American Salvation

We don’t need Jesus as much as our ancient forbears did.

That’s not to say that we don’t need the forgiveness of our sins. Absolutely, we desperately need that. And we need a relationship with God. It is a wonderful feeling to know that, if we ever need God, we can pray to him and He’s there for us. It’s good to have that security blanket, if we ever need Him. And, of course, we need Him everyday. That’s why we need to pray daily. Because we need Him.

So why don’t we pray?

Well, sure, we prayed for Aunt Marge just last week. She was going into surgery. But she’s okay, because the doctors fixed her right up. And we prayed for Tim, from our church, because he was going to Africa to visit some people who needed help. We prayed for his protection. He got back okay. Of course, we knew that air travel is the safest way to go. And there weren’t any wars where he was going. But we’re glad we prayed, just in case.

And, of course, we worship God. Some of us do it just on Sundays, and some every day. But we recognize that its our responsibility to worship Him because He gave us life and created the world and provided us with the basics of every living thing. So we thank him for our food, although we know that it came from stores after being processed after being grown in farms. But somewhere back there, God did something to get us the food, so we thank Him. It’s only respectful.

It’s not like we believe that God doesn’t work today. We certainly recognize God’s power in our lives. It’s not like God is just some clockworker who put in the rechargeable battery and let it go. So why do we often practically act like deists? Why does it seem as if our lives wouldn’t really be any different if we were just trying to be “good people”?

Isn’t Christianity supposed to be something more intense? What are we missing?

Honestly, what we are missing is salvation.

“No, no,” you interrupt, “you don’t understand. We HAVE salvation. We have it in Jesus. Jesus died on the cross. We believe. So we have forgiveness and a relationship with God. We already have it.”

The problem is that forgiveness is only one part of salvation. It’s important, that’s true, but its not the whole ball of wax. Jesus offered us a lot more than just forgiveness. He offers us the kingdom of God. That’s quite a package. It’s just that so few people really know what it all entails.

When Jesus offered us the kingdom, he offered us a nation of justice. He offered us a nation that acts on the principle of caring for everyone, without exception, so that everyone will be cared for. Justice is in Jesus’ hands, and he offers it to us.

But we already have justice, don’t we? That’s what we are told. We live in a great nation of equality, where no one receives special treatment because of who they are. Everyone is treated the same, no matter what their sex or their race or their social class or their wealth. Everyone receives the same justice, the same opportunities… or, at least, that’s how it is supposed to work.

I guess perhaps we don’t all have justice. I guess there is still people of color who don’t receive equal treatment. There are still women and even men who are refused jobs because of their sex. There are immigrants and the homeless who aren’t treated with fairness. There are still the mentally ill who are not given a fair shake. So maybe we still need Jesus’ offer of justice after all.

When Jesus offered the kingdom of God, he was offering the outcast and lowly the opportunity to be rulers over the world. He proclaimed good news to the poor, freedom to the prisoners and a new start to sinners. Anyone could have the opportunity to lead in Jesus’ kingdom—they didn’t have to be rich or popular or part of a ruling class or a certain educational level. Anyone could be powerful or have authority through the Holy Spirit, and rule with Jesus.

But in our society, we already have that, don’t we. After all, any kid in America could be whatever they want to be. If a kid wants to be part of the police or an astronaut or even President of the whole country all they have to do is work hard and nothing will stop them from achieving their goal, right?

But, actually, I wanted to be an astronaut until I found out that very few people could be in the few slots available for the position. And I wasn’t good enough at science anyway. Maybe, they said, I could be a social worker. And as far as president? When was the last time a homeless person became president? Or a woman? Or a person of color? When was the last time an uneducated person become president? No, the presidency is for a very few. I guess we need Jesus’ salvation for the outcast after all.

When Jesus offered us the kingdom of God, he offered us God’s knowledge and wisdom in all things. He offered us the opportunity to know God’s righteousness and to know the hidden things of God. We can have the Holy Spirit who will guide us in our lives and give us wisdom in every circumstance.

But maybe we don’t need that knowledge anymore. After all, we have great colleges and universities where we can learn anything of importance. We have the internet to pick up any other kind of fact that we need. And we have counselors and psychologists to offer us wisdom and counsel in our lives.

On the other hand, I never really learned that much in college. I mean it was helpful, but it really only pointed the way. And the ethics courses were pretty sketchy. And though I can get a lot of facts in our society, I can’t tell the difference between Truth and the various forms of untruth that are floating around out there. It’s so hard to tell the difference. And I’ve got a friend, who is at least as sane as me, and the counselor keeps telling her that she’s got multiple personality disorder. How many of those counselors and psychiatrists really understand us, who we really are, as individuals? Perhaps we need Jesus’ salvation for wisdom after all.

When Jesus offered us the kingdom of God, he said that God would provide everything we need. He said that we wouldn’t need to worry about food and clothing—God has got us covered (so to speak). He said that he would heal our diseases and care for our wounds. All of our basic needs would be provided for.

