceived into thinking a deadly thought--that you’re already fine with God, and more giving won't affect that. But in reality you’ve drifted away from His advice of giving more, of His love for everyone. You become complacent, no longer a branch feeding off the Vine (per John 15). And what happens to non-abiding branches? What happens to lukewarm people? They go to the fire or are vomited out of the body. Remember, Jesus said in Matthew 7:14:
“...narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it”
When you really meditate on these verses, you get the radical idea that the odds are stacked against Americans going to heaven, because our relative wealth falls under the severe warning of Matthew 19:23 above. What I am saying is, even though few people make it to heaven, even fewer rich people make it. Could a large number of us be self-deceived into thinking we’re going to heaven when we aren’t? Consider His warning in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
And what is "the will of My Father?" Love, mercy, justice, and--When you consider America--give more to the truly worldwide poor! They’re your sisters, your brothers! They need it more than you do!
It takes a lot of faith to give away excess income, and also to liquidate excess assets and give away that money too. But that's what He wants. May God help us to do His will
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