Thursday, January 30, 2014

Handouts or Help Up?

The Bible tells us we will always have the poor with us. There are families who are truly struggling with limited means and limited opportunity. The Bible outlines the church's responsibility in caring for the poor, the widowed, the orphans and the oppressed. 

The Bible also places clear individual responsibilities to work and to provide for the needs of family members. 

When I am offering financial instruction a strong emphasis is placed on taking control and being personally responsible for the choices we make. All too often families in financial distress are overwhelmed and feel that their situation is hopeless. My role is to come alongside them and encourage them to be faithful in making one wise choice after another and look to God for the results. 

I believe there is a place for charity, but I also believe that handouts can give way to dependence and discourage hard work and personal accountability. Handouts can exacerbate the very conditions we are trying to alleviate. Far too many people are dependent on government subsidies as a way of life rather than a short term help during a time of crisis. The same can be said of local charity; though the charities I  associated with quickly learn to put boundaries around repeat customers. 

God clearly lays out a plan for our salvation that is completely out of our control. We are utterly dependent on the work of another to provide what we cannot provide for ourselves. So the grantors in the handout camp apply this to their benevolence programs taking on the role of Jesus to a hurting world. They demonstrate compassion but may be creating dependence. 

In the other camp we have the personal accountability proponents who believe that hard work and diligence will lend themselves success. This is the underpinning of the "American Dream" that anyone with enough effort can have greater opportunity. Scripture supports work and perseverance. It also discusses faithful service in response to God's provision for our sin. Extremists in this camp are hesitant with charity and despise government entitlements. They are proud and determined individuals who believe that each of us creates out own destiny. They are seen as very insensitive to the plight of the needy but in the long run may help up more people out of poverty by pushing them to do their best and not passively wait for external intervention. 

Both sides have a skewed view of the gospel and place more value on wealth and comfort than on our eternal state. The gospel message tells us that we are utterly helpless as sinners and completely dependent on a Savior to do the work of reconciliation. We are leopards who cannot change our spots we cannot make ourselves holy before God. We could exert every ounce of energy we have and still be separated from God for all eternity. Self sufficiency does not equal success in God's economy. We are hopelessly dependent on the work of Christ. However, once we have received the free gift that Christ offers for us and we have peace with God, our evidence and confirmation is the change that takes place in our lives. Instead of begging bread at the Masters table, we become the hands delivering that bread to others in need. After receiving salvation for free we work it out. The work of God in us begins at salvation and He equips us for good works that then demonstrate the power of God to others. 

There is a balance that needs to be struck in benevolence. We should encourage people to look to God for their supply and then depend on Him for the strength and wisdom to act in faith doing what we can. When we encounter a person in trials, a handout is not enough, we must come alongside them and share with them the hope of eternal security that can be received by believing in Christ. Having received that free gift we are grafted into God's plan and given purpose for our life on earth and assurance of eternity in Heaven. That is true riches. 

Monday, January 27, 2014

The Bottom is Still the Bottom

Reading through some recent intitiatives to raise minimum wage, I am struck by the lack if foresight being used by proponents. I know these people have a heart for those who are stuggling; living on incomes that are far below a living wage in today's economy. I know they want what is best for these families, but I don't think that they realize that raising the minimum wage may actually hurt the very people they hope to help. 

The greatest cost of doing business for most organizations is labor. A raise to minimum wage is not borne by the big bad corporations but is borne primarily by the low wage workers where increases in the cost if living cannot be sustained. The corporation passes the costs of wage increases on to the public in the form of higher priced products. 

Let's just assume for a moment that I am a minimum wage worker at a large retail establishment. As my wage goes up, so do all the wages of people who have seniority over me. This increased wage gets translated into higher prices for the products. As a low wage worker, I likely shop at the discount retail establishments for the goods and services I need. If the only increase my employer has is wages, the prices should increase to match the increase in my wages. Net-net no gain for me the low wage worker. The only thing that really changed is that the living wage is now higher and I still don't make enough to live a comfortable lifestyle. 

More than likely however, the cost if goods purchased also go up because the inventory prices go up when the producers and wholesalers have to pay THEIR employees more. That means for me working at the retailer the prices on the shelf will have to increase by MORE than the increase in my salary and may actually have my lifestyle diminished by the increase in wages. 