But we don’t need God for that anymore. I’m sure that the ancients needed God for their daily bread and health, but, frankly, us Americans are doing pretty well. After all, I’ve never missed a meal in my life. And I’ve eaten pretty well, if I can judge by my waistline. We’ve got clean water and hot water and running water and sanitary water—that’s something! And we have a better health system than ever seen in history. More people are healed in a city hospital in one day than Jesus did in a year of ministry.

Of course, people are mostly healed. There is very little joy in healing, like with Jesus. People sometimes seem sicker after their “healing” than before. And I eat well and live well, it is true. But why do I feel so guilty? Why is there no satisfaction, not even any contentment, with my prosperity? And why are there so many in the U.S. that don’t experience that prosperity? Why are there children who are hungry, families who are homeless and strong men crippled by work? Perhaps we need Jesus’ salvation of prosperity after all.

When Jesus offered us the kingdom of God, he promised us a society of God. He said that we would have a society which would be our family, and we would have tight-knit bonds. If any person was in need, the others would help them out. Everyone would be supported and helped.

But our society seems fine. It offers a lot of variety, a lot of opportunity. There are support groups everywhere, for every kind of issue. There are churches and clubs and societies. And if anyone is really in need, they could ask for it. Or get welfare.

On the other hand, our society seems full of violence. And full of hatreds. And there isn’t much forgiveness. And I don’t know if I remember the name of anyone in my support group. And I think I lied. There’s no one who will really help us in need. And welfare is humiliating.

When Jesus offered us the kingdom of God, he promised us a secure future. We would be resurrected from the dead, and we would have eternal life. We would be completely defended by God and there would be no more sorrows. All the future would be ours, if only we would trust in Him.

But our future seems fine. We have the possibility of a comfortable retirement. We have insurance to cover the worst of disasters—fire, flood, death, disease. And we are secure in the hands of the U.S. military and the local police. They keep things pretty secure.

But, actually, we are pretty nervous. We depended on Social Security, and we aren’t confident in it anymore. We depended on insurance, and they said they wouldn’t pay for our disaster. We had to take them to court to get the money we were promised. And I would feel secure with the military and police, if only I could trust them. If only I wasn’t afraid of what they would do. As well as all the criminals and terrorists they miss. I suppose that we still need Jesus salvation for the future.

When Jesus offered the kingdom of God, he was speaking about God’s rule. God would be our Lord and Master and King. No one would take us from his hand. No one would rule over us, only God through Jesus.

But, frankly, we don’t really want to be ruled by anyone. I am the master of my own destiny, and I don’t really want anyone telling me what to do. I have my own principles to live by. I have my own ambitions. It is enough for me to make my own decisions. It is enough that I am in charge of my own life and I am independent of all rule. Even God’s.

I think I understand now why we are practical deists. Because we are content with what we already have. We have made our own decisions and we have obtained the salvation the world offers, and why do we need any thing else?

Except… that I made a mess of my life already. I am depressed, sometimes forsaken, often sick. My life is miserable, and I can’t blame anyone but myself. I don’t know if I want to be independent. I’m just not strong enough, not wise enough, not secure enough, not happy enough. Maybe—just maybe—I really need Jesus to take over my life.

There is a salvation that America offers us. It is often called the American dream. We could fit into our society and live out this dream. We could be consumers, and have whatever material things we want. We could gain a high position socially. We could live in a society of mutual respect and opportunity. We could have security for our family and our children’s children.

That’s the promise. There’s only two problems with this promise.

First of all, it’s a lie. America cannot deliver it to us. It never has, and it never will. The government and society is inadequate for what the American dream promises.

Also, Jesus’ offer is much better. The kingdom of God is a more complete version of the salvation America offers.

Some of our greatest heroes, we have been told, offered us salvation. George Washington. Thomas Jefferson. Abraham Lincoln. Franklin Roosevelt. Martin Luther King, Jr. They offered us equality. They offered us prosperity. They offered us a glorious destiny. It was an empty promise. It was an offer without any substance.

Only Jesus’ promise is the real thing. The real salvation.

