For a poor man, Jesus sure talked a lot about money.
Luke 14:33 says, "You cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own." The King James version states that we must "forsake all" that we have. How is it that we have missed this?
In the gospels Jesus tells the rich man that he must sell all he owns in order to follow him. In Luke chapter 16 Jesus again talks of money and how we must be good stewards of our money. It blows my mind that so many Christians have missed this important message. But have we really missed it? Or have we just chosen to ignore it? I, for one, can humbly confess that more often than not I have chosen to ignore Jesus' message concerning money. I cannot even get by with a well thought of excuse. I keep my money because I have things that I need, and I can only get these things with money. But then, if I gave that money to the poor, could I not trust that God would provide for my needs through some other means? Sure, God has gifted me with a job so that my needs may be provided for, but the test comes with the paycheck. Where does the first portion of my money go? To me, or to God? And where does the greatest proportion of my money go? I'm pretty sure you all know the answer...
I don't think the money issue is merely a matter of trust. Obviously, it is a matter of where our heart is as well. The Bible touches on both of these points, saying that we must trust that God cares for us more than he does the lilies of the field and that he will provide us with food, drink, and clothing. It also says that we are to store up our treasures in heaven, not dwelling on our earthly valuables.
But trust and treasure aren't necessarily at the heart of the money issue. Personally, I think that love is. The whole point of our existence on earth is to first love God, and then to love his people. We cannot do this if we are consumed with money. Issues of trust and treasure merely contribute to the idea of money competing with love. Steinbeck said it well,
"It has always seemed strange to me... the things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first, they love the produce of the second."
If we are in love with money we cannot be in love with God (Luke 16:13). If we are not willing to part ways with our money so that we might better love God and our neighbors, then maybe we aren't ready to really love God with all of our heart, mind, and strength.
Rich Christians... seems like somewhat of an oxymoron to me.
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7.29.2010
7.13.2010
"Poverty is indeed the strenuous life, - without brass bands or uniforms or hysteric popular applause or lies or circumlocutions; and when one sees the way in which wealth-getting enters as an ideal into the very bone marrow of our generation, one wonders whether the revival of the belief that poverty is a worthy religious vocation may not be the transformation of military courage, and the spiritual reform which our time stands most in need of.
Among us English-speaking peoples especially do the praises of poverty need once more to be boldly sung. We have grown literally afraid to be poor. We despise anyone who elects to be poor in order to simplify and save his inner life. If he does not join the general scramble, we deem him spiritless and lacking in ambition. We have lost the power even of imagining what the ancient realization of poverty could have meant; the liberation from material attachments, the unbribed soul, the manlier indifference, they paying our way by what we are and not by what we have. the right to fling away our life at any moment irresponsibly, - the more athletic trim, in short, the fighting shape."
- William James
Among us English-speaking peoples especially do the praises of poverty need once more to be boldly sung. We have grown literally afraid to be poor. We despise anyone who elects to be poor in order to simplify and save his inner life. If he does not join the general scramble, we deem him spiritless and lacking in ambition. We have lost the power even of imagining what the ancient realization of poverty could have meant; the liberation from material attachments, the unbribed soul, the manlier indifference, they paying our way by what we are and not by what we have. the right to fling away our life at any moment irresponsibly, - the more athletic trim, in short, the fighting shape."
- William James
7.12.2010
I write a lot of poetry.
So much that I could probably fit it into five thick books.
So I'm going to.
Well, just one book for now, and probably not so thick.
It won't be on the Chapter's shelves anytime soon.
But when it's finished publishing I'll let you know.
And if you think you might want to read it, you can order a copy.
If you're talented in the area of graphic design or photography and have some time on your hands, I'm looking for a 'partner'. It won't be a paid position or anything, but hopefully it'll be fun.
My heart is excited, it's not often her rhythm and rhyme get heard around town, or that she gets to bear her soul in public (not that she would often like to anyways...)
So much that I could probably fit it into five thick books.
So I'm going to.
Well, just one book for now, and probably not so thick.
It won't be on the Chapter's shelves anytime soon.
But when it's finished publishing I'll let you know.
And if you think you might want to read it, you can order a copy.
If you're talented in the area of graphic design or photography and have some time on your hands, I'm looking for a 'partner'. It won't be a paid position or anything, but hopefully it'll be fun.
My heart is excited, it's not often her rhythm and rhyme get heard around town, or that she gets to bear her soul in public (not that she would often like to anyways...)
i've been hit by a train....
You were running too fast for me to catch you.
You were lying too low for me to see.
You were speaking to softly for me to hear you.
Living too lightly for me.
If all at once you lost me, I wonder what you would say. If your heart would feel the losses, or if you'd feel the lifted weight.
I was trying to hard to reach you.
Drowning too quickly to save.
I was thinking all to quickly.
Trying to be brave.
All at once it hit me, I was running myself to the ground. Walking around in circles, wrapping my head around.
But by then you had left me.
Broken the ties that bound.
But my heart is still aching.
For you to come back around.
If all at once it hits you, that this is where you belong. I'll be waiting for you, please come back home.
