1) Why would we 'followers' (ie: Christians) give our leftovers to the poor if we had means to buy ourselves something brand new?
2) Why do some ministries/churches give a free meal to the poor...but only after a sermon or lesson? Is sitting through the sermon an expected price to pay for the food? Shouldn't we just give the food with no strings attached if food is the need?
3) Why should churches and ministries report their numbers of "clients" (ie: people helped) to some sort of city government run burocratic 'help' center? Is this considered 'accountability'? And why outsource this neccessity of accountability to the government? Isn't this the day and age where everyone is screaming "separation of church and state!"? Why put yet another noose around the neck of the poor by getting their social security numbers and the government involved in our benevolence??
4) Why chase after news media attention (or any attention) when we followers are serving the poor? Is this the reward we want, mentioned in the book @ Matthew 6:1-4?
5) Why do we try to "fix" the poor's problems? Are we to be fixers or light?
6) Why do we look to the government for help when the poor are coming to us? When ministries/churches go to the government for assistence is this the same as the children of Israel running to Egypt for help? And is that showing a lack of faith in the true provider (read YHWH)?
7) Is it OK to take a break from serving the poor on a daily basis? I suppose even Jesus 'withdrew from the crowds'.
8) If Jesus gives us a pretty clear description of what it'll be like "when the son of man returns" in Matt. 25:31-46...why do so many of us get wrapped up in things other than feeding, watering, clothing, hospitality, comforting, and visiting?
I'm not pointing fingers at anyone in particular...maybe just myself.
Plenty more questions where that came from...
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2 comments:
uh... amen.
you know, most the time i just wish that I would get a free meal for sitting through what passes for a sermon now adays.
ahhh, this is what i have been harping on for a while now - we need to recapture the idea of the two cities - the city of God and the city of man and practice an Augustinian form of sepparation of church and state.
when we leave our "benevalance" up to burochrats and institutions, be they the Feds or the church or the many non profits and NGO's (here comes a phrase that makes me vomit in my mouth) "we miss a blessing."
didn't the CEO say that when we gave water, or clothes, or visited etc we were doing so to HIM? if so then when we leave it up to others to do the work we miss out on meeting Jesus. Jesus IS the bum on the street, the alien in our midst, the orphan, the widow.
we have all these schemes for seeing Jesus, like 40 days of purpose, or books to help us "experience God" or encantations of jabez, or new and hip relevant emerging worship or what ever because we want to meet Him and experience Him and we spend MILLIONS on that crap when all we have to do is walk down to the "bad" neighborhood and buy Him some dinner, or some smokes, or just offer him some dignity by having a conversation with Him.
anyway, you got me started...
i wanted to ask if you are far enough inland to be safe from the storm. i am sure that reveals my ignorance of Texas geography, but hey, it is a huge place and it IS like another country right?
ahh Fletch. I like you. You're not like the other people...here in the trailer park (bonus points for anyone who knows that song reference).
We must be cut from the "same cloth" (whatever that means). An oil rag perhaps...
Yes, I ain't too big on institutional "benevolence" (is that a weird word?)...whether it be govt, church, or non-prof. More on that to come, I'm sure. It's all I rant about.
Abilene is out of that way. Hot-n-dry as usual. We may get rain outa this deal. Other's misery = a rare rain for us. Had a cool experience w/ people fleeing Houston tonight...more on that in the next post.
Texas IS another country. Don't forget that.
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