Conviction

For once, I don't know where to start with a posting. I've been closely following the Hurricane Katrina disaster. I've read the articles, I've seen the pictures, I've watched the footage while experiencing an overwhelming sense of grief. 9/11 shook me to the core. The tsunami that struck Asia captured my attention. The bombings in London were very real to me (we were in London exactly five weeks before the explosions). However, there has never been an event not directly impacting my life that has ever sent me on an emotional roller-coaster like the natural disaster on our Southern borders.

I've watched in horror the footage of the flooded streets of New Orleans. I've been moved to tears while experiencing the plight of the refugees in the Super Dome, in the Astrodome, and the various other shelters across the South. I've felt anger as I watched the looting that is taking place all across the city. This has been a disaster like no other.

I have listened with disgust to the different politicians (Democrat and Republican) as they have pointed fingers and tried to put the blame of the hurricane relief fiasco at the doorstep of each other. I've read the offensive articles by newspaper columnists trying to portray what's going on as a racially discriminatory evacuation process. I have been disappointed by the inability of our government to quickly curb the chas and anarchy.

However, there have been so many stories of hope, of love, and of charity as Americans across the South have opened their homes, churches, and pocketbooks. They've given freely of their time and effort to help meet the needs of this crisis. The inspiring interviews with community leaders, volunteers, and those who are having their needs met are often overshadowed by the negative reports of the realities of death, destruction, and mayhem.

I'm glad to see that many of the churches of the South are helping the victims by giving (Houston churches alone have raised $9,000,000), volunteering, and providing meals and housing. I heard Franklin Graham propose yesterday that each church in the South adopt 10 families for the next month or two and help minister to their particular needs. From the reports I've heard today, many are following up on his suggestion.

I'm wondering, what are your churches doing to meet the need? I have grown up in and still consider myself to be part of the CHM (conservative holiness movement). We trace our theological and sociological roots back to John Wesley, founder of Methodism. Wesley believed strongly that Christians had a social responsibility to the world. He was a man who gave of himself to the poor, the destitute, those that couldn't be recognized by the Church of England. His famous statement "Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can" was a motto that he exemplified in word and action.

However, I've noticed that often in times of national/world disaster the CHM churches are nowhere to be found. We have become so obsessed with the piety aspect of religion (also advocated by Wesley) and it's moral codes (many of which are man-made) that we've lost sight of the other aspect of Wesley's teachings, which are gleaned directly from God's Word. We have evolved into a subculture of religion that is focused on doing, not living. And there is a difference. We can all be clones in our appearance, but if we don't have a sense of social concern we have NOTHING! Don't get me wrong, we have to live holy lives. We must obey God's commands and honor biblical principles. Meeting the needs of society while completely ignoring God's Word is just as unbalanced as the other. However, we most often tend to err on the side of withdrawing into our little CHM bubbles. That's wrong.

Listen to what James says in James 2:14-18 (NLT):
14Dear brothers and sisters, what's the use of saying you have faith if you don't prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can't save anyone. 15Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, 16and you say, "Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well"--but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
17So you see, it isn't enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn't show itself by good deeds is no faith at all--it is dead and useless.
18Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." I say, "I can't see your faith if you don't have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds."

Faith in action. I reek of hypocrisy, I know, writing these words. I'm sitting in an air-conditioned office in Idaho, far from the chaos of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. I don't have the money to fly to Texas to help the volunteers. With the price-gouging that's going on (that's a whole other post), I sure don't have the money to drive down. I've been convicted this week, though, because I don't know if I've really cared before. Sadly to say, I've never been part of a congregation or movement that taught or focused on the need for social action or actively participated in bettering their community. It's no excuse. As a Christian, I should have been aware before now. There's always been something missing, I'm now seeing. Sure, we preach and teach holiness. It's needed. We have the message of hope, of that I'm convinced. We run our bus routes. We have our Sunday School classes. Sometimes we stand in front of Planned Parenthood. We might even occasionally work with inner-city teens or occasionally feed the homeless. That's all good and commendable. It should be done. But do we care? Is it just a way to promote ourselves or convince others that our particular brand of theology is the right one? Do we truly love others in need?

It's funny, because the catalyst in this conviction didn't come from a sermon or even from witnessing this week's tragedies. It happened as I listened to a speaker representing the Black Congressional Caucus, a group that I usually differ with philosophically. I disagree with their idea of justice and equality and proposed solutions. However, the speaker read a verse from Scripture, one that I've heard many times and thought that I understood. It's found in Matthew 25:34-45 (NIV). Jesus is talking about His return and Judgement Day. You know it and can probably quote it:
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

With this being an example of a conversation at the Judgement, the seriousness is plain to see. Please understand in writing this, I am in no way trying to unjustly criticize anyone, who like me, considers themselves part of the CHM family. Trust me, I've been just as insensitive to the social ills around me as anyone. No, a blog is just the posting of my personal thoughts. This happens to be something that God is showing me right now. I just want to make sure that I don't lose my sense of responsibility to a world who not only needs our message, but also needs my love, compassion, and assistance. I want to be aware of the full spectrum of Christian responsibility: to love God, and to love my neighbor as myself. I end this rambling post with another quote from John Wesley: Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.