I have three instances recently where it has been suggested that either I or my church could be accused of being a soft touch.
I guess it it is understandable, but misplaced. Firstly I have to say how impacted I was twenty odd years ago by John Wimber's famous dictum " I am a fool for Christ, whose fool are you?" That way of thinking really turned my world upside down as a young Christian, and still does today.
The truth is it is not in anyone's nature to want to be anyone's fool, but some of the side-effects of not making yourself vulnerable is that it makes you hard, defensive and and self-interested. These aren't very endearing qualities for a church trying to be outward-focused and relevant to the community.
In our church we run a compassion ministry called Storehouse. Part of that ministry is a food bank where referred people can come and grab a bag of food to help them through a tough time when the system isn't there for them. We work with a number of local partners, including social services. However, it was suggested recently by one of our referral partners that some people were taking food from us when they didn't really need it. It really bothered them.
Another person thought if we let someone have something for free it might be more of a hindrance than a help because they might just be bad with finances and never learn the value of anything.
I was reminded this week of the story in John 5:1-6 where Jesus ministers at Bethesda. The place itself means House of Kindness. Jesus asks the disabled woman, "Do you want to get well?" What a question!
No I mean what a question. What a brilliant thing to ask. He could have just simply said, "Be healed".
If you ask any of the guys we help if they want their situation to change, you will generally be met with "yes". But ever so often we meet people who don't. Sometimes for the drug addict, they are actually happy having a habit because it has it's routine for them and comes with a like-minded group of friends. I suspect for the crippled woman, she had her routine as well, going down to the pool every day, along with all the other disabled people. I suspect they had quite a little community going.
So I am happy to be seen as a soft touch, because actually I know how easily I can become mean-spirited, given the right situation.
We accept that it means that some people who come to us for help, really don't want anything more than a bag of food. Meanwhile, others are desperate for change.
We know that to be generous to people and be a place that is kind to the unloved comes with a price. Usually that price is our personal pride and self-interest.
For that reason, I'd rather be a chump for Christ than a judge for Jesus.
ASD
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