Need All Around Us

"America is the wealthiest nation in the world, and our prosperous middle class is unparalleled in all of history. But the way we handle our money is scandalous." — Jerry Bridges, "Respectable Sins"

For our Adult Sunday Community, we've been looking at a book by Jerry Bridges called "Respectable Sins." It's a call to action for Christians, urging them to combat the "minor" sins we've come to tolerate and accept while we paint a bullseye on the "major" sins of the world.

It has sometimes been difficult or frustrating to read, but that's the point. This is a book that calls out a lot of the little things we do in our daily lives that don't reflect the lifestyle and behavior we're called to as Christians.

Other times it's been difficult to read because I don't agree with the narrow focus of Bridges' take on these issues. In the last chapter we read, on Worldliness, Bridges talked about money, and the way Americans and Christians use their money. He has some valid points.

It's a shame that Evangelicals only give 4.4 percent away. And it's a shame — and a big problem — that so many Americans are consumed by debt. Our debt to equity ratio as a nation is out of whack, and that's something we should really be thinking about.

But when he got to the way the church spends money on missions, I had some questions. He noted that about three percent goes overseas, and used that as a way of saying the churches are failing to tithe 10 percent to mission. To me, if it's true that only three percent goes to mission, that's a shame. But if the only definition of mission is overseas work, that, too, is missing the point.

We might be the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, but this is still an incredible mission field. The United States is wealthy, but all its citizens are not. And the middle class he uplifts in the book, well that's disappearing quickly as the gap between haves and have nots widens.

There is plenty of "mission" work to be done in urban centers and big cities throughout the country. Here in Colorado, our church is hosting a summer food program site because one in six children lives in poverty in El Paso and Teller counties, and without the free food provided by these sites they may not get a meal each day. That is a problem. That is the kind of thing that breaks God's heart, and it should break the heart of His people, too.

And it's not just combatting poverty or other social issues that must be done here, we need to evangelize, too. When you look at the list of the fastest growing countries in terms of Christianity, the United States isn't on it. But we are on the list of countries where Christianity is rapidly declining. If we don't work, as a church, to address that issue, it won't matter what percentage of money is going overseas because there won't be a church to run the missions program.

So, should Christians in the United States be more generous with their time, talent, and treasure? Yes, we should. But missions encompasses a lot more than the work down outside our own borders, and we need to recognize those needs, too.