Beyond that, in order to continue to remain competive, my employer will likely have to reduce jobs or find ways to outsource activities overseas using less expensive labor to remain in business. My benefits will likely be cut, or have more of the cost transferred to me. I bear the cost because I really don't have alternatives. Bottom line: the bottom is still the bottom. 

The solution offered by government is to step in and offer assistance in the form of entitlements like welfare or food stamps or tax credits. That only serves to demean me more because I now become dependent on handouts rather than becoming self sufficient. Handouts discourage hard work because people adopt an attitutlde of complacency feeling that they can't change the "system". 

The real solution to poverty is not in handouts or layers of government protections, but in empowering the people with education and inspiration to take control for themselves the outcome of their story. The United States has always been the place where even someone from a poor background can achieve their dreams with hard work and a good idea. We need to encourage the development of entrepreneurship and encourage excellence in our children. 

This is a nation where opportunity still exists if people will only embrace the challenge. We are also a nation that cares for our disabled and disadvantaged. I encourage government to let charity do what it does best - invest in the lives if those with fewer option. 

Rather than raising minimum wage, consider moving the charitable deduction to the front page of the tax return so you don't have to itemize to reap the benefits or better yet create a tax credit for charitable donations and see if our communities don't thrive. Charity has the incentives and the know how to build opportunities for those who are most vulnerable. Raising the low income up with job training and education to grow the economy rather than tearing it down. 

The Bible outlines our resonsibiilities to the poor and the downtrodden. Charity not business or government are best at transition. Government only increases dependence. I believe Christian charity is best equipped to perform local mission and to provide for not only physical needs but spiritual as well. 

Christians live in a time where there is great need for hope. We have it to give. Let's be generous in our distributions. 

Who's Your Teacher

I have had some great teachers in my life; teachers that I just wanted to be around and soak up every ounce of knowledge they offered. I admired them for their wisdom and looked to them for guidance. They could only share what they had learned and applied. They couldn't make me learn - I had to do that for myself. 

So it is with our Lord. People can share from their personal experiences and give inspirational messages, but I cannot know The Lord through someone else's experience. I must know Him for myself. We must go beyond prescribed ritual and have a personal relationship with Jesus our Savior. 

I would like to suggest we have one source of revelation - that is scripture itself. The Bible is God's story shared to offer a picture of the great love that reconciles sinners to a Holy God. God wrote it Himself. Jesus is described as the word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God" John 1:1. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" John 1:14. 

Jesus is the Word. He was the Word spoken at creation that caused all things to come into being. It is His story penned on the pages of our Bible. We cannot have a personal encounter with Jesus without personally encountering God's Word. Way too many Christians depend on the study their pastor does in preparing a sermon or watching a message on TV without personally investing themselves in reading and learning directly from the source - the Word. 

We cannot develop the character of our Savior if all we get is second hand teaching. But Jesus himself offers a helper for us - His Spirit. The Spirit of God Himself takes residence in our souls at the time we are saves. We have God himself as our teacher; the 3rd person of the Trinity. This teacher is not human capable of misleading us. The Spirit has a clear mission in our lives. "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me." John 15:26. We have a teacher who can unfold scripture more profoundly than any gifted speaker and we can know Christ personally through this combination of studying scripture and being taught of the Spirit. 

No human can impose their experience in our lives. We must learn and apply what we have learned personally. We cannot witness for Christ until He his character is developed within us and radiates through us. Until this thing we have with The Lord becomes personal, we are just reporters of the news and not eyewitnesses. 

So who is your teacher of things spiritual?  Is it the pastor, the priest, the books you read? Or is it God Himelf in the form of the Word and the Spirit?  There are many false teachers about in these end times, but the Spirit of God bears witness if Jesus and does not inflate Himself. Jesus is the only hope of reconciliation with a Holy God and His Spirit teaches us and develops within us His character. 


Friday, January 17, 2014

Rights and Responsibilities -Taxes

It's that time of year again when we organize our records and prepare to account for our income to the government. Taxes pay for many of the good services we receive so it is right that we should pay for these services. We enjoy roads, schools, protection services like police and firemen, and our nation is protected from enemies by our military.   We receive many good things from government spending. 

