In my final semester at Virginia Tech, I found myself taking a couple of philosophy classes. One, called Knowledge and Reality, was on Tuesday and Thursday nights. I took it because my friend was the TA, and he encouraged me to take the course; it didn't hurt that we were exploring philosophical themes through movies!
The other class was called Morality and Justice, and I found it much more interesting than the course on Knowledge and Reality. In Morality and Justice, we explored Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mills, among others. To be honest, I've forgotten the majority of what we studied in the class, but I remember that I found the class to be a challenge (in a good way!).
One conversation that stuck with me, however, was a hypothetical situation. The teacher invited the class to consider a child who was drowning in a fountain in front of us. As a passerby, was it our responsibility to save that child? Yes, of course, the class answered. What if you were wearing $150 shoes? Yes, we would still have that responsibility. Then the teacher asked, "What about the child in Africa dying of malnutrition? Would it be your responsibility to save that child? If so, wouldn't the responsible thing to do be to sell your $150 shoes and use the money to feed that child?" This got the class involved in a much more dynamic discussion of morality and what the realm of responsibility is.
This example stuck with me, even though I cannot remember the philosophy we were discussing that day. Why? Because Jesus speaks about it himself. I'm not saying Jesus challenged his followers to sell their $150 shoes, but he did challenge a rich man who wanted to follow him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor (Luke 18:22). His cousin John encouraged those who came to listen to him to give away their extra coat to someone who has none (Luke 3:11). And after Jesus' death and resurrection, his followers gave freely of their possessions to meet the needs of others (Acts 2:44-45; see the example of Barnabas in Acts 4:32-37) Throughout the Gospels, the way of Jesus is portrayed as the way of generosity, and it was lived by Jesus' earliest followers.
Yet the question often arises in church, "Who do I help?" There are needs all of over the place: near and far, big and small, deserving and not, and there are only so many resources (money, time, talent) the church can provide. How does the church prioritize?
I've been part of 5 churches in my life, and each approached this question in a different manner. Some chose to concentrate on local missions, caring extravagantly for those in the community who were in need and only sending money and resources elsewhere if they were leftover from local ministry. Other churches chose to concentrate on evangelizing the lost and providing relief in far-off places, with little invested in the needs of the immediate community. Most churches I've been part of and known about try to do some of each, yet that can become tricky if budgets are tight and giving is down. So what is the church supposed to do?
We find our answer, I believe, in Acts 1:8. As he prepared to return to heaven, Jesus gathered his disciples around him. They asked all sorts of questions, but he wanted to leave them with a promise and a task. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
First, notice what Jesus wants them to do: bear witness. We bear witness to Christ, and to the kingdom of God, in many ways. We bear witness when we proclaim the Gospel message. We bear witness when we live out the way of Jesus Christ. We bear witness when we work to bring a little bit of the kingdom of God to earth. And we bear witness in how we live as a community of faith.
That witness, Christ said, is to be shown and proclaimed in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. For his disciples, that meant they had a responsibility to bear witness near and far, and to friends and enemies and strangers. It also meant that they were to bear witness in all of those places; Jesus makes no priority here.
He does, however, note a second element of this bearing witness: they are to receive power through the Holy Spirit. Jesus' disciples are to do their part, yes, but God is also going to do his part. They will receive power - whether that is power of talent, power of resources, power of spiritual will, or power of relationships and opportunities to bear witness. Those things will be provided, and his disciples are to use that power to bear witness. That is their job.
The church of today has the same challenge before it: to bear witness in the power of the Holy Spirit near and far, among friends and enemies and strangers. As God gives us opportunity and resources, we are to make him known and live out the life of his kingdom as a witness. Along the way, we are to do what we can to challenge the works of evil in our world and bring the kingdom of God into being as much as we can, everywhere we can.
So would Jesus have saved the child in the fountain, even with $150 shoes on his feet? Yes...but he would have also sold those shoes to feed the child in Africa, as well. What's on our feet - will we get our feet wet to help others and bear witness to our Lord Jesus Christ?
