Who Am I Responsible For? Prioritizing In the Kingdom
Feb 17
As I reflect over my past, I guess I never pondered the question as a Christian of who am I responsible for. It just never crossed my mind. I was always taught to give to my church and let them sort out who gets provided for. I give my 10% and well that’s that. It was up to the professionals to make the decision because as you have probably heard “You do you part and we will do the rest”. Well I want to talk about that a little bit in this post.
Who Is Repsonsible For Caring For Others
You are. Not your church, not your leadership, not some organization, but you. Now that doesn’t mean that the vehicle used to care for others can’t be one of those previously mentioned; however, you are still responsible. We have been miseducated to believe that we are to write checks blindly and trust that others are doing the right things with our resources. Nothing can be further from the truth. We see this in Luke 10:29-36, the parable of the good Samaritan. He took responsibility for his neighbor. In both James 2:14-17 and 1 John 3:17 the apostles James and John lays the responsibility at the feet the individual. Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46, lays the responsibility at the feet of those individuals also. Each individual Christian is responsible for meeting others needs and that responsibility can’t be passed on to others.
Who Am I Responsible For
This might sound elementary; however, the answer is whoever Jesus soevereignly brings into my life. Going back to Luke 10, and the parable of the good Samaritan Jesus commends a Samaritan for being more gracious than a pious Jew. The reason why is not because of how much he gave but simply the fact that the Samaritan recognized who his neighbor was. Our neighbor is anyone we come in contact with that has a need, no matter what that need may be (love, a kind word, finanical…). And if God has given us the resources (time, talent or treasure) we are to employ it to love others because ultimately none of those things are ours and even more importantly our lives are not even our own. We belong to the person who redeemed us so all we have is His.
Now, I will admit, this is much easier to write than to practice; none the less, it is true, a truth that we need the grace of God to walk in and pursue. Here is my struggle. Churches today use Acts 4 as a platform to raise resources, yet they don’t finish the story. If we read that narrative, even casually, it would seem that all of the money that was raised was given out. It wasn’t kept for a rainy day. It wasn’t kept to potentially hire a discipleship pastor or build a youth wing, it was collected, laid at the feet of the Apostles and then distributed to ALL who had needs, it doesn’t seem like they kept a little back and denied someone who had a need (much like churches keep reserves today), it seems like it was a huge bucket with a gaping hole in the bottom. And when we do see somebody holding back it did not turn out favorable for them.
Some Last Thoughts
I am not saying it is wrong for churches to hold reserves at any amount, I am saying that those churches need to quit picking and choosing parts of narratives and scripture to raise money. It is a manipulative ploy to do such a thing. Don’t preach that text without following all the way through to the conclusion. Next I am not saying you shouldn’t give to your local congregation, especially if they are generous and meeting the real physical needs of people. I am not saying churches shouldn’t hold anything back, it may not be the most pragmatic thing to do if you have mortgages, contracted salaries, utilities, taxes or whatever else comes with operating the institutional aspect of that church. In these times there have been many churches who have opened their buildings to the homeless and are providing refuge for small children, single women and even men and my hats off to such churches. That is why I am not a “house church” guy, though I believe our buildings can be used for much more than youth dances and bible studies.
What I am saying is that the responsibility to meet the needs of others rests in the hands of the individual christian. Some churches have given up the buildings and have decided to turn the buildings over into full-time homeless shelters, community centers and so forth and have moved to homes and use the buildings for big corporate meetings. I really like this personally, but anyway. Jesus does not let us stick our head in the sands while others have needs and allow us to say “well I have given to my church”. If we know those resources aren’t being used faithfully then we have an obligation to meet needs. I am responsible for everyone God puts in my path and I have the resources to meet such needs. This is Kingdom responsibility.
Wow… Lionel… Your blog is rocking this week! Great posts! Challenging, convicting, and right on the money!
-Alan
Thanks a bunch Alan
)
Alan,
Let me ask a question. Are we more obligated to people in our fellowship versus those outside our fellowship? How does that work? Do have a special committement to local churc members that go over and beyond my committement to those outside of my church?
Another great post. I’m teaching about offering ourselves as a living sacrifice as our reasonable/spiritual act of worshipping God this week. I’ve been chewing on Hebrews 13:15-16
Our sacrifice is to keep offering praise to God in the name of Jesus. But don’t forget to help others and to share your possessions with them. This too is like offering a sacrifice that pleases God.
Lionel,
It’s like the parable of the good Samaritan that you mentioned. If God brings them into my life, then I am responsible for them until God moves them out of my life. By the way, there are some people who are in my life much more than others.
-Alan
I pray it goes well Hutch, though I am sure it will.
Thanks Alan, I am beginning to learn this more and more each day.
Lionel,
Dear brother! You are so right!
When it comes to the Good Samaratin/the issue of responsibility, I think the other reality most miss is that of priorities of responsibilities.
