Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you’.
Colossians 1:19-20 & John 20:21 (ESV)
Last weekend, I commended the book written by Albert Swift in 1908 called, First Principles of Christian Citizenship. I had already read the book three times, some years apart, before I thought of producing the pdf version. I then had to re-read it again a few times in order to produce an accurate copy and, each time, I realised afresh that it is a field of diamonds; each time, I saw something new or something more clearly than before.
The book’s usefulness is in its simplicity and brevity: Swift understood God’s plan and the need to cooperate with Jesus in his mission and to do so following the same principles that Jesus uses.
While there are many obvious ways in which we can help people, we always need to be cautious that we don’t inadvertently empower them to maintain self-destructive behaviour. We should not, for example, give money to a hungry person if we have good reason to believe they will spend it on alcohol or drugs. Our help needs to be more constructive than that, even to our own personal inconvenience.
Similarly, when we seek to address problems of our society as a whole, such as consumerism and overindebtedness, we need to be aware of inadvertently perpetuating those problems. Our action must always have the Kingdom of God in mind; our method must always be Jesus’ method.
I get the impression that many well-meaning Christians see a social need to be met and, if they can secure the funding, start to help. Their agenda is then set by the availability of funding and, consequently, they are under an obligation to do things the way the funder wants them done. There may be little or no conflict with Jesus’ way but, more often than not (it seems to me), they end up fulfilling the secular agenda of the local authority or corporate giant that pays rather than help Jesus reconcile all things together in the Kingdom of God.
In spite of what we may think or hope, money talks to Christians and what it says is often easier to hear than the voice of God.
I may explore this theme further next weekend. In the meantime, you can find Albert Swift’s book at:
© All Souls Clubhouse Community Centre & Church and Philip Evans 2014. You are welcome to copy these Reflections on a non-profit basis.