You were lying too low for me to see.
You were speaking to softly for me to hear you.
Living too lightly for me.
If all at once you lost me, I wonder what you would say. If your heart would feel the losses, or if you'd feel the lifted weight.
I was trying to hard to reach you.
Drowning too quickly to save.
I was thinking all to quickly.
Trying to be brave.
All at once it hit me, I was running myself to the ground. Walking around in circles, wrapping my head around.
But by then you had left me.
Broken the ties that bound.
But my heart is still aching.
For you to come back around.
If all at once it hits you, that this is where you belong. I'll be waiting for you, please come back home.
7.11.2010
hope
Hope has been wandering around in my brain as of late.
I witnessed it in a small alleyway in downtown Toronto, as a beautiful man named Ken told me his tale of how he came to live in the street. I saw hope in his eyes and peacefulness that I have found my own comfortable life to be lacking.
I also watched that hope as it left me. That very same day that I met Ken, I also witnessed thousands of people throw up their hands and worship the gods of sex, pleasure, and alcohol. Quickly, the hope that Ken had given me began to dissipate, as the reality of a powerful darkness overshadowed what small fire Ken had lit in my heart.
But that fire can be lit once again.
Through my journeys in life I have come to know hope as a candle. Though it is a small flame, it has enough brightness to light an entire room. In the midst of darkness, this light can be seen from a long way off, and its fire can spread from one candle to another, with no need for a match. Hope is infectious, and once a candle is lit, other candles follow, and soon whole communities are living in the light.
But this small flame is also easily extinguished; the gentlest wind may snuff it out. Sometimes there is a darkness so thick that it seems such a small light could not overcome it. But there is power in numbers, and every candle that blows out can be lit again.
We all hold this candle of hope within our hearts, and when the candle in our own heart goes out, we merely have to find someone whose fire is still burning, and let them set ours aflame once again.
The tricky part with hope is that you have to seek it out. So really, you can only burn if you want to. If you sit around with your candle out for too long, the darkness will begin to penetrate it, and lighting it again will become a laborious task. But if we seek it out, relighting our candle is easy.
Sometimes we can’t find that other candle. But there is a secret about hope that I will tell you. When you earnestly seek it out the friction with the darkness causes a spark. This spark will relight your candle. If you look for hope you will find it. But if you sit in the dark, despairing at the lack of light around you, you will never find the answers that you are looking for.
Lighting a candle without someone else’s flame is difficult, but it is not impossible. Press onward into the darkness. Create the friction by denying the darkness of its power. Relight the candle. Those who seek shall find.
"Hope begins in the dark... You wait and watch and work: you don't give up.” - Anne Lamott
I witnessed it in a small alleyway in downtown Toronto, as a beautiful man named Ken told me his tale of how he came to live in the street. I saw hope in his eyes and peacefulness that I have found my own comfortable life to be lacking.
I also watched that hope as it left me. That very same day that I met Ken, I also witnessed thousands of people throw up their hands and worship the gods of sex, pleasure, and alcohol. Quickly, the hope that Ken had given me began to dissipate, as the reality of a powerful darkness overshadowed what small fire Ken had lit in my heart.
But that fire can be lit once again.
Through my journeys in life I have come to know hope as a candle. Though it is a small flame, it has enough brightness to light an entire room. In the midst of darkness, this light can be seen from a long way off, and its fire can spread from one candle to another, with no need for a match. Hope is infectious, and once a candle is lit, other candles follow, and soon whole communities are living in the light.
But this small flame is also easily extinguished; the gentlest wind may snuff it out. Sometimes there is a darkness so thick that it seems such a small light could not overcome it. But there is power in numbers, and every candle that blows out can be lit again.
We all hold this candle of hope within our hearts, and when the candle in our own heart goes out, we merely have to find someone whose fire is still burning, and let them set ours aflame once again.
The tricky part with hope is that you have to seek it out. So really, you can only burn if you want to. If you sit around with your candle out for too long, the darkness will begin to penetrate it, and lighting it again will become a laborious task. But if we seek it out, relighting our candle is easy.
Sometimes we can’t find that other candle. But there is a secret about hope that I will tell you. When you earnestly seek it out the friction with the darkness causes a spark. This spark will relight your candle. If you look for hope you will find it. But if you sit in the dark, despairing at the lack of light around you, you will never find the answers that you are looking for.
Lighting a candle without someone else’s flame is difficult, but it is not impossible. Press onward into the darkness. Create the friction by denying the darkness of its power. Relight the candle. Those who seek shall find.
"Hope begins in the dark... You wait and watch and work: you don't give up.” - Anne Lamott
7.10.2010
simple love
The simple joys in life and the best joys. why is this? Simply because, they are simple.
Some simple loves of my summer:
* used books stores
* reggae Music
* libraries
* sunshine
* old friends
More to write later, right now I have to go to Bible Study!!!
Some simple loves of my summer:
* used books stores
* reggae Music
* libraries
* sunshine
* old friends
More to write later, right now I have to go to Bible Study!!!
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