Community, commitment and giving

Today's sermon by Pastor Wee Long really spoke to me.  Here are my takeaways.

1. Community is important. 

It's common for people to say faith is a personal thing, only between you and God.  But let's face it, if we're absolutely and courageously honest with ourselves, the real reason why we want to say that faith is a "personal" thing, is so that no one can judge us, so that we don't feel embarrassed by our own inadequacy, and no one can pressure us to do more than what we are comfortable with.  If we keep our faith merely "personal", then we don't need to feel bad when we skip church once in a while, when we choose not to tithe, when we choose to stay silent when we should speak up, when we choose to follow the crowd when we should stand out.

For some reason, we think that if no one sees and judges us, we're OK, so we prefer to keep our faith merely "personal".  But we must realize that God sees it all.  And yet we are more concerned about our reputation before man than before God!

So the next time you think your faith is only between you and God, think again.  You really should WANT to be judged, guided, encouraged and prodded by the faith community God has prepared for you.  Why else would He have created the church - remember, a church is never the building or even the organization, but the community of people.  The church exists so that we can do more as a community than we could have done as individuals.

2. Commitment is important.

Some of us don't have a problem with community.  We love to be in community to receive and be encouraged.  That's great.  But that is not the primary purpose of community.  The purpose of the faith community is to serve others, not to be served.  And so often we forget that.  How often do we hear - the pastor's messages recently don't inspire me; I'm not being fed enough of the Word at my church; I'm not being fulfilled in my ministry; I'm not receiving the encouragement from my cell.  It's all backwards.  Yes, God does desire for us to receive when we are in community.  But if we're all receivers, who are the givers?  Desire to be a giver.  The gifts will come.

So commitment to the community is important.  Be seriously committed to obedience and service to the community.  God did not give us time and energy and resources merely to work on bigger and better houses for ourselves, cars and spas, promotions at work and "A"s for our children, and contentment in all our desires. 

As pastor said this morning, when we receive promotions at work, we automatically assume it must be a blessing from God.  But when challenged to be promoted in the ministry to take on leadership, we take days, weeks, months and years to "pray about it".  Similarly, I've heard so many people over the years praise God for wonderful investments, business breakthroughs, new houses and cars.  God does choose to bless us.  But what about when His blessing takes the form of promotion in the ministry and service?  What would you say if God said to you now, "You've proven faithful in small things.  Now I want to promote you to serve even more people."

I'm blessed to have seen my pastor and his family courageously step up to more responsibility, and to have faithful brothers and sisters step up to take his place.  They set a great example to me and my family.  They have fixed their eyes on Jesus, and I know that God, who is no man's debtor, will bless them because they have chosen the better thing.

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come to rebuild the LORD's house.'".  Then word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"  Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.  You have planted much, but harvested little.  You eat, but never have enough.  You drink, but never have your fill.  You put on clothes, but are not warm.  You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."  Haggai 1:2-5

Are we building our own paneled houses?  Maybe for some of us, literally, in view of the perennial Singaporean fascination with property upgrading?  Turning church into a provider for your needs, instead of being a provider for the church's needs and mission to the poor and those who have not yet received the good news?

3.  Giving is important

Let's get serious about giving.  What is a good measure of our lives?  Think about how we spend our time.  Think about how we spend our money.  How much could you genuinely say is spent towards the advancement of God's kingdom?  I'm not saying that work in the office or time at home is not advancing God's kingdom.  It should be.  But do we approach it that way?  Does our work genuinely reflect God's glory and advance His mission?  What about outside work?  How much time is spent going over assessment books with our kids?  Poring over stocks and investments and showflats?  Bargains at the stores?

If we're not giving our time and resources, maybe it shows that we don't truly believe that it's worth it.  But don't we believe that God and His work are worth it?  God is no man's debtor.  Our time, energy, family, children, work and finances.  Everything belongs to Him.  But if we take care of His business, He will take care of ours.

I am incredibly blessed to have wonderful cell members who constantly inspire me with their consistent and generous giving.  Spending their time and energy and money on others, especially people who can do nothing in return for them.  The measure of their lives is evident in how they spend it.  Let's take time to take a good hard look at our own lives to see how we are measuring up today...

Winston Churchill once said "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."  Make a decision to start giving today, and God will give you life worth more than just a living!