Sense of Community

Sense of Community 10-9-13

You know, this has come up many times before and many ways, but not with me. I, like the rest of you, feel very needy and never quite had enough money once I paid bills and met my children’s needs. I used to make what I now consider a ton of money, but looking back, I almost sold my soul to keep it coming in. How slow I was to learn that I would rather be rich in faith, love and joy than poor in spirit, regardless of money. 

One of the major motivators in this country is money. Not so much faith. People want more money so they can get more stuff and be in more debt. After all, who pays cash for a car or house these days? Who buys a television straight out and not on credit? Who can afford school clothes for three kids without using ‘credit?’ The bottom line is that we are so conditioned to think we have ‘needs’ instead of ‘wants’ we put ourselves and our families at risk. We can’t afford to pay our tax bills, we can’t afford health insurance, we can’t afford our monthly bills at times, and we sure can’t save money in case of a crisis, such as losing a job or a catastrophe. So who should pick up the slack when we are in need?

Well, in the days of Christ, and in the New Testament, there are examples of how we should live:  

James 1:27: ^27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” And 1 Tim 5:7-8: ^8 “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

We are supposed to take care of each other. The best way to do this through our community is through the church. Churches used to, and some still do, step in and assist families in need. We, as a part of our community, also used to take food to families in need… if we were aware they were struggling. We would help them look for jobs and take care of their basic needs. This isn’t something that has to be sanctioned by the church or ‘approved’ by anyone. If the Holy Spirit moves you to help someone, even if you have no clue what that feels like or what it means, we should do it. Between us as citizens and the church, we should be able to support those in need in our own community. This can be done in so many ways, but you have to be “in” the community to know what the needs are. 

I remember a few times when family or friends came over and I wasn’t sure if I had prepared enough food. In fact, even though, at the time, I wasn’t living in service to Christ, and was living for myself but believing in Christ, I prayed for abundance. One of the few stories I recalled hearing from the bible was that of the loaves of bread and fish. Despite my heathen self, God provided and we had left overs. But see, this was a selfless prayer, I wasn’t asking for me. I was asking for my family or friends not to feel uncomfortable because of my lack. 

Acts 20:35 - I have showed you all things, how that so laboring you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Of course, it helps if you read the bible so you can recount to God, in prayer, His promises. People, God loves us so much, when you pray selflessly, with faith, He will answer and provide for you. You can see miracles happen and communities come together, when you give as the Spirit moves you, out of love. But see, you have to read the bible and know what it says in order to develop that kind of trust in God and solid faith about His promises for us. He will use the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to so many blessings.

There was one particular year in my life that I could not financially make ends meet because of the price of gas and my commute to work. I thought I would lose my job. It was just me and my granddaughter Angel. I had already raised my children. I was in tears, but I decided to trust God for it. That year was the only year out of the 18 years that I raised my children that I ever received child support. It came out of nowhere and just during that one year that I needed it. This is only one example of the promises of God. I could give you so many more.

Mark 12:42-44: ⁴² But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. ⁴³ Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴ They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Somewhere along the line, while attending a very blessed church, I decided to tithe. My church was giving and doing so much that I knew they needed the parishioners support. I mean, after all, I wasn’t out there helping the poor or trying to save lives, the church was. I would leave church and go home to my world and forget until next Sunday. Sometimes I would worry and tell myself I was going to be sorry I extended myself. But I stepped out in faith and trusted that if I did what was in my heart to do, God would take care of me. I never felt the hurt from giving to my church. Not once. My heart was glad.

Matthew 6:24-28: ²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Do Not Worry

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.”

We must give what is in our hearts to give and have faith that we will be okay. Essentially, our churches can’t step out in faith and conduct outreaches to the poor, if we don’t tithe to our church. We also tend not to tithe regularly if we don’t attend our churches regularly. The bottom line is that our communities are always in need, whether we attend church that week or not. There are so many people living in darkness, with addictions, without food or clothes or warm jackets, without the faith and joy that we have to offer. Those needs don’t go away just because we don’t attend church that Sunday. Our churches need this money to support the financial needs of the church, to spread God’s word to those who are in darkness, to conduct outreaches here and abroad. They need it to help you and I when we are down and out.

2 Corinthians 9:7 - Every man according to his purpose in his heart, [so let him give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver.

Let me share a story from a book I am reading and what sparked my reflection on this subject: From: “Ministerial Ethics: A guide for spirit filled leaders:”  “A modern-day parable tells of the young man who approached his pastor with a prayer request for greater income. The pastor prayed and in gratitude the young man promised to tithe faithfully in the future. God heard the petition and in less than a year the man’s income soared. He came back to the pastor with a complaint: “Pastor, it was not a problem to pay the tithe when my income was low. But do you have any idea of the size of the check I place in the offering each week at the present?” The pastor’s response: “No problem--- we will pray again and ask the Lord to reduce your salary to its original amount.”

Examine your heart towards money and the ‘stuff’ that it buys. Consider your feelings and your spirit towards giving to help others. Your giving doesn’t have to be money. It can be food, clothes, time, service to the church, encouragement and other gifts unique to you and your purpose under God. But money is always necessary to operate within and outside the church. So when you can give it, and the Spirit moves you to be generous, then please do so from the heart and with no concern.

2 Corinthians 9:6 - But this [I say], He which sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

2 Corinthians 8:12 - For if there be first a willing mind, [it is] accepted according to that a man hath, [and] not according to what one does not have.

Make sure you are giving whole-heartedly and without resentment. Make sure you are giving with total love and faith that God will provide for you as He provides for others. Make sure you give in secret, and not shared with anyone, so that your giving isn’t to draw attention to yourself. Give what you can, when you can and for the right reasons and never grudgingly. I find that I am never in need and am blessed with such a peace and joy when I give from the heart and trust God to provide for me as He does the birds of the air. But by all means, whether it be money, time, food, clothes, encouragement, love, understanding, compassion, please give.