My friends Francis and Vladimir

I was sitting at the picnic table with Vladimir and Kyle while Josh, Faith and Aaron made fried rice and wontons in the kitchen. I've never met anyone who likes to talk about Jesus as much as Vladimir does. His theology is a little unorthodox sometimes, and it always challenges me; but I have never known someone quite as willing as Vlad to obey Jesus unconditionally.

Well, as we sat there together, tantalized by the smell of the delicious dinner in the making, Vlad began to talk about a book he is reading on the life of Francis of Assisi - one crazy dude. First, he sold a bunch of his father's textiles. Then, when his father took him to court, he renounced his nobility, considerable inheritance, and even the clothes on his back, and began to live a life of poverty and charity. He was known for his love of animals and nature, his life of poverty, and his unmatched generosity and compassion. It's like he took seriously the words, "One thing you lack; sell all you have and give it to the poor" or "Don't store up for yourselves treasures on earth...but treasures in heaven."

Vlad said he appreciated Francis' story because of disagreements he has had with his own parents. Vlad and his parents both love the Lord with all their hearts, but they have often disagreed about giving money to the poor. Vlad, in his usual extreme fashion, has a habit of giving money away as soon as he gets it. It is like it burns a hole in his pocket, as if it does not truly belong to him as long as he knows someone is without food or shelter. For Vlad, good stewardship means giving as much money to the poor as possible.

His parents have often expressed to him the need for a little more discretion when giving away his money. You can give away your money, just not all of it as soon as you get it. They make a good point that the intention is wonderful, but that giving must be done with thoughtfulness, discernment, and wisdom.

This conversation raised some interesting questions in my mind. How is "good stewardship" defined in the Kingdom of God? How toxic is wealth for a believer? Can thoughtless giving be destructive? In a world of endless need, how is generosity defined? I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Leave a comment. What do you think about these questions?

I will not attempt to answer these questions here, but I will make a few statements that will hopefully be provocative enough to spark some discussion.

Stewardship

There is a temptation to equate stewardship with good business sense or successful financial planning. The problem is, our ultimate goal is not a successful business or a prosperous 401k or even personal financial stability. In the kingdom, one is called to trust God for his/her daily bread, and money becomes a piece of paper, useful only insofar as we use it to advance the kingdom - loosing the chains of the oppressed, binding up the broken-hearted, proclaiming good news to the poor, ministering to Jesus in his most distressing disguises. I wonder who is a better Kingdom steward: Vladimir or your average elder, selected for his business success and management skills?

Toxicity of Wealth

The story of the Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10) pierces right to the core of this issue. First of all, it is important to note that before asking him to sell his possessions or watching his response to that request, "Jesus looked at him and loved him." So Jesus' love for him is not dependent on his response. His entrance to the Kingdom, on the other hand, is. As much as Jesus loves him, he lets him walk away. Jesus does not call him back and say, "It's okay! Just give ten percent!" or "Wait, as long as everything you have is available for God, you can keep it." He lets him walk away, and he laments how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom (portrayed in this passage primarily as a present reality). When I talk about this passage with people, it is often drawn back to motivation. "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also," so as long as my heart is in the right place, it's okay. But what if Jesus meant, "Look at your credit card statement. Now, where is your heart?"

Of course, Jesus also says, "What is impossible with man is possible with God." But does this mean that God changes the rules of the kingdom so that rich folks can come on in and keep the party going, or does it mean that God is able to free people of the attachment to wealth that made the Rich Young Ruler walk away?

What is it that makes wealth such a barrier to Kingdom life, and why do we think we can enter with all our stuff when the Rich Young Ruler could not?

Harmful Giving

Jesus said, "Give to everyone who asks, and don't turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." Okay, but seriously, Jesus, what if the guy is going to buy drugs? What if he is only asking because he lost his job due to irresponsibility? What if I know she is lying to me about her reasons for asking? Do I still give?

I'm not listing these questions in mocking way or to make some point; they are legitimate questions that I struggle with every day. There are a few ways to just avoid them entirely. We could just give to organizations that we trust to dispense the funds with wisdom. We could just not give to anyone, lest we accidentally fund someone's sin or enable their laziness. The problem is, I look in Matthew 25, and every act that Jesus uses for sorting the sheep and the goats is a personal act of compassions, mano a mano. Plus an impersonal act of giving has almost no transformative power in the life of the giver, whereas relationships that are formed across class lines are at the very heart of the kingdom in which the poor are blessed and the first are last.

But then common sense comes back in and says, "If you really care about helping someone and not just getting some spiritual high, you will put a little more thought into it." And that is true also. How can we be faithful to the call of Jesus, neither theologizing away its offensiveness nor taking it so literally that we work against its spirit?

These are hard questions. This is a hard tension. Perhaps in a later post, I will detail some of the things we do to try to manage these tensions, but right now, I want to hear what you think about it. How do you balance this tension as you try to follow Jesus?

Generosity in a Global Village

Do you know any kids in your neighborhood? Imagine that six year old boy down the street comes walking up to you one day as you are out watering the yard. His belly protrudes out from a shrunken frame. He hasn't eaten in six days. His muscles are atrophied from malnutrition. If you don't help him, he will starve. In this situation, would there really be any question about whether you should help him or not?

So then, when our world has shrunk to the point that all we have to do is flip on the TV and suddenly we are aware of millions of neighbors who don't have food or clean water or shoes or homes - when we live in a global village, what does it mean to love our neighbors? Shane Claiborne says, "True generosity is measured not by how much we give away but by how much we have left, especially when we look at the needs of our neighbors."

There is a lot here! I would love to hear your comments, questions, insights and stories.