www.globalrichlist.com

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pretty wealthy. The website goes on to say that half of the world lives on less than $2/day, and they suggest donating to help deal with the problem of poverty. I didn’t look into the specific cause they’re giving donations to, but I do know that for most of us it’s not hard to find local charities, churches, or other organizations that rely on our donations to collectively help the poor on a consistent, ongoing basis.

We can have different responses to this, but before we have a chance to point any fingers at the people higher on the list than us, let me say a quick word of caution. Blaming someone else doesn’t get us anywhere. For one thing, it’s usually just our way of excusing our own choices, and secondly, even if we were at the bottom of the list earning less than the two dollars a day that would not be enough to vindicate us, but most of all that thirdly, forcing rules, regulations, and higher taxes on others isn’t going to fix the deeper issue. That’s like putting a band-aid over cancer; you’re only dealing with what’s on the outside–external actions. You aren’t yet stepping back to understand what’s really going on inside of a person’s heart as they happily live out their comfortable life centered around what fulfills their every momentary desire. When speaking on another topic, I think Ravi Zacharias brought up a principle that applies here when he stated, “Legislation can only force compliance. It can never produce the love necessary to change an attitude.” That love he’s speaking of is the kind of love for God that changes us to love others, knowing that they were created in God’s image just as we were (see Genesis 1:27, Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:13).

I’m not here to tell you how to deal with this, but I think for any of us who claim to be a Christian, it only makes sense that we (myself included) would more carefully study the central figure of our faith, Jesus Christ, by observing what he chose to focus on throughout the Gospel accounts from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We aren’t going to solve the issue of world poverty just as Jesus didn’t come merely to meet physical needs. If you’re not sure of that, take a look at John 4:1-42 for the account of Jesus giving the Samaritan woman water from the well, and pay close attention to his words to her in verses 13-14: “Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again’.” There is a larger issue at stake than just what the poor are lacking here on earth, but we will certainly help them as our love for God flows over into every aspect of our life, creating these acts of compassion that point people to the one who we’re really doing them for.

Stephen Prothero starts off his response, contrary to pop culture, with the following headline: “It is misleading–and dangerous–to think that religions are different paths to the same wisdom.” He continues, “No one argues that different economic systems or political regimes are one and the same,” and begins to show us how we’re trying to claim that the fundamentals of all religions are the same, and that the differences don’t really matter, yet in the process we become naive and disrespect each one of them, suddenly finding ourselves with new problems on our hands.

Read the full article here.

It sounds like Prothero, a professor of religion at Boston University, goes more in depth on this topic in his new book “God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World–and Why Their Differences Matter.” And yes, by the subtitle of that book, you can guess that he probably doesn’t have a “Coexist” bumper sticker on this car.

Definitely interesting to find this issue showing up on yesterday’s list of “most-read” articles at The Boston Globe website. I think some of Prothero’s assumptions are off because of what separates Christianity from other religions. Specifically when he compares the end goals of each religion, that Christianity’s salvation isn’t something you can reach by personally accomplishing anything, but instead by accepting what’s already been done (justification), and the response to God that follows is one of gratitude, becoming more like Jesus Christ (sanctification). See Ephesians 2:8-10, Galatians 2:22-25, etc. in the Bible. Not to mention that salvation within Christianity isn’t like a personal fire insurance plan before death–genuine belief is not motivated by just the fear that something bad might happen. So what Prothero doesn’t mention is that in other religions you’re trying to get somewhere; but in Biblical Christianity you admit you have no chance of getting there but that it’s still possible because of the central figure, Jesus Christ.

But still, it’s slightly refreshing to see that this article is a starting point for the general public to start asking questions and seek clarity amidst a muddy landscape of personal misconceptions regarding the core beliefs of the world’s religions.

Last Sunday my church started handing out cardboard boxes for us to fill up with a grocery checklist of food necessities for the poor. We gave the ready-to-deliver “Food Paks” to Children’s Hunger Fund so that they could respond to needs in the Los Angeles community down near Grace Community Church, as well as across America and around the world. As the instructions on the booklet told us, this is just one of many ways to help children and families in need, all in response to what Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The verse printed on the outside of the box was Psalm 145:13-16 :

“The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.”

For more information about how you can help CHF, visit ChildrensHungerFund.org.

Another comment I overheard that night, ”I just knew they’d come!” came from a smiling middle-aged man to his friend as we stopped at his street, making our announcement about the free blankets and hot drinks. More highlights: The woman who we gave a baby’s blanket to because a kind young mom from my work had donated it; the man who special-requested a sleeping bag that we were able to provide for after one was generously donated by Matt’s coworker; the enthusiastic responses from three ladies I work with who want to come along next time we go. One lady down the hall mentioned checking if the local Starbuck’s stores would consider each donating one of the large catering containers for us to give out on a cold night. It gets me fired up to see other people coming on board to a beneficial cause. Beneficial not only to the recipients of the gifts, but sometimes much more to the giver. Interesting how that works.

