Losing ourselves to find ourselves

// January 9th, 2009 // OUT LOUD THOUGHTS

First, he criticized the long-term perspective of Obama’s plan, saying essentially, “He’s buying himself time, but if he doesn’t produce results in the short-run congress will turn on him.” That may indeed be true of congress, but if it’s true of the American people, we’re sunk as a nation. Unless the populace can begin to see past their own pocketbooks to the bigger picture we’ll continue to bankrupt ourselves in every way.

Second, concerning the state of the economy he summarized, “Americans are buying only what they need, and that is no path to prosperity

Ugh. If we’re hoping to get back on the treadmill of insane, unfettered economic growth based on a smothering deluge of consumer crap, we’re sunk. What America needs on the whole is the same thing every American needs as an individual; a moral economy of just, reasonable, and sustainable prosperity…”- Jason Coker

My friend Jason wrote this yesterday in response to the Obama speech. Essentially the conclusion is that – not only if something is done by legislators – if the average American can’t live in a completely different kind of way, then we’re sunk.

And you know what I think? I think we are sunk.

Check this out:

Matthew 7:24-27
So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them [obeying them] will be like a [a]sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a stupid (foolish) man who built his house upon the sand. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell–and great and complete was the fall of it.

Now I’m not a doom and gloom prophet that’s not what this is about. But what Jesus was saying here is that whatever is your god or whatever is your object of trust – whatever you find comfort and security in – and particularly where you lock your heart – if it’s the wrong thing then there is going to total collapse.
And I think for a while now in the United States, that place of comfort, security, and maybe even passion has been things – possessions, comfort, toys. We’ve used those things to validate our success, to define ourselves, and often to justify our existence. And when those things are taken away what are we left with? We’ve lost ourselves, our dreams are crushed, and we move to desperation and depression. In reality that’s who we are in our brokenness with God, but we can insulate and numb ourselves with the stuff. And when the stuff is gone, there is a tremendous identity crisis.

Right now, the average American spends something like $1.25 for every dollar they make. If you told the average American to just save a penny on the dollar and don’t spend over that, can you imagine what a lifestyle shift that would create. Smaller homes, fewer cars, toys, vacations, presents at Christmas. But it’s going to take much more sacrifice than that to get things back in order.

And you know what? No one is going to be willing to do that? You know why? Because when the toys go out the window so does the identity. How will they define themselves now? And so that leads to depression and desperation.

My prediction: people will spend and spend until things collapse.

Some people’s situations are already collapsing. They see the writing on the wall. And rather than deal with the loss, desperation, and identity crisis, they will resort to taking their own lives. I’m sorry, but it will happen.

Last night when Jessica and I went to bed we were talking about these very things. She brought up her conversation with her late grandmother who lived during the depression – the first one, not this one. And she told Jessica how they just took care of people with what they had. Her grandparents were both strong Christians – Catholic Charismatics, in fact. And with all the knocks on the Catholic Church through the years, there’s no doubt that the Catholic Church has reached out to the poor and less fortunate. It’s part of their DNA.

The thing is that it was supposed to be part of the DNA of the universal church that Jesus started. And in the middle of this economic crisis, the Church has yet to respond. Oh, I’ve watched churches do their nice little financial series, but that is such a joke when the bigger issue is an identity crisis. If God hasn’t defined, validated, and secured us then we’re doomed.

The Church has a really difficult time responding though, because the average local church has overextended itself with brilliant weekend services, state-of-the-art facilities, expensive programs and the like and can’t even come up with a couple of extra bucks to help a single family pay a light bill.

And you know what? The programs won’t go away. They’ll keep sucking dollars and we’ll keep selling this soft serve Christianity.

And the average Christian family will go down the tubes as well because we’ve reinforced this whole concept of prosperity by propping it up with the cross. The problem is that the Jesus I know was always calling people to leave stuff, to sacrifice, and to give up your whole life. When’s the last time you heard the word “sacrifice” in church. We’re too scared to do that.

I’m not being negative here at all. I sometimes refer to myself as the pimple on the butt of the Church. You’ve got to squeeze me, sit on your other cheek, or pretend I’m not there, but we’ve got to confront where we’re living.

You see, there used to be this Church who defined themselves in a very different way. And if they didn’t possess the money or means to help someone, they’d actually do without themselves – even selling their own “things” – so that they could meet needs. [Acts 2:43-47]

You see they were truly losing “themselves” for people. Isn’t that an incredible picture? Because that’s what is happening to people across the country unwillingly – they are losing themselves. But this Church that are our ancestors now, they willingly lost themselves for others.

I have some people close to me who’ve recently lost jobs and are losing stuff. They have medical issues, they have risky living situations. And their very churches – their local family – isn’t even responding. I half-think that it’s because they can’t. They can’t because they’re overextended, but they can’t because they’re unwilling to lose themselves to do it. It might mean they have to sell something or downsize their house or miss a meal.

If ministry to the poor isn’t something that you think is a priority to being a Christian, then I guess we’re going to minister to fewer and fewer people because there are about to be some new poor people.

Tell me: forget the government – how are you going to respond to 2.6 million lost jobs this past year? If you are a Christian it’s your job description to respond no matter what it costs you.

Obama talks about who Americans have always been and how they used to respond. I don’t think the average contemporary American can even respond to that.

I’d like to have the dream about who the Church could be again. It’s in our DNA. And if we have any Holy Spirit in us at all, we have to be defined by something else other than things. We shouldn’t have an identity crisis. And we should be moved and broken over the same things that He is moved and broken over. And I know that God’s heart is with the people who are hurting and losing everything right now, and He wants to be able to answer their prayers, hear their cries in desperation and show up and save the day. Meanwhile, we’re too busy trying to save our stuff and missing the beat of His heart.

I’m not sitting around and waiting on some Christian leader to give me permission to act. The collapse is on its way. And we need to be able to respond.

And you know what ? This is a beautiful, exciting time. Because when all the stuff is stripped away and the layers come off and we are laid bare, then the condition of souls are going to be looking for the true Remedy. And we can bring it because we’ve known Him all along. [look back at that Scripture in Acts]

But we’ve got to be able to feed and to clothe and probably give up a lot of our stuff to do it.

Are you ready? I’m chomping at the bit.

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