For to me, its interesting that each of the kats who left the man on the road had something “legitmate” they needed to handle—like making it on time to the temple or going to fufill their duties as a priest and a Levite. And if they made it to their fellowship/gig in time to do their “responsibility”, cool—–but did that mean other responsibilities were not circumvented in the process that may have been greater? Matters of loving the weighter matters of law like Justice/Mercy rather than just following the outline…
Happens all the time–as many churches will discuss how having we need to have more time together in fellowship..and thus, we make that a priority. However, when we come together, we collectively pass about 3 to 4 homeless guys or others in need—and think that because another responsibility has been filled, it’s inconsequential as to other things. If honest, this has happened many times….where one’s late for fellowship/church and excited how they’re builing a sanctuary for the group….but could care less about opening it up to the destitute—and then saying “If you want to help the destitute, it’s upon you personally to do so”….giving the impression that the phrase “We need to help each other” is really a buzz word subject to convience.
Even for those not using buildings, its amazing to me to see that many times they can feel good that made it for Bible Study in their own homes—-and yet, if it came to finding ways to get the group in the homes to collectively hit the streets—-contentment would be more so in feeling “bad” for the people and “praying for them/wishing them well” so it could not be said that one did nothing/
Thats a good obeservation on both sides. I think Alan posted something really good about being a going people. We meet to encourage each other to go forth with the kingdom of God. I may write something that I will be putting in practice and where the Lord has really been convicting me on. But you are right even the house churches it become primarily about our ecclessiology and we don’t become a group who cares about the needs of others and caring for others and prioritzing others. Jesus seemed to prioritize people more than events and gathering.
Thanks Aussie John
With the Samaritan analogy, there’s also the reality that just because churches/individuals use their own homes (or buildings) to aid others in dire need may not mean that the true needs are being met.
How often do you hear churches say “Of course we help the poor!!” and then realize that its only the poor that look acceptable enough…while the Drug Addict off the street would NEVER be allowed in as quickly as the woman who had 5 kids/looked better.
Some will only aid those who show themselves “Able to PAY Back”–even though Jesus said in Luke 14:12-14 that when throwing a party, one should not invite those able to pay you back…and that specifically, those unable to do so were the ones to focus upon. But many times, the people/poor we do not LIKE are the very ones we don’t want to invite to fellowship…
And we cannot do otherwise seeing how CHRIST chose to treat us—–blessing/saving us even when we were not at our best and having compassion/mercy when we didn’t deserve it
Luke 10:1
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26″What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27He answered: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’]”
28″You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins[] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.
36″Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Sincerly, does anyone ever ask when it comes to the MAN that was helped by the Good Samaratan whether or not the man beaten on the road was a BAD MAN–or what his character was like? What if the man when he was in good shape would’ve probably been one who would’ve harmed the Samaratan himself if he saw him? None of those issues which we always seem to ask when it comes to helping others were of as much importance as the fact that the man was in need of HELP….and someone showed enough love to give it.
And that’s the issue I think many seem to forget. Cannot tell you the amount of stories I hear from those who used to be hopeless on the streets and in the realm of being qualified by others as “not deserving of aid/help” and how someone looked past the flaws and showed compassion on them in such a way that they truly saw the love/mercy of Christ and it made the difference in them being solid disciples/aiding others today.
But in our battle to discuss who we’re “responsible” for, how often do we think we’ve taken care of our responsibilities because we helped out others—-only to never realize that we helped out only those that we wanted to help and that fit our view of those who “deserve to be helped”.
All that aside, Great post…
What if the robber on the road was not a “helpless victim” who got taken out? What if the robbers who came to him were trying to take him out because they owned him money–with him coming to kill them and they getting to him first because they knew how wild the brother was (as many are today)? Or, what if the man who got beat up took some money from the robbers for a bad business deal (i.e. his family desperately needed some money, so they “loaned” it to him for a favor later—to which the man refused when seeing what it was they’d ask of him)…and in failing to pay them back…or refusing to back down when they threatened to expose him, they took him out?
All of that is speculation of course. But the text doesn’t say one thing about the man’s mindset character—as it could have been anything….but most seem to automatically lean toward seeing the beat up dude as more “helpless/innocent” than warranted because naturally we want to help “good people”—-rather than being open to being responsible for the bad ones as well. And what the scripture makes makes clear is that the man’s character was NOT a factor in whether or not responsibility was to be discussed. What mattered is that—-good or bad—your neighbor is anyone in need…….even if it’s enemies, whether it be Osama Ben Ladin…the PERSON convicted of Child Rape months ago…or your Co-Worker who gets on yo last nerve.
Luke 6:27-36 is still something I wrestle with—and praying for grace to fufill it. For its one thing being willing to aid the destitute who I get along with—but another when the woman is cussing you out or the guy wants to take you out too.
Brother Lionel,
Do you know of which post Alan made on the issue of being a “going people”? Would love to check it out
And yes, I do think agree than our ecclessiology has become to our detriment. Even the writer or Hebrews, when encouraging not failing to meet with each other, was not writing with it in mind that also had a job to do reflecting the Lord in the community—the very reason why many were being persecuted and didn’t want to get together anymore.
And some things, I do wonder about how Jesus would be treated since in his day he often got in EXTREME trouble for not supporting certain social events the same way others did…for if the gathering was solely about the gathering rather than gathering so others could go out/gather more to the group, it was not really true “gathering”. It was either a DEBATE/Philosophy session on Theology, Hanging out or just chilling.
Gabriel,
Lionel may mean one of these posts:
Gathering or Going?
Going… Really Going
The Gathered and the Sent
-Alan