When government does not choose wisely in their spending we have a great privilege in the US; we live in a republic where we have representation at the highest levels so our voice can be heard. Our nation was founded on Christian principles that have resulted in social justice programs and healthcare legislation.  We have always been a nation that offered opportunity even to the most vulnerable allowing them to regain strength and achieve success. We want everyone to have a shot at prosperity.  Laws are passed to ensure that no business power can take advantage of the citizens (even if following those laws result in higher costs of product delivery). 

Each service received from the government has a cost and reflects the values of the nation. (You elected them after all). So when it comes to paying taxes we should be ready to pay that price. As Christians we must recognize the very common temptation to not be fully transparent on our tax return is dishonest and shirks our responsibilities as citizens. Cheating on taxes for our own personal gain is not holy conduct and if we have been guilty we should confess it before God and do everything we can to make things right. 

Christians should be models of integrity and morality, therefore if there are decisions made by our elected officials we also have a responsibility to make things right and voice our stand and help educate our electorate about the choices before them.  We can and should be active in our govenment. No on ther nation has such opportunity. 

We are called to honor our authorities on earth even if they are not behaving rightly. They have been placed in their offices by God himself so our responsibility is to ensure their success. 

As I look at our system of entitlements, insurances and benefits, I do not believe that our nation can economically survive the burden these obligations place on the tax payer. Our founding fathers strongly believed in limited government and placing more responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the individual. Transferring responsibility for our welfare, health and retirement are all violations of our founding principles. 

We must pay, but we must also work to bring sensibility back to our government. It must not be given authority usurp our own responsibilities or those of charity. As Christians our obligation to care for the poor and needy must be a personal outreach and should not be transferred to goverment. If we are aware of suffering we have a responsibility to become involved. Let's take back our legacy to the world and share with those who need a word of hope that it is God and not government who supplies all our needs according to his riches in glory. 

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Enduring

By now, New Years resolutions are taking their toll. Either we have adopted new habits and are overcoming those challenges we face or we have given up - disappointed in ourselves once again for failing. 

Our sin nature craves a life of ease where exercise, discretion with financial choices and  even eating choices are not necessary. We prefer leisure, indulgence, and revelry. Our natural self wants to avoid the rigors of discipline, submission and holy living. 

Let's face it, we may not change ourselves. The natural man in us is strong and seeks to keep us in bondage. We need help, not from a trainer or a financial advisor, but from a supernatural source. If you are not a believer living in faith, you cannot know this power. But for believers who have the Spirit of God residing in them we have a source of power that is greater than the natural man. We have power to be disciplined, wise and holy. We have God 'a power at work in us. 

If your resolutions have fallen flat, give up and lay your desires at the foot of the cross and pray that God will have His perfect way in you. Apply yourself to getting closer to him by reading and memorizing scripture. Work to be faithful in applying His word. I believer you will see God show up and do amazing things in your life; God's word says so. 

Matthew 6:33 (KJV)
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

Keep your focus right and everything else falls into place. Where you can't do it, God can. 

Monday, January 13, 2014

The Measure of Poverty

One if the greatest financial quandaries we have in our culture is how can we provide for those who are truly in need without creating a class of people who become so entitled in their handouts that they do not invest themselves in working for their well being. No one wants to see people suffer or to be neglected, but in meeting a need do we create new problems that keep a person living in meager circumstances and not assuming personal responsibility. 

Jesus told us we would always have the poor among us, but scripture also reminds us of our responsibilities to care for those who are oppressed, vulnerable and poor. 

Poverty is an obscure concept. There are those who earn seemingly adequate amounts of money but through choices or circumstances find themselves unable to fund their lifestyles. Either their lifestyle exceeds their income by including expenses that are beyond basic necessities or their circumstances have created liabilities beyond what their income can bear. 

In measuring poverty, usually an income threshold is determined to be a level at which basic expenses cannot be met. In the United States that income figure is more than the vast majority of nations and in many nations would be a measure of wealth rather than want. The trouble with this measure even in the US, is that people of every income have claimed insufficiency. In determining "enough" you  infer a valuation of the cost of basic living. 

Income alone is not a sufficient measure. For instance, if I earn $20,000 and receive healthcare as an employee benefit, my ability to meet basic needs may be better than someone who makes more but does not have this benefit. If I qualify for tax credits, I may have a boost that someone of equal income may not receive because of different family conditions. Income cannot measure poverty. 

