Injustice ... in the Church?
Job 24:9-11, NLT: "The wicked snatch a widow's child from her breast, taking the baby as security for a loan. The poor must go about naked, without any clothing. They harvest food for others while they themselves are starving. They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it, and they tread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst."
Reading this text makes one wag his head from side to side and say, "Ain't that a shame!" What is described here is just wrong. I mean, this is just unjust! If this were happening today, we would argue that the ACLU needs to intervene for these poor migrant workers!
This text in Job 24 describes the behavior of the wicked. By observation, we may deduce a definition of evil -- possessing the power to meet need, but refusing to ease the needy's burden.
Why? Is it greed? I mean, don't you think that your workers would work better if they had clothes (health care and benefits)? If it gets cold and they're naked and exposed, they are more likely to get sick. That's just good business sense! Don't you think your workers would work better if they didn't come to the fields hungry? Maslow's hierarchy of needs suggests that there are some basic things that must be addressed before one would climb the ladder toward productivity and self-actualization. Give the poor folk working for you what they need to be healthy. Let them share in the harvest. Somebody wisely said that happy sheep give wool.
This text arrested my attention: the poor are harvesting food for others while they themselves are starving. The poor are pressing out olive oil without being allowed to taste it. The poor are treading in the winepress and simultaneously suffering from thirst.
That's a pretty bad picture.
Fifty-two (52) Sabbaths out of a year tithes are lifted in local churches all throughout North America. Many of those local churches are filled with members who have real needs. Many of those local churches struggle financially to do ministry. And all this while sending every single dime of that tithe away from their local church to a conference. I declare, it appears that many of these local churches are harvesting for others while they themselves are starving. They are pressing out olive oil without being allowed to taste it. They are treading in the winepress as they suffer from thirst.
To be fair, there are churches that have manicured lawns in the suburbs. They are attended by wealthy and upper middle class members who have been blessed with significant amounts of disposable income. These churches have members who can "double tithe" without the least bit of negative effect upon their home life. These are, obviously, not representative of "the poor." But there are churches that struggle under a system that is, for lack of a clearer term, oppressive and insensitive. Money that could be used to build the kingdom of God and stabilize disciples is passing through their hands.
The troubling thing is that those who receive the harvest are unwilling to engage in a dialogue that would ultimately benefit them too. Those who receive the harvest are too comfortable.
The Adventist church needs to have dialogue about the flow of tithe within the denomination! Yes, I said it. We need it. Folk who are "lickin' the sweets in travel budgets" are reluctant to talk about it. But that doesn't change the fact that we really should be talking.
I do not claim to be a prophet. But I believe that one of these days the sleeping giant of the laity is going to wake up. They are going to begin to ask pointed questions. And when they do, I predict that if we don't initiate the change now, it ain't gonna be pretty. Maybe it's just me, but it seems better to lead change than to get ground under by it.
[I'm not a radical. I'm not courageous. I'm just clear that where we are and where we are supposed to be is not one and the same.]
Reading this text makes one wag his head from side to side and say, "Ain't that a shame!" What is described here is just wrong. I mean, this is just unjust! If this were happening today, we would argue that the ACLU needs to intervene for these poor migrant workers!
This text in Job 24 describes the behavior of the wicked. By observation, we may deduce a definition of evil -- possessing the power to meet need, but refusing to ease the needy's burden.
Why? Is it greed? I mean, don't you think that your workers would work better if they had clothes (health care and benefits)? If it gets cold and they're naked and exposed, they are more likely to get sick. That's just good business sense! Don't you think your workers would work better if they didn't come to the fields hungry? Maslow's hierarchy of needs suggests that there are some basic things that must be addressed before one would climb the ladder toward productivity and self-actualization. Give the poor folk working for you what they need to be healthy. Let them share in the harvest. Somebody wisely said that happy sheep give wool.
This text arrested my attention: the poor are harvesting food for others while they themselves are starving. The poor are pressing out olive oil without being allowed to taste it. The poor are treading in the winepress and simultaneously suffering from thirst.
That's a pretty bad picture.
Fifty-two (52) Sabbaths out of a year tithes are lifted in local churches all throughout North America. Many of those local churches are filled with members who have real needs. Many of those local churches struggle financially to do ministry. And all this while sending every single dime of that tithe away from their local church to a conference. I declare, it appears that many of these local churches are harvesting for others while they themselves are starving. They are pressing out olive oil without being allowed to taste it. They are treading in the winepress as they suffer from thirst.
To be fair, there are churches that have manicured lawns in the suburbs. They are attended by wealthy and upper middle class members who have been blessed with significant amounts of disposable income. These churches have members who can "double tithe" without the least bit of negative effect upon their home life. These are, obviously, not representative of "the poor." But there are churches that struggle under a system that is, for lack of a clearer term, oppressive and insensitive. Money that could be used to build the kingdom of God and stabilize disciples is passing through their hands.
The troubling thing is that those who receive the harvest are unwilling to engage in a dialogue that would ultimately benefit them too. Those who receive the harvest are too comfortable.
The Adventist church needs to have dialogue about the flow of tithe within the denomination! Yes, I said it. We need it. Folk who are "lickin' the sweets in travel budgets" are reluctant to talk about it. But that doesn't change the fact that we really should be talking.
I do not claim to be a prophet. But I believe that one of these days the sleeping giant of the laity is going to wake up. They are going to begin to ask pointed questions. And when they do, I predict that if we don't initiate the change now, it ain't gonna be pretty. Maybe it's just me, but it seems better to lead change than to get ground under by it.
[I'm not a radical. I'm not courageous. I'm just clear that where we are and where we are supposed to be is not one and the same.]
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