Overlooking The ‘And’
James 1:27 NLT – “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”
This verse hit me differently this week.
See, there’s this weird thing going on in my head recently, and I’ve debated writing about it for a long time simply because I don’t know if I have it fully processed and I’m sure there’s a chance, depending on my wording, I could really piss some folks off.
I feel like there’s this technology induced trend right now where every charity out there is fighting for who is the most charitable. Have you seen it? Twitter wars, Facebook ‘Like’ battles, who can raise the most awareness or get on the most morning talk shows. There’s even people out there that seem to bounce from one charity to another depending on it’s popularity or influence. Folks creating new charities based on other charities, but they do it better. Come on, tell me you haven’t seen this?
This is a good thing….. right?
I mean, what’s wrong with everyone on Twitter fighting over who’s going to give the most clean water? What’s wrong with these charities being ‘popular’? It’s helping. Right?
Have you ever watched someone online and thought, “Man, that must be the most loving, charitable person on the planet. They are constantly Tweeting about what they are involved in and how they are changing the world. How do they even find the time to pour themselves into so much ‘good’?”? Then you’ve met that person and they are too wrapped up in their own world to give you the time of day? They blow you off because you’ve got nothing to offer their ’cause’?
Have you ever felt that way? Or is it just me?
I’ve met some folks, who from the outside look like the most charitable, giving, loving people in the world and have treated me and others around them like absolute garbage because I can’t further their efforts at that exact moment. They are too busy pursuing their charity to even bother speaking to the ‘normal’ people.
Then this week I stumbled onto this verse. See that ‘and’ right there in the middle of that verse? It’s interesting isn’t it? Now, I’m no Bible scholar, I don’t know the original Greek or any of that, but I know what the word “and” means. I know it means “also”.
“In addition to.”
See we’re told, “pure and genuine religion means caring for the orphans and widows”, but that’s where most people stop. Unfortunately there’s that pesky “and” there. ”AND refusing to let the world corrupt you.” Interesting.
How many times have we seen people corrupted by the world through ego, arrogance, fame, recognition? We have shows following the ‘famous’ folks through rehab. We’ve watched pop-stars destroy their lives because of their fame, politicians corrupted by money and power. We’ve even seen powerful pastors crack under the pressure of popularity. I wonder if that’s where that “and” is going.
What about a more ‘well known’ verse?
1 Corinthians 13:3 NLT - “If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”
I wonder what the word “others” means there. Other countries? Other states? Other cities? Other neighborhoods? Other churches? Or all ‘others’? Does it matter if the person sitting next to you at church can’t further your cause? Does it matter if the Home Depot checkout lady can’t fund your missions trip expenses? Or has the world started corrupting?
I wonder how Jesus would have handled this online charity trend. I wonder what he would have thought about everyone announcing publicly how much they are doing to ‘personally’ change the world for the better. But then again, I wonder if he kind of already said something about it.
Matthew 6:3 NLT - ”But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand (*or your 20,000 Twitter followers) know what your right hand is doing.” ( *I added the Twitter part.)
The In-Betweens
I saw a Tweet the other day from a well known…. well…. Tweeter that said, “I get to work with the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich. The contrast is mind boggling.” Now, nothing against that Tweet specifically or it’s Tweeter, but it really hit me reading it that this is exactly how our culture lives. Whatever gets us the most attention. That’s where we swerve, right?
There’s a psychological theory called “Basking In Reflected Glory” or “Birging” and the basic idea is this:
Basking In Reflected Glory (BIRGing) is a self-serving cognition whereby an individual associates themself with successful others such that another’s success becomes their own.
We love to be associated with what’s “in” don’t we? We see it in sports teams – “We finally won a championship!”. We see it on bumper stickers – “My child is an Honor Student.” and now we are seeing it in charity. Anyone getting noticed for doing something is immediately elevated in our minds.
Now here’s the tricky part, because I am by no means saying that there’s anything wrong with helping the poor, the orphan or the widow. Let’s read that sentence again. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH HELPING THE POOR, THE ORPHAN OR THE WIDOW. In fact I wholeheartedly agree with it, but I do think there’s a danger in refusing to also focus on “the in-betweens”.
If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. – 1 Corinthians 13:3
Here’s the interesting thing. I’ve come in contact with some of the most “charitable” folks in Nashville. Folks being praised all over the Internet because of the work they have done in Haiti and Africa and even in downtown Nashville to feed the homeless. These people are constantly announcing how much they are doing to raise funds for this or that, being interviewed for different things, and all that’s great… until they refuse to look their neighbors in the eye because they are now somehow “celebritized” because of their charity efforts. They can’t be bothered by ‘the in-betweens’. They are too busy helping someone else, or pursuing their own renown.
Now, I know I’m not going to win any popularity points with this post and honestly, this is something that I’m currently struggling with because it seems a little backwards, but I think there is one current theme throughout the Bible and that is LOVE. Not just for the starving across an ocean, but for the checker at the grocery store as well. Not just for what will get you a write-up on CNN.com, but for also for the person that works for airport security who’s tired of people hating them.
What would your day look like if you started to focus on ‘The In-Betweens’?
Date Night
Kristin and I have been “through the fire” the past few weeks. We’ve struggled more with life than we ever have and we both feel drained and beat up. We’ve needed to be with each other more than ever and spent the least amount of time together. We’ve been busy and going separate directions and tonight we are hanging out. No Target date tonight. A real live, quiet dinner with a waiter and drinks and everything.
It’s not like we are going to Paris or anything but for us it’s something we need tonight. I think we are just going to head to the city, find a Cheesecake Factory and then walk around. Find some cool shops to look at, and connect as a married couple. Refresh and maybe even hold hands. And I am excited about it. I’m excited about connecting with my wife again, and forgetting about the stresses of life for a few hours.
What’s the best date you’ve had?