There are people who live very humble lifestyles who are more than able to meet their needs and to save a portion for future expenses. These people may not live extravagantly, but they enjoy financial freedom as all needs are met. Our ability to live within our means and to save for the future is a key measure of our ability to remain self sustaining. 

It is easy to pass judgment on the life choices of another, but collectively as a nation, household debt has continued to increase. Many holding their next payday loan in the form of a credit card. We can deceive ourselves into thinking that we have matters I control, when in fact we presume upon God's grace for our provision. 

The Bible offers us some good guidance when it comes to caring for the poor that could benefit. The first generation church solved the issue by selling what they had to provide for the needs of those who were in need. While the generosity of these believers is commendable it is important to not that this was a voluntary act and not conscripted. 

God established the practice of gleaning as a way of providing for the poor. People were to leave some of their harvest for those in need to gather up. (Lev 23:22). It is good for us to include benevolence in our budgeting as well so that as we encounter those in need we can have the resources to extend a helping hand. This offering for the poor was also outlined in Deut 15:7 - 11. 

God hears the prayers of the afflicted and he calls his people to minister to their need. This is a benefit to both the giver who becomes more aware of the bounty they have received at the hand of God and the recipient who has his burden relieved. 

Giving to the poor and needy is repeated throughout scripture and ignoring the plight of the needy is attributed to the wicked. Jesus idolaters that when we provide for the needs of others we demonstrate our love for him when he said, "truly I say to you that to the extent you did it to the least of these brothers of Mine, you did it unto me".  (Matt 25:40). 

Providing for the poor is a measure of our  belonging to the Kingdom. In 1 John 3:17-18 we learn, "whoever has the world's goods, and be holds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?  little children, let us not love with word or tongue, but in deed and in truth."  A challenge for us to consider as we respond to the needs of those around us. 



Saturday, January 4, 2014

Birth Control = Women's Rights?

Recently, I became interested in the life of Margaret Sanger the founder if Planned Parenthood especially in light of the debate currently around the government's mandate to offer birth control as part if their health insurance plans. It occurs to me that there are deep theological issues exposed in this debate and they may just have started years ago when Margaret Sanger outlined her reasons for offering birth control. 

1. Sexual Freedom - Sanger proposed that women were subjugated by the limits on sexuality that life without birth control imposed. She proposed that it was a matter if women's rights to give women the same sexual freedom that men enjoy. 

2. Professional Advancement. Sanger proposed that women who were bearing children did not have the same opportunity for career advancement by that men enjoy. Women who have young children frequently forfeit career opportunity to care for the children's needs. 

3.  Creating master race. Sanger was a proponent of eugenics believing that certain classes if individuals should not freely reproduce. By bringing into the world a child who may not have the same intellect or opportunity, society perpetuates poverty and suffering. 

Each one of Sanger's rationales for increasing access I birth control stands in contrast to Biblical guidance. 

1.  God ordained sex. His plan for sexual fulfillment is within the bonds of marriage so by definition it is safe sex. Within such committed relationships the child that may result is a blessing from God and a mark of His Devine providence for that union. There is no safe sex outside the bonds of marriage. Love cannot thrive in a relationship where there is no lasting commitment. We are made to love and be loved. As long as the option to walk away is on the table, love remains conditional at best. 

Births to single parents have increased almost exponentially over the past generation. Marriages now delayed on favor of self indulgences and career development. We would do well to abandon our self interests and choose a life that honors God. We will be more likely to encounter a mate that will also keep God first and fulfill their role of spouse more wholeheartedly. 

In our culture, even the marriages of Christians face the same vulnerability to failure as those who do not claim the name of Christ. As a nation we have failed to hold marriage high and give it the same esteem that God does. We live as self-centered as the rest of the world and imitate worship on Sunday. That is not a Christian life my friend. When we put God and spouse ahead of our interests our priorities change. We may even gain a greater understanding of what true love is. Jesus demonstrated it for us in that while we were still sinners He came to offer his life as a sacrifice; taking the penalty for our sin. What great love we have received. 

