Friday 28 September 2007

Background

In this book, Paul talks at great length about giving money tosupport the work of early Church.

We can feel rather afraid of talking about money, it makes manypeople uncomfortable. Paul was writing to the Church in Corinth,now in Greece, and he was telling them about how generous another,less wealthy church in Macedonia, north of Corinth, had been.

It is not just in Biblical times that the poor show the rich how togive generously.

A group of Christians in Peru who live in great poverty, some withhomes without roofs, ensure that when they are welcoming people tochurch they are wearing a smart uniform. When asked about this byEuropean travellers, they said they want to make their best effortsfor the work of God.

An analysis of the giving of a wealthy suburban church inManchester and a neighbouring council estate showed that members atthe poorer church gave proportionately much more in theircollection plates than the wealthy church.

God doesn't want any of humanity to be hungry, thirsty or withoutshelter. The Bible does not celebrate poverty, indeed it condemnsthe rich for not sharing their wealth. In some ways it is shamefulthat as a rich nation, we have to learn about giving generouslyfrom the poor.

Giving of all that we have is an important part of Christianwitness, and sharing our wealth is important. If all Christiansgave as generously as the early Church in Macedonia, or the churchon the South Manchester Council estate then could we eliminatehunger?

To Ponder

To paraphrase Martin Luther, there are threetypes of conversion - the head, the heart and the wallet. Do youfind giving to support the Church challenging? In what ways?

How is the giving of money linked to the themethis week of oppression and justice?