HOW TO LOVE DIFFICULT PEOPLE

Years ago I cam across a saying; “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. It is my belief that people are looking for understanding, acceptance and real love, not necessarily more information.

For years churches have dispensed information; information about God, theology, ethics, rules, regulations and the like. And for all of this information that has been given out from Sunday sermons, Sundays School classes, in midweek bible studies, on radio and television far too many Christians’ lives remain the same. They may have more religious information than any other time in history and yet very little if anything changes in their day to day behaviours.

Here is an incredible truth. You can know all sorts of information and never experience any transformation. We are ‘knowledge-aholics”. We crave more data, more information, more sources, more input…but we never seem to let that information affect our behaviour. We know a lot, we just don’t do much with what we know.

The Apostle John in 1st John calls it like he sees it! Simply put he says that talk is cheap! Even for Christians he says if you don’t live it, it doesn’t count. You can say you love Christ or are a follower of Jesus, but if you don’t reach out and help a brother or sister that you see in need…well to put it bluntly…he says you are a liar and there is non of Gods love in you.

The test that you are a true follower of Christ is this; you never pass up an opportunity to help when you have the God given opportunity to do so.
So here is the deal. The world we live in is so self focused that if people actually saw a group of people really helping others out…going out of their way to give practical care and assistance…they would sit up and notice. They might even wonder why in a world so “me” driven, people would sacrifice their own agendas for the benefit of others.

People do not care what religion you are or what beliefs you hold, whether you have the ‘truth” and great spiritual insight. They just want to know if you will care for them in real practical down to earth ways.

This is what Jesus ministry was all about… he hung out with the poor, he healed the sick, he taught the common people, he fed the hungry, he spent time with children, he ate dinner with prostitutes and the disenfranchised, was the life of the party, he visited the grieving, kicked the “stuffing” out of those who took financial advantage of others and had the guts to religious leaders a “brood of vipers”.

Let’s stop talking about and get done! Love can change the world but only if you live it!

POVERTY, WEALTH, JESUS and SIMPLICITY

Here is a statement that has challenged my thinking;

"in a world of finite resources I am wealthy at someone else’s expense"

Is it possible that there are not enough resources in our world to sustain middle class life as we know it? Are there enough resources in our world for every person in Canada, the USA, China, India and Africa to have a stainless steel sink, a car in the driveway, electric lights, indoor plumbing with its prerequisite use of water, pumps, filtration and waste disposal? What about Large screen TV’s and digital cameras? Where would we put the waste and by products of juice boxes for every child, batteries for every toy, disposable picnic plates and plastic garbage bags?

Could the dream of middle class lifestyle be a fabrication of capitalistic consumerism?

Middle class living may not be achievable.

From a basic supply and demand concept there may not be enough to go around. We know, of course, that if demand increases and supply decreases we have a price increase. That very cycle alone could out price the middle class.

The death of the middle class may be just around the corner in North America.

Jesus, the great prophet, said that we would always have the poor. Maybe Jesus understood supply and demand economics better that we do.

Here is some good news. There is actually enough wealth currently available in the word to alleviate poverty. It is, however, hoarded in the hands of very few people.

As Christians ( defined here as a follower of Christ, not a religion) Jesus calls us to account for our wealth. He challenges us to make certain our wealth is available in caring for the poor. He never defines what wealth is, or how much is too much. He does challenge us to make certain our wealth is available so that we can care for others.

The availability of our wealth in ministering to the poor is at the core of a life of simplicity. Imagine what each of us could do if we simplified our lifestyles. We could each use the left over wealth and follow Jesus into the desert place of poverty, and bring new life and new hope. We might not even miss our afternoon cappuccino at Tim’s.

CHRISTIAN SIMPLICITY IS NOT SIMPLE

CHRISTIAN SIMPLICITY IS NOT SIMPLE

A paradox is an apparent contradiction, not a real one. The paradox of freedom states, to be free we have to have laws that restrict our freedom. The paradox of simplicity is that living simply is complex. Finding simplicity, as a spiritual value, in a complex world is not easy.

Our search to live a more simple life can easily lead us into reductionism. Reductionism is the tendency to reduce issues to such a basic level as to not deal with the complexity of the issues at all.

You may be able to argue that prostitution should be legalized and that through that action reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and also reduce the amount of drug use in the sex trade. Legalizing prostitution could protect sex trade workers and clients alike. You could also argue that the legalization of prostitution could be seen as an acceptance of behaviour. So do we legalize prostitution as a method of harm reduction in our society even though the act of prostitution (as fornication) is forbidden in Gods laws? Reductionism could look at this challenge and create a very simple solution. Prostitution is “bad”. People involved in these “bad” acts get to suffer the consequence. Money should not be spent on the care or education of prostitutes in any way.
These same arguments can be used when discussing needle exchanges or safe injection sites. Why should our money be put to use to provide a safe place for people to commit and illegal act? This same argument of reductionism can be used in our attitudes towards poverty and unemployment.

It can be very easy for us to reduce all of society’s behaviors to either “good” or “bad.”

In my view, life is just not that simple. Throughout history, many religious institutions have taken a reductionist view of complex social issues. Real Christianity calls us to learn to distinguish the voice of Christ in a world of competing demands and interests. It rejects easy dogmatic answers to tough intricate question. As Christ followers and believers of the bible, let us not shrink away for seeking answers to the complexity of life’s issues by the tendency to reduce everything to being either good or bad. Some times it’s OK not to be certain, not to be dogmatic. Sometimes it’s OK, not to have an answer and sometimes it’s OK to admit it!

Have a fun and lively discussion in your small group this week. Remember we can disagree and still be friends!