2.  Work is ordained by God. All work that is not immoral is valuable. We often confuse rank with value and thus despise the most necessary and noble professions. Work can be accomplished within the home - some of the children who will go on to impact society greatly being molded by a mother who invests in her children. We cannot attribute our worth based on our paycheck. Then we are looking to the wrong scale master to weigh us in the balance. A life of great worth is the life lived to God's glory. 

3.  All life has value. We cannot discard an unwanted child for the convenience of the parent. No one is perfect but one - Jesus Christ. We all have flaws and failures. To terminate a life because it will inevitably face hardship would be to end life as we know it.  Because a child is poor or of a race not deemed in favor by the society he lives in is not reason to end his life before it begins. All mankind is made in God's image and to kill that life is an affront to the Creator of that life. 

Hitler lived as a contemporary of Sanger also pursued philosophies of eugenics with disastrous results. The problem is that the classes of people in favor are subjective and not based on science or God's standard either. 

In a government influenced healthcare a system, allowable procedures will likely discriminate against the handicapped, the elderly, and those most vulnerable and least able to stand up for themselves. Even this week, when a group of nuns petitioned the courts to be excluded from the mandate to offer birth control, President Obama responded by saying that their objection was not based on fact and was not viable. It is happening in the United States already where the government limits our ability to keep our faith. It is just one small step to alienating yet another class of people who challenge the will of the government. 

We live in a culture where people of faith are truly a peculiar people. We can hide our faith and not shine for The Lord or we can expose our faith and stand for God even if it means standing against the culture. I challenge you to keep the faith. 

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Resolving or planning

At the start if each new year so many people make resolutions all to be broken in the course of a few days. We want to lose weight, get healthy, be prosperous, or be better parents. Resolutions are great in that they focus us on what we would like to become or what we could like to achieve. 

Financial planners start every plan with a goal. That is what resolutions do for us. But a goal without a realistic plan to achieve success is just a wish. Wishes don't become reality unless we breathe life into them. That life comes from taking that goal and turning it into a plan. 

Far too many people live in financial frustration saying they don't earn enough to maintain their lifestyle without doing anything to increase their earnings or adjust their lifestyle. They fear that putting a plan in place will limit options and put barriers around their activities. And they are absolutely right. By definition my choice to do one thing prevents me from doing some other things. I cannot go easy and west at the same time. 

This fear of making a commitment to a particular course of action stops so many from making any progress at all. Like a deer in the headlights their life stands frozen, not sure of any direction. It is in charting a course and making a plan that our life takes on purpose and meaning. 

Is it possible that there are so many who while away their time with entertainment, Tv, movies and games because they are unwilling to look inside themselves and determine their direction and pursue it?  Is it possible that so many escape into drugs, alcohol and other addictions because they have not found meaning and purpose in life?  

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "I know the plans I have for you, declares The Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". Did you catch that?  God's plans for us not only give purpose and direction, but they offer us hope. 

I challenge you right now to examine your resolutions and if they are worthy, turn them into plans that have action steps. This will give your life direction and purpose. At the end of this year you can look back and say that God has prospered you and given you hope!  

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

New Year Resolutions

Don't you just love fresh starts?  New Years is often the time we begin again resolving to make things right in our lives. We write out goals for weight loss, savings, more exercise, less junk food, the list goes on and on. 

The Bible has guidance for us as we begin our new commitments. 
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."  Matthew 6:33 (KJV). If we apply this principle we have the assurance that if we make our relationship with The Lord our highest priority that He will provide us all our needs and desires. You may be saying, "wait a minute, isn't that the theme of the prosperity gospel?"  Yes, that is the theme of prosperity gospel, but the element my prosperity gospel friends miss is that when we truly seek God, His word applied to our hearts changes our desires to align with His own. All the trivial stuff falls to the wayside while all the important things rise to the top when we put God first. 

My New Years resolution is to keep more of God's word in my heart and in my memory, carve out time for real fellowship on worship and prayer. I resolve to confess my sin more and to thank God in all things for that is God's will for me. I resolve to live my faith more boldly and to share my faith with more people without fear of rejection. I plan to seek God in His word and apply what I find to my life. To join me in my Bible study, come find me at my blog http://happysteward.blogspot.com. 

I hope that you will take God's challenge to seek Him in 2014 and find that all the other goals you have fall into place as a result.  Share with me your thoughts. Let's challenge one another to keep the faith.