Christ and Culture

The Gospel Christ preached calls us to a selfless, sacrificial, often uncomfortable lifestyle.  It cannot be blended with a consumeristic, selfish, and greedy culture.

It does not promise wealth or good health. It does not ensure that we will be happy.  We are to choose joy in our circumstances, but that speaks nothing of happiness.  Jesus did not recruit people to His cause by promising them the world.  He promised them a reward far greater than anything on earth, but as for their lives on this earth, He told some of them that they were destined for torture and death (John 21:18).

Jesus promoted a Kingdom built upside down.  The least shall be the greatest.  The last shall be first.  The wealthy are poor, and the poor shall be rich.  When people came to Him and said they wanted to follow Him, He often pushed them away.  He told a man to sell all of his possessions before following Him (Matt. 19:21).  He told another to ignore his family responsibility, to not go back home to help bury his recently passed father and to “let the dead bury their own dead.” (Matt. 8:22)  These men walked away, and Jesus didn’t stop them.  He didn’t try to serve up the Gospel on a silver platter, pleading, “Wait, maybe I can make this sound a little more appealing to you.”  Perhaps our churches today should take note.

Jesus wanted followers who were dedicated to His cause.  Willing to drop anything and everything.  Willing to “hate” their family for the sake of the Gospel (Luke 14:26).  He had no intention of surrounding Himself with lukewarm followers.  People who claim Him when convenient, thank Him when things are going well, and have no intention of leaving their comfortable, safe lifestyle.

If we truly seek God's heart, we will realize that "our" money is not our own.  It has been given to us that we might bless others.  There is no room for a selfish and lavish lifestyle while others around the world are naked, hungry, and dying of preventable disease.  When others have not heard His Gospel.  We cannot claim to know the heart of God if our hearts are not broken for the things that break His heart.  The widows, the orphans, the hungry, the naked.  The least of these.

If you believe that Christ is Lord, you must believe that He spoke the words of God.  We cannot pretend that He did not mean some of the things He said.  We cannot ignore His words that we should "give to anyone that asks of you." We cannot say that His call to "Go and make disciples of all nations" only applies to some of us.  We either follow Christ and believe His words or we don't.

When it comes to Christ and culture, there is a distinct fork in the road.  You must choose which one you will follow.

My Favorite Christmas Shopping

Some years Christmas just sneaks up on me, and given the fact that my life has been extremely busy and slightly off-kilter over the past month, this is one of those years.  However, I am finally finding the time today to do what is always my favorite Christmas shopping: shopping for those in need around the globe.

I don't love the idea of normal Christmas shopping.  In fact, I really don't understand it at all.  We go out and buy presents for people who already have plenty when there are millions hurting around the world.  During this season of "giving" we tend to focus inwardly (our own close circles) instead of the real idea of giving and blessing.  So every Christmas, I do a little bit of my own shopping (in addition to having a couple of these items on my actual "Christmas List" for family.  I head to the sites of the organizations I know and love and purchase gifts for people in need.  Here are some of my favorite opportunities to bless others this Christmas:

1. Give the gift of cement

Huh?  Did he really say cement?  Yup.  It is actually one of the most important parts of sanitation and restoration projects in Africa, and also one of the most expensive.  Blood:water Mission is out to get 5,000 bags of cement for this Christmas to help build latrines, wells, biosand filters, and rain tanks.  Check it out.

2. Give Fashion(able)

The Mocha Club is an organization I've partnered with for a long time.  They do great work in Africa, and I fully recommend them to anyone looking to get involved.  Thanks to their clothing branch, FashionABLE, you can give to the fashion conscious on your lists with a gift that will do far more than keep their neck warm by helping to create sustainable businesses for women in Africa.

3. Red Earth Trading Co.

This is the gift/clothing division of Global Support Mission, based right in Nashville, TN.  I know the guys running this personally and can vouch for what they are doing.  You can find gifts of home decor and jewelry that come straight from artisans in Africa, helping them build businesses that can support entire communities.  You can even watch the videos to meet the specific people creating the work and learn their individual stories.

4. Give the gift of loans

Kiva.org is a great site, helping to partner with hundreds of thousands across the world to build businesses through micro loans.  Even a loan as small as $25 can make a world of difference in helping to get a business off the ground.  Not only that, but they have a 98.6% repayment rate, meaning they successful far more often than not.  Give someone the gift of freedom through a loan this year.

There are plenty of other options, but I'll stick with those for now.  If you want any other suggestions, just let me know and I'll be glad to point you in the right direction!