A lot of amazing things happen when you put together something like this and invite people to participate. I’m not one to force my beliefs on others, and I know that can certainly turn into a prideful excuse for not speaking up about an issue when I know I should, but when I exercise the God-given ability and motivation to do something out of the ordinary, I suddenly find that people have genuine questions, to which I have the opportunity and obligation to respond. One of the simplest responses I’ve been able to use in this case is just to explain that the homeless guy on the street, even the drug addict or the prostitute, is a picture of who I am in front of a holy God, who would still be perfectly justified if he had never reached out to help me.

And my response to those who have questions can all go back to the joy and hope that is within me, that no one can take away. One of the exciting points about 1 Peter 3:15, when talking about honoring Jesus Christ by “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you,” is the assumption that people are actually going to ask questions. The most likely way you’re going to have people ask questions is if you’re different, and that had better be in a good way, not some obnoxious, personal preference issue, but I’d rather not go into those specifics here. A quick side note about the Apostle Peter’s charge in 3:15 is to notice that he cautions the believer to “do it with gentleness and respect,” which far too many Christians completely miss. I think it was Tim Chaddick of Reality LA in Hollywood that was suggesting how one of the biggest ways people come to Christianity is by what they saw and wanted in the life of a Christian they knew; ironically that happens to also be the biggest reason people reject Christianity, after observing hypocrisy in the life of someone claiming to be a Christian. And yet of course there is no formula for convincing people to become a Christian, because the Bible repeatedly nails down the truth that God does the work in someone’s heart, even though the believer may have the honor of verbally explaining it as they live out Christianity with their actions. I could say or do all I want, or give the strongest possible intellectual defense for Christianity, and that is beneficial in the right context, but it’s certainly not enough to change someone’s heart. Christians are to go do the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20, but success for the believer, thankfully, does not depend on the audience’s response to the message.  A Christian does what the Bible calls them to do, faithfully living it out as a way of life, then the end result, whatever it may be, is left up to God, who has his reasons in all that he does and allows. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.” (Isaiah 55:8).

There’s a great story behind this artwork that I just put up on the wall of my office. It was a collaboration between Barton Damer and Promise Tangeman to help raise money for the Huruma Children’s Home, an orphanage near Nairobi, the capital of Kenya in East Africa. I don’t know these artists personally, but they wanted to do something with their skill to benefit this children’s home with its many needs, so they donated the profits from selling posters and t-shirts. Taking it a step further, they’ve invited other artists to start their own benefit projects, however that looks. Pretty cool, isn’t it? I just love seeing and hearing about Christians who are “doers,” rather than merely “hearers,” as the apostle James warns of in the Bible (James chapter 1, check it out). We can all talk about the poor and the orphans, but what are we going to do about them?

Now to apply it in just one area for a Christian, I’ll start off by saying that if the God of the Bible was important, then certainly the things Jesus commanded his followers to do are important. Over and over the focus of his ministry was on the destitute poor, the hurting, the disabled, the orphans, the hopeless widows… but if today’s American Christians continue blocking out the cries of these people, then who is left to care? Well, why should anyone else care? Certainly when we pick apart the current framework of our culture, there isn’t a good reason for these non-contributing consumers to be a vital function to society, because what are they doing for ME? They aren’t marketable, they don’t sell products, they don’t look good in advertisements, they don’t buy up the latest trends.

Instead, it’s the true Christian who wants to help these people, these images of God (Genesis 1:26; as Dustin Kensrue of the band Thrice quotes, “we are the image of the invisible,” relating to Colossians 1:15), because the follower of Christ has come to grips with the fact I personally, regardless of my social status, was and is the helpless poor in front of a perfect God who should have destroyed me long ago, but for his mercy did not. True Christianity changes everything when it’s actually put into practice. Now let’s stop arguing from our silence.

(further Christian perspective on the poor: Psalm 10:14, 140:12, Isaiah 25:4, 41:17, Luke 6:20-21, 14:12-14, James 2:5,  Deuteronomy 15:7, Jeremiah 7:5-7, 22:3, Matthew 5:42,  Ezekiel 22:29,31, 1 John 3:17, Proverbs 19:17, etc)

“You don’t believe in God.  Well, who is this God you don’t believe in?  Because maybe I don’t believe in him either.”

He continued expanding upon Hebrews 1, brought in some helpful quotes from Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology (if you get a chance to read it…well, good luck finishing; I’m glad my college professor didn’t require all 1,200 pages) , and included CS Lewis’ point about how Jesus could only have been:  1.) a liar with the things he claimed, 2.) an insane guy that didn’t know what he was talking about (lunatic), or 3.) really who he claimed to be (lord over all); none of this “good moral teacher” stuff that ignores half of what Jesus did and said. There was a lot more to it, but I wanted to share the response to the atheist, maybe because of how many different views there are floating around about this idea or person called God. The God of Christianity might be pretty different than what the average person makes him out to be. If you’re confused about who that God was / is, I’d suggest reading the whole Bible to see for yourself. And secondly, if you’re set on already knowing who this God was / is, I’d also suggest reading the Bible to see again; you might be surprised.

It was cool hanging out with some of the Reality LA crowd afterwards, they’re a friendly group. Ended up going to In N Out on Sunset Blvd, and funny story–a hungry guy who was asking for money outside gave me a grateful thank-you kiss after I ordered him a double-double, fries and a drink. Cool.