Okay, I have a confession to make. I love books. Big books, small books, old books, new books, interesting books, boring books, I love them all. I guess it started as a young boy in my father’s (he was a school teacher and preacher) home library. I would honestly rather buy books than food. It is hard for me to walk by a book store and not stop in to just browse - I never leave empty handed. Now, I recognize that some of you can’t relate to my passion for books, but we all have our financial vices. Maybe for you it is electronic gadgets like the new iphone that is coming out soon, or maybe it is shopping for clothes in the mall, or maybe it is as cheap and simple as a coffee addiction that needs to be fed every morning and if possible once in the afternoon, too! All these things seem acceptable to us because we want to justify our need to do special things for ourselves. After all I work hard, I’ve earned it, hey I even think I deserve it. So we spend a little here, a few dollars there, a hundred on this, a couple of hundred on that - what’s the big deal.
Well, recently a friend of mine preached a really challenging sermon on Luke 16:19-31 in which she used the word of God to reveal the selfishness of my heart, and no doubt the others who were in the room. If you haven’t read it you need to. It’s all about this rich guy (who is nameless so feel free to insert you name into the text), who daily walks by this beggar everyday and ignores him and his need. They both die, the poor man (Lazarus - thus the title of my current blog entry) goes to be with Abraham in a pleasant resting place and receives an eternal reward. The rich man dies and goes to hell, apparently because his lack of love for God and those who are in need. This rich man is tormented night and day and can do nothing about it because he is dead now and it is to late. The problem, as my friend pointed out in her sermon, is that most of us can’t relate to either of these two individuals. Even those of us who feel that we are broke, can’t identify with a guy who’s body is full of sores and who is so weak and broken that the dogs lick his wounds every day. On the other hand even those of you who feel that you make good money, can’t relate to a rich ruler after all it’s hard to feel rich when you have a ton of credit card debt and you are driving a used car. But the reality is, you are rich!
Statistics tell us that even those who live at the poverty line in America ($19,000 combined income for a family of 4), are in the top 11% of the world’s wealthiest population. If your family is fortunate enough to make $50,000 a year, you are in the top 1% of income earners in the world. That means that for the most part compared to the rest of the world we are that rich ruler. Since I’ve been here in the U.K. I’ve been exposed to more international news reports than I normally get back at home. Sadly, most Americans don’t realize that much of the world is in a food crisis right now. Recently, many poor nations met in Rome, along with the World Food Bank and the U.N. to discuss the critical measures that must take place in order to prevent the death of millions because of food shortages around the world. People are so hungry that they are literally rioting in the streets of Haiti and the U.N. reported today that due to drought and a lack of food an estimated 4 million Ethiopians will die of starvation this year alone, many of them children just like my beautiful daughter Zoe. As I ponder all these Lazaruses I kept thinking about all my books. I have been disappointed in myself and broken hearted ever since.
I know that buying books is not the problem in and of itself and that there is nothing wrong with learning and reading but I also realize that I live in a part of the world which is overly indulgent and callous to the dying cries of Lazarus. So now I am faced with the challenge of how do I make a difference and what do I need to change. The first thing that I did was prayed and asked God to change my heart and to help me to not become a comfortable commercialized Christian who ignores his convictions. Secondly, I decided to go on a book buying fast for a little while and redirect my money toward missionaries and ministries I know to be credible and making a difference. Finally, I am going to try to connect on a personal level with those who I know to be struggling the most and do what I can to stretch myself in my giving.
I hope that maybe you can think of somethings you can cut back on and join in with me by starting to pray for the Lazaruses in your life and around the world. I would also be interested in hearing any ideas you guys may have both on things that the Lord is prompting you to cut back on and on ideas on how we can help to be a bigger blessing to the Larzaruses in our lives. Let’s not disappoint God!
