Rich and Poor In America, Part 3

Who has helped the poor more -- Mother Teresa or Bill Gates? Though it sounds almost blasphemous to say it, if we are measuring in terms of helping people move out of poverty, the answer is overwhelmingly Gates.

It is popular among some Christians to denigrate entrepreneurs. Strangely we think it is more spiritual to serve at a soup kitchen than to begin a business which will employ the poor. One CEO in Silicon Valley grew impatient with such talk: “I keep hearing feed the poor, clothe the hungry, give shelter to those who don’t have it. The [people] that say this don’t recognize that capitalism and technology have done more to feed and clothe and shelter and heal people than all the charity and church programs in history. So they preach about it, and we are the ones doing it.”

David Livingstone, the great Scottish missionary who helped open Africa to missions, believed that God is concerned about the whole man: “I have labored in bricks and mortar, ... as well as in preaching and medical practice. I am serving Christ when shooting a buffalo for my men, or taking an astronomical observation.” Caring for the physical needs of the poor may be most effectively done by the spiritual work of starting businesses. The poor need to work. Adam and Eve were given the task of caring for the garden even before they sinned -- sin only increased the difficulty of their task. Mission organizations and relief agencies should be partnering with businesses to help create good jobs where poverty reigns.

Rich and Poor in America, Part 2

One would-be immigrant wanted to come to America because it is a country where “even poor people are fat!” But many of the poor in our culture don’t feel particularly “fat”. Wendy lives in a trailer home with her parents. Dinesh D’Souza explains that she “has never known grinding poverty. Her father earns $9 an hour as a welder; her mother works part-time as a cook. Her problem is that her public school is largely made up of the sons and daughters of doctors, lawyers, and business executives.” What she suffers from “is not the physical hardship of going hungry but the psychological suffering of everyday humiliation. Some of the children call her `trailer girl.’” Others call her “Rabbit” because of her protruding front teeth -- which Wendy has pleaded with her parents to have straightened.

So how do we help Wendy? Should our government tax the wealthy and give money to the poor so they can purchase designer clothing and braces for their kids? Is this what Jefferson envisioned when he wrote that “all men are created equal”? D’Souza believes that Jefferson’s view is that private concern for an individual does not “translate into a public responsibility involving the federal government.” Jefferson believed that the government’s role was not to undo all wrongs, but to give equal rights. He believed in the equality of rights, not the equality of outcomes.

The church, though, should be at the forefront of bringing the rich and the poor together. We do this by:

• shouting that life is found through an intimate relationship with the Living God, not through large stock portfolios or four-car garages.
• warning the poor not to envy. This is one of the Ten Big Ones: “You shall not covet ... anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
• reminding the rich that their abundance was given by God “to supply for [the poor’s] need.” (II Cor. 8:14) A rich person might help pay an orthodontist’s bill. Or he might be sure to pay his employees a living wage -- not simply what the market bears.
• teaching that our identity is based on being a gifted part of Christ’s body. The poor man makes up for the rich man’s deficits (and vice versa). They complete and need each other.

Rich and Poor in America, Part 1

Out of the sixty students in my grade at Garfield Elementary school, I was one of two students who enjoyed annual winter vacations. As a result, I was frequently teased about being a “rich kid.” Though I didn’t think of my family as being rich, according to the economic standards of the 1950’s & 1960’s, we probably were.

But today is a different world. When I travel south for a winter vacation -- it is almost one of life’s necessities this near the Canadian border! -- I meet many different classes of people as I stroll the beach. And whereas people formerly traveled by car or public transportation, now “air travel has become the Amtrak of the skies, just as cruise ships are becoming the Greyhound of the seas.” The proliferation of wealth in our generation is truly phenomenal. In spite of great differences between the rich and poor, the statistics show that most Americans today are much wealthier than earlier generations. The old cliché that “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer” is simply not true.

Weren’t we wise to have chosen to be born at this time, in this nation? Obviously none of us controls that choice -- life here is simply a gift from our Creator who determined “the times set for [us] and the exact place where [we] should live.” (Acts 17) Israel received similar blessings when God threw out the wicked Canaanites and gave his people a fabulous land with flourishing cities, furnished homes, functioning wells, and fruitful orchards. But he warned them: “when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (Deut.6) This is one of our challenges: to not forget who made it possible for us to enjoy such abundance. Have you been on a vacation recently? Have you enjoyed trips to Disney World or Mexico or Hawaii? Take a few seconds to bow in thanks to God for this undeserved abundance.