In Christ,
Adam
The other class was called Morality and Justice, and I found it much more interesting than the course on Knowledge and Reality. In Morality and Justice, we explored Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mills, among others. To be honest, I've forgotten the majority of what we studied in the class, but I remember that I found the class to be a challenge (in a good way!).
One conversation that stuck with me, however, was a hypothetical situation. The teacher invited the class to consider a child who was drowning in a fountain in front of us. As a passerby, was it our responsibility to save that child? Yes, of course, the class answered. What if you were wearing $150 shoes? Yes, we would still have that responsibility. Then the teacher asked, "What about the child in Africa dying of malnutrition? Would it be your responsibility to save that child? If so, wouldn't the responsible thing to do be to sell your $150 shoes and use the money to feed that child?" This got the class involved in a much more dynamic discussion of morality and what the realm of responsibility is.
This example stuck with me, even though I cannot remember the philosophy we were discussing that day. Why? Because Jesus speaks about it himself. I'm not saying Jesus challenged his followers to sell their $150 shoes, but he did challenge a rich man who wanted to follow him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor (Luke 18:22). His cousin John encouraged those who came to listen to him to give away their extra coat to someone who has none (Luke 3:11). And after Jesus' death and resurrection, his followers gave freely of their possessions to meet the needs of others (Acts 2:44-45; see the example of Barnabas in Acts 4:32-37) Throughout the Gospels, the way of Jesus is portrayed as the way of generosity, and it was lived by Jesus' earliest followers.
Yet the question often arises in church, "Who do I help?" There are needs all of over the place: near and far, big and small, deserving and not, and there are only so many resources (money, time, talent) the church can provide. How does the church prioritize?
I've been part of 5 churches in my life, and each approached this question in a different manner. Some chose to concentrate on local missions, caring extravagantly for those in the community who were in need and only sending money and resources elsewhere if they were leftover from local ministry. Other churches chose to concentrate on evangelizing the lost and providing relief in far-off places, with little invested in the needs of the immediate community. Most churches I've been part of and known about try to do some of each, yet that can become tricky if budgets are tight and giving is down. So what is the church supposed to do?
We find our answer, I believe, in Acts 1:8. As he prepared to return to heaven, Jesus gathered his disciples around him. They asked all sorts of questions, but he wanted to leave them with a promise and a task. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
First, notice what Jesus wants them to do: bear witness. We bear witness to Christ, and to the kingdom of God, in many ways. We bear witness when we proclaim the Gospel message. We bear witness when we live out the way of Jesus Christ. We bear witness when we work to bring a little bit of the kingdom of God to earth. And we bear witness in how we live as a community of faith.
That witness, Christ said, is to be shown and proclaimed in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. For his disciples, that meant they had a responsibility to bear witness near and far, and to friends and enemies and strangers. It also meant that they were to bear witness in all of those places; Jesus makes no priority here.
He does, however, note a second element of this bearing witness: they are to receive power through the Holy Spirit. Jesus' disciples are to do their part, yes, but God is also going to do his part. They will receive power - whether that is power of talent, power of resources, power of spiritual will, or power of relationships and opportunities to bear witness. Those things will be provided, and his disciples are to use that power to bear witness. That is their job.
The church of today has the same challenge before it: to bear witness in the power of the Holy Spirit near and far, among friends and enemies and strangers. As God gives us opportunity and resources, we are to make him known and live out the life of his kingdom as a witness. Along the way, we are to do what we can to challenge the works of evil in our world and bring the kingdom of God into being as much as we can, everywhere we can.
So would Jesus have saved the child in the fountain, even with $150 shoes on his feet? Yes...but he would have also sold those shoes to feed the child in Africa, as well. What's on our feet - will we get our feet wet to help others and bear witness to our Lord Jesus Christ?
In Christ,
Adam
While I don't own $150 shoes, I agree wholeheartedly :)
ReplyDelete