Body Love

Followers of Jesus were baptised into one body.

Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many (1 Cor 12:14).

The members of the body of Jesus are dependent on each other.

Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body (1 Cor 12:15).

The hand cannot say to the foot, your pain does not affect me, so I do not care about it.

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it (1 Cor 12:26).

If the foot is suffering, every member of the body should be feeling its pain.

The eye who has a professional salary, cannot say to the hand that has lost its income, your suffering does not affect me.

This is why John said,

If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person (1 John 3:17)?

In one member of a body of believers has worldly wealth, and another is suffering in poverty, the love that Jesus requires is missing.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters (1 John 3:16)?

If love is working, there will be caring and sharing with one another. People will not be able to stay in poverty for long.

Free Markets (24) - Upset by Inequality

Christians should be upset by inequality of incomes, but they must be precise about their response. Concern about inequality can mean either of two things.

1. I got too much income from market activity.
2. Those people over there gained too much.

The first possibility is easy to deal with. People who think that they have earned too much can give some away. Many of them already do.

The second option is different. It usually has a corollary:

The government should force those with too much to give it others.

Many people just assume that governments should take from those who gained “too much” and give it to those who are poor. No justification is given.

If they people have used force or stolen from others, they should be forced to make restitution to their victims. If they have gained “too much” by honest trading, or by producing good quality products, or by producing services that many people want, it is hard to understand why they should be punished.

Those who expect the government to deal with inequality are really saying,

• I do not like the state of the world
• I want the state to force the world to change.

Church leaders and theologians assume that the state should be involved solving poverty and inequality, but they do not think about what this means. What they are really saying is:

• Love cannot change this situation.
• Compassion will fail.
• We must use force.
• Only coercion can deliver the required change.

I can understand Marxists being advocates of force and coercion, but Christians have a better way. Love and compassion should be our trademark.

God has a Solution
God is actually more concerned about poverty than most Christians. His gospel is “good news to the poor”. Paul was certain that He does not want inequality.

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality (2 Cor 8:13-14).

God objective is equality, but his solution is unique as it does not require force or coercion. God’s solution to inequality is love and compassion.

God’s requires people with plenty to give generously to those who are hard pressed. He expects people who have prospered to demonstrate compassion for those who have not done so well. Compassion and sharing create equality.

Theologians who are concerned about inequality should be teaching Christians how to assist the poor. Paul did this all the time, because caring for the poor was the heart of his gospel. His letters are full of exhortations about giving.

Now about the collection for God's people…. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made (1 Cor 16:1-3).

Paul taught the Corinthians about the Lord’s Supper, because he was concerned about their lack of sharing (1 Cor 11:20-22).

Preparation for Crisis (9) - Sharing and the Gospel

The objective of sharing is to spread the good news and not to keep God's people comfortable. Christians should also use their resources to help people who are not Christians. When the Arameans were besieging Samaria, four lepers were shut outside the city. When they found the army had panicked and fled, the hungry lepers were the only ones who noticed.

They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them… Then they said to each other, "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves” (2 Kings 7:8,9).

Christians must not fall into this trap. We should aim to feed all the poor living in our communities, not just the Christians.
Everything that happens should be an opportunity for evangelism.

Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them… went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord (Acts 11:19-21).

Economic crisis will create opportunities for proclaiming the good news.

Preparation for Crisis (8) - How Sharing Works

Christians can escape the barter trap through giving and sharing. The hairdresser might bless the gardener by giving him a free haircut. The gardener can bless the butcher by giving him his surplus potatoes. The butcher can bless the motor mechanic by giving him some lamb chops. The motor mechanic can bless the farmer by repairing his tractor. The farmer can bless the miller by giving him some surplus wheat. The miller blesses the baker by giving him some flour. The baker can then bless the hairdresser by giving him some of his bread. Giving and sharing provides everyone with what they need without any money changing hands.

In the circle of giving, goods and services flow in the same way as in the market. The difference is that money does not flow the other way. What does flow is blessing. Jesus said that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Each person gets what they needed, but they also get God’s blessing because they gave to those who are need. The giving and sharing makes the whole community better off and increases God’s blessing at the same time.

Giving and sharing will only work if there is a high level of trust between the various Christians. The will be committed to giving and be constantly looking out for people in need. If the Christian farmer does not know the Christian miller, the circle of giving could break down. If the baker knows the hairdresser, but do not care enough to find out what he needs, the links will break. Often the circle of giving will be much larger and more complicated than I have shown.

The world would have to trade on a reciprocal basis: you scratch my back and I will polish your shoes. Blessing flows round and round, which is more effective than reciprocal swapping.