All Men are Brothers!

            We rally the cry within our country, “All men are brothers!” If all men are brothers, then why are so many of our fellow men in need or ignored? Why are so many of the downtrodden stuck there?

            Oftentimes, society believes that it is not necessarily the churches’ duty to take care of those that are in need. However, God’s design is for the church to be the church, to take care of one another and provide for each other’s needs. I think of Acts 4, “³² All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all ³⁴ that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.” The needs talked about in these verses are physical needs, but amidst meeting the physical/material needs of people, it says that the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. They were also meeting the spiritual needs of the people. Sometimes, meeting the physical and material needs of the people is a way to reach them spiritually, whether inadvertently or intentionally over time. The government does provide services for those in need, but the Truth of the matter is that if the Church was truly being the Church, they wouldn’t have to! It is our job to serve just as Jesus came to serve, to be good stewards of our resources (which is not always money, but everything we have including knowledge, resources, etc.), and to lovingly come along beside these families to love and encourage and support them because in doing so, we are bringing glory to God. The government cannot give those in need the peace, the freedom, and the joy that comes from walking with Christ and the support and love that comes from walking with fellow believers through a strong ministry at local churches.

            Secondly, there are those that question the motives of those asking for resources or ‘handouts.’ One should view those in need the way that God views them and recognize that their physical/material state is the reality of the state of our hearts before we came to a saving faith in Christ. The beggar on the side of the road may not be Jesus in the flesh, but he is a creation of God, knit together just like those who have plenty. We must view people, all people, as those created by God for a purpose. As mentioned previously, sometimes meeting physical needs allows one to meet spiritual needs in the process, whether simply through the witness and love as a result of his actions or through a relationship forged with those in need and a gradual opportunity for verbally sharing his faith. The key factor is listening to the Holy Spirit's prompting in helping those that are in need. One must recognize that ‘helping’ can be just as self-righteous as ‘walking by’ if the state of our heart is not pure and genuine. One may not have an obligation to help everyone, but he does have an obligation to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit even if he thinks that the motives behind the need are not God-honoring. If one is prompted, he must obey.

            “We must and will find Christ in each and every man, when we look on them as brothers.”- Doris Day, The Lost Loneliness

The Reductionist View

 In a reductionist view, a religion is created in which we are the most important stars of the show and others tend to not be as important in our self-absorbed screenplay. We are also the directors of our play, deeming what is important and who should go where or say what according to what we believe the Producer may want; we don’t bother asking the Producer as He has so much to worry about that we are sure pertains strictly to ourselves. We provide answers and directions to all involved whenever we deem appropriate or if they ask, but, after all, we know what’s going on and that’s all that matters; why share the answers with those around us? Why put all the pieces together and show them the bigger picture that leads to the Final Act? We know what happens. We will be there; isn’t that all that matters?

No. It’s not all that matters. God created a world of unique and individual stars. He is the producer, the Director, the stage-hand, etc. He fulfills all roles that direct and guide and lead to the Final Act that glorifies Him. Each unique and individual star is as important to Him as the one before and the one that will come next. If one missing, the stage-lights dim more and more with each passing act. Nothing goes unnoticed or is lost on Him, and those He directs may stumble and fall, but all that He has created is purposed to work together. We must be vigilant to know our part within the play, but seek to find and support all of those around us should something go wrong or should the lights suddenly go out. When the curtain falls, we all will be either in an eternal round of applause for the Creator or in the alternative pit of despair and isolation from Him. He has provided us with the answers to all of our questions in His Word, and it is our job to know it, to digest it, and to share it. It’s the greatest story ever told, and He has chosen each one of us to be a part of it!

I got a little carried away, but my point is that the reductionist view reduces Christianity to a religion about ourselves and not about others. It sadly says that God’s concern is purely with ourselves. If we are to truly internalize the Scripture and seek the ‘why’ instead of the ‘what’ then we would see even more how truly unworthy we are and would not see ourselves above those around us and would want to share the news of salvation, redemption, and freedom in Jesus Christ. It has been my experience that we’re being taught a whole lot of ‘what’ to believe, but not ‘why’ and not only does our walk suffer, but our witness does as well. We must answer life’s questions within our own hearts in order to be able to convey the changing and saving power of Christ to others.