The Failure of the American Church

The Failure of the American Church
By Keith Giles

"While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."

Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." - Matthew 26:6-13

When Jesus tells his disciples that they will always have the poor among them, many have concluded that this statement is meant to downplay the practice of giving to the poor in order to focus on more important things, like corporate worship and giving to the building fund.

Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the passage Jesus is quoting here is from the book of Deuteronomy and it contains a teaching that they would have known by heart as good Jewish young men.

OLD TESTAMENT COMPASSION
"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." - Deut. 15:11

In contrast to what we may erroneously assume about the meaning of Jesus' words, this passage is actually a command to give generously to the poor, because they will always be with us.

In fact, to read the entire passage in Deuteronomy is to catch a very surprising whiff of just how much God is concerned for the poor in our midst.

In verse 4 of chapter 15 there is a very interesting statement God makes that any good Christian should take note of: "However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you"

God's command to His people was to show such amazing generosity and compassion for the poor that there should be no poor among them, even though later on, in verse 11, He affirms that the poor will always be among them; suggesting that while their love may fail the test, the needs of those around them will not cease.

FULFILLING THE COMMAND
The great news is that, once Jesus arrived on the scene and began to model life in the Kingdom to his disciples, they began to understand what real love and compassion towards the poor looked like.

From the very beginning our Lord Jesus turned to his disciples and gave them a simple command: "Love one another" - John 13:34

From the very beginning, these faithful disciples obeyed this simple command.

"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need." - Acts 4:32-35

In fact, many New Testament scholars and Early Church Historians have concluded that the amazing love these first Christians had for one another was more instrumental in drawing people to Christ, and to receive the Gospel of the Kingdom, than any of the signs or wonders performed by the Apostles.

A FAILURE OF COMPASSION?
Some have suggested that this radical compassion for the poor eventually failed and was proven unsustainable because later on in the New Testament Paul the Apostle writes a letter appealing to other Churches in the region to send money to support the now-bankrupt Churches in Jerusalem and the area of Macedonia.

"At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little." - 2 Cor 8:14-15

While some may see Paul's appeal to other churches for financial assistance as proof that the radical compassion and charity of the early Church was unsustainable, I would argue that it proves the concept was spreading and part of God's plan to spread the Gospel throughout the Earth.

THE POINT WE'RE MISSING
The model of radical compassion that Jesus left us, and that the Apostles promoted, was designed to grow and expand as the Gospel spread. At first the sharing of all things within the community was between neighbors on the same street, and then between those within the same city. As the Gospel spread the sharing expanded to include those within the same region, and then eventually to those within the nation. The circle was meant to grow ever outward. As the message of the Gospel spread so too would the demonstration of radical community and giving would expand to include those brothers and sisters who had never even met in person.

"All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." - Acts 2:44-47

THE MANNA PRINCIPLE
When Paul quotes Exodus 16:18 in 2 Cor 8:15 (see above)"...they that gather little did not have too little; those that gathered much did not have too much" he was subtly reminding them of the manna principle that God gave the Israelites in the desert. It was a principle of trusting God for daily bread and not taking more for yourself than you need for today.

The beautiful thing is that those early Christians and followers of Jesus got it. They gave hilariously. They gave sacrificially. They gave because they knew that God would supply their need tomorrow in view of their generosity and open hand today.

THE FORGOTTEN WAY
Where have we in America gone wrong? How have we made being a faithful Christian about getting more stuff? How could we twist faith in Christ into a tool for amassing more wealth and blessing for ourselves?

"It is sad to see that, in our highly competitive and greedy world, we have lost touch with the joy of giving. We often live as if our happiness depended on having. But I don't know anyone who is really happy because of what he or she has. True joy, happiness and inner peace come from the giving of ourselves to others. A happy life is a life for others." - Henri J.M. Nouwen; Life of the Beloved

I pray that somehow God would touch and soften our selfish, greedy hearts and begin to break us, giving us eyes to see the poor in our midst.

-kg