If
you want an alternative to fancy chandeliers and new organs, we
trust Gospel
For Asia to use every single dollar wisely. Order the
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It
will change you. Tell them we sent you. AMAZING stories!
If
not here, where? If not now, when? If not us, who?
In the Old
Testament there are lots of stories about the followers of Baal or
Marduk or one god or another offering human sacrifices (and how
unhappy about it Jehovah gets). Sometimes to please their gods so
that they would have a good harvest or some other reason related to a
hope for prosperity or blessing. They would get a virgin (or a
baby) and sacrifice them on a stone altar in the hopes of some future
comfort. They didn't lie about it. Everybody knew that
was the plan. Even the virgin. At least the prophets of
Baal had the decency to tell the virgin what they were doing and
why. Maybe they even thanked her and threw a party before
spilling her blood. That would be nice.
In America, the
Christian church (as a whole) is much less honest. You see, we
are saying that we care for the sick and poor and unreached, but what
we're actually doing with our time and resources shows that we mean
the exact opposite of that. We're knowingly letting them die so
that we can have bounty and be comfy. And since we say we love
them and we care about their eternal souls, not just their body, our
insulting double-talk is amazingly more offensive! We average
just 2% in giving and of that money ($250 Billion), we spend over 95%
of it on ourselves. Less than 0.01% reaches the most unreached.
That's why the
World is really irritated with us, because we're telling them we care
and then we're spending our money on ourselves. Go read the Scary
Stats page. Everything is exactly upside down of what we
would be doing if we REALLY cared for those whom Jesus most cared for.
Put another way,
in order for us to maintain our lush lifestyles (individually and as
churches) we have to short-change God THEN we have to divert even the
bulk of THAT back to ourselves as well.
Maybe a little
parable will help. Jesus seemed to like those.
Imagine your only
child has a tumor. He's just a little kid, say seven years
old. He's in the hospital, he's in a lot of pain, he's hooked
up to all these machines, he desperately needs treatment, but it's
going to cost $250,000 and you don't have any insurance. You,
your wife and your friends and family help out and donate money,
maybe you even have a telethon. It's a good thing that he looks
good in the pictures, because that really helps. People all
over are praying for you and sending their $10 and $20 bills in to
help. They can just sense from your passion that that
this is critically important to you to save this beautiful kid that
you love so much. Tears are shed by all. You really mean
well and it's all pure and sacrificial.
And it turns out
you meet your goal!! The full $250,000 is provided!
But then something
inside snaps. Probably because of the big pile of cash you are
completely unused to. So you take 95% off the top as
administrative costs and go buy a fancy new car, a chandelier, new
cushions for your furniture, new carpet, maybe build onto the house,
get some new suits -- and you hand the doctors $12,500. Well it
turns out that wasn't nearly enough, so you decide to keep raising
money until that 5% can add up to the $250,000 you need to save his
life. So at that rate, you're going to have to raise $5,000,000
to keep him alive. So you go back out with your plea for more
money. You raise up more volunteers, take more pictures of him,
maybe testimonials about how the people that helped him feel so good
about themselves, maybe you spend a little more money jazzing up the
materials you're mailing out. Shoot, you might even hire a
consultant. And your wife is getting REALLY good at crying on cue.
At first you try
not to make a big deal about all the stuff you bought because you
don't want to have to explain it to people. But after a while
you get this great new idea. If you tell them that the money
you spent on yourself is God's evidence that you are blessed, then
you can assert more strongly that they should support you so that
THEY can share in YOUR blessing. I know it sounds completely
crazy ... but you know, it just might work. People are greedy
and selfish and they don't always see the big picture. Namely
that it's THEIR money you're being blessed with and your kid is still
getting sicker.
I mean, it's clear
to everyone that he's in immediate danger and you're not. At
some point, folks are going to start catching on because it's fairly
likely that if you're this far down that road, you're going to just
get more and more over the top. It's just a matter of time
until you get your own jet plane and buy more houses for yourself and
a stretch limosine and spend thousands on clothes and jewelry.
Why not? I mean, this thing might go on forever if you can just
reach enough people that haven't already figured it out.
And if it happens
that your kid dies because you never do get him the money, well that
just makes you even more pitiful and brings more sympathy (that is,
cash). Then you can go find somebody else's kid that's in the
hospital and try it again. Now you're an "advocate."
At some point you
start to wonder how this would play in other countries. Even if
they don't have as much money, it's just a math problem - just a
matter of how many people you can get to listen. I mean there
are suckers all over the world. Why not give it a try?
So, what about the
kid? Can you call that anything other than human
sacrifice? Who's responsible for his death? The parents?
Surely. There will be much darkness and crying and gnashing of teeth
at the final judgement.
But what about the
people that sent in money? Surely they were just taken for a
ride. It can't be THEIR fault. Except that, there is that
part about how we're supposed to be good stewards of our money and
give without thought of receiving. A lot of those folks sent in
their money SO THAT they would be blessed financially. That
can't possibly be a Biblically pure motive. Can it? I mean,
it's not their fault they didn't ask any questions about how the
money was being spent. Yeah, they were a little suspicious, but
these are People of God up there on stage. They wouldn't rip us
off, would they? I mean, they've got a best selling book out.
Oh, I'm sorry,
you're not a part of that whole craziness? You saw right
through those guys on the first try? You're just Joe Average
American going to a nice quiet chuch and doing the right things?
OK, well, let's try this. How much of your stuff do you think
belongs to God? I mean, if you say He's LORD and all, that
should mean He's the Master and King and you owe Him everything,
right? OK, so how are you spending God's money personally?
Odds are pretty
good you're spending about 50% of your income on discretionary
products - stuff you didn't absolutely need. God's not asking
you to starve to death. He loves us and wants us to be happy
and content, but He's not really after making us fat and lazy.
Where's all that stuff you're buying coming from? What did it
take to get it to you at the low, low, one-time only sale prices you
paid for it. (I mean, you did shop around, right?)
Ever consider
this? Revelation 18:10-13 (ESV)
"Alas! Alas!
You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your
judgment has come." And the merchants of the earth weep
and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of
gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet
cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all
kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon,
spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat,
cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.
Get it? Do
you know what it COSTS for merchants around the world to get that
stuff made and bring it here? It costs HUMAN SOULS. How many are
having the life sucked out of them in factories around the world so
that we can have STUFF? Children, prisoners, widows - Christians in
prison even! Ever think of that? That you might go buy a
"Made in China" bible cover or cross necklace and it's
being made by Chinese pastors in prison who have to work 16 hour days
making stuff like that in order to earn dinner? That's just the kind
of thing the enemy would have them doing, too. It's happening. Don't
think it's not.
Think hard. Are
you sure this is what Christ wanted? I mean it's all His stuff
right? Or did you not mean "Lord" that way? How
many questions are you asking?
Copyrighted, but
please use freely with a link and no changes.
This
site is meant to be just
a plain, direct reporting of how miserably, horribly, devastatingly
badly we
- the
Christians in
the West - have
mismanaged the massive gifts which God has entrusted to
us. Maybe we can change
directions if we try something different. Maybe if we started
listening to God really well and obeying radically, no matter what
the cost. Yeah, that might work.
Although
we're perfectly capable of it - we're
not trying to impress you with our fancy web design, marketing savvy
and slick Madison Avenue ad techniques. Truth is Truth.
Your heart knows the difference.
