Was reading 2 Corinthians 8-9 yesterday, and something caught my eye. In chap 8 to 9, Paul was talking to the Corinth church about giving and preparing their gifts. It was interesting, for me to see Paul-doing pastoral stuffs, but more than that, something in 2 Cor 8:13-14 caught my eye when I read it in the NLT version.
Ofcourse, I don't mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean there should be some equality. Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal.
Whoa! Living as a community of christians, our sharing with each other, will cause us to have equality! Sounds a little communistic/socialistic isn't it? But in the nature of the Father, all the way from Old testament of having the Year of Jubilee, tells us that God-desires equality and justice! So that the land has no poor. And if we practice that enough, there would be balance and there will not be so much starvation and famine in poor countries. (That's a bit of over-simplification ofcos, given that there are also issues of corrupted governments, laziness etc)
2Cor 9:6 along the lines of he who sows shall reap. Isn't the above true? If we all shared, then whatever we sowed, we also have enough from others! Just like the book of Acts where all shared their possessions willingly.
Paul himself said he learnt to abound and to abase. In my opinion, prosperity and success are not the ultimate goal of christianity. I'm still trying to figure out what is. But could it be to be more Christ-like?
Paul speaks in 2 Cor6:4-10 on the marks of the ministry:
4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, 5 in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; 6 by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, 7 by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
Surely, a large part of what it means to be a Christian is missed out when we focus on success and prosperity. How about suffering, sleeplessness and persecution? Doesn't the body of Christ today in developed countries need to be challenged in terms of their comfortable lifestyle? When we sing songs about laying down our lives/Jesus being more impt than treasures of this earth, are these just nice songs to sing? Or do we mean it with all our hearts?
It is a wonderful thing to excel in our studies & work in our mkt place, and shinning for God-carrying His excellence, and testifying that, yes, God is a good God, and God is a God who blesses. But the mark of the minister is that-He can do with or without this, with money or without, with honour of without-that the chief aim may be that he may glorify Christ in his life.
What makes non-christians want to seek God? Non-christians more than anything are seeking for TRUTH. The diff kinds of packaging may lead them to truth. But I think more than anything, they are looking for something that is different from this world. Can it be love? Can it be sacrifice? Can it be those that touch their hearts? Seeing christians giving their all to each other, and genuinely loving each other, instead of building larger buildings and wearing nicer clothes and having a high standard of life.
Hey, u are so rich and prosperous, your God must be wonderful! I want to have that too!
Is christianity an exchange of worldy things, for other means of acheiving worldy things? Shd we persuade them to know our God through these means?
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