Therefore my [James] judgment is that we should not
trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to
abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from
what has been strangled, and from blood.
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
For the time that is past suffices for doing what
the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies,
drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
Acts 15:19-20,
1 Corinthians 10:14, 1 Peter 4:3 & 1 John 5:21
I recall
a church workshop where I was about to begin a session about making lifestyle
choices consistent with the Sermon on the Mount, when the minister asked that,
instead, I elaborate on the session about staying out of debt. At another
church, the feedback at the end of the workshop was that people had found the
practical teaching helpful but not the spiritual focus.
This sort
of attitude is not limited to Christians. I have taught people of many
religions who saw no inconsistency in living inconsistently with their
religious beliefs. Islamic (Sharia compliant) finance, which operates according
to rules derived from the Qur'an and other Islamic writings, prohibits interest
(or ‘usury’ or ‘riba’) but I have met
a great many Muslims that willingly ignore it. In fact, I can think of only one
exception: at a school on the outskirts of London, a group of Muslim girls chose
what the other groups thought was the worst bank account among the available
options because it was the only one that was Sharia compliant! They were a
happy, delightful group to work with, not in any way narrow-minded or fanatical,
but they wanting to stay loyal to what they believed. And so they agreed to reject
the opportunity to get interest on their savings.
The sad
fact of modern life is that a great many people are lured or driven by money to
live inconsistent with their own principles and beliefs. Exposing, reflecting on and
discussing our lifestyle choices can be embarrassing, intimidating and
menacing. So much so, we do not just keep the truth from our family and friends
but also from ourselves.
I often
challenge people to track their spending to see if what they have spent their
money on accurately reflects their own lifestyle priorities. From all the
schools where I have presented this challenge, I can think of only one where a
group of young people actually did it and came back a fortnight later with
their findings.
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Copyright © All Souls Clubhouse Community Centre & Church and Philip Evans
2013.
Scripture
quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright
© 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
Handling
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