My Relation With The Middle Class

What bugs me about the middle class:
Their arrogance—Just because they are successful within themselves in this life—the life that they themselves had the power to establish— they think they can tell everyone else how to live. (This is what really bugs me above all else).
Their paternalism—They always assume the one-up position, especially for someone they are “helping”; They also assume that they know what help another needs, without even asking them.
Their cultural blindness—They don’t have any idea what others are going through or how there are other standards that are different than their own, but equally significant.
Their work—They only recognize someone as “working” if they have a job, and that if it is full time. They don’t recognize people as working if they scrape a living twenty hours a week by walking and recycling. They don’t recognize anyone as working if they do not live up to their minimum standards of living.
Their standard of living—Their salvation is to own a house, have personal entertainment systems, have a car, have a family, have and have and have, as if material things make up for their lost souls.
Their economics—To succeed is to sell; to make a profit is the bottom line; the bottom line—whatever it is—is most significant, as if importance can be boiled down to a single power point. “Money is the root of all salvation.”
Their charity—They want to give, but only if they will obtain certain goals, one of which usually is a payback of some kind (a tax break; a sense of accomplishment).
Their irrationalities—Like most who have a power base, their greatest fear is losing what power they have. And so they react harshly against the poor and the helpless because they do not understand them. That which we do not understand, we fear, that which we fear, we attack.
Their wars—All fear usually is responded to with anger and often violence. And so they react with violence against those whom they irrationally fear, but when others react against them in their fears—often founded—then they react with violence against them. One-sided, even when bi-partisan.
Their hopes—Their future is secure because of insurance, retirement, savings and more.
Their evangelism—They spread their message of salvation, their “good news for the poor” as one of materialism, hatred, and spiritual impoverishment. And should anyone not accept their gospel of the American Dream via capitalism, they treat them as ignorant, outcasts, uneducated, hopeless.

Are these sins worse than the sins of the homeless, poor, the mentally ill? Of course not. But there remains one difference—The middle class doesn’t recognize these things as sin. They think they are “normal”. And what is worse, their evangelism campaign is so successful that everyone else calls them “normal” as well, and the poor and mentally ill are considered, not different, but sub-normal, outcast, needing to catch up—even by themselves, because they have adopted middle class standards.

Why should I connect with the Middle class?
Because I see this about them and they desperately need to be saved.
Because the outcast need to have some positive connections with the middle class.
Because they need to give their money to the poor, not just to wealthy organizations that “help the poor”
Because, dammit, I AM a part of the Middle class, or was and I know how they think, as much as I hate it.
Because, in the end, I come from the Middle class and I need to gather at least some of my support from it, because no one else will actually understand my perspective.

What I will not do with the middle class:
I will not represent them
I will not claim to be a part of them.
I will not look like them.
I will not feed their sins—I WILL NOT ENABLE THEM!
This means that I need to go out of my way to minister to them, but I must set boundaries so as not to let them think that I am in agreement with their sins. I must challenge their sins, but, somehow, I must find a way to communicate to them without compromising who God has called me to be.
Because if Anawim is going to survive, there must be some converted middle class people—converted to be the Anawim—who will help me sustain this community.

How To Defeat Poverty Pimps

Don’t use their services, if at all possible
This action is not to “boycott” a group, but just to not take part in their injustice. If we pay or utilize the services or invest in organizations that are making more people poor, then WE are making more people poor. Let us not support the unjust.

Don’t give to charities that take advantage of the poor
Instead of just finding a charity that sounds good, or has a good reputation, visit it. See how the people and volunteers treat the poor and what they really offer them. Don’t believe brochures and ads—go and check it out for yourself to see if it is a charity that treats the poor as people instead of opportunities for themselves.

Write letters to those involved in poverty pimping
Often organizations who are perpetuating poverty don’t even know that they are doing it. If the leaders of an organization can receive a letter—or a number of letters—from community leaders, then they might see what they would never understand, that they are digging people in their own graves. Perhaps the leaders of such organizations and community leaders could get together to come up with creative solutions to meet both the goals of the organization and not cause harm to the poor.

Pray for justice for the poor
The one who will give justice is God alone. He alone knows what justice is and who can receive it. Pray for the poor and so allow God to do the work that He alone can do with full justice.

Get involved with the poor
You will never be able to assist the poor in reality unless you have a relationship with the poor. If one quarter of the members of middle class churches had a relationship with one homeless person, then the entire world would be a different place. Go to a mission or soup kitchen and meet people. See if there is someone there you can connect with. Don’t look to “help” them right off. Rather, just get to know them and care for them as people, not projects.

Give opportunities for the poor to escape the poverty pimps
If you know of some poor people in serious debt, see if the church could pay off the debt and then have the poor person pay it back at no interest. Yes, you are taking a chance that the poor person might take advantage of you, but can the church afford it if they do?

Give to the poor what will certainly be helpful
When you help the poor, do not give in a vacuum, not really knowing their needs, assuming you do know. Rather, ask, and seek God’s wisdom. Don’t refuse to give, for this is not loving, but seek the real need of people. Be creative—maybe they need socks, a shower, some food, a safe place to sleep, a temporary job.

Provide permanent solutions for the poor, especially those who are committed to Jesus
As you get to know the poor, you will see their needs more clearly. As time goes on, seek permanent solutions for them through the Christian community. Over time, perhaps God will lead you to do things that you might otherwise never do—help the addict overcome their addiction; help the single mom raise her child; help a prostitute find a way out of the lifestyle. Allow God to lead you into what you can handle, who you can really help as a Christian community.