Thinking is crucial in the Christian life. Pondering, meditating and mentally wrestling with complex concepts can be some of the most enlightening and worshipful times with the Lord! One of my favorite subjects of meditation is the course of my life. If God would've told me 3 years ago that he was going to send me to DC to share the gospel with college students, I probably would have never prayed the patented, "Lord, I want to be the person you want me to be" prayer freshmen year. I didn't think God would actually take me seriously! I thought perhaps he wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer or maybe even a...oh I don’t know, small-business owner. But a missionary? An evangelist? A full-time minister of the gospel? No way. That wasn't my plan. That's not what that prayer was about! Yet, 3 years, 2 disciples and 3 majors later, here I am raising support to go into full-time ministry in Washington, DC. Moral of the story: be careful what you pray for, God may actually take you up on it. My life will never be the same because of that prayer.
As a young, single guy in my 20s I realize that I have an awful lot to learn. We young people (particularly us men) radiate youthful ignorance. So I'm thankful for older men who provide wisdom, support and often times rebuke when needed. Funding your ministry by Scott Morton has been incredibly helpful in thinking through the support raising process. Near the back of the book, Morton has included a great deal of scripture to help us young guys (and perhaps some older/more experienced guys and gals) develop a biblical understanding of support raising. The one that has recently captured my thoughts is 2 Thessalonians 3:7-10.
Perhaps a little background of this church might be helpful. Have you ever noticed how much this book is preached in America? ...neither have I. Why not? I hear a lot of sermons on Romans and John but not much love for 2 Thessalonians. I think it's because the premise of the letter is something that we Americans cannot connect with. Matter of fact, they struggle with the very thing we need to embrace. The Thessalonians were under the impression that Christ was coming back, like...tomorrow! Chapter 2 begins with Paul writing,
"Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed...for that day will not come until the rebellion comes first"
Or in other words, "Relax guys, put away your pitchforks and take a shower...Christ isn't coming back for a while." Perhaps it could be said that the Thessalonians had an over-realized eschatology whereas we have an under-realized eschatology. All that means is that they think about the end times too much whereas we think that Earth is our permanent home and as a result we give very little thought to eternity.
Now why highlight this? What's the point of all this eschatology talk? ...and what in the world does this have to do with support raising?! Well it seems that in the bible there seems to be a biblical principle stating that our beliefs dictate our behavior and our behavior demonstrates our beliefs. Therefore, if our dear friends in Thessalonica believe wrong, they will in turn behave wrong. Next question: How are they behaving? One word: Lazy. They figure, "If Christ is coming back tomorrow, why work? Why be financially responsible? Why take a shower? To heck with hard work, I'm ready for heaven!" Unfortunately, Paul bursts their bubble by challenging their belief system in chapter 2. Now in chapter 3 he addresses their behavior. Verse 7 says, "We were not idle". Verse 8 continues, "With toil and labor we worked night and day". Finally in verse 10 he exclaims, "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat!"
Easy Paul! What about grace? What about the gospel? What about the Acts 2 community that we learn about at every single Christian conference? I mean, one of the reasons I love being a Christian so much is because of all the free stuff I get!
However, I think this stems from a false view of grace. Grace does not negate personal responsibility nor does it contradict the Acts 2 community. As a matter of fact, I think Paul is striving to protect the Acts 2 community in this passage. How can you have all things in common if you can't afford to buy anything? How can you sell your possessions if you can't buy possessions in the first place? Deeply embedded in the Acts 2 grace philosophy is the necessity of hard work. This is why Christians ought not to be lazy. Laziness ruins community! Now here's where support raising comes in. Ministry is now my job. Support raising is part of my job and in a very real way, if I am unwilling to work, I cannot eat. I'm challenged to view writing letters, making phone calls, setting up meetings and making appeals as "going to work". This is how God intends for me to provide for myself and Lord-willing a family someday. Through the gospel we learn that grace produces an attitude of devotion to hard work. I pray that you would work hard in response to God's grace.
He who calls you is faithful, he will surely do it.