Hypocrites, Part 4

How do I avoid hypocrisy? That is, how do I live my life increasingly to please God rather than people? Even though my predominate and growing perspective is to please God, I still struggle with the desire to polish my public image. I try to keep that desire in check by publicly confessing my sins. If I am teaching about temptation, I might share my struggle to think (and say) unkind words about my son’s coach who gives my son little playing time. (Doesn’t he understand he is coaching a future NBA star?!) Or if I am encouraging husbands to develop a Christ-like love for their wives, I might confess that I watched a three hour football game when I knew Cathy needed help with the housework. Whenever I teach God’s word I make it a point to share at least some aspect of my own battle to live out that truth.

My sole goal is to turn people to the true physician, Jesus Christ. Bernie Schock doesn’t have any answers. When I maintain that perspective, I don’t worry about my public image. I leave my public relations in God’s hands.

Hypocrites, Part 3

How, then, do I know if I am a hypocrite? There are three questions that I ask myself to determine whether I live for man’s approval or God’s approval. First question: How hard is it for me to say “no”? If pleasing people is paramount, I will agonize over every “no” and probably say “yes” to far too many requests. But if I am concerned first about pleasing God, I will be able to risk others’ disappointment: “Sorry, I can’t help out with the youth group. I’m committed to teaching adults how to study the Bible.”
Furthermore, I ask: How do I respond when I am criticized? In a recent class one student’s evaluation stated: “If someone held an opposing viewpoint, Bernie sort of ran roughshod over the argument and moved on.” But another student gushed: “Bernie’s openness for people to speak their own thoughts and beliefs really brought the class together. I loved this class; great learning experience and non-judgmental.” (Can you believe these comments were from two students who took the same class?!) If the condemning comments of that disgruntled student get under my skin and stay there like a bad case of chiggers, it may tell me that the opinions of others’ are too important -- and make it difficult to proclaim the prickly parts of the Bible.
Finally, I ask: how do I respond when my failures become evident to others? Do I labor to explain and justify my behavior? Do I blame others for my sins? “Well, sure I was snippy with you. But you had been hassling me all afternoon.”

Hypocrites, Part 2

What does it mean to be a hypocrite? Whenever I ask this question to my students, the invariable answer is something like: “Someone who says one thing and does another.” But as I explained in my last post, no one (except Jesus) has a perfect match between words and deeds.
Jesus described a hypocrite: “Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them.” (Mt.6:1) Later, Jesus explained that those who make a show of their giving, do it “to be honored by men.” Jesus made it clear that a hypocrite is motivated by the applause of others. (This is one of the reasons why a hypocrite is often a beast in his home -- kids don’t give parents standing ovations!)

On the other hand, the righteous person desires to please a Father “who sees what is done in secret.” He understands that many truly righteous deeds receive little public recognition. As a result, he is willing to put God in charge of his public relations.

I don’t believe my friend who left the ministry (see previous post) was a hypocrite. Though he was imperfectly living the truth, his life goal was not to win the approval of others. Though he needs time to work on his own life, I don’t think he needs a major redirection of his life. I have confidence that the God who began the work in my friend’s life, “will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Hypocrites, Part 1

A friend of mine recently left the professional ministry explaining that he could no longer teach people what he was not experiencing himself. Had he been a hypocrite the past 15 years of his ministry? He believes that he has been. I’m not so sure.
As I listened to this broken friend I began to pray that God would give me a response that might give him hope. I told him that all teachers’ experience falls short of the truths they proclaim. I teach men to love their wives -- I am still frequently nettled by Cathy’s small failings. I teach people to trust God in their troubles -- but I still too often try to solve my problems without consulting God. I instruct people to give thanks in all things -- but I still complain when we have had several weeks of unseasonably cold weather. Do these failings make me a hypocrite? No. They make me a sinner. God is working in my life and I am moving toward the truths that I proclaim. I am a hypocrite only if I try to cover up the disparity between my life and my teaching.