“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot…” (Revelation. 3:15).
Missionary Bill Carne had just described his work among Stone Age people in West Irian. He had introduced metal and cloth to these primitive people, and as his mission established a medical clinic both their health and their spiritual disposition began to improve. Bill stood at the door after the service as a well-dressed couple approached him. The wife had tears in her eyes as she told how much she wanted to help him, but the wife explained that they just couldn’t because of debt. She told how they had just remodeled their home and were making payments on a car and had just gotten over their heads in debt.
Scores of people can relate to what I’ve just described, and it’s easy to blame them, saying, “Well, their priorities aren’t right.” But the fact is, debt is like a deep hole, and the more we borrow to preserve a lifestyle which is actually beyond our means, the deeper goes our trouble.
It’s true, lots of people would like to be able to give. Their intentions are good, and their conscience troubles them because they give only token amounts, but the fact remains that they actually can’t give much. It’s just not there for them to give. They are trapped by debt like a giant mousetrap that keeps them pinned but still alive, at least partially.
Dr. Helen Roseveare, a missionary doctor who served with distinction in what was then known as the Belgian Congo, doesn’t really think, however, that not having enough money is the fundamental problem.
The fact that Dr. Roseveare was kidnapped by rebels, raped, and abused during her work in the Congo but didn’t give up and quit, gives you some idea of the depth of her personal commitment.
Yes, she would tell you that people need to come to grips with the economy. Yes, she would agree that we need to budget our money. But even so she thinks the real problem goes deeper. She says, “I tell Christians, wherever they are, that they must ‘refall’ in love with Jesus. Christianity in the West today says we must have a bigger church and bigger car and a better suit. Once Christians fall out of love with that and in love with Jesus, I won’t need to talk missions; they will become missionaries because they love Him.”
Could this possibly explain why the number of missionaries is growing faster among Third World churches that are often considered disadvantaged by their western brothers and sisters? My time doesn’t allow telling you of fantastic sacrifices which people have made for the cause of Jesus Christ by people who have very little of the world’s wealth.
The cult of selfishness has indeed taken its toll in our lives and culture today. Who would deny that by the time payments are made on all the debts we have, there is little left for God or Christian work?
Few Christian organizations today would tell you that they have not felt the strain of the economy and inflation, but the real cause must surely go deeper than economic factors. It has been my observation that when money is a problem, whether it is in a church or a Christian organization–a family for that matter–there is usually the condition of a heart which has grown cold in its relationship to God.
Somewhere we have missed God’s direction. Priorities are wrong. We’re in trouble. “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!” says Revelation 3:15 . Stinging words of reproof! Could this really be our fundamental problem? Possessions have become our gods and the end result is a bondage which allows little apart from the satisfaction of our appetites. Think about it.
Resource reading: Acts 4.
