Thursday, April 09, 2009
The Lord Will Bless
Yesterday, I commented on the need for hope in the current economic circumstance, and this post from Al Mohler seems right on point as a way to demonstrate that hope.
We have a very different source of hope than the world - and ours is the only source which will ultimately supply.
God provides.
God provides.
Not the government, not our employers, heck not even our own hard work. Just God.
When an agency, ministering in God's name, turns to the government teat for funding, it denies the fact that God provides.
There are lessons to be learned through all of this. When I was in professional ministry, I always had a hard time raising money. I ran a perpetual slight deficit. Never enough to actually shut things down, but just enough to nag. Since I left professional ministry there have been hard times, there have been tight times, but there have never been deficit times. God has supplied. Do you think just maybe implicit in those facts is the idea that I was supposed to be doing something besides professional ministry? I certainly do.
Maybe the right question to ask in these uncertain times is not "Where is the money going to come from?" - maybe the right question is "What should I be doing differently?" That is a hard question to ask - it's a scary question to ask. But remember:
God provides.
That is all you really need to know.
For decades, many religious organizations have sought federal funding for social ministry programs. The logic is understandable, and there is no doubt that religious institutions and organizations are often far more effective and efficient in delivering these services. The refusal to fund these programs would, in essence, represent a discrimination against these religious organizations. The Bush administration was right to see this as both wrong and costly.I have to agree with that on a very practical basis, but I think there is a different and better reason for Mohler's advice in this apparently hopeless day.
Nevertheless, I would never advise a Christian organization to participate in these federal programs or to receive tax monies. The brutal reality is that when government money flows, government regulation inevitably follows. Furthermore, taking government money sets a bad precedent and can easily become a seductive snare. When government policies violate the organization's convictions, or when regulations would require a compromise of those convictions, government funding is a trap.
We have a very different source of hope than the world - and ours is the only source which will ultimately supply.
Ps 121:1-2God provides.
I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from whence shall my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
God provides.
God provides.
Not the government, not our employers, heck not even our own hard work. Just God.
When an agency, ministering in God's name, turns to the government teat for funding, it denies the fact that God provides.
There are lessons to be learned through all of this. When I was in professional ministry, I always had a hard time raising money. I ran a perpetual slight deficit. Never enough to actually shut things down, but just enough to nag. Since I left professional ministry there have been hard times, there have been tight times, but there have never been deficit times. God has supplied. Do you think just maybe implicit in those facts is the idea that I was supposed to be doing something besides professional ministry? I certainly do.
Maybe the right question to ask in these uncertain times is not "Where is the money going to come from?" - maybe the right question is "What should I be doing differently?" That is a hard question to ask - it's a scary question to ask. But remember:
God provides.
That is all you really need to know.
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